My favorite female singer/songwriter, Joni Mitchell, and my favorite song from her:
Both Sides Now
I remember when this song came out, it was being played on the AM stations my mom would listen to. Even though I was fairly young when it came out, the message and the images it invoked stuck with me to this day.
Later, Joni recorded with Jaco Pastorius, notably on "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter", then with Pat Metheny, Jaco, and Michael Brecker on "Shadows and Light", a live album. These are my favorite Joni cd's.
In the late 80's - early 90's the NPR station out of Wayne State University in Detroit, WDET, had a national show called "Cypress Avenue" hosted by a guy whose name I can't recall, but he had one show devoted to Richard and Linda Thompson. Linda isn't the main songwriter, but there's no doubt she shared in the lyric writing. Apparently, during the recording of "Shoot Out the Lights" in 1982, the songs were written in response to the separation they were going thru. Anyway, here is "A Heart Needs a Home":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5upiUrUw0Jk A Heart Needs a Home
And now, some great songs with excellent female leads that I just feel like sharing:
Elizabeth Fraser/Cocteau Twins - Carolyn's Fingers
Annie Haslam/Renaissance - Carpet of the Sun
Note: this isn't best Renaissance song, although it does display Annie's vocal range. I was looking for "Can You Hear Me". If you can find this song, absolutely give it a listen.