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Ask anyone who they think is the greatest singer of all time and it's likely to divide opinion.

In an attempt to solve this age-old question, a website has plotted the vocal range of singers widely considered to be the best, alongside contemporary artists nominated for last weekend's Billboard Music Awards.

Although the list features the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin the singer who tops the chart is Guns N'Roses frontman Axl Rose, followed closely by Mariah Carey.

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This graphic was created by Concerthotels.com to celebrate the Billboard Music Awards. It looked at the vocal range for singers widely considered among the greatest of all time. Axl Rose was found to have the greatest vocal range, covering five octaves, while the female with the greatest range was Mariah Carey

According to the chart, Rose covers five octaves ranging from F1 on There Was A Time, from the 2008 album Chinese Democracy, up to Bb6 on Ain't It Fun from the 1991 album "The Spaghetti Incident?".

Although Mariah Carey has the highest note of the group, hitting G7 in 1991 hit Emotions, she is in second place to Rose's range.

That said, Carey covers four octaves on Emotions alone. Her lowest note is F2 on Sweetheart in 1998.

Rounding off the top three is Prince (E2 to B6), Steven Tyler (D2 to E6) and James Brown (Eb2 to E6).

At the opposite end of the scale is country singer Luke Bryan ranging from A2 on You Make Me Want To, up to A4 on Over The River both from 2007.

The lowest female is Taylor Swift hitting F#5 in You Belong With Me in 2008, down to E3 on Begin Again in 2012.

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, pictured, ranges from note F1 on There Was A Time, from the 2008 album Chinese Democracy, up to Bb6 on Ain't It Fun from the 1991 album "The Spaghetti Incident?". The researchers began by taking names from the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time post from Rolling Stone. They then used The Range Place site to get their vocal data

At the opposite end of the scale is country singer Luke Bryan, pictured left, ranging from A2 on You Make Me Want To, up to A4 on Over The River, both released in 2007. The lowest female is Taylor Swift, pictured right, who hit F#5 in You Belong With Me in 2008, down to E3 on Begin Again in 2012

ConcertHotels.com commissioned the graphic to celebrate the Billboard Music Awards at the weekend.

As well as vocal range, the list can be sorted by singers that hit the highest notes, and those who have songs featuring the lowest.

Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Prince score top on the high note chart with G7, C#7 and B6 respectively. While Axl Rose, Barry White and David Bowie are top of the lowest note list from F1, F#1 and G1.

Along the bottom of the graphic is a keyboard that highlights where the notes sit, and hovering over a singer's row reveals their top and bottom range. This range is also shown along the right-hand side.

Unsurprisingly, male singers dominate the top half of the lowest notes list. Nina Simone is the first female, in at number 26 on the list.

Although Mariah Carey, pictured, has the highest note of the group - hitting G7 in 1991 hit Emotions - she is in second place to Rose's range. However, Carey covers four octaves in Emotions alone. Her lowest note, according to the chart, is F2 on Sweetheart in 1998

As well as vocal range, the list can also be sorted by singers that hit the highest notes, and those with the lowest. Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Prince score top on the highest note chart with G7, C#7 and B6 respectively. Along the bottom of the graphic is a keyboard that highlights were the notes sit and hovering over a singer's row reveals their top and bottom range. This range is also shown along the right-hand side

The highest notes list has a more even split and in the top 20, women make up 45 per cent, compared to 55 per cent men.

'We started talking about which singers have the biggest vocal ranges,' explained Concerthotels.com.

'Clearly vocal range is also determined by the songs the singers choose to sing, but nevertheless we figured it would be fun to dig a little deeper.

'We started by taking the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time post from Rolling Stone.

'To this list, we added some of the nominees for top male and female artist at the Billboard Music Awards 2014, because we were curious to see how Justin 'seven gongs' Timberlake, Katy Perry et al. stacked up versus the greats.

'Finally we hit up The Range Place for their amazing vocal range data.

'We included all of the singers on the list for whom the data was readily available and all their data is taken from recordings as opposed to live performances.'

Michael Jackson, pictured left, is often labelled as one of the greatest singers of all time but he was 26th in the list based on vocal range. Barry White, pictured right, is renowned for his low voice but came second behind Axl Rose in the lowest note list

Axl Rose, Barry White and David Bowie were top of the lowest note list from F1, F#1 and G1, pictured. Unsurprisingly, male singers dominate the top half of this list and the first female doesn't appear until number 26 with Nina Simone

The Vocal Ranges of the Greatest Singers. From Mariah Carey's ear-piercing whistle to Barry White's deep bassy growl, compare the vocal ranges of today's top artists with the greatest of all time. (via ConcertHotels.com).