You brought up the idea that people listen to these "Top Five" artists because people can relate to their lyrics. However, I really don't think that people are listening to Kanye West or T.I. because of the words their songs have; it's really more about the sound. Songs make the Top Five when they're catchy, easy to listen to or dance to. And vocal quality has everything to do with that. These artists have the sound, vocally and otherwise, that gets the job done for a particular genre, and are thus "good singers." It works the same way with American Idol; they're looking for a specific kind of sound that makes a "good" pop artist. For this reason I think Dylan is a good singer: he has a voice that works with the sound that he is trying to get.
In this way, Dylan left his mark on the musical world; he made it okay for vocalists not to have a traditionally "good voice." Before him, we had Sinatras and Elvises, who have lovely voices and get across what they need to for their purposes, but Dylan was one of the first, by traditional standards, "bad singers." This is just another way he broke the rules. And we're fortunately he did as he led the way for all kinds of artists with unusual vocal talent: Mick Jagger, Tom Waits, etc.
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