As a professional musician myself, I have many influences. In my specialty, saxophone, I don't have one player that I think is ideal. The same is true for the brass and string players I listen to. There are aspects of many players I admire. However, with voice, I have no greater maker for a beautiful sound than Mr. Pavarotti. In my opinion he was unmatched in tonal quality. Vocalist or instrumentalist.
Although his technique and stamina was not as good in recent years, in his prime I don't think anyone possessed a more musical sound of any style or genre, instrument or voice. Ignoring non-musical attributes of his personality (and his foray into mainstream music), I fear there is no one today that has such a beautiful tone quality. The world has lost a special voice