I am going to join the vocal-chain party. To be completely honest, I don´t have a special chain that I pickup every time I am going mix. I have several different templates for mixing rock, pop and hiphop that I have been doing by myself during the years just to get a quick start when opening up a session.

Before adding anything I always make sure that the vocal track is edited and tuned, otherwise it makes no sense to start mixing. I know that this may sound a bit boring, but a good edit makes a huge difference in the end.

Insert A - EQ

I always do to my filter/eq:ing before the compression. There is an ongoing debate whether it is better to do it before or after the compression. I personally get the best results if I do the eqing before, but in the end it's up to you. I really love the premium AirEQ from Eiosis. I think it's brilliant and really versatile, you get a huge tone-shaping possibility and it pretty much works on anything. I always try this EQ first. I also like to use the Pro Q2 from FabFilter and the API 550A from UAD.

Insert B - Compressor

The Renaissance compressor is a must have and one of the plug-ins that I think Waves just got spot on. It´s simple, it sounds good and it makes the vocals to sit great in the mix without any effort. I like the feeling of being efficient that the Waves Renaissance compressor is giving me. If I want to change things up, I like to reach for my UAD 1176, it is a great sounding compressor which I know like the back of my hand.

Insert C - Reverb

I like to start off with a simple plate and the D-Verb helps me get what I want. There are a lot of better sounding reverbs out on the market, for example the Altiverb or the Exponential Audio R2. I sometimes tend to play around too much, that's why it's just easier for me to grab the D-Verb. It does the job almost every time.

Insert D - Delay

Avid Mod Delay III makes the vocal sit better in a mix as well as making it pop out a little bit!  Like both Russ and James said before, there is no need to send it to an aux if it's only one track feeding the effect.

Send A - Effects

I like to send my vocals to a stereo aux and feeding the signal through Pitch II. Fine tune both sides a couple of cents to add more depth and that just slightly changing the track. I do not always use this but it can really work wonders.

Send B - Parallel Compression

I like to do some parallel compressions to make the track a bit thicker. It´s great because you can preserve the initial dynamics and bring up the lower levels of the vocal. Of course it all depends on what type of production I am mixing, but I love parallel compression. I always try to add some to the mix, and see how it feels. I use to reach for the UAD 1176.