Top
50 songs of all time
(limit
one song per artist) (updated January 2013) |
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| 1.
Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen |
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| Springsteen
set out to write the greatest rock song ever, and who's to say he
didn't succeed? Bombastic, epic, romantic, dense, this song demands
attention. A breakthrough for Springsteen also in terms of situating
his heroes palpably in the "American Dream". A driving, powerful,
sublime classic. |
| 2.
Love Minus Zero (No Limit)
Bob Dylan |
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| In
the midst of his word-tripping in 1965, Dylan created this - a modest,
serene love song. Still wordy, the opening line is "My love, she
speaks like silence." It is a paean to a woman who doesn't exist,
who perhaps can't exist. But the timeless, flitting melody
wills her into our consciousnesses. |
| 3.
Frederick Patti
Smith |
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| Like
Dylan's "Sara", a directly biographical love song, blurring the
art/reality line. Smith can invest her music with anthemic power,
and to do so with a love paean is bold. Almost impossible to listen
to without breaking down. "My soul surrenders, astonished to death".
Life and death, ultimately, are one. |
| 4.
SOS Abba |
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| Abba
redefined pop music as something that can be emotionally rich as
well as entertainingly light. Deep in their best songs, there is
no kitsch, only beauty and majesty. "SOS" is the sweetest and saddest
lost-love song in existence. "Where are those happy days? They seem
so hard to find." |
| 5.
I Want to Hold Your Hand The Beatles |
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| This
must have been a revolution in 1963 - the excited, staccato intro,
the tantalising build-up, and then Lennon's double-tracked vocals,
with handclaps, and the sublimest guitar fill at the end of each
line. Even now, this is the sound of pure energy and joy - joy at
creating music, joy at simply being alive. |
| 6.
Ever Fallen in Love?
The Buzzcocks |
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| The
Buzzcocks' signature single in a body full of great work. Masters
of the explosive introduction (see "Orgasm Addict" or "Paradise"
also), here the song starts on a high and never lets up. But it's
a high of romantic angst - the sound of their buzzing guitars and
drums is like the sound of a frantic, breaking heart. |
| 7.
Thirteen
Big Star |
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| In
the midst of Big Star's debut album's glam-like rock songs, is this
- a breathtakingly tender acoustic guitar ballad. Chilton sings
of the experience of being 13 and in love, and he captures the ache
of that perfectly. But the song is not nostalgic - it affirms innocence
as a potent force no matter what age one is. |
| 8.
Stray Cat Blues
The Rolling Stones |
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| A
track on Beggar's Banquet, it is astonishing that this song
actually exists. A no-holds-barred auto-portrait of sexual predatory
with under-age girls, its lasciviousness practically leaps from
the speakers. The guitars are particularly cutting, and listen for
Jagger's excited yelp mid-way through. |
| 9.
Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds |
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| This
Dylan cover is a revelation. It's the same glorious song (well,
a shortened version of it), with the same meaning, but it is transformed
musically into a richly-layered, harmony-filled folk-rock hymn.
It is an inspired rendering that, unbelievably, enhances (but doesn't
overwhelm) the original. |
| 10.
Norman 3
Teenage Fanclub |
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| Tremulous
emotion, tender hope, slacker stylistics, wig-out wonder - this
is the world of Norman Blake. "Come on over / Break some bread /
Close the window / And we'll lay on the bed." Norman, I wanna thank
you for providing us with such incredibly beautiful and spiritual
songs. Your ragged innocence is uplifting. |
11.
The Good Life Weezer
12.
Going Underground The
Jam
13.
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Joy Division
14.
Career Moves Loudon
Wainwright III
15.
Like a Hurricane Neil Young
16.
Happy X-mas John and Yoko
17.
The Lady Came From Baltimore
Joan Baez
18.
The Ship Song Nick Cave
19.
Confide in Me Kylie Minogue
20.
White Noise Stiff Little Fingers
21.
Seven Minutes to Midnight
Wah!
22.
There is a Light that Never Goes Out
The Smiths
23.
Superstar The Carpenters
24.
Texarcana R.E.M.
25.
Anarchy in the U.K. The Sex
Pistols
26.
Happy Together The Turtles
27.
High Fidelity Elvis Costello
28.
Den Horas Pouthena
Trypes
29.
Kool Thing Sonic Youth
30.
Could You Be the One?
Husker Du
31.
Come on Eileen Dexy's
Midnight Runners
32.
Touch Me The Doors
33.
A Song From Under the Floorboards
Magazine
34.
Think Sebadoh
35.
So Kind The Underminers
36.
Deny The Clash
37.
Rid of Me P J Harvey
38.
The Happy Song The Box
Tops
39.
Reach Out I'll Be There
The Four Tops
40.
Little Fury Things Dinosaur
Jr
41.
Broken Face The
Pixies
42.
Made of Stone The Stone
Roses
43.
Letting Go Wings
44.
Red Pony The Triffids
45.
Like a Prayer Madonna
46.
Love Song The Cure
47.
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
The Animals
48.
California Dreamin'
The Mamas and the Papas
49.
Only the Lonely
Roy Orbison
50.
Edge of Reality Elvis
Presley
See
also
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