Your Top Ten songs of all time (1 Viewer)

[Chippy McChiperson]

I saw this thread on another board I frequent, and I thought it might be fun. Also, it might introduce me or you to some good music that I'm not aware of. Just one rule, please no bashing of another person's list, no matter how awful you may think their selections are. Unless it's Butler's list, because he likes the punishment. And also he's wrong. Anyway, here is my list (I cheated a little bit, feel free to do the same):

I limited myself to one song per person (or band) because otherwise it would be dominated by Beatles songs. And also, this is a top 16, because I just couldn't cut it down to ten.

t15. "Long train Running" by The Doobie Brothers
t15. "Can't you See" by The Marshall Tucker Band
14. "One" by U2
13. "Overkill" by Colin Hay (acoustic)
12. "Please Do Not Go" by the Violent Femmes
11. "Superman" by R.E.M.
10. "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations
9. "I Shall Be Released" by The Band
8. "Back To Black" by Amy Winehouse
7. "Georgia" by Ray Charles
6. "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
4. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police
3. "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash
2. "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin
1. "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles

*If you had asked me in the early 90's, the list would have consisted entirely of songs from Ten and Nevermind

 

[Pokerdweebz]

I'm never going to be able to think of all the songs I like a lot while compiling this list so these are probably wrong and not in the right order......

10) Shia LeBeouf - Eric Cantor (joke because I couldn't think of a 10th song at the time also please look it up)
9) Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
8) The Battle of Evermore - Led Zeppelin
7) Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen
6) Silent Company - Black Majesty
5) Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
4) Achilles Last Stand - Led Zeppelin
3) Badlands - Bruce Springsteen
2) Telegraph Road - Dire Straits
1) Ten Years Gone - Led Zeppelin

 

[pltrgyst]

My top 10 has 13, and I've never been able to order them:

Magic Carpet Ride -- Steppenwolf

Boots of Spanish Leather -- Bob Dylan

Papa Was a Rolling Stone -- Temptations

Sunday Bloody Sunday -- U2

Nick of Time -- Bonnie Raitt

Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys -- Traffic

Terry -- James McMurtry

Beds Are Burning -- Midnight Oil

1952 Vincent Black Lightning -- Richard Thompson

The Freshmen -- Verve Pipe

Locomotive Breath -- Jethro Tull

Ballad of Spider John -- Willis Alan Ramsey

Turn the Page -- Bob Seger

This gets harder as you get older -- there's just so much more music to consider. Man, I had to leave out Gorka, Smokey, and so many more...

 

[jbutler]

When I try to do a list like this I find myself imposing rules to focus my thoughts and usually that involves separating songs from performances or productions. So something like God Only Knows beats out Good Vibrations even if I think Good Vibrations is a better production because God Only Knows is a much stronger song. I suppose I think of these in the old Tin Pan Alley tradition that someone can write out a fucking masterpiece and it doesn't much matter who performs it - it's going to come through because the song itself is so strong.

With that unnecessary introduction, in no particular order (apart from the order in which I remembered them) and, if associated with multiple artists, listed by the performance I deemed the definitive version:

Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane
John Hartford - Gentle On My Mind
Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross

Spoiler

Alternates (I guess this is kind of cheating, but at least I separated the true "top ten"):

The Band - It Makes No Difference
Jimmy Webb - Galveston
Ben E. King - Stand By Me
John Lennon - Imagine
Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel No. 2
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Townes Van Zandt - Waiting Around To Die
Steve Goodman - My Old Man
Steve Goodman - Yellow Coat
John Prine - Souvenirs
REM - Nightswimming
The Beatles - Getting Better
Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends/Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel - America

 

[spikeithard]

Changes every 2 months but ill try

Dream Theater - Stream of consciousness
Winery Dogs - Oblivion
(Both Mike Portnoy songs)

Strung Out - Sonombulance

Pennywise - Every single day

Millencollon - Bullion

Strung out - Nowheresville

Blink 182 - Dysentary Gary

Dream Theater - Dance of eternity

Led Zeppelin - Good times bad times AND stairway


A week later half these songs will be different. These are just ones off the top of my head that I could listen to over and over and time of the day

 

[Puggy]

Man, this is difficult, but I'll give it a shot. There are 50 or so more, which are quite close.
First ten from different eras, In no particular order:

Morörhead: Ace of Spades
The Offspring: The Kids Aren't Alright
Deep Purple: Child in Time
The Bloodhound Gang: Uhm Tiss Uhm Tiss Uhm Tiss
Eminem: Lose Yourself
Darude: Sandstorm
Metric: Gold Guns Girls
AC/DC: Can't Stand Still
U2: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Social Distortion: Reach for the Sky

 

[ChaosRock]

Below are a few of my favorites... I picked only one song per artist/band to make things a little easier... I also left out all Jazz and Classic favorites not to muddle things too bad... No particular order also...

"Baba O'Riley" - The Who

"Black" - Peal Jam

"Crossroads" - Cream

"For The Sake Of The Song" - Townes Van Zandt

"Kashmir" - Led Zeppelin

"Let Down" - Radiohead

"Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones

"Pride And Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughan

"Purple Rain" - Prince

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - Pink Floyd

"The Whipping Post" The Allman Brothers Band

"Tom Sawyer" - Rush

"War Pigs" - Black Sabbath

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles

 

[Psypher1000]

The Freshmen -- Verve Pipe

Fucking good song!!!

 

[Psypher1000]

I picked only one song per artist/band to make things a little easier.

For me, that would only make things harder. Case in point...

"Black" - Peal Jam

I love Black! But do I love it more than all their other songs I love? How can I pick just one???

 

[Psypher1000]

It's nigh impossible for me to even narrow my list of favorite records down to top 100, let alone top 10! Can't do it, and even trying to list top 100 would turn into a ridiculous spooge of 250+ songs.

 

[gopherblue]

I don't know about the rest, but this Dire Straits song is definitely in there.

 

[12thMan]

Fucking good song!!!

I loved reading that one on the list as well, that song is solidly rooted in my top five favorite songs, love it. I used to go to sleep with it on repeat in my CD player for a good two month or so stretch in high school and I still didn't ruin it for myself. I'll make my list later for this thread and the other, but just had to post real quick to say yes, that is an incredible song to me and I will always love it.

 

[spikeithard]

Man, this is difficult, but I'll give it a shot. There are 50 or so more, which are quite close.
First ten from different eras, In no particular order:

Morörhead: Ace of Spades
The Offspring: The Kids Aren't Alright
Deep Purple: Child in Time
The Bloodhound Gang: Uhm Tiss Uhm Tiss Uhm Tiss
Eminem: Lose Yourself
Darude: Sandstorm
Metric: Gold Guns Girls
AC/DC: Can't Stand Still
U2: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Social Distortion: Reach for the Sky

what no Coaching for Sara?!? haha

Reach for the Sky is a great tune. was blasting it last night driving

 

[MegaTon44]

I only have 7

7.) "Mambo #5" - Lou Bega
6.) "@jbutler's text notification" (letting me know he spewed on the last hand of the night) - Some Donk
5.) "Growing Pains" Theme Song - One Bad Motherfucker
4.) "Super Mario Bros" level 1-2 background music - Some Japanese Dude
3.) "Chocolate Rain" - Tay Zonday
2.) "We Buy Any Car" Theme Song - Some Asshole
1.) "Friday" - Rebecca Black


P.S. I know you hummed the Super Mario Bros level 1-2 background music as soon as you read it.

 

[pltrgyst]

Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
John Hartford - Gentle On My Mind
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
...
Jimmy Webb - Galveston
John Lennon - Imagine
Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel No. 2
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
The Beatles - Getting Better
Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends/Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel - America

Jaysus, you're way the hell older than I am. :

Steve Goodman - My Old Man
Steve Goodman - Yellow Coat

Ok, you've redeemed yourself by citing Steve Goodman. One of the best shows of my life was Steve at McCarter Theater, Princeton U,, when a few buddies drove down from NYC to surprise him and brought along a couple of older songbooks by the Beatles and Dylan. They spent two hours on stage groping their way through half the songs in the books -- it was wonderful and hilarious.

And in the Townes Van Zandt vein, my list definitely should have included Pancho and Lefty, though I'd take the Jason Isbell version over any other I've ever heard , including Willie and Merle. It's a spectacular song, and Isbell's version is beautiful..

 

[Psypher1000]

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

Many hearts. Love it!

 

[pltrgyst]

U2: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

IMO, the version in the movie Rattle and Hum, done with the choir in Harlem, is one of the very best things I've ever heard. Goose bump time.

(That movie is the only time in my life I ever took off from work to be in the theater for the very first show the day it opened...)

 

[jbutler]

And in the Townes Van Zant vein, my list definitely should have included Pancho and Lefty, though I'd take the Jason Isbell version over any other I've ever heard , including Willie and Merle. It's a spectacular song, and Isbell's version is beautiful..

I came very close to listing two of Isbell's tracks from when he was with the Truckers and he's definitely got a few on his own that might stand the test of time. Saw him four or five times with the Truckers and three times solo and he's always fantastic live.

Would have given my left nut to see Steve live. One of my all time favorite all around performers.

 

[Mr Tree]

IMO, the version in Rattle and Hum, done with the choir in Harlem, is one of the very best things I've ever heard. Goose bump time.

^^^^^^^

The first time I heard it it struck me that the original song is actually a gospel song. Brilliant version.

 

[pltrgyst]

I loved reading that one on the list as well, that song is solidly rooted in my top five favorite songs, love it. I used to go to sleep with it on repeat in my CD player for a good two month or so stretch in high school and I still didn't ruin it for myself....

I too tend to fixate on one song at times. Before I retired, I used to keep a Pignose guitar in my office. At break times, I'd loop the current tune and play along using headphones.

"The Freshmen" was one of those few. Everclear's "Santa Monica" was another.

The latest is a tender little ballad -- Timothy B. Schmidt's "White Boy from Sacramento". :

 

[jbutler]

I too tend to fixate on one song at times. Before I retired, I used to keep a Pignose guitar in my office. At break times, I'd loop the current tune and play along using headphones.

"The Freshmen" was one of those few. Everclear's "Santa Monica" was another.

The latest is a tender little ballad -- Timothy B. Schmidt's "White Boy from Sacramento". :

Everclear is/was a funny band. I didn't much care for anything outside of that one album, but Sparkle and Fade had a few really, really good if not great tracks.

Strawberry and Summerland come to mind most immediately.

 

[kirchhausen]

Such a tough task. This is nowhere near correct, I know I'm missing some songs that I love and of course this list is ever evolving. In no particular order...

"Romeo and Juliet' - Dire Straits
"How Soon is Now" - The Smiths
"Toxicity" - System of a Down
"One" - Metallica
"Badfish" - Sublime
"Add it up" - Violent Femmes **or anything off this album
"Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
"Fall On Me" - R.E.M.
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"What's My Name" - Snoop Dogg
"My Name Is" - Eminem
"Fee" - Phish

 

[Puggy]

what no Coaching for Sara?!? haha

Reach for the Sky is a great tune. was blasting it last night driving

"It's Late" is my current ringtone.

And Reach for the Sky is always one of my first songs, while I go to slopes at winter.
[emoji106] [emoji6]

 

[Ronoh]

"Toxicity" - System of a Down

Nice

 

[kirchhausen]

Also forgot "Walk" by Pantera

 

[Ronoh]

My stab:

"Infinite Dreams" - Iron Maiden
"King for a Day" - Pierce the Veil
"Here Comes the Sun" - the Beatles
"Fly Me to the Moon" - Frank Sinatra
"Sleepwalking" - Bring Me the Horizon
"The Nameless" - Slipknot
"Battery" - Metallica
"Faithless" - Black Veil Brides
"Happy Phantom" - Tori Amos
"Glory of Love" - Peter Cetera

 

[Chicken Rob]

There have been some great tracks listed. I don't think I'll hit my top 10 exactly but here is an attempt combining things I've seen and things I can come up with off the top of my head.

1. The entire first violent femmes first album. The ultimate expression of teen angst.
2. Pinkerton by weezer. The ultimate expression of 20-something angst.
3. Los Angeles by Frank Black
4. Lost in the Supermarket by The Clash
5. Kodachrome by Paul Simon
6. Overkill by Colin Hey/Men at Work
7. Romeo & Juliet by Dire Straits
8. In Bloom Nirvana
9. Sunless Saturday by Fishbone
10. Just like heaven by The Cure
11. If You Want Me to Stay by Sly and the Family Stone
12. Effervescing Elephant by Syd Barret
13. Ana Ng by They Might Be Giants
14. Dear God by XTC

ETA:
Left off my favorite song ever:
Epoxy, for Example by fIREHOSE

 

[rowlin]

Impossible question is impossible.

 

[MikesDad]

Thanks Chippy!
Yet another thread that reminds me how old I am as I read these lists and realize I've never heard the vast majority of these songs or artists

Otherwise making such a list is impossible

 

[Jeff]

Sicut Cervus - Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina
Precious Lord - Mehalia Jackson
Karn Evil 9: First Impression Part 2- Emerson Lake & Palmer
Keep on the Sunny Side - The Carter Family
Your Song -Elton John
Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
Think - Aretha Franklin
Pilgrims Chorus from Tannhauser - Richard Wagner

Not in ordinal rank.