Top 10 songs ever

[desh]

In honor of WXPN's countdown of the top 885 songs of all time, here is my vote for 10 best, or what it would've been had I voted on time:

1. Doors - Light My Fire
2. The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
3. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
4. Derek and the Dominoes - Layla
5. Billy Joel - Piano Man
6. John Lennon - Imagine
7. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
8. Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
9. Beatles - Hey Jude
10. U2 - Sunday, Bloody Sunday

...and, man, I can't believe I have to leave out Romeo And Juliet, Orange Sky, Hallelujah, Bobby McGee, everything by Pearl Jam, everything by Zeppelin...

What are your lists? (Looking at other people's lists here might help.)

I might try to start a meme next week, once their top 100 is revealed...

Comments

[sleepsong.livejournal.com]

1. Doors - Light My Fire

I hate that song... ::hides::

[machineplay.livejournal.com]

...plus...Supper's Ready, Ode to Billy Joe, Sounds of Silence, Subterranian Homesick Blues, Wild Horses, Age of Aquarius, Georgia on My Mind... ten's just not enough. :)

In no particular order....

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

Pink Floyd	Dogs
Radiohead	There, There
The Beatles	Rocky Raccoon
Muse	Time is Running Out
Eric Clapton	Old Love (unplugged)
Radiohead	Knives Out
Folk Implosion	Natural One
Jimi Hendrix	Castles Made of Sand
Led Zeppelin	The Rain Song
Live	Pillar of Davidson

Even without putting them in order, that was a lot harder than I thought it would be....
A few that got bumped at the last minute, or that I feel bad about leaving out:
Beatles - Tommorow Never Knows, DJ Cam - Hip Hop Opera, Massive Attack - Dissolved Girl, Portishead - Glory Box, Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine (which was the first song that really grabbed me and made me think about music as more than just something to listen to), The Beta Band - Won, U2 - If You Wear that Velvet Dress... oh god... I could go on like this for hours.

I should just shut up I guess... I think I'll post this to my journal too, I like this type of post.

[myq.livejournal.com]

10. Paul Simon - Sounds of Silence
9. Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs
8. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See A Darkness
7. The Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
6. Palace - Agnes, Queen of Sorrow
5. Tom Waits - Yesterday Is Here
4. Beatles - In My Life
3. Beach Boys - God Only Knows
2. Otis Redding - Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay
1. Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat

[jdcohen.livejournal.com]

I don't even know if I can DO a top ten... I would feel so limited. A top 100 might be easier for me, but I'd probably have a lot of ties.

I'm also very impressed that you left Pearl Jam off the top ten. I know how you love them so, but good call leaving them out. I don't think you qualify for a "greatest song of all time" if the lyrics are all mumbled (no offense to Bob Dylan).

--Jeff

[jox.livejournal.com]

No women are in any of your top 10 lists. boo. except for a casual mention of Janis Joplin.

[krisispm.livejournal.com]

Though I find it fun to do this objectively, the practice usually turns into choosing the ten of the most relevant artists and then methodically isolating their most culturally signficant hit. Of course, "Best" is as subjective as it gets, but it's fun to see how closely the two align.

Using that as my foundation, here's a shot at a few (already flawed by my anticipation that XPN will cheat towards classic rock and folk).

The Eagles - "Hotel California" - Rock critics and casual fans alike love to fawn all over this. Slightly edges "Desperado."

Simon and Garfunkel - "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Seems to have an equal shot against "Sound of Silence," and I think is ultimately more covered.

The Beatles - "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" - Could also be "Hey Jude;" maybe both.

Rolling Stones - "Satisfaction" - Important AND completely ingrained in our pop-psyche.

Aretha Franklin - "Respect" - Possibly the most quintessential female vocal in pop music history.

Elvis Presley - "Hound Dog" - Birth of rock blah blah blah.

Bob Dylan - "Blowin' In The Wind" - Might cite some other artist's version.

Don McLean - "American Pie" - Come on, this is XPN we're talking about.

I think your #4-7 have a definite shot of displacing these, or landing close behind. I was tempted to throw in "What's Goin' On," "Landslide," "You've Got A Friend," or something by The Doors or Led Zepplin, but my inclination is that none of them are quite essential enough to be in the top ten. To be a best song of all time the song has to be something that launches a thousand tangents.

I fully expect one or two songs from my lifetime to sneak in there, possibly "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Beat It," but otherwise i stand by my prediction. I'll ruminate on my personal top ten for tomorrow :)

I couldn't get it below top 13

[object-holder.livejournal.com]

The Beatles - For No One
The Decemberists - Los Angeles, I'm Yours
The Dismemberment Plan - The City
The Doors - You're Lost, Little Girl
Modest Mouse - 3rd Planet
Mr. Bungle - Ars Moriendi
Oingo Boingo - Little Girls
Pere Ubu - Navvy
The Pixies - Hey
Radiohead - Just
The Shins - So Says I
Soul Coughing - Bus to Beelzebub
Thinking Plague - Dead Silence
XTC - Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)

since i wanted to make it easier on myself

[nytesenvy.livejournal.com]

i simply looked up my itunes 'most played" list and took it from there.

green day - time of your life (just is what it is, a good luck song as it were)
evanesence - anywhere
goo goo dolls - sympathy
goo goo dolls - girl right next to me
simon and garfunkle - sounds of silence
don mclean - vincent
matchbox 20 - unwell
green day - boulevard of broken dreams/wake me up when september ends (tied)
jimmy eat world - a praise chorus
michell branch - are you happy now

[shekkichebaz.livejournal.com]

it was hard, and i limited myself to recordings (rather than traditional songs) and recordings with vocal at that (i listen to a lot of instrumental stuff). that said here it is, in no order

back to the earth - rusted root
thank you - dido
hearts and bones - paul simon
spanish train - chris de burgh
conversation - joni mitchell
i was only 19 - old '97s
when i was a boy - dar williams
tillman county - dave carter & tracy grammer
still... you turn me on - emerson, lake, and palmer
the origin of love - hedwig and the angry inch

[(Anonymous)]

your list is perfect, i couldnt agree more. but i would add a bowie and queen song, if your doing a top 20 anytime soon.

1. Doors - Light My Fire

amazing song=]

-mary kate.