Your Top 20 Songs Ever

[Cactusakic]

O.k, so I know this is hardly an original idea, in fact it's probably one of the least original ideas possible in forums, but what are your top 20 songs/tracks of all time?
I ask because I got really bored at work today and realised that although I knew what my favorite top 5 songs were, I had never really bothered to go any further and see what other songs I really, truly loved and could listen to multiple times and never get sick of.
So, for what it's worth, here are IMHO the greatest 20 songs ever recorded.
They are in no paticular order except for the top 5.

20. Ash - Burn Baby Burn
19. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
18. Metallica - Unforgiven
17. Six.By Seven - American Beer
16. Faithless - Insomnia
15. The Doors - Five To One
14. New Order - Blue Monday
13. The Smashing Pumpkins - Today
12. The Who - Baba O'Reilly
11. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Free Fallin'
10. R.E.M - The Great Beyond
9. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box
8. The Chemical Brothers - Where Do I Begin/The Private Psychadelic Reel
7. The Jam - That's Entertainment
6. The Clash - I Fought The Law
5. Prince - Kiss
4. The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
3. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
2. The Pixies - Debaser
1. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

[Spastic Minnow]

My actual top ten would probably be something like 4 XTC songs 3 They Might Be Giants and 3 Tom Waits, but here I limit it down to one per artist.

20. Soul Sucking Jerk - Beck
19. Flowers on the Wall - The Statler Brothers
18. Rid Of Me - PJ Harvey
17. Rocky Mountain High- John Denver :o
16. Cult of Personality - Living Colour
15. In Bloom - Nirvana
14. Carosel - Mr. Bungle
13. Silent All These Years - Tori Amos
12. Hate My Way - Throwing Muses
11. Gave Up - Nine Inch Nails
10. King of Carrot Flowers - Neutral Milk Hotel
9. Angel in Manhattan - Ellis Paul
8. The Christians and the Pagans - Dar Williams
7. Maxwell's Silver Hammer - Beatles
6. Me and My Charms - Kristin Hersh
5. Where Is My Mind - The Pixies
4. Add It Up - Violent Femmes
3. I Don't Want to Grow Up - Tom Waits
2. Ana Ng - They Might Be Giants
1. 1000 Umbrellas - XTC


Some other close ones...

Happy Birthday To Me - Cracker
Both Hands - Ani DiFranco
Tommy the Cat - Primus
Honey Don't Think - Grant Lee Buffalo
Los Angeles - Frank Black
Laid - James
Lump - The Presidents of the United States of America
Even Flow - Pearl Jam
Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen/ Concrete Blonde
Blue Moon Revistied - Cowboy Junkies
Epic - Faith No More
Confetti - Lemonheads
F--k and Run - Liz Phair
Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe - Whale
Thunderkiss '65 - White Zombie
I'm Rollin' - Soul Coughing
Pumpin' for the Man - Ween
Overcome - Tricky
I wanna be like you - Junle Book soundtrack
Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog
Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
AEnima- Tool
Army of Me - Bjork
Philosophy - Ben Folds Five
On & On - Erykah Badu

[Ouzo Man]

I'd say my favorite 20 songs are whatever Cayman would sing at a karaoke bar after drinking a case of Boone's Strawberry Hill. Not that he would do such a thing. The rarity of the event - vanishing towards "never" - merely adds to its specialness.

O.k, so I know this is hardly an original idea, in fact it's probably one of the least original ideas possible in forums, but what are your top 20 songs/tracks of all time?
I ask because I got really bored at work today and realised that although I knew what my favorite top 5 songs were, I had never really bothered to go any further and see what other songs I really, truly loved and could listen to multiple times and never get sick of.
So, for what it's worth, here are IMHO the greatest 20 songs ever recorded.
They are in no paticular order except for the top 5.

20. Ash - Burn Baby Burn
19. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
18. Metallica - Unforgiven
17. Six.By Seven - American Beer
16. Faithless - Insomnia
15. The Doors - Five To One
14. New Order - Blue Monday
13. The Smashing Pumpkins - Today
12. The Who - Baba O'Reilly
11. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Free Fallin'
10. R.E.M - The Great Beyond
9. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box
8. The Chemical Brothers - Where Do I Begin/The Private Psychadelic Reel
7. The Jam - That's Entertainment
6. The Clash - I Fought The Law
5. Prince - Kiss
4. The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
3. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
2. The Pixies - Debaser
1. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

[ocelotrevs]

off the top of my head

20. Marvin Gaye- Sexual Healing
19. MC Hammer- Can't Touch this
18. Coheed & Cambria- In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
17. Coheed & Cambria- Favor House Atlantic
16. REM- Losing my religion
15. Bad Religion- Kyoto Now
14. Hell is for Heroes- I climb mountains
13. Rival Schools- Used for Glue
12. Rival Schools- favourite star
11. And you will know us by the trail of dead- Another Morning Stoner
10. and you will know us by the trail of dead- How near how far
9. and you will know us by the trail of dead- Worlds Apart
8. and you will know us by the trail of dead- The rest will follow
7. Flamming Lips- Do you realize
6. Flamming Lips- In the morning of magicians
5. The music- Turn out the Light
4. At the drive-in- Invalid Litter Dept
3. Tupac- changes
2. Rammstein- Mutter
1. Bomfunk MC's- Freestyler

Those are the first that I thought of

[Eliot Johnson]

Now for the most unique list of all time.

1. Situation - Playa Fly
2. Optimistic - Radiohead
3. Myxomatosis - Radiohead
4. Send For Me - Playa Fly
5. Write Sum Bump - Playa Fly & Gangsta Blac
6. Brain Damage - Pink Floyd
7. Suicide - Tommy Wright III
8. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
9. M-M-M - Playa Fly
10. Ghetto Eyes - Playa Fly
11. 2+2=5 - Radiohead
12. There There - Radiohead
13. Echoes - Pink Floyd
14. Long Sunday - Young Lo
15. How To Disappear Completely - Radiohead
16. Time - Pink Floyd
17. Kid A - Radiohead
18. Gettin It On - Playa Fly & Gangsta Blac
19. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
20. Mine's Not a High Horse - The Shins

Could be in my Top 20 with mood fluctuation:
Head Low - Gangsta Blac
Cuttooth - Radiohead
Hardheaded - Tommy Wright III & Project Pimp
Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd
In Da Beginning - Gangsta Blac
Da Game - Young Lo
It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M.
Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.
Da Old Man - Young Lo
The Tourist - Radiohead
Electioneering - Radiohead
Still Iz On - Playa Fly
Us And Them - Pink Floyd
Mudder Mudder - V-Dog & Gangsta Blac
Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box - Radiohead
Da Devil - Young Lo
Pink Bullets - The Shins
The Gnome - Pink Floyd
Forever Hustle - Tom Skeemask
Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead
Street Spirit - Radiohead
Other Side - V-Dog

[Phrozen]

Not in any order:

Travel in Stygian-Iced Earth
Mr. Crowley-Ozzy
Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath
Hangar 18-Megadeth
Whiplash- Metallica
No Class- Motorhead
Hallowed Be Thy Name- Iron Maiden
Tangerine- Led Zep
Castles Made of Sand- Jimi Hendrix
Who Are You- The Who
Freebird- Lynard Skynard
Phantom of the Opera- Iron Maiden
Living After Midnight- Judas Priest
No More Mr. Nice Guy- Alice Cooper
Gallows Pole- Demons & Wizards
Ace of Spades- Motorhead
Vengence is Mine- Iced Earth
The Razors Edge- AC/DC
Mirror Mirror- Blind Guardian
Thunderstruck- AC/DC

[Reptisaurus!]

One Per Artist is good.

No real order.

The list would, of course, be completely different tomorrow.

Or woulda been yesterday.


I'm differentiating between "Songs" and "Compositions." I decided that Mingus' "Cumbia and Jazz Fusion," my favorite piece of music ever, is a composition. But that Hatian Fight Song is a song, because (A) it clocks in under ten minutes, and (B) it has "Song" in the title.Dizzy -- Night in Tunisia
Mingus -- Hatian Fight Song
Neil Young and Crazy Horse -- Rockin' in the Free World
Koko Taylor -- Wang Dang Doodle
George Clinton -- Atomic Dog
Charlie Parker -- Scrapple from the Apple
Gershwin -- Summertime
Fats Waller -- Flat Foot Floogie with a Floy
Josh White Junior -- Who Woulda' Thunk It
Nirvana -- Smells Like Teen Spirit
Muddy Waters -- I Just Can't Be Satisfied
Handel -- The Hallelujah Chorus
I dunno, but I have it on a mix-tape somewhere. And Google is useless -- Uncle Jed's Farm
The Roots -- The Seed 2.0
Faith No More -- We Care A Lot
REM -- It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I feel Fine)
Chuck Berry -- Come On
Miles -- Seven Steps to Heaven
Weather Report -- Birdland
Claudia Schmidt -- Hard Love

[Valmore]

In no particular order:

20. "Secret Agent Man" - Johnny Rivers
19. "Refugee" - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
18. "Fire and Rain" - James Taylor
17. "Only the Young" - Journey
16. "Pillar of Davidson" - Live
15. "New Year's Day" - U2
14. "Bound For the Floor" - Local H
13. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles
12. "Interstate Love Song" - Stone Temple Pilots
11. "Understanding in a Car Crash" - Thursday
10. "The Sounds of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkle
9. "Paint It, Black" - The Rolling Stones
8. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
7. "These Eyes" - The Guess Who
6. All I Need is a Miracle" - Mike and The Mechanics
5. "Dance With Me" - Orleans
4. "The Letter" - The Box Tops
3. "W.O.L.D." - Harry Chapin
2. "Hotel California" - The Eagles
1. "Radio Free Europe" - R.E.M.

[Punchy]

I'm not including jazz compositions, pieces with extended jazz improvisation, or anything "classical." And this is all off of the top of my head and in no order. And I assume we're talking about specific recordings of songs, numerous artists record the same songs. Read carefully, this one's all over the place.


"Luck Be A Lady" Frank Sinatra
"Super Bon Bon" Soul Coughing
"Ramble On" Led Zepplin
"Get Off Yo' Ass and Jam" Funkadelic
"Talking Loud And Sayin' Nothin'" James Brown
"On A Plane" Nirvana
"Buena" Morphine
"Party At Ground Zero" Fishbone
"Tangled Up In Blue" Bob Dylan
"Detroit Rock City" KISS
"6'1"" Liz Phair
"Without Your Love" Billie Holiday
"Vietnow" Rage Against the Machine
"Wang Dang Doodle" Howlin' Wolf
"Army" Ben Folds Five
"Lovers In A Dangerous Time" Barenaked Ladies
"Mr Brownstone" Guns N Roses
"Nothingness" Living Colour
"She Said, She Said" The Beatles
"Sympathy For The Devil" The Rolling Stones
"Black Steel In An Hour Of Chaos" Public Enemy

[The Mirrorball Man]

Just off the top of my head (this is not the list, it's just a list :) )

Bruce Springsteen – Jungleland
Ash – A Life Less Ordinary
Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up
Prince – The Everlasting Now
The Pixies – Debaser
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
The Cure – Close to Me
Saul Williams – Tao of Now
Paul Simon – The Boy in the Bubble
Blur – Battle
Oasis – Supersonic
Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood
Terence Trent d’Arby – Vibrator
U2 – Mysterious Ways
Radiohead – Everything in Its Right Place
Muse – Stockholm Syndrome
The Divine Comedy – Tonight We Fly
Massive Attack – Angel
Björk – Jòga
Outkast – B.O.B

If you ask me again in five minutes, one of these songs might be included in a new list (not the new list, of course):

Simon & Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy in New-York
Mogwai – Like Herod
The The – Dogs of Lust
Suzanne Vega – Blood Makes Noise
Sting – Straight to My Heart
The Prodigy – No Good
Alicia Keys – Fallin’
The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations
R.E.M – Begin the Begin
Nirvana – Lithium
Kelis – Milkshake
Public Enemy – Welcome to the Terrordome
Whiskeytown – Dancin With the Women at the Bar
Kraftwerk – Radioaktivität
Happy Mondays – Step On
Graham Coxon – Freakin’ Out
Moby – Honey
Lauryn Hill – Everything is Everything
Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
The Who – Baba O’Reilly

[Dom]

1. 2Pac - All Eyez On Me
2. Dr. Dre - Nuthin but a G Thang
3. Run DMC - Walk This Way
4. Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delite
5. 2Pac - Hit 'Em Up
6. Biggie - Hypnotize
7. Eminem - Lose Yourself
8. Eminem - Stan
9. Dre and 2Pac - California Love
10. Ludacris - Southern Hospitality
11. LLCJ - Mama Said Knock You Out
12. Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
13. Aerosmith - Dream On
14. Beatles - Yesterday
15. A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebaum
16. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five w. Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Do It)
17. DMX - Ruff Ryders Anthem
18. Lynard Skynard - Free Bird
19. Busta Rhymes - Scenario
20. Nas - One Mic

[mike rok lok]

Here is my top 20 song list.


20. "Feel Happiness" (live from Swans are Dead) Swans
19. "Dirt to Mud" Paul Westerberg
18. "Only Moment We Were Alone" Explosions in the Sky
17. "Rudy Can't Fail" The Clash
16. "Our Way to fall" Yo La Tengo
15. "49 Cent Refill" Splurge
14. "Where the Streets Have No name" U2
13. "Mouth Breather" Jesus Lizard
12. "Schizoprhenia" Sonic Youth
11. "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I feel Fine)" REM
10. "Across the Sea" Weezer
9. "Water Wings" On the Might of Princes
8. "Car" Built to Spill
7. "No Tomorrow" Twelve Hour Turn
6. "She's Real" Kicking Giant
5. "Two Headed Boy Part Two" Neutral Milk Hotel
4. "Can't Hardly Wait" (tim version) The Replacements
3. "WhenYou Sleep" My Bloody Valentine
2. "Train in Vain" The Clash
1. "I Want You Back" The Jackson Five


honorable mentions:

"The Process" The Minutemen
"Bless the Child" Billie Holiday
"Song for My father" Angels of Light
"Summer Babe" Pavement
"Birthday Pony" Fugazi
"Wake Up" Les Savy Fav
"Heroin" Velvet Underground
"Song About an Angel" Sunny Day Real Estate
"Highly Enlightened" Yaphet Kotto
"Animal" Def Leppard
"Underdogs of the Nipomo" Archers of Loaf
"When We Two Parted" Afghan Whigs
"Fortunate Sun" Creedence Clearwater Revival
"I am the Cancer" Sloan"
"A Wonderful World" Louis Armstrong
"Grace Cathedral Park" Red House Painters
"Carry Me Ohio" Sun Kil Moon
"New Energy" Unwound
"In a Minute" Shellac
"Drain You" Nirvana
"On a Plain" Nirvana
"New Martini" Karate
"Rainy Day Mondays" The Carpenters
"Hello" Lionel Richie
"Contort Yourself" James Chance & the Contortions
"I Love How You Love Me" Phil Spector
"The Mess Inside" Mountain Goats

[jessecuster]

I'm not including jazz compositions, pieces with extended jazz improvisation, or anything "classical." And this is all off of the top of my head and in no order. And I assume we're talking about specific recordings of songs, numerous artists record the same songs. Read carefully, this one's all over the place.


"Luck Be A Lady" Frank Sinatra
"Super Bon Bon" Soul Coughing
"Ramble On" Led Zepplin
"Get Off Yo' Ass and Jam" Funkadelic
"Talking Loud And Sayin' Nothin'" James Brown
"On A Plane" Nirvana
"Buena" Morphine
"Party At Ground Zero" Fishbone
"Tangled Up In Blue" Bob Dylan
"Detroit Rock City" KISS
"6'1"" Liz Phair
"Without Your Love" Billie Holiday
"Vietnow" Rage Against the Machine
"Wang Dang Doodle" Howlin' Wolf
"Army" Ben Folds Five
"Lovers In A Dangerous Time" Barenaked Ladies
"Mr Brownstone" Guns N Roses
"Nothingness" Living Colour
"She Said, She Said" The Beatles
"Sympathy For The Devil" The Rolling Stones
"Black Steel In An Hour Of Chaos" Public Enemy

Wow Punchy, that's a great list, I could just about steal it for my own.




Well here is 20 songs that mean something, I'm just not sure what:

"Change" - Blind Melon
"Shower Your Love" - Kula Shaker
"Don't Look Back In Anger" - Oasis
"Party at Ground Zero" - Fishbone
"He's Back" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"Al's War" - Less Than Jake
"Grown So Ugly" - The Black Keys
"Tender" - Blur
"She Gave Good Sunflower" - The Black Crowes
"Mess" Ben Folds Five (naaah "Video")
"I Get A Kick Out Of You" - Frank Sinatra
"Tangled Up In Blue" - Bob Dylan
"Sloop John B" - The Beach Boys
"Fool In the Rain" - Led Zeppelin
"Walking In Memphis" - Marc Cohn
"Bad" - U2
"Dark Hollow" - traditional (Grateful Dead, and assorted)
"Ob La Di" - The Beatles
"Baby Lets Play House" - Elvis
"Solace of You" - Living Colour



These choices are subject to change at any given time, and without notice.

[pauwoo]

In no real order the numbers just help me keep track :)

1. Born to Run Bruce Springsteen
2. Tiny Dancer Elton John
3. Through the Barricades Spandau Ballet
4. Honky Tonk Woman Rolling Stones.
5. Paradise By The Dashboard light Meat Loaf
6. Baba O' Reilly The Who.
7. Maybe I'm Amazed Wings
8. Day Tripper The Beatles
9. Going Underground The Jam
10. Teenage Kicks The Undertones
11. Rat Trap Boomtown Rats
12. Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen.
13. Jungleand Bruce Springsteen
14. Hey Jude The Beatles
15. One U2
16. November Rain Gun's n Roses
17. Imagine John Lennon
18. More Than Feeling Boston
19. Disco Inferno The Tramps
20. Rosalita Bruce Springsteen

[The Mirrorball Man]

I see that some of the songs have been mentioned more than once... If we keep going, we might end up with an official list of CBR members' favorite songs. :)

[Punchy]

I see that some of the songs have been mentioned more than once... If we keep going, we might end up with an official list of CBR members' favorite songs. :)

Didn't we try doing something like that before?

[Jared_Humpherys]

Underworld - Dirty Epic
Underworld - Juanita/Kiteless
Aphex Twin - SAW II Untitled #3
Aphex Twin - On
AFX - Cuckoo
Caustic Window - On the Romance Tip
Paul Van Dyk - Forbidden Fruit
Voyager - Spectacle
Rabbit in the Moon - Raincry
BT - Never Gonna Come Back Down
Led Zepplin - Battle for Evermore
Led Zepplin - Stairway to Heaven
Fuel - Last Time
Steppenwolf - Renegade
Spacetime Continuum - A Low Frequency Inversion Field
Autechre - Incunabula
Orbital - Halcyon + On + On
America - Horse With no Name.
Nine Inch Nails - The Perfect Drug
Akira Yamoaka - Forces

Now that's what I call an eclectic mix!

[Ilash]

Okay, this is going to be tough but let's see what I can come up with. In no particular order really and one song per artist:

Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
Don't Think Twice It's Alright - Bob Dylan
Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters - Elton John
Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
Annie - Ronnie Lane
Freebird- Lynyrd Skynyrd
Isn't It A Pity (ver. 2) - George Harrison
I Feel Free - Cream
All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
Tangerine - Led Zeppelin
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
King Midas In Reverse - The Hollies
No More Mr Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
Cocaine - JJ Cale
People Are Strange - The Doors
Forever - Beach Boys
Everyone Says Hi - David Bowie

Yeah, that's a pretty nice list of songs (lots of ballads, no?). Don't know if they really are my favourites but off the top of my head that's what I came up with.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Didn't we try doing something like that before?
We probably did. I'm on and off on these boards.

[RickThunderclees]

Sorry, but not in any specific order:

20. Mogwai - 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong
19. Mogwai - Sine Wave
18. Sigur Ros - Untitled 4 (the nothing song)
17. Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennae Towards Heaven
16. Dexi's Midnight Runner - Come on Eileen
15. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
14. Radiohead - Let Down
13. Red House Painters - Drop
12. Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
11. Modest Mouse - Talkin' S*** About a Pretty Sunset
10. The Decemberists - The Engine Driver
9. Brand New - The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows
8. Bright Eyes - At the Bottom of Everything
7. Bright Eyes - Bowl of Oranges
6. Ryan Adams - So Alive
5. Death Cab for Cutie - Photobooth
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
3. Explosions in the Sky - First Breath Out of a Coma
2. Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand in Mine
1. Adam Ant - Stand and Deliver

[Noir_Dark]

Ween Freedom of 76
Pixies Tame
In Flames Pinball Map
The Pogues Dirty Old Town
Clutch Soap Makers
Rheostatics Clair
Beasties Boys Gratitude
Ministry Hero
Faith No More Land Of Sunshine
Mars Volta Inertiatic Esp
Propagandhi The Lottery
Suicidal Tendencies Asleep at the Wheel
Black Sabbath Supernaut
Refused New Noise
BjorkJoga
Talk Talk Life Is What You Make It
The Dears No Cities Left
The Smiths How Soon is Now
Leonard Cohen Democracy
Gordon Lightfoot Sundown