Best 50 songs - ever

[WildcatRick]

STM Entertainment culls countless tunes into a list of the 50 most memorable songs.

50. GOOD RIDDANCE (TIME OF YOUR LIFE) (Green Day, 1997)
49. BAND OF GOLD (Freda Payne, 1970)
48. (SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY (Otis Redding, 1968)
47. OH, PRETTY WOMAN (Roy Orbison, 1964)
46. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (Lou Reed, 1972)

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22227081-5005368,00.html

[BrassowFan]

Overall I like much of the list but I just cannot believe that they left off John Lennon's "Imagine". IMO, it has to be one of the 10 best songs ever recorded.

I would add several that I personally love.

Pearl Jam - Black
Silent Lucidity
Purple Rain

[DenCat]

Overall I like much of the list but I just cannot believe that they left off John Lennon's "Imagine". IMO, it has to be one of the 10 best songs ever recorded.

I would add several that I personally love.

Pearl Jam - Black
Silent Lucidity
Purple Rain
I think the key is the subtitle of "50 Most Memorable Songs". There are a lot of good/great songs on that list, but the are a lot more that were left off. Too many to mention, in fact.

[Jeff Craddock]

Interesting and mostly good list. You could take any one of about 500 songs and put it on the list and it would work just as well. My favorite pick on the list? The much maligned "Your Song", one that was prepared to defend had it made the "wussiest" thread. The saddest thing about that song was that it was all downhill from there for John/Taupin, pretty much like the writer said.

[BrassowFan]

I agree, there are many that could've easily made this list but I still contend that "Imagine" belongs in the top 50.

[Will Lavender]

Johnny Cash's "Hurt" is an odd pick at #12.

I find NIN a terrible band with some of the most contrived, ridiculous lyrics to find their way to popular rock music in the last 15 years. Cash improved that song -- but just. Isn't there another Cash song that should be considered more "memorable"?

[Jeff Craddock]

Johnny Cash's "Hurt" is an odd pick at #12.

I find NIN a terrible band with some of the most contrived, ridiculous lyrics to find their way to popular rock music in the last 15 years. Cash improved that song -- but just. Isn't there another Cash song that should be considered more "memorable"?

Probably "Ring of Fire". When I think of Cash, I think of that one.

[Brian McCat]

I love Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy," but it's an interesting choice instead of "Good Vibrations."

[UK78ALUM]

I love Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy," but it's an interesting choice instead of "Good Vibrations."

Or "God Only Knows".

[gerntz]

I'm far from a music expert, to have exactly one song from prior to mid-60's makes it invalid on the surface.

[Mark Blueblood]

WHAT???? Nothing by The Kinks??

Where's LOLA?????

On a side note - it's obvious they're not including country songs on here (Cash's song ain't country) - I went to see Hag at Renfro Valley yesterday and he did at least 15 of the best country songs ever written. If he'd have played another couple hours he would have had all 50!

[RxRusty]

Johnny Cash's "Hurt" is an odd pick at #12.

I find NIN a terrible band with some of the most contrived, ridiculous lyrics to find their way to popular rock music in the last 15 years. Cash improved that song -- but just. Isn't there another Cash song that should be considered more "memorable"?

I saw the video of "Hurt" for the first time this weekend. Very powerful. I thought it was a good song but after seeing the video, I'd have to say it is certainly "memorable". Without the video... not really.

In general, I love reading lists like this one. They get you thinking. Having a "most memorable" list is sure to cause lots of debate because different things make songs memorable for different people.

[The Old School JPS]

Not a good list IMO; many of those songs are pretty unremarkable IMO.

They left off at least one very memorable song; I hate it and hate when I'm reminded of it: that "Don't Worry, Be Happy" song from the late 1980s or whenever it was. Aargh.

[Blue Heaven]

<P>I didn't look at the list. All I had to do was see that Green Day came in at #50. WHat a horrible band, and I can't beleive that they couldn't find someone else to replace them. Of all the memorable songs ever made, Green Day shouldn't make the top 300. I heard Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) on WQMF on the way to work the other day. WQMF is a classic rock station. There is NOTHING classic about Green Day<IMG alt=0 src="http://www.wildcatnation.net/forum/images/smilies/thumbdn.gif" border=0 smilieid="42"></P>

[surveyor]

The video age certainly aids in making songs more memorable than they otherwise would have been.

For a Cash entry, I'd have considered "Folsom Prison Blues" or "Boy Named Sue" to be more memorable (of Cash) than "Hurt". But "Hurt" likely gets the nod due to being more recent. The powerful video doesn't hurt, either.

[UKS2H]

Johnny Cash's "Hurt" is an odd pick at #12.

I find NIN a terrible band with some of the most contrived, ridiculous lyrics to find their way to popular rock music in the last 15 years. Cash improved that song -- but just. Isn't there another Cash song that should be considered more "memorable"?

NIN is some of the most creative, original music of this generation. It is the best of the best of industrial rock. If you are offended by lyrics or words, however, then yeah you should stay away.

[UKS2H]

<P>I didn't look at the list. All I had to do was see that Green Day came in at #50. WHat a horrible band, and I can't beleive that they couldn't find someone else to replace them. Of all the memorable songs ever made, Green Day shouldn't make the top 300. I heard Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) on WQMF on the way to work the other day. WQMF is a classic rock station. There is NOTHING classic about Green Day<IMG alt=0 src="http://www.wildcatnation.net/forum/images/smilies/thumbdn.gif" border=0 smilieid="42"></P>

You must not remember how popular the song was. It was even on television shows such as ER when it was in its hayday. An entire episode of ER was built around a sick young boy and his favorite song, which was Good Riddance. Classic song.

[Will Lavender]

NIN is some of the most creative, original music of this generation. It is the best of the best of industrial rock. If you are offended by lyrics or words, however, then yeah you should stay away.

God help that generation, then. :icon_mrgreen:

And offended? LOL. I'm not offended by much. I can't listen to the noise enough to be offended.

I heard once that NIN was running a contest. They were asking for suicide poems from teenagers on their website; the winning poem would become a NIN song on their last album.

True art. :shock:

[TransientAlum]

Puff the Magic Dragon????

Oh come on... It is one of the few songs sung by every person old enough to sing to the day they can no longer sing.

[Blue Heaven]

You must not remember how popular the song was. It was even on television shows such as ER when it was in its hayday. An entire episode of ER was built around a sick young boy and his favorite song, which was Good Riddance. Classic song.


But does it really belong on a classic rock station?!?

[Will Lavender]

But does it really belong on a classic rock station?!?

Probably not, but it might belong on a "most memorable" list.

As the blurb says, it's only been featured at every high school graduation in America since 1998.

It's one of those songs where, if you hear it enough, you begin to go a little stir crazy. They were playing it at UK football senior day a few years ago, and by the third or fourth time I was literally pulling my hair out in vicious clumps.

[teamchemistry09]

IMO Free Bird should be 1 on that list. That or Stairway to Heaven

[UKS2H]

God help that generation, then. :icon_mrgreen:

And offended? LOL. I'm not offended by much. I can't listen to the noise enough to be offended.

I heard once that NIN was running a contest. They were asking for suicide poems from teenagers on their website; the winning poem would become a NIN song on their last album.

True art. :shock:

So films and artwork done about murder and suicide aren't your thing I take it? That's cool and all. It's the most popular modern rock band there is, and its all one guy. I'm not saying you should or would like it because you obviously don't, but if they were so bad then why would Johnny Cash cover the song? Johnny Cash always had a good sense of music. He also covered Marilyn Manson's song titled "Personal Jesus", if you remember.

[Terry L. Wildcat]

WHAT???? Nothing by The Kinks??

Where's LOLA?????

On a side note - it's obvious they're not including country songs on here (Cash's song ain't country) - I went to see Hag at Renfro Valley yesterday and he did at least 15 of the best country songs ever written. If he'd have played another couple hours he would have had all 50!

My Newport man: no Kinks :icon_rolleyes: AND an Abba song better than "Satisfaction" :icon_rolleyes: :icon_rolleyes:

Great call on "Friday on My Mind" however.

[UKS2H]

IMO Free Bird should be 1 on that list. That or Stairway to Heaven

Amen to that sir.

[Will Lavender]

So films and artwork done about murder and suicide aren't your thing I take it?That's cool and all. It's the most popular modern rock band there is, and its all one guy. I'm not saying you should or would like it because you obviously don't, but if they were so bad then why would Johnny Cash cover the song? Johnny Cash always had a good sense of music. He also covered Marilyn Manson's song titled "Personal Jesus", if you remember.

Well, considering I write murder mysteries for a living I don't think that's quite true. :shock: (My sister-in-law committed suicide; I find nothing artistic or subtle or poetic about it. It's simply a blunt act of personal destruction, and to plumb it for artistic material is like researching car crashes and writing haiku about them.)

And I think it's HIGHLY debatable that NIN is "the most popular modern rock band there is." And even if that's true, the popular = artistic/good syllogism has been proved false a million times before. Look at...Britney Spears.

And I think my beef with NIN is really about industrial rock. There are a million things that a guitar can do that I love to hear. The screaming, note-crunching gargle of that kind of rock really isn't my thing sonically, I guess. It just sounds like noise to me.

[sardiscat]

I agree there are easily 500 songs that could be on a credible list of the 50 best songs, but "Band of Gold" is not one of them. Actually, a lot of this guy's selections aren't among them. "I want you back"? The third best song of all time? Really?

The writer didn't say it was all downhill for John/Taupin after "Your Song." He just said they never beat it. Those are two greatly different statements. I agree with his. That one album had about five of my 500 all time best songs on it. "Yesterday" belongs on the list of wussiest songs.

[UKS2H]

Well, considering I write murder mysteries for a living I don't think that's quite true. :shock: (My sister-in-law committed suicide; I find nothing artistic or subtle or poetic about it. It's simply a blunt act of personal destruction, and to plumb it for artistic material is like researching car crashes and writing haiku about them.)

And I think it's HIGHLY debatable that NIN is "the most popular modern rock band there is." And even if that's true, the popular = artistic/good syllogism has been proved false a million times before. Look at...Britney Spears.

And I think my beef with NIN is really about industrial rock. There are a million things that a guitar can do that I love to hear. The screaming, note-crunching gargle of that kind of rock really isn't my thing sonically, I guess. It just sounds like noise to me.

I'm sorry to hear about your sister-in-law. That is tragic and I wish you and your family the best wishes in coping with that.

Comparing NIN to Britney Spears is...just wrong. Haha. You don't like industrial rock. That's fine. You do have a case with the argument that NIN are the most popular modern rock band right now. I would change that to most popular industrial rock band of all-time. I also would like to note that Rolling Stone Magazine has NIN in their Top 100 Music Artists of all-time, and, here's a few figures to show what I said about most popular industrial band, for those of you who haven't heard of NIN:

RIAA certifications

These statistics were compiled from the RIAA certification (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_certification) online database.
Pretty Hate Machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Hate_Machine) — Triple platinum (May 2003)
Broken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_%28Nine_Inch_Nails_EP%29) — Platinum (December 1992)
The Downward Spiral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Downward_Spiral) — Quadruple platinum (October 1998)
Further Down the Spiral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further_Down_the_Spiral) — Gold (June 1996)
The Fragile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fragile) — Double platinum (January 2000)
With Teeth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/With_Teeth) — Platinum (March 2006)Good luck with the writing, that's a cool profession.

[CATHEAD]

So films and artwork done about murder and suicide aren't your thing I take it? That's cool and all. It's the most popular modern rock band there is, and its all one guy. I'm not saying you should or would like it because you obviously don't, but if they were so bad then why would Johnny Cash cover the song? Johnny Cash always had a good sense of music. He also covered Marilyn Manson's song titled "Personal Jesus", if you remember.

Not to nit pick, but "Personal Jesus" is a Depeche Mode song from the late '80's. Manson then covered it a few years back. And for the record, i like Manson, NIN, and Johnny Cash was one of the best ever. Yeah, I have a pretty diverse CD collection.

[Jeff Craddock]

The writer didn't say it was all downhill for John/Taupin after "Your Song." He just said they never beat it. Those are two greatly different statements. I agree with his. That one album had about five of my 500 all time best songs on it. "Yesterday" belongs on the list of wussiest songs.

You're right, he didn't say that. (No doubt that was what I read into it, mostly due to my own biases, as I found myself liking their music less and less as the years passed.) What he did say, about wishing it would never end, really rang true for me. I can only think of a handful of songs like that. To me, it was/is an almost perfect song, one that I can still hear over and over without tiring of it.

Speaking of songs that I can hear over and over, what about Whiter Shade of Pale? I have that one on a compilation CD that has a permanent slot in my car player. Whenever I play it for anyone, the response is invariably something like, "I really love that song. It's always been one of my favorites." It surely has to be one of the most memorable songs ever.

[Will Lavender]

I'm sorry to hear about your sister-in-law. That is tragic and I wish you and your family the best wishes in coping with that.

Thanks for saying that, UKS2H. :thumbup:

[Wildcat Larry]

The word "memorable" sort of tells me that everybody should really have their own list. For me, an experience that is associated with a particular event in my life is pretty much etched in my mind as a memorable song, even if I wouldn't call it a great song.

A couple that jump to mind from my past include "Rain on the Roof" by the Lovin' Spoonful and "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams.

[UKS2H]

Not to nit pick, but "Personal Jesus" is a Depeche Mode song from the late '80's. Manson then covered it a few years back. And for the record, i like Manson, NIN, and Johnny Cash was one of the best ever. Yeah, I have a pretty diverse CD collection.

Thanks for correcting me. Someone has told me that before but I can never manage to remember it. Sounds like I am a bit like you with the diverse collection. Sometimes I wish I only liked a certain artists so that I didn't spend so much money on all of them. ;)