Great effort, I know that took a lot of time. There is no way to win by maing a list like this, but the video was really solid. What was your basis for the 100 best?
a good list, borna. nice mix of 50s-90s. I see that you like ballads more than other genres, but you never said the greatest "rock" songs. a couple of 3 too-many Billy Joels for my taste, but too each his own. nice slide show.
While I might quibble about a couple of your inclusions and also the order, I think overall that's a pretty good list. I am grateful that you included the great Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and my favorite, The Four Tops. I will go to my grave believing that Levi Stubbs possessed the greatest voice in the history of popular music.
Nicely, nicely done! I have a small quibble or two (Madonna? Really?) but a truly fine body of work. I have to admit that I was expecting number 1 to be the The University of Texas Longhorn band playing The Eyes of Texas.
Thanks for sharing your hard work.
EDIT: "Penny sings the blues" FTW. Years ago I had a beagle that would "sing" when All in the Family came on. Penny seems a kindred spirit.
Funny you should mention Madonna - that was a last-minute replacement. I originally had Air Supply's "All Out of Love" in there. I think its one of the greatest ballads ever and phenomenally sung. However, I hedged on that one thinking its too much a personal favorite. I looked at "Like a Virgin" - launched the career of the biggest pop star of the past 30 years outside of Michael Jackson - and thought I should include it. But yeah, I know what you're saying.
I actually think it adds some variety to the list, however.
I will hunt you down and kick you in the shins with my boots. And I will NOT kiss you on either cheek or on your mouth and no way am I ever buying you a beer.
Agreed with all here - awesome effort! A great range. I would have included Janis Joplin (Piece of my Heart) and Jackson Browne (The Pretender) and left off two Joel tunes, but that's MHO. Oh, and a CSNY and a Neil Young too!
Jailhouse Rock isn't even a good song--not in Elvis's top 10. Go with "in the ghetto" or "suspicious minds" !!
"Paradise City" is arguably the best high energy rock song ever.
"Help me make it through the night" is a top 20 song of all time.
Losing My Religion is not even near one of my favorite 10 REM songs, but maybe my favorites are obscure (Begin the begin, Don't go back to rockville, End of the world as we know it, Talk about the passion, Can't get there from here, Gardening at night, These days, Radio free europe, Fall on me, The one I love, Get up, etc, etc etc).
Was Aerosmith's "Dream On" on that list?
"World's Apart" by Jars of Clay is perhaps the most phenomenal song written in the past 20 years, but it's a Christian song most people have never heard.The Link
I would also nominate Robert Johnson - Crossroads. The guy gave rise to the Faustian myth of selling your soul to the devil to become a rock star and gave countless songs for Zep, Cream, and others to steal.
Believe me, I wish 100 could be expanded to 150. It's hard to make a list like that and not include more songs.
FWIW, these are the next 50 songs on my list:
101. The Isley Brothers, Shout
102. The Four Seasons, Sherry
103. Manfred Mann, Doo Wah Diddy Diddy
104. Johnny Cash, Ring of Fire
105. Whitney Houston, The Greatest Love of All
106. Derek and the Dominos, Layla
107. George Thorogood, Bad to the Bone
108. Air Supply, All Out of Love
109. The Eagles, Hotel California
110. Led Zeppelin, Kashmir
111. Bob Seger, Old Time Rock & Roll
112. The Beatles, Twist and Shout
113. The Carpenters, Close to You
114. The Supremes, Baby Love
115. The Fifth Dimension, Aquarius
116. Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes
117. The Beatles, And I love Her
118. The Four Seasons, December, 1963
119. The Band, The Weight
120. The Jackson 5, I Want You Back
121. The Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!
122. Ray Charles, Hit the Road Jack
123. The Everly Brothers, Cathy’s Clown
124. The Mamas and the Papas, Monday, Monday
125. Roy Orbison, Crying
126. Aretha Franklin, Natural Woman
127. Chuck Berry, Roll Over Beethoven
128. The Beach Boys, God Only Knows
129. The Rolling Stones, Paint it Black
130. Phil Collins, Against All Odds
131. Stevie Wonder, You Are the Sunshine of My Life
132. Credence Clearwater Revival, Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
133. David Bowie, Space Oddity
134. Blondie, Call Me
135. The Lovin’ Spoonful, Summer in the City
136. The Four Seasons, Rag Doll
137. The Beatles, Can’t Buy Me Love
138. Simon and Garfunkel, Scarborough Fair
139. Van Morrison, Brown Eyed Girl
140. The Five Satins, In the Still of the Night
141. James Brown, Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
142. Aerosmith, Dream On
143. Elvis Presley, All Shook Up
144. Bob Dylan, The Times They are A-Changin’
145. Barry White, Never Gonna Give You Up
146. The Rascals, Groovin’
147. Danny and the Juniors, At the Hop
148. Jim Croce, Bad Bad Leroy Brown
149. Toto, Africa
150. The Everly Brothers, Wake Up Little Susie
Someone had mentioned Sinatra. I put together a separate
Easy Listening list. (Can you tell I'm on vacation?) I think Showtunes and Easy Listening make a good separate category apart from pop.
Here is what I came up with so far:
1. Judy Garland, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
2. Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World
3. Edith Piaf, La Vie en rose
4. Lena Horne, Stormy Weather
5. Paul Robeson, Ol’ Man River
6. Ethel Merman, There’s No Business Like Show Business
7. Julie Andrews, I Could Have Danced All Night
8. Frank Sinatra, The Way You Look Tonight
9. Al Jolson, Swanee
10. Gene Kelly, Singin’ in the Rain
11. Nat King Cole, Unforgettable
12. Bing Crosby, White Christmas
13. Benny Goodman, Sing, Sing, Sing
14. Astrud Gilberto, The Girl From Ipanema
15. Ethel Merman, Everything’s Coming Up Roses
16. Ella Fitzgerald, Summertime
17. Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song
18. Johnny Mathis, Misty
19. Glenn Miller, In the Mood
20. Frank Sinatra, New York, New York
21. Barbra Streisand, People
22. Peggy Lee, Fever
23. Harry Connick, Jr., It Had to Be You
24. Billie Holiday, I’ll Be Seeing You
25. Jimmy Durante, Make Someone Happy
26. Fred Astaire, Puttin’ on the Ritz
27. Duke Ellington, Take the “A” Train
28. Ella Fitzgerald, Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye
29. Dean Martin, That’s Amore
30. Andrews Sisters, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
31. Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were
32. Louis Armstrong, Mack the Knife
33. Gordon MacRae, Oh! What a Beautiful Morning
34. Michael Crawford, The Music of the Night
35. Ella Fitzgerald, Love is Here to Stay
36. Elaine Paige, Memory
37. Robert Goulet, If Ever I Would Leave You
38. Liza Minnelli, Cabaret
39. Ruthie Henshall, I Dreamed a Dream
40. Ella Fitzgerald, Anything Goes
41. Judy Garland, You Made Me Love You
42. Frank Sinatra, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
43. Louis Armstrong, Hello, Dolly
44. Al Jolson, The Anniversary Song
45. Julie Andrews, My Favorite Things
46. Andy Williams, Moon River
47. Billie Holiday, The Very Thought of You
48. Tony Bennett, I Left My Heart in San Francisco
49.Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Somethin’ Stupid
50. Sammy Davis, Jr., The Candy Man
51. Peggy Lee, He’s a Tramp
52. Frank Sinatra, Fly Me to the Moon
53. Al Jolson, Toot Toot Tootsie
54. Ella Fitzgerald, Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
55. Perry Como, Some Enchanted Evening
56. Frank Sinatra, Luck Be a Lady
57. Glenn Miller, Moonlight Serenade
58. Doris Day, Que Sera Sera
59. Frank Sinatra, My Way
60. Julie Andrews, The Sound of Music
61. Cab Calloway, Minnie the Moocher
62. Topol, If I Were a Rich Man
63. Al Jolson, My Mammy
64. Frank Sinatra, Love and Marriage
65. Robert Goulet, The Impossible Dream
66. Sammy Davis, Jr., Mr. Bojangles
67. Frank Sinatra, Strangers in the Night
68. Shirley Jones, If I Loved You
69. Andy Williams, Love Story (Where Do I Begin?)
70. Edith Piaf, Non, Je ne regrette rien
71. Ella Fitzgerald, Someone to Watch Over Me
72. Colm Wilkinson, Bring Him Home
73. Julie London, Cry Me a River
74. Gene Autrey, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer