I think this a never-ending sentence. For every song we can be disparaging about, there are many more that are spectacular, in our own opinion.
I know I have done a few “top ten” posts over the last week but don’t worry there’s not another list coming because my list would be endless. Could you really limit yourself to your top ten or even top 100 best songs of all time?
Indulge me for a minute here. For me songs are kinda like a bottle of wine, in the sense that it is subjective. In the way a particular grape or vintage may not suit everyone’s tastes, music is the same…Not sure why I have wine on the brain, but my point is whilst they may be some songs that are unequivocally the “best” in many people’s view – the criteria on which I judge a song and deem it to be the best and your criteria may not be the same.
Of course there are killer melodies and arrangements, clever chord progressions, really simple chord progressions, beautiful lyrics and stunning vocal deliveries, but often we don’t dissect all that when we listen to a song. I tap into the rush of emotion that a song I love evokes; this is what the best songs create, in my opinion. But I suppose all these factors and more add up to a song standing the test of time and being regarded as amongst the best.
It probably won’t surprise you that when I Googled “best songs ever written” there are many, many lists covering different genres, decades, everything really.
Last year NME compiled their 500 greatest songs of all time (http://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-100-1/330996). A quick scan of this list and a few other listings on the net showed a few repeat entries – Michael Jackson’s, “Billie Jean”, Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit” and The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” to name a few. I’m certainly not going to quibble here, as I love all three songs.
According to NME, the list was compiled from their writers past and present, where each individual was asked to submit a list of their top 50 songs and all these lists were collated. I guess here we get the “expert” view and we can argue over whether we agree or not. I’m sure there are other lists are complied looking at record sales/chart positions.
There’s a Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest songs of all time” published in 2004, which lists its top ten as:
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stones – I can’t get no satisfaction
John Lennon – Imagine
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going on
Aretha Franklin – Respect
The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations
Chuck Berry – Johnny B Goode
The Beatles – Hey Jude
Nirvana _ Smells like Teen Spirit
Ray Charles – What I’d say
I come back to subjectivity; to me there are just too many incredible songs that I would consider to be the best, for many different reasons.I almost succumbed to writing a list, but I am going to stop myself. Instead I’ll ask this - which songs would make it onto your “best songs ever written” list? And is “best” the same as “favourite”? How do you judge?