These are my personal favorites with no claim to objectivity. It's difficult to rank obscure songs on the same list as giant hits, so I purposely did not use numbers, but they're arranged better=higher. I'm not up to 200 yet but I think I'm over 175, and I continue to move songs up and down and on and off, and to add video links. The year is the recording date when I can find it, otherwise the release date.
Scroll to the bottom or click here for my top ten guitar solos list, and also check out my Top 25 Albums plus Hawkwind, and my Condensed Beatles.
Hawkwind, Space Is Deep (1972)
Much more Hawkwind at the bottom of the album page. The vocals are over at 2:15 and the buildup and jam that follow have never been matched. In the
video, wait for the change at 3:26.
Joanna Newsom, En Gallop (2004)
The most beautiful thing I've ever heard. At first I thought it was all from Newsom's unearthly vocal performance, but after listening to covers, I think it's also great songwriting
(video). Coincidentally there's a very different song, "Back in Flesh" by Wall of Voodoo, with the same theme, the same meaning of the word "flesh", and almost the
same riff.
Beat Happening, Indian Summer (1988)
Sometimes a simple song sounds better than a complex song ever could. Beat Happening were masters at stripping it down, and this is their timeless classic.
(video)
Mazzy Star, Fade Into You (1993)
A perfect song, with the best ever opening line, "I want to hold the hand inside you."
(video)
Neutral Milk Hotel, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)
"How strange it is to be anything at all."
(video)
Carissa's Wierd, September Come Take This Heart Away
All their music is sad and beautiful, but this might be their only song that would sound great played by an amateur.
(video)
Orphans & Vandals, Argyle Square
Sometimes I think songwriting peaked in the 1970's, but compare this to Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks for an example of how music is sometimes better now than ever.
(video)
R.E.M., Wendell Gee
Otherworldly and magical, and still unavailable on YouTube. Here's a
video on a Russian site, and
another on a UK site.
The Kinks, Strangers
My favorite Kinks song is by Dave Davies. Ray is the brains of the Kinks but Dave is the heart.
(video)
Camper Van Beethoven, All Her Favorite Fruit
Violin and electric guitar have never sounded so good together.
(video)
Neutral Milk Hotel, Little Birds (1998)
Live version, for years available only as a bootleg. I'm not sure whether the 2011 box set contains this or another version.
(video)
Mono, Yearning (2005)
I should probably put instrumentals in a separate section but for now I'm mixing them in. Mono is my favorite post-rock band and they have other songs that are almost this good.
(video)
Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear The Reaper
I've probably heard it a thousand times and it still sounds as good as ever.
(video)
Talking Heads, Once In A Lifetime
I like the Stop Making Sense live version best.
(video)
Band of Horses, The Funeral
This was in that famous
bicycle video, and on the third viewing I realized the song is better than the stunts.
Galaxie 500, Blue Thunder
The lyrics are kind of dumb, but musically it doesn't get any better than this.
(video)
Flobots, Handlebars
My favorite political song for its emotional power and the depth of its message. The end changes the meaning of the beginning.
(video)
Violent Femmes, Never Tell
More like a collection of scraps than a song, but every scrap is intense and inspired. This is the Violent Femmes' masterpiece.
(video)
Joanna Newsom, Sadie (2004)
"And all that we built, and all that we breathed, and all that we spilt, or pulled up like weeds,
is piled up in back; and it burns irrevocably."
(video)
Gordon Lightfoot, If You Could Read My Mind
I love Gordon Lightfoot!
(video)
Chris Stamey, Something Came Over Me
My favorite happy love song. I like the version on Fireworks best, but here's a nice
live video.
Gerry Rafferty, Baker Street
I love soft hits of the 70's and very early 80's, and this is my favorite.
(video)
R.E.M., Nightswimming
It's easy to take R.E.M. for granted, but they're clearly the best American band of all time.
(video)
Sigur Rós, Svefn-g-englar (Sleepwalkers)
Easily my favorite foreign language song.
(video)
Velvet Underground, Heroin
It's shocking how much this song still rocks. The studio version and the 1969 live version are equally good.
(video)
R.E.M., Belong
(video)
Bone Cellar, Dryrot
Great forgotten Seattle band.
(video)
Flaming Lips, Do You Realize?
The Flaming Lips edge out Neutral Milk Hotel in the category of best band worst name.
(video)
Gordon Lightfoot, Carefree Highway
Another one that's strangely missing from YouTube, except for this
video with terrible audio.
Peter Gabriel, Solsbury Hill
It's in 7/4!
(video)
Big Star, September Gurls
Consensus best song by the great underground band of the 70's.
(video)
Corndolly, Come Out
Happy lesbian love song by a forgotten Illinois band.
Tom Waits, Kentucky Avenue
This song is so sad that it took me years to understand it.
(video)
Bob Dylan, Boots of Spanish Leather
Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City
Camper Van Beethoven, Good Guys and Bad Guys
The happiest song I've ever heard.
(video)
Beat Happening, Pajama Party in a Haunted Hive (1989)
Best song ever about sex. "Sting me, queen me, queen sting dream me, dream queen sting me, sting queen!"
Hawkwind, Wind of Change (1974)
The Police, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
If you weren't there, you can't imagine how dark and spooky this song sounded when it first came out. Now that I think about it, so did Hotel California.
Nirvana, untitled
The title "Sappy" was later tacked onto it, but I consider it fundamentally untitled because it was untitled in its original release (on the No Alternative compilation) and there was no title consistently attached to it from the beginning.
(video)
Mark Lanegan, Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Nirvana's famous live version is based on Mark Lanegan's 1989 version, with Cobain and Novoselic on guitar and bass. Lanegan is covering a Leadbelly version of an old folk song called In The Pines.
(video)
Son Volt, Tear Stained Eye
If this counts as a country song, it's my favorite.
(video)
Journey, Don't Stop Believing
They should sing this at sports events instead of the national anthem, because it really is the best song to show off a great voice.
Big Star, What's Going Ahn
(video)
Joanna Newsom, Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie (2004)
(video)
Glen Campbell, By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Dave Loggins, Please Come To Boston
The Beatles, Rain
(video)
R.E.M., Rockville
Hüsker Dü, Hardly Getting Over It
Carissa's Wierd, Phantom Fireworks
If I started a band, I would try to sound like the second half of this song all the time.
(video)
Camper Van Beethoven, Surprise Truck
My favorite CVB song while stoned. No other song rocks this hard while still being fun.
(video)
Phil Collins, In The Air Tonight
We're all used to it now, but this song was spooky and radical at the time.
Jack Nitzsche, Old Enough To Know
This song has never been released or even bootlegged -- you can only hear it by watching the movie
Cutter's Way, and only the first verse plays clearly. I bought the dvd just so I could extract it. Here's a
download.
Neil Diamond, Soolaimon
The catchiest song ever recorded. Whenever I get a bad catchy song stuck in my head, I use "Soolaimon" to get it out.
(video)
Blue Oyster Cult, Goin Through The Motions
The second catchiest song ever recorded.
(video)
Beat Happening, Secret Picnic Spot (1990)
The song I want played at my funeral.
(video)
Godspeed You Black Emperor, Gathering Storm
GYBE took the slow buildup to a whole new level. My other favorites include East Hastings and Moya.
(video)
Ramones, Oh Oh I Love Her So
From their brilliant second album,
Leave Home.
Violent Femmes, Country Death Song
Probably inspired by Bob Dylan's Ballad of Hollis Brown, and much more intense.
Bob Dylan, Idiot Wind
Flaming Lips, Yashimi Battles the Pink Robots (live)
Hüsker Dü, She Floated Away
Dire Straits, Skateaway
Red House Painters, Katy Song
The Pogues, A Pair of Brown Eyes
Pretenders, Back on the Chain Gang
The Go-Go's, Our Lips Are Sealed
One of those songs that you don't appreciate until you've heard it hundreds of times and you notice it keeps sounding better.
Gary Numan, Down In The Park
(video)
The Sundays, Here's Where The Story Ends
(video)
Neil Young, Helpless
(video)
Velvet Underground, Candy Says
Lou Reed used to say this was the best song he ever wrote, and I agree. Wisely, he let Doug Yule sing it.
(video)
Red Fang, Wires
Best rock band
video I've ever seen.
Bob Dylan, One More Cup Of Coffee
A Flock of Seagulls, Space Age Love Song
The guitar style is way ahead of its time, and also like the simple structure.
Uncle Tupelo, Black Eye
(video)
Johnny Cash, Sunday Morning Coming Down
The best version of Kris Kristofferson's best song.
(video)
Gordon Lightfoot, Cobwebs and Dust
I love the structure of this song: a simple 18 note vocal melody repeated 16 times with changing lyrics.
(video)
Dead Kennedys, Kill The Poor
The best classic punk song, and my favorite band name.
(video)
Flying Burrito Brothers, Sin City
The original alt-country band.
(video)
Van Morrison, Brown Eyed Girl
It's on every list!
Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit
Why is this never played on the radio? I know it was overplayed when it came out, but it's been more than 20 years. Instead they play "Come As You Are", the least interesting song Nirvana ever recorded.
Loudon Wainwright, New Paint
(video)
Beat Happening, Teenage Caveman (1992)
(video)
Blondie, Heart of Glass
Neil Young, After the Gold Rush
Hawkwind, High Rise (1978)
(video)
Camper Van Beethoven, Klondike
One of their strangest songs. They should have done a whole album like this!
(video)
Wall Of Voodoo, Lost Weekend
I was heavily into Wall of Voodoo in the 80's. Later I found out that they took most of their sound from the song "Machines" by Lothar and the Hand People.
(video)
Gordon Lightfoot, Affair on 8th Avenue (1975)
The beautiful Gord's Gold version of this song was cut from the CD and to this day has not been offered for sale in digital form. But it has been ripped from vinyl and shared for free. Here's a
download.
Cracker, I Want Everything
(video)
The Muffs, Lucky Guy
I was obsessed with the Muffs in the mid 90's. This is the only song that made me dance the first time I heard it.
(video)
Moon Duo, Love On The Sea
They have a bunch of songs that are about this good. I picked this one for its perfect beat.
(video)
NASA Voyager Space Sounds, Rings of Uranus
Is this music? And how can I rank it next to pop songs? Anyway, this is my favorite of the radio wave to audio conversions made through the Voyager probe. Jupiter and Song of Earth are also beautiful.
(video)
Ramones, Questioningly
Willie Nelson, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Gordon Lightfoot, Farewell to Annabel
The most mature breakup song I've ever heard.
(lyrics)
Neil Young, The Needle and the Damage Done
A perfect song, and I love the unexpected quick ending.
The Kinks, Waterloo Sunset
Beat Happening, Tiger Trap (1992)
Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
Led Zeppelin, Going to California
Melanie, Some Say
(video)
R.E.M., Shaking Through
Cheap Trick, Surrender
Donovan, Atlantis
The first half is an embarrassing spoken word bit, and the second half, a fourteen syllable repeating chorus, is the best thing ever.
The Beatles, I Want You (She's So Heavy)
The first half is a terrible jazz/blues song, and the second half, a thirty note repeating riff, is the best thing ever.
Galaxie 500, Flowers
(video)
Violent Femmes, I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say
My favorite song to sing in the car.
Le Tigre, The The Empty
(video)
Queen, White Queen
From their second album. If you know it, you might agree that this is Queen's best song.
Velvet Underground, What Goes On (1969 live)
Possibly the most historically important song in the world of my musical taste. The long jam is like nothing done before.
Donna Summer, I Feel Love
Growing up in the 70's I took disco for granted, but looking back, it was the last interesting thing to happen in pop music. No hit song has ever been this hypnotic, and it's great that people once knew how to dance without being hit over the head with drums on the 2 and 4 beat.
Carissa's Wierd, Drunk With The Only Saints I Know
(video)
Neil Diamond, I Am The Lion
Strange song about civilization and nature.
(video)
Hawkwind, Motorway City (1980)
The live version on
Zones.
(video)
Loreena McKennitt, Greensleeves
A Loreena McKennitt album once made me cry just playing in the background. This song was recorded accidentally in one take.
Joanna Newsom, Peach Plum Pear (2004)
(video)
Ramones, Blitzkrieg Bop
I didn't fully appreciate this song until I heard Yo La Tengo's instrumental version.
Blondie, Dreaming
Featuring an over-the-top drum performance by Clem Burke.
Old 97's, Valentine
Simon and Garfunkel, The Boxer
Dire Straits, Tunnel of Love
Bob Dylan, Visions of Johanna
Probably my favorite Dylan lyrics.
Neil Young, Powderfinger
Tom Waits, Old Shoes and Picture Postcards
Bruce Springsteen, I'm On Fire
Beat Happening, Gravedigger Blues (1989)
Pete Yorn, Just Another
Hawkwind, Infinity (1978)
R.E.M., Everybody Hurts
Camper Van Beethoven, Flowers
Hawkwind, Lord of Light (1972)
The
Space Ritual live version.
Wall Of Voodoo, Ring of Fire
One of the greatest covers ever.
(video)
Carissa's Wierd, Heather Rhodes
Best ever closing line if you understand it: "Saw someone today who looked exactly like you, it's funny how the years go by." It's about meeting your ex, and missing what you had with the person they used to be.
(video)
King Crimson, Indiscipline
Gordon Lightfoot, Her Love's Return
Teenage Fanclub, Alcoholiday
Bone Cellar, Lost in the Light of Day
Violent Femmes, I Hear The Rain
Neil Diamond, Stones
Antenna, Snakes
Beat Happening, Cry For A Shadow (1991)
Suicidal Tendencies, Institutionalized
Eagles, Hotel California
Scorpions, Still Loving You
My favorite hair metal song.
Guns n Roses, Sweet Child of Mine
The famous riff is pretty much the riff from Rush's "Xanadu", with an extra note added to switch it from 7/8 to 4/4.
10,000 Maniacs, My Mother The War
There are hard rock bands that have made great soft and pretty songs, but how often does a soft rock band make a great noisy song? As far as I know, this is the only one.
Red House Painters, New Jersey
The Shins, New Slang
Blue Oyster Cult, In Thee
R.E.M., So. Central Rain
Genesis, Supper's Ready
The peak of 70's prog rock, taking up almost a whole side of the album
Foxtrot.
Pink Floyd, Echoes
Another whole-album-side song, from Pink Floyd's greatest album,
Meddle.
Rush, Cygnus X-1 (part one)
I was obsessed with Rush around 1983. Scroll down for more Rush on the guitar solos list.
The Beatles, Let It Be
The original album version, for the guitar solo.
Queen, Fat Bottomed Girls
As a songwriter, I like Brian May better than Freddie Mercury.
Cheap Trick, If You Want My Love
Culture Club, Karma Chameleon
Another song that's impossible to wear out.
Blue Oyster Cult, Astronomy (live)
The
Some Enchanted Evening live version.
Devo, Gut Feeling
Outside of post-rock, I can't think of another song that starts with a plain riff, builds up to a crescendo, and rocks this hard.
(video)
Tom Waits, That Feel
Camper Van Beethoven, June
(video)
Hawkwind, Jack of Shadows (1978)
Ween, Baby Bitch
Led Zeppelin, Ten Years Gone
Hüsker Dü, Books About UFO's
Sonic Youth, Schizophrenia
Chris Bell, I Am the Cosmos
To my knowledge, the only song with this brilliant symmetrical structure: first verse, different verse, chorus, solo, chorus, different verse, first verse.
Bob Geldof, I Don't Like Mondays
The live version from
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball.
Cracker, I'm So Glad She Ain't Never Coming Back
Sometimes David Lowery comes up with something so strange and timeless that I can't believe it was made by humans.
Joanna Newsom, This Side of the Blue (2004)
Her most structurally simple song, and I love the verse about the birds.
(video)
U2, Bad (live)
AC/DC, You Shook Me All Night Long
Don Henley, Boys of Summer
Guilty pleasure.
Violent Femmes, Jesus Walking on the Water
If half of all Christian songs were half this good, I would convert.
Ramones, Glad to See You Go
The Muffs, Ethyl My Love
Featuring the best power scream ever recorded.
Buffalo Tom, Enemy
Timbuk 3, Just Another Movie
Forgotten political song about how people are tricked into believing in the system that feeds on them.
Warren Zevon, I Was In The House When The House Burned Down
The second best song title ever, after Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Top Ten Guitar Solos
1. Alex Lifeson, Rush, No One At The Bridge
The perfect guitar solo: short, carefully composed, and at the
end of the song.
(video)
3. Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits, Tunnel of Love
Again at the end of the song, but with a long seductive buildup.
(video)
2. Dave Nothing, Bone Cellar, Dry Rot
Another beautiful long jam at the end of the song.
4. Buck Dharma, Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear the Reaper
The best thing about this solo is its entrance, blasting in at full strength from near-silence.
5. Alex Lifeson, Rush, Bacchus Plateau
From the same album side as "No One At The Bridge", just as pretty but not as tight.
6. Huw Lloyd-Langton, Hawkwind, The Island
The entire song is a well-crafted two-part guitar solo, combining the solos in "The 5th Second of Forever" and "Dust of Time".
7. Steve Hackett, Genesis, After The Ordeal
So quiet that you might not notice it's the most beautiful melody in all of art rock.
8. Brian May, Queen, We Will Rock You
One more: short, tight, end of song.
9. Elliott Randall, Steely Dan, Reelin' in the Years
Radical because it anchors the song, filling every gap where there isn't singing.
10. Don Felder and Joe Walsh, The Eagles, Hotel California
It's on every list!
11. Marc Moreland, Wall of Voodoo, Ring of Fire
Starts with a variation on the "Our Man Flint" theme and progresses into epic distortion. Incidentally, the Concrete Blonde song "Joey" was written about Moreland.