1001 Songs

What do the Number 1 song in Rolling Stone's 2010 List of the Greatest Songs of All Time and the Number 1 song in Heart Radio's 2013 Top 500 Hall of Fame have in common? Answer: they were both written by the same person, Bob Dylan. They weren't the same song though. Rolling Stone, fittingly  enough, had Bob's own 'Like a Rolling Stone' , while top of Heart's list was Adele's cover of the 1997 song 'Make You Feel My Love'.

Not only that, but neither list even had room for the other's top song in their Top 500. What does this say? Different people have different tastes. There are lots of songs. There are lots of lists of songs. Bob Dylan has been capable of writing songs that have appealed to different kinds of people. The listeners to Heart Radio are batshit mental? No. No. Stop, that's not the attitude I want to carry into this blog. They're just people who like music. Who is anyone to say they're wrong?

Well, I will, to some extent, be saying they're wrong , but not overly harshly, I hope. Do you remember the first time? (not in the list). Exactly five years ago, I began this blog by giving myself the thankless task of trying to evaluate "the 101 Greatest Songs of All Time", not merely my favourites, but the ones that had the highest standing and strongest place in our culture.

Five years on, I decided to do the same thing again, to see if my list would have changed at all. Except I rapidly realised that 101 would not be a natural break for me - there were just too many great songs and some would be arbitrarily and unsatisfactorily excluded. So I decided to increase to 501, but very quickly realised that even the magic number of Brian Lara and Levi's could not contain me. I wanted to find a natural break, a point where I could happily say "ok, no one could honestly say anything outside this list is perceived as a great, great, classic song". However, to be honest, I soon discovered no number could contain that idea. There are so many songs and so many tastes. Hell, there are an awful lot of my own very favourite songs which haven't made it to the number I finally decided on, 1001.

1001 is a number I'm satisfied with. Sure, I've had to leave out loads of wonderful songs, but I didn't find it all that hard to whittle it down. There aren't that many songs where I feel I'm gutted I can't include them, where I feel I am failing to say something meaningful about the range of popular culture by their exclusion. There are a few, but not all that many.

Ideally, I'll want you readers to go through it and say "Well, I don't agree with the order necessarily but he hasn't missed anything. This is an inclusive and eclectic list which sums up the 20th/21st century history of the song better than any I've ever seen". Yes, that's what I want you to say. Ok? Can you do that?

But I'm sure i will have missed something a) because I'm only human, and even this morning I saw one which would be in the upper echelons and said "How the hell did I miss that?"  and b) because you have different taste from me and even if you'd taken as conclusive a survey as I have, you'd have ended up with totally different results.

How conclusive is my survey? Really, very. It's put all other research I've done into popular music to shame. This has been the result of weeks and weeks of work (well, a lifetime's work, but weeks of specific, focused work) - some of it a bit boring, a lot of it very enjoyable.

I went to every list I could find across different genres of "Greatest Songs" from NME to Kerrang to Capital Radio, Absolute Radio, xfm, Radio 6, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, MTV, Vibe, mixmag, the Great American Songbook and read them thoroughly to look at trends and repeat offenders.

But, of course, you don't find out about songs by reading about them. I've also been doing my best to listen to everything I came across which I didn't already know. This has been a lot of songs. I've been listening to more electronica, blues, post-punk, disco and easy listening than I even knew existed. It's been rather wonderful ... sometimes. Sometimes the reaction has been "Really? This is considered great?" but i've really discovered a lot of awesome songs. Here's a personal recommendation right now - 'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)' by The Shangri-Las. Who knew that songs were that weird in the early 60s?

Now, obviously, this blog has been going on for 5 years and there have been a lot of lists in between, so I'd say I've got a lot better at making them, at knowing my limits and knowing where I'm a good judge. I'm a lot better at understanding criteria and knowing where to enforce them.

What were to be the main criteria of this list? Initially, I thought I'd limit myself to the last 50 years (in keeping with my current and ongoing list of Albums of the Last 50 years) but I decided that there were too many fundamental songs from the first half of the 20th century and that any understanding of popular song should not exclude the great writers of those times. But, equally, I couldn't go back forever. So let's say roughly 100 years. Let's say no Gilbert and Sullivan, no Danny Boy. How else to limit myself? Well, how arrogant to presume one might know about popular song for the whole world, just because one likes a few Jacques Brel songs. So, it has to be English language, which has excluded a fair few I might have included. (Ay caramba, no La Bamba!)

Also, and this is a key thing about how I understand the idea of "song",  it's about voice and music. It's about where the two meet to create magic. This let me off the hook a bit. No instrumentals. So no jazz or dance music which is not also a "pop" song. No Miles Davis. Relieved not to be judging something I've tried and failed to understand.

And, so, with dance music/electronica, I got to let myself off the hook. There's a whole world, a whole culture out there, which I've not been a part of, which is all about the magic of music. But it's not, as such, about "songs". It's about beats and tracks and hooks and mixes and sets and ebbs and flows and moments (and drugs, of course). That doesn't mean there aren't some great songs within  that world, but those songs have to be judged on the same merits as every other song, as marriage of voice and music.

Which, of course, does not mean that every song on this list has great "meaningful" lyrics. There's some absolute gibberish. But the voice and the words are integral, somehow, to what makes the song great.

Another little thing, what version of a song am I judging? Particularly when it comes to old songs, they are standards with lots of versions. Then, there are songs like, say Mr Tambourine Man and Hounds of Love which have two very different, distinct versions which both could be included. Well, I've only allowed one placing for song, but every version of that song is part of its assessment. It helps 'Hounds of Love' that there are two great versions of it. Equally, there is a song I was initially going to put in the Top 5, 'Somewhere' from West Side Story, which I utterly love. I love the Tom Waits version and I love its soaring melody and also assumed that there were countless beautiful versions out there. But i found there aren't really. I actually didn't like any of the recorded versions I heard about from the Tom Waits version. Funny that. So, perhaps that's not the song's fault but perhaps in a way it is. So it suffers a little for that.

One final thing, which is a little subtle. What's the perspective? Who the listener is matters to the importance of a song. I've already established it's English language, but also, it's a British person's, rather than an American person's perspective. There are some songs (eg Ghost Town) which are somehow just greater if you're British). It's minor, it probably didn't make much difference (as you'll see, there's no absence of American songs here), but there we go, just for clarity.

Probably my two main sources were lists from Rolling Stones and Pitchfork, two distinctly American publications, both highly respected and learned. In assessing the huge differences between the pantheon of greatness for the two, I uncovered a fascinating battle for the very soul, the very meaning of what makes a great song.
In simple terms, Rolling Stone likes old, simple, short songs, Pitchfork likes new, complex, long songs. I like a happy medium.
The Rolling Stone perspective can seem outrageously Luddite sometimes - literally there's really only a handful of songs from the last 20 years. It's pop music, not Medieval literature, chaps (for you are overwhelmingly chaps, aren't you?). How long does a song need to establish its qualities? In some cases, only as long as the very first time it's played.
While the Pitchfork songs, which I have spent a lot of time delving into, can be irritatingly obscure and hard to access. And long ... so many long electronic songs where I'd have happily snipped 5 minutes off.

What should a song be? As I tried to come up with my Number 1, I considered that question long and hard. What is the perfect song? Is it something which pushes back the boundaries, changes the way we think of song, or is it the very distillation of the simple, elegant beauty of a song? Is it challenging or comforting?

Ideally, I'd have come up with a Number 1 song where your response would be "I hadn't thought of that, but, yes, yes, that's perfect, that's right" but I haven't, I'll tell you now. I've played it safe.
I considered nearly all of the songs which have ended up in my Top 10 for the Number 1 spot, and the songs (feel free to look down the page now, or not) which are Numbers 1 and 3 were probably the main contenders. With the eventual Number 3, I just thought "you know what, it's a bit of an imposition on people who don't like it, for whom it's rather a tuneless whine" to say this is their pop culture's greatest moment. So there. My Number 1 is a beloved, safe song.

Interestingly in terms of that battle for the essence of song, I remember when Mojo magazine did a list of Greatest Songs in the late 90s, their winner was one which has ended just outside my top 10, 'Good Vibrations'. And actually, that makes really good sense to me as a compromise of the two ideas - a complex, multi-layered song, but welcoming and beautiful and not outstaying its welcome. But, maybe, eventually that counts against it. Are there too many ideas in those 4 minutes? And is the song actually saying anything or is it really just a good vibration?

I hope you enjoy the list, Such is the nature of pop music, you'll see the sublime sitting right next to the ridiculous, the overblown next to the delicate. I've made sure I see the merits in every song on this list, even if I don't love them all. I've sucked it up and given credit where due (though not too much) to some old enemies like Bohemian Rhapsody, Hotel California and Imagine, which I've developed a frankly irrational hatred for over the years.

I'm not like Rolling Stone. I've got loads of modern songs all the way through, from top to bottom. But, at times, in my narrowing down process, I understood their perspective. As I filled my list with post-punk, classic hip-hop, thin indie of the 80s, krautrock etc, I wistfully looked at it and thought "You know what, this list could do with a few more Beatles/Dylan/Bowie/Van Morrison etc". So, I won't lie, it's all been rather smoothed out. The greats get their place. The 17th best Beatles song is greater than most people's best song. That's how it is at the moment.

Because a song's "greatness" is a complex thing, it's not just about how good we think it is, how beautifully it's designed, how complex, nor is it just about how popular, how catchy, how well known it is. It can be about how well it does it's job, how much it changed things, influenced other things, how a roomful of people responds to it, how devoid of negatives - what I think of as "sagging" - it is.

So I've operated as chairman of my own jury. I've narrowed it down gradually from several thousand, and there will of course be hints of my bias creeping through. Some of my favourites are nowhere on the list because I can recognise that it's whimsical personal taste, but there are songs I love which have a lot of critical approval but aren't necessarily acknowledged universal classics yet, which I think represent greatness, and those will be nearer the top in my list than they would in someone else's.

Of course, the difference between Number 864 and 875 is almost totally arbitrary, but what i've done is gradually break the songs into smaller and smaller units of peers, so any song has had plenty of opportunity at any point to be placed in a more fitting position. Generally, I didn't find it that hard to give songs placings. That's the boring stuff - don't worry about it.

In an interview recently, hairy old hippy David Crosby sucked on his peace pipe, let his freak flag fly and said something like "It's Joni Mitchell's songs that will be remembered the most in 100 years time. She's as good a poet as Dylan and a way better musician". Which may be true, but oddly misses the point and the magic. It's not the best poets and musicians that make the best (to borrow Dylan's own phrase) song and dance men/women. Not necessarily. There is alchemy in it. Which is why people's love of the Ramones is not phoney, why 'Louie Louie' is still a classic, why Madonna became the biggest pop star on the planet.

Within this list are maestros, pros and amateurs, people who only ever had one song in them, and people who had 1000s.

If you don't see your favourite in here, there's a good chance I did consider it and saw reason not to include it. There really are a lot of great songs.

It's rather too many to comment on, so you'll just get a pure unadulterated list, a rundown from bottom to top, and maybe a comment or two at the bottom.

By the way if I've put a /, it doesn't mean it's a duet, it means there are a few different versions to contemplate and consider.

So here we go, if anything else, it's a good playlist. I strongly suggest these are the Greatest 1001 Songs in the History of Popular Music:

1001		Louie Louie - The Kingsmen
1000		Outdoor Miner - Wire
999		I Never Asked to be Your Mountain - Tim Buckley
998		Desperado - The Eagles
997		Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) - Laura Marling
996		Holiday In Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
995		Sound And Vision - David Bowie
994		Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack
993		Suburbia - Pet Shop Boys
992		Teen Age Riot - Sonic Youth
991		I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt
990		I Ain't Marching Anymore - Phil Ochs
989		Royals - Lorde
988		Popscene - Blur
987		Plug In Baby - Muse
986		I Don't Feel like Dancing - Scissor Sisters
985		For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder
984		Moondance - Van Morrison
983		Brown Sugar - D'Angelo
982		I Would Fix You - Kenickie
981		Little Baby Nothing - Manic Street Preachers
980		Totally Wired - The Fall
979		You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
978		Senses Working Overtime - XTC
977		Most of the Time - Bob Dylan
976		Genius of Love - The Tom Tom Girls
975		Love Train - O'Jays
974		Lily, Rosemary And Jack Of Hearts - Bob Dylan
973		Shot by Both Sides - Magazine
972		California Dreamin' - Mamas and the Papas
971		Dirty Old Town - Ewan MacColl
970		It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
969		Street Fighting Man - Rolling Stones
968		Screen Door - Uncle Tupelo
967		Rip It Up - Orange Juice
966		Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode
965		You’re The First, The Last My Everything - Barry White
964		Fire and Rain - James Taylor
963		White Man (In Hammersmith Palais) - The Clash
962		Just a Little Lovin' - Dusty Springfield
961		The Chalet Lines - Belle and Sebastian
960		When The Ship Comes In - Bob Dylan
959		24 Hours from Tulsa - Gene Pitney
958		Changes - David Bowie
957		Baby Can I Hold You Tonight - Tracy Chapman
956		Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Bruce Springsteen
955		Santa Claus is Coming to Town - The Crystals/Bruce Springsteen
954		Carol Mountain - Modesty Blaise
953		Your Song - Elton John
952		Ode to Billy Joe - Bobbie Gentry
951		To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees
950		Grudge F*** (2006) - The Pernice Brothers
949		Language Of Violence - Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
948		The Fox In the Snow - Belle and Sebastian
947		Everybody Knows (Except You) - Divine Comedy
946		Hyperballad - Bjork
945		The Children of the Revolution - T.Rex
944		The Sweetest Girl - Scritti Politti
943		Ain't No Pleasing You - Chas and Dave
942		Sail Away - Randy Newman
941		The Moon's a Harsh Mistress - Judy Collins
940		God is in the House - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
939		In the Still of the Night - The Five Satins
938		Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground
937		Get Back - The Beatles
936		Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
935		Galveston - Glen Campbell
934		Rocket Man - Elton John
933		Sound Of Da Police - KRS-One
932		To the End - Blur
931		Tender - Blur
930		Cosmic Dancer - T.Rex
929		Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
928		A Good Year for the Roses - George Jones
927		It's Your Thing - Isley Brothers
926		Can I Kick It? - A Tribe Called Quest
925		What'll I Do? - The McGarrigles/Various others
924		Two Tribes - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
923		Barcode Bypass - Mull Historical Society
922		I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren
921		I’m Not In Love - 10cc
920		A Little Respect - Erasure
919		Thriller - Michael Jackson
918		Don’t Speak - No Doubt
917		My National Pride - Dexys Midnight Runners
916		Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
915		Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
914		Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
913		Something Changed - Pulp
912		Fall at your Feet - Crowded House
911		Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
910		It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding - Bob Dylan
909		Band On The Run - Wings
908		Lust for Life - Iggy Pop
907		Darling Be Home Soon - The Lovin' Spoonful
906		I Miss you - Blink-182
905		Get the Party Started - Pink
904		The Times They Are a Changin' - Bob Dylan
903		Spiders (Kidsmoke) - Wilco
902		The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
901		El President - Drugstore
900		Brickbat - Billy Bragg
899		The Trader - Beach Boys
898		Disco Inferno - Trammps
897		Surf's Up - The Beach Boys
896		Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
895		Kathleen - Josh Ritter
894		Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
893		A Matter of Time - The Leisure Society
892		Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love - Ella Fitzgerald
891		Chop Suey! - System of a Down
890		Letter from America - The Proclaimers
889		Dreamy Days - Roots Manuva
888		New American Language - Dan Bern
887		Enola Gay - OMD
886		Cornerstone - Arctic Monkeys
885		And No More Shall We Part - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
884		Dancing On My Own - Robyn
883		Angela Surf City - The Walkmen
882		Nelson Mandela - The Special A.K.A.
881		Atomic - Blondie
880		Glory Box - Portishead
879		Sabotage - Beastie Boys
878		White Lines (Don't Do It) - Melle Mel
877		She Loves You - The Beatles
876		What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? - Jimmy Ruffin
875		With Arms Outstretched - Rilo Kiley
874		Lucky - Radiohead
873		Reet Petite - Jackie Wilson
872		Heartbeat - Annie
871		Someone Like You - Adele
870		California Girls - Beach Boys
869		When Doves Cry - Prince
868		Every Breath You Take - The Police
867		I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses
866		God Save The Queen - The Sex Pistols
865		It's Too Late - Carole King
864		Night Train - James Brown
863		When I Fall In Love - Nat King Cole
862		Run - Snow Patrol
861		Super Bass - Nicky Minaj
860		Party Fears Two - The Associates
859		Sally MacLennane - The Pogues
858		Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
857		Spanish Bombs - The Clash
856		Street Life - Crusaders
855		In France They Kiss On Main Street - Joni Mitchell
854		Ballad of a Thin Man - Bob Dylan
853		Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwick
852		Leave Right Now - Will Young
851		Conversation 16 - The National
850		Walking on a Wire - Richard and Linda Thompson
849		Rocks Off - Rolling Stones
848		So Here We Are - Bloc Party
847		Love Letter - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
846		Big Exit - PJ Harvey
845		Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles
844		Guess I'm Dumb - Glen Campbell
843		Good Intentions Paving Company - Joanna Newsom
842		The Sexual Loneliness of Jesus Christ - Jackie Leven
841		Sick 2 Def - Plan B
840		The Daily Growl - Lambchop
839		Brick - Ben Folds Five
838		One Love - Bob Marley
837		Needle In The Hay - Elliott Smith
836		Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
835		It's Not Right But It's OK - Whitney Houston
834		Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
833		House of Fun - Madness
832		Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Julie Andrews
831		Drop the Pressure - Milo
830		Kinky Afro - Happy Mondays
829		Shackles - Mary Mary
828		Somebody to Love - Queen
827		You Send Me - Sam Cooke
826		Northern Lights - Super Furry Animals
825		Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
824		Things Can Only Get Better - D.Ream
823		Hotel California - The Eagles
822		Dirty Water - The Standells
821		I Put A Spell On You - Screaming Jay Hawkins
820		Daydream Believer - The Monkees
819		Teenage Dirtbag- Wheatus
818		Everything I Do (I Do it For you) - Bryan Adams
817		Creep - Radiohead
816		Insane In The Brain - Cypress Hill
815		Cars And Girls - Prefab Sprout
814		Downtown Train - Tom Waits
813		Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
812		Heart Like a Wheel - The McGarrigles
811		Keep On Running - Spencer Davis Group
810		Runaway - Del Shannon
809		This Is Just A Modern Rock Song - Belle and Sebastian
808		Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
807		Smile - The Jayhawks
806		She Bangs the Drum - The Stone Roses
805		Blues Run the Game - Jackson C Frank/Laura Marling
804		Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys
803		Let There Be Love - Nat King Cole
802		Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out of - U2
801		Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
800		The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
799		Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
798		I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
797		Steppin’ Out - Joe Jackson
796		Cut Your Hair - Pavement
795		Let's Call the Whole Thing Off - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
794		Supersonic - Oasis
793		Overcome By Happiness - The Pernice Brothers
792		Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
791		Little Green Bag - George Baker
790		I Write the Songs - Barry Manilow
789		Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
788		Meet On The Ledge - Fairport Convention
787		Bloody Motherfucking Arsehole - Martha Wainwright
786		One Day Like This - Elbow
785		Itchycoo Park - Small Faces
784		Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
783		Sign O' The Times - Prince And The Revolution
782		Lithuania - Dan Bern
781		More Than A Feeling - Boston
780		Ashes To Ashes - David Bowie
779		Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney
778		November Rain - Guns N Roses
777		Philadelphia - Neil Young
776		Grumpus - Lambchop
775		Abel - The National
774		Baby I Love You - The Ronettes
773		I Am Trying To Break Your Heart - Wilco
772		Yes - Manic Street Preachers
771		Mr Blue Sky - ELO
770		Atmosphere - Joy Division
769		Yellow - Coldplay
768		Summertime - Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
767		Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
766		See No Evil - Television
765		Oh Bondage Up Yours! - X-Ray Spex
764		(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult
763		Out on the Floor - Dobie Gray
762		Whiter Shade of Pale - Procul Harum
761		Sweeping the Nation - Spearmint
760		Danny Callahan - Conor Oberst
759		Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel
758		White Riot - The Clash
757		It's a Sin - Pet Shop Boys
756		Kick Out The Jams - MC5
755		Ever Fallen in Love - The Buzzcocks
754		Losing My Religion - REM
753		Eye Know - De La Soul
752		Rise - PiL
751		Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
750		Heroes And Villains - The Beach Boys
749		Over And Over - Hot Chip
748		Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
747		I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash
746		Like A Hurricane - Neil Young
745		Geno - Dexys Midnight Runners
744		Smile - Nat King Cole
743		This Whole World - The Beach Boys
742		Young Americans - David Bowie
741		Luck Be a Lady - Frank Sinatra
740		Motorcycle Emptiness - Manic Street Preachers
739		Beetlebum - Blur
738		That's The Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
737		I Am the Walrus - The Beatles
736		White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
735		Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits
734		Make Me Smile (Come up and See Me) - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
733		Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again - The Carpenters/Barry Manilow
732		I Hear a Symphony - The Supremes
731		Something - The Beatles
730		Under the Boardwalk - The Drifters
729		Love is a Losing Game - Amy Winehouse
728		Tonight - Lykke Li
727		Sunrise - The Divine Comedy
726		Dream a Little Dream - Mama Cass/Ella Fitzgerald
725		Sons and Daughters - The Decemberists
724		Lost Cause - Beck
723		Waitin' for a Superman - The Flaming Lips
722		Oblivious - Aztec Camera
721		Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor
720		I Threw It All Away - Bob Dylan
719		Since You’ve Been Gone - Rainbow
718		(You Make me Feel) Mighty Real - Sylvester
717		Blue - The Jayhawks
716		Easy - The Commodores
715		Drive - Cars
714		Queen of Denmark - John Grant
713		Lies  - The Knickerbockers
712		Boots of Spanish Leather - Bob Dylan
711		We Are the Champions - Queen
710		Summer Breeze - The Isley Brothers
709		Suicide Is Painless - Manic Street Preachers
708		Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Neil Young
707		Sit Down - James
706		Speak to Me Someone - Gene
705		I Can See for Miles - The Who
704		Love Minus Zero - Bob Dylan
703		Without You - Nilsson
702		Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
701		Venus As A Boy - Bjork
700		Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
699		Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go - Wham!
698		Fight For Your Right To Party - The Beastie Boys
697		Knocks Me off My Feet - Stevie Wonder
696		Virginia Plain - Roxy Music
695		Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard
694		Can You Feel It - The Jacksons
693		The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore - The Walker Brothers
692		I Predict a Riot - Kaiser Chiefs
691		Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive - Johnny Mercer
690		Girl From Mars - Ash
689		Graceland - Paul Simon
688		Buffalo Gals - Malcolm McLaren
687		Simple Twist Of Fate - Bob Dylan
686		Pink Moon - Nick Drake
685		California - Joni Mitchell
684		Reelin' In The Years - Steely Dan
683		Gold Digger - Kanye West
682		Hoppipola - Sigur Ros
681		Pictures of Success - Rilo Kiley
680		Soul Man - Sam and Dave
679		I'll Never Fall in Love Again - Dusty Springfield
678		Rip Her To Shreds - Blondie
677		I Fought The Law - The Clash/Bobby Fuller
676		Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden
675		Just Like Honey -  The Jesus and Mary Chain
674		Wake Up Boo! - Boo Radleys
673		Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
672		Nuthin' but a G Thang - Dr Dre
671		Jump Around - House of Pain
670		Firestarter - The Prodigy
669		Candle in the Wind - Elton John
668		Working Class Hero - John Lennon
667		Space Oddity - David Bowie
666		Got To Get You Into My Life - The Beatles
665		Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix
664		Dilemma - Nelly and Kelly
663		Don't You - Micah P Hinson
662		Buddy Holly - Weezer
661		Make You Feel My Love - Bob Dylan/Adele
660		You're the Best Thing - Style Council
659		True - Spandau Ballet
658		I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany/The Rubinoos
657		Leaving New York - REM
656		Old Friends / Bookends - Simon and Garfunkel
655		Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Bob Dylan
654		Pure Shores - All Saints
653		Alright - Supergrass
652		California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys
651		Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
650		I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) - Electric Prunes
649		Bucky Done Gun  - MIA
648		My Girl - The Temptations
647		B.O.B. - OutKast
646		Right Here - SWV
645		Karma Police - Radiohead
644		A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers
643		Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics
642		Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
641		All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
640		Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
639		What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
638		Piece of My Heart - Erma Franklin/Janis Joplin
637		Revolution - The Beatles
636		Steady Pace - Matthew E White
635		Dinner at Eight - Rufus Wainwright
634		Shining Light - Ash
633		Tom Traubert's Blues - Tom Waits
632		Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
631		That's Entertainment - The Jam
630		Alison - Elvis Costello
629		Close to You - The Carpenters
628		Feelgood Hit Of The Summer - Queens of the Stone Age
627		Roscoe - Midlake
626		Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
625		Can't Help Loving Dat Man - Lena Horne
624		NYC - Interpol
623		When A Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
622		The Sound Of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
621		Kung Fu - Ash
620		Sweetness Follows - REM
619		Fallin' - Alicia Keys
618		Hold On Hope - Guided by Voices
617		You Got Yr Cherry Bomb - Spoon
616		My Generation - The Who
615		Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
614		(I've Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
613		Slight Return - The Bluetones
612		Single Ladies - Beyonce
611		Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn & John
610		Cry Me A River - Julie London
609		Complicated - Avril Lavigne
608		Club Tropicana - Wham!
607		La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) - Manic Street Preachers
606		Back To Life - Soul II Soul
605		The Message  - Grandmaster Flash
604		West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
603		You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers
602		Spottieottiedopaliscious - OutKast
601		Gigantic - The Pixies
600		One More Time - Daft Punk
599		Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals
598		I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
597		Blue Monday - New Order
596		Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
595		End of a Century - Blur
594		Shelter from the Storm - Bob Dylan
593		Takeover - Jay-Z
592		Heaven - The Walkmen
591		Ghost Town - The Specials
590		Bring The Noise - Public Enemy
589		Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying - Belle and Sebastian
588		The Universal - Blur
587		Stay Together - Suede
586		But Not for Me - Ginger Rogers/Ella Fitzgerald
585		Express Yourself - Charles Wright And The 103 Watts St Band
584		Fuck da Police - NWA
583		Regulate - Warren G ft. Nate Dogg
582		Psycho - The Sonics
581		Madame George - Van Morrison
580		I Wish - Stevie Wonder
579		If You Leave Me Now - Chicago
578		Try Again - Aaliyah
577		Witness (1 Hope) - Roots Manuva
576		Video Killed the Radio Star - Buggles
575		Cars - Gary Numan
574		Heart Of Gold - Neil Young
573		He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother - The Hollies
572		Irreplaceable - Beyonce
571		Mid Air - Paul Buchanan
570		The Last of the Melting Snow- The Leisure Society
569		Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson
568		Independent Women - Destiny's Child
567		Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight And The Pips
566		14th Street - Rufus Wainwright
565		Trains to Brazil - The Guillemots
564		Juxtaposed With U - Super Furry Animals
563		Mississippi - Bob Dylan
562		New Slaves - Kanye West
561		Walk Away Renee - The Left Banke/Four tops
560		Drive-In Saturday - David Bowie
559		Irish Blood, English Heart - Morrissey
558		Somebody that I Used to Know - Gotye
557		The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon and Garfunkel
556		Crosstown Traffic - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
555		Lovely Day - Bill Withers
554		Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen
553		I Got A Woman - Ray Charles
552		Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
551		The Israelites - Desmond Dekker and the Aces
550		Heart Of Glass - Blondie
549		People Get Ready - The Impressions
548		Prince Charming - Adam and the Ants
547		Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
546		Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
545		That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) - Johnny Cash
544		Carey - Joni Mitchell
543		Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem
542		Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
541		Always on My Mind -Willie Nelson/Elvis Presley/Pet Shop Boys
540		Don't Let Go - En Vogue
539		Groove is in the Heart - Deee-Lite
538		Bang - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
537		Jesus was a Crossmaker - Judee Sill
536		Shake Rattle And Roll - Big Joe Turner
535		I'm a Cuckoo - Belle & Sebastian
534		Time to Pretend - MGMT
533		Superstition - Stevie Wonder
532		London Calling - The Clash
531		Bird On a Wire - Leonard Cohen
530		Stand By Me - Ben E. King
529		Jolene - Dolly Parton
528		Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan
527		Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
526		Time For Heroes - The Libertines
525		Mr November - The National
524		Will You Love Me Tomorrow? - The Shirelles/Carole King
523		In My Life - Beatles
522		Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon And Garfunkel
521		Blowin' in The Wind - Bob Dylan
520		Eleanor Rigby - Beatles
519		Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley and his Comets
518		Out of Space - The Prodigy
517		Basket Case - Green Day
516		1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
515		Soon - My Bloody Valentine
514		Where Is My Mind? - The Pixies
513		Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
512		Helpless - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
511		Ain't Got No (I Got Life) - Nina Simone
510		Stan - Eminem
509		Good Fortune - PJ Harvey
508		Hard To Explain - The Strokes
507		Sunday Girl - Blondie
506		Metal Guru - T.Rex
505		You Make My Dreams - Hall and Oates
504		We Are Your Friends - Justice Vs Simian
503		Standing In The Way Of Control - Gossip
502		In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
501		Me Myself and I - De La Soul
500		Baggy Trousers - Madness
499		Don't You Want Me - Human League
498		Van Occupanther - Midlake
497		Mysteries - Beth Gibbons
496		Time - Tom Waits
495		Rapture - Blondie
494		Rudy, A Message to You - The Specials
493		Burn It Down - Dexys Midnight Runners
492		Livin' on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
491		Where Are We Now? - David Bowie
490		Burn Baby Burn - Ash
489		I Feel Fine - The Beatles
488		Dancing In The Street - Martha and the Vandellas
487		All Day and All of the Night - The Kinks
486		Alone Again Or - Love
485		New Partner - Bonnie Prince Billy
484		Better Son/Daughter - Rilo Kiley
483		Video Games - Lana Del Rey
482		The Stars Of Track And Field - Belle and Sebastian
481		Stagger Lee - Nick Cave
480		Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan
479		Les Fleurs - Minnie Ripperton
478		Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
477		Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
476		For Tomorrow - Blur
475		Let's Face the Music and Dance - Fred Astaire
474		Boulder to Birmingham - Emmylou Harris
473		Cry Baby - Janis Joplin
472		Pompeii - Bastille
471		Monkey Gone To Heaven - The Pixies
470		Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell
469		Lay Down Your Weary Tune - Bob Dylan
468		Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters - Elton John
467		Olympian - Gene
466		The Man That Got Away - Judy Garland
465		Midnight City - M83
464		Bluetonic - The Bluetones
463		Unsatisfied - The Replacements
462		Caroline, No - Beach Boys
461		Formed a Band - Art Brut
460		No Pussy Blues - Grinderman
459		The Promise - Girls Aloud
458		Fistful Of Love - Antony and the Johnsons
457		Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens
456		Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones
455		This Is a Low - Blur
454		They Can't Take That Away from Me - Fred Astaire/Ella Fitzgerald
453		Old Man - Neil Young
452		River Man - Nick Drake
451		How - Regina Spektor
450		Scottish Pop - Spearmint
449		Gloria - Them
448		Ain't That Enough - Teenage Fanclub
447		Honey and the Moon - Joseph Arthur
446		Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations
445		Stand by Your Man - Candi Staton/Tammy Wynette
444		Everything I Own - Bread/Ken Holt
443		The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
442		Animal Nitrate - Suede
441		I Need a Dollar- Aloe Blacc
440		In Between Days - The Cure
439		Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
438		To be Young (is to be sad, is to high) - Ryan Adams
437		Kissing the Lipless - The Shins
436		Round Eye Blues - Marah
435		Try A Little Tenderness - Otis Redding
434		Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds/Bob Dylan
433		Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns 'N Roses
432		Handle With Care - Traveling Wilburys
431		Rebel Without a Pause - Public Enemy
430		Cannonball - The Breeders
429		Diamonds and Rust - Joan Baez
428		The Engine Driver - The Decemberists
427		Cheated Hearts - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
426		Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins/Elvis Presley
425		Chewing Gum - Annie
424		Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams
423		Floating In The Forth - Frightened Rabbit
422		Do You Realize?? - The Flaming Lips
421		Toxic - Britney Spears
420		More Adventurous - Rilo Kiley
419		Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
418		Save Me - Aimee Mann
417		Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
416		The Impossible Dream - Andy Williams
415		I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
414		A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall - Bob Dylan
413		Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin
412		Let's Stay Together - Al Green
411		Strawberry Fields Forever - Beatles
410		Respect - Aretha Franklin
409		Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby Stills Nash
408		Blue - Lucinda Williams
407		Cosmia - Joanna Newsom
406		Lola - The Kinks
405		Dance To The Music - Sly and the Family Stone
404		(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman - Aretha Franklin/Carole King
403		Let's Make this Precious - Dexys Midnight Runners
402		How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
401		I’m Waiting For The Man - The Velvet Underground
400		I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) - Otis Redding
399		Days - The Kinks
398		Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
397		Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush/The Futureheads
396		Get Happy - Judy Garland
395		Rise to Me - The Decemberists
394		He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot - Grandaddy
393		Tiny Tears - Tindersticks
392		American Pie - Don McLean
391		Tomorrow (From "Annie")
390		I Could Have Danced All Night - Julie Andrews/Marni Nixon
389		My Favorite Things - Julie Andrews
388		All Night Disco Party - Brakes
387		Cry Me a River - Justin Timberlake
386		Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
385		Oh Happy Day - Spiritualized
384		Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners
383		Enter Sandman - Metallica
382		Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
381		Your Cheatin’ Heart - Hank Williams
380		What A Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
379		Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
378		Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
377		The Real Slim Shady - Eminem
376		The Final Countdown - Europe
375		Gettin' Jiggy With It - Will Smith
374		As Time Goes By - Dooley Wilson
373		Moulty- The Barbarians
372		All My Trials - Joan Baez
371		She Fell into My Arms - Ed Harcourt
370		Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle
369		Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams
368		Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
367		You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes
366		Back For Good - Take That
365		I’m Like A Bird - Nelly Furtado
364		Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants
363		Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury and the Blockheads
362		Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
361		Hurts So Good - Millie Jackson
360		Mr Brightside - The Killers
359		Not Dark Yet - Bob Dylan
358		Drive My Car - The Beatles
357		Martha - Tom Waits
356		I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles
355		Mr. Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker/Nina Simone
354		Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
353		What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
352		Still I Dream Of It - Brian Wilson
351		Ça Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand
350		Imagine - John Lennon
349		Vincent - Don McLean
348		7 and 7 is - Love
347		Turn, Turn, Turn - The Byrds/Pete Seeger
346		I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness
345		Ms. Jackson - OutKast
344		Mahgeetah - My Morning Jacket
343		Down Town - Petula Clark
342		Alfie - Dionne Warwick
341		(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher - Jackie Wilson
340		Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis - Tom Waits
339		Bills, Bills, Bills - Destiny's Child
338		My Wandering Days are Over - Belle and Sebastian
337		Slide Away - Oasis
336		Rock N Roll - Mos Def
335		I Believe When i fall in Love with You It Will be Forever - Stevie Wonder
334		Five Years - David Bowie
333		No Diggity - Blackstreet featuring Dr Dre
332		Get Lucky - Daft Punk
331		Trash - New York Dolls
330		I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
329		Nutmeg - Ghostface Killah
328		One Armed Scissor - At the Drive-In
327		Saint Simon -The Shins
326		The First Big Weekend - Arab Strap
325		C30, C60, C90 Go - Bow Wow Wow
324		Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
323		Rave On - Buddy Holly
322		Rehab - Amy Winehouse
321		You've Got a Friend - Carole King/James Taylor
320		Misunderstood - Wilco
319		Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
318		California Soul - Marlena Shaw
317		Empire State Of Mind - Jay Z and Alicia Keys
316		Jesus, Etc. - Wilco
315		Massive Night - The Hold Steady
314		Rock And Roll Music - Chuck Berry
313		Lost Highway - Hank Williams
312		Get Ready - The Temptations
311		Superstar - The Carpenters
310		Uptown Top Ranking - Althea and Donna
309		White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
308		Let It Be Me - Rosie Thomas/Everly Brothers
307		Be-Bop-a-Lula - Gene Vincent
306		Suzanne - Leonard Cohen
305		Up the Junction - Squeeze
304		Stormy Weather - Billie Holiday
303		And Your Bird Can Sing - The Beatles
302		Pressure Drop - Toots and the Maytals
301		Burning Love - Elvis Presley
300		Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God) - Kate Bush
299		No Scrubs - TLC
298		Fields of Gold - Sting
297		The Way You Look Tonight - Fred Astaire
296		Find the River - REM
295		If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
294		I Shall be Released - The Band/Bob Dylan
293		Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Ella Fitzgerald
292		I Got Rhythm - Gene Kelly/Ethel Merman
291		Love Hurts - Gram Parsons
290		The Drugs Don't Work - The Verve
289		Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie
288		Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
287		Return Of The Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
286		Pure - Lightning Seeds
285		We Shall Overcome - Pete Seeger
284		You Make Me Feel So Young - Frank Sinatra
283		That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly and the Crickets
282		The Man Don't Give a Fuck - Super Furry Animals
281		Sunshine on Leith - The Proclaimers
280		Proud Mary - Ike and Tina Turner
279		Simple Man - Graham Nash
278		All I Have To Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers
277		Mack The Knife - Bobby Darin
276		Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
275		Africa - Toto
274		Wonderwall - Oasis
273		(Reach Out) I'll Be There - The Four Tops
272		I Know Its Over - The Smiths
271		Perfect Day - Lou Reed
270		You Don't Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield
269		No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
268		Lose Yourself - Eminem
267		The Cedar Room - Doves
266		Common People - Pulp
265		The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron
264		Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
263		Anyone who Had a Heart - Dionne Warwick
262		Hey Jude - The Beatles
261		He's Misstra Know-it-all - Stevie Wonder
260		The Last Thing On My Mind - Tom Paxton
259		Rise - Josh Rouse
258		Switching Off - Elbow
257		Mannish Boy - Muddy Waters
256		Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
255		Hurricane -Bob Dylan
254		For No One - The Beatles
253		For A Dancer - Jackson Browne
252		Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
251		Listen, Listen - Sandy Denny
250		Candy's Room - Bruce Springsteen
249		Fantasy - Earth Wind and Fire
248		Biology - Girls Aloud
247		Penny Lane - Beatles
246		The Winner Takes It All - Abba
245		Remember (Walkin in the Sand) - The Shangri-las
244		She's a Jar - Wilco
243		Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths
242		Where Have All The Flowers Gone - Pete Seeger
241		Blank Generation - Richard Hell & The Voidoids
240		Where Did You Sleep Last Night? - Leadbelly/Nirvana
239		Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa
238		Song 2 - Blur
237		I Know You Got Soul - Eric B and Rakim
236		I Feel Good - James Brown
235		Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
234		One Man Guy - Loudon Wainwright/ Rufus Wainwright
233		Ignition (Remix) - R. Kelly
232		Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
231		Anything Goes - Frank Sinatra
230		The Street Where You Live - Nat King Cole
229		Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
228		Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
227		American Trilogy - Delgados
226		The Dark Is Rising - Mercury Rev
225		Lost in the Plot - The Dears
224		Hummingbird - Wilco
223		Ticket To Ride - Beatles
222		Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan
221		Life on Mars? - David Bowie
220		Try Not to Breathe - REM
219		The Mercy Seat - Johnny Cash/Nick Cave
218		My Funny Valentine - Ella Fitzgerald
217		Slaveship - Josh Rouse
216		Get Off My Cloud - The Rolling Stones
215		I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free - Nina Simone
214		Twist And Shout - The Isley Brothers
213		Stand and Deliver - Adam and the Ants
212		Wonderful World - Sam Cooke
211		Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
210		Crazy - Patsy Cline
209		To Ramona - Bob Dylan
208		Take Me Anywhere - Tegan and Sara
207		Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry
206		Fun, Fun, Fun - The Beach Boys
205		Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
204		Shaft (Theme From) - Isaac Hayes
203		Death or Glory - The Clash
202		Dreaming of You - The Coral
201		Careless Whisper - George Michael
200		Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf
199		Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
198		Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Mama Cass
197		You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve - Johnny Boy
196		Highway to Hell - AC/DC
195		Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) - Spiller ft Sophie Ellis-Bextor
194		The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
193		Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
192		Cum On Feel The Noise - Slade
191		Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
190		All The Things She Said - TATU
189		Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - Dionne Warwick/BJ Thomas
188		Get Ur Freak On - Missy Elliott
187		When You Wish upon a Star - Cliff Edwards
186		Here, There, and Everywhere - The Beatles
185		I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys
184		No No No - Dawn Penn
183		I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
182		Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
181		Our House - Madness
180		One - U2
179		Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire
178		Piano Man - Billy Joel
177		The Funeral - Band Of Horses
176		Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
175		I Used to Love H.E.R. - Common
174		Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) - John Lennon
173		Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
172		Singin' in the Rain - Gene Kelly
171		Born Slippy - Underworld
170		I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin
169		This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us - Sparks
168		You Are Everything - Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye
167		Between the Wars - Billy Bragg
166		Debaser - The Pixies
165		Every Grain of Sand - Bob Dylan
164		I Want to see the Bright Lights Tonight - Richard and Linda Thompson
163		Many Rivers to Cross - Jimmy Cliff
162		Paper Planes - MIA
161		Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols
160		You've Lost That Loving Feeling - The Righteous Brothers
159		Paranoid - Black Sabbath
158		Why Do Fools Fall In Love? - Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
157		Up With People - Lambchop
156		Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys
155		Jackie - Scott Walker
154		I Want You - Elvis Costello
153		Search and Destroy - Iggy and the Stooges
152		You And Me Song - The Wannadies
151		Moon River - Audrey Hepburn/Andy Williams
150		A Town Called Malice - The Jam
149		Temptation - New Order
148		Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads
147		At Last - Etta James
146		Shipbuilding - Elvis Costello
145		Streets Of Your Town - The Go-Betweens
144		The First Time Ever I Saw your Face - Roberta Flack
143		The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
142		I Feel Love - Donna Summer
141		The Ace of Spades -  Motörhead
140		Rebellion (Lies) - The Arcade Fire
139		Underneath The Weeping Willow - Grandaddy
138		This Land is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
137		Manhattan - Ella Fitzgerald
136		Everybody Hurts - REM
135		Live Forever - Oasis
134		Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
133		Be Not So Fearful - Bill Fay
132		Roadrunner - The Modern Lovers
131		If I Could Only Fly - Merle Haggard
130		No Surprises - Radiohead
129		Killing In The Name - Rage Against the Machine
128		The Kiss - Judee Sill
127		He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
126		Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
125		Us - Regina Spektor
124		A Day in the Life - The Beatles
123		The Weight - The Band
122		Rock'n'Roll Suicide - David Bowie
121		I Think it's Going to Rain Today - Randy Newman
120		Good Times - Chic
119		I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Supremes and the Temptations
118		Trellick Tower - Emmy the Great
117		America - Simon and Garfunkel
116		Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones
115		Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen
114		First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes
113		Yesterday -  Beatles
112		No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley
111		Carry On - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
110		Nightswimming - REM
109		White Christmas - Bing Crosby
108		Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
107		Move Your Feet - Junior Senior
106		$1000 Wedding - Gram Parsons
105		The Way We Were  - Barbra Streisand
104		Music Sounds Better with You - Stardust
103		Waterfalls - TLC
102		My Name Is - Eminem
101		Oxygen - Willy Mason
100		Sweet Jane - Velvet Underground
99		Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
98		Until I Believe in My Soul - Dexys Midnight Runners
97		Grace - Jeff Buckley
96		Tiny Dancer - Elton John
95		Jump - Van Halen
94		Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
93		Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk
92		Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space - Spiritualized
91		St Patrick - James Yorkston
90		The State That I Am In - Belle and Sebastian
89		Hard to Handle - Otis Redding
88		Who Do You Love? - Bo Diddley
87		Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
86		Dry the Rain - The Beta Band
85		Cheek to Cheek - Fred Astaire
84		Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
83		Like A Prayer - Madonna
82		Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
81		There She Goes, My Beautiful World - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
80		Umbrella - Rihanna
79		Ol' Man River - Paul Robeson
78		Can't Get You Outta My Head - Kylie Minogue
77		You Really Got Me - The Kinks
76		Oh Boy - Buddy Holly
75		You Get What You Give - The New Radicals
74		With Every Heartbeat - Robyn
73		Brimful Of Asha - Cornershop
72		I See a Darkness - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
71		Down In The Tube Station at Midnight - The Jam
70		Bring da Ruckus - Wu-Tang Clan
69		Bryte Side - The Pernice Brothers
68		Take On Me - Aha
67		There There My Dear - Dexys Midnight Runners
66		Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
65		There is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
64		Heroes - David Bowie
63		People Ain't No Good - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
62		Holes - Mercury Rev
61		I Want You Back - Jackson 5
60		Who Knows Where the Time Goes - Fairport Convention
59		Chinese Rocks - Johnny Thunders
58		So Long, Marianne - Leonard Cohen
57		Fight the Power - Public Enemy
56		There She Goes - The La's
55		Move on Up - Curtis Mayfield
54		Think - Aretha Franklin
53		Family Affair- Mary J Blige
52		Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
51		Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
50		Happiness Is A Warm Gun - Beatles
49		Crying - Roy Orbison
48		Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
47		September Gurls - Big Star
46		Float On - Modest Mouse
45		Redemption Song - Bob Marley
44		Tutti Frutti - Little Richard
43		Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
42		When the Haar Rolls In - James Yorkston
41		Emily - Joanna Newsom
40		Hey Ya - OutKast
39		Dancing Queen - ABBA
38		A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
37		Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
36		Yes - McAlmont & Butler
35		I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
34		Someone to Watch Over Me - Ella Fitzgerald
33		Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
32		Into My Arms - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
31		Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
30		From the Morning - Nick Drake
29		I Will Dare - The Replacements
28		A Case Of You - Joni Mitchell
27		Send in the Clowns - Barbra Streisand/Frank Sinatra
26		Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
25		Idiot Wind - Bob Dylan
24		Sitting on the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
23		Losing You - Randy Newman
22		The Trapeze Swinger - Iron and Wine
21		(Love is like a) Heat Wave - Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
20		Ice Hockey Hair - Super Furry Animals
19		In California - Joanna Newsom
18		Somewhere - Various / Tom Waits
17		My Girls - Animal Collective
16		The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Bob Dylan
15		All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
14		Crazy in Love - Beyonce ft JZ
13		Going Underground - The Jam
12		Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
11		River Deep, Mountain High - Tina Turner
10		We Can Work it Out - The Beatles
9		Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
8		The Rat - The Walkmen
7		Be My Baby - The Ronettes
6		Sheena Is A Punk Rocker - The Ramones
5		Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
4		Northern Sky - Nick Drake
3		Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
2		God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
1		Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland

I've just noticed that the NME has literally just this week done a new Greatest 500 Songs of All Time. (I'm pretty certain it's only a couple of years since their last one). Bastards, trying to steal my thunder. I'm not going to look at it for now, I think that might fry my mind, but will compare notes in a while.

Incidentally, of the 101 songs in my list from 5 years ago, pretty much half of them are in the Top 100 this time. There are some new songs and some changes of opinion, but I suppose that exposes how far from definitive any such list can ever be.

Apart from this one. The most definitive of the definitives.

My weakness is probably for American songs of this century - there are quite a few of them near the top. But I don't think I'm wrong.

Also, I think you can safely say that the battle for the soul of the song has been won by the simple song, the precise and perfect song, rather than the bold and wild song. Distilled perfection dominates the upper echelons of the lost, and so, fittingly, the most perfect song ever is at the top.

To make it easier for anyone to examine it in more detail, here it is in an excel file, with the era helpfully included (the decades might not be perfect, I didn't check, so excuse me if some of them are misplaced).

Full List in Excel