Worst of the 50 Best Songs of All Time According to Rolling Stone's BRAND NEW, 100% Revamped Top 500

Most of these are great to pretty good. Imagine is the worst.

Runaway

Respect is fine but it's not even the best Aretha song.

Definitely Runaway

Voted for Robyn right away but tbf I don't remember "Runaway".

"imagine" is the most obnoxious, also hate "royals"

"dancing on my own" is solid but no way is best synthpop song of all time lmao

Seven Nation Army. Still sounds like a goof to me.

don’t really hate any of these but “royals” is comically high so it has my vote here

10. OutKast, "Hey Ya!"

that was easy

“Seven Nation Army” wouldn’t even make my list of best songs released by a male/female duo in 2003.

I will flip if even a single one of you votes for Gasolina

Oh fuck can a mod delete my vote? I voted for my favorite not the worst.

NM I was able to change my vote to Imagine, which is objectively terrible on its own merits and has been made unbearable by it's ubiquity.

Plus Lennon would totally be a covidiot or a reactionary today.

This Kinks song doesn't belong anywhere near the top 500. Probably between that and Radiohead.

I wonder how much gamesmanship goes into this for the voters, like it's not really my favorite Kinks song but I do like The Kinks a lot so I'd vote it highly just to get it on the list

I voted Kanye. for one because fuck Kanye but more because I was going to the bars a lot back then and someone would always play that fucking song on the jukebox, it's so goddamn loud and blown out. the first time I heard it I thought "holy shit the speakers in this place are blown". and then the second time "wow their speakers are blown too"

The Beatles choice feels particularly picked out of a hat of 50 for them so that

Can I change my vote?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX2FmsH_MYk

"Seven Nation Army" and "Crazy in Love" are ubiquitous songs that don't do much for me, but for me the most head-scratching inclusion here is "Dancing on my Own", seems instantly forgettable.

don’t really hate any of these but “royals” is comically high so it has my vote here

― grove street (party) direction (voodoo chili), Thursday, September 16, 2021 7:37 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

yep

Easy "Seven Nation Army"

Lennon seemed like the most joyless cynical misanthropic creep in the 70s and it’s hilarious that he’s held up as some kind of hippie lovey doves dude cause of (mis)?interpretations of this song.

Redemption Song, harmless enough but seems to be the Bob song of choice for every acoustic troubadour wannabe. Also the intro is terrible.

"Paper Planes" for me, but mostly because I was a regular at a mixed/mostly lesbian bar in the three years following its release and it often played multiple times on the jukebox during my daily drinking sessions, so much so that the bartenders eventually had the whole record removed from the jukebox because they were so tired of it. I hate that fucking song, absolutely the worst song on this list afaic.

It ranks up there with MGMT's "Kids" for me. Just abysmal crap.

Paper Planes came on a mix the other day and I actively cringed at the gunshots

I think I accidentally voted for the "best" pick. Ah whatever

I love 'Paper Planes,' hasn't worn out yet.

I voted for "Runaway" cuz I hate that damn album.

The Beatles choice feels particularly picked out of a hat of 50 for them so that

? All three are major canonical songs for them.

The top 50-placing Beatles songs on the 2004 list were

8. "Hey Jude"
13. "Yesterday,"
16. "I Want To Hold Your Hand"
20. "Let It Be"
23. "In My Life"
26. "A Day in the Life"
29. "Help!"

All of them but "Help!" make more sense to me than "Strawberry Fields Forever," but who knows

At least we can all agree that the Beatles have only written two songs better than Robyn's "Dancing on My Own"

"Strawberry Fields" among my all-time favourite singles and I'd rank it as a peak in their psychedelic period; great surreal mix of pop melody with studio experimentation.

It's their second-highest ranked song here fwiw: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/year/alltime_songs.htm

as someone who would put at least two solo lennon tracks in any list i ever made of my favorite songs, i'm still tempted to vote for "imagine," not because i hate it but because it's come to play such an unfortunately prominent place in the post-1980 lennon "brand," the international ambassador for peace and love or whatever who bears very little resemblance to the actual john lennon. i think it's pretty minor next to "instant karma," "cold turkey," or anything on the plastic ono band album; it's not even my favorite track on the imagine album. a lot of solo lennon is genuinely weird and interesting and it's regrettable that people just associate him with that one dippy song.

One of these four...

04. Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone"
19. John Lennon, "Imagine"
25. Kanye West feat. Pusha T, "Runaway"
47. Elton John, "Tiny Dancer"

"Strawberry Fields" has always been a touchstone for a certain side of the Beatles. Perhaps its recent popularity has been helped by the beautifully restored promotional video and much improved stereo mix that is now the top hit on Youtube. This mix does away with the hard-panning that afflicted earlier stereo mixes and brings out the bass end of the sound to emphasize the proto-trip-hop aspects.

what, the hard panning is fucking awesome, what the hell. That's psychedelia!

Hard panning gives me a headache.

music that causes physical pain is good

strawberry fields is one of my very favorite Beatles songs for sure, great atmosphere, never sounds old or rote, really sounds like the semi-pasted together thing it is, the weird shifts in momentum, like fucked up transmissions from a dream

I love all the weird tape manipulation Beatles stuff tho

Hard panning gives me a headache.

Lennon was also into Trepanning, is that related?

Would be interesting to graph the results against the recency of the songs... most of the discussion seems to be about the newest songs in the list.

Credit for the way "Strawberry Fields" sounds should probably go at least as much to George Martin as to any of the actual Beatles. To me it sounds like it's trying too hard to be trippy. I'd rather listen to "Octopus's Garden".

I will flip if even a single one of you votes for Gasolina
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Friday, September 17, 2021 3:34 AM (eighteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

That's my vote. Hate that song. Hate even more that it's the only song here from the pan-latin world. It is laughable really. The rest goes from god-like (Get ur freak on) to obvious to indifferent to mildly annoying. Such a pandering safe and incoherent list. What a bunch of wankers. I guess it's a list for 60 year-olds plus their granddaughters.

Also, this list is the definition of white guilt

https://cdn0.scrvt.com/0b415e9fe7995370c62ceab2d1317f1c/6a4fd1c37d27e4ea/38658a2ded54/v/933f1b78b278/discoverFP-Logo-Blue-RGB.jpg

Tempted by “Redemption Song” but voted for “Love Will Tear Us Apart”; the basic unison playing drives me to distraction.

Finally listening to the entire list on Spotify. This Miranda Lambert song is good!

yep

When did ilx decide to hate Royals? I feel like I missed a meeting. Voted Tutti Frutti.

Most of these are great to pretty good. Imagine is the worst.

― chap

X2

I've loved Royals since I first heard it. I guess it's not the 30th Greatest Song of all time, but whatevs

dunno if this is a controversial opinion but i think the b-side version of “love will tear us apart,” the one that sounds more like a typical JD track, is better

“Idioteque” isn’t even top 20 Radiohead, what the hell is it doing here?
Voted that over the turgid bong hit of “Imagine”.

wait voting for tutti frutti as worst, seriously?

"gasolina" was a genuine cultural moment. "dancing on my own" is beloved by music bloggers who read music blogs

“Idioteque” isn’t even top 20 Radiohead, what the hell is it doing here?

music bloggers go dancing

Xpost: tbh they picked headscratching picks for Radiohead: karma police, creep and idioteque. If you’re making a case for greatest Radiohead songs I think Paranoid Android is surely more of a consensus pick than those?

voted “Runaway,” there’s plenty of Kanye that I like but that being thought of as one of the greatest songs of all time really bums me out.

music bloggers go dancing

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, September 17, 2021 5:11 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://i.gifer.com/7DPd.gif

Yes I voted Tutti Fruti. It’s annoying. Everyone else’s reasons are arbitrary and mine can be too.

Imagine voting for this shit song as one of the top 50 greatest songs of all time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fDIZj9BX9U

This Fleetwood Mac song is so fucking lame. A bunch of people voting this drab nothing song into the Top 10 because a Tik Tok man skateboarded with juice is some real OPPA GANGNAM STYLE shit

9. Pharrell Hat

and what you hat
and what you lost

"dancing on my own" is beloved by music bloggers who read music blogs

And just people in general.

I really have to 100% give it up to Fluxblog who really laid the groundwork for M.I.A. and Robyn to have some of the 50 Greatest Songs Ever Written. I was justifibly suspicious of the blog era and have been proved wrong time and time again

This Fleetwood Mac song is so fucking lame. A bunch of people voting this drab nothing song into the Top 10 because a Tik Tok man skateboarded with juice is some real OPPA GANGNAM STYLE shit

that

usually I get mad when my favorite songs get baconated or whatever but that whole thing was fine

oh oops i accidentally voted for "a case of you" as it's my favorite

the worst is probably "i want to hold your hand"

Chris “dreams” was an iconic cross generation monster single well before the meme capped it off

Memed more than once too fwiw

https://beat.com.au/a-viral-meme-has-pushed-fleetwood-mac-into-the-top-20-again/

How is it that I never heard that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" b-side before? Definitely like that one better (but still mystified that this song is the consensus pick for best JD song)

Robyn and MIA are both total jams, and I welcome them to the pantheon.

After listening to Idioteque just now, I kinda want to change my vote. That one has always annoyed me. I guess I've still never progressed past OK Computer.

"love will tear us apart" isn't the consensus best joy division song, just their most famous & iconic which is what really matters for things like this

they picked headscratching picks for Radiohead: karma police, creep and idioteque. If you’re making a case for greatest Radiohead songs I think Paranoid Android is surely more of a consensus pick than those?

"Paranoid Android" is the highest-placed Radiohead song here but "Creep" and "Idioteque" are #2 and #3; "Karma Police" is #5: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/year/alltime_songs.htm . "Idioteque" has been my favourite probably since Kid A came out.

Kid A is one of my favorite albums of all time but having “Idioteque” not only as the best Radiohead song, but as one of the best electronic songs of all time is simply idiotic. It’s not even the best song on the album and I wouldn’t even vote for it as one of the 500 greatest electronic songs of all time.

I mean it’s a fucking great song don’t get me wrong, but I struggle to think of it as the #2 best electronic song of all time.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" without a second thought, by far the most overplayed in my world

pretty much all of the others I would happily listen to if they came on in a supermarket/taxi/etc

Yeah I can probably live the rest of my life without ever hearing that one ever again. I’d still complain if it was missing from the top 500 list tbh.

"Paranoid Android" wouldn't make my top 20 prog rock songs, though, see. xps

D-40, you’re probably right, but I def would recognize “Go Your Own Way” or “Don’t Stop” or “Gold Dust Woman” or “The Chain” or even “Little Lies” or “Green Manalishi” over that song that I still don’t know the chorus to

I don’t think of Paranoid Android as prog rock, it’s alternative rock and it’s definitely a top 20 alternative rock piece.

Idk maybe Idioteque is actually a good candidate for top 10 IDM/electronica songs of all time… I’m still sour on no Björk or Aphex Twin anywhere to be seen in the top 500.

I can see why I Want To Hold Your Hand is important as the Beatles first US #1 and their first single recorded on a four-track, but I can't see a case for it even being in a list of their 50 best songs, the verses are just there to build up to the chorus, the chorus has loads of energy but that's basically it.

xp Aphex doesn't really do "songs" much but a top 500 without "Come to Daddy" seems wilful

When did ilx decide to hate Royals? I feel like I missed a meeting. Voted Tutti Frutti.

― 29 facepalms, Friday, September 17, 2021 3:57 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

No one hates Royals but 30th greatest song ever is fucking insane

There’s not much wrong with (almost) any of these songs individually, but put together like that it paints a depressingly narrow picture of music.

otm

Hey Ya isn't a top 50 OutKast song

Isn't any list of 50 best songs either going to be "depressingly narrow" or chaotically eclectic, especially if it comes from a group consensus rather than an individual's aesthetic?

I can see why I Want To Hold Your Hand is important as the Beatles first US #1 and their first single recorded on a four-track, but I can't see a case for it even being in a list of their 50 best songs, the verses are just there to build up to the chorus, the chorus has loads of energy but that's basically it.

Yeah this was the one I meant - I don't actively dislike it but I didn't even notice the other two Beatles songs in the list! This is why polls of 50 are always bad.

She Loves You is so much better

the verses are just there to build up to the chorus

Huh, I’m not a lover of the Beatles – and I’m usually the first to raise this particular flag – but I don’t agree with it in this case. I think all parts of the song are strong (esp. the bridge), and fit together well

I don't think I'll ever find the zone where I could hear Bohemian Rhapsody anew and amusing, it just feels like being dragged to a Andrew Lloyd Webber show at this point.

I apparently manage to avoid “Bohemian Rhapsody” a lot better than average

Isn't any list of 50 best songs either going to be "depressingly narrow" or chaotically eclectic, especially if it comes from a group consensus rather than an individual's aesthetic?

― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, September 18, 2021 10:28 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Cop out. There are ilxors who could easily make such a list. Some of the ballots I saw for this poll were decent lists in this style

There are a substantial amount of music critics who still put Imagine in their top 50 songs of all time, this is the main thing I've learned.

i’m no professional writer but I think it’s doable? Have a good discussion with a knowledgable group of people on the major musical movements of the post-war age (if you want to set some sort of cut-off point for “modern”), pick representative songs for each of them and see if the resulting list paints a decent picture. That’s probably going to produce a better list (or at least one that invites more discovery, which I assume is the purpose of these lists), than “ok people, let’s all list our favourite songs that were inescapable on radio/tv when we were teenagers, oh shit this list looks way too narrow, better throw in Daddy Yankee and Bob Marley”.

it's easy if you try

or at least one that invites more discovery, which I assume is the purpose of these lists

No one hates Royals

no i've always thought it was a dud & seeing it elevated to this ridiculous height is even worse

Hey Ya isn't a top 50 OutKast song

True 'nuff but still better than anything Kanye West has ever done. The Guardian recently had a list of their best songs and it was mixed but I hadn't heard Crumblin Erb before and that is a goat.

Cop out. There are ilxors who could easily make such a list. Some of the ballots I saw for this poll were decent lists in this style

OK, but put 10 or 20 of these lists together, let the outliers fall away, and you've got a consensus again.

...which may or may not be boring.

Wow there's no blues, folk, country, or standards, Billy Holiday represents the whole of pre-rock n roll music

I mean "A Love Supreme" is cool but it's no "Royals"

The suggestions for improvement would require a different question (along with methodology) IMO - most important/most valuable/canonical rather than "greatest" (or the questionnaire said favorite? - but in this context they're functionally the same).

Have your select group nominate the most important song from each year since X (say 1950) or something.

Critics of critics of the poll make 1 of 2 points

1. You’re just mad your favs didn’t make it (Stan wars argument), and

2. There’s unavoidable structural reasons it turned out this way (all of which are arbitrary and not like, God’s Law but never mind that)

despite all the problems i think it's a funny & somewhat interesting exercise even if the results are pretty silly in places due to those structural issues

It would be incredibly easy to make a list of 500 Greatest Songs that’s more scholarly and canonical. No one here — self included — has any actual idea why RS chose not to do that.

There’s like 1,000 possible reasons why a magazine would take that tack in 2021. Arguing over how to “fix” the workings of the poll is just fan fiction.

Wow there's no blues, folk, country, or standards, Billy Holiday represents the whole of pre-rock n roll music


There’s some blues, a little country, and a few other pre-R&R songs (Rob’t Johnson, Hank Williams).

I am a little surprised no standards (Sinatra?), showtunes, etc.

Oh sorry - guess you were talking about the Top 50, not the whole list

OK, but put 10 or 20 of these lists together, let the outliers fall away, and you've got a consensus again.
― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, September 19, 2021 7:28 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

That underestimates the editorial line of RS - the structural reasons are not at all universal.
For example, the ILM poll done in 2010 for the period up to 2000 had the following top 50 out of 88 lists. I searched for "Move on up" and it was #62, whatever, but this is way closer to an authoritative list. It is possible.

50. SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS "I Put a Spell on You" (1956) [1,495 points, 17 votes]
49. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND "Sister Ray" (1968) [1,551 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote]
48. SLY & THE FAMILY STONE "Family Affair" (1971) [1,558 points, 15 votes]
47. NEW ORDER "Blue Monday" (1983) [1,571 points, 14 votes]
46. DESMOND DEKKER & THE ACES "Israelites" (1968) [1,591 points, 15 votes]
45. CHIC "Good Times" (1979) [1,604 points, 18 votes]
44. PULP "Common People" (1995) [1,625 points, 13 votes]
43. NEW ORDER "Temptation" (1982) [1,629 points, 14 votes]
42. DEPECHE MODE "Enjoy the Silence" (1990) [1,640 points, 14 votes]
41. PRINCE "Little Red Corvette" (1982) [1,651 points, 15 votes]
40. PUBLIC ENEMY "Bring the Noise" (1987) [1,659 points, 16 votes]
39. THE UNDERTONES "Teenage Kicks" (1978) [1,703 points, 17 votes]
38. DEEE-LITE "Groove Is in the Heart" (1990) [1,732 points, 16 votes]
37. THE SMITHS "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (1986) [1,787 points, 17 votes]
36. MARVIN GAYE "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" (1968) [1,863 points, 16 votes]
35. SONIC YOUTH "Teen Age Riot" (1988) [1,865 points, 21 votes]
34. THE FLAMINGOS "I Only Have Eyes for You" (1959) [1,867 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote]
33. FUNKADELIC "Maggot Brain" (1971) [1,908 points, 16 votes]
32. JOY DIVISION "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (1980) [1,909 points, 18 votes]
31. THE BEATLES "A Day in the Life" (1967) [1,933 points, 18 votes]
30. THE JACKSON 5 "I Want You Back" (1969) [1,953 points, 18 votes]
29. THE MODERN LOVERS "Roadrunner" (1972) [1,957 points, 18 votes]
28. SAM COOKE "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964) [1,968 points, 21 votes]
27. ? & THE MYSTERIANS "96 Tears" (1966) [1,987 points, 17 votes]
26. BOB DYLAN "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) [2,025 points, 19 votes]

25. ALTHEA & DONNA "Uptown Top Ranking" (1977) [2,050 points, 20 votes]
24. BIG STAR "September Gurls" (1974) [2,102 points, 21 votes]
23. BLUE ÖYSTER CULT "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (1976) [2,139 points, 20 votes]
22. PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION "When Doves Cry" (1984) [2,152 points, 23 votes]
21. MICHAEL JACKSON "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (1979) [2,181 points, 21 votes]
20. THE SMITHS "This Charming Man" (1983) [2,182 points, 21 votes]
19. OTIS REDDING "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (1968) [2,219 points, 21 votes]
18. LAURIE ANDERSON "O Superman" (1981) [2,249 points, 20 votes, 1 first place vote]
17. THE BEATLES "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967) [2,254 points, 18 votes, 2 first place votes]
16. TALKING HEADS "Once in a Lifetime" (1980) [2,281 points, 21 votes]
15. THE SPECIALS "Ghost Town" (1981) [2,304 points, 20 votes, 1 first place vote]
14. THE KINKS "Waterloo Sunset" (1967) [2,350 points, 21 votes]
13. STEVIE WONDER "Superstition" (1972) [2,358 points, 22 votes]
12. DAVID BOWIE "Heroes" (1977) [2,444 points, 23 votes, 1 first place vote]
11. KATE BUSH "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" (1985) [2,446 points, 27 votes]
10. GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE "The Message" (1982) [2,474 points, 26 votes]
09. THE BEACH BOYS "Good Vibrations" (1966) [2,510 points, 25 votes]
08. TELEVISION "Marquee Moon" (1977) [2,587 points, 22 votes]
07. MICHAEL JACKSON "Billie Jean" (1982) [2,604 points, 24 votes, 1 first place vote]
06. GLEN CAMPBELL "Wichita Lineman" (1968) [2,687 points, 28 votes]
05. BILLIE HOLIDAY "Strange Fruit" (1939) [2,699 points, 24 votes]
04. THE RONETTES "Be My Baby" (1963) [2,721 points, 25 votes, 1 first place vote]
03. DONNA SUMMER "I Feel Love" (1977) [2,912 points, 32 votes]
02. THE ROLLING STONES "Gimme Shelter" (1969) [3,100 points, 26 votes]
01. THE BEACH BOYS "God Only Knows" (1966) [3,286 points, 26 votes, 1 first place vote]

For example, the ILM poll done in 2010 for the period up to 2000 1990 more like

I can’t believe how much I used to like “Runaway” given how I feel about it now

Now this is a poll I can get behind
Seven nation army

the structural reasons are not at all universal.

Sure, the deciding factor is who is allowed to participate, and that ILM list is better.

Billie Holiday represents the whole of pre-rock n roll music

But look, it's the same in the ILM top 50, despite our/their superior taste and historical scope! Is it because we disdain jazz as much as Rolling Stone?

Although the ILM list is a little closer to my tastes, I don't see the two lists as radically different in scope or diversity. ILM list has less hip-hop and early rock n roll, a little more proto-indie, British hits, and reggae.

Guess there are limits to the more expansive and inclusive vision after all:

Lol Puccini. https://t.co/PZeNcxP0Co

— Brian Hiatt (@hiattb) September 15, 2021

Lol Puccini?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OW7GoIl0T8

1000 Years of Popular Music is a 2003 live album by Richard Thompson.

The album was originally conceived after Richard Thompson, along with many other artists, was asked by Playboy magazine to nominate his choice of the best songs of the last 1000 years. He took them exactly at their word and served up a list that included the oldest-known English-language songs, a medieval Italian dance tune and various other folk songs alongside slightly more contemporary fare. The list was never published by Playboy; it was subsequently released into CD format.

Richard Thompson otm but Britney?

That underestimates the editorial line of RS - the structural reasons are not at all universal.
For example, the ILM poll done in 2010 for the period up to 2000 had the following top 50 out of 88 lists. I searched for "Move on up" and it was #62, whatever, but this is way closer to an authoritative list. It is possible.

50. SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS "I Put a Spell on You" (1956) [1,495 points, 17 votes]
49. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND "Sister Ray" (1968) [1,551 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote]
48. SLY & THE FAMILY STONE "Family Affair" (1971) [1,558 points, 15 votes]
47. NEW ORDER "Blue Monday" (1983) [1,571 points, 14 votes]
46. DESMOND DEKKER & THE ACES "Israelites" (1968) [1,591 points, 15 votes]
45. CHIC "Good Times" (1979) [1,604 points, 18 votes]
44. PULP "Common People" (1995) [1,625 points, 13 votes]
43. NEW ORDER "Temptation" (1982) [1,629 points, 14 votes]
42. DEPECHE MODE "Enjoy the Silence" (1990) [1,640 points, 14 votes]
41. PRINCE "Little Red Corvette" (1982) [1,651 points, 15 votes]
40. PUBLIC ENEMY "Bring the Noise" (1987) [1,659 points, 16 votes]
39. THE UNDERTONES "Teenage Kicks" (1978) [1,703 points, 17 votes]
38. DEEE-LITE "Groove Is in the Heart" (1990) [1,732 points, 16 votes]
37. THE SMITHS "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (1986) [1,787 points, 17 votes]
36. MARVIN GAYE "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" (1968) [1,863 points, 16 votes]
35. SONIC YOUTH "Teen Age Riot" (1988) [1,865 points, 21 votes]
34. THE FLAMINGOS "I Only Have Eyes for You" (1959) [1,867 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote]
33. FUNKADELIC "Maggot Brain" (1971) [1,908 points, 16 votes]
32. JOY DIVISION "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (1980) [1,909 points, 18 votes]
31. THE BEATLES "A Day in the Life" (1967) [1,933 points, 18 votes]
30. THE JACKSON 5 "I Want You Back" (1969) [1,953 points, 18 votes]
29. THE MODERN LOVERS "Roadrunner" (1972) [1,957 points, 18 votes]
28. SAM COOKE "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964) [1,968 points, 21 votes]
27. ? & THE MYSTERIANS "96 Tears" (1966) [1,987 points, 17 votes]
26. BOB DYLAN "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) [2,025 points, 19 votes]

25. ALTHEA & DONNA "Uptown Top Ranking" (1977) [2,050 points, 20 votes]
24. BIG STAR "September Gurls" (1974) [2,102 points, 21 votes]
23. BLUE ÖYSTER CULT "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (1976) [2,139 points, 20 votes]
22. PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION "When Doves Cry" (1984) [2,152 points, 23 votes]
21. MICHAEL JACKSON "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (1979) [2,181 points, 21 votes]
20. THE SMITHS "This Charming Man" (1983) [2,182 points, 21 votes]
19. OTIS REDDING "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (1968) [2,219 points, 21 votes]
18. LAURIE ANDERSON "O Superman" (1981) [2,249 points, 20 votes, 1 first place vote]
17. THE BEATLES "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967) [2,254 points, 18 votes, 2 first place votes]
16. TALKING HEADS "Once in a Lifetime" (1980) [2,281 points, 21 votes]
15. THE SPECIALS "Ghost Town" (1981) [2,304 points, 20 votes, 1 first place vote]
14. THE KINKS "Waterloo Sunset" (1967) [2,350 points, 21 votes]
13. STEVIE WONDER "Superstition" (1972) [2,358 points, 22 votes]
12. DAVID BOWIE "Heroes" (1977) [2,444 points, 23 votes, 1 first place vote]
11. KATE BUSH "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" (1985) [2,446 points, 27 votes]
10. GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE "The Message" (1982) [2,474 points, 26 votes]
09. THE BEACH BOYS "Good Vibrations" (1966) [2,510 points, 25 votes]
08. TELEVISION "Marquee Moon" (1977) [2,587 points, 22 votes]
07. MICHAEL JACKSON "Billie Jean" (1982) [2,604 points, 24 votes, 1 first place vote]
06. GLEN CAMPBELL "Wichita Lineman" (1968) [2,687 points, 28 votes]
05. BILLIE HOLIDAY "Strange Fruit" (1939) [2,699 points, 24 votes]
04. THE RONETTES "Be My Baby" (1963) [2,721 points, 25 votes, 1 first place vote]
03. DONNA SUMMER "I Feel Love" (1977) [2,912 points, 32 votes]
02. THE ROLLING STONES "Gimme Shelter" (1969) [3,100 points, 26 votes]
01. THE BEACH BOYS "God Only Knows" (1966) [3,286 points, 26 votes, 1 first place vote]

― Nabozo, Sunday, September 19, 2021 9:55 AM (five hours ago)

this is a really really cool top 50 tbh

- I love "Maybellene" and a couple of others, but the monotonous vocal cadence in "Johnny B. Goode" drives me nuts.
- "Tutti Frutti" is the weakest of Little Richard's hits, it sounds like a novelty.
- I just heard "Gasolina" today for the first (and last) time.

Voted Chuck.

Danza Kuduro or Atreve-te-te would have been better token choices for reggaeton. Gasolina or Despacito are dead to me.

Yes, ILM is a superior Rolling Stone/Pitchfork, and it is possible to do an inclusive, crossover list that avoids tokenism and acknowledges many different traditions in a coherent way.

I'm grateful for Royals because it allowed her to make Melodrama which is pretty good, but the song itself is shite sorry.

Imagine might be terrible, but Lennon is such an important and distinctive voice (as JD explained) that I don't hate its inclusion. Similar with Curtis and Love Will Tear Us Apart, Andre 3000 and Hey Ya, even MIA and Paper Planes.

Went with Bohemian Rhapsody. Hotel California, Layla and Stairway to Heaven are all better obnoxious classic rock staples that should take its place.

All three of those songs, aside from being worse, are covering a pretty different base.

Seven Nation Army is an underrated idiotic inclusion here. Presumably they can’t get over the fact that the riff is chanted in arenas now.

Hotel California, Layla and Stairway to Heaven feel like they’re three times their length

It’s not even a top 50 Jock Jam

House of the Rising Sun is the actually enduring classic rock staple imo.

ILM got it right, “don’t fear the reaper” is the one.

yeah, that too

I voted “Bohemian Rhapsody,” though in a way, I almost admire the earnestness with which it clumsily tries to rewrite “A Quick One, While He’s Away.”

“Seven Nation Army” is basically the ‘00s equivalent of REO Speedwagon’s “Roll With The Changes,” a mildly not-unpleasant way to spend the next few minutes on a long drive.

Imagine might be terrible, but Lennon is such an important and distinctive voice (as JD explained) that I don't hate its inclusion.

yes without the inclusion of Imagine John Lennon would have been severely underrepresented

"Centerfold" (J. Geils Band) is my guilty-pleasure jam, but it's nowhere to found on the RS list. I thought it would be a shoo-in; at least considering some of the other choices, lol.

As conservative as the 2004 list was, it was also infinitely better. No one would have dared to put something like Bohemian Rhapsody in the top 20 back then.

I tend to criticize ILM lists (in large part due to them being intentionally challopy) but the one noted upthread is leagues better than this RS one, or prob any other "by-committee" list I've seen.

I still don't understand Strawberry Fields being the highest ranked Beatles song in both the ILM poll and the RS one. I guess my opinion is an outlier, but I've never thought of that song for longer than it takes to listen to it.

I love it and would listen to it a hundred times over, say, "Hey Jude," but who cares

Good thing they took some time to give kudos to John Lennon, such an underrated artist from the 60’s. He would only have had 6 songs in the countdown without “Imagine”.

Flamingos, Wichita Lineman, Israelites, Deeelite, 96 Tears, I Put A Spell on You, Little Red Corvette...

that ILM list is like someone has been snooping in my amygdala.

Always thankful for that poll making me realize what a majestic and otherworldly song "I Only Have Eyes For You" is. It eventually ended up winning our 1950s poll iirc.

was a preteen when I first heard Strawberry Fields, it still is the most amazing Beatles song to me

Someone poll the highest 50 songs that got cut from the 2003/2010 lists (data courtesy of some person of Acclaimed Music Forums). The Times They Are A-Changin' indeed!

34. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" – The Righteous Brothers
53. "When a Man Loves a Woman" – Percy Sledge
55. "Long Tall Sally" – Little Richard
59. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" – Bob Dylan
61. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" – Jerry Lee Lewis"
63. "For What It's Worth" – Buffalo Springfield
65. "Sunshine of Your Life" – Cream
72. "California Girls" – The Beach Boys"
77. "Mystery Train" – Elvis Presley
78. "I Got You (I Feel Good)" –James Brown
83. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" – The Beatles
95. "Blue Suede Shoes" – Carl Perkins
97. "Roll Over Beethoven" – Chuck Berry
102. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
104. "Hot Stuff" – Donna Summer
106. "The Boxer" – Simon and Garfunkel
108. "Not Fade Away" – Buddy Holly and The Crickets
110. "Brown Eyed Girl" – Van Morrison
111. "I've Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now)" – Otis Redding
113. "That's All Right" – Elvis Presley
115. "You Send Me" – Sam Cooke
117. "Take Me to the River" – Al Green
124. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" – James Brown
127. "Shake, Rattle & Roll" – Big Joe Turner
129. "Rock & Roll Music" – Chuck Berry
130. "Born to Be Wild" – Steppenwolf
133. "Who Do You Love?" – Bo Diddley
140. "I Saw Her Standing There" – The Beatles
143. "Please, Please, Please" – James Brown and His Famous Flames
145. "I Wanna be Sedated" – Ramones
148. "Me and Bobby McGee" – Janis Joplin
150. "Cathy's Clown" - The Everly Brothers
152. "Earth Angel" – The Penguins
153. "Foxey Lady" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
154. "A Hard Day's Night" – The Beatles
155. "Rave On" – Buddy Holly and the Crickets
159. "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" – Bill Haley and His Comets
164. "I Can't Stop Loving You" – Ray Charles
177. "I Fought The Law" – The Bobby Fuller Four
178. "Don't Worry Baby" – The Beach Boys
184. "Save The Last Dance For Me" – The Drifters
185. "The Thrill Is Gone" – B.B. King
186. "Please Please Me" – The Beatles
188. "Who'll Stop The Rain" Creedence Clearwater Revival
190. "Back in Black" – AC/DC
196. "There Goes My Baby" – The Drifters
199. "Maybe" – The Chantels
200. "Don't Be Cruel" – Elvis Presley
201. "Hey Joe" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
206. "Positively 4th Street" – Bob Dylan
210. "Bye Bye Love" – The Everly Brothers
212. "In My Room" – The Beach Boys
213. "96 Tears" - ? and the Mysterians
214. "Caroline, No" – The Beach Boys
216. "Rockin' in the Free World" – Neil Young
218. "Do You Believe in Magic" – The Lovin' Spoonful
222. "Walk Away Renee" – The Left Banke
224. "Oh, Pretty Woman" – Roy Orbison
225. "Dance to the Music" – Sly and the Family Stone
226. "Hoochie Coochie Man" – Muddy Waters
228. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" – The Clash
231. "Moondance" – Van Morrison
232. "Just Like A Woman" – Bob Dylan
234. "Only The Lonely" – Roy Orbison
235. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" – The Animals
237. "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" – The Byrds
238. "Everyday" – Buddy Holly and the Crickets
239. "I Got A Woman" – Ray Charles
241. "I Fall to Pieces" – Patsy Cline
243. "The Wanderer" – Dion
244. "Stand!" – Sly and the Family Stone
246. "Love Shack" – The B-52's
247. "Gimme Some Lovin" – The Spencer Davis Group
248. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" – Jackie Wilson
249. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" – The Band
250. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" – Sly and the Family Stone
254. "Money Honey" – The Drifters
255. "Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin
257. "Paranoid Android" – Radiohead
258. "Highway to Hell" –AC/DC
261. "Wild Thing" – The Troggs
262. "I Can See For Miles" – The Who
263. "Oh, What A Night" – The Dells
264. "Hallelujah" – Jeff Buckley
266. "Ooo Baby Baby" – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
267. "He's a Rebels" – The Crystals
269. "Walking in the Rain" – The Ronettes
270. "Tighten Up" – Archie Bell and the Drells
272. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" – U2
276. "Sloop John B" – The Beach Boys
277. "Sweet Little Sixteen" – Chuck Berry
279. "Somebody to Love" – Jefferson Airplane
280. "Born in the U.S.A." – Bruce Springsteen
282. "Ziggy Stardust" – David Bowie
284. "Chapel of Love" – The Dixie Cups
289. "Call Me" – Blondie
290. "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
291. "Smokestack Lightning" – Howlin' Wolf
293. "Walk This Way" – Run-DMC
294. "Money (That's What I Want)" – Barrett Strong
295. "Can't Buy Me Love" – The Beatles
297. "She's Not There" – The Zombies
298. "Train in Vain" – The Clash
299. "Tired of Being Alone" – Al Green
300. "Black Dog" – Led Zeppelin
301. "Street Fighting Man" – The Rolling Stones
304. "Sign 'O' the Times" – Prince
305. "One Way or Another" – Blondie
308. "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" – Rod Stewart
309. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" – Willie Nelson
311. "With a Little Help From My Friends" – The Beatles
313. "That's Entertainment" – The Jam
314. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" – Frankie Lymon and the Teenages
315. "Lonely Teardrops" – Jackie Wilson
318. "Wake Up Little Susie" – The Everly Brothers
319. "In Dreams" – Roy Orbison
322. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" – The Animals
325. "Many Rivers to Cross" – Jimmy Cliff
328. "Heartbreaker" – Led Zeppelin
329. "Cortez the Killer" – Neil Young
331. "Dancing Barefoot" – Patti Smith Group
333. "Good Lovin'" – The Young Rascals
335. "For Your Precious Love" – Jerry Butler and the Impressions
336. "The End" – The Doors
337. "That's the Way of the World" – Earth, Wind and Fire
338. "We Will Rock You" – Queen
341. "Spirit in the Sky" – Norman Greenbaum
346. "Walk This Way" – Aerosmith
347. "Maybe I'm Amazed" – Paul McCartney
351. "Runaround Sue" – Dion
352. "Jim Dandy" – Lavern Baker
353. "Piece of My Heart" – Big Brother and the Holding Company
354. "La Bamba" – Ritchie Valens
356. "Candle in the Wind" – Elton John
357. "That Lady (Part 1 and 2)" – The Isley Brothers
358. "Spanish Harlem" – Ben E. King
359. "The Loco-Motion" – Little Eva
360. "The Great Pretender" – The Platters
361. "All Shook Up" – Elvis Presley
362. "Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton
363. "Watching the Detectives" – Elvis Costello
364. "Bad Moon Rising" – Creedence Clearwater Revival
367. "Nowhere to Run" – Martha and the Vandellas
368. "Got My Mojo Working" – Muddy Waters
370. "All You Need Is Love" – The Beatles
371. "Complete Control" – The Clash
372. "The Letter" – The Box Tops
373. "Highway 61 Revisited" – Bob Dylan
375. "How Deep Is Your Love" – Bee Gees
376. "White Room" – Cream
377. "Personal Jesus" – Depeche Mode
378. "I'm a Man" – Bo Diddley
379. "The Wind Cries Mary" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
380. "I Can't Explain" – The Who
382. "Wonderful World" – Sam Cooke
383. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" – Chuck Berry
384. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" – Pink Floyd
385. "Fake Plastic Trees" – Radiohead
387. "Hit the Road Jack" – Ray Charles
388. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" – U2
390. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" – Elton John
391. "Tell It Like It Is" – Aaron Neville
392. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" – The Verve
394. "Ticket to Ride" – The Beatles
395. "Ohio" – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
396. "I Know You Got Soul" – Eric B. and Rakim
398. "Roxanne" – The Police
399. "Just My Imagination" – The Temptations
400. "Baby I Need Your Loving" – The Four Tops
401. "Summer in the City" – The Lovin' Spoonful
402. "O-o-h Child" – The Five Stairsteps
403. "Can't Help Falling in Love" – Elvis Presley
404. "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" – The Shangri-Las
406. "Thirteen" – Big Star
407. "Sweet Home Alabama" – Lynyrd Skynyrd
409. "Tonight's the Night" – The Shirelles
410. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Sly and The Family Stone
411. "C'mon Everybody" – Eddie Cochran
414. "We've Only Just Begun" – Carpenters
415. "In Bloom" – Nirvana
416. "Sweet Emotion" – Aerosmith
417. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" – Pixies
420. "The Girl Can't Help It" – Little Richard
421. "Young Blood" – The Coasters
428. "It's Your Thing" – The Isley Brothers
429. "Piano Man" – Billy Joel
430. "Blue Suede Shoes" – Elvis Presley
431. "William, It Was Really Nothing" – The Smiths
434. "Smoke on the Water" – Deep Purple
435. "New Year's Day" – U2
436. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" – Solomon Burke
438. "Ain't It a Shame" – Fats Domino
440. "Ramble On" – Led Zeppelin
441. "Mustang Sally" – Wilson Pickett
442. "Alone Again Or" – Love
443. "Beast of Burden" – The Rolling Stones
444. "Love Me Tender" – Elvis Presley
446. "Push It" – Salt 'N Pepa
447. "Pink Houses" – John Cougar Mellencamp
449. "Come Go With Me" – The Dell-Vikings
450. "I Shot the Sheriff" – Bob Marley and The Wailers
451. "I Got You Babe" – Sonny and Cher
455. "Heroin" – The Velvet Underground
457. "The Twist" – Chubby Checker
458. "Cupid" – Sam Cooke
459. "Paradise City" – Guns N' Roses
460. "My Sweet Lord" – George Harrison
462. "All Apologies" – Nirvana
463. "Soul Man" – Sam and Dave
465. "Rollin' Stone" – Muddy Waters
468. "Respect Yourself" – The Staple Singers
469. "Rain" – The Beatles
470. "Standing in the Shadows of Love" – The Four tops
472. "Runaway" – Del Shannon
475. "Where Did Our Love Go" – The Supremes
476. "Do Right Woman – Do Right Man" – Aretha Franklin
479. "I Want to Know What Love Is" – Foreigner
485. "Lady Marmalade" – Labelle
487. "I'm Eighteen" – Alice Cooper
489. "Under the Boardwalk" – The Drifters
491. "I Love Rock 'N Roll" – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
495. "Brown Sugar" – The Rolling Stones
496. "Running on Empty" – Jackson Browne
498. "Miss You"- The Rolling Stones
500. "Shop Around" – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

was going to say I liked the opening mellotron flute sounds and the swarmandal in Strawberry Fields

I still don't understand Strawberry Fields being the highest ranked Beatles song in both the ILM poll and the RS one. I guess my opinion is an outlier, but I've never thought of that song for longer than it takes to listen to it.

― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Sunday, September 19, 2021 8:46 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

was also wondering about that... i thought day in the life was always the top beatles representative on lists like these

would be interested in seeing ILX do another big list (cutoff at 2000 now) but i doubt it would turn out as good as the 2010 list

I mean, several people have tried to explain it on these threads, not to mention since 1967. I don't really know why someone would love "A Day in the Life" and not get "Strawberry Fields" but idk that anyone could be convinced at this point.

Someone poll the highest 50 songs that got cut from the 2003/2010 lists (data courtesy of some person of Acclaimed Music Forums).

Glancing through this, I see a lot more songs that I love than I do on the new list! Pretty great list in itself, actually.

Earth Angel, Push It, and Do You Believe in Magic all fell off the list… yet Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” has been included all three times 🤔

would be interested in seeing ILX do another big list (cutoff at 2000 now)

the cutoff was 2000 though, it was "best tracks of the 20th century"

just nothing past 1990 placed in the top 50, there were a bunch of later 90s tracks earlier

*Except for "Common People"

oh. well let's do it again and still cut it off at 2000 and see if we can replace common people with a better song

i nominate stars by hum

I mean, several people have tried to explain it on these threads, not to mention since 1967. I don't really know why someone would love "A Day in the Life" and not get "Strawberry Fields" but idk that anyone could be convinced at this point.

― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Sunday, September 19, 2021 11:40 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

consensus isn't really about love though. it's always weird trying to get a consensus beatles song to put next to everything else i guess. i guess if it could be hey jude it could be anything. SFF just never struck me as that kind of mega song, but i guess my perception is off

can a mod add a few more "i guess"es to that post

"strawberry fields forever" has always been one of the top consensus beatles picks, so it wasn't at all surprising to see it here

Xpost: tbh they picked headscratching picks for Radiohead: karma police, creep and idioteque. If you’re making a case for greatest Radiohead songs I think Paranoid Android is surely more of a consensus pick than those?

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, September 17, 2021 10:13 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Creep is the closest thing they have to a canon rock standard so of course it would be on there. Idioteque being so high up is just weird though. There was a time Radiohead were known disparagingly as "The Creep Band" much to their chagrin (I always think of the obnoxious guy in Meeting People Is Easy shouting "RADIOHEAD! CREEP! DICKHEAD!"), but you'd never think of them as "The Idioteque Band".

My choice would be Hey Ya! as it's just so overplayed at this point I never need to hear it again in my life.

Hey Ya! works for me for nostalgia value, a certain bar at a certain time in my life, I can imagine if you didn't have that connection it would be overplayed and annoying now.

Runaway

(Imagine would’ve been another option)

Interesting to compare the artists who scored multiple entries in RS and ILM top 50.

RS:
OutKast
The Rolling Stones

ILM:
The Beach Boys
Michael Jackson
The Smiths (!!)
New Order

BOTH:
The Beatles
Prince

Idiotique is definitely one of the best Radiohead songs

"idioteque" has been one of the most canonical radiohead picks for a while too so it's not really surprising to see it there, more surprising is "paranoid android" totally missing out

The Smiths (!!)

I mean it was a great band

MJ too, for that matter.

i don't think morrissey's reputation was at all good in 2010 but it's only gone downhill since of course

the smiths ballot poll had something like 60+ voters and that was in 2017 or so.

I just youtubed all the songs from the list which I didn't know yet or hadn't heard in ages.

Of most of the songs that weren't really my thing, I didn't think they were bad or worth voting for 'worst of the list' (Kanye, MIA).

I never really understood the White Stripes, I find Jack's vocals pretty unpleasant, but the guitar parts in Seven Nation Army are pretty good.

It's probably blasphemy to say so... but to me, 'Get Ur Freak On' is nothing more than an unappealing voice rapping over a ringtone. Actually tempted to vote for it. Can someone explain to me why Missy has such a high status? Am I just not hearing some brilliant technical skills or whatever?

I couldn't stand Gasolina. More likely vote.

But in the end, I will probably put another vote in for Lorde - Royals, for the same reason others have mentioned: it may not be terrible but it's not great and also so unremarkable that I can't even imagine why it would be on a list like this.

Get Ur Freak On' is nothing more than an unappealing voice rapping over a ringtone. Actually tempted to vote for it. Can someone explain to me why Missy has such a high status? Am I just not hearing some brilliant technical skills or whatever?

The spareness of the beat while that Punjabi melody plays atop + Missy's catchphrases. Why do you need technical skills?

remember my sister telling me about "the most stupid r&b song ever" which she had just heard, it was "just some wailing over some drums"

friends, I worked out she was talking about 1 Thing. :(

As great as "1 Thing" is, I can absolutely hear how a certain set of ears might find it the opposite.

the ears of a clown?

to quote smokey

I can understand someone finding "1 Thing" or "Get Ur Freak On" annoying and repetitive. Likewise with "Tutti Frutti", which seems like kind of the archetype of pop song as an energetic, simple hook that you'll either find infectious or moronic.

don't let a moronic hook put you off, i mean plenty of people voted for new order

I'd venture to say that every single song that was taken off the list is better than Royals, Paper Planes, and a majority of what's on the list that was recorded post-2004. "Royals" isn't better than any James Brown song. James Brown could have quite literally recorded himself snorting coke off of Maceo Parker's saxophone and it would have been more interesting than Royals.

Oh I love Missy :(

Get Yr Freak On hasn’t aged that well imho, but it’s still a classic… I understand why someone hearing it for the first time in 2021 would find it somewhat annoying. Supa Dupa Fly or Work It would be the big singles I’d choose to introduce someone to her.

I love "Beep Me 911" more than anything else Missy's released, but she does need to be represented by something that works on a dancefloor.

I agree "Beep Me 911" is her best solo track.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Went with "Idioteque," out of the ones I've heard. "Kid A" was where Radiohead lost me HARD.

There are potentially songs on here I like less, but I went with "Idioteque" because I don't know if I've ever seen such a spectacular collapse in quality over the course of just one album.

really annoyed by Whiney everyone anyone else who are posting songs first and artists second in their lists

kinda amazed there's still people who hate kid a that much

really annoyed by Whiney everyone anyone else who are posting songs first and artists second in their lists

ah fuck voted for juicy because i absent-mindedly picked my fav

For shame.

pretend there’s one less for that one and one more for royals

haha - that’s what you Royals h8ers get

Hmm.

I guess whichever song is worst here, doesn’t mean it’s terrible.

There are a bunch that would not be in the list if they reran it ten years from now, but.

I like “idioteque” a lot, but it’s not really a song as it’s main appeal is it’s musical style. It’s nearer an instrumental.

Often with these polls, I’ll think “which one would I play right now if I had one free go on the jukebox” but.

So, no vote from me.

Always thankful for that poll making me realize what a majestic and otherworldly song "I Only Have Eyes For You" is. It eventually ended up winning our 1950s poll iirc.

― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Monday, 20 September 2021 01:00 (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

Best ilx poll ever, btw. I have the rundown on minidisc

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

50. Daddy Yankee feat. Glory, "Gasolina" 13

fuck off you pissheads

The fact that "Runaway" got the most votes in this particular poll shows me that you never have as many allies as you think you do.

is that a reference to the song "runaway"? i haven't listened to or thought about that song in 10 years

Someone thinks "Be My Baby" is the worst song on this list(?)

“feat.” not popular with voters (= 25% of all votes)

didn't vote in this poll, but am most inclined against All Along the Watchtower. I thought the sound of it was awful, and it was an emblem to me of the taste of the straight people I was beginning to hate as a teenager. In retrospect I still don't like it

08. Missy Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On" 3

smh

That’s an interesting perceptual thing, bc “All Along the Watchtower” sounds awesome to me and like it could be Hendrix’s best ever track in terms of production. I suppose it is a type of production specific to a certain era though

Xp

I guess perception is everything, it's awesome technically but really dispiriting to me

Blue Monday came up for me on youtube after it for some reason, a much much better song

i like hendrix as much as anyone but watchtower was never a particular favorite -- much prefer the original version

I can't imagine preferring the original, even Dylan thought Hendrix improved on it.

keep in mind that a lot of people accidentally voted for their fav instead of least fav

I get that “Dreams” and “ Tiny Dancer” are way overplayed by now, but I’d hate to live in the skin of someone who thinks they are the worst songs in here.

08. Missy Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On" 3

smh

You syh, I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who thinks it's shit.

Which Elliot song do you prefer?

Had to listen to Runaway to work out if I'd heard it before. My god it's horrible.

I'm not a kneejerk hater of Kanye's music (there are a few things I like) but I often find myself wondering how his 2010s stuff can make people feel good when they listen to it: This claustrophobic, mid-range, coke-eared sound with loads of deliberately horrid sound choices, and largely humourless, self-absorbed lyrics about being proud of how much of a dick he has become despite it making him feel terrible inside.

Earlier Kanye involved the listener; there was self-deprecation but it was done with humour. He was always the main event, but you felt like you were at the party with him, joking around with him. Whereas the main feeling I get from the later stuff is like being at the end of the party when it's just assholes still snorting lines at 7am and talking gibberish as the sun comes up and pierces your senses and you desperately wait for a taxi to take you home

It's the most gratuitous, self-indulgent song on his most gratuitous, self-indulgent album.

self-absorbed, i mean

Oh, it's the "toast for the douchebags" song. I do know it and actually like it OK, ha. Definitely wouldn't change my vote.

32. The Notorious B.I.G., "Juicy" 2

DIE

^^ one of those was an accidental vote from me, because i absent-mindedly voted for the *best* track in this worst track poll

pretend there’s one less for that one and one more for royals

― grove street (party) direction (voodoo chili), Tuesday, October 5, 2021 8:46 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

you know very well
who you are

I’ve never understood why Runaway is considered one of his best songs, let alone one of the best songs ever (lol?) MBDTF has way better songs - power, all of the lights, monster… - Runaway just seems to go on and on and on and on and then it ends with a 3 minute bullshit outro. Why do people always flock to the longest tracks as if they were bigger statements? Runaway is about 5 minutes too long.

it's the centerpiece of an album that everyone (ilm-excluded) loves, and it's kanye at his most self-aware and self-loathing which im sure people like for voyeuristic reasons

It's the aural equivalent of a bad comedown, and yeah that outro isn't anywhere close to earning its welcome

Haha. I spent this whole thread thinking people were talking about Del Shannon's Runaway. I could not figure out why it was garnering so much hate.

Marnie singing Kanye at her ex's party on that one episode of Girls casts a long shadow over everything he's done in the last 10 years including "Runaway"

xp Imagine if Rolling Stone had put "Run Away" by The Real McCoy on the all-time best songs list!? I'd respect the hell out of it

Runaway by Del Shannon is an excellent song.

I still think Paper Planes is the worst on that list.

Voted Dylan, heartened by two other votes. Don’t tell me they don’t bought they were voting for the best

These songs are no fun to listen to at all. Have some fun, goddammit. I guess “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Hey Ya” maybe a little. Dance, you motherfuckers!!!

Absence of "Fox on the Run" basically disqualifies RS from making lists.

rs revised list in 2036

1. fox on the run
2. fox in the snow
3. eye in the sky
4. hole in the sky

oh yah, loved listening to Del Shannon's "Runaway" cued up by Dick Biondi on the oldies station when I was 5

Voodoo Chili OTM.

Wow dick biondi is still alive

1st US dj to play the Beatles!

Voted Dylan, heartened by two other votes. Don’t tell me they don’t bought (sic) they were voting for the best

In my case, yes. (That's what I get for reading hastily while cooking.) So it's actually just you and one other vote.

xp

"His ambition is to become the oldest active Rock and Roll disc jockey in the US. Biondi has said "I'd like to die with my earphones on.""

Dog Latin absolutely OTFM about 2010s Kanye

Dog Latin absolutely OTFM about 2010s Kanye

Yeah I agree with that post too. It's a big reason why The College Dropout remains my favorite even if the productions got better and more sophisticated. Watch the Throne was the first album that I didn't like, and it felt like a huge drop-off to me even though it did pretty well with most fans and the press.

Voted Dylan, heartened by two other votes. Don’t tell me they don’t bought they were voting for the best

sorry, Eric

sorry, Eric

wow, you too? I'm curious as to how many votes in general were mistakes?

Wow dick biondi is still alive

Wow indeed. I listened to him regularly in 1983-84…and my mom listened to him in 1960-61.

1st US dj to play the Beatles!

He definitely predated the Washington, DC dj who claimed to be first, but I think Biondi may have been scooped by whoever played a Beatles record on a southern Illinois station when George Harrison visited his sister in 1963.

I’ve never understood why Runaway is considered one of his best songs

think it's just "wow he released a 9 minute single" was enough to blind everyone? i think it's alright but not some sort of masterpiece, beat is nice & sounds very grand but he's at his most lyrically obnoxious and the outro is really wasted

funny how the one element of College Dropout that really informed his later work was that endless monologue at the end

think it's just "wow he released a 9 minute single" was enough to blind everyone?

If that's true, it's funny that it worked for Kanye but not for "Like a Rolling Stone" anymore

"Like a Rolling Stone" is a tremendously good song, even if you may be sick of hearing it or w/e

how were there so many voting mistakes ITT? literally "worst" is the first word in the title!

y'all are like some of the people in my classes ;)

how were there so many voting mistakes ITT?

This is how Bush Jr. and Trump won their elections.

90% of this thread title is the same as the other opposite thread title, not too surprised people mixed them up

so like if a newspaper ran two articles on back to back days

"76ers Win 110-108"

and

"76ers Lose 110-108"

the average person would react AWESOME TWO GAME WINNING STREAK?

But doesn't that mean less disappointed readers and more happy ones? How can you be so critical about that?

they wouldn't say that, the average person does not root for the 76ers

It's a bit heads I win tails you lose

But doesn't that mean less disappointed readers and more happy ones? How can you be so critical about that?

Didn't realize everyone felt "Runaway" was as bad as I did. I only heard the album for the first time a few years ago, without having heard any of its songs prior. Mostly liked it except for that really long boring track in the middle - I was puzzled to learn THAT was the big track from the album