Acclaimed Music Top 40 Songs from 1968 poll

hard to believe this decade is about to wrap up. a few songs i really don't know.

can't argue with the top song here.

"Jumpin' Jack Flash" has sounded better than ever to me lately though.

Sister Ray and Tighten Up in a tie. Heckuva year.

Tammy Wynette is such an extraordinary singer. The way she suddenly hits those high notes on "Stand by Your Man" - yeah.

'America'

My first thought is "Wichita Lineman," but I'm going to let it marinate a couple of days.

Too many favorites here. Witchita Lineman vs Everybody's Talkin'? All Along the Watchtower vs.Sympathy for the Devil? Grapevine vs. Everyday People?

Nothing is jumping out as a clear winner just now, but it just struck me as fairly amazing that so many of the songs here (and in previous polls) are still stuck fast in our collective memories despite being almost half a decade old. Kinda don't feel like that's going to be true for very many songs from the past decade once another 50 years have elapsed.

Ugh. Just woke up. I assure you I know the difference between a decade and a century.

There will be. The thing about these lists is that they are a distillation of any given year, the illusion is given that previous decades are "better" than the current one simply because with the passing of time, the lesser stuff gets forgotten about and the great stuff gets remembered, eventually "solidifying" into lists consisting of just the best stuff.

It kinda boils my piss a little when people talk about the '60s or '70s as if there was no crap released... of course there was!

I didn't say that. Awful music always has and always will exist.

Well, the traditional 50p for the jukebox.

Terry Riley - In C

Well, at least I get good value!

Jumpin' Jack Flash

All Along the Watchtower can still make it rain.

i'm way more burned out on a lot of these than any of the earlier years. still love the sly, velvets, beatles, gainsbourg/bardot, dusty, and morrison.

man, this one is really, really hard

wichita lineman

Really tough one. "Think" is 30. 30!

Another here for wichita lineman.

Love "Wichita Lineman" but it's next to impossible for me to hear any version but the Meters' in my head.

oh shit, i didn't see "Born to be Wild" on here, I change my vote to that

Jumpin' Jack Flash gets better every time I hear it, and I've heard it a lot.

'America'

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican)

Me too.

Heavy metal thunder...

Not sure which I'll click on; essentially a tie at the top.

1. Aretha Franklin - I Say a Little Prayer
Sly and the Family Stone - Everyday People

3. Tommy James & the Shondells - Crimson and Clover
4. Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin'
5. Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson
6. Rolling Stones - Street Fighting Man
7. Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
8. Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Israelites
9. Archie Bell & the Drells - Tighten Up

If you look at the charts from 1968, it's amazing how much hard soul dominated Top 40.

The amazing bass on "Bonnie and Clyde" (courtesy of Herbie Flowers) just edges this over "Tighten Up" for me.

Dock of the Bay... Great karaoke/campfire singalong.

oh no, i missed Wichita Lineman!!

Aretha just owns that song, the Dionne version just sounds so timid by comparison-and I love Dionne.

I remember the Dionne one when it came out, but I haven't heard it since the Aretha one came out.

Tammy Wynette is such an extraordinary singer. The way she suddenly hits those high notes on "Stand by Your Man" - yeah.

never have heard this song before, just watched a YouTube of it and blown away.

also the first seven or so tracks are some of the best songs ever made in my opinion.

You'd never heard 'Stand By Your Man' before!? I'm surprised! It's one of those songs that I just assumed everyone was familiar with!

i wrote (a few songs i really don't know) so nope, i have almost no knowledge of Country music outside a few songs or really later decades of choice singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwBirf4BWew

I recognise the quality here but very few of the songs have personal resonance for me. I'm sure there were more interesting (to me) things happening in 1968.

Anyway: Sister Ray

the 1969 poll is going to be delayed so this will be the last one for a couple of weeks.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

easier to drop ten from this list then pick a winner

ultimately went for the Zombies.

very hard. Wichita vs Street Fighting Man vs Zombies.

fuck it, Zombies

Will anyone rep for the otherJimmy Webb song on this list?

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

was not expecting this to win but can see why it won.

Obviously need more easy listening psychedelia in the diet because they got high on this one.

America is the head scratcher for me, and I am a huge Simon and Garfunkel fan.
Voted Aretha.

1968, spooky year, spooky records. I like that the phrases "heard it through the grapevine" and "hear you through the whine" show up on two major singles going different directions.

Speaking of, I take back my implication that more familiarity with any particular genre would make "Wichita Lineman" seem less on its own. I was wrong to even suggest it - nothing before WL and little after resembles it. I think it's a better record than song. Now, it's a real good song and all, but the arrangement and production is classic.

I don't like "and I need you more than want you / and I want you for all time." Clever songwriter move, out of character with the rest of the words.

I don't like "and I need you more than want you / and I want you for all time."

I think it's a better record than song. Now, it's a real good song and all

Plz explain the difference between these two lines.

"I need you more than want you" is startling, even brutal. Immediately adding "and I want you for all time" turns the first line into the mere setup for a greeting card move. It's not fatal, but it always takes me out of the song, twice per listen.