[Music] Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs (Updated Edition)

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:15 pm

Rolling Stone has updated their Top 500 songs list for the first time since 2004, so I thought this would be a fun project to run through (and a heck of a lot less ambitious than my Top 500 Albums one I did years ago). Not going to write a big treatise on each track, but just my random thoughts.

500 - Kanye West - "Stronger" - I'm not a Kanye West fan due to his whole attention-whoring personality, but I confess I did listen to his first two albums quite a bit. And as far as Kanye songs go, this one is listenable due to the generous sampling of Daft Punk. He may be a musical genius, who knows, but I can't get past his antics.

499 - The Supremes - "Baby Love" - I love my oldies, I love girl groups, and this one is high on the list of my favorite girl group tracks. Pure pop perfection.

498 - Townes Van Zandt - "Pancho and Lefty" - Admittedly I had never heard this version, only being familiar with the Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard cover. However, darn if I didn't love it. While the Willie & Merle version is a classic, Van Zandt's stripped down original is haunting and sad in a way that the cover never conveyed.

497 - Lizzo - "Truth Hurts" - This was a bit of a jarring inclusion in the middle of a couple of old tunes, but such is the nature of these lists I suppose. I know this song as "the one I have to hurriedly turn off when the kids are in the car." Meh.

496 - Harry Nilsson - "Without You" - Another cover, but a good one as I prefer the schmaltzy drama of Nilsson's version over Badfinger's original.

495 - Carly Simon - "You're So Vain" - I'm a sucker for 70s soft-rock and this one makes about every compilation. Love the lyrics, love the snarkiness, just an all-time classic. When I was younger I remember mis-hearing the lyric "Or the wife of a close friend" as "Or the wife of a postman." Even at that tender age I remember being puzzled as to why she so specifically called out a rendezvous with a mail carrier.

494 - Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time" - Along with "True Colors", the song that proves Cyndi Lauper was a brilliant artist, not the ditzy pop star that MTV implanted in my young mind. I remember when I was younger dismissing this track as a throwaway ballad. It wasn't until I got a bit older that I truly appreciated it. Love this song.

493 - Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?" - This track was made famous by FIGHT CLUB, but it was one of my favorites long before thanks to my brother blasting Surfer Rosa on repeat in the next room. Though 3 1/2 years my junior, he was light years ahead of me musically - listening to the big college alternative/indie bands while still in middle school.

492 - Miles Davis - "So What" - I'm not a huge jazz fan, but as I pointed out in another music thread I did go through a phase in the late '90s/early 2000s where I went through a lot of the classics. One that endured was Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, an album that I still listen to regularly. As I'm typing this, I'm listening to it through a decent pair of headphones, lights off, with only the glow of a blue light lamp. Perfect ambience for a fantastic track.

491 - Guns 'N Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle" - In 1992 I went to Germany on an exchange student trip for three weeks. While there, we were amused to find that the Germans were roughly 3 or 4 years behind us in pop culture. So while we were just about to hit THE SPAGHETTI INCIDENT phase of GnR, they were still hyped on APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION. I was soooo over GnR by that time, but I didn't dare admit it to the German kids for fear of being run out of the country. Hearing this song still brings a smile to my face as it reminds me of a day we went to a pool over there and this song was blasting while we all hung out.

Until next time, friends!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:23 pm

What the hell took you so long, YK? They were talking about this on the Today Show this morning!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:27 pm

Of that batch, I'm surprised Carly Simon is so low (and that's her most famous song). Welcome to the Jungle also seems kind of low on the chart...GNR is not one of my favorites, but they are ubiquitous on the local dinosaur rock station and that seems a tad low as well. If that Kanye song is the highest ranked of his, I'll be pleased.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:58 pm

The Velvet Underground, 'I’m Waiting for the Man'
1967
Writer(s):Lou Reed
Powered byApple Music

The Velvets were ahead of their time with this blast of New York street life. In the Summer of Love, while hippie heads were full of crystal visions, Lou Reed was getting down and dirty about the details of scoring $26 worth of heroin in Harlem. “Everything about that song holds true,” said Reed, “except the price.” Reed and Sterling Morrison beat up on the evil riff, with jagged R&B guitars distorted into proto-punk menace. John Cale walks it home with that one-note piano barrage. Within a few years, the world was full of bands trying to sound this mean.
80

Mandela Effect. It's I'm Waiting for MY Man.

It's even wrong on the album cover. If you look up the lyrics the title is correct.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:06 am

That seems really low for "Welcome to the Jungle". I would have expected that to be somewhere in the top 100, tbh.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:37 am

Skinypupy wrote:That seems really low for "Welcome to the Jungle". I would have expected that to be somewhere in the top 100, tbh.

'Welcome to the Jungle' is a great song that had a huge impact, but I agree with Rolling Stone that it's not their best. They have 'Sweet Child o' Mine' at #88...a bigger hit by the numbers, and arguably a better song.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:47 am

I'd argue in favor of Welcome to the Jungle. Maybe that's because I grew tired of Sweet Child's guitar intro pretty quickly.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:26 pm

490 - Lil Nas X - "Old Town Road" - Not surprisingly I learned about this song from my kids when it hit big, and proceeded to go through all the phases of musical grief - anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, etc. It's a very strange track considering it's short length and bizarre lyrics, but it hit something at just the right time.

489 - The Breeders - "Cannoball" - Perhaps no song instantly transports me back to the '90s like this one. This album landed my senior year of high school, and it reminds me of the fantastic summer I had before I started college. Our family had moved into a new neighborhood, I had made several friends, and life was good. I'm sure in reality it was a very brief period with its own ups and downs, but in my mind it was perhaps my most magical summer.

488 - The Weeknd - "House of Balloons" - The Weeknd is one of those artists who I never actually seek out - but pretty much every song he puts out I end up liking. I had never heard this one off his first album which came out way back in 2011. This sounds like a song he could have put out today, proving he had already found his lane even a decade ago. The transition to Glass Table Girls halfway through is dark, sinister, and super cool.

487 - Solange - "Cranes in the Sky" - Never heard of this artist, had no clue Beyonce had a sister. Honestly I don't really get this one, there's no real hook.

486 - Lil Wayne - "A Milli" - Another head scratcher for me, as I don't listen to Lil Wayne. Rap is not a genre I listen to much, but what I do listen to is a lot more approachable than this track. This is better than "Welcome to the Jungle?" Really? Ok...

485 - Azealia Banks - "212" - It was at this point I realized I'm deep into a rough patch. Another artist I've never heard of in a genre I don't really listen to. At least this one actually has some interesting things going on. This song is all over the place, but in a good way.

484 - Weezer - "Buddy Holly" - Like many IT nerds, I was introduced to this song from the video included on the Windows 95 OS. As a huge fan of HAPPY DAYS back in the day, I absolutely adored this video. This song encapsulates just about everything Weezer does well - a sly sense of humor, super-catchy hooks, and an underlying driving rock sound that sometimes catches you off guard while you were distracted by the pop.

483 - The Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" - Have always loved this one. It's one oldie that I remember my mom singing to me when I was a little. I believe I saw The Four Tops in concert many, many years ago. Obviously not the original lineup but I believe they had one original member still performing. Was still a great show.

482 - Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance" - I'm a big Lady Gaga fan. I love artists that can so shrewdly orchestrate their own fame, and she's a master at it. While sometimes "weird for the sake of being weird" annoys me, in Gaga's case I picked up early that she had the talent to back it up. From that point I just sat back and enjoyed the theatrics. Still a favorite video of mine.

481 - Robert Johnson - "Crossroad Blues" - One of the first boxed sets I ever bought was the complete Robert Johnson. I was going through a blues phase, so I went right to the best. I remember bringing it up to the counter at the record store, and the clerk acted like I was purchasing the Holy Grail and may not be worthy to wield such an artifact. Once he realized I was dead serious about exploring this period of musical history, he warmed up and seemed genuinely excited to be passing this on to a newcomer. One of only maybe 3 CD boxed sets I still own to this day.

Until next time...

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:54 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:15 pm Rolling Stone has updated their Top 500 songs list for the first time since 2004, so I thought this would be a fun project to run through (and a heck of a lot less ambitious than my Top 500 Albums one I did years ago). Not going to write a big treatise on each track, but just my random thoughts.

Is there an easy way to listen to all these without searching for them one by one? I see a Rolling Stones top 500 song playlist on Spotify, but since it differs from the one you're writing about, I assume that's the old list.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:27 pm

Probably not until someone manually creates a list. I've just been doing them one by one since I'm listening in batches of 10.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:30 pm

On the site you can click "play entire song" if you have an Apple music ID. I don't.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:40 am

480 - Biz Markie - "Just a Friend" - Drunk sing-along anthem and a track I can never listen to without a smile on my face. I remember when this came out thinking "What in the actual fuck is this?" But I still loved it. R.I.P. Biz.

479 - Santana - "Oye Como Va" - I'm not really into Latin music at all, but this track was instantly familiar. We stayed recently at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando and at the end of our hall they had an outfit Carlos Santana owned which was pretty neat.

478 - Juvenile feat. Lil Wayne & Mannie Fresh - "Back That Azz Up" - I plead total ignorance on this one, other than being familiar with the phrase. And yes, the stodgy old white man in me questions why a song about backing your ass up belongs on a list of the 500 greatest songs of ALL TIME. ALL TIME.

477 - The Go-Gos - "Our Lips Are Sealed" - It seems funny looking back on it now, but at the time this video was in heavy rotation on MTV I had a huge crush on Belinda Carlisle. However, even four decades hasn't prevented me from occasionally getting them mixed up with The Bangles.

476 - Kris Kristofferson - "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" - I first heard this song from Johnny Cash's popular version, but I think this version is superior. Cash's version is a bit more upbeat and sung with a bit of a humorous wink, while Kristofferson's version is total despair. If I'm having a bad Sunday, this song instantly comes to mind. The lyrics are pure genius.

475 - Janet Jackson - "Rhythm Nation" - This track somehow managed to hit #2 despite being inferior to every Paula Abdul song. Yes, I'm a Paula Abdul fanboy and never got into Janet Jackson (though What Have You Done For Me Lately is a damn good song, mostly because it sounds more like Paula Abdul). Also Paula Abdul portrays Janet Jackson's friend in the video for this song. I'll shut up about Paula Abdul for now, even though I could go on.

474 - Curtis Mayfield - "Move On Up" - When I criticize songs like #476 for being on the list, it's because of songs like this. Move On Up is brilliantly inspirational social messaging wrapped in an epic nearly 9-minute jam. I'm not certain I had ever heard this original extended version, but it's fantastic.

473 - Tammy Wynette - "Stand By Your Man" - If you cringe a bit at the "husband devotion" messaging of this song in 2021, don't feel bad. It was criticized even in the 70s. Before being too hard on Tammy, though, keep in mind she also had a song called "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." I do love the transition in this song from the soft-spoken verses to the huge chorus.

472 - Peter Gabriel - "Solsbury Hill" - Unfortunately the spoof trailer for a romantic comedy version of THE SHINING pretty much ruined this song for me. However, it's brilliant for a parody as this song for a time seemed to be in every movie trailer. It's still a fantastic song, though, and (I just found out) inspired by Peter Gabriel leaving Genesis for a solo career.

471 - The Animals - "The House of the Rising Sun" - I once made a list of "non-scary songs that scared me as a kid" and this was one of them. And though the song is more cautionary than scary, the sinister minor A and organ certainly make it unsettling. Obviously as a kid I didn't know what a whorehouse was, so I envisioned this "House of the Rising Sun" as some sort of weird place you were trapped after you were kidnapped (I had an irrational fear of being kidnapped as a kid). Like many folks, this was also the first song I learned to play on the guitar.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Sep 18, 2021 6:27 pm

470 - Gladys Knight and the Pips - "Midnight Train to Georgia" - Originally titled "Midnight Plane to Houston" which would have made this a MUCH different song. Absolutely love this one. Those call and response backup vocals are utterly brilliant.

469 - Dixie Chicks - "Goodbye Earl" - I could probably name 20 Dixie Chicks songs I'd have put on the list instead of this one. I've never really liked this song, and not just because my middle name is Earl. Part of it is that Natalie Maines voice kind of annoys me, and in this song it's particularly annoying. I also tend to kind of roll my eyes at "wacky murder" - as a true crime aficionado, using murder as casual humor sometimes rubs me the wrong way.

468 - Mazzy Star - "Fade Into You" - You know that episode of Seinfeld when Elaine's boyfriend freezes whenever he hears "Desperado?" That's sort of me whenever this song comes on. I'm instantly lulled into a trance as my mind shoots straight back to the '90s.

467 - Nirvana - "Come as You Are" - I highly doubt this is the last Nirvana song on this list, but I'll take the opportunity to talk about them. Like most high schoolers, this album hit me in a big way and was on constant rotation. I remember the day one of our neighborhood friends knocked on the door, ran inside, and told me Kurt Cobain had killed himself. I didn't believe it, so we turned on MTV and there was Kurt Loder talking about it. That "And I swear that I don't have a gun" lyric took on a whole new meaning after that.

466 - Luther Vandross - "Never Too Much" - I didn't recognize this song from the title, but instantly knew it when I turned it on. It's neat hearing this 1981 track with the benefit of hindsight, as it sounds excactly like the late '70s bleeding into the early '80s. This kind of music also reminds me of these two guys who lived in my dorm who decorated their room like some sort of bachelor pad for seducing the ladies. They used to blast Luther Vandross all the time. Hopefully it worked out for them.

465 - Daft Punk featuring Pharrell - "Get Lucky" - I clearly remember this album coming out because it was during a period in which my buddy and I used to trade music recommendations over chat while we were working. This one got really heavy rotation. I liked Daft Punk, but adding Pharrell's ability to craft a wicked hook was magic.

464 - Joni Mitchell - "Help Me" - As a fan of '70s singer-songwriters, I'm always down for some Joni Mitchell. Not my favorite track of hers, but I do love her vocal range in this one which just dances all over the place.

463 - John Lee Hooker - "Boom Boom" - Is there a more classic blues sound than this song? It's like the go-to structure when someone is mimicking the blues. A how how how how.

462 - Van Morrison - "Into the Mystic" - I'd have had this song much farther up the list as it is one of my absolute favorites. When the weather is nice I love to sit out by the fire pit with a cold beer and this track is almost ALWAYS played. I don't know what it's actually about, but I've always interpreted it as the journey from life to death. It's got the rare ability to be both sad and upbeat at the same time.

461 - Roy Orbison - "Crying" - Love this one. While this probably isn't his most popular song, I feel like it might be the most representative of his artistry. That high note in the middle chorus is ridiculous. Absolutely fearless vocalist.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:57 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 6:27 pm my middle name is Earl.

We are brothers in Earl. I endured so much childhood teasing that I started telling people my middle name was Edward.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:36 pm

Earl was my dad's best friend growing up. Earl was shot and killed in a tragic hunting accident when he was 14, and it really crushed my dad. I remember whenever I got upset about someone picking on my name, Dad would tell me what a great kid Earl was and why having that name was an honor because it was a tribute to a really good person that was very important to him. That always made me feel better. Even to this day I've been told that story so many times I feel like I have a connection to that kid I never knew and have never even seen a picture of.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:23 pm

460 - Steel Pulse - "Ku Klux Klan" - Reggae is a weird genre for me - I've never delved much into it aside from the stuff everyone knows like Bob Marley, yet I find I enjoy most of what I hear. And in fact many of the bands I listen to regularly like Stick Figure and Michael Franti have heavy reggae influences. Too much music out there and not enough time. I liked this one.

459 - Sade - "No Ordinary Love" - I went through a weird Sade obsession in the early 90s. I say weird because on the surface, it's not the kind of music I'd ordinarily listen to. But when you start looking at the other artists I was listening to at the time like Sting, Enya, etc. it starts making perfect sense. I was in my chill zone, probably a result of needing study music for college.

458 - Beck - "Loser" - When this song comes on, I always try to impress my wife and kids by singing every word. They weren't impressed the first time, or the second, or any after that. To be fair, I wasn't initially impressed with Beck either. While I did buy Mellow Gold on the strength of this single, I dismissed Beck as a one hit wonder. Oh well, I'm an IT guy, not a music producer. He went on to become one of my favorite artists.

457 - Bon Jovi - "Livin' on a Prayer" - Embarrassing fact time. When I first bought this album (first cassette I ever bought, in fact), my brother and I would act out the lyrics to this song. Which is so ridiculous it makes me laugh every time I think about it. We also had this neighbor girl who thought the words were "Living on a Prairie" so I had alternate lyrics involving the Ingalls family from Little House. I have another Bon Jovi story I'll save for a future track.

456 - Lana Del Rey - "Summertime Sadness" - I first heard Lana Del Rey with "Video Games" and was utterly enthralled. Who was this weird chick who looked like she stepped out of a 1960s cinema screen? I then followed her career from a distance - her first disastrous performance on SNL, the backlash, and then her somewhat miraculous perseverance to come through not only unscathed, but a critical darling. I'm a big fan - she's really unlike any other artist out there, and I love that.

455 - Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit" - I mentioned in the Matrix 4 thread about this song being overplayed in movie and television, but that doesn't mean I don't love it. I remember first hearing this song as a teen at some gathering my mom was attending and I asked the host what it was and he handed me a cassette of Jefferson Airplane's Greatest Hits. I wound up buying that album and wearing it out. That also spiraled me into a period where I listened to almost nothing but '60s music, which led to my Beatles obsession, etc. Seriously I went so far down that (white) rabbit hole that I almost burned myself out on it permanently.

454 - Sister Nancy - "Bam Bam" - Wow I had zero clue what this was going in, but it's pretty danged awesome. Again, just showing my ignorance of the reggae genre. But I did recognize elements of this because it's apparently been sampled a ton. If this list has taught me anything so far, it's that I need to listen to more old-school reggae.

453 - Missy Elliot - "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" - I don't know much about Missy Elliot, but I do know that every song I've heard by her is unlike anything I've heard before. She has such an insane style that every track I've heard is like going on a mini-adventure. Really liked this one.

452 - Toto - "Africa" - Can I say I loved this song before it was cool to love it? Before it landed as the #1 track on every yacht rock playlist in existence, I was blasting this as part of my extensive 80s adult contemporary collection. The music that I hated as a kid became my bread and butter as an adult, because it instantly brought me back to my childhood. To this day, my brother and I play a road trip game where we have to name the title and artist of a randomly generated playlist from an easy rock station. I don't (and have never) listened to yacht rock ironically - it genuinely calms my nerves. When I'm stressed at work, this is what I turn to. This song should have been way higher on the list.

451 - Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert - "Bad and Boujee" - This is way outside of my regular listening, so I don't have a damn clue why this is on the list. I mean it's fine, but so far outside my rotation I can't really contextualize it. My initial impression was that it sounded like something that plays during a Fortnite emote. I still liked it though. Dot Dot DOT!

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:32 am

450 - Neil Young - "Powderfinger" - I like Neil Young but wasn't familiar with this western ballad. Got a chance to see him at Farm Aid several years ago and it was pure magic (despite him shouting his political views between every song, God love him).

449 - Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't Fear the Reaper" - I had a friend named Wayne in high school that was an absolutely terrible driver. He claimed that if this song ever came on the radio, he would get in a wreck, and I believe he had been in at least three wrecks by the time I knew him. He drove this big peach Cadillac appropriately named "Peaches" and fortunately that car was such a giant hunk of Detroit steel that neither he nor Peaches was ever hurt in his fender benders. One rainy night we stupidly got in the car with him and damn if this song didn't come on. He reached over and immediately shut it off, and when he did we went into a skid, did a 180, and wound up in the opposing lane facing traffic. Scared the shit out of me. Fortunately he was able to get us turned back around before we were hit, but afterward I vowed never to get in the car with Wayne again. I also stopped making fun of his fear of Don't Fear the Reaper.

448 - Erykah Badu - "Tyrone" - First lyric "I get tired of your shit" had me hooked. What a way to start a track. The live version of this song is hilarious as you hear the audience screaming as Erykah absolutely destroys her man with every lyric.

447 - The Beatles - "Help!" - The first Beatles track of many (I assume) on this list (I'm not looking ahead as I go through these). So let's talk about how I became a Beatles fan thanks to Charles Manson. I was doing a report on the Manson murders and reading Helter Skelter in high school, and the numerous references to The White Album got me really curious. I had always known The Beatles as the silly "I Want to Hold Your Hand" boy band from the 60s. What was this White Album all about? I ran up to Walmart, bought the cassette, popped it in, and my whole musical life changed. It didn't take long for me to work my way backwards and pick up every Beatles album.

446 - Bruce Springsteen - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - Me and Bruce Springsteen have a weird relationship. He's an artist I just can't put my finger on. There are a LOT of his songs that I absolutely love, and I LOT that I absolutely hate. In general I'm not a fan of his more upbeat stuff like this one - I like him in his Nebraska lane - stripped down, somber, music for a dark evening. This annoying song literally sounds like 6 minutes of Bruce yelling gibberish to me.

445 - T. Rex - "Cosmic Dancer" - I seriously only know T. Rex from Bang a Gong, so I had never heard this one. It's quite wonderful though. I love the chill vibe, and the string sections are really fantastic. One of the reasons I love doing these lists is finding overlooked gems like this.

444 - 50 Cent - "In Da Club" - I remember the days when you couldn't step out of your house without hearing this song. But let's face it, that beat is ridiculously hooky.

443 - Fall Out Boy - "Sugar, We're Goin Down" - Let me write the lyrics to this song as I understood them until I finally got so pissed off one day I looked them up: "We're goin down down in an ooliyarowd and sugar we're goin down swinging. I'll be your number one with a bullet a lodagahcomplex cockitandpullit." God this song pissed me off because that asshole could not FUCKING ENUNCIATE.

442 - Motorhead - "Ace of Spades" - I knew this song for one reason, and that reason was GUITAR HERO. Back in the days before kids, my buddy and I would go to his house and literally play Guitar Hero for 7 or 8 hours straight. I got REALLY damn good at Guitar Hero. I could nail every song on Expert except for that crazy stupid last one. A couple of years ago I dropped a coin in the Guitar Hero arcade game to see if I still "had it." Spoiler alert: I don't still have it.

441 - Miranda Lambert - "The House That Built Me" - I only know Miranda Lambert from her songs about being pissed off at men, so I wasn't aware of this softer side. This is a really sweet song that tugs at the old heartstrings like good country songs do.

Dramatist · Post by **Dramatist** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:49 am

I don’t know how you do these things but I’m glad you do because I enjoy your random thoughts.

I consider myself a music snob. I enjoy music on a deeper level than most people I’ve met, but I despise a lot of music too. There would be so much on a list like this that I really couldn’t stand.

I know these lists aren’t definitive and are made for fun and conversation but how to even do a best of list across genres anyway.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:55 pm

I've been checking a few of these out. Which sent me down a Tiny Desk rabbit hole last night.

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:04 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:32 am 445 - T. Rex - "Cosmic Dancer" - I seriously only know T. Rex from Bang a Gong, so I had never heard this one. It's quite wonderful though. I love the chill vibe, and the string sections are really fantastic. One of the reasons I love doing these lists is finding overlooked gems like this.

I spent at least 20 years thinking this is a Morrissey song.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:28 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:26 pm
484 - Weezer - "Buddy Holly" - Like many IT nerds, I was introduced to this song from the video included on the Windows 95 OS. As a huge fan of HAPPY DAYS back in the day, I absolutely adored this video. This song encapsulates just about everything Weezer does well - a sly sense of humor, super-catchy hooks, and an underlying driving rock sound that sometimes catches you off guard while you were distracted by the pop.

483 - The Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" - Have always loved this one. It's one oldie that I remember my mom singing to me when I was a little. I believe I saw The Four Tops in concert many, many years ago. Obviously not the original lineup but I believe they had one original member still performing. Was still a great show.

482 - Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance" - I'm a big Lady Gaga fan. I love artists that can so shrewdly orchestrate their own fame, and she's a master at it. While sometimes "weird for the sake of being weird" annoys me, in Gaga's case I picked up early that she had the talent to back it up. From that point I just sat back and enjoyed the theatrics. Still a favorite video of mine.

I would rate these higher. I'm nof familiar with the others so they can stay where they are.

Rolling Stone shoulda asked me.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:53 pm

440 - Alicia Keys - "IF I Ain't Got You" - This one's quite a bit outside of my wheelhouse, but it's fine. Modern day R&B kind of all sounds the same to me. There's no denying Alicia Keys' talent, but I just have no interest in her stuff.

439 - Celia Cruz - "La Vida Es un Carnaval" - I know extremely little about Cuban/Latin music, but I did hear a funny story from our new neighbor. Apparently his teenage daughter is not a morning person, and would sleep through morning classes if he let her. So the first week she started college he was blasting this kind of music throughout the house to get her up. He actually came over to apologize if it had bothered us, but I wasn't aware until he told me.

438 - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyonce - "Savage (Remix)" - This is one of those artists that makes me feel old because suddenly Megan Thee Stallion is on the radio or on SNL or popping up in a news feed and I'm going "Do I live in some alternate universe where I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't know who the fuck this is or a single song that she sings?" I only know this song from a Fortnite emote. Hey! I'm not that old, I know about Fortnite!

437 - Lucinda Williams - "Passionate Kisses" - I went through an alt-country phase in the early 2000s and listened to Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" album incessantly. This is an early Lucinda Williams track, and most people are probably more familiar with the Mary Chapin Carpenter version. I had actually never heard this original but it's really good.

436 - Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe" - Man, I struggle with earworms like this on the list. Does being inescapable for a period of time in 2012 warrant inclusion on a Top 500 songs of all time list? Is Gotye's "Somebody That You Used to Know" coming up next? Oh well, it is what it is. I do like that it's one of those songs it's super easy to throw your own lyrics into. "Hey I just fed you, and this is crazy, but you're not hungry, so stop it kitty," has been uttered in my house a time or two. "Before you came into my life I missed you so bad" is also kind of a brilliant lyric.

435 - Rush - "Limelight" - At risk of being shunned, I've just never gotten into Rush. Like at all. I have no problem with Rush fans. I feel at some level I have some genetic disorder that prevents me from appreciating them like the rest of humanity does. But in general jammy prog-rock just doesn't do much for me. Thank God for them, though, because they were such a big plot point of "I Love You, Man" which I still find absolutely hysterical.

434 - Ramones - "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" - This one's so much fun. I didn't really know much about the Ramones until I heard tracks from various video games like Guitar Hero, and when I did the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums list. It's good stuff though.

433 - Pet Shop Boys - "West End Girls" - I LOVE this one. While you will find it occasionally on '80s compilations, I've never felt it got the love of some other major '80s hits. Also one of the earliest MTV videos I can remember watching. I was always intrigued by these mysterious West End girls. What exactly were they up to, and how far would they go?

432 - Eddie Cochran - "Summertime Blues" - Great little ditty about the horrible struggles of being a teenager in the summertime. Thank God those horrendous days of not paying bills and having all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted to do are behind me!

431 - Prince - "Adore" - I'm sure we'll have a TON of Prince songs on this list. This isn't one of his better known ones unless you listened all the way through Sign O' the Times. As my old friend Dan would say - the Dan that kept a book listing all the nude scenes in movies - the same Dan that would literally drop $3.50 on a VHS rental to see Demi Moore flash her tits for 2 seconds - that Dan, he would call this a "panty dropper."

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:13 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:26 pm 489 - The Breeders - "Cannoball" - Perhaps no song instantly transports me back to the '90s like this one. This album landed my senior year of high school, and it reminds me of the fantastic summer I had before I started college. Our family had moved into a new neighborhood, I had made several friends, and life was good. I'm sure in reality it was a very brief period with its own ups and downs, but in my mind it was perhaps my most magical summer.

I'm a last splash!

Yeah, this song takes me back to a wonderful summer as well, after my first year in college.... similar 'most magical summer' memories. Likewise, I hope to see Linger, Cranberries somewhere on the list.

I'm going to try and catch-up and follow along as you go (with my daughter if she will stand it)

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:39 pm

Exodor wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:04 pm
YellowKing wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:32 am 445 - T. Rex - "Cosmic Dancer" - I seriously only know T. Rex from Bang a Gong, so I had never heard this one. It's quite wonderful though. I love the chill vibe, and the string sections are really fantastic. One of the reasons I love doing these lists is finding overlooked gems like this.
I spent at least 20 years thinking this is a Morrissey song.

You two both need to listen to the full album, Electric Warrior.
Monolith is my favorite track on it, but the whole thing is good.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:53 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:53 pm
436 - Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe" -

This is Exhibit A as to why I thought it was so strange that “Welcome to the Jungle” was so low on the list.

I get that this song is outside my musical wheelhouse, but it what possible universe is this a better song or had more overall impact than “Welcome to the Jungle”?

FWIW, WTTJ is just the song that happened to catch my eye. I’m sure there’s probably other other, more glaring examples of WTF-edness on the list.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:02 pm

I’m a huge Marc Bolan fan. If he’d lived longer, I really do think he would have outgrown the glam period and moved on and up like Bowie did.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:07 am

430 - Pete Rock and CL Smooth - "They Reminisce Over You" - Wasn't familiar with this one. Nice little horn sample but otherwise just sounds like typical early 90s rap to me.

429 - Queen and David Bowie - "Under Pressure" - Do my wife and I rap the first verse of "Ice Ice Baby" every time this comes on? Yes. Yes we do. I've made it a point to teach my kids about both Queen and David Bowie, so their little minds were blown when they found out this collaboration song existed.

428 - Harry Styles - "Sign of the Times" - I first heard this song, weirdly enough, during a dance performance on America's Got Talent. And there was something extremely compelling about the combo of the performance and this song that just left me dumbstruck. I immediately looked it up to find out who the artist was and was really surprised to learn it was Harry Styles. Really? That kid from One Direction made THIS? It's a beautiful song, one of my favorites of the past few years.

427 - Sugar Hill Gang - "Rapper's Delight" - Imagine you have a time machine. You would be able to fly back to the early 1980s and track down a young Yellowking who was trying to breakdance to this song over and over. And I'm guessing it would have been the most hilarious and sad thing you've ever seen in your life. Of course this song deserves to be on the list - it almost single-handedly spawned an entire genre of music. The original version of this song is 14 MINUTES LONG. Has this beat ever been equaled? I'm not sure it has.

426 - Nicki Minaj - "Super Bass" - Not a Nicki Minaj fan. Not like in a negative way, I just have zero interest. None of her songs have ever grabbed me. I don't see how a Nicki Minaj song even makes it on the list, much less ranks higher than Queen and David Bowie. But what the hell do I know. I hate you Rolling Stone.

425 - Muddy Waters - "Mannish Boy" - "Nobody get outta here without singin' the blues" - Adventures in Babysitting (1987). This song is like that meme "Yo dawg, I heard you like the blues so I put some blues in your blues so you can have the blues when you listen to the blues." Powerful track. This is Muddy Waters being the most Muddy Waters he could be.

424 - Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen - "No Diggity" - I think I went through a *very* brief phase in the early to mid 90s where I was listening to this kind of smooth laidback hip-hop, Arrested Development mostly. I don't think I ever listened to Blackstreet specifically, but knew this song from radio play.

423 - Fiona Apple - "Criminal" - I was (and still am) a big fan of Fiona Apple's debut album. Hard to believe she was only 18 when she cut this. Dark, mysterious, angry and way beyond her years.

422 - Craig Mack featuring Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Rampage - "Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)" - I wasn't really familiar with this one, but Biggie drops some killer lyrics on it. This is how you put together a star-studded collaboration track.

421 - The Smiths - "How Soon is Now?" - I came to The Smiths really late - they were not a band I listened to at all growing up. It's only been fairly recently that I've gone back and listened to their albums, but I love a lot of their stuff. That bizarre but instantly recognizable guuitar riff is a classic.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:58 am

YellowKing wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:07 am 427 - Sugar Hill Gang - "Rapper's Delight" - Imagine you have a time machine. You would be able to fly back to the early 1980s and track down a young Yellowking who was trying to breakdance to this song over and over. And I'm guessing it would have been the most hilarious and sad thing you've ever seen in your life. Of course this song deserves to be on the list - it almost single-handedly spawned an entire genre of music. The original version of this song is 14 MINUTES LONG. Has this beat ever been equaled? I'm not sure it has.

Well, I mean.... Another One Bites The Dust ? <-- cool mashup

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:42 am

420 - The Mamas and the Papas - "California Dreamin'" - I absolutely love The Mamas and the Papas - they were a big part of my '60s phase I wrote about earlier and I devoured just about everything they did.

419 - Mariah Carey - "Fantasy" - I certainly wouldn't call myself a Mariah Carey "fan" but this huge hit is one of her more listenable to me. My vocal range is extremely low. Like Johnny Cash low - he's one of the few artists I can sing along to without straining. So I LOVE trying to sing Mariah Carey songs for my wife and kids just to annoy the hell out of them.

418 - Booker T. and the MGs - "Green Onions" - Oh man, who doesn't know this instrumental? Just an instant classic, and even if you don't know it from this song, you know it from samples, movies, television, etc.

417 - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars - "Uptown Funk" - I'm going to be honest - as much as I liked this song when it came out, I reached my tolerance threshold for it ages ago. I first heard it when Bruno Mars performed it on SNL and it was a bit jaw-dropping. It begs, borrows, and steals from just about everyone, but the result was a ridiculously catchy tune that still refuses to die.

416 - Pearl Jam - "Alive" - Like many people growing up in the 90s, Pearl Jam's TEN was a huge musical obsession for me. Aside from Nevermind, it could easily be one of my most played albums of all time. "Alive" is far from my favorite song on the album (that honor goes to "Black"), but I still know every word.

415 - Depeche Mode - "Enjoy the Silence" - For the longest time this was literally the only Depeche Mode song I ever knew, thanks to the heavy rotation on MTV. I delved back into them a bit when I started listening to The Smiths as they give off that same broody vibe. It's a bit basic of me, but this, their biggest hit, is probably still my favorite.

414 - Blondie - "Dreaming" - Wasn't familiar with this early Blondie track. It's fine, didn't blow me away.

413 - Them - "Gloria" - I'm going to be honest, this song has always kind of annoyed me. I like Van Morrison, but this song just grates to me. I get it, it's garage band, it's supposed to be rough. But I like <Vincent Price voice> "smewth mewsic".

412 - Neneh Cherry - "Buffalo Stance" - Another one of those entries that I consider a one-hit wonder and question why it ever made the list of the greatest songs of all time. ALL TIME. (I feel like I'm going to get tired of saying that). I remember liking this song at the time it came out in 1988, but it sounds kind of dated now (in a bad way). And I had to listen to the full 5+ minute version of this. You owe me.

411 - Wilco - "Heavy Metal Drummer" - This is one of my favorite Wilco songs. I used to wear out the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album and this was one of my favorite tracks on the disc.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:25 pm

Let's close out the bottom 100 and call it a day:

410 - Allman Brothers Band - "Whipping Post" - When I turned 18 I applied for a credit card to start building credit. My mom wanted me to make a big purchase and pay it off to get established, and I chose to buy an electric guitar. I went to the music store and picked out a beautiful sunburst Fender Stratocaster with a Beatles guitar strap (yes, I still have it). I never took lessons, but got to where I could play all the significant chords and noodle my way through some songs. You would think this is the point in the story where I tell you how I learned to play "Whipping Post" but you'd be wrong. My mom's friend at the time was dating a musician, so she asked me to bring my guitar over one day so he could give me some tips. I brought it over, and he proceeded to play a bunch of Allman Brothers tunes. It was the first time that guitar had ever been played by a person who knew what they were doing, and I was completely dumbfounded that it could make those sounds. I feel bad for my little guitar that it will likely never get played like that again until I sell it or one of the kids takes it up. But for one brief, shining moment, it got its day in the sun.

409 - Foo Fighters - "Everlong" - I pretty much transitioned straight from Nirvana into Foo Fighters without skipping a beat because I was a Dave Grohl fan. I bought all of their albums up to 2005's In Your Honor, but after that just kind of listened to them from afar. I've never been out of their orbit though. I have a co-worker at work who is also a huge Dave Grohl fan so we are constantly trading Dave stories and news.

408 - Cat Stevens - "Father and Son" - As the father of a son, this song obviously holds a lot of meaning. Even though my kids are not yet at the age of thinking about moving out, I understand the fear of letting them go.

407 - Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird" - I have probably mentioned my friend Wayne on the boards before, but I'm going to mention him again because of this song. Wayne was a co-worker of mine, and while we had worked together for a couple of years, we had never really talked much or hung out. He worked in a completely different part of the building so our paths just never crossed much. One day he was walking by my office and I was playing music, and he popped in and started talking. From that mutual love of music we just hit it off, and he'd drop in pretty much every day to talk. Wayne loved Lynyrd Skynyrd and southern rock, so he introduced me to a bunch of bands I had never really listened to before. He also got me into running and going to the gym, two things I had never dreamed of doing before.

Wayne was a good guy, and I don't mean that in the same way other people say "oh he's a good guy." He was genuinely one of those people that always went above and beyond for his friends. I once mentioned to Wayne that I had a roof leak, and, without being asked, he came over that weekend and fixed my roof, refusing payment. He found out I bought a SiriusXM radio, and came over the next night to install it in my car. And it wasn't just me - when he wasn't coaching a youth hockey team, he was out helping everyone he knew in any way he could. He once drove another co-worker 2 hours one way to her family's house because her car broke down and she didn't have a way to get up there. When my wife had an ectopic pregnancy and I had to suddenly leave work to take her to the hospital, he drove me because he wanted me focusing on her. He took us to the hospital and stayed with us until we were sure everyone was OK.

One Friday Wayne dropped by and asked me what I was doing that weekend, and said that he was going to get a beer after work and I was welcome to join. I had some stuff going on so I declined, and he said, "Ok, see you later then." That's the last time I ever saw him. Later that night he died in a high-speed motorcycle crash. I was crushed. I'm still crushed.

Looking back, I remember something Wayne said to me a few months before he died. We were at a work gathering, and he said, "Why weren't we friends sooner than this?" At the time I thought it was a bit of an odd thing to say. But in hindsight it's a bit chilling. It's like he knew his time on earth was going to be short, and we should have had more time.

Sorry for the long ramble, but I can't listen to a Lynyrd Skynyrd song, particularly Free Bird, without thinking of Wayne. That opening verse is like a gut punch to me. But I'm so glad I got to know him for a brief couple of years. At his funeral, they had so many people show up they couldn't fit them all in the building.

406 - Run-DMC - "Sucker M.C.'s" - Not much to say about this one - mid-80s rap sounds like mid-80s rap. I appreciate Run-DMC's contribution to the genre, but doesn't do much for me.

405 - Selena - "Amor Prohibido" - Not much to say about this one - mid-90s music sounds like mid-90s music. I appreciate Selena's contribution to the genre, but doesn't do much for me.

404 - KISS - "Rock and Roll All Nite" - I went to see a KISS and Motley Crue double header several years ago with a co-worker of mine. She is a HUGE KISS fan, but HATES this song. I guess she considers it too mainstream or popular or whatever. To the point she literally walked out of the concert when they played this (though to be fair, it's always their closing song so it was a decent time to beat the crowds anyway).

403 - Rufus and Chaka Khan - "Ain't Nobody" - Apparently this song was a #1 R&B hit in 1983. I've never heard of it. Sounds like typical 80s R&B to me, pass.

402 - Bill Withers - "Lovely Day" - One of my favorite Bill Withers tracks, and one that made my "driving to a theme park" playlist that I always bring out when my brother and I hit the road for a coaster club trip. The Rolling Stone blurb for this one mentions how Bill Withers holds that "Daaaayyy" note for 10-20 seconds without a waver, and it is extremely impressive.

401 - Fleetwood Mac - "Go Your Own Way" - I can't remember what possessed me to buy Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits, but I remember I was heading out of town on a road trip and just wanted something to listen to on the way (this was long before streaming music or podcasts). I stopped by Walmart on the way out and grabbed this album. Wore it out over the course of the trip and it became one of my favorite greatest hits compilations.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:56 am

400 - David Bowie - "Station to Station" - The first of what I assume will be many Bowie tracks on this list. I got into Bowie fairly late - I think the first time I paid any attention to him at all (besides his role in Labyrinth) was 1997's Earthling, as I really liked "I'm Afraid of Americans." Of course after that I went into Greatest Hits and eventually into back albums.

399 - Sylvester - "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" - Had no clue what this song was before I turned it on, but it sounded vaguely familiar. Really upbeat disco track with a killer falsetto.

398 - Duran Duran - "Hungry Like the Wolf" - Great song, I really like Duran Duran. And like a lot of kids in the '80s I was enthralled by this video which has this band on an Indiana Jones-esque adventure hunting a mysterious woman through the jungle.

397 - Public Enemy - "Bring the Noise" - Not much to say about this one, I wasn't into this type of music at the time. However, I will say in hindsight this sounds a lot more mature and advanced than 1987. When I think 1987 rap I'm still thinking Fresh Prince and the Fat Boys. This was on a whole 'nother level.

396 - Elvis Costello - "Alison" - Back when I did my album challenge I let it be known that I can't really stand Elvis Costello, and it's still true today. His voice grates on my nerves, and I can't explain why. I don't like it, I don't get it, I have some genetic pre-disposition to not like his music. And I'm usually REALLY open-minded when it comes to music so I don't like feeling this way about an artist. But sorry Elvis, you can leave the building.

395 - Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force - "Planet Rock" - This is a really fun track. There is so much to unpack here - the cheesy call out to the ladies, the numerous calls to get funky, the eerie keyboards, the robot voices. It's like blasting off on a rocket ship on a sci-fi adventure. I didn't know this song going in, but after listening I'm totally OK with it being on this list.

394 - Jeff Buckley - "Grace" - I wasn't familiar with this track, but I got huge Chris Cornell/Soundgarden vibes from it. Which was surprising since I only know Jeff Buckley from his "Hallelujah" cover.

393 - James Brown - "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" - This song is about as James Brown as you can get. Horns? Check. James Brown call and responsing to the audience? Check. James Brown screaming and grunting? Check.
I swear you can actually SEE this song, though in my mind I like to envision Eddie Murphy impersonating James Brown. "Too hot in the hot tub!"

392 - Coldplay - "Fix You" - Man, let's talk Coldplay. I was a HUGE Coldplay fan when their first album came out, and I followed them all the way up to this track's album, X&Y. Then it's like a switch turned off, they hit the arena rock level, and I was completely done with them. I'm not at all one of those people that turns their nose up at a band going mainstream, or tries to play it cool by not liking what's popular. I just genuinely stopped liking their music after this album. For me, this is the last Coldplay single I actually enjoyed.

391 - Eric Church - "Springsteen" - Growing up in the south I was obviously immersed in country music from a very young age. I grew up listening to Kenny Rogers mostly, as my mom was a huge fan. When I got older I listened to a ton of 80s and 90s country due to my grandparents - Alan Jackson, George Strait, Clint Black, etc. At college level I got into classic country artists like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, etc. and that's the lane I've generally stayed in. My wife is a HUGE country fan, so any contemporary country I listen to comes through her. And there are a lot of modern country songs I like, even though I don't typically seek them out. This song's fine but Top 500? Nah. To me it's indistinguishable from any other 2000s country song.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:15 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:15 pm Rolling Stone has updated their Top 500 songs list for the first time since 2004, so I thought this would be a fun project to run through (and a heck of a lot less ambitious than my Top 500 Albums one I did years ago). Not going to write a big treatise on each track, but just my random thoughts.

500 - Kanye West - "Stronger" - I'm not a Kanye West fan due to his whole attention-whoring personality, but I confess I did listen to his first two albums quite a bit. And as far as Kanye songs go, this one is listenable due to the generous sampling of Daft Punk. He may be a musical genius, who knows, but I can't get past his antics.

499 - The Supremes - "Baby Love" - I love my oldies, I love girl groups, and this one is high on the list of my favorite girl group tracks. Pure pop perfection.

498 - Townes Van Zandt - "Pancho and Lefty" - Admittedly I had never heard this version, only being familiar with the Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard cover. However, darn if I didn't love it. While the Willie & Merle version is a classic, Van Zandt's stripped down original is haunting and sad in a way that the cover never conveyed.

497 - Lizzo - "Truth Hurts" - This was a bit of a jarring inclusion in the middle of a couple of old tunes, but such is the nature of these lists I suppose. I know this song as "the one I have to hurriedly turn off when the kids are in the car." Meh.

496 - Harry Nilsson - "Without You" - Another cover, but a good one as I prefer the schmaltzy drama of Nilsson's version over Badfinger's original.

495 - Carly Simon - "You're So Vain" - I'm a sucker for 70s soft-rock and this one makes about every compilation. Love the lyrics, love the snarkiness, just an all-time classic. When I was younger I remember mis-hearing the lyric "Or the wife of a close friend" as "Or the wife of a postman." Even at that tender age I remember being puzzled as to why she so specifically called out a rendezvous with a mail carrier.

494 - Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time" - Along with "True Colors", the song that proves Cyndi Lauper was a brilliant artist, not the ditzy pop star that MTV implanted in my young mind. I remember when I was younger dismissing this track as a throwaway ballad. It wasn't until I got a bit older that I truly appreciated it. Love this song.

493 - Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?" - This track was made famous by FIGHT CLUB, but it was one of my favorites long before thanks to my brother blasting Surfer Rosa on repeat in the next room. Though 3 1/2 years my junior, he was light years ahead of me musically - listening to the big college alternative/indie bands while still in middle school.

492 - Miles Davis - "So What" - I'm not a huge jazz fan, but as I pointed out in another music thread I did go through a phase in the late '90s/early 2000s where I went through a lot of the classics. One that endured was Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, an album that I still listen to regularly. As I'm typing this, I'm listening to it through a decent pair of headphones, lights off, with only the glow of a blue light lamp. Perfect ambience for a fantastic track.

491 - Guns 'N Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle" - In 1992 I went to Germany on an exchange student trip for three weeks. While there, we were amused to find that the Germans were roughly 3 or 4 years behind us in pop culture. So while we were just about to hit THE SPAGHETTI INCIDENT phase of GnR, they were still hyped on APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION. I was soooo over GnR by that time, but I didn't dare admit it to the German kids for fear of being run out of the country. Hearing this song still brings a smile to my face as it reminds me of a day we went to a pool over there and this song was blasting while we all hung out.

Until next time, friends!

You've inspired me to make my way through these songs too, although I'm not going to write individual song reviews like you are.

Just made my way through these 10. Not a lot that I'm super passionate about here. The Pixies have the highest ratio of "times people have raved to me about them" vs. "times that I've listened to their music" (almost zero), and I will say that I did enjoy Where Is My Mind? I kind of hated Without You - I've never been a big fan of Yacht Rock type schmaltz, so I didn't even finish that song. Otherwise my favorites from this group were Truth Hurts, Welcome to the Jungle, and You're So Vain - all quality songs.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:45 pm

Alison is an Elvis Costello song I don't care for either. But his first three albums were stellar, especially in the disco era. After that they were pretty hit or miss, with an occasional brilliant cut.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:11 pm

390 - Metallica - "Enter Sandman" - Some people view this as Metallica's masterpiece, others as the album where they jumped the shark. As the first Metallica album I ever heard, I love it. And while I also agree their albums before this were better than what would come after, this album was a fantastic gateway drug for me into their back catalog. It still gets heavy rotation in my workout mixes.

389 - Pretenders - "Brass in Pocket" - This is an absolute favorite of my wife and I, and might be one of my wife's favorite songs period. We're both big fans of Lost in Translation, and of course there's a terrific karaoke scene featuring this song. You'll hear this one often in my house when we're cooking or doing chores.

388 - DMX - "Party Up (Up in Here)" - I remember when this song was everywhere, and for a long time it was a go-to for my brother and I to insert our own throwaway lyrics. Ex: "Hey bro, did you talk to mom today?" "Y'all gon' make me call my mom, up in here up in here." It's a classic late-90s anthem.

387 - New York Dolls - "Personality Crisis" - My first run-in with the New York Dolls was actually the last Rolling Stone Top 500 album challenge I did. I remember liking the album quite a bit. It's a strangely cool sound - old school rollicking piano and guitar licks mashed with raw garage punk vocals.

386 - The Kinks - "Lola" - One of those songs you wonder how it ever got radio play in 1970. Absolutely love this one though. Like many nerdy kids my first exposure was actually the Weird Al parody "Yoda." I'm not sure if it would be considered offensive these days, but I've always felt it was sung with a good sense of humor so I hope not.

385 - Diana Ross - "I'm Coming Out" - I'm listening to these songs cranked up pretty loud, and I was surprised to discover this song is a straight up banger. This gay anthem reminds me of a magic show we went to see in a little regional theme park called Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. I'm expecting your typical theme park magic show, and instead it was full of "coming out of the closet" innuendo. Complete with songs like this and an accompanying "coming out" storyline. I did not expect to see THAT in a rural family theme park. One of my coaster buddies who was there and is super "out" was going "HOLY SHIT AM I SEEING WHAT I'M SEEING" the whole show. It was hilarious.

384 - Cardi B, J Balvin, and Bad Bunny - "I Like It" - Didn't know this one, don't listen to Cardi B, didn't blow my skirt up. I do like the Puerto Rican vibe and the Pete Rodriguez sample, though.

383 - Childish Gambino - "Redbone" - Wasn't familiar with this track but really like it. Silky smooth, ridiculously high falsetto, and super-retro vibe. Good stuff.

382 - Fiona Apple - "Paper Bag" - I mentioned I was a huge fan of Fiona Apple's debut album, but I really never listened to much of her stuff after that. Apparently this song had a bit of a comeback when it was featured on the Bridesmaids soundtrack, but I didn't recognize it at all. It is kind of interesting to hear Fiona Apple in a bit of a lighter mood musically (even if the lyrics are still a bit dark).

381 - The Slits - "Typical Girls" - Another track I'd never heard, and it's a weird one. The Rolling Stone blurb describes it as peppy pop, punk, reggae, and boogie-woogie jazz, and they're not far off. This song is all over the freaking place. Shifting time signatures, shifting musical genres, all packed into 4 minutes. I'm not sure I like it....but I'm not sure I hate it either.

380 - Fountains of Wayne - "Radiation Vibe" - I was a big fan of Fountains of Wayne's album Welcome Interstate Managers, but haven't really listened to anything from them outside that. So I had not heard this track off their debut, but it's what you would expect from them - bright, poppy, with a dash of good humor.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:23 pm

FYI: someone has now compiled the top 500 songs on Spotify. Just search for Rolling Stone Top 500 2021. Gonna start at 500 and see how far I get....

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:46 pm

I just looked at the full list. Interesting to me that there's not a single non-"mainstream metal" (Metallica, Black Sabbath, GnR) song on the entire list.

They seem to include some somewhat obscure - but great - songs from other genres (reggae, rap, folk, etc.), but no metal at all.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:52 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:57 pm
YellowKing wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 6:27 pm my middle name is Earl.
We are brothers in Earl. I endured so much childhood teasing that I started telling people my middle name was Edward.

It's a shame "Mind With a Heart of its Own" won't make the list. You could call back to this.

Spoiler:

445 - T. Rex - "Cosmic Dancer" - I seriously only know T. Rex from Bang a Gong, so I had never heard this one. It's quite wonderful though. I love the chill vibe, and the string sections are really fantastic. One of the reasons I love doing these lists is finding overlooked gems like this.

They got covered a lot (including "Bang a Gong" so you might know more of them than you think. That and they also played "Cheapsta" on the radio.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:56 am 398 - Duran Duran - "Hungry Like the Wolf" - Great song, I really like Duran Duran. And like a lot of kids in the '80s I was enthralled by this video which has this band on an Indiana Jones-esque adventure hunting a mysterious woman through the jungle. a girl moaning on the radio

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:55 am

Accidentally did 11 tracks last batch so I'll just do 9 here and get synced back up.

379 - D'angelo - "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" - Prince-inspired seductive track. If I was some ladies man, I could see taking this kind of music seriously. As it stands, it just makes me laugh because the idea of me trying to be some kind of Casanova blasting this for a romantic rendezvous is utterly ridiculous.

378 - The Killers - "Mr. Brightside" - My brother is a bigger Killers fan than I am, but I did wear this first album out and like some of their later stuff as well. This song does aching jealousy so well. I don't even know who this girl is, but every time I listen I'm furious at the lucky bastard she's with.

377 - The Cure - "Pictures of You" - I've never been a big fan of The Cure. If I'm going to listen to dour 80s rock I'll subtract the goth-romance and hit The Smiths. I don't have anything against them though, and this track is fine.

376 - Merle Haggard - "Mama Tried" - This is one of my favorite classic country songs of all time. It was used brilliantly in the move THE STRANGERS, and after watching that you'll probably never hear it the same way again.

375 - The Drifters - "Up on the Roof" - Another song showing the songwriting brilliance of Carole King, who co-wrote this with Gerry Goffin. I probably grew up hearing the more wistful James Taylor version more, as my mom listened to a lot of '70s singer-songwriters. Still love the original, though.

374 - William DeVaughn - "Be Thankful for What You Got" - A true one-hit wonder here from the year of my birth. I didn't recognize this one at all, which is a bit surprising considering how much '70s music I listen to. Nice little smooth R&B jam.

373 - Drake - "Hotline Bling" - If nothing else, this song gave us a great meme. Drake's another one of those artists that I don't listen to, but I usually like whatever single comes out. And I've always liked him in any interviews or appearances on TV shows.

372 - Bonnie Raitt - "I Can't Make You Love Me" - I'm not a big Bonnie Raitt fan, but this song deserves to be WAY higher on the list. It's a true masterpiece. A lot of country songs are sad in a very manipulative way, which I hate. But I adore songs that are genuinely sad and this is right up there with the saddest songs of all time. It's been covered many times, but this version is the best. (According to RollingStone, the released version was the first take!)

371 - Elton John - "Bennie and the Jets" - I'm a big Elton John fan, and hope to see many more of his songs on the list ahead. All-time classic. There's a really cool VR Elton John experience that makes it look like you are on stage with him during some of his classic performances. Highly recommended if you are a fan.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:43 am

370 - Buddy Holly - "Peggy Sue" - I guess no Top 500 list would be complete without putting at least one Buddy Holly song on it. I remember back in my days of exploring early rock I grabbed the Buddy Holly greatest hits compilation and wore it out. I find as I get older I'm less and less interested in this era of music, but it's good to know the roots.

369 - The Cars - "Just What I Needed" - I mentioned about how my wife and I love The Pretenders, and The Cars would be another band to add to that list. In the new house we got in-ceiling speakers installed in the kitchen so that when we're making dinner we can listen to stuff like this. This track is certainly a favorite of ours.

368 - Soundgarden - "Black Hole Sun" - Surprisingly despite how heavy I was into the grunge scene of the early '90s, Soundgarden was on my bottom tier of bands I listened to. It really wasn't until much later when Chris Cornell was in Audioslave that I really paid attention to how talented he was. Also, remember when the face morphing tech they used for this video was so mind-blowing? LOL.

367 - Frank Ocean - "Thinkin Bout You" - Another artist out of my wheelhouse. It's a bit hard for me to wrap my head around some of these songs that I've never heard - you'd think the top 500 songs of all time would probably be almost all recognizable. It's even worse when you listen to them and don't really get where the hook or anything is and it sounds like 90% of everything else on the radio.

366 - The Crystals - "Da Doo Ron Ron" - I loves my girl groups and The Crystals are way up there as one of my favorites. "Then He Kissed Me" is my favorite of theirs, largely thanks to the opening of the Adventures in Babysitting movie. Because as a kid I had a massive crush on Elisabeth Shue. Hell, who am I kidding? I still do.

365 - Sex Pistols - "God Save the Queen" - Man, the Sex Pistols REALLY hated the queen, didn't they? I feel like every Sex Pistols song I've ever heard is them being pissed off at royalty.

364 - The Grateful Dead - "Box of Rain" - Second only to 'Ripple' as my favorite Grateful Dead song. American Beauty used to practically never leave my CD player. I'm not a Dead Head by any stretch - I've never sought out their bootlegs or attended a concert. I'm totally a surface level, mainstream albums kind of guy as far as they're concerned. But the songs I do love, I truly deeply love.

363 - Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Could You Be Loved" - College, 1994, and I swear to God you could not walk from one end of campus to another without hearing Bob Marley's Legend playing from a car or a dorm window. And like everyone else I owned it and played it constantly. These days I almost find it hard to listen to because I got so burned out on it.

362 - Kacey Musgraves - "Merry Go 'Round'" - I think Kacey Musgraves is one of the most brilliant country artists out there right now. Her songs always have an edge to them that you just don't typically see on country radio, and lyrically there's always a cleverness that rises far above the typical country puns and cliches. This song is a perfect example of everything she does well wrapped into one powerfully cynical track.

361 - Jimmy Cliff - "The Harder They Come" - Wasn't familiar with this song written for the movie of the same time. Decent enough but didn't blow me away.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:43 pm

360 - Prince - "Little Red Corvette" - When you're older, you look back and realize the 8 years that comprised your high school and college years were just a blink in time, even though it seemed like an eternity in the moment. As I'm going through this list and songs make me remember my various musical phases during that time, I'm constantly surprised at how I had enough time to explore all this. But sure enough, I had a Prince phase late senior year into early college where I listened to his stuff constantly. This song would be rather far down the list of favorite Prince tracks, though.

359 - Fugees - "Killing Me Softly With His Song" - I was absolutely obsessed with this album in 1996. I can still probably sing just about every word of it. And I heard the news yesterday that the Fugees are reuniting! Incredible group. Lauryn Hill is absolutely exquisite on this track.

358 - Patti Smith - "Because the Night" - At the risk of being a bit blasphemous, I must say I prefer the 10,000 Maniacs cover of this, because it was the version I first heard and Natalie Merchant is just so great on it. Still a great song co-written with my on-again off-again nemesis Bruce Springsteen.

357 - Taylor Swift - "Blank Space" - What a tumultuous history I have with Taylor Swift. Back during her young country days I thought she couldn't sing worth a lick. I then went through the phase of dismissing her as just another run-of-the-mill pop artist. It wasn't until my daughter started idolizing her that I really did my research and wound up becoming a bonafide "Swifty." While she (and her producers) sometimes rely a tad too much on a handful of go-to gimmicks, there's no denying that she's a pop music genius. The last two albums she dropped during the pandemic proved once and for all that she's not only a scary talented woman, she keeps getting better.

356 - Cheap Trick - "Surrender" - If I hadn't already talked about Guitar Hero, this is where I would have done it. Yet another track I found and played repeatedly through that game. I never realized it was about a kid catching his mom and dad making out though. Ewww.

355 - Thelma Houston - "Don't Leave Me This Way" - I didn't recognize this song at all until it hit the chorus and then I was like "alright, alright, alright" Matthew McConaughey style (shirt on). This is a great track.

354 - Michael Jackson - "Rock With You" - It's so hard to figure out where to land with Michael Jackson given the allegations against him and at the same time growing up believing he was God-like. I really try to separate the art from the artist with this one. I'm sure we'll see more MJ songs on the list. In the meantime, there's this 1979 track which perfectly straddles disco and early-80s pop.

353 - Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" - This makes my list of non-scary songs I was afraid of as a kid, thanks to Annie Lennox's gender-bending look in the music video. However, I was obsessed with the video and this song whenever it came on. It's still far and away one of my favorite songs to come out of the '80s.

352 - Ice Cube - "It Was a Good Day" - One of the rare upbeat gangsta rap songs from the '90s, albeit with a touch of cynicism. I didn't listen to a lot of rap at the time this came out, but we had a good friend who was totally into it who kind of kept us up to speed on the latest and greatest. I probably rode around with him listening to this a time or two.

351 - Jorge Ben - "Ponta de Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma)" - You might think I don't know a lot about Brazilian music, but you'd be right. I don't know jack shit about this stuff. But this track had a killer little groove behind it. I'm digging it.