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

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 🤔