Best song of all time

[noharleyyet]

New day
Honorable mention

DWTS

 

[CRJR45]

Then my second R and R would be this whole album, all time best album ever .

 

[Johnny Bravo]

This is an impossible ask of me, I don't have just one and I can't believe anyone does

 

[Lasiocarpa]

A couple of runner ups for me….
I think Mumford and Sons will stand the test of time

And…
Richard Thompson wrote it but Reckless Kelly does it best:

 

[recon6036]

Christmas tunes ain't till Friday.

Respect the thread creep.

My bad! I forgot what day it is.

 

[Irrelevant]

THis was Chat's All-Time Top Ten

 

[Ben Lamb]

THis was Chat's All-Time Top Ten
View attachment 396331

Except for Juicy, this is pretty much the soundtrack to The Big Chill.

 

[Ben Lamb]

My bad! I forgot what day it is.

Time is fungible around the Hollandaise.

 

[Irrelevant]

Except for Juicy, this is pretty much the soundtrack to The Big Chill.

It's the best one on that list and not even Biggie's best.

 

[44hunter45]

JFC
I might as well have asked for the best brussel sprouts recipe. This is ridiculous...

That's easy. Halved and roasted. No contest.

 

[Ben Lamb]

It's the best one on that list and not even Biggie's best.

 

[44hunter45]

Not officially a music post...

Well, the covey took wing, shotguns a-singin'
A pointing dog down in the old logging road
Danny got three and looked back a-grinning
I fumbled and I tried to reload

The country was cold with the sun westward sinking
It's good to be back in this place
With my hands around a Belgian made Browning
My mind on the lines of her face

Well now, Danny's my buddy, we grew up like family
Hunted this timber before we could drive
And the old English Pointer, he once belonged to me
But I give him up when I moved in '05

Off with a girl, off to the city
Off on a wing and a chance
Hell, I thought it'd play out just like some story
We fell in love at a rodeo dance

She said, "Go back to Cherokee County
Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb?"
Says, "Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home"

Dan says, "Look at ol' Jim
A dozen Decembers behind him no worse for the wear
And your time spent in Tulsa did not help your shooting
And look at the gray in your hair

How good does it feel? You belong in these hills
It's best that you let it all end
If you'd have married that girl, you'd have married her family
You dodged a bullet, my friend"

She said, "Go back to Cherokee County
Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb?"
Says, "Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home"

Ah, and I was beginning to deal with it ending
The old dog had pointed while part of me died

And a flutter of feathers
Then a shotgun to shoulder
I thought of the Fourth of July
She'll be home on the Fourth of July
I bet we'll dance on the Fourth of July

Dan says, "Hell of a shot, looks like you've still got it
That's what we came here to do
Well, it's light enough still, at the foot of the hill
We could kick up a single or two"

She said, "Go back to Cherokee County
Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb?"
Says, "Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home"
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home

 

[Irrelevant]

I told Chat it was full of shit. Try harder. It did better.

1. Amazing Grace – John Newton (1772)​

Few songs in history have matched its global reach, durability, and emotional universality. It transcends genre, religion, nationality, and era. Sung at funerals, protests, religious services, and state events worldwide, it functions as a shared human language of loss and redemption.

2. The Star-Spangled Banner – Francis Scott Key (lyrics), John Stafford Smith (melody)​

As a national anthem, it has been performed, argued over, and reinterpreted more than almost any song in history. Its significance lies not just in patriotism, but in how it has become a cultural battleground reflecting American identity across centuries.

3. Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan (1965)
This song permanently altered popular songwriting, proving that a hit single could be long, literate, confrontational, and emotionally complex. It marks the moment pop music grew up and demanded to be taken seriously as art.

4. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Hank Williams (1949)​

Perhaps the purest distillation of American loneliness ever written. Its influence reaches far beyond country music—into folk, rock, and singer-songwriter traditions. The song’s emotional clarity and restraint are studied, not just admired.

5. Yesterday – The Beatles (1965)​

A model of melodic economy and emotional directness, and one of the most covered songs in history. It demonstrated that vulnerability and simplicity could carry as much weight as innovation or spectacle.

6. Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday (1939)​

One of the most consequential protest songs ever recorded. Its power lies in its restraint and stark imagery, bringing moral reckoning into popular music decades before it was common or safe to do so.

7. This Land Is Your Land – Woody Guthrie (1940)​

Often misunderstood as patriotic, it is actually a subversive democratic anthem. Its endurance reflects its flexibility—equally at home in classrooms, protests, and political movements. Few songs have been so widely repurposed without losing meaning.

8. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, “Ode to Joy” (Finale)​

While not a “song” in the pop sense, it is arguably the most recognizable and influential vocal melody in Western music history. It has served as an anthem for unity, revolution, and humanism for over two centuries.

9. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye (1971)​

This song redefined soul and R&B by merging social consciousness with musical warmth. It legitimized introspection and political reflection in mainstream Black popular music without sacrificing accessibility.

10. Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen (1984)​

A rare modern entry whose mythic structure and lyrical ambiguity have allowed endless reinterpretation. Its afterlife—through covers and cultural moments—has eclipsed its original release, a hallmark of truly enduring songs.