Your Top Ten Songs

[fuse]

I'm not looking to start a debate on top songs of all time or anything that serious.


You can only listen to ten songs- which ten would they be? Bonus points for why.

Use whatever filter helps you narrow down your list. :-)

10. LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out. My first rap album.
9. Sailing, Christopher Cross. Great vacation memories.
8. Superstition, Stevie Wonder. Simply one of the greatest songs of all time.
7. Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson. For the guitar solo. Could have easily been Thriller, Smooth Criminal, or most of the Jackson 5 catalog.
6. Tusk, Fleetwood Mac. Drums, drums, drums!
5. If you don't know me by now, Simply Red. First dance wedding song.
4. Rough Night in Jericho, Dreams So Real. Freshman hallmate in Southgate introduced me to Dreams So Real and Drivin n Cryin.
3. Running Down a Dream, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Family vacation turned this classic album into great memories.
2. Wanted Dead or Alive, Bon Jovi.
1. Behind Blue Eyes, The Who. The first Who song I ever listened to, still resonates today. Super excited about their concert in Raleigh next week.

I tried hard not to over-think this as I could easily have drawn this out to a top 100 list. I'm sure I will re-read this and revise it in my head over and again.

I look forward to seeing what others come up with. Have fun!

[mattman91]

I'm not looking to start a debate on top songs of all time or anything that serious.


You can only listen to ten songs- which ten would they be? Bonus points for why.

Use whatever filter helps you narrow down your list. :-)

10. LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out. My first rap album.
9. Sailing, Christopher Cross. Great vacation memories.
8. Superstition, Stevie Wonder. Simply one of the greatest songs of all time.
7. Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson. For the guitar solo. Could have easily been Thriller, Smooth Criminal, or most of the Jackson 5 catalog.
6. Tusk, Fleetwood Mac. Drums, drums, drums!
5. If you don't know me by now, Simply Red. First dance wedding song.
4. Rough Night in Jericho, Dreams So Real. Freshman hallmate in Southgate introduced me to Dreams So Real and Drivin n Cryin.
3. Running Down a Dream, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Family vacation turned this classic album into great memories.
2. Wanted Dead or Alive, Bon Jovi.
1. Behind Blue Eyes, The Who. The first Who song I ever listened to, still resonates today. Super excited about their concert in Raleigh next week.

I tried hard not to over-think this as I could easily have drawn this out to a top 100 list. I'm sure I will re-read this and revise it in my head over and again.

I look forward to seeing what others come up with. Have fun!

Very interesting Thread!

I will have to spend some time thinking about my list as I have a vast range of genres that I enjoy. May do this tonight as I sip on one of the Pisgah Vortex ll's Ricks68 picked up for me. Surprised to see LL Cool J on your list

[OldPhiKap]

Please ignore that I will probably have several favorite ten's. My iTunes library is literally over 200 gigs.

I enjoy music. A lot.

[OldPhiKap]

OK. First try:

1. Won't Get Fooled Again -- The Who
2. Gimme Shelter -- Rolling Stones
3. Feelin' Alright -- Traffic (but going with Joe Cocker version)
4. Magnificent Seven -- The Clash
5. The Thrill is Gone -- B.B. King
6. Sultans of Swing -- Dire Straits
7. Lawyers, Guns and Money -- Warren Zevon
8. Choctaw Bingo -- James McMurtry
9. Jack Straw -- Grateful Dead (post-'82 versions)
10. Take Five -- Dave Brubeck

[fuse]

Please ignore that I will probably have several favorite ten's. My iTunes library is literally over 200 gigs.

I enjoy music. A lot.

Several favorite tens is ok :-)

I may contribute more than once. I just thought it might be fun and an opportunity to discover both music in common and music that is new to me.

If I had put one of my fraternity brother's bands Sade's Realm "Wise Norlina" as a favorite, no one would have any idea what I am talking about, unless you pay attention to exits crossing into NC on I-85 from Virginia.

[-jk]

OK. First try:

1. Won't Get Fooled Again -- The Who
2. Gimme Shelter -- Rolling Stones
3. Feelin' Alright -- Traffic (but going with Joe Cocker version)
4. Magnificent Seven -- The Clash
5. The Thrill is Gone -- B.B. King
6. Sultans of Swing -- Dire Straits
7. Lawyers, Guns and Money -- Warren Zevon
8. Choctaw Bingo -- James McMurtry
9. Jack Straw -- Grateful Dead (post-'82 versions)
10. Take Five -- Dave Brubeck

No Donna the Buffalo? <teenage "whatever...">

-jk

[OldPhiKap]

Several favorite tens is ok :-)

I may contribute more than once. I just thought it might be fun and an opportunity to discover both music in common and music that is new to me.

If I had put one of my fraternity brother's bands Sade's Realm "Wise Norlina" as a favorite, no one would have any idea what I am talking about, unless you pay attention to exits crossing into NC on I-85 from Virginia.

Enjoy the Who show. Chase seen them three or four times, way back. Long Live Rock . . . .

[duke74]

In no particular order

1. Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot. Got introduced to him my senior year at Duke from a friend also in the geology dept.
2. The Boxer - S&G. Two Forest Hills boys...of course. And my favorite of all time.
3. America - Ditto
4. I Don't Want to Talk about it- Everything but the Girl. Great in a number of genres-maybe my second favorite...but closing in on S&G.
5. Tougher than the Rest -Ditto
6. Here with Me - Dido - featured in my favorite movie - Love Actually
7. While my Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles. No explanation needed
8. Midnight Confessions- Grass Roots. Memories of growing up in the 60s
9. Central Reservation - Beth Orton. Wonderful artist, saw her last year in NYC
10. ANYTHING by Imogen Heap (as a single or with Frou Frou). Incredibly innovative, clever and artistic. (I know, I'm cheating - if I had to ock one - "Half Life")

[duke74]

Enjoy the Who show. Chase seen them three or four times, way back. Long Live Rock . . . .

Seeing them in the refurbished West Side Tennis Club stadium in Forest Hills on May 30th. (Former home of the U.S. Tennis Open)

[fuse]

OK. First try:

1. Won't Get Fooled Again -- The Who
2. Gimme Shelter -- Rolling Stones
3. Feelin' Alright -- Traffic (but going with Joe Cocker version)
4. Magnificent Seven -- The Clash
5. The Thrill is Gone -- B.B. King
6. Sultans of Swing -- Dire Straits
7. Lawyers, Guns and Money -- Warren Zevon
8. Choctaw Bingo -- James McMurtry
9. Jack Straw -- Grateful Dead (post-'82 versions)
10. Take Five -- Dave Brubeck

Making me feel like I need to review my list already.
Not sure what I would take off to include:

Dire Straits Money For Nothing
Spencer Davis Project Gimme Some Lovin
Chaka Khan I Feel For You

Have also randomly heard Paul Simon 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover three times in the past week after probably not having heard it in decades. Likely means there is some Simon and Garfunkel missing from my list, too (among others).

Maybe I should have titled this thread, Ymmmm, Songs! ;-)

[devildeac]

This is pretty funny/ironic, fuse. I might challenge you on another thread for your ten "favorites".

In no particular order, except #1:

Sing, Sing, Sing-Benny Goodman (this absolutely rocks and we love to dance to it)
Thunder Road (acoustic; haunting)-Bruce Springsteen (I'm a Jersey boy; story of my late teen years)
Won't Get Fooled Again-The Who (this song rocks almost as much as Sing, Sing, Sing)
Angry Young Man-Billy Joel (another chapter from my youth but I don't plan on being an angry old man)
Sympathy for the Devil-The Rolling Stones (history; quoted from this for my younger daughter's surprise wedding guest/dance partner)
Devil with the Blue Dress-Shorty Long (original Motown version)
Devil with the Blue Dress-Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
Devil with the Blue Dress (live)-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Devil with the Blue Dress-DUMB (our younger daughter danced to this for 3 years when she cheered)
American Pie-Don McLean (a "history" of R&R)

There's sort of a theme here.

This is likely going to change/have some additions in 30 minutes. Or less.

[OldPhiKap]

Seeing them in the refurbished West Side Tennis Club stadium in Forest Hills on May 30th. (Former home of the U.S. Tennis Open)

First real concert was the Who and the Clash at Shea in Flushing. Hearing never recovered. Don't care.

[killerleft]

Americana list:

1. Leaving Eden, Carolina Chocolate Drops (internet live version at the Ryman is goosebumpy!)
2. Up on the Divide, Martha Scanlan
3. Boundary County, Eilen Jewell
4. Summertime, Doc & Merle Watson
5. Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
6. Carolina in My Mind, Alison Krauss & Jerry Douglas
7. Annabel, The Duhks (Jessee Havey)
8. Battle of New Orleans, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Symphonian Dream version
9. Tennessee, Gillian Welch
10. Central Time, Pokey Lafarge

Naming a top ten is impossible. These are some fine musicians and vocalists, though. I've seen them all in person save Tracy Chapman.

[devildeac]

First real concert was the Who and the Clash at Shea in Flushing. Hearing never recovered. Don't care.

Ehh, what was that again, sonny?

The Who and Lynyrd Skynyrd at The Landover/CapitalCenter, December 6, 1973:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-wh...-33d65cad.html

[devildeac]

Second ten, once again, in no particular order:

It Won't Be This Way for Long-Darius Rucker (father-older daughter wedding dance song; wipes tears from eyes)
Dancin' in the Dark-Bruce Springsteen (wedding dance song with Mrs. dd)
Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch (I Can't Help Myself)-The Four Tops (another wedding dance song with Mrs. dd)
Cinderella-Steven Curtis Chapman (my younger daughter wanted to learn the Viennese Waltz for the father-daughter wedding dance)
Sharp Dressed Man-ZZ Top (I most certainly was as I danced with Mrs. dd at our younger daughter's wedding)
Who Loves You-Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (yep, another wedding dance song with Mrs. dd)
My Girl-The Temptations (part of a medley father/daughter dance with our younger daughter at her wedding)
The Boxer-Simon and Garfunkel (on SNL for the first show after 9/11; chilling)
Roll Over Beethoven-Electric Light Orchestra (better than Chuck Berry and better than The Beatles; rocks almost as much as Sing, Sing, Sing)
Zoot Suit Riot-Cherry Poppin' Daddies (another favorite big band revival dance song with Mrs. dd)

[flagellaman]

I don't really have a true top ten. If you ask me to name my top ten a year from now, you'll probably get a different list.

But for now, I will go with this top ten - spans multiple genres.

1. Are You Going With Me - Pat Metheny Group - Definitely all time favorite piece. Heard it on a radio station in Augusta, Georgia in the mid-1980's and it got me listening to jazz music.
2. Hotel California - Eagles - Love the lyrics, can't quite place the mix of chords progressions, but has some spanish flavors to it.
3. Scottish Fantasy - Max Bruch - Coincidently my father's favorite classical piece - he played it so much I came to enjoy it immensely. Hauntingly sad.
4. Your Latest Trick - Dire Straits - Lots of Dire Strait music I love, but this piece just tops it all - can't explain why. Might be that it's not one of the many well-known pieces by DS.
5. Basie - Straight Ahead - Count Basie & His Orchestra - classic chart that many high school jazz bands play. Grown to love the rhythm and the fact that in a typical 18-piece jazz band, you can pick out the sounds of the sax lines, the trombones, the horns, and the rhythm section clearly.
6. The Girl From Ipanema - Antonio Carlos Jobim - can't really explain why this is on my list today other than it is classic Jobim.
7. Mirador - Clay Giberson - one of the first "hits" of my nephew's career. Giberson is a jazz pianist - one of the best in the Pacific Northwest...so some favoritism, but he's a composer and that's what makes him stand out from the many musicians who can play the heck out of any piece.
8. South Side Midnight Lady - Doobie Brothers - similar to Stairway To Heaven, Beth, Freebird, and other rock group's best ballad piece, this one from the Doobies just stands out to me that is so different than most of their other pieces. A year from now, STH or Beth or Freebird might replace SSML in the list.
9. Deacon Blues - Steely Dan - this piece and Doctor Wu, Here At The Western Front, and Haitian Divorce are to me to classic sounds of Steely Dan. I like their top ten hits and all, but these pieces are much superior.
10. Defying Gravity - Idina Menzel - Got hooked on Broadway music when my daughter started liking Broadway tunes. Saw the musical Wicked performed during a traveling tour and this piece made me tear up big time.

[snowdenscold]

I'll come back to modern songs later hopefully (Cranberries - Dreams and several U2 songs will definitely make the list), but for now I'll go a different route: If I was stuck on a desert island and could only take 10 works of classical music w/ me...

In alphabetical order:

Bach - Partita # 2 (for the Chaconne)
Barber - Adagio for Strings
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony 6
Beethoven - Symphony 7
Beethoven - Symphony 9
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Dvorak - Symphony 9
Respighi - Pines of Rome
Vaughn Williams - Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Vivaldi - Four Seasons


Oh that's 11 you say? Well Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, etc. already all ended up (tragically) on the cutting room floor. I couldn't even squeeze in a piano work. Don't make me cut it further to 10!

[moonpie23]

wow...some really interesting picks here...

[Olympic Fan]

Great topic. I'm like flagellaman -- my list fluctuates according to my mood.

But here's my list as it stands today (this hour). Keep in mind I'm an old fart and prefer music from the '60s and '70s to the new stuff.

In Letterman fashion

10. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Hank Williams (the saddest song every written ... for when I want to wallow in self-pity, like after a loss in the NCAA Tournament)
9. Miss Grace, The Tymes (I love Beach Music and this is my favorite Beach song -- just ahead of Doug Clark's If You want to Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life)
8. Blitzkrieg Bop, The Ramones (just pure Rock without any pretentions)
7. Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin (a very personal reason for this one)
6. The Times They Are a Changing, Bob Dylan (could have a dozen Dylan songs, but this is my favorite)
5. Bridge over Troubled Waters, Simon & Garfinkel (Heard this one in concert at Cameron ... at the time S&G had not released it. They used it to close their concert and hearing it live for the first time, it blew me away)
4. School Days, Chuck Berry (I once had a cassette tape of Chuck doing this one live, until I wore it out; luckily I found a digital version)
3. You Are Loved (Don't Give Up), Josh Grogan (no reason, just a great song by a great voice)
2. You're So London, Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett (I saw this when I was a kid on live TV ... about three years ago, I found it on line ... one of the great comic duets ever)
1. Gloria, Patti Smith (Opens with the best line ever written for a rock and roll song: Jesus Died For Somebody's Sins, but Not Mine ... the slow build up to the crescendo is perfection)

I can see I left out all my Motown favorites ... no Slade or Clash ... no Jessie's Girl?? ... no Bowling for Soup? ... and I know it's a cliché, but when Journey does "Don't Stop Believing" I get goosebumps

[CoBlueDevil]

Love this thread. Great idea. In no particular order either:

1. Jungleland -- Bruce Springsteen. My dad grew up in Jersey and passed along his love of Bruce to me.
2. T.B. Sheets -- Van Morrison. So incredibly soulful! Van the Man.
3. Say It Ain't So -- Weezer. Brings me back to high school and great memories.
4. The Boxer -- Simon & Garfunkel. Such a beautiful song!
5. A Pirate Looks At Forty -- Buffett. I am a big Parrot Head and this was one of this first Buffett songs I fell in love with.
6. Trouble -- Coldplay. Have always been a fan of Coldplay. One of many that are great.
7. Chicago, Djohariah, etc... -- Sufjan Stevens. Pretty much anything Sufjan. You can't go wrong.
8. Saeglopur -- Sigur Ros. Icelandic band. I don't understand any of the words but they are amazing. Really powerful music.
9. More Than A Feeling -- Boston. Pure nostalgia. Love this song.
10. Ms. Jackson -- Outkast. Obligatory rap song. I am a big rap/hip hop fan and this is one of my all time favorites.

Bonus: The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows, Degausser, Seventy Times 7 -- Brand New. Just so good!

There are many more but those are some my favorites.