Your all-time favorite songs? (Maximum of 10)

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prfesser

prfesser

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I've been downloading music videos from YouTube and converting them to .mp3 files for use in my RAV4. So far I've got 138 that I've always liked, some from the early 60s. Passes the time when driving to LDRS. But there are a few that are favorites. I've been known to play just one song over and over, on a three-hour trip. (Not with SWMBO in the car, she'd probably perform surgery on me sans anaesthetic.)

I was a soft rock guy, so here's my Top Ten, more or less in order:
The Association, "Everything That Touches You" and "Looking Glass" (hard to find this one, it was a B-side on a 45rpm)
The Partridge Family, "It's One of Those Nights"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
(Guilty pleasure) Taylor Swift, "Our Song" and "Last Kiss"
Mason Williams, "Classical Gas"
Roxette, "Listen To Your Heart"
Sixpence None The Richer, "Kiss Me"
and The Barry Gray Orchestra, "Thunderbirds Theme" (of course!)

So...what are yours?

Best -- Terry
 
Rolling Stones: Girl with Far away eyes ("Some Girls" album is in my top 5)
Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E major (BWV 1006: III. Gavotte en Rondeau)
The Who: The real me
The Who: Smash the mirror, but with Ann Margret belting out the tune (Movie soundtrack)
Sham 69: If the kids are united
Sex Pistols: EMI (Both studio & "Great rock n Roll swindle version with the London philharmonic)
The Vibrators: Baby Baby
Erasure: Oh L'amour

that's to start.

it'll change, depending on the day / mood / weather / work load..
 
Just the first six that come up on my list and by no means my favorites, just some of many.
I listen to many kinds of music from all over the world. What I listen to depends on what I am doing and my moods.
Sleeping Sun, the cover of Nightwish's song by Natalia Tsarikova I could listen to on an endless loop and never get tired of it!

Doors, Riders on the Storm
ELP, Fanfare for the Common Man
Heart, These Dreams
Natalia Tsarikova, Nightwish cover of Sleeping Sun
Santana, Black Magic Woman
Johnny Cash, Hurt
 
Various metal subgenres, and traditional/classical...

Dio - "Rainbow in the Dark" (probably needs no introduction)
Iron Savior - "Battering Ram" (Power metal song about breaking the sound barrier)
Helion Prime - "Apollo (The Eagle has Landed)" (Power metal song about space exploration)
Sabaton - "Primo Victoria" (Power metal song about the Normandy invasion on D-day.)
Sabaton - "Winged Hussars" (Power metal song about the largest cavalry charge in history, which broke the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683.)
Elvenking - "White Willow" (Fantasy-themed folk metal song about an adventurer seeking wisdom from an old tree spirit)
Elvenking - "The Wanderer" (Fantasy-themed folk metal song about a guy with wanderlust and the strange people and places he encounters)
Nightwish - "Stargazers" (Symphonic metal song with a lot of flowery language that comes down to being about the joy of astronomy)
Beethoven - "Ode to Joy" (Beethoven didn't write the lyrics, but it seems he originally set it to music as part of his 9th symphony)
Unknown - "Crucem Sanctam Subiit" (A Gregorian chant in Latin dating back to at least the 1100's.)
 
It is hard for me to pick only 10. I can generally narrow 10 to a genre, mood, or theme. Here are a few that I always return to for various reasons. These won't be for everyone, that's for sure.

Nightwish - Ghost Love Score performed at Wacken Open Air 2013. If I could go back in time for one live performance this would be it. No offense to their previous singers, but Floor gave the vocal performance of a lifetime and redefines what people can think of when they hear a heavy metal song.

Stavesacre - At The Moment (Hard Rock)
Manchester Orchestra - The Silence (Indie / Alternative Rock)
The Decemberists - 12/17/12 (Indie Rock)
Stretch Arm Strong - For the Record (Hardcore) This song could be about my group of friends coming of age at punk and hardcore shows.
 
NateB said:
Nightwish - Ghost Love Score performed at Wacken Open Air 2013. If I could go back in time for one live performance this would be it. No offense to their previous singers, but Floor gave the vocal performance of a lifetime and redefines what people can think of when they hear a heavy metal song.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think Tarja's performance of the song in End of an Era was better, but you have good taste regardless to pick this. I did get to see Floor sing GLS and Stargazers live twice when I was living in California and they were touring for Endless Forms Most Beautiful. It was an absolutely magical experience.
 
Pink Floyd - Shine on your crazy diamond
Tom Jones - Delilah
Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy
Beatles - Revolution ("John's mike is s**t")
Rolling Stones - Honky talk woman
Bob Dylan - Destruction Row
Bruce Springsteen - Rosalita
Neil Young - Rockin in the free world
Eagles - Lying eyes
The Who - Doctor Jimmy
 
Antares JS said:
Personally, I think Tarja's performance of the song in End of an Era was better, but you have good taste regardless to pick this. I did get to see Floor sing GLS and Stargazers live twice when I was living in California and they were touring for Endless Forms Most Beautiful. It was an absolutely magical experience.
Click to expand...

I have nothing bad to say about Tarja either. Nightwish is on my bucket list for bands to see, but I haven't been able to yet. The last bands from that part of the world I was able to see were Omnium Gatherum and Dark Tranquility. I was supposed to see Insomnium last Spring, but that obviously didn't happen.
 
As a prog rock album-oriented kind of guy, picking favorite songs is difficult for me. I did however also grow up in the 70's listening to quite a bit of top 40 radio. Songs that stand out, at least the ones that I can think of right now:

Summer Breeze (Seals and Crofts): this one's an oddball on my list, but somehow this song always affects me when I hear it
Camera Eye (Rush): this is the song that got me into Rush. I heard it in the background when talking to a friend of mine on the phone, and that was that.
Analog Kid (Rush): my second-favorite Rush song overall, but favorite Lifeson solo. So hard to pick though.
Miracles out of Nowhere (Kansas): I am a yuuuge Kansas fan, much like Rush very hard to pick a favorite, but this one stands out, along with everything else on Leftoverture.
Close to the Edge (Yes): to me this was classic Yes at their absolute peak, before they veered off into the weeds
Karn Evel 9, First Impression, Part 1 (ELP): Likewise: ELP at their peak
Zanzibar (Billy Joel): the jazz bridge is spectacular
Barracuda (Heart): Heart was an absolutely fantastic band. This is definitely my favorite of theirs.
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding (Elton John): Based on the rest of my list this one shouldn't be too surprising
Black Water (Doobie Brothers): love lots of Doobies stuff but this is the one that most sticks for me.

Yes, I realize that the newest of these is almost 30 years old. There's plenty of newer stuff I like too, but to me these are the ones most deeply embedded in my psyche. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.
 
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In no particular order of preference and from all over the charts

George Jones - Choices
Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
Roy Head - Treat Her Right
Bob Seger System - Ramblin Gamblin Man
Pink Floyd - Echoes
Eric Clapton - River of Tears (live)
Blue Oyster Cult - The Vigil
David Gilmour - Sonnet 18
Blackberry Smoke - One Horse Town
Janis Joplin - Piece of my Heart
 
Don't know if these are my ten faves, but they are a good sampling of what I like:

Heart: "Straight On"
Yes: "Siberian khatru"
ELP: "Take a Pebble"
King Crimson: "I Talk to the Wind"
Kansas: "What's on my Mind"
Chicago: "Ballet for a Girl from Buchanan" ( a suite containing "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World," among others)
Pink Floyd: "Us and Them"
Led Zeppelin: "Stairway to Heaven"
Everclear: "AM Radio"
Radiohead: "Don't Leave Me High and Dry"
Renaissance: "Trip to the Fair"
Focus: "Moving Waves"

Anything by the Beatles or The Who.
 
I have two "go to" favorites, both Simon and Garfunkel: Kathy's Song and Bridge Over Troubled Water. After that it's hard to narrow down to eight more. They'd likely come from The Beatles, Stan Rogers, John McCutcheon, and some others. And they'd change if you asked me on two different days.
 
I can't pin down ten favorites, but these are still in consistent rotation after a long time. Most have some association or attachment for me beyond the song that keeps them fresh. I could just cheat and make it easy by saying "Everything Tom Morello has played on"...Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Street Sweeper Social Club, The Nightwatchman, Atlas Underground, whatever, I'll listen.

Ghost of Tom Joad (Springsteen AND Tom Morello version) - I've seen Tom's extended guitar solo described as "Face Melting" which seems about right. Also, for content, Tom Joad is of course the main character in "The Grapes of Wrath", which is my favorite book. To the degree that my son Casey is named after the preacher Casey from the book.
Ophelia (Natalie Merchant) - I did not understand the concept of The Sirens from Greek mythology until I heard Natalie Merchant live. I get it now, I'll gladly smash the boat on the rocks. "Motherland" is also one of her songs that just hits me, but I haven;t heard that one live.
Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones) - This is the song that I associate with the arrival of summer, and I love summer. I have a random memory from when I was about 18 or 19 of driving my piece of crap Mercury Tracer with the windows down on a particularly warm, sunny day in late spring and this came on the radio...it is weird what memories stick.
Voodoo Child (Jimi Hendrix) - There is a very long story that starts with this song, and ends with me and 7 others crammed in an SUV driving with the lights out at 3 am fleeing the Houston police...6 of the people hold Ph.D.s and include professors from Princeton, Cal Tech and Stanford, 5 were wearing tuxedos...good times, because we weren't arrested.
Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins) - because High School. Note: Time of Your Life (Green Day) could also fill this slot for this reason.
Act III Scene 2 (Saul Williams and Zach de la Rocha) - pure, defiant energy, get amped and run through a wall kinda protest song. List of Demands (Saul Williams) also fits this niche. Saul is one of those artists I just tend to like, strikes me as a genuine creative who just goes where creativity takes him. I never think, Saul is trying to sound like X, it is always his thing.
Forty Six & 2 (Tool) - Because Tool!
The Times They are a Changing (Bob Dylan) - At every point in my life this song has felt relevant, and I suspect it always will.
Killing Me Softly With His Song (Fugees) - Lauren Hill is another of The Sirens.
Fell on Black Days (Soundgarden) - I will die on Soundgarden was better than Nirvana mountain, you have been warned. Man, I miss Chris Cornell.
 
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prfesser said:
I've been downloading music videos from YouTube and converting them to .mp3 files for use in my RAV4. So far I've got 138 that I've always liked, some from the early 60s. Passes the time when driving to LDRS. But there are a few that are favorites. I've been known to play just one song over and over, on a three-hour trip. (Not with SWMBO in the car, she'd probably perform surgery on me sans anaesthetic.)

I was a soft rock guy, so here's my Top Ten, more or less in order:
The Association, "Everything That Touches You" and "Looking Glass" (hard to find this one, it was a B-side on a 45rpm)
The Partridge Family, "It's One of Those Nights"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
(Guilty pleasure) Taylor Swift, "Our Song" and "Last Kiss"
Mason Williams, "Classical Gas"
Roxette, "Listen To Your Heart"
Sixpence None The Richer, "Kiss Me"
and The Barry Gray Orchestra, "Thunderbirds Theme" (of course!)

So...what are yours?

Best -- Terry
Click to expand...
Are we allowed to criticize other's list? Alot of them suck. Just kidding of course.
 
Cl(VII) said:
Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins) - because High School. Note: Time of Your Life (Green Day) could also fill this slot for this reason.
Click to expand...

I felt old this week when Mellon Collie and and the Infinite Sadness turned 25. I've been listening to that record for a long time now.
 
NateB said:
I felt old this week when Mellon Collie and and the Infinite Sadness turned 25. I've been listening to that record for a long time now.
Click to expand...

Yep, since I was 16. That entire double album holds up as well as anything I can think of from that time. There is very little fluff in that 2 hour album.
 
Okay, geezer time here...

Mickey & Sylvia: Love Is Strange
Jorgen Ingman: Apache
Stones: King Bee
Dylan: Ballad of A Thin Man
Dead: Cold Rain and Snow
Dead: Must Have Been The Roses
Rory Gallagher: Walk On Hot Coals
Dave Edmunds: I Hear You Knocking (Fats Domino cover)
Fleetwood Mac: Oh Well
Pink Floyd: Great Gig In The Sky

The solo in the last one gives me the chills just thinking about it. Clare Torry’s vocal solo is/was amazing.
 
A nearly impossible question to answer..........................but I'll give it a try.
Leaving out hundreds of "this should definitely be on the list too" songs, but oh well if I can only have ten:

---- 1952 Vincent Black Lightning / Richard Thompson
---- Search & Destroy / Iggy Pop-the Stooges
---- Kashmir / Led Zeppelin
---- Everything Merges With The Night / Brian Eno
---- It's Not Unusual / Tom Jones
---- Wild Horses / Rolling Stones
---- Pissing in a River / Patti Smith Group
---- Heroes / David Bowie
---- Ace of Spades / Motorhead
---- Fake Plastic Trees / Radiohead

s6




 
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Wow... nice lists!

Wagonwheel - Darius Rucker or Old Crow Medicine Show. I like both versions
Copperhead Road - Steve Earl
The End is Not in Sight - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Coming Back to Life - Pink Floyd
I could finish this with a bunch of old, pre plane crash Lynyrd Skynyrd
Green Grass and High Tides - The Outlaws
Fire on the Mountain - Marshall Tucker Band Just about anything these guys did was good
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
China Grove - The Doobie Brothers
The David Lee Roth era of Van Halen (RIP Eddie Van Halen)
Sweet Jane (the Rock and Roll Animal Cut) - Lou Reed
 
stealth6 said:
A nearly impossible question to answer..........................but I'll give it a try.
Leaving out hundreds of "this should definitely be on the list too" songs, but oh well if I can only have ten:

---- Search & Destroy / Iggy Pop-the Stooges

---- Ace of Spades / Motorhead
Click to expand...

I love Iggy. There used to be an amazing video on YouTube from Henry Rollins about trying to compete with Iggy at a festival in Finland...he lost. If you can find the audio it is well worth a listen.

“We’re the kind of band when we move in next door your lawn dies” -Lemmy Kilmister. Yep, but somehow, it’s a good thing.
 
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David Bowie - Young Americans
Neil Diamond - Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
Three Dog Night - Family of Man
Steve Winwood - Higher Love
Eagles - Take it Easy
B52s - Love Shack
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
Chicago - Saturday in the Park
Doobie Brothers - Long Train Running
Aerosmith - Walk this Way
 
Take The Long Way Home--Supertramp
Goodbye Stranger--Supertramp
Children of the Sun--Billy Thorpe
Wash It All Away--Five Finger Death Punch
More Than A Feeling--Boston
Pass It Around--Grand Funk Railroad
I Just Want To Celebrate--Rare Earth
Copperhead Road--Steve Earle
Oh, Pretty Woman--Roy Orbison (the other man in black)
Can't You See--The Marshall Tucker Band

Some were songs that fit a specific time in my life, others were just good songs.
 

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