#120 - "20th Century Boy" - T. Rex - Greatest Hits - #2/2 - One of glam rock's finest moments, "20th" is a fun song with a chorus so catchy that it's been featured in advertisements, even though it was never a hit in the United States.
#119 - "Blow Up The Outside World" - Soundgarden - Down On The Upside - #10/11 - The best Soundgarden song that didn't become a hit, "Blow Up" was a style and career culmination that combined elements of some of the band's best songs to create one of their career pinnacles.
#118 - "Would" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #7/8 - One of the key songs on Alice's best album, "Would" builds slowly to a ballistic chorus and an incredibly intense ending.
#117 - "Come Together" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - #19/22 - The Beatles didn't last very much longer after this song came out, but it was one of their best with great verses and an excellent chorus, even if the band ignored the message of said chorus.
#116 - "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - #13/20 - If you're wondering, I believe this song is featured in 75% of Martin Scorcese's movies and if not, it should be going forward. The Stones will forever be in the Beatles' shadow, but songs like this one indicate that the band was at least the Fab Four's equals and in some ways their superior as they were willing to go down the darker paths that the Beatles veered away from most of the time.
#115 - "Whippin' Post" - The Allman Brothers Band - Beginnings - #4/4 - A highlight of blues rock as a genre, "Whippin'" is a blistering "she done me wrong" story with great guitar licks and an intense chorus.
#114 - "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - #6/6 - The indie dance rock movement officially went mainstream with the success of this breakthrough hit from Franz Ferdinand. The peppy beat that drives the song through it's many verses is a highlight of the song that made Franz one of the biggest bands in indie rock to this day.
#113 - "Kashmir" - Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti - #21/24 - Zeppelin went prog with this all-time classic from Physical Graffiti. The riff is legendary, the crunchy sound is unstoppable and the crescendoes are a high point in the career of a band filled with such points.
#112 - "You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC - Back In Black - #8/9 - AC/DC's signature song, though not their best, "You Shook" is one of classic rock's best and most important songs, bringing blues rock into a new era where it melded with metal and punk to create one of rock's most easily recognized songs.
#111 - "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynyrd Skynyrd - What's Your Name - #3/4 - Speaking of easily recognized, "Sweet Home" is one of the most famous and beloved songs of the classic rock era, even if it's politics don't usually line up with the people who enjoy it. The opening is perhaps the most famous guitar riff in all of Southern Rock.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Top 1000 Bands #120-#111
120 - Kanye West - One of the most promising artists in rap and R&B, Kanye West has released great albums one after another for the last five years, racking up an impressive set of awards and classic songs along the way.
119 - Belle And Sebastian - Although they're still somewhat obscure, B&S is one of the best indie rock bands of the 90's and were one of the most important influences on the emo music that heavily dominates indie rock today.
118 - Audioslave - They broke up after three albums, but they were easily the best of the supergroups to emerge in the early 21st century. With the lead singer of Soundgarden and the other members of Rage Against The Machine comprising an unbelievable line-up, Audioslave wasn't quite as great as they should have been, but with a string of top-shelf hits, they certainly weren't Asia either.
117 - Snow Patrol - The best band in Coldplay's genre that isn't Coldplay themselves, Snow Patrol will never get the credit they deserve, but they're among the modern era's best artists at combining brilliant lyrics with sweeping music.
116 - The Arctic Monkeys - A fun pop band that combines elements of Brit-pop with early punk and 21st century indie dance rock. They are one of the few British buzz-bands that lived up to the hype and didn't fizzle immediately in the spotlight.
115 - Patti Smith - One of the most important singers of the 1970's, Patti Smith combined the passion of Janis Joplin with the attitude and style of Joe Strummer to create an intense punk sound that always sounded right on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
114 - Incubus - Modern rock artists don't get much bigger these days than Incubus, who have released album after album of top-shelf mainstream rock with great guitar work.
113 - John Mellencamp - Mellencamp was essentially the rural answer to the more urban Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, his music was always stuck in Bruce's shadow and at no point did he ever equal or eclipse him. Nonetheless he's enjoyed a long career crafting solid albums from start to finish.
112 - The B-52s - The "other" Athens, GA band from the 80's, The B-52s are a weird combination of New Wave, disco and dance music that created some of the most distinct and unusual songs of the decade.
111 - Big Timber - The best band I've seen perform in Pierre, Big Timber has a classic rock sound that mixes elements of that genre with modern rock to create a sound that surprisingly hasn't caught on outside of the underground circuit.
119 - Belle And Sebastian - Although they're still somewhat obscure, B&S is one of the best indie rock bands of the 90's and were one of the most important influences on the emo music that heavily dominates indie rock today.
118 - Audioslave - They broke up after three albums, but they were easily the best of the supergroups to emerge in the early 21st century. With the lead singer of Soundgarden and the other members of Rage Against The Machine comprising an unbelievable line-up, Audioslave wasn't quite as great as they should have been, but with a string of top-shelf hits, they certainly weren't Asia either.
117 - Snow Patrol - The best band in Coldplay's genre that isn't Coldplay themselves, Snow Patrol will never get the credit they deserve, but they're among the modern era's best artists at combining brilliant lyrics with sweeping music.
116 - The Arctic Monkeys - A fun pop band that combines elements of Brit-pop with early punk and 21st century indie dance rock. They are one of the few British buzz-bands that lived up to the hype and didn't fizzle immediately in the spotlight.
115 - Patti Smith - One of the most important singers of the 1970's, Patti Smith combined the passion of Janis Joplin with the attitude and style of Joe Strummer to create an intense punk sound that always sounded right on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
114 - Incubus - Modern rock artists don't get much bigger these days than Incubus, who have released album after album of top-shelf mainstream rock with great guitar work.
113 - John Mellencamp - Mellencamp was essentially the rural answer to the more urban Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, his music was always stuck in Bruce's shadow and at no point did he ever equal or eclipse him. Nonetheless he's enjoyed a long career crafting solid albums from start to finish.
112 - The B-52s - The "other" Athens, GA band from the 80's, The B-52s are a weird combination of New Wave, disco and dance music that created some of the most distinct and unusual songs of the decade.
111 - Big Timber - The best band I've seen perform in Pierre, Big Timber has a classic rock sound that mixes elements of that genre with modern rock to create a sound that surprisingly hasn't caught on outside of the underground circuit.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #130-#121
#130 - "Little Sister" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze - #14/16 - A thundering guitar riff drives the song from verse to verse peaking at the thundering chorus.
#129 - "Helter Skelter" - The Beatles - The White Album - #16/22 - A strangely controversial song thanks to Charles Manson, "Helter" is one of Lennon's best songs with it's rapid-fire guitars and passionate vocals driving the song throughout.
#128 - "Communication Breakdown" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - #20/24 - This song represents the exact moment that heavy metal went from a louder form of blues rock to a genre all itself with it's lightning guitar riff and insane shrieking vocals from front-man Robert Plant.
#127 - "Sick Sick Sick" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris - #15/16 - The best song off of their most recent album, "Sick" is another rapid-fire slice of punk stoner rock from the masters of the genre.
#126 - "E-Pro" - Beck - Guero - #7/9 - One of the best songs of the new millennium, "E-Pro" features typically quirky lyrics from Beck and couples them with a fantastic chorus to make for his best song since the 90's.
#125 - "Fell On Black Days" - Soundgarden - Superunknown - #9/11 - The early 90's were a great time to be an alternative rock band and Soundgarden was one of the best, "Fell On Black Days" highlighted the band's Sabbath meets Zeppelin sound with it's dynamic vocals and thundering beat.
#124 - "Boys Don't Cry" - The Cure - Boys Don't Cry - #5/6 - Of all of the Cure's big hits, "Boys" strikes me as having the best hook and most breakthrough potential. It's not their best song, but it's definitely their most fun to listen to.
#123 - "Down In A Hole" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #6/8 - A harrowing look at heroin addiction from a man destroyed by the drug, "Down" is one of the most disturbing and moving songs ever written.
#122 - "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" - The Beatles - #18/22 - The Beatles were the greatest pop band of all-time when they met Bob Dylan, who supposedly introduced them to folk music... and marijuana... both of which would have a huge influence on their music, starting with this song, one of their best-written songs and a definite turning point in the career of the most important band in the history of rock n roll.
#121 - "Where It's At" - Beck - Odelay - #8/9 - One of the weirdest songs to ever become a hit, "Where" is a mix of indie rock and slacker rap that shifts from moment to moment making it almost completely indescribable.
#129 - "Helter Skelter" - The Beatles - The White Album - #16/22 - A strangely controversial song thanks to Charles Manson, "Helter" is one of Lennon's best songs with it's rapid-fire guitars and passionate vocals driving the song throughout.
#128 - "Communication Breakdown" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - #20/24 - This song represents the exact moment that heavy metal went from a louder form of blues rock to a genre all itself with it's lightning guitar riff and insane shrieking vocals from front-man Robert Plant.
#127 - "Sick Sick Sick" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris - #15/16 - The best song off of their most recent album, "Sick" is another rapid-fire slice of punk stoner rock from the masters of the genre.
#126 - "E-Pro" - Beck - Guero - #7/9 - One of the best songs of the new millennium, "E-Pro" features typically quirky lyrics from Beck and couples them with a fantastic chorus to make for his best song since the 90's.
#125 - "Fell On Black Days" - Soundgarden - Superunknown - #9/11 - The early 90's were a great time to be an alternative rock band and Soundgarden was one of the best, "Fell On Black Days" highlighted the band's Sabbath meets Zeppelin sound with it's dynamic vocals and thundering beat.
#124 - "Boys Don't Cry" - The Cure - Boys Don't Cry - #5/6 - Of all of the Cure's big hits, "Boys" strikes me as having the best hook and most breakthrough potential. It's not their best song, but it's definitely their most fun to listen to.
#123 - "Down In A Hole" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #6/8 - A harrowing look at heroin addiction from a man destroyed by the drug, "Down" is one of the most disturbing and moving songs ever written.
#122 - "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" - The Beatles - #18/22 - The Beatles were the greatest pop band of all-time when they met Bob Dylan, who supposedly introduced them to folk music... and marijuana... both of which would have a huge influence on their music, starting with this song, one of their best-written songs and a definite turning point in the career of the most important band in the history of rock n roll.
#121 - "Where It's At" - Beck - Odelay - #8/9 - One of the weirdest songs to ever become a hit, "Where" is a mix of indie rock and slacker rap that shifts from moment to moment making it almost completely indescribable.
Top 1000 Bands #130-#121
130 - DMX - One of the millennium's best and most successful rappers, DMX's rough vocals and clever lyrics propelled him to the top of his game.
129 - Outkast - One of the most successful rap groups of all time, Outkast made a huge crossover to the pop charts with their Stankonia album and had one of the biggest pop songs ever with "Hey Ya".
128 - The Ponys - One of the best indie rock bands ever, The Ponys are probably on the radar of about 5 percent of music fans. Obscurity notwithstanding, the band has released great album after great album in the last decade and deserve a breakout in the near future.
127 - The Dave Matthews Band - A hugely successful adult-contemporary / rock band from the 90's, the DMB cranked out hit after hit (and still do to this day) with a mix of jam band techniques and pop hooks.
126 - Public Enemy - The greatest rap group of all-time was also the most political, as Chuck D, Flava Flav and The Bomb Squad pulled no punches in who they went after or what they were willing to say and do to get their point across.
125 - The Arcade Fire - Among the hottest bands in all of indie rock, The Arcade Fire made a huge splash with their debut LP Funeral, which featured several of their best songs. Their follow-up bucked the trend of indie buzz bands by not just being as good as their debut, but even better. Expectations for their third album can only be described as unachievable.
124 - Pavement - Possibly the greatest band that never became popular, Pavement deserves to be measured along their indie rock cohorts like Nirvana, Radiohead and Pearl Jam, but due to lousy sales numbers will always be viewed as a strictly underground band that hipsters appreciate but average rock fans are completely unaware of.
123 - Tori Amos - One of the most dynamic voices of indie rock in the 90's, Tori Amos released a string of outstanding albums providing the indie rock cred to the Lillith Fair scene that was lacking in other artists in the genre.
122 - Jethro Tull - An acquired taste to be sure, if you can get past the weird instruments and strange lyrics, Jethro Tull is a great band with a lot of fun and interesting things to contribute to classic rock.
121 - James Brown - Without James Brown, their might not even be genres such as R&B, funk and hip hop. It's said that there isn't a single note of any of James Brown's songs that hasn't been sampled at some point. The reason for that? Brown's music is among the most exciting and innovative of all-time.
129 - Outkast - One of the most successful rap groups of all time, Outkast made a huge crossover to the pop charts with their Stankonia album and had one of the biggest pop songs ever with "Hey Ya".
128 - The Ponys - One of the best indie rock bands ever, The Ponys are probably on the radar of about 5 percent of music fans. Obscurity notwithstanding, the band has released great album after great album in the last decade and deserve a breakout in the near future.
127 - The Dave Matthews Band - A hugely successful adult-contemporary / rock band from the 90's, the DMB cranked out hit after hit (and still do to this day) with a mix of jam band techniques and pop hooks.
126 - Public Enemy - The greatest rap group of all-time was also the most political, as Chuck D, Flava Flav and The Bomb Squad pulled no punches in who they went after or what they were willing to say and do to get their point across.
125 - The Arcade Fire - Among the hottest bands in all of indie rock, The Arcade Fire made a huge splash with their debut LP Funeral, which featured several of their best songs. Their follow-up bucked the trend of indie buzz bands by not just being as good as their debut, but even better. Expectations for their third album can only be described as unachievable.
124 - Pavement - Possibly the greatest band that never became popular, Pavement deserves to be measured along their indie rock cohorts like Nirvana, Radiohead and Pearl Jam, but due to lousy sales numbers will always be viewed as a strictly underground band that hipsters appreciate but average rock fans are completely unaware of.
123 - Tori Amos - One of the most dynamic voices of indie rock in the 90's, Tori Amos released a string of outstanding albums providing the indie rock cred to the Lillith Fair scene that was lacking in other artists in the genre.
122 - Jethro Tull - An acquired taste to be sure, if you can get past the weird instruments and strange lyrics, Jethro Tull is a great band with a lot of fun and interesting things to contribute to classic rock.
121 - James Brown - Without James Brown, their might not even be genres such as R&B, funk and hip hop. It's said that there isn't a single note of any of James Brown's songs that hasn't been sampled at some point. The reason for that? Brown's music is among the most exciting and innovative of all-time.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #140-#131
#140 - "My Generation" - The Who - The Who Sings My Generation - #5/9 - The song that kicked off the entire punk genre and did so more than a decade before the genre took off, "My Generation" was unique when it came out for it's attitude and the shock value of the generational shift that the song represented.
#139 - "Debaser" - The Pixies - Doolittle - #8/8 - The Pixies best song, "Debaser" is a shifting and fast alternative punk song with crazy lyrics and a killer chorus that signified the band's place at the top of the alt-rock mountain.
#138 - "Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz - #3/3 - The critics had written Ozzy's career off after he left Black Sabbath, but he proved them wrong a thousand times over, starting right from the beginning of this, his first post-Sabbath hit, which takes off with a crazy "All Aboard" opening followed by Randy Rhodes' insane guitar shredding on one of the most memorable riffs in all of rock n roll. The lyrics are deceptive as they seem tame at first but on further listening reveal Ozzy's most political song since "War Pigs".
#137 - "About A Girl (Unplugged)" - Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - #13/15 - Nirvana's first great song got a new round of appreciation when it was featured during the band's set on MTV Unplugged. By slowing the song down the lyrical brilliance of the song was highlighted and the song finally became the hit it deserved to be.
#136 - "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #3/4 - One of the prettiest ballads ever written, "God" is one of the last great songs to come out of the 60's and a pinnacle of Brian Wilson's genius with it's sharp lyrics and harmony.
#135 - "The Weight" - The Band - Greatest Hits - #2/2 - One of the signature songs of the 1960's, "The Weight" is easily the Band's greatest song and one of the best written songs of all-time.
#134 - "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #4/4 - One of the craziest and most brilliant songs of the early classic rock era, "Good Vibrations" was a departure from most of the Beach Boys earlier surf-rock songs and an expansion into rock n roll excess that would inspire Sgt. Pepper's and an entire era of excessive self-indulgent rock.
#133 - "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" - The Doors - Strange Days - #10/10 - The greatest Doors song is also one of their shortest, proving that artistic indulgence can't always trump raw power. The song is also the band's most exciting and essentially their only fast-pace rocker.
#132 - "The Bitch Is Back" - Elton John - Caribou - #8/8 - Elton's best rock song is a fast-paced rager from the start with great lyrics and a particularly spectacular chorus.
#131 - "Thunder Road" - Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - #10/11 - The "other" great song on Springsteen's classic Born To Run LP, "Thunder Road" is one of the great epic songs of classic rock as the Boss paints a vivid picture of life growing up in New Jersey and establishes himself as the heir apparent to Bob Dylan.
#139 - "Debaser" - The Pixies - Doolittle - #8/8 - The Pixies best song, "Debaser" is a shifting and fast alternative punk song with crazy lyrics and a killer chorus that signified the band's place at the top of the alt-rock mountain.
#138 - "Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz - #3/3 - The critics had written Ozzy's career off after he left Black Sabbath, but he proved them wrong a thousand times over, starting right from the beginning of this, his first post-Sabbath hit, which takes off with a crazy "All Aboard" opening followed by Randy Rhodes' insane guitar shredding on one of the most memorable riffs in all of rock n roll. The lyrics are deceptive as they seem tame at first but on further listening reveal Ozzy's most political song since "War Pigs".
#137 - "About A Girl (Unplugged)" - Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - #13/15 - Nirvana's first great song got a new round of appreciation when it was featured during the band's set on MTV Unplugged. By slowing the song down the lyrical brilliance of the song was highlighted and the song finally became the hit it deserved to be.
#136 - "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #3/4 - One of the prettiest ballads ever written, "God" is one of the last great songs to come out of the 60's and a pinnacle of Brian Wilson's genius with it's sharp lyrics and harmony.
#135 - "The Weight" - The Band - Greatest Hits - #2/2 - One of the signature songs of the 1960's, "The Weight" is easily the Band's greatest song and one of the best written songs of all-time.
#134 - "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #4/4 - One of the craziest and most brilliant songs of the early classic rock era, "Good Vibrations" was a departure from most of the Beach Boys earlier surf-rock songs and an expansion into rock n roll excess that would inspire Sgt. Pepper's and an entire era of excessive self-indulgent rock.
#133 - "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" - The Doors - Strange Days - #10/10 - The greatest Doors song is also one of their shortest, proving that artistic indulgence can't always trump raw power. The song is also the band's most exciting and essentially their only fast-pace rocker.
#132 - "The Bitch Is Back" - Elton John - Caribou - #8/8 - Elton's best rock song is a fast-paced rager from the start with great lyrics and a particularly spectacular chorus.
#131 - "Thunder Road" - Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - #10/11 - The "other" great song on Springsteen's classic Born To Run LP, "Thunder Road" is one of the great epic songs of classic rock as the Boss paints a vivid picture of life growing up in New Jersey and establishes himself as the heir apparent to Bob Dylan.
Top 1000 Bands #140-#131
140 - The Black Crowes - One of the biggest bands of the early 90's, The Black Crowes had a couple of huge albums in them before slowly fading away and establishing themselves as one of the last great classic rock bands.
139 - The Killers - One of the best bands of the 21st Century, The Killers established themselves with monster hits on the debut album including "Mr. Brightside" and moved forward with their next two albums, moving from genre to genre and advancing artistically along the way.
138 - Joni Mitchell - A survivor of the 70's singer-songwriter boom, Joni Mitchell has been one of the most consistently great performers over the years, as she continues to crank out acclaimed albums every couple of years or so.
137 - L7 - The best of the riot-grrl acts that moved into the grunge arena in the early 90's, L7 didn't have any big hits but created some of the most important albums of the decade.
136 - The Deftones - One of the premier metal bands of the 90's and beyond, the Deftones have been referred to as the "heavy metal Radiohead" in the past and with their consistent high-level output they've lived up to the title.
135 - Rise Against - The most popular of the political punk bands to emerge in the past few years, Rise Against has crossed over to the modern rock charts with their politically-charged but radio-friendly songs.
134 - The Electric Light Orchestra - A hugely successful classic rock band from the late 1970's, ELO churned out hit after hit in the dark years of disco before succombing to the nightmare of Xanadu and never recovering.
133 - Elvis Presley - Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant... well that much to me, anyway. I enjoy a lot of his music, but most of it is too dated to hold any meaning to me. It's still hugely influential though and he's definitely one of the most important figures in music.
132 - The Grateful Dead - They'll never live up to the hype that their fanbase created for them, but they still are one of the most interesting and significant band of the 60's.
131 - Rancid - One of the best punk bands of the 90's, Rancid had several classic albums released in a row before breaking up recently. Other than Green Day they were the second best straight-up punk band of the era.
139 - The Killers - One of the best bands of the 21st Century, The Killers established themselves with monster hits on the debut album including "Mr. Brightside" and moved forward with their next two albums, moving from genre to genre and advancing artistically along the way.
138 - Joni Mitchell - A survivor of the 70's singer-songwriter boom, Joni Mitchell has been one of the most consistently great performers over the years, as she continues to crank out acclaimed albums every couple of years or so.
137 - L7 - The best of the riot-grrl acts that moved into the grunge arena in the early 90's, L7 didn't have any big hits but created some of the most important albums of the decade.
136 - The Deftones - One of the premier metal bands of the 90's and beyond, the Deftones have been referred to as the "heavy metal Radiohead" in the past and with their consistent high-level output they've lived up to the title.
135 - Rise Against - The most popular of the political punk bands to emerge in the past few years, Rise Against has crossed over to the modern rock charts with their politically-charged but radio-friendly songs.
134 - The Electric Light Orchestra - A hugely successful classic rock band from the late 1970's, ELO churned out hit after hit in the dark years of disco before succombing to the nightmare of Xanadu and never recovering.
133 - Elvis Presley - Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant... well that much to me, anyway. I enjoy a lot of his music, but most of it is too dated to hold any meaning to me. It's still hugely influential though and he's definitely one of the most important figures in music.
132 - The Grateful Dead - They'll never live up to the hype that their fanbase created for them, but they still are one of the most interesting and significant band of the 60's.
131 - Rancid - One of the best punk bands of the 90's, Rancid had several classic albums released in a row before breaking up recently. Other than Green Day they were the second best straight-up punk band of the era.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #150-#141
#150 - "Supernova" - Liz Phair - Whip-Smart - #1/1 - Not her biggest hit, but my favorite song from her catalog, "Supernova" has a great chorus and Phair's best lyrics.
#149 - "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not - #3/3 - Usually bands that get hyped through the roof by the British rock media fail to live up to expectations, but The Arctic Monkeys are the exception. Their debut single (after about 50 EPs) is a hell of a ride with sharp lyrics building to one of the best choruses of the 21st Century.
#148 - "Time" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - #6/14 - Dark Side Of The Moon is easily one of the greatest albums of all-time and "Time" is one of it's best songs. Dealing with a theme as grim as mortality, the song is predictably downbeat and somber, but one of the best-written songs of the 70's.
#147 - "Schism" - Tool - Lateralus - #8/9 - The centerpiece of Tool's official jump from mainstream metal into the world of prog, "Schism" can best be described as "crunchy" with it's spine-cracking beat, brilliant lyrics and epic build-up.
#146 - "19th Nervous Breakdown" - The Rolling Stones - Greatest Hits - #12/20 - One of the Stones' first great songs, "19th Nervous" is one of the most clever and satirical songs of the 60's and an early pre-cursor to the attitude-driven music the 70's would produce. The climax of the chorus is a highlight of classic rock.
#145 - "No One Knows" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - #13/16 - The song that put Queens on the Modern Rock map, "No One Knows" is a slow-for-Queens song with a hell of a guitar lick driving it throughout.
#144 - "London Calling" - The Clash - London Calling - #14/18 - When history recalls The Clash 100 years from now, "London Calling" will be the song that is mentioned first. I prefer their earlier, punkier sound myself, but I can't deny that this song represents a high point on the career arc of one of the greatest bands of all-time.
#143 - "Where Is My Mind" - The Pixies - Surfer Rosa - #7/8 - The most famous song by The Pixies, thanks to it's inclusion at the end of Fight Club, "Where Is My Mind" is a very unusual song for the band, as they usually don't venture into the psychedelic, but considering how good this song was, it's surprising they didn't dip into the well more often.
#142 - "Iron Man" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #2/3 - And this would be the song where Black Sabbath invented heavy metal as we knew it through the 70's and 80's. From the creepy "I Am Iron Man" opening through the dark story told in the lyrics until the instrumental bridge in the second half of the song, this is one of many Sabbath songs that launched a thousand acts, many of whom would dominate popular music down the line.
#141 - "Ramble On" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - #19/24 - Usually when bands got all literary and wrote songs about science fiction stories the results are disastrous. In the case of "Ramble On", the exact opposite is true. Based on the Lord Of The Rings books, "Ramble On" is one of the greatest songs of classic rock and represented a clear direction change for the band from the slow blues rock of Zeppelin I to the faster stuff on II, a move that would ensure the band continued success for the rest of the decade.
#149 - "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not - #3/3 - Usually bands that get hyped through the roof by the British rock media fail to live up to expectations, but The Arctic Monkeys are the exception. Their debut single (after about 50 EPs) is a hell of a ride with sharp lyrics building to one of the best choruses of the 21st Century.
#148 - "Time" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - #6/14 - Dark Side Of The Moon is easily one of the greatest albums of all-time and "Time" is one of it's best songs. Dealing with a theme as grim as mortality, the song is predictably downbeat and somber, but one of the best-written songs of the 70's.
#147 - "Schism" - Tool - Lateralus - #8/9 - The centerpiece of Tool's official jump from mainstream metal into the world of prog, "Schism" can best be described as "crunchy" with it's spine-cracking beat, brilliant lyrics and epic build-up.
#146 - "19th Nervous Breakdown" - The Rolling Stones - Greatest Hits - #12/20 - One of the Stones' first great songs, "19th Nervous" is one of the most clever and satirical songs of the 60's and an early pre-cursor to the attitude-driven music the 70's would produce. The climax of the chorus is a highlight of classic rock.
#145 - "No One Knows" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - #13/16 - The song that put Queens on the Modern Rock map, "No One Knows" is a slow-for-Queens song with a hell of a guitar lick driving it throughout.
#144 - "London Calling" - The Clash - London Calling - #14/18 - When history recalls The Clash 100 years from now, "London Calling" will be the song that is mentioned first. I prefer their earlier, punkier sound myself, but I can't deny that this song represents a high point on the career arc of one of the greatest bands of all-time.
#143 - "Where Is My Mind" - The Pixies - Surfer Rosa - #7/8 - The most famous song by The Pixies, thanks to it's inclusion at the end of Fight Club, "Where Is My Mind" is a very unusual song for the band, as they usually don't venture into the psychedelic, but considering how good this song was, it's surprising they didn't dip into the well more often.
#142 - "Iron Man" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #2/3 - And this would be the song where Black Sabbath invented heavy metal as we knew it through the 70's and 80's. From the creepy "I Am Iron Man" opening through the dark story told in the lyrics until the instrumental bridge in the second half of the song, this is one of many Sabbath songs that launched a thousand acts, many of whom would dominate popular music down the line.
#141 - "Ramble On" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - #19/24 - Usually when bands got all literary and wrote songs about science fiction stories the results are disastrous. In the case of "Ramble On", the exact opposite is true. Based on the Lord Of The Rings books, "Ramble On" is one of the greatest songs of classic rock and represented a clear direction change for the band from the slow blues rock of Zeppelin I to the faster stuff on II, a move that would ensure the band continued success for the rest of the decade.
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