The Top 1,043 Songs of All Time: A Long List for Long Songs
My local radio station counts down the top 1,043 (1,043 for Q 104.3) songs of all time each year around Thanksgiving time. The countdown is created based on the voting of the listeners. It is actually a very cool thing, for around four straight days this station will play all 1,043 songs on the list, so they start at number 1,043 and go straight through to number one. From year to year the top twenty or so songs are normally the same with the order switched around, however the number one song is ALWAYS the same. You might wonder what is always ranked number one and I'm sure most would guess the Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven." If you guessed that, you are correct, this FM Classic Rock Staple has captured the number one spot year after year and I certainly can't argue that. It truly encompasses everything a great song should be, emotional, powerful, virtuous and so much more. An interesting thing to note is that it appears that the public enjoys lengthy songs which is something which I love to reinforce. While people continuously say the best kind of song is a short one, I disagree whole heartedly. I think it's just the opposite, the best song is a long song. One that has the ability to capture everything because of the lack of time constraint.
For example on this list there is the epic "Stairway to Heaven" clocking in at over eight minutes. At number two, is "Layla" which extends past seven minutes. Number three is nine minute and eight second "Freebird." Number four is "Hey Jude" which eclipses the seven minute mark. And rounding out the top five is "Baba O'Riley" the short one on the list but not exactly a short song by most standards which passes five minutes. From 6-10 there are three out of five songs longer than six minutes. Clearly a trend is present, maybe this list just goes to show, the longer the better.
Here is a link to the list: Top 1,043
A List of the Top 20:
20: Billy Joel- Piano Man
19: Doors- Light My Fire
18: Beatles- Sgt. Peppers/A Day In The Life
17: Rolling Stones- Satisfaction
16: Bruce Springsteen- Thunder Road
15: John Lennon- Imagine
14: Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody
13: Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here
12: Eagles- Hotel California
11: Led Zeppelin- Kashmir
10: Beatles- Let It Be
9: Rolling Stones- Sympathy For The Devil
8: Pink Floyd- Comfortably Numb
7: Bruce Springsteen- Born To Run
6: Who- Won't Get Fooled Again
5: Who- Baba O'Riley
4: Beatles- Hey Jude
3: Lynyrd Skynyrd- Freebird
2: Derek & The Dominos- Layla
1: Led Zeppelin- Stairway To Heaven
posted by Jeff at 11:37 PM
10 Comments:
That top 20 would make a most excellent mix CD! Assuming all the songs would fit, which they probably wouldn't.
I think longer songs are great because they can take you on a musical journey. I'm not going to say they're better than short songs, though, because short songs can work well too.
Kashmir that high? That's a little surprising. Even going by a popular radio point of view it would seem to be maybe the six or seventh most played Zeppelin song at best.
Wow, interesting list!!! I see "my" song came in number 2, that surprises me a bit but I do love it.
I agree about long songs! I love them too, like Russ said they take you on a journey, and sometimes you don't want it to end, you hang on to those last notes and want more.
Russ - Those songs would most definitely make a good mix. I'm just a long song kind of guy myself, but that takes nothing away from shorter songs.
Mark - Yeah, that is pretty interesting, it was the 2nd highest Zep song on the list. However, that riff is ridiculously infectious.
Layla - Yeah, Layla year after year comes in 2nd or 3rd place.
I always have a problem with this list. The top 5 songs are always the same and are not my favorites by any of those bands.
Mike - It is pretty depressing that the list rarely varies when it comes to the top songs. For once I would like to see "Stairway to Heaven" knocked from the number 1 slot.
A good list, that's for sure. I'm sure all of us would do this or that differently, but these 20--even after being played, played, and played again for 25+ years--are almost all better than any schlock on the radio now.
-- david
i really like numbers 5 and 6. but i didnt expect them to be that high. and i also didnt think hotel california should have been in the top 20
I can't even put 'Stairway to Heaven' in my top 50 songs, let alone #1. The song is one of the most overrated and overplayed ones out there. It's also somewhat of a shame that not a single Bob Dylan song made it-- I certainly consider Like a Rolling Stone (and several of his others) better than almost all the songs in the top 20.
Kashmir is said to be Robert Plant's favorite, and Jimmy Page's number two.
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