Making this list was too much like an evening spent looking at the mirror. B-but I really do like and listen to and remember a lot of other kinds of music, honest! Most of it I get better in the context of an album, however uneven, as I imagine making a mix, a playlist, and now I see that habit in the segmentation and subsets … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Don Allred

Rolling Stone’s latest list was an update on their 500 Greatest Songs Ever (last published in 2004). As I did with their 2020 all-time albums update, I’ve decided to list my own favorite songs. While I wasn’t a voter, those who did all received a ballot with instructions to rank their favorite songs from 1-50. Unlike that ballot, I’ve left mine unranked. Thirty-two of my … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Tom Lane

I looked it up and the Rolling Stone greatest song list top ten had four songs by Black artists on their 2010 list; now, six songs, including the top three spots (and, coming out of nowhere, “Fight the Power” at 2), on the 2021 list. I remain at four. But I applaud their wokeness. And must admit I still find this “greatest” songs question fascinating: … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Jack Thompson

In considering my 50 favorite songs I figured I would first have to figure out what would qualify a song to be a favorite and worthy of being on the list, and in the end I decided to include songs that somehow effect me on an emotional level. When I truly love a song I play it repeatedly almost as if I’m trying to memorize … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Sean Pressley

These aren’t what I think are the 50 best songs in the world, but the 50 songs that I like the most, which is a different thing. Every time I hear these songs, they grab hold of me, whether in the head, heart, groin, or feet (or some combination thereof). They make me think, or feel, or dance, or sing along, or jump and shout, … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Howard Druckman

I only saw the Rolling Stone list for the first time today (October 12). What alerted me, a couple of weeks ago, to its existence was Robert Christgau and his wife Carola Dibbell’s ballots, which they posted on Christgau’s And It Don’t Stop blog around when the Rolling Stone list was published. (I always find individual lists more interesting than general ones.) As with the … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Tim Powis

1. Europe’s Society Orchestra: “Down Home Rag” (Victor, 1914) – Vernon and Irene Castle won’t dance, don’t ask them. 2. Nelstone’s Hawaiians: “Fatal Flower Garden” (Victor, 1930) – The folk process preserved on shellac. An obscure Alabama duo forget crucial verses of the centuries-old “Sir Hugh” tale and lay down the weirdest dispatch from the Old, Weird America. 3. Lil McClintock: “Don’t Think I’m Santa … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Kevin John Bozelka

Beatles, “Let It Be” (1970) John Lennon, “Imagine” (1971) Rolling Stones, “Angie” (1973) Rolling Stones, “Time Waits For No One” (1974) Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965) The Velvet Underground, “Rock and Roll” (1970) Lou Reed, “Walk On The Wild Side” (1972) Fred Neil, “The Dolphins” (1966) Tim Buckley, “Once I Was” (1967) Van Morrison, “Astral Weeks” (1968) Richie Havens, “Follow” (1966) Joan Armatrading, “Down … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Anthe Rhodes-Liuzzo

1977-2011 I’m not here to argue what does/doesn’t constitute a genuine single, radio hit, focus track, what have you. Basically, what I most wanted to honor, as such, is the reality of actually lived pop pleasure in my own humble—and relatively conscious—existence. Hence, my decision to limit myself to singles that had some kinda genuinely profound influence on my listening time, thought processes, etc. at … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Ioannis Sotirchos