After hours of painstaking research and reflection this is where I landed. 50 songs pulled from decades past, each a perpetual favorite. As a proud member of the streaming generation, it seems only right that my list is a melting pot of one-hit wonders and Pitchfork-approved perfect 10s. Common themes include: big guitars, big emotions and big drums. —>Spotify playlist<— 1. "Give Yourself A Try" … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Ethan Sawyer

Organized chronologically, not only because it saves me the agony of ranking, but also because it gives the illusion of a narrative. Also, it allowed me to do something cute with the side-by-side pairing of #40-41; you probably do not need to have heard the Emm Gyner song to get it, but listen to it anyway. The organization also allows the list to grow less … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Jeremy Fairall

This was a difficult exercise for me. I think in works. Albums are the main art form for me. I love ranking albums. I almost never rank songs, unless it’s a short list by the same artist (Top 5 Cars songs, etc.). So this took a little time. I had to refer to my Spotify playlists to get handle on some of my favorite (opposed … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Steven Ward

The Shirelles’ “Tonight’s The Night” isn’t about the night, it’s the need for the night. And Debbie Deb, from her other dance hit, “Lookout weekend, here I come,” not the party but anticipating the party. “When I hear music it makes me dance, you’ve got the music, here’s my chance.” Something about to happen, something asking to happen, something needs to happen; longing and fear … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Frank Kogan

Kudos to Rolling Stone magazine for an updated list this year of the 500 best songs of all time. They’ve got some real bangers going there. “Banger” is a word I learned recently on the internet but etymologies say it’s been around since at least 2008, in the sense of “an energetic song that is very striking or extraordinary.” My list is full of bangers—50, … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs Since 2017: Jeff Pike

This was fun but really hard. I made the job easier by taking hip-hop off the table from the start: as with jazz, I like listening to it but don’t feel qualified to judge. But even from that narrower field, choosing just 50 songs from across more than six decades is bound to be unrepresentative. On the other hand, representative would mean leaning hard on … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Tom Sawyer

No Velvets, Bee Gees, or the Rolling Stones… The Beatles are here, though (I’ve tended to undervalue them on previous lists, curiously enough), an 11th hour add, replacing either Wussy or ZZ Top or Eno or…hard to keep track anymore. So, my 50 favourite songs as at 10/6/21. I didn’t fret about the songs/singles distinction while compiling the list, but there are more of the … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Scott Woods

I lost a lot of my passion for making lists when Pazz & Jop went under two or three years ago. This one is made up of a number of holdovers from a Top 100 I put together for Facebook in 2010, plus a few things from a decade-end I compiled in 2019. There are probably only two or three songs that are completely new … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Phil Dellio

Rolling Stone, you may have noticed, recently posted its (second) 500 Best Songs of All Time list, which was compiled from more than 250 ballots (critics, musicians, industry folk), with each voter choosing 50 songs. In response—as a sort of answer record—I’ve asked a few people to contribute their own Top 50 Favourite Songs ballot, and I’m opening this up to any other readers who … Continue reading Top 50 Favourite Songs: Prologue