Before I get into my rankings, I’ll give you a background of my taste in music. Currently I am a 20 year old computer engineering student who started listening to classic rock religiously when I was about 10 years old and started playing guitar when I was eight, so I can name just about every song and artist from that era at this point. As I got older, particularly in high school, I began listening to a large amount of rap, hip hop, dubstep, indie, and a slew of other genres that have no relation whatsoever. My point is, I’m not partial to a particular genre in my rankings. To put it into perspective, my ‘All of My Favorites’ playlist on Spotify consists of over 2,300 songs from all of the genres I listed and many more. With that said, let’s get into the rankings.
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13 Song: “Kids” Artist: Childish Gambino Album: Camp
First of all, let me get this out of the way right now: Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) is a pure, underappreciated genius. I know what everyone says, actors shouldn’t try to be musicians too (Gambino even says it in “Bonfire”), but he makes it down right unfair. Who can possibly compete with a man of his talent? Now, I give the utmost respect to other rap artists like Kanye and Kendrick who are also geniuses in my opinion, but Gambino doesn’t even have to try! He’s an incredible actor who also just happens to be one of the most talented rappers of all time. For those of you who have not seen Donald Glover act, watch “Community” and his new show “Atlanta” right now. He is an utter genius.
Alright, now let’s get to the song. This album, this beautiful work of art is Gambino’s debut album, and he pretty much took a tire iron to the rap industry. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, just because he takes an entire new approach to this genre of music. Most rappers nowadays go on and on about drugs, gangs, girls, and how ‘hard’ their life is. Gambino just raps about everyday life. He doesn’t come from a rough background and just talks about his childhood at a summer camp. This song in particular just gives the whole album a calm and nostalgic vibe. He’s singing (yes, SINGING) about his childhood and what his perspective on life was when he was a kid. It’s a beautiful song that reveals just how talented Gambino is. Not many rappers have a singing voice, but Gambino is an exception. I highly recommend listening to this album straight through. It is truly a work of art.
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12 Song: “I Can Hear Music” Artist: The Beach Boys Album: 20/20
I know the Beach Boys didn’t actually write this song, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a pretty awesome song. The song begins with a very mellow rhythm and summery feel that the Beach Boys are so skilled at creating, followed by Carl Wilson exposing his incredible vocals. I really don’t know what it is about this song, but I love it. When Carl sings “the sounds of the city, baby” his voice sounds absolutely perfect. In the second part of the song they incorporate an entirely acapella segment that almost sounds like do-wop. The song as a whole is just very relaxing and gives a happy vibe. When you listen to it, focus on the vocal pieces.
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11 Song: “Little Black Submarines” Artist: The Black Keys Album: El Camino
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE RADIO EDIT (Spotify version). An entire verse is missing in the radio edit and it is horrible. I am a very big fan of the Black Keys, especially this album. The beauty of the Black Keys is the fact that they completely change their sound with each album. Because of this, their fan base is enormous. The first time I heard this song, I did not think much of it and really just expected it to be another slow, mysterious song from Dan Auerbach’s arsenal of lyrics and sounds. However, if you listen to the song straight through, you are blasted with a HUGE change of momentum after the last verse. What is particularly interesting about this song is the fact that the chorus is at the end of the song. This literally gives the song an element of surprise which I absolutely love. If you are new to the Black Keys, this song and album is a great place to start listening.
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10 Song: “Never Gonna Leave this Bed” Artist: Maroon 5 Album: Hands All Over
“Really? He’s just going to throw a mainstream Maroon 5 song on the list?” Yes I am. I’ll admit it, I like old school Maroon 5, particularly this song. Adam Levine has some pretty incredible vocals and he keeps them in a perfect range during this song. Normally, I’d say he goes a bit overboard on his high notes, but he doesn’t hold many high notes in “Never Gonna Leave the Bed.” Rather, he sings in a way that almost matches a pulse; starting high at “Wake” and then descending through “you up” and keeping it constant through “in the middle of the.” This is definitely another song where I tend to focus on the vocals.
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9 Song: “Seven Bridges Road – Live Version” Artist: Eagles Album: Eagles Live
Yet another vocal song but wow, what a song. It was written by Steve Young in the 60’s, but the Eagles made it famous when they sang it live during the recording of their Eagles Live album. The fact that the Eagles can harmonize that well during a live show is absolutely amazing. The lyrics of this song are beautiful and full of emotion. Steve Young wrote the song about the road that leads to the cemetery where his father is buried, which requires crossing seven different bridges. I get the chills every time I hear them harmonize on this recording. Absolutely worth a listen.
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8 Song: “Spaceman” Artist: The Killers Album: Day and Age
People have very mixed feelings about the Killers, but I do not understand why. Most say that they are too mainstream, but the people that say that are usually the ones that force themselves to listen to bands nobody has ever heard of to seem unique and eccentric. The Killers are a great band and Brandon Flowers, although a bit arrogant, is a talented singer and songwriter. I think the reason people hate the Killers is because they are very popular, but have a very indie-rock vibe about them which is not generally associated with ‘mega’ bands. I absolutely love this album as a whole. It has a very spacy and happy vibe with songs like “Neon Tiger,” “Human,” “The World We Live In,” and “Spaceman.” Spaceman, however, takes the gold in this case. Their combination of computerized symphonies and their rock roots makes the song what it is: a joyful masterpiece. You cannot help but feel happy after listening to this song. If you hate the Killers, we probably would not get along very well, but I suggest giving them a chance by listening to Day and Age.
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7 Song: “What is Life” Artist: George Harrison Album: All Things Must Pass
George Harrison is the best Beatle. You can make an argument for Paul, but argue with me all you want and I’ll still say George is the best. He is the reason the Beatles stopped performing live and I think it was the best thing that could have ever happened to them. George saw that they were getting too caught up in the superstardom and suggested that they stop doing live shows. As a result, they put all of their focus and energy into the composition of their music and came out with legendary albums like Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, and Let it Be (Yes, I had to list them all). Bottom line is George Harrison greatly contributed to the group’s success.
Now let’s talk about the song. You are introduced to George’s hard, distorted picking in the intro of “What is Life." I am a firm believer that he invented the ‘crunch’ guitar that is heard in a large portion of modern day indie music. This is just one of many progressions George made with the electric guitar. The verses of the song contain a poppy and happy rhythm that perfectly accompanies the words. Then you get to the chorus. Now, I know it is not anything extraordinary in terms of musical composition, but the lyrics of the chorus completely tie the song together. He could not have picked more profound lyrics to deliver the message of the song. As a whole, the song is nothing out-of-this-world in terms of composition, but it does not need to be. George did not need to do any fancy new composing because he knew exactly what the song needed, which is why he is my favorite Beatle and one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
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6 Song: “Something About You” Artist: Boston Album: Boston
Let me start off by saying Boston is my favorite band and this album is one of my favorite albums of all time. I love every song on that album and obviously this one is my favorite. I could write a few pages on why I love this song, but I’ll keep it short for the reader’s sake. Tom Scholz slays the guitar in the intro of this song. For those of you who don’t know, Scholz invented a completely new guitar sound and line of amplifiers. He went to MIT (hence the name “Boston”) and possesses around 16 patents for music technology. In other words, he is the definition of a musical genius. After that glorious intro, Brad Delp comes in with his angel-like voice and belts out some powerful lyrics. Another fun fact; Brad Delp sang every single vocal part on Boston’s first album and Scholz edited all of the pieces together. As a whole, the song just downright jams. I suggest listening to this album and reading about how Scholz edited this album and Third Stage because it gives a whole new appreciation for Boston’s music.
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5 Song: “Fire on High” Artist: Electric Light Orchestra Album: Face the Music
I’ll admit it, the song is kind of creepy, but that should not distract from the fact that it is an amazing song. I know I’ve already named a few geniuses on this list, but I’m going to have to name another. Jeff Lynne designs his music to sound like an orchestra, no pun intended, and this song exemplifies that. There really are not words good enough for this song, which is probably why Jeff made it an instrumental. Also, I cannot think of what else to say about it. The backtracking in the intro is pretty cool along with the church choir sample. After the intro you’re hit with a turning point that pretty much is the theme of the album. The song literally makes you ‘face the music’ and switches over to a beautiful 12-string guitar. What I love about this song is the fact that there are no words, so the listener can picture a story. This song is beautiful, just do not get scared away from it by the intro!
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4 Song: “On the Turning Away” Artist: Pink Floyd Album: A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Wow. I did not think it was possible to get high from listening to music, but this song proved me wrong. I love Pink Floyd and David Gilmore is one of my favorite guitarists of all time, but this song is really what sets them apart for me. I don’t want to look up the meaning of the song because the one I created for it by listening is all I need. The spacy vibe, the profound lyrics, David’s powerful guitar; everything about this song is perfect, period. I have nothing else to say about this song, so go give it a listen.
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3 Song: “The Veldt – Original Mix” Artist: deadmau5 Album: The Veldt EP
Before I get into this song, I’d like to tell everyone reading this to go read Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt. If you do not know what that is, you should. Bradbury wrote this short story when the television was entering American households in the 50’s. The story is very powerful and I think the song gives it a whole new dimension. I’ve always been a fan of deadmau5 because he understands what dubstep should sound like. The genre was never meant for head-banging, throw-out-your-neck bass drops and crazy robots having sex noises. He know how to lace together beats and turn computer-generated music into an art. The reason I have the extremely long original mix listed is because deadmau5 knows how to set up a listener for lyrics that are sure to give you goose bumps the second Chris James says “The world that the children made.” This is one of those songs that I can listen to over and over and still love it.
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2 Song: “Jesus of Suburbia” Artist: Green Day Album: American Idiot
hard-hitting guitar chords “I’m the son of rage and love!” When a song starts with a verse like that, you know there is going to be a hell of a story. Let me start off by talking about this album as a whole. This is without a doubt my favorite album of all time. To this day I do not understand how any musician can create an album that relays a message the way this album does. Bill Joe Armstrong took an extremely overlooked societal issue and presented it to the world by telling a story. The amount of thought that went into creating this album is inexpressible, so I will get straight to the song. “Jesus of Suburbia” is the second song on the album that follows the opener of the rock opera, “American Idiot.” The opening of the album really slaps the listener in the face with a raw look at the culture that Billy is trying to change. “Jesus of Suburbia” introduces the main character of the opera in a five part saga. Part one gives you a rundown on Jesus, who is just your typical teenage junkie from that era, living on drugs and alcohol. Part two, City of the Damned, describes the environment in which Jesus lives his ‘life.’ The remainder of the song explains how Jesus is fed up with his damned city and decides to leave it and try to find himself. At this point, the listener gets a foreshadowing of Jesus’ alter-ego that is introduced later in the album, St. Jimmy. The five part saga is almost ten minutes long, but feels like five different songs. Billy is able to completely change the momentum and overall sound of the song in each part, which is what makes it so easy to listen to. Unlike most long songs, “Jesus of Suburbia” contains various changes of plot, rhythm, and tone. In other words, the song is pretty much an album in itself. There really is not much else I can say about the song besides telling you to go listen to it right now. If you get the chance, listen to the entire album straight through, but make sure to do so a couple of times. Each time I listen to the album, I catch something I did not notice in previous listens. There is no other way to describe this song and album aside from the word ‘masterpiece.’
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1 Song: “Only the Good Die Young” Artist: Billy Joel Album: The Stranger
Billy Joel is the man. It is not enough to call him a musician, but rather an entertainer (listen to his song “The Entertainer”). If you did not already know, Billy is synesthetic, which means he is able to see sounds. Many other great musicians had this ability such as Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and even Kanye West. Basically, what this means is every time he hears a note, he sees a color that corresponds to that note. Because of this ability, his music is very lifelike and vivid. This entire album exemplifies this ability and can be ‘seen’ in the songs “Vienna,” “Scenes from an Italian restaurant,” “She’s Always a Woman,” and in particular, “Only the Good Die Young.” I will admit, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is absolutely one on my top 10 list of all-time favorites, but I did not want to put more than one song from the same artist on this list. I have a few reasons for picking “Only the Good Die Young” over “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” First of all, the lyrics contain some of the cleverest metaphors in music, even though they are describing why a Catholic girl should lose her virginity. I know everyone rants on and on about how Ed Sheeran uses metaphors to replace common words, but Billy is not just replacing the words. He is conveying the entire song through the use of metaphors as if he wrote the song straight through in that way. He even named the girl Virginia (hinting at virgin) and describes her as hiding behind a “stained glass curtain” (her Catholic traditions). Aside from the lyrics, there is both the simplest and most complicated guitar I have heard in any song. In total, the song contains three guitar chords. THREE. I’m sorry, but most songs that have only three chords usually suck (aside from “Free Fallin’”). What amazes me about the guitar in this song is the rhythm that was chosen, which has no business being in a song of this beat. Normally I can describe a strumming pattern (I’m a guitarist myself), but I have yet to find anything remotely similar to the pattern used in this song. I suggest looking up a video on how to play the guitar piece in this song even if you are not a guitarist because you will gain a whole new appreciation for the song. The last part I will go over is the saxophone interlude. Just when you think the song has all it could ever ask for, my dude Richie Cannata comes in wailing on the sax. I do not know how to describe what this does for the song besides tying together everything that Billy saw when writing the song. That is the end of my rant, so go listen to “Only the Good Die Young” and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.”
Hope everyone enjoyed my rankings! If this gets enough positive responses, I think I will write another list for my favorite albums.
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