Johnny Be Good Tonight: The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time

[JimmyJazz]

I was searching the internet for any music lists, and found this. This one critic/blogger guy whose name is Eric Mack, and whose website is http://www.theattackzone.com/, has published an eBook of his 100 favorite songs in descending ranked order. Accompanying each song is a set of five additional songs, thus making this really a list of the 500 best songs of all time. I'm not really sure if this is eligible or not; I'll let Henrik and JR decide that. Anyway, here is the link to the list: http://www.squidoo.com/100songs

And here is the list itself, with the additional songs to be found on the site (a ridiculously bland, predictable, and discriminatory list, with no jazz or world or SMITHS (!!!) songs. Just my opinion, though

1. "Johnny B. Goode" - Chuck Berry
2. "Yesterday" - The Beatles
3. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
4. "Imagine" - John Lennon
5. "Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin
6. "Heartbreak Hotel" - Elvis Presley
7. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
8. "Let It Be" - The Beatles
9. "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye
10. "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys
11. "Oh Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison
12. "Respect" - Aretha Franklin
13. "Layla" - Derek and the Dominoes
14. "My Generation" - The Who
15. "Hey Jude" - The Beatles
16. "The Weight" - The Band
17. "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
18. "All Along the Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix
19. "Born to Run" - Bruce Springsteen
20. "Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd
21. "Sympathy for the Devil" - The Rolling Stones
22. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
23. "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
24. "The Tracks of My Tears" - The Miracles
25. "Hotel California" - Eagles
26. "You've Lost That Lovin Feelin" - The Righteous Brothers
27. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye
28. "Sittin On the Dock of the Bay" - Otis Redding
29. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles
30. "What'd I Say" - Ray Charles
31. "Jailhouse Rock" - Elvis Presley
32. "Blowin in the Wind" - Bob Dylan
33. "Blitzkrieg Bop" - Ramones
34. "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" - James Brown
35. "A Change Is Gonna Come" - Sam Cooke
36. "The Message" - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
37. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon & Garfunkel
38. "Fortunate Son" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
39. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" - Jimi Hendrix
40. "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys
41. "That'll Be the Day" - The Crickets
42. "Strawberry Fields Forever" - The Beatles
43. "Don't Be Cruel" - Elvis Presley
44. "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder
45. "Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones
46. "The Harder They Come" - Jimmy Cliff
47. "Louie Louie" - The Kingsmen
48. "A Day in the Life" - The Beatles
49. "Fight the Power" - Public Enemy
50. "Shake Rattle and Roll" - Big Joe Turner
51. "Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zeppelin
52. "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
53. "Thunder Road" - Bruce Springsteen
54. "London Calling" - The Clash
55. "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
56. "Unfinished Sympathy" - Massive Attack
57. "Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd
58. "Smokestack Lightning" - Howlin Wolf
59. "Hey Joe" - Jimi Hendrix
60. "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green
61. "One" - U2
62. "Maybellene" - Chuck Berry
63. "Waterloo Sunset" - The Kinks
64. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles
65. "I Fought the Law" - The Bobby Fuller Four
66. "Light My Fire" - The Doors
67. "Everyday People" - Sly and the Family Stone
68. "Sign O the Times" - Prince
69. "Walk On By" - Dionne Warwick
70. "Norwegian Wood" - The Beatles
71. "Bo Diddley" - Bo Diddley
72. "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
73. "Losing My Religion" - REM
74. "Dancing in the Street" - Martha and the Vandellas
75. "Get Up, Stand Up" - The Wailers
76. "I'm Waiting for the Man" - The Velvet Underground
77. "Suspicious Minds" - Elvis Presley
78. "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane
79. "Walk This Way" - Run DMC ft. Aerosmith
80. "Proud Mary" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
81. "Heroes" - David Bowie
82. "Good Golly Miss Molly" - Little Richard
83. "Sweet Child O Mine" - Guns N Roses
84. "California Girls" - The Beach Boys
85. "Go Your Own Way" - Fleetwood Mac
86. "Paid in Full" - Eric B and Rakim
87. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - The Rolling Stones
88. "Free Fallin" - Tom Petty
89. "Everything in Its Right Place" - Radiohead
90. "Baba O'Riley" - The Who
91. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2
92. "Lose Yourself" - Eminem
93. "California Dreamin" - The Mamas and the Papas
94. "Sultans of Swing" - Dire Straits
95. "Midnight in a Perfect World" - DJ Shadow
96. "Rock Around the Corner" - Bill Haley
97. "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele
98. "Fire and Rain" - James Taylor
99. "For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield
100. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" - The Verve

[Henrik]

Thanks JimmyJazz for this post, but I don't think I will add this list to AM. eBooks will not be included unless they're released by famous critics.

[JimmyJazz]

Ok, thanks for clarifying Henrik.

[EricMackAttacks]

Hi JimmyJazz and Henrik,

This is Eric Mack, the writer of the above list. First, thank you, JimmyJazz, for posting it here. I don't know what everyone else thinks of me, but I don't really consider myself a critic, and I wouldn't add my list to the ones already in play on this site. (Though from glancing at Henrik's response, it looks like that's not going to happen anyway.)

I designed the list with the intent of providing a general overview of pop music since rock & roll, fleshing out each pick with five more related selections. Basically, each slot stood for an album, genre, artist, label, or something like that, which is why it's not a daring list -- it's supposed to be more a fun listening guide than an authoritative take on the greatest songs ever. (Again, I don't think of myself as a critic.)

Hope this helps.

-- Eric

[JimmyJazz]

I sincerely apologize if the comment I made about your list was offensive. In the heat of moment, I wrote down my own personal (and equally biased) opinion, and if it came off as bitter or angry, I again apologize. I did not take into account the criteria for your list or read much about your background at the time. I at first just assumed that you were a professional critic. Compliments on your site and the comments you gave for the songs themselves!

[EricMackAttacks]

No, no. Was not offended. I actually appreciate that you thought to post the list on Acclaimed Music and suggest it be considered, especially given that you weren't even a fan of it. It hadn't even occurred to me that someone might do that -- I have visited this site before many times in the past and always find it interesting.

One of the (ongoing) projects I have done on my site is cataloging AllMusic's 5-star albums, so I'm on Acclaimed Music quite a bit, searching for prospects. (I'm actually more into albums than songs.) I still have some genres left to do (namely country), but most of the work is done: http://www.theattackzone.com/allmusic-5-star-albums/

As you can probably tell, I may not be a critic, but I'm definitely a music nerd.

[JimmyJazz]

Actually, it wasn't that I'm not a fan of the list when considering what it actually is, it was probably obsessing over that magical word "greatest", and imposing my own probably limited conception of what such a list should look like. The comments were also meant to be done in a somewhat joking manner, hence the exclamation points following The Smiths and the whistling icon. Also, I can't personally say that I hate any of the songs you posted: a good portion of them would make my own Top 500! Interesting project that you are undertaking with the AllMusic guide's five-star albums list. I also see that you are doing the same with AllMovie's movie reviews, which, being both a huge audiophile and cinephile, I can say is extremely helpful as it serves as a nice quick archive. Now no one will have to sift through those two sites databases to find out about what the most recommended stuff on each site is! Finally, music nerds are always welcome on this forum.

[EricMackAttacks]

Yeah, my approach is probably closer to a tastemaker's than a critic's.

Cool! Glad you find the AllMusic and AllMovie lists I have put together to be of use. (I cross-referenced the content of each of the rock & pop lists with Rolling Stone's list, too. I have found that to be particularly interesting.) I am also working on a similar one for AllGame per a reader's request. That one should be done soon.

Thanks for the warm welcome! I appreciate that.

[Henrik]

Hi Eric! Cool to have your response! A real critic who comes to join our discussions. Well, almost...

Am I right that your list was more of a "most essential songs" guide than a list of your personal favorites? Your list is quite similar to AM's. Perhaps because, as you said, you've been here quite a bit. Nothing wrong with that of course!

I hope to see you in a few other threads too. Anyway, keep up your good work!

[EricMackAttacks]

Hey Henrik!

Thanks for welcoming me here with such open arms. (I was checking the analytics for my site yesterday -- which I almost never do, incidentally -- and I saw someone came to my site through Acclaimed Music, which of course immediately caught my interest.)

Yeah, my list is intended more as an "essential songs" guide; the songs are ranked because it's more interesting to present them that way. (A list of my personal favorites -- which is sort of in the works -- would look much different.) And I did use the AM list for a few ideas in the "recommended listening" section, so a big thank you for that!

My list (i.e., the Squidoo page) has actually been on the Internet since 2006, so when I updated it earlier this year, I filled it more with "objective"/boring selections and focused more on adding those recommended tracks, since after seven years, everyone who had visited that page had sort of seen the same basic list for years and (I figured) were probably looking for something new.

So in that respect, the list itself of 100 songs isn't supposed to be anything too exciting -- it almost presupposes that you're already familiar with most of the selections. It's designed more as a springboard: if you decide you really like one of the songs, you can explore some new directions with the additional recommended songs.

Hope this extra context I have provided helps you guys understand where I was coming from with the list a little more. Again, I really appreciate the warm welcome.

-- Eric

[JimmyJazz]

I am also working on a similar one for AllGame per a reader's request. That one should be done soon.

That's interesting. Recently I was scowering through the AllGame guide for their perfect scores. Here is what I found (on the AllMovie guide list, I noticed you observed how they tend to be stingier with the five stars than AllMusic is. AllGame is even tougher!):

Adventure (Atari 2600)
Asteroids (Arcade)
BioShock (All Platforms)
Centipede (Arcade)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Defender (Arcade)
Dig Dug (Arcade)
Donkey Kong (Arcade)
Earthworm Jim (Genesis)
EverQuest (PC)
Excitebike (NES)
Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Frogger (Arcade)
Frogger (Atari 2600)
Galaga (Arcade)
GoldenEye 007 (N64)
Gran Turismo (PS1)
Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
Grand Theft Auto Vice City (PS2)
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (PS2)
Half Life (PC)
Half Life 2 (PC)
Homeworld (PC)
Joust (Arcade)
The Legend of Zelda (NES)
The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (N64)
The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages (GBC)
Mario Paint (SNES)
Master of Orion (PC)
Mega Man (NES)
Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
Metal Gear Solid 2 (PS2)
Metroid (NES)
Missile Command (Arcade)
Ms. Pac Man (Arcade)
MULE (PC)
Pac Man (Arcade)
Phantasy Star (Master System)
Phoenix (Arcade)
Pitfall (Atari 2600)
Pong
Resident Evil 4 (GC)
Samba de Amigo (DC)
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Sid Meier's Civilization (PC)
Sid Meier's Civilization 2 (PC)
Sid Meier's Pirates
SimCity (PC)
The Sims (PC)
SoulCalibur (DC)
Space Invaders (Arcade)
Space Invaders (Atari 2600)
Street Fighter 2 (Arcade)
Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Super Mario RPG (SNES)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Tempest (Arcade)
Tetris (GB)
Virtua Fighter (Arcade)
Wizardry (PC)
Zork (PC)

[EricMackAttacks]

Done: http://www.theattackzone.com/allgame-5- ... -all-time/

Tell me what you think.

[JimmyJazz]

Going over the that list, I feel mixed. On the one hand, no one can deny that most of those games are not probably among the most influential in the history of the medium. I admire and respect most of the games and their acclaim. Nevertheless, I think they could be a little more generous with the scores, as I can think of tons of games that are deserving of Five-Stars as well.

[EricMackAttacks]

I agree. It's too unforgiving. Maybe someday when they (finally) redesign their site -- it looks painfully out-of-date compared to AllMusic's and AllMovie's sites -- they will add some more into the mix.

[Bruce]

96. "Rock Around the Corner" - Bill Haley

Ummm, I think there's an error there.

[JR]

I love Super Mario 2, yet it's often overlooked. Also enjoy the classic original and 3,as well, but I liked that SM 2tried to be something different (i.e. it wasn't points-oriented).

Ms. Pac-Man is also one of my favorites- as is Centipede and Galaga.

[JimmyJazz]

There are a whole bunch of classic games that should be on that list, IMO. For starters, there are quite a few awesome recent games that I would suggest they include: Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Portal 2, Uncharted 2, Batman Arkham City, and Mass Effect 2 come to mind immediately. Additionally, some entries I think should be replaced with better titles: MGS2 for MGS3, Mega Man for Mega Man 2, Metroid for Super Metroid and Metroid Prime. They have Mario64 already, but I think SMG 1 and 2 rank among the best as well. Huge fan of the Zelda series ever since I was about 5 or 6, so I personally would put Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker on there as well as the 4 they included, but that's just a biased fans take! (I really like that they mentioned awesome but under appreciated Oracle games). Other glaring omissions that come to mind: Deus Ex, StarCraft, Diablo 2, Baldur's Gate 2, Planescape, KotOR, Counter Strike, Doom, Ultima 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Okami, Smash Bros Melee, Elite, Burnout 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Sonic 2 and 3, and Pirates. Besides that, I will say they picked probably the best entries for other franchises. The three Final Fantasies and GTAs are definitive to me (although I know many will stick up for GTA 4 and 5; as for FF, Tactics is a big favorite of mine). SF2 is the definitive version, and Civ 1 and 2 are in the same category for their franchise.

[JR]

JimmyJ- you're really into the games, I see. Myself, I never really became a video-game junkie. I only had a Nintendo system when I was younger (playing the Mario games, Elevator Action, Burger Time, stuff like that), and then got a Wii a few years ago (only getting a limited amount of games, though). And I still like playing the Plug-N-Play that has Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Mappy and a couple of others.

[JimmyJazz]

It has been a longtime interest of mine, although being a young man born in the 90s it is almost inevitable that it holds some sort of interest for me .

[JimmyJazz]

Also, my comment was more directed at Eric Mack, who visits this forum occasionally. Regarding Super Mario 2, yeah it is a really underappreciated game. It tried something completely different with the series, but much like Zelda 2 around the same time, it ended up turning off the people who fell in love with the original, and so Nintendo churned out an all-time classic with SMB3. It is good to see that elements of SMB2 have implemented into the most recent Super Mario game on the Wii U, though.

[EricMackAttacks]

Also, my comment was more directed at Eric Mack, who visits this forum occasionally.

Sure do!

I haven't played many games in recent years, and I never came close to playing all the great ones even when I followed video games very closely when I was younger, but here are some favorites that I think are deserving of a five-star bump:

SimCity 2000 -- played this one a lot back in the day
Mario Kart 64 -- not a perfect game, but one of the most endlessly replayable
Pokemon Red/Blue -- hard to believe such a time-eater was originally released on the original Game Boy
Super Smash Bros. Melee -- pretty much a perfect game
Metroid Prime -- ditto
Civilization IV -- Civ II (my favorite game ever) was better, but Civ IV was more complex and even more addictive

Trying to remember some other great ones, but these are all I can think of off the top of my head. Haven't played GTA V yet, and never even finished GTA IV or Red Dead Redemption, though both were awesome. These games these days are too long!

[JimmyJazz]

I much prefer Smash Bros Melee than Brawl, which made every character too overpowered in a way (this was done in their attempt to curb the admitted overpowering of certain characters in Melee, but wasn't fixed successfully IMO). Hopefully the upcoming one for the Wii U will find a balance between both styles. SimCity 2000 is another glaring omission I forgot to mention, as it did improve upon the first in every way, although so did the Sims 2, and so it seems they are praising games for simply being the first. As for Mario Kart, 64 is, in my opinion, just as great as the original, and the DS one is pretty amazing as well. Those 3 are probably the most definitive entries in the franchise, although I do feel Double Dash for the GC is under appreciated, again for trying something different with the formula.