Music Lovers. My Top Ten rock/pop songs of all time

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#4 Oasis

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#3 Shawn Mendes

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#2 Bruno Mars

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#1 The Script

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#10.  Light my Fire - Doors



Although I am not a big Doors fan, I have to give props to a darker, distinctive sound in a time that was all about peace and love.  Their first hit, Light my Fire is an introduction to this truly original sound.  I also give them props for sticking it to Ed Sullivan by keeping to their original lyrics and singing the line, "Baby we can't get much higher".  You have to give props to a song that embodies conviction and controversy.

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Some really good musical selections here people.

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#9. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones



Too sexually explicit for the UK, Satisfaction played mostly on pirate radio made it over to the US as the Stones first American hit.  It eventually came to light in the UK hitting the top of the charts.  The beauty of the song, is the three note guitar riff.  As a guitar learner, I can appreciate it's simplicity because it's easy to play.  In that regard, it's a very accessible song.  

[RW]

#8. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen



Although not the "best" version of the song, this is Cohen's song originally so his version stands.  Over 300 artists have done versions of this song all over the world including Bob Dylan, Bono, Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi, Neil Diamond, etc.  I find it one of those songs that really lends to interpretations from the performing artist.  It's a song that singers love to sing (including me in the shower) and one that I see really sticking to our musical ribs for years to come.

[RW]

#7. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd



Two words - guitar solos.  David Gilmour's guitar solos (yes two) are some of the best ever recorded.  The echo in the song lends to the feeling of isolation stemming from illness. This song is touted as one of Pink Floyd's best and I have to agree.

[RW]

#6. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin



Hitting the radio airways over 3 million times since release, it's still played on radios today.  The guitar itself is legendary with the guitar solos voted some of the best of all time.  This song will be played for decades to come.



I'm posting Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart fame doing Stairway to Heaven during a tribute to Led Zeppelin bringing the band to members to tears.  Although Heart didn't make my top ten, these sisters rock hard and deserve props.

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#5. All Along the Watch Tower - Jimi Hendrix Experience



Although originally written by Bob Dylan, most people identify this song with Jimi Hendrix making it one of the greatest cover songs of all time.  Dylan himself said Hendrix really developed the song to what it is today and when it performs it, he tributes Hendrix.  This is yet another song that has be covered by some serious heavy hitters like Neil Young, Grateful Dead, U2, Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, Eddie Vedder, Supertramp, Dave Matthews Band, etc.

[RW]

#4. Respect - Aretha Franklin



Franklin picked up this Otis Redding song and launched it to anthem status for politicized movements including feminism and civil rights.

[RW]

#3. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen



This song has everything - amazing guitar solos, opera, heavy metal, fatalistic lyrics - except a chorus.  The abrupt changes in style, tone and tempo was uncommon in most mainstream pop and rock songs of the time. Freddie Mercury also strongly guarded the meaning of the lyrics to the song.  This song performed by Queen saw two separate trips up the charts almost two decades apart, which was unheard of.  Thanks Wayne's World for bringing this song back to my generation.

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#2. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan



This song made the then folksie Dylan a pop icon solidifying him as a true musical leader.  This song had a huge impact on both popular culture and rock music itself.  I think Bruce Springstein described this song the best when he said:



"The first time I heard Bob Dylan, I was in the car with my mother listening to WMCA, and on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind ... The way that Elvis freed your body, Dylan freed your mind, and showed us that because the music was physical did not mean it was anti-intellect. He had the vision and talent to make a pop song so that it contained the whole world. He invented a new way a pop singer could sound, broke through the limitations of what a recording could achieve, and he changed the face of rock'n'roll for ever and ever."

[RW]

#1. Imagine - John Lennon



Rolling Stone magazine has described Imagine as Lennon's "greatest musical gift to the world".  Lennon left us thinking about what the world would look like if we lived in peace.  The song wasn't without controversy being seen as anti-Christian, unpatriotic and kind of communist.  You may think that this controversy was left in the past but in 2013, the US Senate tabled a bill to ban Imagine stating the "inflammatory lyrics with a potential to stir up major political conflicts particularly in the strife prone Middle East."  My favourite quote is from the NRA stating, "We have been complaining since years about Lennon's anti-freedom stance," says Larry Prattle, chief of the NRA. "The rifle is the emblem of a free man. Lennon's lines nothing to kill or die for, disregard American citizens' right to self-defense."  Any song that can challenge religion, capitalism, consumerism, patriotism, and the gun lobby by singing about peace and unity gets top spot on my list.