This list was a labour of love – this is my favourite decade for music. I only found 80 songs because I limited myself to one song per artist.

If I do the 2000s, I’ll probably be stuck at only 50 songs or maybe even 30 songs – I stopped being in touch with new music sometime in the new millennium. (OK boomer!)

Anyway, here’s the (four-fifths complete) list. I’ve added notes in square brackets on some of them.

1. In Spite Of Ourselves – John Prine & Iris DeMent
   [the best love song in the history of ever]
2. Nowhere Near – Yo La Tengo
3. Man On The Moon – R.E.M.
4. Sennen – Ride
5. Where Did You Sleep Last Night – Nirvana
   [I didn’t understand the fuss about Nirvana until I heard this version, from the unplugged CD]
6. Ahead By A Century – Tragically Hip
7. Ain’t That Enough – Teenage Fanclub
8. Golden Hair – Slowdive
9. When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die – Moby
10. In This Heart – Sinead O’Connor
11. The Wanderer – U2 (featuring Johnny Cash)
12. Country Home – Neil Young and Crazy Horse
13. Mesmerise – Chapterhouse
14. Everlong – Foo Fighters
15. Rocket – Smashing Pumpkins
16. Dandy Warhols TV Theme Song – Dandy Warhols
17. Friday I’m In Love – The Cure
18. Story Of My Life – Social Distortion
19. Praise You – Fatboy Slim
20. Step On – Happy Mondays
21. The Life of Riley – Lightning Seeds
22. Divine Intervention – Matthew Sweet
23. Sing – Blur
24. D’You Know What I Mean? – Oasis
25. Cannonball – Breeders
26. Sworn and Broken – Screaming Trees
27. Pictures – Mojave 3
    [The saddest song that I know of. “Hello In There” by John Prine is the second-saddest.]
28. Hesitating Beauty – Billy Bragg and Wilco
29. No One Knows – Green Day
30. Movie Star – Cracker
31. Guns In The Ghetto – UB40
32. Two Worlds Collide – Inspiral Carpets
33. Black Metallic – Catherine Wheel
34. I’m Free – Soup Dragons
35. Rolling People – The Verve
36. Movin’ On Up – Primal Scream
37. Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam – Vaselines
38. The Mummers’ Dance – Loreena McKennitt
39. Save This House – Spirit of the West
    [Rest in peace.]
40. Run – Collective Soul
41. Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth… – Primitive Radio Gods
42. Brimful of Asha – Cornershop
43. Tubthumping – Chumbawamba
44. Godsend – Beat Happening
    [I love the very idea of Beat Happening, because they couldn’t play or sing very well. As one book I read described it: if you thought you could play better than them, it was up to you to prove it. If you could, you had yourself a band. If you couldn’t, you had to shut up. Either way, they had proved their point.]
45. T T T – Buzzcocks
46. The Kids Aren’t Alright – The Offspring
47. Scar Tissue – Red Hot Chili Peppers
48. Mr. Jones – Counting Crows
49. Loveless (the entire album, dammit) – My Bloody Valentine
    [It’s my list, and I can do what I want. Loveless has to be listened to in its entirety for it to really work.]
50. Jesus Built My Hotrod (Redline/Whiteline Version) – Ministry
51. Roots Radical – Rancid
52. The Only One I Know – Charlatans
53. Blue Flower – Mazzy Star
54. Swallowed – Bush
55. Love You All – 54-40
56. Seether – Veruca Salt
57. Radiation Vibe – Fountains of Wayne
58. The Anglo-Saxons – Mountain Goats
59. Lost Together – Blue Rodeo
60. Omobolasire – Prozzak
61. Sunshine After The Rain – Berri
    [This is an idiosyncratic choice because of when I first heard it: I was driving in Arizona in a rented car, listening to a Mexican radio station, and this came on. It reminds me of a pleasant memory.]
62. Steal My Sunshine – Len
63. For All This – Holly Golightly
64. Feels Blind – Bikini Kill
65. Kill Your Television – Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
66. Slide – Luna
67. Svefn-g-englar – Sigur Rós
68. Ich Bin Ein Auslander – Pop Will Eat Itself
    [Possibly the least romantic song in the history of music.]
69. Liquid Indian – Guided By Voices
70. Danny Boy – Moe Tucker
71. Whip Smart – Liz Phair
72. Jack-Ass – Beck
73. Friends of P. – Rentals
74. Jane Says – Jane’s Addiction
75. Zombie – Cranberries
76. Turn It On – Flaming Lips
    [Included for its rhythm guitar track, which is filthy.]
77. If It Makes You Happy – Sheryl Crow
78. Reverence – Jesus and Mary Chain
79. If I Had $1,000,000 – Barenaked Ladies
80. Two Princes – Spin Doctors

The ’80s is when I started to narrowcast more: I was listening to what was then known as “alternative” more than to conventional radio, so there’s a lot of stuff that I just wasn’t listening to much. This trend has accelerated over time: I’ll be able to do a 1990s list, but after that I just am not knowledgeable enough.

In this list, I knew what the top two were going to be, but the rest were harder to sort out. So many of them are wonderful. Anyway, here it is.

1. Fall On Me – R.E.M.
2. Maid Of Orleans – Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark
3. Atmosphere – Joy Division
4. Jersey Girl – Tom Waits
5. City of Dreams – Talking Heads
6. Scary Monsters – David Bowie
7. Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
8. The Hardest Walk – Jesus and Mary Chain
9. Real Wild Child – Iggy Pop
10. California Uber Alles (single version) – Dead Kennedys
11. Forever Now – Psychedelic Furs
12. Wishing – A Flock of Seagulls
13. I Touch Roses – Book of Love
14. Roam – B-52’s
15. Pop Goes The World – Men Without Hats
16. Life In A Northern Town – Dream Academy
17. Driving Away From Home (Wicked Weather for Walking remix) – It’s Immaterial
18. Feels Like Heaven – Fiction Factory
19. Africa – Toto
20. Downstream – Rainmakers
21. So Far Away – Dire Straits
22. Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag – Pigbag
23. Misguided Angel – Cowboy Junkies
24. Help Me Somebody – David Byrne and Brian Eno
25. Levi Stubbs’ Tears – Billy Bragg
26. That’s Entertainment – The Jam
27. Chance – Big Country
28. Calling America – Electric Light Orchestra
29. Mirror In The Bathroom – English Beat
30. This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ To Glide – Kings
31. Angel of Harlem – U2
32. Let’s Do Rock Steady – The Bodysnatchers
33. Crash – Primitives
34. Throw Your Arms Around Me – Hunters and Collectors
35. Bring on the Dancing Horses – Echo & The Bunnymen
36. Rock’n’Roll Radio – Ramones
37. Always On My Mind – Pet Shop Boys
38. The Boy In The Bubble – Paul Simon
39. Only You – Yazoo
40. Walking On Sunshine – Katrina and the Waves
41. That’s What I Like About You – The Romantics
42. Fade To Grey – Visage
43. Take The Skinheads Bowling – Camper Van Beethoven
44. Going Down To Liverpool – The Bangles
45. Big Science – Laurie Anderson
46. Sun City – Artists United Against Apartheid
47. Nowhere Girl – B-Movie
48. The Dead Heart – Midnight Oil
49. Iko Iko – Belle Stars
50. Let Me Go – Heaven 17
51. Whole Wide World – Wreckless Eric
52. Wardance – Killing Joke
53. Being Boiled – Human League
54. Storm Before The Calm – Luba
55. She Drives Me Crazy – Fine Young Cannibals
56. Theme For Great Cities – Simple Minds
57. Eyes Without A Face – Billy Idol
58. Walk In Line – 54-40
59. What Do I Get? – Buzzcocks
60. I Wanna Be Adored – Stone Roses
61. When You’re Young and In Love – Flying Pickets
62. I Want Candy – Bow Wow Wow
63. Warm Leatherette – The Normal
64. Always The Sun – Stranglers
65. More Than This – Roxy Music
66. Echo Beach – Martha and the Muffins
67. The Lion Sleeps Tonight – Tight Fit
68. Mandinka – Sinead O’Connor
69. Dancing With Myself – Generation X
70. Sweet Sensation – UB40
71. A Song From Under The Floorboards – Magazine
72. Warhead – UK Subs
73. Pocket Calculator – Kraftwerk
74. Balloon Man – Robyn Hitchcock
75. Closer Together – The Box
76. Love Removal Machine – The Cult
77. Mirror Star – Fabulous Poodles
78. Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick – Ian Dury
79. Peter Gunn theme – Art Of Noise (featuring Duane Eddy)
80. Small Town – John Mellencamp
81. Junco Partner – The Clash
82. Fight The Power – Public Enemy
83. No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
84. Having an Average Weekend – Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
85. Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go – Soft Cell
86. Genius Of Love – Tom Tom Club
87. Mexican Radio – Wall of Voodoo
88. Ghost Town – The Specials
89. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
90. Rise Above – Black Flag
91. Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler
92. Going Home: Theme Of The Local Hero – Mark Knopfler
93. Proprietaire – Madame
94. Nova Heart – Spoons
95. New Life – Depeche Mode
96. Thrash – Cowboys International
97. Ricky’s Hand – Fad Gadget
98. Only in My Dreams – Debbie Gibson
99. Rock This Town – Stray Cats
100. Psycho Chicken – The Fools

I might do the 1980s eventually, but probably won’t do any more after that – starting in the 1990s, I got more into smaller niches of music and stopped listening to any radio, so I missed out on a lot of trends.

Have fun, etc.!

1. Heroes – David Bowie
2. Helpless – Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
3. Working Class Hero – John Lennon
4. Four Strong Winds – Neil Young
5. Across The Universe – Beatles
6. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
7. Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones
8. Anarchy in the U.K. – Sex Pistols
9. Baby’s On Fire – Brian Eno
10. Trouble Boys – Dave Edmunds
11. Ramble Tamble – Creedence Clearwater Revival
12. Transmission – Joy Division
13. Redemption Song – Toots and the Maytals
14. Surrender – Cheap Trick
15. Roll Over Beethoven – Electric Light Orchestra
16. One Step Beyond – Madness
17. Brand New Cadillac – The Clash
18. I Found That Essence Rare – Gang Of Four
19. Ballroom Blitz – Sweet
20. Angel From Montgomery – John Prine
21. Planet Claire – B-52’s
22. It’s All I Can Do – The Cars
23. In My Hour Of Darkness – Gram Parsons
24. Racing in the Street – Bruce Springsteen
25. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
26. Roll On Down The Highway – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
27. No Time – Guess Who
28. Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
29. Mull of Kintyre – Wings
30. Sweet Mary – Wadsworth Mansion
31. Rocker – AC/DC
32. Golden Hair – Syd Barrett
33. Mother and Child Reunion – Paul Simon
34. Rock Your Baby – George McCrae
35. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Devo
36. Ca Plane Pour Moi – Plastic Bertrand
37. Here For A Good Time – Trooper
38. More Than A Feeling – Boston
39. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley & The Wailers
40. Beneath Still Waters – Emmylou Harris
41. I’m The Man – Joe Jackson
42. Phasors On Stun – FM
43. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
44. Tumbling Dice – Rolling Stones
45. Big Six – Judge Dread
46. Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield
47. Tearing Me Apart – Teenage Head
48. Baby Baby – The Vibrators
49. Flat Tire – The Government
50. Signs – Five Man Electrical Band
51. A Million Vacations – Max Webster
52. So Long, Marianne – Brian Hyland
53. Away From The Numbers – The Jam
54. One For The Vine – Genesis
55. All Right Now – Free
56. Marquee Moon – Television
57. Rocky Mountain Way – Joe Walsh
58. Someone Saved My Life Tonight – Elton John
59. I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
60. Take Me To The River – Talking Heads
61. Walk This Way – Aerosmith
62. Brighton Rock – Queen
63. Radio Radio – Elvis Costello
64. Here Comes The Flood – Peter Gabriel
65. In Every Dream Home A Heartache (live version) – Roxy Music
66. Twenty Flight Rock – Robert Gordon
67. You Are In My Vision – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army
68. On My Radio – The Selecter
69. Baby Blue – Badfinger
70. Rock And Roll Lullaby – B.J. Thomas
71. Teenage Kicks – Undertones
72. Lucky Man – Emerson, Lake and Palmer
73. Over My Head (single version) – Fleetwood Mac
74. Mr. Bojangles – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
75. Dead Skunk – Loudon Wainwright III
76. Hocus Pocus – Focus
77. Too Much Too Young – The Specials
78. Long Misty Days – Robin Trower
79. C.I.D. – U.K. Subs
80. New York City – The Demics
81. Indiana Wants Me – R. Dean Taylor
82. Roundabout – Yes
83. Quiet Men – Ultravox
84. Take The Money and Run – Steve Miller Band
85. The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff
86. Superstar – Carpenters
87. Working Man – Rush
88. Drivin’ Wheel – Foghat
89. Tighter and Tighter – Alive & Kicking
90. Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room – Brownsville Station
91. Pablo Picasso – Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
92. The Loco-Motion – Grand Funk Railroad
93. Do You Know What I Mean – Lee Michaels
94. Isn’t It A Pity – George Harrison
95. Oh What A Feeling – Crowbar
96. Barracuda – Heart
97. When Will I See You Again – Three Degrees
98. Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad – Meat Loaf
99. I’d Love You To Want Me – Lobo
100. Sister Golden Hair – America

This prompted me to try something similar. I didn’t do the 1950s, as I don’t know that decade well enough, but I’ll try the 1960s. Each artist can only be listed once – so, for example, the Beatles only get one entry.

As much as possible, I tried to select songs that I actually like. If I had it saved in my Spotify “liked songs” list, and especially if I had played it a lot, it went on this list. This means that some selections are a little idiosyncratic.

There are some artists who aren’t on the list because I couldn’t think of a specific song that I liked well enough. For instance, Jimi Hendrix is a great musician, but there’s not a specific song of his that stands out for me.

Anyway, here’s my list. I probably missed some obvious ones.

1. Twist and Shout – Beatles
2. Sloop John B – Beach Boys
3. Desolation Row – Bob Dylan
4. Pressure Drop – Toots and the Maytals
5. The Dark End Of The Street – James Carr
6. Higher & Higher – Jackie Wilson
7. Wipe Out – The Surfaris
8. Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers
9. You Were On My Mind – We Five
10. Down By The River – Neil Young
11. I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher
12. Go Now – Moody Blues
13. House of The Rising Sun – Animals
14. Be My Baby – Ronettes
15. Green Onions – Booker T and the M.G.’s
16. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
17. Then He Kissed Me – Crystals
18. Helplessly Hoping – Crosby, Stills & Nash
19. Crimson and Clover – Tommy James
20. Misirlou – Dick Dale
21. Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
22. Surfin’ Bird – Trashmen
23. 96 Tears – ? & The Mysterians
24. Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
25. Rag Doll – Four Seasons
26. Carrie Anne – The Hollies
27. Good Times Bad Times – Led Zeppelin
28. I Am A Rock – Simon & Garfunkel
29. I Fought The Law – Bobby Fuller Four
30. 500 Miles – Peter, Paul & Mary
31. Hush – Deep Purple
32. Laughing – The Guess Who
33. A Whiter Shade Of Pale – Procol Harum
34. California Sun – Rivieras
35. I’m a Boy – The Who
36. Crying – Roy Orbison
37. Bring It On Home To Me – Sam Cooke
38. Wonderful Land – The Shadows
39. Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
40. Interstellar Overdrive – Pink Floyd
41. Which Way You Goin’, Billy? – Poppy Family
42. Sally Go Round The Roses – Jaynetts
43. Judge Dread – Prince Buster
44. Sugar Sugar – The Archies
45. Out In The Streets – The Shangri-Las
46. Tracks Of My Tears – Miracles
47. For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
48. Jollity Farm – The Bonzo Dog Band
49. Cherry Cherry – Neil Diamond
50. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man – Bob Seger System
51. Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
52. Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
53. Gloria – Them
54. Hang On Sloopy – McCoys
55. Love (Can Make You Happy) – Mercy
56. Everlasting Love – Robert Knight
57. Waiting For The Man – Velvet Underground
58. Pictures of Matchstick Men – Status Quo
59. Pipeline – Chantays
60. Bernadette – Four Tops
61. Simon Says – 1910 Fruitgum Company
62. Loco-Motion – Little Eva
63. Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley
64. When The Roses Bloom Again – Johnny Cash
65. Psychotic Reaction – Count Five
66. Dizzy – Tommy Roe
67. How’d We Ever Get This Way – Andy Kim
68. Heart Full of Soul – Yardbirds
69. Runaway – Del Shannon
70. The Last Time – Rolling Stones
71. Smile a Little Smile For Me – The Flying Machine
72. Green Tambourine – Lemon Pipers
73. Classical Gas – Mason Williams
74. I Wanna Be Your Dog – The Stooges
75. I’ve Got Dreams To Remember – Otis Redding
76. Daydream Believer – The Monkees
77. World Without Love – Peter and Gordon
78. Glad All Over – Dave Clark Five
79. Nobody But Me – Human Beinz
80. Journey To The Center of the Mind – Amboy Dukes
81. Hair – Cowsills
82. Red Rubber Ball – Cyrkle
83. These Boots Are Made For Walking – Nancy Sinatra
84. Gypsy Woman – Brian Hyland
85. Telstar – Tornados
86. Mother’s Advice (Shop Around) – Soul Leaders
87. The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore – Walker Brothers
88. Israelites – Desmond Dekker & The Aces
89. Never My Love – The Association
90. Louie Louie – The Kingsmen
91. Walk Away Renee – Left Banke
92. 21st Century Schizoid Man – King Crimson
93. The Twist – Chubby Checker
94. Gotta Get A Message To You – Bee Gees
95. Incense and Peppermints – Strawberry Alarm Clock
96. On The Road Again – Canned Heat
97. I’m Going Home – Ten Years After
98. Angel Of The Morning – Merrilee Rush
99. Time Has Come Today – Chambers Brothers
100. Reach Out Of The Darkness – Friend & Lover

I had fun doing this – I spent a few hours moving entries up and down the list, relying on a bubble sort approach to move my favourites gradually toward the top.

One thing that surprised me was that my #1 song was an obvious choice. “Twist and Shout” moved to the top of the list early on, and was never dislodged. Part of this might be because I quite literally grew up with this song: when I was very young, my parents decided to buy one Beatles single to see what the fuss was about, and this is the one they picked. Good choice, I think! (The flip was “There’s A Place”, which is a pretty good song too.)

If you’re curious, you can go here: http://97words.wordpress.com/

Here’s one last link, to a band that many people I know think was the best band in the world ever.

I’ll probably use this space to write about baseball or froth at the mouth about neo-conservative politicians or something. See you around. Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio.

I can honestly say that this song made me more aware of South Africa and apartheid than anything else I read or heard about. “And the eyes of the world are watching now.”

When I was younger, I believed that a race war in South Africa was inevitable. Nelson Mandela prevented that, pretty much all by himself. I don’t have heroes, as a rule, since most people contain good bits and bad bits. But Mandela is one of mine.

The video is very effective, though I got tired of that Fairlight synthesizer sound after about 2 minutes or so.

Artists United Against Apartheid was organized by Steve van Zandt, who used to hang around with Springsteen and all that. Wikipedia lists all the artists who performed there; any time you can get Darlene Love and Joey Ramone together, among others, it’s got to be pretty cool.

Wikipedia also has a list of artists who performed at Sun City during the apartheid years. Queen, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Rod Stewart, and Laura Branigan are included in this list.

This song features the Portsmouth Sinfonia doing the solo instrumental breaks. This group was formed by the Portsmouth School of Art, and featured either non-musicians or musicians playing a different instrument from their own. Orchestra members were required to show up for rehearsals and attempt to play their best. Eno himself played clarinet and produced their first two albums. According to Wikipedia, the musicians got a little better over time, which reduced the novelty value, and the orchestra last performed in 1979.

Musically, I hear so much in this song. The high backing vocals remind me of a lot of early Jamaican hit singles of the 1960s. And Jerry “Iceman” Butler’s vocals are the ancestor of many of the great soul hits of the 60s.

By the way, besides being a singer, Butler is also a commissioner of the Cook County board in Illinois (the county that contains Chicago). He’s held that post since 1985, according to Wikipedia. That’s kind of cool.