1000
It Had to be You (1924)
"Jones and Kahn wrote the tune in 1924, shortly after Jones' wife bought him a baby grand piano for his 30th birthday and he stayed up all night noodling around until he came up with a few melodies, one of them being "It Had To Be You." Kahn added the lyrics, and the song quickly became a hot number that year with covers from Marion Harris, Paul Whiteman, and Jones' own orchestra". - Songfacts
Crimson and Clover (1968)
999
"During Christmastime 1968 when this song was topping the charts, some listeners asked if he was singing "Christmas is over" when the tremolo effect kicks in on the voice towards the end of the tune. The guitars, drums, keys, and voices unite and dazzle over a trancelike tempo, resulting in a song and performance for the ages". - Joe Viglione
998
Ice Hockey Hair (1998)
"The seven minute epic lifted from the EP of the same name is a journey of sorts that sounds like the Beach Boys’ and ELO’s musical love child with a completely modern spin. There’s very little structure to it, but it moves along like a well-thoughtout song should, firing different ideas at us left and right". - daveiannacone
996
I Want You (1986)
"One of Elvis Costello's more disturbing songs (he called the song "the aural equivalent of a blurred polaroid"), which was produced by Nick Lowe. In later years he would sing the song with The Roots". The Telegraph
997
Don't Dream It's Over (1987)
"It was 1987 and Don’t Dream It’s Over, released in October the previous year, was a worldwide hit. It was the song you danced to at the end of the night, pressed close to the intriguing person you’d just met while wondering what might happen next. The palpable sincerity in Neil Finn’s voice and the expansive melodic line of the song’s chorus encouraged hope". - Andrew Ford
995
Jim Dandy (1956)
994
Minnie the Moocher (1931)
993
King of the Road (1965)
992
The Breaks (1980)
991
Somebody to Love (1967)
990
Work (2016)
"Work," the new Drizzy-RiRi single, is no doubt the best bit of ANTI since "Bitch Better Have My Money" became one of 2015's toughest vessels of self-empowerment. You could imagine Boi-1da traveling to Rihanna's sunstruck Caribbean home to make this beat. Her voice has a glossy wordlessness to it, but this is for sure some of her most subtle, expressive, and coolly thrilling shout-singing". - Jenn Pelly
989
Praise You (1998)
988
My Own Summer (1998)
"Creeping like a predator about to strike, "My Own Summer" further proves Deftones have got the quiet-loud nu metal song structure down leagues above any of their contemporaries". - vsm930
987
Toxic (2003)
986
Papua New Guinea (1991)
"Released in 1991 through the London label Jumpin' & Pumpin', Papua New Guinea, which featured three versions of the title track, was the first release by The Future Sound Of London, making it a contender for the greatest debut of all time". - Carlos Hawthorn
984
Today (1993)
985
Walking to New Orleans (1960)
"Walking to New Orleans" is a 1960 song by Bobby Charles, written for and recorded by Fats Domino. The record was a hit, released on Imperial Records, reaching #6 on the pop chart and #2 on the R&B chart".- Wikipedia
983
Just Can't Get Enough (1981)
982
It's Your Thing (1969)
981
Royals (2013)
"With a voice far beyond her years and a gloriously subtle instrumental the track is a stellar example in how to create a catchy and satisfyingly danceable tune without going overboard with unnecessary ‘explosives’ that take away from the artist". -Huw Woodward
980
Sentimental Journey (1945)
"Les Brown and His Band of Renown had been performing the song, but were unable to record it because of the 1942–44 musicians' strike. When the strike ended, the band, with Doris Day as vocalist, had a hit record with the song, Day's first #1 hit, in 1945. The song's release coincided with the end of the Second World War in Europe and became the unofficial homecoming theme for many veterans". - Wikipedia
979
You're Gonna Miss Me (1966)
"If you want to argue that psychedelia was as much a frame of mind as a musical style, it's instructive to compare the recording of "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Erickson's earlier band, the Spades, to the version on this album -- the difference is more attitudinal than anything else, but it's enough to make all the difference in the world."- Mark Deming
978
Tupelo (1985)
"The moody obsessions of rural blues -- trains, floods, imprisonment, sin, fear, and death -- seemed made to order for Cave, and he was able to tap into the doomy iconography of this music with potent emotional force; on "Tupelo," he makes a sweeping and disturbing epic of the rain-swept night when Elvis Presley was born." - Mark Deming
977
Golden Years (1976)
976
Baker Street (1978)
975
Hotline Bling (2015)
974
U Got the Look (1987)
"U Got the Look" found success, soaring to No. 2. In a final twist, however, the hit tune's popularity apparently drew the attention of Prince’s late half-sister Lorna Nelson, who claimed in an unsuccessful 1987 lawsuit that Prince stole lyrics from her unpublished song, “What’s Cooking in this Book". - Keith Creighton
973
Buffalo Gals (1982)
"One of the first songs ever to feature the sound of scratching. "Buffalo Gals" creates a throbbing, funky groove. Over this, McLaren sings fragments of the old Appalachian square dance tune "Buffalo Gals," fusing a tune that goes back nearly 200 years to the most up-to-the-minute sound around. What could have been a trite, gimmicky novelty hit turned out to be a pioneering cross-genre classic". - Stewart Mason
972
Tubthumping (1997)
"A giddily infectious blend of big dance beats, pop hooks, and football chants. It's a standout single, one that finds the group at its catchiest, and there isn't anything quite as good on the remainder of Tubthumper. There's no denying that "Tubthumping" is a hit single unlike any other. It's one of the least likely hit singles ever". Stephen Thomas Erlewine
971
Dazed and Confused (1969)
970
Summertime (1939)
"Bechet’s 1939 recording of “Summertime” reveals a sophistication and maturity which surprise the bebop devotee. The recording was made as a tribute and farewell to Tommy Ladnier, a trumpeter colleague of Bechet’s who had died four days previous to the recording session". -Bret Pimentel
969
If I Didn't Care (1939)
"Led by lead singers Deek Watson and Bill Kenny (whose otherworldly high tenor and mannered diction put him in a class by himself), and grounded by Hoppy Jones' innovative (and often improvised) talking-bass vocal lines, the Ink Spots charted nearly 50 Top 40 singles beginning with "If I Didn't Care" in 1939". - Steve Leggett
968
Freak Like Me (2002)
967
212 (2011)
" '212' showcase aggressive production that winds together dubstep's relentless bass pounding and Banks' talents as a fluid, sometimes vicious MC as well as a serviceable R&B vocalist". - Fred Thomas
966
You'll Never Walk Alone (1963)
"A sentimental side was revealed in the choices of the American show tune "You'll Never Walk Alone", as the Pacemakers' feel for American country and R&B music. Gerry and the Pacemakers seemed another enjoyable British group with a talent for beat music". -William Ruhlmann
965
Tell It Like It Is (1966)
964
Tour de France (1983)
963
Do It Again (1972)
"Steely Dan's first hit single and to this day the song most associated with the duo, "Do It Again" is remarkably odd material for a Top Ten radio hit. It's a six-minute shuffle based on a sleepy bossa nova rhythm tapped out with Latin percussion. Quickly became both one of the defining soft rock tracks of the '70s". - Stewart Mason
962
Oh Happy Day (1969)
961
Move on up a Little Higher (1947)
960
Cut Your Hair (1994)
"For many fans, "Cut Your Hair" -- a cunning, cynical piece about the treacherous pitfalls of the rock and roll business -- was the song that first attracted them to Pavement". - Gregg Rounds
959
Chime (1990)
958
St. Louis Blues (1914)
"When Handy wrote St. Louis Blues in 1914, he had become partners with a bank cashier in a music publishing business. It was Handy more than any other single person who helped popularize the blues as a musical form". - James Leonard
957
The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss) (1964)
956
Toxicity (2001)
"This excellent track is among the most accessible standouts from an incredibly diverse set, the likes of which SOAD's inferior nu-metal peers could only hope to emulate. Lyrically, it's simply no contest". - Eduardo Rivadavia
955
Pressure Drop (1970)
954
Ray of Light (1998)
953
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (1946)
"The finest singer from among the half-dozen songwriting giants of American popular music, Johnny Mercer sang with an exhibition of same so smiling and exuberant it became one of the most familiar performances of the century. A no. 8 hit with their rendition of the song in 1947. As a result, Mercer had to correct listeners who mistakenly assumed that he wrote it". - John Bush
952
Rehab (2006)
"They tried to make me go to rehab," wails Amy Winehouse on the opening track and first single from her second album Back to Black. It's not typical pop song fodder, but Winehouse isn't a typical pop singer. If she winds up as popular in the U.S. as she is at home in the UK, it'll be despite her reluctance to embrace the monotonous realities of promotional mechanics". -Joshua Klein
951
To the End (1994)
"Albarn, for all of his cold, dispassionate wit, demonstrates compassion that gives this song three dimensions. It's a melancholy Walker Brothers tribute." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
950
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
949
Sail Away (1972)
948
Justify My Love (1990)
"Madonna's most scandalous song ever. How much controversy can you cram into five minutes? If you’re Madonna, enough to make your new single a hit. Given all the controversy about Madonna using the video to promote sex, sadomasochism, cross-dressomg and whatever else critics perceived in it". - Drew Mackie
947
Eruption (1978)
946
Tonight's the Night (1960)
"This track is excellent, and appear on virtually any comprehensive Shirelles best-of. Pleasant for the period pop-soul-early girl group production if nothing else". - Richie Unterberger
945
Someday We'll Be Together (1969)
944
Reelin' in the Years (1972)
"Reelin' in the Years" reveals Fagen and Becker as dryly sarcastic lyricists whose songs tend to have a sharper edge than those of most of their contemporaries. Sung with a bitter sort of glee that combines with the catchiness of the tune to mask its underlying anger just enough to make it that much more cutting when the listener finally notices".- Stewart Mason
943
I Wonder Why (1958)
Nearly sixty years after its release, “I Wonder Why” remains a fabulous listening experience. Dion’s vocal arrangement is nothing short of brilliant, and the combination of youthful enthusiasm, exceptional harmonic layering and perfect timing is breathtaking.“I Wonder Why” was Dion and the Belmonts’ first single". - Altrockchick
942
Since I Left You (2000)
"There's little doubt to Since I Left You's status as one of the most intimate and emotional dance records that isn't vocal-based. Working on a mystical level, don't be too surprised if a future dig through the wallet unearths a membership card to the Summer Break Funk Association".- Andy Kellman
941
Some Might Say (1995)
940
The Middle (2001)
939
Land of 1000 Dances (1966)
938
Makes No Sense at All (1985)
937
Cry (1951)
936
Holiday in Cambodia (1980)
935
934
"It leaves no doubt that Mama Said Knock You Out was intended to be a tour de force, to regain LL Cool J's credibility while proving that he was still one of rap's most singular talents. It succeeded mightily, making him an across-the-board superstar and cementing his status as a rap icon beyond any doubt". - Steve Huey
933
932
931
930
929
928
927
926
"The single-handedly kicked off hip-hop's infatuation with James Brown samples, and Eric B. & Rakim topped it with a stunning display of lyrical virtuosity". - Steve Huey
925
"The Stylistics' sophomore album it spawned three Billboard R&B Top Ten singles, "I'm Stone in Love With You" was on of them. As superb as the group was vocally, the production work of Thom Bell is commendable as well". - Craig Lytle
924
"The lack of any really distinctive lead singer isn't illuminated by the limited sleeve notes, and the narrow lyrical focus on romance may grate for some. But The Searchers' main appeal is their charm". - Jon Lusk
923
"Madonna and Orbit step from the more atmospheric soundscapes and make one damn dancy pop record. With flutes, horns, and that infectious chorus, this is one of those songs that just sticks in your head". - Chris True
922
921
"Zero" is a blitz of bliss, it kicks things off with blatantly fake beats, revved-up synth arpeggios, and O's command to "get your leather on." Radiating joy and confidence, she and the rest of the band couldn't be further from introspection as the song climbs to ecstatic heights". - Heather Phares
920
919
“Happy Days are Here Again” is one of the signature tunes of the 1930’s, and it’s a fun little romp in glorious lo-fi mono, full of muted trumpets, tinny cymbals and a male chorus that sounds like it’s singing in spats and top hats". - Robert Latham
918
"The last of Nina’s songs to crack the Billboard pop chart, reveals her gift for complex subversion; the song’s bouncy soundscape suggests a commercial jingle, but what Nina is selling is self-actualization, not soap". - Ed Gonzalez
917
916
"From the blaring harmonica, caustic, magpie-minded Reverend Black Grape still sound like three brilliant songs played at once. It goes in unconventional directions without ever sounding forced".- Ian Gittins
915
914
913
912
"Graceland resuscitated Simon's career and it sounds like he knew he had a triumph on his hands. First those indelible, idiosyncratic lyrics that you just can't help singing along to. It's also the type of music that requires you to dance, and to dance like a child". - Hermione Hoby
911
910
909
908
907
906
905
904
903
"A bittersweet pop song built on swelling synthesizers and a dual vocal-and-glockenspiel melody, could definitely be about a devastating breakup. Either way, it is the most moving song Murphy has made, and it only helps further the notion that he should be considered a great songwriter". - Andy Kellman
902
"As divine a pop single as there ever was -- so undeniable that this very British anthem actually crossed over into the American Top Ten in 1983 -- but that’s merely the splashiest evidence of Madness’ popcraft". - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
901
