Stay with Me (1966)
700
"The song’s enduring success points to a zeitgeist moment. There was an unexpected opening in the pop landscape, and Korn articulated a generational coming-of-angst for a claustrophobic, self-surveilled consciousness. “Freak on a Leash” became the soundtrack for a generation’s arrival as a snarling, thrashing, systemically-restrained freak show". - NM Mashurov
Freak on a Leash (1998)
699
Protect Ya Neck (1993)
698
"It started out as a trenchant political protest song by two white South African folkies. It ended up in the hands of a bunch of fried Scallies and a south London wide-boy producer who turned it into an Ecstasy-soaked dance classic, the acme of early-’90s Madchester. They didn’t even want to do it at the time. In the end everyone was seduced by the track". - John Lewis
Step On (1990)
697
Animal Nitrate (1993)
696
"Light, bright and just slightly off-kilter, ”1979” was a somewhat surprising hit. The beauty and tenderness of ”1979” did more to erase the angst and anger of a generation of X-ers with its nostalgia tripping than just about anything else". - Amy Hanson
1979 (1995)
694
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” crystallizes the despair of those dark days of Street Crash in 1929. There is anger and bemusement in the lyrics, the tone
moving from the general to the personal. Crosby was intensely moved by the song and delivered a mellifluous vocal, lilting and understated but becoming progressively more urgent, more vibrant, in those poignant end lines". - Robert Dimery
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1932)
693
"One of hard rock's all-time greatest moments, and quite possibly the heaviest song recorded by the band during the Bon Scott era. By extension, its subject, the ubiquitous Rosie, remains the most memorable among Scott's vastly chronicled womanizing exploits. Playing as loud and as hard as it could, the band didn't even stop when volume and distortion set speakers exploding into flames". - Eduardo Rivadavia
Whole Lotta Rosie (1977)
692
"One of the all-time classic blues records. A vital piece of Chicago-style electric blues that links the Delta to rock & roll. Up until this song, most electric blues were just amplified versions of acoustic arrangements; this was something unique. It epitomizes Waters, and by extension, the electric blues in general. Waters gives the self-mythologizing testament that would continue in urban American music". - Bill Janovitz
Hoochie Coochie Man (1954)
691
“Dancing on My Own, the killer single that elevated Robyn to something approaching voice-of-a-generation status among America’s burned-out youth. It’s a relatable hit of heartbreak at the club, with a chaser of empowering uplift. And while she’s no torch-song diva, Robyn sang the hell out of this one, sounding as warm and human as the precision-engineered track isn’t". - Rolling Stone
Dancing on My Own (2010)
690
"Breaking the Law, like all of Judas Priest's better-known songs had strong pop elements. The simple arrangement and lyrics made it more palatable for a mainstream audience, but the band's trademark heavy sound still weighed it down from pop radio play .Its dramatically dark explanation of one person's decision to commit crime". - Gina Boldman
Breaking the Law (1980)
689
"There's no denying the great power and strength in an individual song like this, and how it complements the film it accompanies. Here a warm wah wah guitar finds its way in between orchestration but the producer dips the different sounds in and out, so there's always something new behind the singer's perfect pitch". - Joe Viglione
The Way We Were (1973)
688
"Of his many classics, "On the Road Again" has become one of his signature songs. To say the song was an instant success would be an understatement. Nelson not only won a Grammy award for 'Best Country Song' but earned an Acadamy Award nomination and a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The song is widely included on lists for the best songs of all time". - Courtney Campbell
On the Road Again (1980)
687
"Nights in White Satin is the Moody Blues' most famous song, and their biggest hit, though it wasn't until five years after its initial release. That melody itself had been based on an Italian song King had heard in Italy. "Nights in White Satin" does effectively fulfill what was probably the purpose Hayward and his bandmates had in mind for it: a ghostly, haunting nocturnal ballad, with a lilting and memorable melody". - Richie Unterberger
Nights in White Satin (1967)
686
"Townshend appropriated The Rolling Stones’ “19th
Nervous Breakdown.” blueprint. The title “Substitute” came from Townshend’s admiration of Smokey Robinson’s use of the word in The Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears. It was the first track that Townshend produced himself after a split with producer Shel Talmy.” - Jon Harrington
Substitute (1966)
685
Back to Life (1989)
684
Searchin' (1957)
683
In Dreams (1962)
682
Karma Police (1997)
681
One Armed Scissor (2000)
680
Crying in the Chapel (1953)
679
Young Americans (1975)
677
Tennessee Waltz (1950)
676
In the Ghetto (1969)
675
One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) (1958)
674
I Put a Spell on You (1957)
673
The Beautiful People (1996)
672
Buffalo Stance (1989)
671
"Rumours circulated that Britney had cheated on Justin, allegations that seemed to be supported by Justin's subsequent passive-aggressive pop masterpiece, Cry Me A River. Finally, pop seemed to have found its own PJ Harvey and Nick Cave to turn to for blood-soaked true-life romantic confessionals. Cry Me A River, in all its over-sharing glory, has become a classic of its genre". - Michael Cragg
Cry Me a River (2002)
670
Whip It (1980)
669
Ain't That a Shame (1955)
667
Just Like a Woman (1966)
666
You're So Vain (1972)
665
"Styrene became a cult heroine for her unique look and feminist lyrics in songs like Oh Bondage, Up Yours! with its infamous opening line: "Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard/ But I think, oh bondage, up yours!" - Lauren Cochrane
Oh Bondage, Up Yours! (1978)
664
I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better (1965)
663
Shotgun (1965)
662
Shop Around (1960)
661
Cross Road Blues (1937)
659
Mannish Boy (1955)
658
Suzanne (1967)
657
Jolene (1974)
656
I Wish It Would Rain (1968)
655
Me and Mrs. Jones (1972)
654
I'll Take You There (1972)
653
I Am the Walrus (1967)
652
Where It's At (1996)
651
Cold Sweat (1967)
650
Got My Mojo Working (1957)
649
"It was rap about what was on television. Specifically, what was on television at that very moment. It was an echo-chamber of MTV-watchers. As reality TV gained traction, Eminem’s dressing-down of celebrities endeared him to a generation who would soon find “drama” to be the coin of the entertainment realm". - Jeremy D. Larson
The Real Slim Shady (2000)
648
True Faith (1987)
647
Wipe Out (1963)
646
"The song, which features an early production credit from the Neptunes and what may be Kelis’s first recorded appearance, is exceedingly weird. Across three bizarro verses, Dirty plays multiple characters – an aggrieved pimp, a chest-beating lover and his typical (rightfully) paranoid self". - Rawiya Kameir
Got Your Money (1999)
645
Alison (1977)
644
Setting Sun (1996)
643
Search and Destroy (1973)
641
Remember (Walking in the Sand) (1964)
640
Tennesse (1992)
639
I Can't Help Myself (1965)
638
September Song (1965)
637
Teenage Riot (1986)
636
"Released at a critical juncture in rap's early years, "It's Like That" embodied societal frustrations finally put to record. It was hardly the first song to do such a thing, but it's primary asset was that it offered commentary on hardship, without selling people false hope". - Paul Cantor
It's Like That (1983)
635
Heart of Gold (1972)
634
Caught Out There (1999)
633
Bette Davis Eyes (1981)
632
I Am the Resurrection (1989)
631
Get Up, Stand Up (1973)
630
"I Want to Know What Love Is became Foreigner's first and only number one single, and it's not hard to see why. Its dreamy, hypnotic feel is due in part to Gramm's soulful lead vocals and the New Jersey Mass Choir's background vocals. Jennifer Holliday and the Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey help out as well". - Bret Adams
I Want to Know What Love Is (1984)
629
Rebel Rouser (1958)
628
Someone to Watch Over Me (1954)
627
"A pioneering piece of disco that pointed the way forward for the boom that was to come a few years later. KC and the Sunshine Band founders Richard Finch and Harry Wayne Casey approached McCrae with a song that was out of their vocal range. The songwriters observed soul music evolving into something more supple and insistent and learned the tricks of dancefloor success". - Dorian Lynskey
Rock Your Baby (1974)
626
We Are the World (1985)
625
"Expanding the grammar of jazz by introducing elements of soul, Simone redefined both her music and her place in music, making forever obsolete the stereotypes that long straitjacketed the role of women in American popular art. For the most part, My Baby Just Cares for Me eschews Simone's most fiery political statements in favor of more intimate and idiosyncratic work". - Jason Ankeny
My Baby Just Cares for Me (1958)
624
Where the Streets Have No Name (1987)
623
Tighten Up (1968)
622
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Bad Girls (1979)
621
Hong Kong Garden (1978)
620
Sixteen Tons (1955)
619
"For fans and band members alike, this is perhaps the most masochistic love affair in modern music history, and it's this that gives the band their almost unbearable pathos. To call it a soap opera would be to completely understate the tumultuous ride it's been. Listening to 'Can't Stand Me Now', it nearly hurts too much to get through this baring of souls". - Michaela Annot
Can't Stand Me Now (2004)
618
Rent (1987)
617
I Can't Stop Loving You (1962)
616
Fingertips (1962)
615
Solsbury Hill (1977)
614
"Loaded with layers of meaning and references, and experienced en masse through its televised premiere, there's the strutting "Formation," simultaneously a tack-on and an ideal finale, where Beyoncé delights in her blackness, femininity, and Southern origin with supreme wordplay". - Andy Kellman
Formation (2016)
613
Damaged Goods (1979)
612
"The main reason Blondie recorded "Call Me" for the Richard Gere flick American Gigolo was to work with their hero, Euro-disco producer Moroder. Moroder’s first choice for a vocalist was Stevie Nicks, but Harry’s New Wave edge helped make the song the biggest seller of 1980". - Rolling Stone
Call Me (1980)
610
Love Train (1972)
609
"He can rock with the best as well, working with Rick Rubin on a cowbell-heavy stormer named "99 Problems" that samples Billy Squier and outrocks Kid Rock". - John Bush
99 Problems (2003)
608
Love Is Strange (1956)
607
"On "Clint Eastwood", Del tha Funkee Homosapien handles the song's verses, allowing Damon a small cameo in the looped chorus. And curiously, I can think of few other samples that would compliment Del's urgent delivery as effectively as Albarn's laconic vocal haze". - Rich Juzwiak
Clint Eastwood (2001)
606
Bela Lugosi's Dead (1979)
605
The Drugs Don't Work (1997)
604
Should I Stay Or Should I Go (1982)
603
Back Stabbers (1972)
602
"The debut single from Modern Life is Rubbish fully confirmed what "Popscene" had already suggested. Working out an obvious Kinks fetish and getting away with it, the band spiked the crisp arrangement and ruminations on "20th century boys" with a slightly queasy string arrangement and odd backing vocals and made a dramatic little pop winner with the results". - Ned Raggett
