What makes a good song great? What is it about that one song from the 80’s that still resonates with you now, in 2016? What was it about that artist’s debut single that still stacks up with material they’re releasing now, four or five albums deep?
These are the sorts of questions we’ve been asking ourselves recently in the wake of Radiohead‘s release of A Moon Shaped Pool, the passing of some of popular music’s greats so far through 2016 and as we take a look at some iconic albums celebrating milestone anniversaries.
We put the challenge to our contributors and editors to come up with what they consider to be the greatest songs of all time, in their opinion, and the final result? Well, it’s quite diverse. What we’ve come up with is an eclectic list of 101 songs that have held the attention of a global music fandom whether it be because of lyricism, inventive arrangement, or the social and musical climate of which it was released into at the time.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking you through our list and, as you can see below, there’s definitely a few surprises cropping up.
Our opening chapter sees the likes of Grace Jones mix in with Junip and The Killers. “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and “Cheerleader” by St. Vincent feature only a few songs apart. Songs that were released to wild acclaim, chatter and some surprise during their time, have remained close to many fans’ hearts and in some cases, produced some even more memorable music videos. In these 25 songs alone, we’re opened up to a diverse music taste by our wider contributor base and demonstrates that there is no real formula when it comes to attempting to dictate what type of song ultimately will reign supreme.
In the meantime, let’s start the countdown off with the gorgeous “Line of Fire” by Swedes Junip, and find out just how we get to the iconic “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS…
THE AU’S 101 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME: 101 – 76
101. Junip – “Line of Fire”
100. Grace Jones – “Pull Up to the Bumper”
99. The Killers – “Mr. Brightside”
98. The Smashing Pumpkins – “Zero”
97. Battles – “Atlas”
96. The Middle East – “Blood”
95. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Red Right Hand”
94. The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
93. Kanye West (ft. Jay Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross & Bon Iver) – “Monster”
92. Bloc Party – “Helicopter”
91. LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends”
90. Sleater-Kinney – “Modern Girl”
89. Sigur Rós – “Svefn-g-englar”
88. Oasis – “Don’t Look Back in Anger”
87. St. Vincent – “Cheerleader”
86. Muse – “Knights of Cydonia”
85. Iron & Wine – “Boy With a Coin”
84. The Ronettes – “Be My Baby”
83. Nirvana – “Heart Shaped Box”
82. You Am I – “Berlin Chair”
81. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
80. Bon Iver – “Holocene”
79. TLC – “Waterfalls”
78. Midnight Oil – “Beds Are Burning”
77. Black Sabbath – “War Pigs”
76. INXS – “Never Tear Us Apart”
Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we continue to unveil the 101 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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