It's rather depressing to actually be doing this.....
# - 4 AM by
Our Lady Peace, this was one of my favorite songs back in high school. I suppose it's mostly holding on through sentimental value, since I've long since moved past the grunge/modern rock stage of my life. Still, a nice ballad with sad, affecting lyrics.
Honorable:
Mindless Self Indulgence - 2 Hookers And An Eightball,
Rush - 2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx,
Nena - 99 Luftballoons.
A - Angeles by
Elliott Smith, perhaps my favorite song by perhaps my favorite artist. Beautiful backing track, beautiful singing, affecting lyrics, this song has everything I look for. (I'm realizing this game is going to waste more time than I meant it to.. hunting through 1000 songs beginning with 'A' took awhile :/)
Honorable:
Elvis Costello - Alison,
Dream Theater - Another Day,
K-Ci & JoJo - All My Life,
Sugarhill Gang - Apache.
B - Billie Jean by
Michael Jackson, Thriller was loaded down with great songs, but this is the one that got everything right. A simply perfect slice of pop, with a great dance track, light vocals, and MJ doing his weird oos and ahs all over the place. Great song...
Honorable:
Opeth - Blackwater Park,
Styx - The Best Of Times,
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody,
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters,
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back.
C - Chicago by
Sufjan Stevens, it may be new, but this song is burned deep in my consciousness. I've listened to it nearly every day since I got the album, and it never seems to get old. The bouncy backing track, the choral chorus, it's just.. right.
Honorable:
Beach Boys - California Girls,
Avril Lavigne - Complicated,
James Taylor - Carolina In My Mind,
zircon - Calamitous Judgement,
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River.
D - Desperado by
The Eagles, a song I've never really been without. I heard their songs growing up, I listen to them now that I've grown up, and they're pretty much impossible for me to get away from. This is my favorite by them, if only because I LOVE signing it, love the lead line.
Honorable:
Beatles - Day Tripper,
Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??,
Opeth - Death Whispered A Lullaby,
AmIEvil - Death On A Snowfield.
E - Eleanor Riby by
The Beatles, yet another song I could never get away from, this is just one of the beatles many wonderful pop tunes. Yeah, it just gets stuck in my head really easily...
Honorable:
Metallica - Enter Sandman,
Elliott Smith - Everything Means Nothing To Me,
Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
F - Fade To Black by
Metallica, my favorite song by the (former) metal gods. The acoustic intro, the heavier ending riff, the lyrics, it's just a great song.
Honorable:
Journey - Faithfully,
Gorillaz - Feel Good, Inc.,
James Taylor - Fire & Rain,
Modest Mouse - Float On,
Beatles - For No One
G - God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You by
N*Sync, yeah, I know. It is indeed difficult to admit I love this song... but I do. I'm not saying anything more about it.
Honorable:
Hot Hot Heat - Get In Or Get Out,
Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions,
Modest Mouse - Gravity Rides Everything,
Imogen Heap - Goodnight And Go,
Beach Boys - God Only Knows.
H - Hakuna Matata by
Nathan Lane & Ernie Sabella, don't tell me you don't like this song. Seriously, I grew up on early 90's disney, and this was the original no worries song for me. Love it.
Honorable:
Bob Dylan - The Hurricane,
Annie - Heartbeat,
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah,
Radiohead - High And Dry,
Eagles - Hotel California.
I - In The End by
Linkin Park, odd, there are a TON of songs beginning with the letter 'i', and yet when it came to choose my favorite... there just weren't that many to choose from. Anyway, this was my favorite song off an album that I listened to A LOT. Sure, if it came out now I probably wouldn't give it more than a few plays, but it didn't come out now, and this song will always have spot on my playlist.
Honorable:
N*Sync - I Drive Myself Crazy,
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive,
Skee-Lo - I Wish,
Vanilla Ice - Ice, Ice, Baby,
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back.
J - Johnny B. Goode by
Chuck Berry, one of the original and most recognizable riffs in Rock & Roll, it's hard not to love this song. Go Johnny, Go...
Honorable:
Van Halen - Jump,
Temptations - Just My Imagination,
Kanye West - Jesus Walks.
K - The Kids Aren't Alright by
The Offspring, this is the only song that's survived from my ancient infatuation with the offspring. Yes, it's good enough to survive my embarassment with my high school music preferences.
Honorable:
Radiohead - Karma Police,
REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You,
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir,
Seal - Kiss From A Rose.
L - Let It Be by
The Beatles, my favorite song by the greatest band of all time, it'd be tough for it to not take the crown in an alphabet search ;). Anyway, everyone's heard it, almost everyone loves it, one of those universal great songs.
Honorable:
Bill Withers - Lean On Me,
Eminem - Lose Yourself,
Mariah Carey - Love Takes Time,
War - Low Rider,
djpretzel - Love Hurts.
M - Many Rivers To Cross by
Jimmy Cliff, a simply stunning reggae track, the organ backdrop with Cliff's tortured vocal is amazing.
Honorable:
Boston - More Than A Feeling,
Hanson - Mmmbop,
Ozzy Osbourne - Mama, I'm Coming Home,
Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed,
Jimmy Buffet - Margaritaville.
N - New Slang by
The Shins, the soft, sad backdrop, the haunting vocal, the melancholy humming chorale line - this is the perfect indie song. Perfect for the long, depressing weekend nights when you just couldn't find anything to do.
Honorable:
Blind Melon - No Rain,
TLC - No Scrubs,
Postal Service - Nothing Better.
O - Only For The Weak by
In Falmes, this is exactly what I look for in a metal song. Powerful backing riff, a good mixture of sung and growled/screamed/etc'd vocals, and a strong melodic line holding it together as an actual song. Wonderful.
Honorable:
Nas - One Mic,
Led Zeppelin - The Ocean,
Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty,
Vertical Horizon - On The Sea.
P - Pachelbel's Ganon by
djpretzel, a remix of a song from the Legend of Zelda with a classical piece (guess which one.....), this is a smart, nostalgic song with absolutely gorgeous sounds. Very smooth, and obviously a personal favorite.
Honorable:
Beatles - Penny Lane,
The Wingless - Pearl Song,
Guns N' Roses - Patience,
Dream Theater - Pull Me Under,
Kid Rock &
Sheryl Crow - Picture.
Q - The Queen Is Dead by
The Smiths, far from my favorite smiths track, but I appear to be a bit light on 'q' songs :/. It's a morrissey track, just not one with any special significance to me.
Honorable
Therion - Quetzalcoatl
R - River Man by
Nick Drake, a folkster after any indie kid's heart, he could play the depression card like none other, right up until he OD'd on anti-depressants (go figure). Anyway, the beauty in his tracks is simply unqeustionable, and this the most gorgeous of them all...
Honorable:
Bob Marley - Redemption Song,
The Walkmen - The Rat,
Turin Breaks - Rain City,
Eminem - The Real Slim Shady.
S - Stand By Me by
Ben E. King, so, I've got a lot of songs that start with 'S'... like, 1500 of them. It's hard to choose. Anyway, this is a classic, and hard to go wrong with.
Honorable:
Postal Service - Such Great Heights,
Elliott Smith - Strung Out Again & Sweet Adeleine,
Britney Spears - Soda Pop,
Grand Funk Railroad - Some Kind Of Wonderful,
Ace of Base - The Sign,
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence.
T - Tears In Heaven (Unplugged) by
Eric Clapton, a beautiful, touching song, a wonderful performance, what more could you ask for?
Honorable:
Dream Theater - Take Away My Pain,
Tool - Ticks & Leeches,
Sisqo - The Thong Song,
Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles,
Tenacious D - Tribute.
U - Unchained Melody by
The Righteous Brothers, fittingly enough one of the most beautiful melodic lines ever written. Simply a gorgeous song performed by two gorgeous voices.
Honorable:
311 - Use Of Time,
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge,
Queen - Under Pressure.
V - Video Killed The Radio Star by
The Buggles, yeah, apparently I actively dislike most of my songs starting with 'V', and this is the best I can do. Catchy chorus...
W - With A Little Help From My Friends by
The Beatles, cause you just can't get high without a little help from your friends.
Honorable:
Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice,
Mark Cohn - Walking In Memphis,
Spice Girls - Wannabe,
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World,
Prince - When Doves Cry,
Spoon - The Way We Get By
X - X&Y by
Coldplay, to be honest, I don't really know this song all that well, but its only real competition was XYU by the Pumpkins and a DMX track, so.....
Y - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1 by
The Flaming Lips, the best part of the epic tale of Yoshimi's private war with those damned robots, this song is so RIDICULOUSLY happy it almost makes me sick. Bouncing between the lips and elliott smith is enough to make any indie kid go into shock.
Honorable:
Frank Sinatra - Young At Heart,
Beetles - Yesterday,
Elton John - Your Song,
James Taylor - You've Got A Friend,
Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want.
Z - Zero by
The Smashing Pumpkins, just a good, gritty, pumpkins rocker.
Honorable:
Ashane - Zealous Entropy.