7h & 15d


#46.



Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Comapres 2 U" / "Jump in the River"
(662 Points, 11 Votes)

Year: 1990

US Chart Position: #1

UK Chart Position: #1

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #1 (year), #12 (decade), #113 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #186

AMG Says: "Logging the highest level of chart performance for any single in 1990, Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor's cover of the Prince composition "Nothing Compares 2 U" catapulted her from a college-radio favorite into international stardom, to which she responded with passionate, controversial political stands and increasingly erratic behavior. The song had never appeared on any Prince album, but O'Connor's performance would have made it her own anyway. Backed by lush synths and a minimal, lightly swinging drum beat, she delivered the lyrics with such overwhelming sadness -- and in such a gorgeous voice -- that it was virtually impossible to listen to the song without feeling her hurt. Just as remarkable was the fact that, even though the song was something of a tearjerker, it never seemed calculated or insincere -- O'Connor was simply too convincing. This was partly because of her expert control of dynamics; she could trail off into a breathy near-sob or let loose with a heartbroken wail, all in the same line, without overdoing either end of the spectrum -- a tremendous credit to her sensitivity as an interpreter. The deeply revealing intensity of O'Connor's performance was underlined by the song's video, which consisted almost entirely of a close-up of O'Connor's face as she sang the song; this produced a startling intimacy, particularly toward the end of the video, when a genuine tear trickled down her cheek. Prince included his own live version on one of his hits collections, but while it illustrated that the song didn't necessarily have to be interpreted with complete earnestness, it didn't capture the heartbreaking intimacy that made O'Connor's take the definitive one."

Ranked Highest By: n/a at moment

Can Be Most Easily Found On: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

C'mon
I'm waiiiitiiing


#45.



Madonna - "Into the Groove"
(665 Points, 11 Votes)

Year: 1985

US Chart Position: #19 AC

UK Chart Position: #1

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #1 (year), #33 (decade), #245 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: Would've been #700

AMG Says: "Several disparate elements combined to make Madonna's "Into the Groove" a song that would receive more air play than almost any other unreleased single in pop music history. Her charismatic performance in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan vaulted what was a supporting role into show-stealing prominence. The rising popularity of MTV helped promote the song, which was the only one by Madonna on the film's soundtrack, with a video that amounted to little more than highlights from the film set to music. After earning considerable buzz, the song was finally released at a B-side to "Angel," which helped propel that song to the Top Five in the summer of 1985. That single was the continuation of several lives that the song would live, appearing as a bonus track on European versions of "Like a Virgin" and being released as a dance single (in an extended mix) her 1987 remix album You Can Dance. Like her other songs of the time, "Into the Groove" was an infectious, fluffy dance-pop confection that drew legions of fans, as well as considerable backlash from those supposedly too sophisticated to be able to enjoy her music. In 1988, New York art punks Sonic Youth recorded a version of "Into the Groove" titled "Into the Groove(y)," which was featured on a Madonna " tribute" album entitled The Whitey Album -- a work that seemed to be half parody and half guilty-pleasure fandom."

Ranked Highest By: Pavement Ist Rad (#7)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: The Immaculate Collection

"There's a little in-joke in there just to illustrate how intellectual I was getting. At the time everyone was into The Velvet Underground, and they stole the intro to "There She Goes Again" - da da da-da, da da-da-da, Dah Dah! - from the Rolling Stones' version of "Hitch Hike," the Marvin Gaye song. I just wanted to put that in to see whether the press would say, 'oh, it's the Velvet Underground!' Cos I knew that I was smarter than that. I was listening to what The Velvet Underground was listening to."


#44.



The Smiths - "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"
(683 Points, Nine Votes)

Year: 1992

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #25

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #3 (year), #26 (decade), #183 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #121

AMG Says: ""There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is undeniably one of the most touching and romantic songs in the Smiths' discography. It's a standout among standouts from the Smiths' masterpiece third album, The Queen Is Dead. Every instrument, indeed every sound in the song's four minutes, is positioned for maximum emotional impact. Johnny Marr's weepy string arrangements dominate most open spaces that Morrissey's pensive vocals don't fill. Mike Joyce's bass is up-front and downbeat, adding punctuation to Marr's constant jangle. Morrissey's lyrics are painfully morbid. He sings the tale of two lovers out on the town. His protagonist doesn't want to go home, because they're not welcome there anymore. The song's most startling refrain sees the vocalist singing that if a double-decker bus or a ten-ton truck kills the pair it would be a pleasure and a privilege. Morose, forgotten, or simply depressed characters pepper most of Morrissey's songs, but "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" ups the sad-and-doomed quotient by leaps and bounds. Critics of the band would have a field day with this song. Die-hard fans would hold it near to their hearts. That Morrissey and company decided not to end The Queen Is Dead with this devastating, powerful song, instead throwing the wacky, wicked curveball of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others," is a testament to the way the Smiths challenged themselves and their audience."

Ranked Highest By: Thresholdofrevelation (#2)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: The Queen is Dead

fucking "There is a Light", dude. If there was ever an overrated song in the history of any band's catalog, that's the one.

Misheard that one as "ten-ton shark" for quite awhile.

There was some new sophomore chick at my school, and she was asking me what music I liked, and she was like, "Do you like the Smiths," so I started singing "There Is A Light..." in a dumb faux-wookiee Morrissey voice, and she got all pissed. That bitch.

Pick up the receiver
I'll make you a believer


#43.



Depeche Mode - "Personal Jesus" / "Dangerous"
(687 Points, 12 Votes)

Year: 1989

US Chart Position: #28 / #9 Dance / #3 Modern Rock (PJ) / #13 Modern Rock (Dangerous)

UK Chart Position: #13

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #16 (year), #119 (decade), #710 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #228

AMG Says: "One of the Depeche songs that seemingly everyone knows -- in large part thanks to blanket MTV coverage and record sales in late 1989 and early 1990 -- "Personal Jesus" saw Depeche tackling the ridiculous canard that "bands without guitars don't make real music" with vicious gusto. That Depeche had always used guitars in one form or another -- or that guitars or lack thereof don't determine quality -- had been ignored by said doubters, who had to swallow their words as the group's knowing revamp of an old blues lick became a smash hit. Starting with a soft two-note guitar chime, a massive overdubbed vocal echoes up -- "Reach out, touch faith!" -- and the song is off, its distinct, big but shuffling rhythm created from samples of the band stomping on travel cabinets. Compared to the busy arrangements of recent songs like "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down," "Personal Jesus" is a touch more spare, its extras more suggested in the mix than overtly calling attention to themselves, like the simple bass stabs or the brief orchestral swirls on the chorus. Otherwise, it's all beat, Martin Gore's not-a-note-wasted guitar twangs and slides and David Gahan's seductive delivery of a lyric inspired by Priscilla Presley's relationship with Elvis."

Ranked Highest By: No Magnets (#2)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Violator



shit, I never knew

Best album closer ever, BTW.

ah yes...my fave Vietnamese mixer..."Hang the DJ"



Wrong....Ben, I respect your insightful critical essays but sometimes your taste is just awful....ha ha

"The sun shines out of our behinds"

Girls who listen to the Smiths are gender traitors.

Har har.

Hey, speaking of "The Draize Train," has Marr or the Smiths ever acknowledged that it's a straight-up rip of Led Zepellin's "Trampled Underfoot"?

That's the price that we all pay
Our valued destiny comes to nothing
I can't tell you where we're going
I guess there's just no way of knowing


#42.



New Order - "True Faith" / "1963"
(690 Points, 12 Votes)

Year: 1987

US Chart Position: #32 / #3 Dance

UK Chart Position: #4

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #13 (year), #69 (decade), #441 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-TIme Singles List: #133

AMG Says: "A tremendous single for New Order - a brilliant standalone effort and the triumphant conclusion of the peerless singles collection Substance - "True Faith" deservedly hit the charts in America, the UK and elsewhere, a marvelous valediction for a band with a core that had stuck to its guns for ten straight years. "True Faith" resisted being conventional for all that it was poppy, catchy, a radio-friendly song with its own unexpected edge. Bernard Sumner's lyric hints at a strange desperation at play, sung with an unsure, nervous emotion ("I guess there's just no way of knowing…I used to think that the day would never come/That my life would depend on the morning sun"). It's the dramatic electronic drum start (memorably if cryptically matched in the heavily-screen video by mimes), Peter Hook's strong bass line over deeper synth bass, Gillian Gilbert's strong but not bombastic orchestral swells and keyboard chimes and more that really make everything connect, each verse building into the strong chorus with a sense of sudden anticipation."

Ranked Highest By: Rajexico (#2)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Substance

Pretty much the only example I can think of when a band recorded a new single for a best-of and it actually fit alongside their classics...

B-side is pretty good too.

"Did you hear about the party? I think I'm gonna go, but my friends don't really wanna go...could I get a ride?"


#41.



Weezer - "Undone - The Swetaer Song" / "Holiday"
(691 Points, 12 Votes)

Year: 1994

US Chart Position: #57 / #30 Mainstream Rock / #6 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #35

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a (fuck 'em)

AMG Says: "It was most certainly the buzz-worthy Spike Jonze-directed video for "Buddy Holly" that brought Weezer to the attention of the general public, but it was "Undone -- The Sweater Song" that first laid the groundwork at college and alternative radio, a precarious way to launch a career, perhaps, as this hook-laden introductory single has the traditional aura of a novelty hit upon first listen. The opening skewers the brainless California party scene, with two Spicoli-esque characters engaging in inane surfer dude chatter while the band gently winds the tune up in the background with circular picked guitars set to a tentative midtempo pace. The chorus may also be too clever for its own good, featuring the smart-alecky lines "If you want to destroy my sweater/Hold this thread as I walk away/Watch me unravel, I'll soon be naked/Lying on the floor, I've come undone," but such sentiments would become the band's manifesto as the ultimate geeky outsiders, the introverted yet wry deep thinkers most out of place at the party. It's the arrangement's brilliant use of dynamics and the sonic punch of the thick distorted guitars in the chorus, courtesy of producer Ric Ocasek, that power the recording and drive the melody home. The free association of the verses not only provides a perfect backdrop for the befuddled party outcast ("Oh no, it go/It gone, bye-bye/Who I, I think/I sink, and I die"), it sets up the expert vocal harmonies that float above the raging guitars of the chorus, giving the entire track a serene power. The song is not only meticulously crafted, it's smart, quirky, poignant, and insanely catchy -- all characteristics that would go on to define Weezer as a band and their debut as one of the most successful alternative rock records of the '90s."

Ranked Highest By: Turd Ferguson (#6)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Weezer (The Blue Album)

How many boarders voted in this poll?

"Undone" is one of the weirdest singles ever.

43

Really glad to see this so much higher than "Buddy Holly," especially after missing our 500 altogether. Hope "Say It Ain't So" is even higher on the next decade's.

That's a lower ratio of people voting for the songs at this rank than I would have expected. Glad there's variety!

The ones who love us least
Are the ones we'll die to please


#40.




The Replacements - "Bastards of Young"

Year: 1985

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #24 (year), #277 (decade), #1514 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #216

AMG Says: "With "Bastards of Young," the Replacements' Paul Westerberg finally delivered the rock & roll anthem he'd always threatened -- a rallying cry for a generation of misfits and ne'er-do-wells raised on false hopes and dim aspirations, it's less about thwarting fate than accepting it, a celebration of resignation and defeat in the absence of anything else worth clinging to. "Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled/It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten," Westerberg asserts, his ragged, world-weary voice pitted against a muscular guitar riff distilled from endless hours of classic rock radio; the matter-of-fact profundity of couplets like "The ones that love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest/And visit their graves on holidays at best/The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please" is startling -- in his offhand, sheepishly poetic way, he captures life's most bitter ironies to perfection. Yet it's frustratingly appropriate that much of "Bastards of Young" is unintelligible, the poignancy and sensitivity of Westerberg's lyrics obscured by his deliberately half-assed diction -- even the final, acerbic cries of "Take it, it's yours" blur together as the song crashes and burns. Also noteworthy is the "Bastards of Young" video clip -- comprised of a single black-and-white take of a stereo blasting out the song, its utter contempt for the music video medium and the culture which spawned it is so hilariously palpable that in its own unique way, it's one of the landmarks of the form."

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#10)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Tim

She asked me if we could be friends
And I said, oh, honey baby that's a dead end


#39.
'


Prince - "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
(716 Points, Nine Votes)

Year: 1987

US Chart Position: #10 / #4 Dance

UK Chart Position: #29

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #49 (year), #435 (decade), #2223 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #387

Ranked Highest By: Ben & Slackmo (#2)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Sign O the Times

Lenny Bruce is not afraid


#38.



R.E.M. - "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
(743 Points, 12 Votes)

Year: 1987

US Chart Position: #69 / #16 Mainstream Rock

UK Chart Position: #87 / #39 in '91

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #5 (year), #46 (decade), #325 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #84

AMG Says: "Riffing on Bob Dylan's free-associative beatnik rap in "Subterranean Homesick Blues," R.E.M. crafted &"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I eel Fine)" and turned it into a signature song of its own for the information age. Though it didn't chart, its release immediately following the success of "The One I Love" single found "It's the End..." further embedding the R.E.M. sound into the national pop consciousness; the title phrase itself became a popular catch phrase. Stringing together non sequiturs and proper names (all in some way reflective of 20th century culture, from Lenny Bruce to Lester Bangs, "Right? Right") and setting them to a staccato verse followed by a breezy chorus made for a catchy little pop tune that also uniquely captured the spirit of the times."

Ranked Highest By: Elemeno P.T. (#5)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Document

This song was Dero's latest Desert Island Jukebox pick.

It's already in me


#37.



The Stone Roses - "I Wanna Be Adored" / "Where Angels Play"
(746 Points, 12 Votes)

Year: 1991

US Chart Position: #18 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #20

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #18 (year), #140 (decade), #830 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #222

AMG Says: "Not just the album-track opener to one of the best British LPs of all time, "I Wanna Be Adored" is a sublime storm of a track that introduced mainstream audiences to the Stone Roses' classicist revolution, an update of '60s psychedelia completely in keeping with the acid house era. The song begins with 30 seconds of atmospheric feedback -- reminiscent of a ghost train pulling into the station -- before a nimble bass line from Gary Mounfield starts it off. Soon, John Squire is echoing the bass line with his equally sublime guitar, and drummer Reni enters in turn a few bars later with punchy, echo-laden drumwork. Almost a full two minutes in, Ian Brown finally opens his mouth and begins a yearning vocal performance with the enigmatic lyric, "I don't have to sell my soul/He's already in me." Brown and Squire soar over the rhythm section, weaving voice and guitar into a mildly dizzying froth before the band reaches a restrained climax of sorts. Brown casually floats back into the song, gradually letting go to repeat the title again and again with more energy until singer and band peak at the same time, just a few seconds before the end of the song."

Ranked Highest By: Undo (#8)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: The Stone Roses

1991. Stupid record company dispute.

and cocaine.


and heroin.

I don't mean a great reduction in the price of beer


#36.



XTC - "Dear God" / "Grass"
(753 Points, 12 Votes, One #1 Vote)

Year: 1987

US Chart Position: #37 Mainstream Rock

UK Chart Position: #100 / #99 in '87

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #50 (year), #446 (decade), #2256 (all-time)

AMG Says: "The song that brought XTC to a wider audience in the States beyond pockets of alternative radio and critical appreciation here and there, "Dear God" didn't even originally appear on the album in America, instead being a B-side. But everything from a dramatic video to an incident where a student forced his high school staff to play the song over the PA helped bring it to the fore, making it one of the most well-known songs about atheism ever recorded. Certainly its lyrical bluntness pulls no punches -- while there are flashes of Andy Partridge's wit at points, in many ways it's a bitter, to the point indictment of a cold deity 'always letting us humans down.' The song, though, wouldn't be quite so memorable if it wasn't for the music -- acoustic then rich electric guitar leading into a steady arrangement that turns into a slashing, dramatic conclusion. Arguably XTC have had much memorable songs, but in terms of raw emotion balanced with musical edge, it may just be their strongest."

Ranked Highest By: Freddie Freelance (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Skylarking

By "latest" you mean "final," right?


First time I think we've seen this so far.


Link? When did this happen?

Rock me Joe


#35.



The Pixies - "Monkey Gone to Heaven"
(754 Points, 13 Votes)

Year: 1989

US Chart Position: #5 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #60

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #3 (year), #32 (decade), #239 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #96

AMG Says: ""If man is five...then the Devil is six...and if the devil is six...then God is seven!" It is hard to argue with this bit of numerological logic, from one of the Pixies' best-known songs, "Monkey Gone to Heaven." The song is as good as any in illustrating what the Pixies did best: a skewered pop arrangement with agitated surf and punk-influenced guitar textures, dramatic dynamics, girl group backing vocals, and a lyric that is at once humorous, surreal, and a little spooky. Black Francis (later known as Frank Black) intones in a conversational voice, as if telling matter-of-fact stories warning of ecological disaster: "Now, there's a hole in the sky/And the ground's not cold and if the ground's not cold/Then we're all going to burn, we'll all take turns/I'll get mine too." The monkey is us. But the song's "message" is not heavy-handed or didactic; in fact, it starts off like a children's story or a myth: "There was a guy/An underwater guy who controlled the sea." As with most Pixies songs, Joey Santiago's aggressive guitars and Francis' screaming vocals and enigmatic lyrics are smoothed out a bit by the soothing, sultry backups from Kim Deal and the always impressive amount of pop hooks the band could pack into one song. While the dean of alt-rock producers, Steve Albini, did his best cut-and-paste job and accented the Pixies' edge to seemingly overcompensate such pop tendencies, Gil Norton recognized that these aspects were the strength of the group -- not just commercially, but musically as well. Norton -- with Steve Haigler -- mixed "Monkey Gone to Heaven" with a good amount of smooth compression, reverb, and delays to dull slightly the edges, while retaining the band's essential rawness. When the guitars drop out completely on the verses, exposing the skeletal rhythm section of Deal's bass and David Lovering's drums, interesting and decidedly non- punk sonic elements are also left, like cellos -- a big deal for a band launched from the relatively exposed-heat-pipes rock & roll confines of Boston's Fort Apache Studios. When the choruses explode into doubled hard rock guitar riffs, one can still detect a catchy piano line bubbling underneath in Norton's production. This use of dynamics, texturing, and feedback, as well as novel, idiosyncratic lyrics, had an unmeasurable impact on almost all modern bands that followed in the wake of the Pixies. The band was responsible for breaking down barriers at rock radio and reaching the Top Ten in the relatively new modern rock category. The group even scored a slot on Saturday Night Live performing "Monkey Gone to Heaven." Nirvana and Pavement are two obvious bands that seemed to take a great deal of their immediate inspiration from the Pixies, though the band's international influence could still be felt ten years after its breakup."

Ranked Highest By: Thresholdofrevelation (#7)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Doolittle

Just found this:

Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
May 1985

By ROQUA MONTEZ IV
Staff Writer

An 18-year-old Binghamton High School student held administrators at bay with a survival knife for almost six minutes Thursday [May 4, 1989?] while he broadcast a rock tune on the school's intercom system.

Richard Head [name changed by request] of Lisle "isn't sure" what spurred his actions about 9:25 a.m. at the principal's office, he said after his arraignment in city court Thursday afternoon. He pleaded innocent to first-degree criminal trespass, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, both misdemeanors.

Head was ordered to Broome Country Jail without bail. A psychiatric evaluation was also ordered.

No injuries were reported.

As he was taken to jail, the lanky soft-spoken youth would say only that he wasn't sure what motivated his actions and that he "wouldn't do it again."

City police said Head, who wears the hair on half of his head shaved, walked into the office and requested that a secretary, Jane H. Downey, broadcast Dear God, a tune with an anti-religious theme by the British rock group XTC on the school's inter-communication system.

Downey initially denied the request. Head then brandished the survival knife and "started to push buttons, which activate the intercom," Downey said in a sworn statement. She added that Head also pushed her to the side "two or three" times when she tried to turn off the music.

Assistant Principal Robert E. Baxter, who was in a nearby office an unaware of Head's action, yelled to Downey to turn off the music because it could be heard on the system. Downey responded that "a guy was behind the counter and wouldn't leave," Baxter said.

Baxter ran behind the counter, tried to turn off the music and turned to grab Head.

"I grabbed him by his left arm and as he turned around, he had a long knife in his right hand," Baxter said. "He said he didn't want to hurt anybody, but that he had to play this music. . . We then backed off and let him play his music. Then he turned off the P.A. system, gave the knife to (Principal Joseph) Holly and was handcuffed by the police."

Holly said Head will be suspended and further disciplinary action, if any, will follow the police investigation.

Holly said Head was in "good standing" at school and that Thursday's action was "quite out of character for him."

Students described Head as "weird," but intelligent. "I think he's a bit weird, but I really don't say much to him," said a junior who requested anonymity.

Another student said Head "was always strange, but now he's an instant folk hero."

Head's parents could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Some students thought at first that the incident was some sort of an attack on the school, said Karen L. Grimes, a sophomore who was in biology class at the time.

"We thought some terrorists were going to attack," she said. "Everybody started freaking out. We didn't know what was going on."

As a precaution, teachers were told not to allow students to leave classrooms at the end of the period.

Same thing happened when The Smiths split.

You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot


#34.



The Pogues f/ Kirsty MacColl - "Fairytale of New York"
(761 Points, 11 Votes)

Year: 1987

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #2 / #36 in '91 / #3 in '05

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #19 (year), #101 (decade), #617 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: Would've been #582

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#5)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: If I Should Fall from the Grace of God

Matt Dillion is in that video.

OH I FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


#33.



Tears for Fears - "Head Over Heels"
(777 Points, 14 Votes)

Year: 1985

US Chart Position: #3

UK Chart Position: #12

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #350

Ranked Highest By: Slackmo (#3)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Songs from the Big Chair

There's colors on the street
Red, White and Blue


#32.



Neil Young - "Rockin' in the Free World"
(792 Points, Nine Votes)

Year: 1989

US Chart Position: #2 Mainstream Rock

UK Chart Position: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #6 (year), #73 (decade), #480 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #64

AMG Says: "One of the centerpieces of the Freedom album, "Rockin' in the Free World" bookends the record. This, the acoustic version of the song, is a plaintive portrait of life in the street and the state of the United States at the time of its writing. Young's stark imagery -- which includes a chilling portrait of a crack-addicted mother stowing away her child while she goes to score dope -- is among his finest. The song, like "Hey Hey, My My" (which bookends Rust Never Sleeps), is built around a simple series of chords that couch a powerful and effective folk-based melody. Often performed on Crazy Horse tours, Young performed it spectacularly with CSN&Y in early 2000 on the CSNY2K tour."

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#3) (also ranked #5 by Hector Gilbert)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Freedom

this seems like a pretty weak stretch-- not that the records are bad, but had you told me this was either the run from 40-32 or, say, 70-62 or 100-92, I would have the guessed the others first.

agreed, except for "Head Over Heels" (though it is surprisingly high)

You don't want to hurt me
But see how deep the bullet lies


#31.



Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" / "Under the Ivy"
(793 Points, 12 Votes, One #1 Vote)

[b]Year: 1985

US Chart Position: #30 / #13 Dance

UK Chart Position: #3

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #3 (year), #74 (decade), #481 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #294

Ranked Highest By: Stphone (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Hounds of Love

Wow, I got three highest votes in the past couple hours.

The Marquis de Sade don't need no boots like these


#30.



The Stone Roses - "Fools' Gold" / "What the World is Waiting For"
(808 Points, 13 Votes)

Year: 1989

US Chart Position: #27 Dance / #5 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #8 / #73 in '92 / #26 in '95

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #2 (year), #16 (decade), #145 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #432

Ranked Highest By: BobtheSquid (#6)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: The Very Best of the Stone Roses

Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup


#29.



Crowded House - "Don't Dream It's Over"
(819 Points, 12 Votes)

Year: 1987

US Chart Position: #2

UK Chart Position: #27 / #25 in '96

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #7 (year), #95 (decade), #593 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-TIme Singles List: #214

Ranked Highest By: jdubs3 (#4)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Crowded House

Moment of silence for the dead guy, for whom it's indeed over.

You're the kind of girl I like
Because you're empty
And I'm empty
And you can never quarantine the past


#28.



Pavement - "Gold Soundz"
(821 Points, 11 Votes)

Year: 1994

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a (????)

Ranked Highest By: Big Pink (#5)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

"Gold Soundz" has the best melody of any Pavement song.

Croak


#27.



New Order - "The Perfect Kiss"
(823 Points, 12 Votes, One #1 Vote)

Year: 1985

US Chart Position: #5 Dance

UK Chart Position: #46

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #36 (year), #381 (decade), #1977 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #209

AMG Says: "Formed after the disintegration of Joy Division and the death of Ian Curtis, New Order continued (and strengthened) their techno-pop, synth-beat sound, emerging as one of the most influential groups in the field. By the time Low-Life was released in 1985, the band had fully mastered their fashioned keyboard grooves and heavy bass lines, and singer/guitarist Bernard Summer's vocals added a well-balanced humanistic feel to New Order's textured rhythms. One of the group's most dynamic tracks comes in the form of "Perfect Kiss," and, like a lot of New Order's material, it was first issued as a 12" single but ended up gracing the Low-Life album. The track's slightly stressed rhythmic undercurrent, crisp movement, and flawless dance club beat accompany Summer's vocals without diminishing them the least bit and New Order had yet another hit, forged in the same style as 1982's "Blue Monday." While the album itself stands as one of New Order's best, the release of all of New Order's 12" singles makes up 1987's Substance, including "Perfect Kiss" in its remixed state, and it's just as worthy (if not slightly better) than the original. While the differences aren't overwhelming, Substance's version of "Perfect Kiss" gives off a little more pop charm in amongst the rest of the band's strongest cuts. Low-Life went to number seven in the U.K. but debuted at number 94 in the U.S., while the original version of "Perfect Kiss" made it into the Top Five dance chart in America but stalled at number 46 in England. Since the band's formation in 1980, many modes of techno-pop and synth-laden dance music have come and gone, but none have equaled the style and flair of New Order's."

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#1) (also ranked #2 by Voodoodaddy and #5 by Ben)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Substance

I'll be your plastic toy


#26.



The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Just Like Honey"
(833 Points, 14 Votes)

Year: 1985

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #45

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #4 (year), #90 (decade), #573 (all-time)

Rank on Our All-Time Singles List: #417

AMG Says: "With its "Be My Baby" drum beat that sounds as if it is crying out from a torture chamber, this feedback and drone-soaked, Phil Spector wall-of-sound-gone-sour number opened the Jesus & Mary Chain's important 1985 debut album, Psychocandy. The early single and "buzz saw guitar" number was a defining track for brothers Jim and William Reid and the noise pop genre. Its refrain is a sweet as sugar "just like honey" with a high background vocal attached; the line preceding it is a bit more harsh: "Eating up the scum is the hardest thing for me to do." Sweet irony is the name of the Mary Chain's weird game; drink it in and it goes down just fine."

Ranked Highest By: Bobzilla (#8)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Psychocandy

So that's what he sings? I've been hearing that wrong for years now.

I could be wrong. What's your theory?

My theory has to be wrong.

It's always just sounded to me like the last word has two syllables. So it sounds like he's saying "toilet" instead of "toy."

A quick google search would probably clear this up but I've never felt inclined to do so.