Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Lou Reed and Velvet Underground: Top 50 Songs

Lou Reed/Velvet Underground

Lou Reed was an experimental rock singer/songwriter born 3/2/1942 in Long Island, NY. He died 10/27/2013. He established himself as “The Godfather of Punk” with art-rock group The Velvet Underground (vocals/guitar: 1965-70). That group is considered the predecessor to alternative rock and punk and one of the most influential rock groups of all-time. The Velvet Underground also included John Cale (vocals/bass/viola: 1965-68), Sterling Morrison (guitar/backing vocals: 1965-70), Maureen Tucker (percussion: 1967-69), Nico (vocals: 1967), Doug Yule (bass/backing vox: 1969-70), and Billy Yule (drums: 70). Their album
Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. Reed’s other three albums with the band – White Light/White Heat (1967), The Velvet Underground (1969), Loaded (1970) – all rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time.

Reed went solo in 1970. His albums Transformer (1972) and Berlin (1973) rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: Covering Velvet Underground & Nico based on this list. It debuts September 28, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards (Velvet Underground):

Awards (Lou Reed):

Top 50 Songs of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes songs by Velvet Underground and by Lou Reed as a solo artist. Some songs (such as “Satellite of Love”) are noted as Velvet Underground AND Lou Reed songs because they were initially recorded as demos by VU and later by Reed as full-fledged recordings.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Walk on the Wild Side (Reed, 1972)

DMDB Top 5%:

2. I’m Waiting for the Man (VU & Nico, 1967)
3. Perfect Day (Reed, 1972)
4. Sweet Jane (VU, 1970)
5. Heroin (VU & Nico, 1967)

DMDB Top 10%:

6. Rock and Roll (VU, 1970)
7. Venus in Furs (VU & Nico, 1967)
8. White Light/White Heat (VU, 1968)

DMDB Top 20%:

9. All Tomorrow’s Parties (VU & Nico, 1967)
10. Pale Blue Eyes (VU, 1969)
11. Satellite of Love (VU/Reed, 1970/1972)
12. Coney Island Baby (Reed, 1975)
13. This Is Your Land (Simple Minds with Reed, 1989)
14. Sister Ray (VU, 1968)
15. Femme Fatale (VU & Nico, 1967)
16. Berlin (Reed, 1972)
17. Dirty Blvd. (Reed, 1989)
18. Vicious (Reed, 1972)
19. New Age (VU, 1970)
20. Caroline Says I (Reed, 1973)

21. Lisa Says (VU/Reed, 1969/1972)
22. Sally Can’t Dance (Reed, 1974)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

23. Sunday Morning (VU & Nico, 1967)
24. I Can’t Stand It (VU/Reed, 1969/1972)
25. After Hours (VU, 1969)
26. Candy Says (VU, 1969)
27. How Do You Think It Feels (Reed, 1973)
28. Kill Your Sons (Reed, 1974)
29. Waves of Fear (Reed, 1982)
30. Sad Song (VU/Reed, 1970/1972)

31. Rock and Roll Heart (Reed, 1976)
32. America (Star Spangled Banner) (Reed, 1980)
33. What Goes On (VU, 1969)
34. Busload of Faith (Reed, 1989)
35. Vicious Circle (Reed, 1976)
36. There She Goes Again (VU & Nico, 1967)
37. Jesus (VU, 1969)
38. Caroline Says II (Reed, 1973)
39. Beginning to See the Light (VU, 1969)
40. What’s Good (Reed, 1992)

41. Temporary Thing (Reed, 1976)
42. Here Comes the Bride (Reed, 1978)
43. Stephanie Says (VU, 1968)
44. Teach the Gifted Children (Reed, 1980)
45. Street Hassle (Reed, 1978)
46. I Love You (VU/Reed, 1970/1972)
47. Who Loves the Sun (VU, 1970)
48. Think It Over (Reed, 1980)
49. I Love You Suzanne (Reed, 1984)
50. There Is No Time (Reed, 1989)

Resources and Related Links:

DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Lou Reed
DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Velvet Underground
DMDB Encyclopedia entry for John Cale
Velvet Underground/Lou Reed: Top 10 Albums

First posted 3/2/2020; last updated 9/28/2021.

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