Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Radio & Records/Mediabase: Songs of the Year 1973-2025

Radio & Records/ Mediabase: Songs of the Year

1973-2025

Radio & Records was an independent trade publication which published a weekly pop songs chart as a competitor to Billboard magazine. It ran from October 3, 1973 to August 4, 2006, when it was taken over by Mediabase, who has continued the chart to present day.

All songs to hit #1 during that period have been sorted by most weeks atop the chart. Ties were broken based on songs’ overall points in Dave’s Music Database. Here then are the top songs each year from 1973 to present according to Radio & Records/Mediabase. You can also see a list of the chart’s all-time songs here.

Note: the year reflects when the song was first released, not necessarily the year it hit #1.

Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.

2025: Alex Warren “Ordinary” (16 wks)
2024: Billie Eilish “Birds of a Feather” (7 wks)
2023: Miley Cyrus “Flowers” (10 wks)
2022: Harry Styles “As It Was” (6 wks)
2021: The Kid Laroi with Justin Bieber “Stay” (10 wks)
2020: 24K Goldn with Iann Dior “Mood” (8 wks)
2019: Taylor Swift “Cruel Summer” (8 wks)
2018: Zedd with Maren Morris & Grey “The Middle” (6 wks)
2017: Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (9 wks)
2016: The Chainsmokers with Halsey “Closer” (10 wks)
2015: Wiz Khalifa with Charlie Puth “See You Again” (4 wks)
2014: Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (6 wks)
2013: Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (10 wks)
2012: Maroon 5 “One More Night” (8 wks)
2011: Rihanna with Calvin Harris “We Found Love” (7 wks)
2010: Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg “California Gurls” (7 wks)
2009: Ke$ha “Tik Tok” (7 wks)
2008: Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” (6 wks)
2007: Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” (10 wks)
2006: Beyoncé “Irreplaceable” (10 wks)
2005: Mariah Carey “We Belong Together” (11 wks)
2004: Nelly & Tim McGraw “Over And Over” (8 wks)
2003: Hoobastank “The Reason” (8 wks)
2002: Avril Lavigne “Complicated” (8 wks)
2001: Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil’ Kim & Mya “Lady Marmalade” (9 wks)
2000: N Sync “Bye Bye Bye” (10 wks)
1999: Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” (7 wks)
1998: Aerosmith “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (8 wks)
1997: Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (11 wks)
1996: Donna Lewis “I Love You Always Forever” (12 wks)
1995: No Doubt “Don’t Speak” (9 wks)
1994: Seal “Kiss from a Rose” (8 wks)
1993: Ace of Base “The Sign” (9 wks)
1992: Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (7 wks)
1991: Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (6 wks)
1990: Madonna “Vogue” (4 wks)
1989: Phil Collins “Another Day in Paradise” (5 wks)
1988: Steve Winwood “Roll with It” (3 wks)
1987: George Michael “One More Try” (4 wks)
1986: Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” (3 wks)
1985: Lionel Richie “Say You Say Me” (4 wks)
1984: Prince “When Doves Cry” (4 wks)
1983: The Police “Every Breath You Take” (8 wks)
1982: Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” (5 wks)
1981: Journey “Open Arms” (7 wks)
1980: Blondie “Call Me” (6 wks)
1979: Christopher Cross “Sailing” (4 wks)
1978: Commodores “Three Times a Lady” (6 wks)
1977: Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (6 wks)
1976: Elton John & Kiki Dee “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (7 wks)
1975: Captain & Tennille “Love Will Keep Us Together” (6 wks)
1974: Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (6 wks)
1973: Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun” (6 wks)

Resources/Related Links:

Mediabase.com
Pollstar.com “Top 40 Mediabase Airplay Charts”
Dave’s Music Database: “Radio & Records/Mediabase: Top 100+ Songs”
Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Year’ lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “Lists Based on Charts, Sales, and Airplay”

First posted 3/27/2020; last updated 2/3/2026.

Steve Sullivan: Songs of the Year, 1889-2025

Steve Sullivan:

Songs of the Year, 1889-2025

To my delight, Steve Sullivan was one of my early fans on my Dave’s Music Database Facebook page. He did vital research for the Pop Memories 1890-1954 Record Research book, which has become one of my chart bibles. He has since published some of his own lists and several volumes of his Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. By tapping into those sources (see bottom of page) and his own posts on his personal Facebook page, I’ve assembled his picks for song of the year from 1889 to present.

Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.

2025: Lady Gaga “Abracadabra”
2024: Chappell Roan “ Good Luck, Babe!”
2023: Billie Eilish “What Was I Made For?”
2022: Harry Styles “As It Was”
2021: Taylor Swift “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”
2020: John Prine “I Remember Everything”
2019: Keb’ Mo’ “This Is My Home”
2018: Brandi Carlile “The Joke”
2017: Drive-By Truckers “The Perilous Night”
2016: Leonard Cohen “You Want It Darker”
2015: Adele “Hello”
2014: Rosanne Cash “The Long Way Home”
2013: Marc Anthony “Vivir mi Vida”
2012: Adele “Skyfall”
2011: Adele “Someone Like You”
2010: Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
2009: Jay-Z with Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind”
2008: Duffy “Mercy”
2007: Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella”
2006: Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
2005: James McMurtry “We Can’t Make It”
2004: Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
2003: Black Eyed Peas with Justin Timberlake “Where Is the Love?”
2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself”
2001: Atomic Kitten “Whole Again”
2000: Bruce Springsteen “American Skin (41 Shots)”
1999: Gary Allan “Smoke Rings in the Dark”
1998: Cher “Believe”
1997: Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)”
1996: Spice Girls “Wannabe”
1995: PJ Harvey “Down by the Water”
1994: Wet Wet Wet “Love Is All Around”
1993: Meat Loaf “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”
1992: Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”
1991: Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”
1990: Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U”
1989: Black Box “Ride on Time”
1988: Tracy Chapman “Fast Car”
1987: Rick Atley “Never Gonna Give You Up”
1986: Robert Cray “Smoking Gun”
1985: Jennifer Rush “The Power of Love”
1984: Whitney Houston “The Greatest Love of All”
1983: Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax”
1982: Michael Jackson “Billie Jean”
1981: Soft Cell “Tainted Love”
1980: Frank Sinatra “New York, New York (Theme from)”
1979: Art Garfunkel “Bright Eyes”
1978: Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta “You’re the One That I Want”
1977: John Williams “Star Wars”
1976: Eagles “Hotel California”
1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
1974: Charles Aznavour “She”
1973: Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were”
1972: Ray Charles “America the Beautiful”
1971: John Lennon “Imagine”
1970: Judy Collins “Amazing Grace”
1969: Frank Sinatra “My Way”
1968: The Beatles “Hey Jude”
1967: Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World”
1966: Tom Jones “The Green, Green Grass of Home”
1965: Frank Sinatra “It Was a Very Good Year”
1964: Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto “The Girl from Ipanema”
1963: The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
1962: Tony Bennett “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”
1961: Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn “Moon River”
1960: Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind”
1959: Johnny Mathis “Misty”
1958: Frank Sinatra “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)”
1957: Nat “King” Cole “Stardust”
1956: Frank Sinatra “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
1955: Count Basie with Joe Williams “Everyday I Have the Blues”
1954: Frank Sinatra “I Get a Kick Out of You”
1953: Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart”
1952: Rosemary Clooney “Tenderly”
1951: Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon”
1950: “Goodnight Irene”
1949: Vaughn Monroe “Ghost Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)”
1948: T-Bone Walker “Call It Stormy Monday”
1947: Harry Choates “Jole Blon”
1946: Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”
1945: Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey”
1944: Woody Guthrie “This Land Is Your Land”
1943: Nat “King” Cole “Embraceable You”
1942: Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers & the John Scott Trotter Orchestra “White Christmas”
1941: Duke Ellington “Take the ‘A’ Train”
1940: Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul”
1939: Glenn Miller “In the Mood”
1938: Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine”
1937: Robert Johnson “Hell Hound on My Trail”
1936: Billie Holiday “Summertime”
1935: Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers & Leo Reisman’s Orchestra “Cheek to Cheek”
1934: Duke Ellington “Solitude”
1933: Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)”
1932: Bing Crosby “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
1931: Duke Ellington “Mood Indigo”
1930: Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues”
1929: Louis Armstrong “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
1928: Marion Harris “The Man I Love”
1927: Paul Robeson “Ol’ Man River”
1926: Bessie Smith “Lost Your Head Blues”
1925: Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues”
1924: Paul Whiteman with George Gershwin “Rhapsody in Blue”
1923: Bessie Smith “Down Hearted Blues”
1922: Al Jolson “April Showers”
1921: Eubie Blake “Sounds of Africa”
1920: Paul Whiteman “Whispering”
1919: Marion Harris “After You’ve Gone”
1918: Original Dixieland Jazz Band “Tiger Rag”
1917: American Quartet “Over There”
1916: Billy Murray “I Love a Piano”
1915: Harry MacDonough & Olive Kline (as Alice Green) “They Didn't Believe Me”
1914: American Quartet “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”
1913: Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)”
1912: Heidelberg Quintet “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee”
1911: Arthur Collins and Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”
1910: American Quartet with Billy Murray “Casey Jones”
1909: Ada Jones with Billy Murray “Shine on Harvest Moon”
1908: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
1907: Vess Ossman “Maple Leaf Rag”
1906: Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)”
1905: Billy Murray “Yankee Doodle Boy”
1904: Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)”
1903: Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime”
1902: Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home”
1901: Columbia Orchestra “Creole Belles”
1900: Vess Ossman “A Coon Band Contest”
1899: Vess Ossman “A Bunch of Rags”
1898: Edison Male Quartet “My Old Kentucky Home”
1897: John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
1896: --
1895: John Philip Sousa “The Washington Post March”
1894: Edward M. Favor “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)”
1893: George J. Gaskin “After the Ball”
1892: --
1891: Voss’ 1st Regiment Band “One Minute Too Late”
1890: U.S. Marine Band “The Washington Post March”
1889: Issler’s Orchestra “Electric Light Quadrille”

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Year’ lists”

Steve Sullivan Song Lists:

“His Personal Top 100 Songs” (8/14/2022)
“Songs of the Year, 1889-2021” (1/1/2022)
“Top 100 Songs, 1897-1956” (2/7/2018)
“Greatest Popular Song Recordings: 2010-2017” (2/7/2018)
Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland (2013).
“Traditional Pop: The All-Time 200+ Classic Performances” (9/17/2012).
“Top 200+ British Hits, 1945-2011” (7/20/2012).
“The 200 Greatest Song Recordings: 1889-1953” (6/26/2012).
“Country Music’s All-Time Classics According to the Classic Pop Yahoo Group” (6/1/2012).

First posted 4/14/2019; last updated 2/3/2026.

Music VF: Songs of the Year, 1900-2025

Music VF:

Songs of the Year, 1900-2025

Music VF is an online database of more than 120,000 U.S. and UK chart hits. One can search for top songs and artists by year and by decade. Here are the top songs of each year according to Music VF:

Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.

2025: Taylor Swift “The Fate of Ophelia”
2024: Hozier “Too Sweet”
2023: Miley Cyrus “Flowers”
2022: Sam Smith with Kim Petras “Unholy”
2021: Adele “Easy on Me”
2020: Doja Cat “Say So”
2019: Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
2018: Ariana Grande “Thank U, Next”
2017: DJ Khaled “I’m the One”
2016: Rihanna with Drake “Work”
2015: Adele “Hello”
2014: Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass”
2013: Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines”
2012: Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
2011: Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know”
2010: Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
2009: Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow”
2008: Coldplay “Viva La Vida”
2007: Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella”
2006: Beyoncé “Irreplaceable”
2005: Mariah Carey “We Belong Together”
2004: Mario “Let Me Love You”
2003: Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Crazy in Love”
2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself”
2001: Nickelback “How You Remind Me”
2000: Destiny’s Child “Independent Women”
1999: Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth”
1998: Cher “Believe”
1997: Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)”
1996: No Doubt “Don’t Speak”
1995: Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day”
1994: Boyz II Men “I’ll Make Love to You”
1993: Janet Jackson “That’s the Way Love Goes”
1992: Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”
1991: Bryan Adams > “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”
1990: Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U”
1989: Madonna “Like a Prayer”
1988: Phil Collins “A Groovy Kind of Love”
1987: Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me”
1986: Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald “On My Own”
1985: U.S.A. for Africa “We Are the World”
1984: Stevie Wonder “I Just Called to Say I Love You”
1983: The Police “Every Breath You Take”
1982: Survivor “Eye of the Tiger”
1981: The Human League “Don’t You Want Me?”
1980: Diana Ross “Upside Down”
1979: Anita Ward “Ring My Bell”
1978: Bee Gees “Night Fever”
1977: Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love”
1976: Elton John & Kiki Dee “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”
1975: The Four Seasons “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)”
1974: Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun”
1973: Tony Orlando & Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree”
1972: Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)”
1971: Harry Nilsson “Without You”
1970: Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
1969: The Archies “Sugar, Sugar”
1968: Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
1967: Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra “Somethin’ Stupid”
1966: The Monkees “I’m a Believer”
1965: The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
1964: The Supremes “Baby Love”
1963: The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
1962: Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
1961: Del Shannon “Runaway”
1960: Elvis Presley “It’s Now or Never”
1959: Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife”
1958: The Everly Brothers “All I Have to Do Is Dream”
1957: Elvis Presley “All Shook Up”
1956: Elvis Presley “Hound Dog”
1955: Tennessee Ernie Ford “Sixteen Tons”
1954: Kitty Kallen “Little Things Mean a Lot”
1953: Frankie Laine “I Believe”
1952: Al Martino “Here in My Heart”
1951: Johnnie Ray & the Four Lads “Cry”
1950: Red Foley “Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy”
1949: Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely “Slipping Around”
1948: Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag”
1947: Tex Williams “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)”
1946: The Ink Spots “The Gypsy”
1945: The Andrews Sisters “Rum and Coca Cola”
1944: The Mills Brothers “You Always Hurt the One You Love”
1943: Al Dexter & His Troopers “Pistol Packin’ Mama”
1942: Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle & The Modernaires “Moonlight Cocktail”
1941: Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Four Modernaires “Chattanooga Choo Choo”
1940: Glenn Miller “Tuxedo Junction”
1939: Glenn Miller “In the Mood”
1938: Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”
1937: Bing Crosby with Lani McIntyre & His Hawaiians “Sweet Leilani”
1936: Bing Crosby “Pennies from Heaven”
1935: Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers & Leo Reisman’s Orchestra “Cheek to Cheek”
1934: Ray Noble with Al Bowlly “Isle of Capri”
1933: George Olsen with Joe Morrison “The Last Round-Up”
1932: Ted Lewis “In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town”
1931: Wayne King “Goodnight Sweetheart”
1930: Rudy Vallee “Stein Song (University of Maine)”
1929: Nick Lucas “Tip Toe Through the Tulips”
1928: Al Jolson “Sonny Boy”
1927: Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven”
1926: Paul Whiteman with Franklyn Baur “Valencia (A Song of Spain)”
1925: Gene Austin with Billy Carpenter “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby”
1924: Wendell Hall “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’”
1923: Paul Whiteman “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers”
1922: Al Jolson “April Showers”
1921: Isham Jones “Wabash Blues”
1920: Paul Whiteman “Whispering”
1919: Henry Burr with Albert Campbell “Till We Meet Again”
1918: Henry Burr “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (For Her Daddy Over There)”
1917: American Quartet “Over There”
1916: Henry Burr “M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me)”
1915: George MacFarlane “A Little Bit of Heaven (Shure, They Call It Ireland)”
1914: Joe Hayman “Cohen on the Telephone”
1913: Chauncey Olcott “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”
1912: American Quartet “Moonlight Bay”
1911: Arthur Collins and Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”
1910: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”
1909: Haydn Quartet “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet”
1908: Alan Turner “As Long As the World Rolls On”
1907: Bryon G. Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)”
1906: Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)”
1905: Arthur Collins “The Preacher and the Bear”
1904: Haydyn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)”
1903: Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime”
1902: Len Spencer “The Arkansaw Traveler”
1901: Harry MacDonough & Grace Spencer “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden”
1900: George J. Gaskin “When You Were Sweet Sixteen”

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Year’ lists”
MusicVF.com

First posted 4/8/2019; last updated 12/31/2025.

Spotify: Songs of the Year (1960-2025)

Spotify:

Songs of the Year, 1960-2025

These are the top songs each year (1960 to present) according to most streams on Spotify.

Click here to see other ‘Songs of the Year’ lists.

2025: Alex Warren “Ordinary”
2024: Sabrina Carpenter “Espresso”
2023: Miley Cyrus “Flowers”
2022: Harry Styles “As It Was”
2021: Olivia Rodrigo “Drivers License”
2020: Dua Lipa with DaBaby “Levitating”
2019: The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”
2018: Lewis Capaldi “Someone You Loved”
2017: Ed Sheeran “Shape of You”
2016: Drake with WizKid & Kyla “One Dance”
2015: Justin Bieber “Love Yourself”
2014: Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud”
2013: John Legend “All of Me”
2012: Passenger “Let Her Go”
2011: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Ray Dalton “Can’t Hold Us”
2010: Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks”
2009: Train “Hey, Soul Sister”
2008: Jason Mraz “I’m Yours”
2007: Kanye West with Daft Punk “Stronger”
2006: Shakira with Wyclef Jean “Hips Don’t Lie”
2005: The Fray “How to Save a Life”
2004: Usher with Lil’ Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!”
2003: The Killers “Mr. Brightside”
2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself”
2001: System of a Down “Chop Suey”
2000: Linkin Park “In the End”
1999: Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way”
1998: Goo Goo Dolls “Iris”
1997: The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
1996: Spice Girls “Wannabe”
1995: Oasis “Wonderwall”
1994: Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
1993: Counting Crows “Mr. Jones”
1992: Radiohead “Creep”
1991: Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
1990: AC/DC “Thunderstruck”
1989: Tom Petty “Free Fallin’”
1988: Tracy Chapman “Fast Car”
1987: Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
1986: Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer”
1985: Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
1984: A-ha “Take on Me”
1983: The Police “Every Breath You Take”
1982: Toto “Africa”
1981: Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’”
1980: Queen “Another One Bites the Dust”
1979: AC/DC “Highway to Hell”
1978: Queen “Don’t Stop Me Now”
1977: Fleetwood Mac “Dreams”
1976: Eagles “Hotel California”
1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
1974: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama”
1973: Aerosmith “Dream On”
1972: Elton John “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Gonna Be a Long Time)”
1971: Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven”
1970: Creedence Clearwater Revival “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
1969: The Beatles “Here Comes the Sun”
1968: The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower”
1967: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
1966: The Rolling Stones “Paint It Black”
1965: The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
1964: The Animals “The House of the Rising Sun”
1963: Andy Williams “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
1962: Sam Cooke “Bring It on Home to Me”
1961: Ben E. King “Stand by Me”
1960: Sam Cooke “Wonderful World”

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Year’ lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “Streaming: Billion Airs Club”
ESC MKD (8/19/2020). “The Most Streamed Song on Spotify by Year (1960-2020)”
The Man in Me (8/1/2021). “Most Streamed Song on Spotify from Every Year Since 1963”
Spotify (11/4/2021). “Billions Club” Songs with 1+ billion streams.
Spotify (January 2018). “Spotify's Most Played All-Time [Updated Weekly].” Songs with 200+ million streams.
Wikipedia (11/6/2021). “List of Most-Streamed Songs on Spotify”

First posted 11/6/2021; last updated 12/31/2025.

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

The Top 100 Songs of Pre-Recorded Music History

Pre-Recorded Music History:

Top 100 Songs

The history of recorded music is generally marked as beginning with the introduction of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877. With a few exceptions, this list focuses on music written before that era. These are songs which have been around 150 years or more and have entered the public conscience because of the song itself instead of its performance by a specific artist. This list consists of Christmas songs, children’s songs and nursery rhymes, hymns, and patriotic songs. Songs are listed first by the writers (m=music, w=words), song titles, and year of publication.

Click here to see other song lists focused on specific eras.

DMDB Top 1%:

Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics) & Samuel A. Ward (music) “America the Beautiful” (1895)
James M. Black & Katharine E. Purvis (songwriters) “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1896)
Joseph Mohr (w), Franz Gruber (m), John Freeman Young (English translation) “Silent Night” (1818)
Francis Scott Key (lyrics), John Stafford Smith (music) “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
Stephen Foster (lyrics/music) “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1851)
John Newton (w) “Amazing Grace” (1779)
John Kelly, later adapted by Don George “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853)
Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill (songwriters) “Happy Birthday to You” (1893)
Julia Ward Howe (w) and William Steffe (m) “The Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!’)” (1861)
Stephen Foster (m/w) “Oh! Susanna” (1847)
Dr. Brewster M. Higley (w), Daniel E. Kelly (m) “Home on the Range” (1874)
traditional/George Washington Dixon, Bob Farrell, Otto Bunnell “Turkey in the Straw” (1820)
Richard Milburn (m), Septimus Winner as Alice Hawthorne (w) “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1856)
Dr. Richard Schukburgh (w), traditional (m) “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754)
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (w), unknown (m) “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
John Howard Payne (w), Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (m) “Home Sweet Home” (1823)
Daniel Decatur Emmett (m/w) “Dixie” (1859)
James S. Pierpont (m/w) “Jingle Bells” (1857)
Stephen Foster (m/w) “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” (1850)
Robert Burns (adapted by) “Auld Lang Syne” (1796)
Frank Kidson “Scarborough Fair” (1891)
Samuel Francis Smith (w), traditional (m) “God Save the King” (1740) / “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” (1831)
traditional “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
Thomas d’Urfey (m), Frederick Thomas Nettleingham (w) “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (1706)
Jane Taylor (w), unknown (m) “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (1806) / “The Alphabet Song (The ABC Song)” (1834) / “Baa Baa Black Sheep” (1879)
Percy Montrose “Clementine” (1884)
Wallace Willis, Henry Thacker Burleigh (arranged by) “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (1872)
traditional/credited to Daniel Decatur Emmett “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
traditional “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)
Effie I. Canning (m/w) “Rock-a-Bye Baby” (1884)
traditional “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” (1899)
Charles E. Pratt “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881)
George Frideric Handel (m), Isaac Watts (w), Lowell Mason (arranged) “Joy to the World” (1719)
unknown “O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)” (1751)
Felix Mendelssohn (m), Charles Wesley (w) “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (1855)
James A. Bland (m/w) “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879)
George Leybourne & Alfred Lee “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” (1867)
Cool White (w) “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
Eliphalet Oram Lyte “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (1852)
writer(s) unknown “Greensleeves” (1580) / William Chatterton Dix (w), “Greensleeves” (m) “What Child Is This?” (1865)
traditional “Red River Valley” (1896)
“Ave Maria” (Schubert/Scott: 1825, J.S. Bach/Gounod: 1859)
George F. Root (composer) “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (1862)
Lowell Mason (m), Sarah Josepha Hale (w) “Mary Had a Little Lamb” (1830)
unknown (w/m) “Shenandoah” (1837)
James Ramsey Murray (m) and Charles H. Gabriel (w) “Away in a Manger” (1882)
traditional “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” (1863)
Daniel Decatur Emmett “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843)
Augustus Montague Toplady (w), Thomas Hastings (m) “Rock of Ages” (1763)
Carl Sandburg “Skip to My Lou” (1832)
Stephen Foster (m/w) “Beautiful Dreamer” (1864)
writer(s) unknown “London Bridge is Falling Down” (1744)
Stephen Foster (m/w) “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair” (1854)
Eugene Raymond (adapted by) “Pop Goes the Weasel” (1852)
anonymous “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” (1549)
Davies Gilbert “The First Noel” (1823)
Thomas P. Westendorf (m/w) “I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” (1875)
Lewis Redner (m), Phillips Brooks (w) “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (1868)
unknown “Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)” (1780)
Henry C. Work (m/w) “Grandfather’s Clock” (1876)
Septimus Winner (m/w) “O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone” (1864)
John Henry Hopkins Jr. (m/w) “We Three Kings of Orient Are” (1857)
Adolphe Adam and John Sullivan Dwight (composers) “O Holy Night” (1847)
Rev. Edmund Hamilton Sears (w) and Richard Storrs Willis (m) “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (1850)
Daniel Decatur Emmett “Old Dan Tucker” (1843)
traditional “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” (1709)
traditional “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” (1760)
Sanford F. Bennett (w), Joseph Philbrick Webster (m) “In the Sweet By-and-By” (1868)
Rev. H.D.L. Webster (w), Joseph Philbrick Webster (m) “Lorena” (1857)
DMDB Top 2%:
Sabine Baring-Gould (w) and Sir Arthur Sullivan (m) “Onward Christian Soldiers” (1871)
traditional “Alouette” (1879)
Philip Phile (m), Joseph Hopkinson (w) “Hail Columbia (The President’s March)” (1789)
Frederic Austin, traditional “Twelve Days of Christmas” (1780)
traditional “This Old Man (Nick Nack Pattiwack)” (1842)
Bill Dooley “Frankie and Johnny” (1899)
unknown “What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?” (1740)
unknown “Three Blind Mice” (1609)
Joseph Eastburn Winter “The Little Brown Jug” (1869)
Thomas Oliphant (w), Nos Galan (m) “Deck the Halls” (1862)
Billy Reeves (w), Frank Campbell (m), and Rollin Howard (arranger) “Shoo Fly Don’t Bother Me” (1869)
Jay Roberts (copyrighted by) “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” (1865)
unknown “Bingo (B-I-N-G-O)” (1780)
James Sanderson (m), Albert Gamse (w) “Hail to the Chief” (1810)
unknown “Blow the Man Down” (1849)
Johannes Brahms (composer) “Brahms’ Lullaby (Wiegenleid) (aka “Cradle Song”) (1868)
Dr. Theodore Baker (translated and arranged by) “We Gather Together (Thanksgiving Prayer)” (1630)
unknown “Old King Cole” (1708)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (writer) “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” (1752)
Hartius Bonar (w), Charles Crozat Converse (m) “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (1868)
traditional “Sing a Song of Sixpence” (1744)
John Wesley Work (composer) “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (1865)
Ben Johnson (w), traditional (m) “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” (1616)
unknown “The Hokey Pokey” (1826)
unknown “Humpty Dumpty” (1797)
Carl Boberg (w) “How Great Thou Art” (1885)
unknown “The Wayfaring Stranger” (1807)
Thomas Haynes Bayly (m/w) “Long, Long Ago” (1843)
unknown “The Farmer in the Dell” (1883)
traditional/James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (publisher) “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” (1842)
Ernst Anschütz (w), “Ach Tannenbaum” (m) “O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)” (1824)

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: Song Lists by Era
The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era, 1890-1953
The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999
The Top 100 Songs of the Digital Era, 2000-2019
DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia

Originally posted 6/30/2021. Last updated 12/24/2025.

Sunday, December 21, 2025

Lesley Nelson/Contemplator.com: Traditional American Tunes

Lesley Nelson/Contemplator.com:

Traditional American Tunes

Lesley Nelson helmed Contemplator.com, which focused on traditional folk music of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and America. As she explained on her website, her interest in history and folk music led to her creating pages focused on a variety of regions, eras, and themes.

This page ranks the 46 songs listed on Nelson’s page on “Traditional American Tunes” based on how many lists the songs are featured on according to Dave’s Music Database. Songs are identified by title, year of publication, and writers.

Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “Amazing Grace” (1772) by John Newton
2. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!’)” (1861) by Julia Ward Howe & William Steffe
3. “Home on the Range” (1873) by Dr. Brewster M. Higley & Daniel E. Kelly
4. “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754) by Dr. Richard Schukburgh
5. “Oh! Susanna” (1847) by Stephen Foster
6. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863) by Louis Lambert as Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore
7. “Dixie” (1859) by Daniel Decatur Emmett
8. “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853) by Edwin Christy, John Kelly, & Don George
9. “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881) by Charles E. Pratt
10. “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (1862) by Geoge Frederick Root

11. “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843) by Daniel Decatur Emmett
12. “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” (1863) traditional
13. “Red River Valley” (1895) traditional
14. “Shenandoah” (1837) unknown
15. “My Wild Irish Rose” (1899) by Chauncey Olcott
16. “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)” (1913) by James R. Shannon
17. “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair” (1854) by Stephen Foster
18. “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” (1875) by Thomas Paine Westendorf
19. “Eternal Father, Strong to Save (The Navy Hymn)” by William Whiting & John Bacchus Dykes
20. “Lorena” (1857) by Rev. Henry David Webster & Joseph Philbrick Webster

21. “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879) by James A. Bland
22. “Taps” (1860) arranged by Daniel Butterfield
23. “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (1865) writer unknown
24. “Down in the Valley” (1835) by Frank Luther/traditional
25. “When You and I Were Young, Maggie” (1866) by George W. Johnson & J.A. Butterfield
26. “The Bonnie Blue Flag” (1961) by Annie Chabers-Ketchum & Henry “Harry” Macarthy
27. “Dill, Ye Terriers, Drill” (1888) anonymous
28. “I Gave My Love a Cherry” (1785) unknown
29. “Follow the Drinking Gourd” (1860) by Epe Sargent & Henry Russell
30. “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” (1910) unknown

31. “Goober Peas” (1866) by A. Pindar & P. Nutt
32. “Lily of the West” (1857) unknown
33. “The Lakes of Pontchartrain” (1900) unknown
34. “Sweet Rosie O’Grady” (1895) by Maud Nugent
35. “Chester” (1778) by William Billings
36. “A Life on the Ocean Wave” (1838) by Epe Sargent & Henry Russell
37. “The Greenland Whale Fishery” (1725) unknown
38. “Green Grow the Lilacs” (1800) unknown
39. “Aura Lea” (1861) adapted by Ken Darby
40. “All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight” (1864) by Lamar Fontaine & John Hill Hewitt

41. “Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies” (1904) unknown
42. “The Rose of Alabama” (1846) by S.S. Steele/anonymous
43. “Skibberdeen” (1869) unknown
44. “I’m a Good Old Rebel” (1857) by Major James M. Dacy
45. “Lady Mary” (1930) collected by Carl Sandburg
46. “Molly and Tenbrooks” (late 19th century) unknown

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: lists from critics and individuals
Dave’s Music Database: lists from publications and/or organizations
Contemplator.com “Traditional American Tunes”

First posted 12/21/2025.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Ballad of America: Top 40 Songs

Ballad of America:

Top 40 Songs

According to their website, Ballad of America is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of music from American history. Their website features a music library of 40 titles, in alphabetical order, that represent American history. The website provides links to each song that offer more detailed backgrounds on the songs.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “Across the Western Ocean” (19th century)
2. “America the Beautiful” (1895)
3. “American Taxation” (1811)
4. “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (1862)
5. “Brave Wolfe” (late 1790s)
6. “The Brazos River” (1942)
7. “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
8. “The Crawdad Song” (1917)
9. “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879)
10. “The Distressed Damsel” (1680s)

11. “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)” (1835)
12. “Get on Board” (1872)
13. “Ho! For California!” (1849)
14. “Home on the Range” (1874)
15. “Home Sweet Home” (1823)
16. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
17. “Lincoln and Liberty” (1860)
18. “The Lovely Ohio” (1842)
19. “O! Say Bonny Lass” (1783)
20. “Oh Freedom!” (post-Civil War)

21. “Oh! Susanna” (1846)
22. “The Old Chisholm Trail” (1910)
23. “Old Settler’s Song” (1870s)
24. “Old Sister Phoebe” (first half of 19th century)
25. “Once More A-Lumbering Go” (1851)
26. “Paddy Works on the Railway” (1864)
27. “Railroad Bill” (1895)
28. “The Rambling Gambler” (1938)
29. “Red River Valley” (1896)
30. “Shenandoah” (1837)

31. “The Streets of Laredo” (1911)
32. “Swannanoa Tunnel” (1917)
33. “Sweet Betsy from Pike” (1851)
34. “Tenting on the Old Campground” (1864)
35. “This Little Light of Mine” (1925)
36. “Wanderin’” (1950)
37. “We Shall Not Be Moved” (1909)
38. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
39. “The Wisconsin Emigrant” (1931)
40. “Woried Man Blues” (1930)

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “Lists from other publications and/or organizations”
BalladOfAmerica.org

First posted 12/18/2025.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Theodore Raph The American Song Treasury

Theodore Raph:

The American Song Treasury

First published in 1964, this book collects lyrics and offers commentary for 100 American favorites from 1620 to 1958. The book presents the songs in chronological order but I have re-ordered the songs based on how many total lists these songs appear on in the Dave’s Music Database of standards. Publication years for songs are indicated, but no specific artist is attached to each song.

Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1880)
2. “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
3. “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” (1902)
4. “Home on the Range” (1873)
5. “America the Beautiful” (1895)
6. “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1904)
7. “Yankee Doodle Boy” (1905)
8. “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754)
9. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (1806)
10. “Oh! Susanna” (1846)

11. “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
12. “After the Ball” (1892)
13. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
14. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
15. “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
16. “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” (1850)
17. “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
18. “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853)
19. “Auld Lang Syne” (1799)
20. “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1892)

21. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (1873)
22. “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)
23. “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” (1870)
24. “Clementine” (1884)
25. “My Old Kentucky Home” (1853)
26. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
27. “The Sidewalks of New York” (1894)
28. “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881)
29. “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” (1927)
30. “In My Merry Oldsmobile” (1905)

31. “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” (1905)
32. “Skip to My Lou” (1832)
33. “My Gal Sal” (1905)
34. “Pop Goes the Weasel” (1853)
35. “The Marines’ Hymn” (1919)
36. “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1893)
37. “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843)
38. “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” (1867)
39. “Beautiful Dreamer” (1864)
40. “The Band Played On” (1895)

41. “Red River Valley” (1896)
42. “Shenandoah” (1837)
43. “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1897)
44. “Hail Columbia (The President’s March)” (1789)
45. “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1855)
46. “My Wild Irish Rose” (1899)
47. “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
48. “Mighty Like a Rose (aka ‘Mighty Lak a Rose’)” (1901)
49. “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” (1875)
50. “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” (1549)

51. “I Love You Truly” (1906)
52. “Greensleeves” (1580)
53. “Because” (1902)
54. “The Little Brown Jug” (1869)
55. “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879)
56. “Mary's a Grand Old Name” (1906)
57. “Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)” (1861)
58. “What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?” (1740)
59. “Sweet Betsy from Pike” (1851)
60. “When You and I Were Young, Maggie” (1866)

61. “Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?” (1792)
62. “Billy Boy” (1800)
63. “Vive la Compagnie (Vive l’Amour)” (1818)
64. “Oh Promise Me” (1889)
65. “Tom Dooley” (1929)
66. “Long, Long Ago” (1843)
67. “The Rosary” (1898)
68. “The Girl I Left Behind” (1650)
69. “Blow the Man Down” (1849)
70. “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” (1616)

71. “Love’s Old Sweet Song” (1887)
72. “Wait for the Wagon” (1851)
73. “The Wayfaring Stranger” (1807)
74. “The Foggy, Foggy Dew” (1804)
75. “I Gave My Love a Cherry” (1785)
76. “Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo (Mademoiselle from Armentieres)” (1918)
77. “There’s a Tavern in the Town” (1883)
78. “Wabash Cannonball” (1882)
79. “We Gather Together (Thanksgiving Song)” (1630)
80. “Barbara Allen” (1622)

81. “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949)
82. “While Strolling Through the Park One Day (The Fountain in the Park)” (1884)
83. “Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms” (1808)
84. “The Wearing of the Green” (1797)
85. “Bell Bottom Trousers” (1945)
86. “Flow Gently Sweet Afton” (1838)
87. “The Blue Bells of Scotland” (1800)
88. “The Campbells Are Coming” (1847)
89. “Dear Old Girl” (1903)
90. “Where Did You Get That Hat?” (1888)

91. “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)” (1835)
92. “Careless Love Blues” (1925)
93. “Aura Lee” (1861)
94. “Annie Laurie” (1838)
95. “St. Patrick’s Day” (1865)
96. “All Through the Night” (1825)
97. “John Peel” (1820)
98. “Charlie Is My Darling” (1830)
99. “Cindy” (1857)
100. “Ida” (1903)

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: lists from critics and individuals
Dave’s Music Database: lists from publications and/or organizations
Theodore Raph (1964). The American Song Treasury: 100 Favorites

First posted 12/17/2025.

Monday, December 8, 2025

Today in Music (1967): The Rolling Stones Their Satanic Majesties Request released

Their Satanic Majesties Request

The Rolling Stones

Released: December 8, 1967

Peak: 2 US, 3 UK, -- CN, 1³ AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.06 UK, 2.50 world (includes US and UK), 4.24 EAS

Genre: classic rock

Tracks:

Sing This All Together [3:46]
Citadel [2:50]
In Another Land (Wyman) [3:15]
2000 Man [3:07]
Sing This All Together (See What Happens) [8:33]
She's a Rainbow [4:35]
The Lantern [4:23]
Gomper [5:08]
2000 Light Years from Home [4:45]
On with the Show [3:39]

Songs written by Jagger/Richards unless indicated otherwise.

Total Running Time: 43:28

The Players:

Mick Jagger (vocals, tambourine, harmonica, maracas)
Keith Richards (guitar, backing vocals)
Brian Jones (guitar, backing vocals, harmonica, tambourine)
Bill Wyman (bass, backing vocals)
Charlie Watts (drums)
Ian Stewart (keyboards)

Rating:

3.713 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album

“Without a doubt, no Rolling Stones album--and, indeed, very few rock albums from any era--split critical opinion as much as the Rolling Stones' psychedelic outing. Many dismiss the record as sub-Sgt. Pepper posturing; others confess, if only in private, to a fascination with the album's inventive arrangements, which incorporated some African rhythms, mellotrons, and full orchestration. Never before or since did the Stones take so many chances in the studio. This writer, at least, feels that the record has been unfairly undervalued, partly because purists expect the Stones to constantly champion a blues ‘n’ raunch worldview.” ^AM

“About half the material is very strong, particularly the glorious She's a Rainbow, with its beautiful harmonies, piano, and strings; the riff-driven Citadel; the hazy, dream-like In Another Land, Bill Wyman's debut writing (and singing) credit on a Stones release; and the majestically dark and doomy cosmic rocker 2000 Light Years from Home, with some of the creepiest synthesizer effects (devised by Brian Jones) ever to grace a rock record.” ^AM

“The downfall of the album was caused by some weak songwriting on the lesser tracks, particularly the interminable psychedelic jam Sing This All Together (See What Happens).” ^AM

“It's a much better record than most people give it credit for being, though, with a strong current of creeping uneasiness that undercuts the gaudy psychedelic flourishes. In 1968, the Stones would go back to the basics, and never wander down these paths again, making this all the more of a fascinating anomaly in the group’s discography.” ^AM

Resources/References:

^AM AllMusic.com review by Richie Unterberger
^MG Philippe Margotin & Jean-Michel Guesdon (2022). The Rolling Stones: All the Songs. Hachette Book Group: New York, NY.

Related DMDB Pages:

First posted 4/1/2008; last updated 12/16/2025.

Pages

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Radio & Records/ Mediabase: Songs of the Year

1973-2025

Resources/Related Links:

Steve Sullivan:

Songs of the Year, 1889-2025

Resources/Related Links:

Steve Sullivan Song Lists:

Music VF:

Songs of the Year, 1900-2025

Resources/Related Links:

Spotify:

Songs of the Year, 1960-2025

Resources/Related Links:

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Pre-Recorded Music History:

Top 100 Songs

DMDB Top 1%:

DMDB Top 2%:

Resources/Related Links:

Sunday, December 21, 2025

Lesley Nelson/Contemplator.com:

Traditional American Tunes

Resources/Related Links:

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Ballad of America:

Top 40 Songs

Resources/Related Links:

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Theodore Raph:

The American Song Treasury

Resources/Related Links:

Monday, December 8, 2025

Their Satanic Majesties Request

The Rolling Stones

Tracks:

The Players:

Rating:

Awards:

About the Album

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Pages: