Showing posts with label sex pistols. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sex pistols. Show all posts

Friday, June 12, 2026

The Top 50 Punk Songs of All Time

Punk Rock:

Top 50 Songs

Punk rock grew out of the garage rock of the ‘60s and the rejection of more commercialized, mainstream rock in the ‘70s. Its creators often embraced a rebellious, confrontational, and anti-establishment ethos which resonated with their disenfranchised listeners. While the movement was short-lasting and reached a limited audience, its influence extended into the alternative rock of the ‘80s and ‘90s, most clearly in the grunge movement. This list was created by aggregating 29 lists (sources listed below).

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

Spotify Playlist

Check out the Spotify playlist of these songs here..

1. Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976)
2. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
3. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
4. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
5. Dead Kennedys “Holiday in Cambodia” (1980)
6. Black Flag “Rise Above” (1981)
7. Dead Boys “Sonic Reducer” (1977)
8. The Stooges “Search and Destroy” (1973)
9. Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated” (1978)
10. Dead Kennedys “California Uber Alles” (1980)

11. Patti Smith “Gloria” (1975)
12. MC5 “Kick Out the Jams” (1969)
13. Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen in Love” (1978)
14. The Clash “White Riot” (1977)
15. New York Dolls “Personality Crisis” (1973)
16. Richard Hell & the Voidoids “Blank Generation” (1977)
17. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” (1977)
18. Wire “12 X U” (1977)
19. Ramones “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” (1977)
20. The Damned “New Rose” (1976)

21. Green Day “Longview” (1994)
22. The Clash “Complete Control” (1977)
23. The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” (1969)
24. Fugazi “Waiting Room” (1989)
25. Green Day “Welcome to Paradise” (1994)
26. Bad Brains “Pay to Cum” (1980)
27. Suicidal Tendencies “Institutionalized” (1983)
28. The Heartbreakers “Chinese Rocks” (1977)
29. The Misfits “Where Eagles Dare” (1979)
30. X-Ray Spex “Oh Bondage! Up Yours” (1977)

31. The Jam “In the City” (1977)
32. Stiff Little Fingers “Alternative Ulster” (1978)
33. Buzzcocks “Orgasm Addict” (1977)
34. Bad Religion “American Jesus” (1993)
35. Bad Brains “I Against I” (1986)
36. Green Day “American Idiot” (2004)
37. Minor Threat “Straight Edge” (1981)
38. The Clash “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” (1978)
39. The Replacements “Bastards of Young” (1985)
40. Hüsker Dü “Celebrated Summer” (1985)

41. Rancid “Ruby Soho” (1995)
42. X “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene” (1980)
43. Bad Brains “Banned in D.C.” (1982)
44. Blondie “X-Offender” (1976)
45. The Modern Lovers “Roadrunner” (1975)
46. Green Day “Basket Case” (1994)
47. Elvis Costello “Radio, Radio” (1978)
48. Dead Kennedys “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” (1981)
49. Television “See No Evil” (1977)
50. Black Flag “TV Party” (1981)

Resources/Related Links

First posted 3/11/2014; last updated 6/12/2026.

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Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Q Magazine: Top 200 Songs

Q Magazine:

Top 200 Songs

Q is a British music magazine which premiered in 1986 and ceased publication in 2020. Over the years, they published numerous best-of lists. Below is an exclusive Dave’s Music Database list in which sixteen different lists (sources at bottom of page) from Q have been consolidated into an aggregate list.

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

Spotify Podcast:

Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: Q Magazine: The Best Songs of All Time based on this list. It debuts November 2, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

1. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
2. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
3. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
4. The La’s “There She Goes” (1988)
5. The Jam “Going Underground” (1980)
6. The Specials “Ghost Town” (1981)
7. Prodigy “Firestarter” (1996)
8. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
9. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
10. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991)

11. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
12. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
13. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (1978)
14. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
15. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
16. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
17. Stone Roses “Fools Gold” (1989)
18. Robbie Williams “Angels” (1997)
19. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
20. Donna Summer “I Feel Love” (1977)

21. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
22. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
23. The Who “My Generation” (1965)
24. Black Sabbath “Paranoid” (1970)
25. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964)
26. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
27. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1984)
28. U2 “One” (1992)
29. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
30. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988)

31. Radiohead “Creep” (1993)
32. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” (1978)
33. The Smiths “This Charming Man” (1983)
34. Motörhead “Ace of Spaces” (1980)
35. M/A/R/R/S “Pump Up the Volume” (1987)
36. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
37. Coldplay “The Scientist” (2002)
38. Prince “Kiss” (1986)
39. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
40. The Beatles “She Loves You” (1963)

41. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
42. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (1981)
43. Madonna “Into the Groove” (1985)
44. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
45. Eminem with Dido “Stan” (2000)
46. Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman, No Cry” (1974)
47. The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” (1966)
48. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
49. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (1983)
50. Soul II Soul “Back to Life (How Ever Do You Want Me)” (1989)

51. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
52. 10cc “I’m Not in Love” (1975)
53. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
54. Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” (1989)
55. Lonnie Donegan “Rock Island Line” (1956)
56. Public Enemy “Rebel Without a Pause” (1987)
57. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
58. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
59. Slade “Cum on Feel the Noize” (1973)
60. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977)

61. Cornershop “Brimful of Asha” (1997)
62. The Ronettes “Be My Baby” (1963)
63. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967)
64. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
65. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
66. Happy Mondays “Step On” (1990)
67. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
68. N.W.A. “Fuck tha Police” (1989)
69. David Bowie “Life on Mars?” (1973)
70. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)

71. Tubeway Army “Are Friends Electric?” (1979)
72. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness” (1992)
73. The MC5 “Kick Out the Jams” (1969)
74. The Smiths “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (1992)
75. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)
76. R.E.M. “Everybody Hurts” (1993)
77. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” (1997)
78. Eagles “Hotel California” (1977)
79. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
80. U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)

81. Rage Against the Machine “Killing in the Name” (1992)
82. Metallica “Enter Sandman” (1991)
83. Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” (1969)
84. The Rolling Stones “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968)
85. Little Richard “Tutti Frutti” (1955)
86. Elvis Presley “That's All Right, Mama” (1954)
87. Roxy Music “Virginia Plain” (1972)
88. Eminem “My Name Is…” (1999)
89. Pet Shop Boys “West End Girls” (1985)
90. T-Rex “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” (1971)

91. The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966)
92. Madonna “Like a Prayer” (1989)
93. Kaiser Chiefs “I Predict a Riot” (2004)
94. The Jam “A Town Called Malice” (1982)
95. Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” (1982)
96. The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” (1968)
97. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
98. Supergrass “Alright” (1995)
99. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
100. Streets “Dry Your Eyes” (2004)

101. The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968)
102. Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
103. Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Crazy in Love” (2003)
104. Led Zeppelin “Kashmir” (1975)
105. The Strokes “Last Nite” (2001)
106. Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” (1968)
107. Marvin Gaye “Sexual Healing” (1982)
108. The Beatles “Something” (1969)
109. Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg “Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)” (1969)
110. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)

111. Van Halen “Jump” (1983)
112. Kraftwerk “Autobahn” (1974)
113. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
114. Blur “This Is a Low” (1995)
115. Cliff Richard & the Drifers “Move It” (1958)
116. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
117. The Waterboys “The Whole of the Moon” (1985)
118. U2 “With or Without You” (1987)
119. Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” (1977)
120. So Solid Crew “21 Seconds” (2001)

121. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
122. This Mortal Coil “Song to the Siren” (1982)
123. AC/DC “Whole Lotta Rosie” (1977)
124. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
125. The Monkees “Last Train to Clarksville” (1966)
126. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992)
127. Madness “Baggy Trousers” (1980)
128. Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” (1939)
129. The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” (1969)
130. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)

131. Big Star “September Gurls” (1974)
132. The Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party” (1986)
133. Prince “Sign ‘O’ the Times” (1987)
134. Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976)
135. Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit” (1967)
136. The Small Faces “Itchycoo Park” (1967)
137. The Beatles “In My Life” (1968)
138. Kylie Minogue “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (2001)
139. The Beatles “Paperback Writer” (1966)
140. Cream “Sunshine of Your Love” (1968)

141. Dinosaur Jr. “Freak Scene” (1988)
142. Britney Spears “Baby One More Time” (1998)
143. The Tornadoes “Telstar” (1962)
144. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out” (2004)
145. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (1972)
146. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
147. Foo Fighters “Monkey Wrench” (1997)
148. U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983)
149. Dizzee Rascal “Fix Up Look Sharp” (2003)
150. Ike & Tina Turner “River Deep, Mountain High” (1966)

151. Link Wray & His Men “Rumble” (1958)
152. The Beatles “Help!” (1965)
153. The Clash “White Riot” (1977)
154. Primal Scream “Loaded” (1990)
155. Wayne Smith “Under Me Sleng Teng” (1985)
156. Deep Purple “Smoke on the Water” (1973)
157. Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)
158. Desmond Dekker & the Aces “The Israelites” (1969)
159. Led Zeppelin “Rock and Roll” (1971)
160. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” (1983)

161. Coldplay “Yellow” (2000)
162. The Strokes “Hard to Explain” (2001)
163. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1996)
164. Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971)
165. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1971)
166. Rhythim Is Rhythim “Strings of Life” (1987)
167. Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah” (1994)
168. Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds “Three Lions” (1996)
169. Fairport Convention “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” (1969)
170. James Brown “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine)” (1970)

171. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
172. The Shadows “Apache” (1960)
173. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)
174. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
175. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb”
176. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
177. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
178. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)
179. Billy Bragg “A New England” (1983)
180. The Specials “Gangsters” (1979)

181. Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor” (2005)
182. The Troggs “Wild Thing” (1966)
183. Morrissey “Everyday Is Like Sunday” (1988)
184. Spice Girls “Wannabe” (1996)
185. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Two Tribes” (1984)
186. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
187. Ray Charles “What’d I Say” (1959)
188. Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” (1987)
189. The Verve “The Drugs Don’t Work” (1997)
190. The Jam “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” (1978)

191. The Smiths “The Queen Is Dead” (1986)
192. The Beatles “Penny Lane” (1967)
193. David Bowie “Starman” (1972)
194. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
195. Elton John “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Gonna Be a Long Time)” (1972)
196. Elvis Costello “I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea” (1978)
197. The Pixies “Debaser” (1989)
198. Culture Club “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” (1982)
199. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967)
200. Keane “Everybody’s Changing” (2004)

Resources/Related Links:

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

  • Readers’ poll (2/99).
    Top 100 songs of all-time according to Q readers.

  • The 50 Most Exciting Tunes Ever (1/02).

  • 100 Songs That Changed the World (1/03).

  • 1001 Best Songs Ever (1/04).
    Don’t know details of how list was compiled.

  • The Music That Changed the World (2004).
    3 special editions in January (covering 1954-69), February (covering 1970-1979), and March 2004 (covering 1980-2004). Each featured a top 20 album list and a top 20 song list.

  • 1010 Songs You Must Own! (9/04).
    Multiple unranked lists for one-hit wonders, air guitar, duets, short & to the point, epics, instrumentals, cover versions, ballads, remixes, best of the 21st century so far, Getting Wasted: 60 Songs for the Tired & Emotional, Chilling Out: 60 Songs to Soothe the Furrowed Brow, Girls & Boys: 60 Songs for Love’s Little Ups & Downs, On the Move: 60 Songs to Soundtrack the Open Road, On a Downer: 60 Songs for Long Dark Night of the Soul, and The Perfect 10. Finally, there are celebrity lists from Dave Grohl, ?estlove, Basement Jaxx, Jeremy Vine, Travis Barker, Lucinda Williams, Beenie Man, Tim Westwood, Tim Rice, and Katie Melua.

  • 50 Greatest British Tracks (10/04).

  • Ultimate Music Collection (4/05).
    Multiple lists of essential albums and tracks by genre (rock, pop, punk/new wave, rap, country, blues, soul, metal, reggae, jazz, folk, electronic, and indie). Also had five essential artists (The Beatles, Madonna, Bob Dylan, U2, and Velvet Underground) with one album choice each and selected songs. Finally, the collection is rounded out with tracks selected by musicians Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Brandon Flowers of the Killers, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and Johnny Borrell of Razorlight. Finally, there was a list of the basics one should be sure to have.

  • Best of the ‘80s (8/06).
    A list of the 40 best albums and 40 best tracks.

  • The 100 Greatest Songs Ever (10/06).
    Top 100 songs of all-time according to Q readers.

  • Top 20 Albums and Singles of the Lifetime of Q Magazine (20 Years) (11/06; issue 244)

  • 50 Years of Great British Music (3/08).
    Chronological listing with 10 tracks and 10 albums for each decade (no album list for the ‘50s).

  • 50 Ultimate British Songs (4/11).
    Top 50 ranked list with commentary. As chosen by songwriters, singers, & readers.

  • 156 Most Influential Records of All Time (4/19).
    A list of albums and songs.

First posted 4/14/2011; last updated 11/2/2021.

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Saturday, May 30, 2020

Top 100 Alternative Rock Songs

image from nufizzle.wordpress.com

Alternative Rock:

Top 100 Songs

More than 30 different lists were aggregated to create this list. Alternative is a widely defined collection of rock music which stretches from the garage bands of the 1960s to the indie scene of today. It generally is used to describe groups which are more left of center, but often these bands– such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, U2, and R.E.M. – move to the forefront of mainstream rock.

A brief history of the genre shows its origins to come out of the D.I.Y. aesthetic that accompanied rougher sounding, experimental bands who came out of the 1960s. Groups like the Velvet Underground and The Stooges provided a raunchier and rawer alternative to mainstream rock like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

By the mid-1970s, groups like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Ramones spearheaded the punk scene, which grew out of angry working class kids looking for a musical outlet. By the close of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s, new wave groups like The Cure, Depeche Mode, and New Order emerged at the forefront of a more accessible, electronically-driven, and ready-for-video format. The college rock scene quickly grew out of that, also lending audiences to groups like U2, R.E.M., and The Smiths.

By the end of the 1990s, grunge became the dominant form of rock music with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam at the helm. They revived some of the punk and D.I.Y. ethos of the 1960s and 1970s, while also crafting big songs which echoed some of the big-anthem classic rock of those decades.

Since grunge, there hasn’t been one dominant form of alternative – or what became known as “modern rock.” Groups like Green Day and Blink-182 created punk-pop while The White Stripes and The Strokes reminded listeners of the garage rock of the 1960s. Artists like Radiohead and Beck reminded listeners of the experimental nature of the genre.

So what is alternative rock exactly? It’s hard to say. This list taps into all the forms referenced above and more. I’ll just let these songs tell you what alternative is.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
2. Radiohead “Creep” (1993)
3. Beck “Loser” (1993)
4. Nirvana “Come As You Are” (1992)
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” (1992)
6. Pearl Jam “Alive” (1991)
7. Violent Femmes “Blister in the Sun” (1983)
8. Jane’s Addiction “Been Caught Stealing” (1990)
9. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1984)
10. Sublime “What I Got” (1996)

11. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” (1993)
12. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
13. Nine Inch Nails “Closer” (1994)
14. Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated” (1978)
15. Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party” (1986)
16. Pearl Jam “Jeremy” (1992)
17. Smashing Pumpkins “1979” (1995)
18. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
19. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
20. Jane’s Addiction “Jane Says” (1988)

21. Beastie Boys “Sabotage” (1994)
22. The Cure “Just Like Heaven” (1987)
23. Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun” (1994)
24. Green Day “Longview” (1994)
25. U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983)
26. Pearl Jam “Black” (1991)
27. New Order “Bizarre Love Triangle” (1986)
28. Linkin Park “In the End” (2001)
29. The Offspring “Come Out and Play” (1994)
30. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give It Away” (1991)

31. R.E.M. “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (1987)
32. Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” (1989)
33. The Clash “Rock the Casbah” (1982)
34. Live “Lightning Crashes” (1994)
35. U2 “With or Without You” (1987)
36. Stone Temple Pilots “Plush” (1992)
37. Rage Against the Machine “Killing in the Name” (1993)
38. The Clash “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” (1982)
39. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
40. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)

41. U2 “One” (1992)
42. Green Day “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1997)
43. Weezer “Buddy Holly” (1994)
44. Green Day “When I Come Around” (1994)
45. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
46. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
47. Green Day “Brain Stew/Jaded” (1995)
48. Foo Fighters “Everlong” (1997)
49. Metallica “Enter Sandman” (1991)
50. Green Day “Basket Case” (1994)

51. Pearl Jam “Even Flow” (1991)
52. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
53. The Offspring “Self Esteem” (1994)
54. Nine Inch Nails “Head Like a Hole” (1989)
55. Depeche Mode “Enjoy the Silence” (1990)
56. Nirvana “All Apologies” (1993)
57. The Pixies “Here Comes Your Man” (1989)
58. U2 “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (1984)
59. Stone Temple Pilots “Interstate Love Song” (1994)
60. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)

61. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (1981)
62. Nirvana “Lithium” (1991)
63. Sublime “Wrong Way” (1996)
64. Faith No More “Epic” (1990)
65. Smashing Pumpkins “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” (1995)
66. Blink-182 “Dammit (Growing Up)” (1997)
67. Weezer “Undone (The Sweater Song)” (1994)
68. Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” (1977)
69. Smashing Pumpkins “Disarm” (1993)
70. Papa Roach “Last Resort” (2000)

71. Nirvana “In Bloom” (1991)
72. Rage Against the Machine “Bulls on Parade” (1996)
73. Devo “Whip It” (1980)
74. Blind Melon “No Rain” (1993)
75. R.E.M. “Radio Free Europe” (1983)
76. Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976)
77. The Cure “Love Song” (1989)
78. Beastie Boys “Intergalactic” (1998)
79. The B-52’s “Rock Lobster” (1979)
80. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)

81. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” (1991)
82. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
83. Modern English “I Melt with You” (1982)
84. R.E.M. “The One I Love” (1987)
85. Blink-182 “All the Small Things” (1999)
86. Pearl Jam “Better Man” (1994)
87. The Pixies “Monkey Gone to Heaven” (1989)
88. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” (1999)
89. Violent Femmes “Add It Up” (1983)
90. Elvis Costello “Alison” (1977)

91. Pearl Jam “Yellow Ledbetter” (1992)
92. Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime” (1981)
93. Talking Heads “Burning Down the House” (1983)
94. Echo & the Bunnymen “Lips Like Sugar” (1987)
95. The Cure “Boys Don’t Cry” (1979)
96. Blink-182 “What’s My Age Again?” (1999)
97. The Police “Roxanne” (1978)
98. Linkin Park “Numb” (2003)
99. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” (2000)
100. U2 “New Year’s Day” (1983)

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 6/14/2012; last updated 5/30/2020.

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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Kerrang! Top 100 Albums

First posted 2/19/2005; updated 8/5/2020.

Kerrang:

The Top Albums

This is an exclusive DMDB list which consolidates eight lists from the British music magazine Kerrang!, which focuses on heavy metal and punk (links to individual lists at bottom of page).

Also, check out annual picks for album of the year.

1. Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
2. Metallica Master of Puppets (1986)
3. Slayer Reign in Blood (1986)
4. Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti (1975)
5. Black Sabbath Black Sabbath (1970)
6. Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast (1982)
7. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)
8. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987)
9. AC/DC Back in Black (1980)
10. Green Day Dookie (1994)

11. Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (1972)
12. The Stooges Raw Power (1973)
13. Metallica Kill ‘Em All (1983)
14. Bad Brains Rock for Light (1982)
15. Discharge Hear Nothing, Say Nothing, See Nothing (1982)
16. Napalm Death Scum (1987)
17. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
18. Def Leppard Hysteria (1987)
19. The Clash London Calling (1979)
20. Def Leppard Pyromania (1983)

21. Motörhead Ace of Spades (1980)
22. Metallica Ride the Lightning (1984)
23. The Clash The Clash (1977)
24. Korn Korn (1994)
25. Pearl Jam Ten (1991)
26. Black Flag Damaged (1981)
27. Sepultura Roots (1996)
28. Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (1992)
29. Ramones Ramones (1976)
30. Alice in Chains Dirt (1992)

31. Rancid And Out Come the Wolves (1995)
32. Hole Live Through This (1994)
33. Sublime Sublime (1996)
34. The Offspring Smash (1994)
35. Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral (1994)
36. The Prodigy Fat of the Land (1997)
37. The Wildhearts Earth Vs. the Wildhearts (1993)
38. Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet (1986)
39. The Stooges Fun House (1970)
40. Deep Purple In Rock (1970)

41. Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible (1994)
42. Pantera Vulgar Display of Power (1992)
43. Reef Glow (1997)
44. Ash 1977 (1996)
45. Van Halen Van Halen I (1978)
46. Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (1993)
47. Aerosmith Toys in the Attic (1975)
48. Terrorvision How to Make Friends and Influence People (1994)
49. Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)
50. Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous (1977)

51. Iron Maiden Iron Maiden (1980)
52. Rocket from the Crypt Scream, Dracula, Scream! (1995)
53. Boston Boston (1976)
54. Motörhead No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (1981)
55. Queensryche Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
56. Bush Sixteen Stone (1994)
57. Motörhead Overkill (1979)
58. Queen A Night at the Opera (1975)
59. Killing Joke Killing Joke (1980)
60. Venom Black Metal (1982)

61. Skunk Anansie Paranoid & Sunburnt (1995)
62. Sisters of Mercy Floodland (1987)
63. Saxon Wheels of Steel (1980)
64. Fugazi Repeater (1990)
65. Journey Escape (1981)
66. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II (1969)
67. Refused The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombation in 12 Bursts (1998)
68. Operation Ivy Energy (1989)
69. Black Sabbath Paranoid (1970)
70. The Damned Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)

71. Manic Street Preachers Everything Must Go (1996)
72. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin I (1969)
73. Therapy? Trouble Gum (1991)
74. Kyuss Welcome to Sky Valley (1994)
75. The Descendents Milo Goes to College (1982)
76. Bryan Adams Reckless (1984)
77. Aerosmith Rocks (1976)
78. Deep Purple Machine Head (1972)
79. Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
80. Kiss Alive! (1975)

81. Bon Jovi Bon Jovi (1984)
82. Michael Bolton Everybody’s Crazy (1985)
83. Quicksand Manic Compression (1995)
84. Rainbow Rising (1976)
85. Judas Priest Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
86. The MC5 Kick Out the Jams (1968)
87. Helmet Meantime (1992)
88. Magnum On a Storyteller’s Night (1985)
89. The Ruts The Crack (1979)
90. Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape (1997)

91. Stiff Little Fingers Inflammable Material (1979)
92. Judas Priest Stained Class (1978)
93. Iron Maiden Killers (1981)
94. Nirvana In Utero (1993)
95. Exodus Bonded by Blood (1985)
96. Tool Ænima (1996)
97. Anthrax Among the Living (1987)
98. Kreator Pleasure to Kill (1986)
99. Megadeth Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? (1986)
100. NOFX Punk in Drublic (1994)

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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Dave's Music Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (May 2019)

Originally posted 5/22/2019.

January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. Since then, 23 songs, 9 albums, and 10 acts have been inducted. This month marks the second batch of album inductees. These 10 works have been selected because they topped DMDB genre/specialty lists for classic rock, classical, country, folk, live albums, metal, opera, punk, rap, and R&B. It should be noted that blues, cast albums, and jazz were not included in this list because the top albums of each of those genres were already inducted – Robert Johnson’s The Complete Recordings (blues), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific (cast album), and Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (jazz).

See the full list of album inductees here.

Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations (1741)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (classical).”

Scholars have debated the specifics about the origin of the work, but have generally accepted that they were commissioned by Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, JK who may have been the first to perform them. WK Many records suggest that Bach once taught Goldberg, a famed virtuoso, who would have easily been able to play the variations. They were originally written for harpsichord, but are sometimes performed on piano. WK In fact, pianist Glenn Gould gave the Goldberg Variations their greatest audience with several recordings, collectively exceeding two million in sales. His recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983 and added to the National Recording Registry in 2003. Read more.

James Brown Live at the Apollo, Vol. 1 (1962)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (live).”

“There is no more exciting document of live performance in the history of R&B.” AZ Brown asked his record label to record one of his shows. When they refused, he bankrolled the project himself, TL knowing “his live performances contained electricity unable to be reproduced in the studio.” RV “By the end of these thirty-two minutes, no one will doubt that James really was the hardest working man in show business (and this without even seeing him dance!).” AMG It ended up on the Billboard charts for more than a year, peaking at #2 and becoming “a watershed album, both for James Brown and for the burgeoning soul music movement.” AMG Read more.

Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison (1968)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (country).”

In one of his two legendary live albums recorded for a prison audience, “Cash plays to the audience, selecting a set of songs that are all about prison, crime, murder, regret, loss, mother, God, and loneliness.” AMG “He never did any hard time, but Cash had a natural sympathy for men who gave in to their worst impulses.” TL “Cash stimulates the audience’s emotions, which in turn stimulates his performance, especially since he delivers the songs with the conviction of someone who has lived through it.” AMG “Few albums come as close to capturing the darkness and rage that lays deep in Cash’s music, as well as the depth of his talent.” AMG Read more.

Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (folk).”

With Blonde on Blonde, Dylan was moving toward “leaving coffee bars behind forever…to bring country into rock & roll.” BL It “is an album of enormous depth” AMG that “reaches some of Dylan’s greatest heights – which is to say, the very pinnacle of rock.” TL It “is comprised entirely of songs driven by inventive, surreal, and witty wordplay.” TL It blends “blues, country, rock, and folk into a wild, careening, and dense sound.” TL It was “the culmination of Dylan’s electric rock & roll period – he would never release a studio record that rocked this hard, or had such bizarre imagery, ever again.” AMG Read more.

Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (R&B).”

Gaye’s album of social commentary on “urban decay, environmental woes, military turbulence, police brutality, unemployment, and poverty” AMG became “one of the defining albums of its time.” TL Initially Motown founder Berry Gordy balked at the idea, thinking it would be a commercial failure, but it became “the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music” AMG and “the most perfect expression of an artist’s hope, anger, and concern ever recorded.” AMG It “catapulted Marvin Gaye into superstardom.” BN and “kicked off an era of unprecedented social consciousness in R&B…[and] introduced a whole new style of making records.” TL Read more.

Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (metal).”

“Guns N’ Roses’ debut, Appetite for Destruction was a turning point for hard rock in the late ‘80s – it was a dirty, dangerous, and mean record in a time when heavy metal meant nothing but a good time.” AMG Guns N’ Roses embraced “the wasted rock star lifestyle with such earnest determination that you’d think they invented it.” GW Lead singer Axl “Rose’s misogyny, fear, and anger hard to dismiss as merely an artistic statement; this is music that sounds lived-in.” AMG As good as his “lyrics and screeching vocals are, they wouldn’t be nearly as effective without the twin-guitar interplay of Slash and Izzy Stradlin, who spit out riffs and solos better than any band since the Rolling Stones.” BL Read more.

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (classic rock).”

While “the first four Led Zeppelin albums are all air-curdling classics, monolithic slabs of sleazy sweat-riffs and heavy gravity, [this] is their most staggeringly ambitious.” DK It “not only [defined] Led Zeppelin, but the sound and style of ‘70s hard rock.” AMG It “turned them from mere superstars into giant behemoths of the rock world,” AZ1 “an important stylistic template for everything from heavy metal to grunge.” BN Read more.

Claudio Monteverdi L’Orfeo (Orpheus) (1607)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (opera).”

Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo is “based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world.” WK “It was written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua.” WK ‘In his published score Monteverdi lists around 41 instruments to be deployed, with distinct groups of instruments used to depict particular scenes and characters.” WK “After the composer’s death in 1643 the opera went unperformed for many years, and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in the late 19th century.” WK Since then, it has gained the reputation as “the earliest that is still regularly performed.” WK Read more.

Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (rap).”

Nation “rewrote the rules of what hip-hop could do.” STE It is “one of the greatest and most influential albums of all-time” WK in any genre. The group “set out to make…the hip hop equivalent to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, an album noted for its strong social commentary.” WK Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn said, Chuck D “isn’t afraid of being labeled an extremist, and it’s that fearless bite…helps infuse his black-consciousness raps with the anger and assault of punk pioneers like the Sex Pistols and Clash.” WK Read more.

Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)

Inducted May 2019 as a “Top Album of Its Genre (punk).”

This “has become punk’s ground zero.” TM “One album was all they made, and probably all anyone could stand.” TL The Sex Pistols “made old-fashioned rock bad boys such as The Rolling Stones and The Who look like wimps in comparison.” RV Their “loud, snotty and angry” approach created “an us-against-them ideology that disaffected kids everywhere understood immediately.” TM “Never Mind the Bollocks perfectly articulated the frustration, rage, and dissatisfaction of the British working class with the establishment.” AMG “Everyone who heard them went out and started a punk band, and the music world’s been a better place as a result.” PK Read more.
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Monday, March 30, 2015

The Top 20 Music Books of All Time

Music Books:

The Top 20

”Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” – Martin Mull

This quotation has been attributed to a variety of people, including musicians Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello, Thelonious Monk, and Laurie Anderson, but according to QuoteInvestigator.com, the line first appeared in the magazine Time Barrier Express in the September-October 1979 issue. Gary Sperrazza references the quotation, crediting it to actor/comedian Martin Mull.

Regardless of who said it first, the point is clear. Music cannot be broken down and explained in written form. It is an aural experience which is meant to be heard. So why post a list of the best music books of all time? Music goes beyond the listening experience. It envelops social history and science and our fascination with the lives of the people who create the music. Those experiences can be analyzed, critiqued, and discussed in written form – and twenty of the most popular versions of that are introduced here. If that doesn’t cut it for you, seek these tomes out via audiobooks. I’ll leave it to the architects to address dancing.

Click here to see other media-based lists, such as best videos and best music books of all time.

Chronicles Vol. 1

Rank: #1

Author: Bob Dylan
Published: 2004

Dylan’s autobiography eschews a convential, chronological format opting for a disjointed tale which skips over many highlights in favor of more personal revelations. Buy at Amazon.

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991

Rank: #2

Author: Michael Azerrad
Published: 2001

Azerrad profiles the history of the rock music in the 1980s which owed a debt to punk rock and its DIY ethos. Buy at Amazon.

Life

Rank: #3

Author: Keith Richards with James Fox
Published: 2010

Some have proclaimed that if the world is ever annihilated, all that will remain will be the cock roaches and Keith Richards, survivor extraordinaire and legendary guitarist of the Rolling Stones. Luckily for us mortals, he’s left us this candid, conversational glimpse into his roller coaster life. Buy at Amazon.

Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties

Rank: #4

Author: Ian MacDonald
Published: 1994

Amazon called this chronogical assessment of every one of the Fab Four’s songs the “Bible of the Beatles.” Buy at Amazon.

Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984

Rank: #5

Author: Simon Reynolds
Published: 2006

Reynolds’ book travels some of the same ground as Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life in dissecting some of the bands who grew out of the punk rock movement of the 1970s. Buy at Amazon.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Rank: #6

Author: Jeff Chang
Published: 2005

Amazon.com: “In a post-civil rights era rapidly transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes and…crystallized a multiracial generation's worldview, and forever transformed politics and culture.” Buy at Amazon.

England’s Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond

Rank: #7

Author: Jon Savage
Published: 1991

Amazon.com: “The ultimate book on punk…Savage brings to life the sensational story of the meteoric rise and rapid implosion of the Pistols through layers of rich detail, exclusive interviews, and rare photographs.” Buy at Amazon.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band

Rank: #8

Author: Motley Crue with Neil Strauss
Published: 2001

Rolling Stone magazine’s Joe Levy: “The most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock & roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling and utterly revolting.” Buy at Amazon.

Hammer of the Gods: Led Zeppelin Unauthorized

Rank: #9

Author: Stephen Davis
Published: 1985

Amazon.com: Led Zeppelin’s “tours were legendary, their lives were exalted—and in an era well known for sex and drugs, the mighty Zeppelin set an unattainable standard of excess and mythos for any band that tried to follow them…A spellbinding, electrifying, no-holds-barred classic of rock 'n' roll history.” Buy at Amazon.

Just Kids

Rank: #10

Author: Patti Smith
Published: 2010

Amazon.com: “The legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies.” Buy at Amazon.

The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century

Rank: #11

Author: Alex Ross
Published: 2007

Amazon.com: “In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together…an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.” Buy at Amazon.

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung

Rank: #12

Author: Lester Bangs
Published: 1987

Amazon.com: “The wild and brilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popular rock critic of the 1970s.” Buy at Amazon.

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey

Rank: #13

Author: Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton
Published: 1999

Amazon.com: “The first comprehensive history of the disc jockey, a figure who has become a powerful force shaping the music industry…The inside story on some of music’s most memorable moments…A lively and entertaining account of musical history and some of the most legendary parties of the century.” Buy at Amazon.

How Music Works

Rank: #14

Author: David Byrne
Published: 2012

Amazon.com: “Drawing on his work over the years with Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and myriad collaborators—along with journeys to Wagnerian opera houses, African villages, and anywhere music exists—Byrne shows how music emerges from cultural circumstance as much as individual creativity. It is his magnum opus, and an impassioned argument about music’s liberating, life-affirming power.” Buy at Amazon.

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Rank: #15

Author: Daniel J. Levitin
Published: 2006

Amazon.com: “This groundbreaking union of art and science…explores the connection between music - its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it - and the human brain.” Buy at Amazon.

Slash: The Autobiography

Rank: #16

Author: Slash with Anthony Bozza
Published: 2007

Amazon.com: “Slash tells…how the legendary band Guns N' Roses came together, how they wrote the music that defined an era…and, ultimately, how it all fell apart. Slash is a window into the world of the notoriously private guitarist and a front seat on the roller-coaster ride that was one of history's greatest rock 'n' roll machines, always on the edge of self-destruction, even at the pinnacle of its success.” Buy at Amazon.

The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock

Rank: #17

Author: John Harris
Published: 2003

Amazon.com: “Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics and fleeting political optimism - this was 'Cool Britannia'. The Last Party charts the rise and fall of the Britpop movement.” Buy at Amazon.

Scar Tissue

Rank: #18

Author: Anthony Kiedis with Larry Stoman
Published: 2004

Amazon.com: “The Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group's lyricist and dynamic lead singer, has been there for the whole roller-coaster ride. Kiedis shares a compelling story about the price of success and excess…a story that could only have come out of the world of rock.” Buy at Amazon.

Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music

Rank: #19

Author: Greg Milner
Published: 2009

Amazon.com: “Milner takes us through the major breakthroughs and glorious failures in the art and science of recording…From Les Paul to Phil Spector to King Tubby, from vinyl to pirated CDs to iPods, Milner pulls apart musical history to answer a crucial question: Should a recording document reality as faithfully as possible, or should it improve upon or somehow transcend the music it records? The answers he uncovers will change the very way we think about music.” Buy at Amazon.

Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess

Rank: #20

Author: Danny Sugerman
Published: 1989

Memoir of Doors’ publicist Danny Sugerman. GoodReads.com: “Excessive, scandalous, comic, cautionary and horrifying, it chronicles the 60s dream gone-to-rot and the early life of a Hollywood Wild Child who was just brilliant at being bad.” Buy at Amazon.

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First posted 3/31/2015; last updated 7/14/2025.

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