Inspired by bfactor's post: bfactor's all time top-25 favorite songs

My Criteria -
One Song per Artist (I want to be able to show some breadth, and 12 songs from Zeppelin hurts that. This should not be construed as a Top 50 Artists lists. There's only a few bands that would have had more than one without the restriction. They are asterisked (*).

It's a combo of historical relevance and personal preference. Obv you don't care about B-sides I like, and I don't care about plenty of "amazing" songs

Nothing too new - has to have stood some test of time

In alphabetical order (no way I am ranking them on a Friday night):

Aerosmith - Janie's Got a Gun
Al Green - Let's stay together
Alice in Chains - Would?
The Animals - House of the Rising Sun
The Band - The Weight
Beastie Boys - Sabatoge
*The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever
Billy Joel - Summer, Highland Falls
Black Sabbath - N.I.B.
*BoB Dylan - Rainy Day Women #12 and #35
Bob Marley and the Wailers - No Woman, No Cry
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth
The Chi-Lites- Oh Girl
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
The Clash - London Calling
Cream - Sunshine of your Love
*David Bowie - Changes
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla
*The Doors - Roadhouse Blues
Fleetwood Mac - Landslide
Foo Fighters - Everlong
George Thorogood and the Destroyers - One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
Green Day - When I Come Around
Guns N Roses - November Rain
*Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - Just Dropped in (To See What Condition My Condition was In)
*Led Zeppelin - D'yer Mak'er
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
*Metallica - One
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World (Unplugged)
Otis Redding - Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay
Pearl Jam - Eldely Woman Behind The Counter In a Small Town
Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill
*Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
*Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson
Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright)
Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
Talking Heads - Burning Down the House
The Temptations - My Girl
U2 - One
Van Halen - Jump
Weezer - Undone (The Sweater Song)
The WHO - Baba O'Reilly

I'm pretty happy with this list, actually. It also tells you a lot about my musical background. Proceed to destroy.

where is primus on that list? its not in the "p" section.cant seem to find it

that is solid....id use lounge act for nirvana but overall very nice

the led zep pick is awrsome as well
and honestly....fuck primus...and van halen too for that matter

As far as "best song by an artist" goes, I agree with your picks for AIC, Sabbath, NIN, and Pumpkins, but feel that I'd take almost any song off of self titled over Everlong, Live and Let Die or Mr Brownstone over November Rain, any Master of Puppets song over One, and would prob put Man Who Sold the World under Bowie (but I don't really like Bowie that much) and use the Nirvana spot for Lithium or Rape Me or even You Know You're Right.

Everlong - Just my personal favorite Early foo song, but arguments can be made about a lot of others.

I would be more apt to put Live and Let Die under Wings.

The Nirvana point is interesting. You Know You're Right is probably my favorite Nirvana song, but I always saw The Man Who Sold The World as the defining song from the defining moment/concert of the band. I think that gives it that last push.

As always, it's a matter of taste. Very happy I got the support for Disarm and Would?. Got a couple PM's/IM's about Would?, too, so I am very happy that I am not alone in that assessment.

I never knew that that was a Wings song, I feel like such an idiot.

Would has always been my fav AIC song. I like Dem Bones and Frogs and Killer is Me much more than Man in the Box.

Yeah, plus you were in band (lame) and I was a mathlete (cool) so, you know, +1 for me there.

I actually really love "Would?" as well, but for me it has to be "Down in a Hole" -- I get chills listening to the Unplugged version of that song. Oh and I'm with ya about Metallica's "One" -- it's my favourite as well.

Steve, were you to include songs from this decade, would any Dresden Dolls song make the cut? I seem to remember you once posting a picture or video of Amanda Palmer. I have since come to have a bmac-Amelie-esque infatuation with her.

Awesome list!

Billy Joel's best song = Vienna (or maybe allentown but I'm baised on that obv).

I think i will make my own list eventually.

I agree, those two along with Delilah are probably my favorite three of their songs. I hadn't realized that you were taking general popularity into account until after I posed that question, so I guess by your response it would be safe to assume that at least one of those songs would be in your own favorite 50.

Amanda performing one of my other favorite songs:

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=268614&server=www.vimeo. com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byl ine=1&show_portrait=0&color=" height="300" width="400"> <param name="quality" value="best"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showAll"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=268614&server=www.vimeo. com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byl ine=1&show_portrait=0&color="></object>
Amanda Creeps from Reggie Watts on Vimeo.

which was videotaped by one of my other favorite artists, Reggie Watts, who sang that "What About Blowjobs" Song, but much more often does really cool stuff like this:

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=154760&server=www.vimeo. com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byl ine=1&show_portrait=0&color=" height="300" width="400"> <param name="quality" value="best"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showAll"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=154760&server=www.vimeo. com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byl ine=1&show_portrait=0&color="></object>
Out Of Control from Reggie Watts on Vimeo.

Sorry if this was a thread hijack, I'll remove the videos upon request.

d'yer mak'er??? You know this was kinda considered a joke song by Zeppelin. It was considered one of their worse songs ever. I personally kinda like it, but their best? lol

Solid list, but no asterisk for Bob?

I respect MSteve immensely, but "Janie's got a gun"? Switch that one for "Back In The Saddle", and "Dyer Makr" for "Fool In The Rain" and we're talkin'.

edit: lose The Doors entirely. most overrated rock band ever.