We all love a good poll.
Whether electing Presidents…
deciding on the best cheese…
It’s an entirely uncontroversial and scientifically unimpeachable method of deciding things.
So having previously looked at the 100 biggest singles and albums of all htime based on sales and Billboard chart metrics, let’s see how the critics choices compare.
The metric that I’m using is that bastion of rock orthodoxy: Rolling Stone:
Using their 500 Greatest songs and albums of all time. This week: the songs.
They could have dropped the reference to ‘all time’ as it turns out that the furthest we go back is 1937. Never mind that several millennia of songs are instantly disposed of, just feel the hyperbole. I’m sure that Greensleeves was just outside the 500.
The current list was compiled in 2021. By polling over 250 artists, musicians producers, critics and journalists – too important a task to let the public have their say – and having them all pick their top 50. The original list was created in 2004 and as Rolling Stone notes, the updated version is much more inclusive with far wider representation from hip-hop, modern country, indie rock, Latin pop, reggae, and R&B.
Let’s see how the numbers stack up and compare to Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 songs.
LMFAO fans may want to look away now. It’s like the critics don’t see the toil and earnest craftsmanship that went into making Party Rocking so…err…rocking.
Starting off with the top 10;
- 10. Outkast – Hey Ya!
- 9. Fleetwood Mac – Dreams
- 8. Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On
- 7. The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever
- 6. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
- 5. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
- 4. Bob Dylan – Like A Rolling Stone
- 3. Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come
- 2. Public Enemy – Fight The Power
- 1. Aretha Franklin – Respect
The full list is here.
Turns out that critical success doesn’t necessarily stack up with commercial success.
Only 14 of the Billboard list appear on the RS list.
The metric of greatest song allows for greater choice than Billboard’s which is confined by what made the charts.
There is still an obvious trend towards big hits:
- 314 of these were top 40 hits with 225 of those making the top 10 and 117 reaching top spot.
- There are still 139 that didn’t make the Hot 100, whether due to flopping on release, being album tracks and in a few cases pre-dating the Hot 100.
The question of what era produced the greatest songs shows a marked difference to Billboard.
Over at BB, the streaming age appears to have distorted the metrics, as the 2010s won out, followed by the 90s then 80s.
The idea of the classic era of song is alive in the RS list, though. The 70s are well ahead of the pack with the 60s next in line. The 2010s come in as only the 6th best represented decade.
Which makes some kind of sense, as they haven’t yet had the chance to become classics.
Look further into the individual years, and the golden era is even more pronounced.
There are 19 years which gift 10 or more songs to the list.
1964 was the first year into double figures and every year after through to 1982 achieved the same feat – apart from two. For whatever reason, slap bang in the peak period 1974 is left slacking, only providing five entries. Theories as to why are welcome.
- After 1982 only two more years supply 10 or more entries; 1992 and 1994.
- While the updated 2021 list does go some way to rectifying the imbalances of the original list the mid 90s onwards are still underrepresented.
- The peak individual years are 1971 with 21 contributions and 1967 and 1970 with 20.
- Every year from 1953 to 2020 is represented.
One advantage the Rolling Stone list has in comparison to Billboard’s is that it goes much further back, with three songs predating the 50s;
Robert Johnson – Crossroad Blues: 1937
Billie Holliday – Strange Fruit: 1939
Hank Williams – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry: 1949
The idea of a canon is brought into focus by the fact there are 91 artists who provide multiple entries which account for over half the list.
17 artists provide four or more and only two of those: Beyonce and Outkast, post date the mid 80s.
It’s not going to be a surprise to find that The Beatles are the most prolific progenitors of classics. They’ve a whole albums worth of them covering all stages of their career.
Surprisingly, John is the only Beatle to appear with a post breakup song; Imagine at #19.
The other big hitters are; Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones and David Bowie, all of whom appear seven times. Which makes up for the fact that none of them appeared in the 100 biggest selling singles or albums on either side of the Atlantic.
Keen eyed observers will note Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane there:
Impressive work to get both sides of the single onto the list.
They aren’t the only ones to achieve this: It’s appropriate that the others are their partners in pushing the boundaries in the mid 60s; The Beach Boys.
At the time Wouldn’t It Be Nice was the designated A-side and reached #8 while B-side God Only Knows made it to #39.
Critical appreciation has turned things around; #11 against #297.
Whereas Soundtracks, with their inbuilt advertising were a big deal on the Hot 100: they aren’t such a factor here.
In a much bigger sample, the number drops from 14 to 8:
The Respect demanded by Aretha proves the original isn’t always the best. That’s one of 20 cover versions present, with a good portion of those being late 60s soul songs.
There are four instances of both the original and a cover appearing, only of which has the cover as the pre-eminent version:
- – Mr Tambourine Man: Bob Dylan #164 / The Byrds #230
- – Killing Me Softly: Roberta Flack #273 / The Fugees #359
- – Walk On By: Dionne Warwick #51 / Isaac Hayes #312
- – Gloria: Them #413 – Patti Smith #97
One factor that remains the same as the Billboard 100 is that there’s no shortage of white men.
- Male group = 196
- Male solo = 155
- Female solo = 89
- Mixed group = 44
- Female group = 16
Things are shifting, as shown by the 71 songs featured that have been released since 2000: only 21 are by groups.
Since RS first compiled their list in 2004 rap has made inroads into the hallowed selection.
Back then Hey Ya! was highest ranked at #180 and one of only 10 rap songs total.
There are now well over 50 with three in the top 10.
Another change from the previous lists is that R Kelly who was present in 2004 with “I Believe I Can Fly” and saw that replaced with Ignition in the 2010 update is now conspicuous by his absence.
Whereas the allegations around Michael Jackson haven’t derailed his popularity.
And it’ll be interesting to see if Kanye’s commitment to trashing his reputation survives future editions.
The 2021 poll came before he went into overdrive on that count.
So: We’ve got:
… pop, rock, soft rock, hard rock, prog rock, industrial rock, rock ‘n roll, heavy metal, grunge, soul, R&B, funk, rap, a smattering of folk and country, psychedelia, punk, new wave, indie / alternative, a little bit of disco, electronic, synth pop, blues, jazz, reggae, reggaeton, salsa, tejano cumbia, sensitive singer songwriters, samba funk, K-pop, girl groups, boy bands, teen sensations…
and the beat goes on.
Still, there are gaps. Despite going all the way back to the 30s there’s no room for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and other pre-rock n’ roll sensations.
Dance / techno / EDM, call it what you will: it’s underrepresented.
The one true dance track is Marshall Jefferson’s house anthem; Move Your Body at #335.
We don’t have much in the way of instrumentals either. It is a poll of greatest songs which suggests a vocal element but these few make the cut:
- – The Meters – Cissy Strut #158
- – Augustus Pablo – King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown #266
- – John Coltrane – Pt 1 Acknowledgement #315
- – Booker T & The MGs – Green Onions #418
- – Miles Davis – So What #492
After using all my fingers, toes and a calculator: I wondered what I was doing with my life.
I worked out that the idea of the perfect three minute pop song needs to be revised upwards by a minute. Plus one more second.
The average song length is 4:01. Which is skewed upwards by the presence of a few 10 minute plus epics like Desolation Row and the not to be rushed live rendition of Whipping Post by The Allman Brothers weighing in at 22:40. Which is long enough to listen to the shortest song 12 times:
Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls Of Fire.
That passes by in a blast of hammering keys in only 1:50.
Mention of The Allman Brothers raises a popular naming convention. They join the Brothers; Doobie, Everly, Isley and Righteous. Alternatively, expressing their youth are the Boys from the Backstreet, Beach, Beastie, Geto and Pet Shop.
Whereas there is only one sister who is doing it for herself: Sister Nancy, with Bam Bam.
“These statistics are all well and good, JJ.”
But what I really hear you asking for is the part that punctuation plays.
Lucky for you I’ve done the working out:
You want songs in the form of a question? You got it, our artists variously want to know;
- What’d I Say?
- Life on Mars?
- What’s Love Got To Do With It?
- Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
- Are You That Somebody?
- Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)?
- Can I Kick It?
- Wouldn’t It Be Nice?
- Could You Be Loved?
- Where Is My Mind?
- How Soon Is Now?
While this lot are so worked up, they just have to exclaim:
- Hey Ya!
- Freedom! 90
- Oh Bondage! Up Yours!
- Yeah!
- Stop! In The Name Of Love
- Help!
Never let it be said I don’t consider the big issues.
Lastly, how does this list tally with the man whose opinion we all defer to?
Tom B has rated 165 of these at time of writing.
Turns out he largely agrees with the RS cognoscenti, awarding 78 of them the perfect 10 with another 53 scoring a nine. The worst performers get a 4:
- John Lennon – Imagine
- Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes
- Eagles – Hotel California
Next time we move onto consider the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums.
Not much of a spoiler alert: As ever, there’s plenty more Beatles.
And still no LMFAO.
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Thanks for this deconstruction. Although the Top 10 does seem predictable, at least it’s less so than any radio station holiday countdown, which seemingly is guaranteed to produce a top 3 of Stairway to Heaven, Hey Jude and (insert blockbuster of the past 24 months).
Stairway to Heaven and Hey Jude are both safely in the top 100 but that top 10 is still largely predictable.
It’s lower down that some of the more unexpected songs crop up, such as virtually ignoring electronic dance music other than making room for the random surprise of Marshall Jefferson.
I find that Rolling Stone list really frustrating. If you’re going to make a “best of” list that eschews charts and popular polls in favor of critical consensus, why would you poll for critics personal favorite tunes, rather than ask them about the most important, immortal classics?
It’s insane that only one song from the 1940s would be on such a list. No offense to Lil Nas X, but I doubt many people will care about “Old Town Road” in a few years, while “God Bless the Child” will almost certainly find new fans, and new relevance in a movie soundtrack or sample. I’m all for silly ephemera, but not for these types of lists.
If they had simply made it from the 50s onward that would make a lot more sense, but as it is, it’s rather insulting to the cultural giants of yesteryear.
Just looks like cultural amnesia to me, but maybe that’s because I’ve been reading too much Theodor Adorno…
Anyhow, interesting research!
I think there’s an element of RS setting the parameters to get the list they wanted. RS picked 250 people and ended up with a list that reflects rock orthodoxy while still allowing a progression from previous polls to show that they’re not just living in the past. Add in a few outliers from the likes of jazz, world music and the pre rock and roll era to show that you’ve an eye on diversity.
Different publications, Radio stations, etc no doubt also end up with lists that largely fit in with the tastes of their core audience so as not to scare them or challenge them too much.
I still found plenty of online comments from those furious that the 2021 version has gone way too far in replacing their rock classics with rap, modern R n’ B, BTS, etc.
I’d wager that a poll of RS readers would be a lot more orthodox and the outliers would largely disappear, including those pre-1950 songs.
The only entry that surprises me because I think it would be more at home on Pitchfork than Rolling Stone is Rilo Kiley’s “Portion for Foxes”.
Just some alternative selections to consider, off the top of my head:
1920s
1930s
1940s
I’ll have a word with Jann Wenner and see if we can get you on the panel for next time. Some excellent choices which looking through does become more noticeable how many iconic songs there are from this period that have been totally overlooked.
#JusticeForRhapsodyInBlue
They were just Puttin’ on the Ditz…
The RS list is boomer naval gazing, as is their custom.
But they did ask Megan Thee Stallion, Yaya Bey and errr…. three members of Superchunk for their opinions so y’know, reaching out across the generations.
Full list of who they polled; https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/500-greatest-songs-voters-list-1225358/
Gen X should have their own body part to gaze at. It’s a frustrating list for everybody. I was looking for “Here’s Where the Story Ends”.
Shoes sufficed for some.
Justice for Slowdive and Ride. It’s a travesty!
I’m up to my ears in my day job today but thanks for the in-depth analysis. I’ll try to give it a closer look later and I’m really looking forward to the greatest albums.
If Party Rock Anthem doesn’t get at least an 8, I’m rioting.
From my Gen-Z self, that is all.
Me in virtual 2006: If Tom gives “Girlfriend” a 5 or lower, I’m going into Highrise mode
Thankfully, he gave it a 6
This is pretty fun to look at and compare. I especially love your extra stats, like length of song, group names, etc. That’s fun to read. These kinds of lists are important as another way to gage the popularity/significance of individual songs in our day. It sounds weird, but it’ll help future generations know what we thought (as a collective) and track trends.
I do remember that we choked a little bit back in the day when ROLLING STONE Magazine ranked #1 “Like a ROLLING STONE” and #2 by The ROLLING STONES. Seemed a little self serving.
Of course, this list has far too few entries by Vince Guaraldi and Bert Kaempfert.
Thanks Link. I don’t know how long I spent getting the track lengths for all 500 to work out the average but must have been well over an hour. Seemed like a good idea when I started. Your comment makes it all worthwhile!
Did come across the problem that especially once you get to the 80s there are often multiple versions; album, single and radio edits all of differing lengths. I went with the single version where possible to be consistent. And with Whipping Post the album track is 5 minutes but the RS write up specifically references the 22 minute live version so I went with that one.
As a taster for the albums review there’ll be more of the extra stats. I did not calculate the average run time this time round but I have looked at the part colours play in album naming convention.
Speaking of gaps, the instrumentals pickins are pretty darn slim. Even if we limit the time span to 1950-present, we’re missing some monumental instrumentals, including:
Rumble, Wipe Out, Tequila, Misirlou, Apache, Popcorn, Walk Don’t Run, The Hustle, Rockit, Close to the Edit, Rock n Roll Part 2, Rockafeller Skank, etc.
And of course, Hocus Pocus by Focus.
This is some incredible research by you, JJ! Fantastic article indeed. Very impressed.
As to why 1974 didn’t do so well as much of the rest of the songs from 1964-1982, I’m guessing that the reason is its reputation among some here in the United States that it was one of the worst years for pop music hits. Novelty tunes were plentiful (The Streak, Spiders and Snakes, even arguably Life is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me), a rare spoken record hit number 4 (The Americans), and there were several other hits that seemed like flukes, like The Lord’s Prayer by Sister Janet Mead. Not to mention one of the most disliked number ones ever, You’re Having My Baby.
Also, looking at the TNOCS spreadsheet, 1974 has a weighted average score per song of 5.79, the lowest average from 1964-1982 except for 1977. But the latter year had far more number one songs receiving at least an 8 ranking by TNOCS voters (I Wish, Dancing Queen, Don’t Leave Me This Way, Sir Duke, Dreams and Got to Give It Up) than only 3 for 1974 (Band on the Run, Sundown and Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe).
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of songs I love from 1974–You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, Come and Get Your Love, Help Me, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, The Air That I Breathe, I Got the Music in Me and so on. But overall, it pales in comparison to most of the decade that came before it and followed it.
Thanks Ozmoe and for the background info on 1974.
The Streak alone is enough to taint the year for me. Some more new songs for me to check out. I’ve read the lyrics to Spiders and Snakes and look forward to hearing if it lives down to my expectations. And as for The Americans, just reading the wiki page is eye opening.
We had Cliff Richard top the charts at the turn of the millennium with his version of The Lords Prayer. Didn’t realise he was 26 years behind the times.
Spiders and Snakes, borderline novelty that it is, at least has a swampy kind of groove and a slyly goofy nature to it. My favorite version is this video version by Stafford and Dolly Parton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lYdD9DdLNY
Stafford kept just barely on the amusing side of goofy with “My Girl Bill” and “Wildwood Weed” before tumbling over to the dumb side of goofy with “Your Bulldog Drinks Champagne” and “I Got Stoned and I Missed It.”