Features

Forty Years In A Hundred Songs

by Pete Crigler

In April 2026 I turn 40 and enter my next chapter. I have finally figured out what I’d like to do with my life—be a librarian—but am still working on finding a place where I can do that and feel comfortable. I’m a quasi-teacher but never feel like everyone else I see at my school. I’m still writing—been doing that since 2008—and still absorbing music and film with as much gusto as I always have.

So, as I enter my fourth decade, I took a page from Dave Marsh, who ranked the 1001 greatest rock and soul songs, which was a pivotal book for me growing up and do the same. Here I’m going to present my 100 favorite songs, as determined by a playlist I’ve kept in iTunes and periodically updated as the years go on. (And yes, the list has evolved substantially since the DV’s “101 Favorite Songs” feature almost six years ago, and I go into greater depth about each song here.)

Before we get started with the first 10, here are my five runners-up, songs that barely missed a spot on the official list.

105. R.E.M. – “Nightswimming” (Automatic for the People; 1992)
I wasn’t familiar with this song when it came out. I learned later that it had a video and was considered a single, but I never heard it originally. I always heard “Drive,” “Man On The Moon” and of course “Everybody Hurts.” I started becoming an R.E.M. fan just before I entered college in 2004. This was on a greatest hits collection that came out in 2003, which I got for Christmas. Over the years, the song became a reoccurring blast from the past. The simple piano of Mike Mills and Stipe’s contemplative vocals and lyrics really push the song near the top of R.E.M.’s best. The oboe towards the end really pushes the melancholic feel that suits the song.

104. Joy Division – “The Eternal” (Closer; 1980)
A while back I was thinking about the most depressing songs ever. I must have Googled a list or something and there it was: “Oh, a Joy Division song I’m not familiar with.” Downloaded it and bam, was swept away by overwhelming sadness. The lyric by Ian Curtis is about a special needs boy he knew who was perennially doing the same thing in his yard no matter how much time had passed. One can’t help but hear the sadness in Curtis’ delivery no matter which Division song you’re listening to. This isn’t a song I actively want to listen to all the time, but whenever it comes on, I have to sit and pause for a bit. Still one of my favorite Division songs, right alongside “Transmission.”

103. Hum – “Apollo” (Downward is Heavenward; 1998)
Similar to “The Eternal,” but this one I discovered on my own, no Google. I liked Hum because of “Stars,” but I eventually grew to like the follow-up better because it was decidedly darker. This is a prime example, with the narrator Seemingly trapped in space with no way out. It’s less emphasis on “Space Oddity” and more on losing your mind in outer space, trapped with only your thoughts. The lyrics are dark and poetic and frontman/guitarist Matt Talbott’s tone and delivery sell the song. It’s one of the band’s two masterpieces, in my opinion, the other being 2020’s “Desert Rambler”—but “Apollo” takes the cake by being simpler and more straightforward in its execution and overall delivery.

102. Blind Melon – "Toes Across the Floor" (Soup; 1995)
One of those songs where my admiration only gets deeper as the years go on. Another song from this album is still my number one end all, be all Melon song, but damn if this one doesn’t get me in the feels. During the song’s crescendo, Shannon Hoon starts hitting notes he’d never hit before, over and over again. I’ve always wanted to be able to hit those notes perfectly to no avail and every time I get to that part, I lose it because he’s pouring so much emotion into that crescendo. The weight of that moment, knowing he’d be dead by October 1995 only resonates more. In April 2025, I was in the mountains outside Lynchburg, VA to spread the ashes of my grandparents and as I was driving down into the city, I made a small playlist and this song was on there. As soon as the crescendo began, I lost it and was sobbing and singing as loud as I possibly could. This is one of those songs that gets me emotionally every single time I hear it.

101. Skydiggers – "I Will Give You Everything" (Skydiggers; 1990)
One of the most recent additions to this list, but dear God, the first time I heard it, the world stopped. A friend and I were going back and forth sending each other songs from the ’90s to gauge what we were familiar with. Being from Michigan, he was familiar with a lot more Canadian rock than I am and this was one song he sent me. From the very first listen, I was captivated. From the outset, it’s a simple, acoustic-based rock song, but the lyrics are dark and foreboding and the melody behind it all is just a bit sinister. It was one of those songs that hit me the very first time I heard it. Getting into the list proper, there are a lot of these types of songs, but this was the most recent; It’s not even a year since I first heard it as I write this, but it shot all the way to a bubbling-under spot on this list and is a track I can listen to on repeat forever.

100. Jeff Buckley – “Hallelujah” (Grace; 1994)

What more needs to be said about Jeff Buckley? You might be wondering why this song and why so low? I heard this song in 1997 when I got this album for a Christmas gift on cassette. So I liked it before it was co-opted by reality shows and every crooner in the world (cough cough, Groban). It’s still a beautiful song and the way Buckley adapted the version done by John Cale and not Leonard Cohen (who wrote it) makes it more interesting. One of the best voices ever heard in music, not just alt rock, and while I have come to like more Buckley songs over the years such as “Everybody Here Wants You,” “Yard Of Blonde Girls” and “So Real” among others, this is still as pure and authentic a performance from him (or any musician) as you could get. Simply stunning and no matter how many times you’ve heard the song done by so many freakin’ vocalists, I found it still worthy of a spot on the list because it’s still one of the most astonishing and amazing performances ever created. Just a damn shame Buckley never lived long enough to see how much respect this version achieved.

99. The Dead Milkmen – “Tiny Town” (Big Lizard in My Backyard; 1985)

One of the very first punk bands I ever got into. I was about 13 and discovering what music my public library had circa 1999. This will come up a lot with these songs, but the library at that time for a kid was the perfect place to discover off-kilter weird stuff they wouldn’t have even known about at that age. Believe it or not, a small public library in Virginia had this album on cassette and Beelzebubba on CD. It was insane and this opening track was my first introduction to what became one of my top 10 bands for an insanely long time. Just great, pure, snotty ’80s punk from one of the best to ever do it. Living in a tiny town myself, this song always connected perfectly with me, feeling like a punk rock outcast in a country music/trucks/sports-dominated town. This band had an absolutely amazing run from 1985-1988 but this is where it all kicked off for me and got me interested in fast, loud, snotty punk. This album will forever be in my top 20 all-time best records, and what better introduction than this track.

98. The Drifters – “Under The Boardwalk” (single; 1964)

I was introduced to this by my mother when I must have been in middle school or so. We used to listen to the radio wherever we went and even in the late ’90s, my mom loved the oldies stations. Pretty soon I grew to love them as well and still do to this day. This song was one of the first that I can remember digging and it’s been a consistent favorite ever since. I much prefer the Drifters to the Coasters because they didn’t have to rely on humor and novelty to make appealing doo-wop/r&b. The fact this became such a big hit after Beatlemania shows just how infectious and catchy the song was and still is, even 60 years later. Though the song has gone down in my rankings over the years, I couldn’t let it slide off the list completely, given the history I’ve had with it. And it’s a nice plus to freak people out when playing this list and between the metal and punk comes a slice of ’60s doo-wop. I have told people about the list and when I’ve showed it around, this always sticks out and gets a reaction given what it’s between.

97. The Suicide Machines – “DDT” (Battle Hymns; 1998)

This type of punk I was introduced to in college in the mid-’00s by a friend from high school. He knew what I was getting into, said, “Hey, you might dig this,” and handed me ripped CDs of the band’s first two albums. I was hooked from the get-go. They quickly became one of my favorite bands and while their catalogue can be a bit inconsistent, their strongest material dwarfs all kinds of wimpy pop-punk shit. From their second record, this is one of the most aggro, sped-up punk tracks I had ever heard and I was obsessed with it. Just over a minute long, but it gets its point across at warp speed and with plenty of attitude. Imagine the looks on the faces of the executives when they turned this record in to Hollywood Records, owned by Disney. The band have said this was their gigantic middle finger to the label and radio and everything in between. And Hollywood released it! That says more about the capitalist needs of the majors in the ’90s than it does anything else, but at least we have it and it wasn’t locked away in a vault. It’s hard to find real authentic punk that’s this fast or intense anymore. It still exists, but not this pure.

96. Ramones – “I Wanna Be Sedated” (Road To Ruin; 1978)

Probably the first Ramones song I ever heard. Couldn’t have been older than 10 and I loved it immediately. Yeah “Blitzkrieg Bop” is fine, but this is the real R.A.M.O.N.E.S. Ramones! as Lemmy once sang. It’s still one of those songs that if I ever hear it on the radio, I crank it up the whole way. It’s still legendary for a reason. When I was around fourteen, I was getting into the Offspring and other ad hoc punk rock when I came into a copy of Ramones Mania. Talk about life altering. It was one of those cases of the right record at the right time. Changed my perspective on punk rock and what was real and what wasn’t. That was the moment I became a fan for life of one of the best bands to have ever done it. And this is the song that started it for me. I’ve never gotten tired of it as I have stuff like “Blitzkrieg” but that’s because of the sound, the production, just essentially everything about it. I can only imagine what it was like hearing those first three albums in the moment they were released.

95. Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose – “Too Late To Turn Back Now” (Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose; 1972)

A more recent (10+ years or so) oldies selection, but damn if it isn’t outstanding. It’s a song I don’t remember all that well from childhood, but it had kept coming up after college or so and I just kept going back to it. A lot of people will cite “Treat Her Like A Lady” as the go-to for these two-hit-wonder-having siblings, but this song is just that much better than “Lady.” From the vocal harmonies to the production, it’s just a great slab of early ’70s R&B before disco. Still singable to this day and makes me more interested in the AM pop of this era. I can only begin to imagine how much a song like this stuck out when on the airwaves alongside Bread, Carpenters and freakin’ Chicago. While the siblings didn’t have a lengthy career and are a bit of a footnote in the history of seventies r&b, it’s not a bad legacy to have. I feel like they are one of those groups that’s overdue for rediscovery on social media that would allow them to understand just how loved their catalogue, and in particular, this song really is.

94. The Damned – “Alone Again Or” (Anything; 1986)

Probably one of the first Damned songs I ever heard. I was in college in the early 2000’s and was watching a lot of VH1 Classic because, before YouTube, a channel like this was the only place you could expect to see tons of old music videos. There was an alternative show they aired and this video was frequently shown and I fell in love with it. Then around the same time, I also happened to discover Love and they became one of my favorite groups as well. While the original version of “Alone Again Or” is a great song, it’s not my favorite Love song (that will come later) and to me this is the definitive version. It takes the Love version down the middle, turning down the volume and intensity the Damned had always been known for and infusing some flamenco elements present vaguely in the original. By this point, the Damned had watered down their sound somewhat but here they absolutely blew me away and in the space of less than a year, I became a devoted fan of both The Damned and Love and I’ve never looked back.

93. Anthrax – “Time” (Persistence Of Time; 1990)

I came to Anthrax later than I should’ve. It wasn’t until 2004 as I was graduating high school that I really first listened to them and even further down the road became obsessed. Over time they became my favorite thrash band and while I love both major eras—Belladonna and Bush—I prefer different songs from both men. This track from their 1990 album already packed full of bangers kicks things off like dynamite. A song that never lets up, keeps going and never slows down. Belladonna’s voice here is like a great punch in the face. Some people never liked his vocals, like they didn’t belong in thrash metal because he never grunted or did shit like guys in Overkill or Exodus. But, although, he is an admitted devotee of Steve Perry, his voice works like magic on songs like this. It was one of those things that drew me into Anthrax because his voice didn’t sound like Araya or Mustaine. Though this album is, as previously stated, full of bangers, this is one that found its spot here because it’s just not as powerful as other bangers on said album.

92. Saigon Kick – “Coming Home” (Saigon Kick; 1991)

Sure, most people know “Love Is On The Way” from 1992 and this one-hit wonder “hair metal” band, but their real essence is found on their self-titled debut, which I consider one of the best albums ever made. This song has always been on this list, beginning back when I was younger and was thinking about what my favorite songs were. It holds a special memory for me: when I was nine in January 1996, I went to visit my birth father for what would turn out to be the last time. He and I never got along, never saw eye to eye, never connected. It was his visiting weekend and off I went. On the way, I had my Walkman and this cassette and this song, which I had already liked, became my theme for the trip. I remember playing it over and over, because all I wanted was to go home. This memory still sticks with me and this song is an important reminder. After that weekend, it would be eight years before I saw him again and it’s now been 21 years since that visit. But this song and Matt Kramer’s amazing vocals have always reminded me where home really is.

91. Faith No More – “The Crab Song” (Introduce Yourself; 1987)

Their very first appearance. People have asked why Faith No More? They’ll be on the list about five more times and it’s hard to explain. I latched onto them during middle school and they’ve never gone anywhere. They’ve always been my all-time favorite band and that will most likely never change. One of the first CD’s I ever got was their greatest hits record. A band whose music never fails to lift my spirits anytime of day. I had to include a Chuck-era track even though it’s not my fave by a mile. There’s just something about Chuck and his lack of a proper singing voice that suits these first two records. This track shows when Chuck was able to get his shit together, he could sound reasonably good. The band’s musical prowess was already on display and they only improved as the records went on. Some people swear by this record and a few people even say it’s their best album. I certainly can’t go that far, but I can give Chuck his flowers when the time is right and this is certainly one of his best performances. 

90. Foo Fighters – “Next Year” (There Is Nothing Left To Lose; 1999)

There was a time when the Foo Fighters were one of my top 10 favorite bands. That time has long passed, but by the time they released their third album, they were rapidly becoming a favorite. I hadn’t yet gotten deep into Nirvana like I would a few years later and the Foos hadn’t pivoted their sound to something I didn’t quite care for. But this song, the third single off the album, immediately captivated me. An excellent blend of ’90s alternative and power pop with some excellent drumming from Taylor Hawkins immediately made this one of the best Foos tracks. Most people at the time gravitated to “Learn To Fly” but I got tired of the song after a while and this one always stayed in rotation. And still is today. I’m not the type of person that’s going to say the Foos are better than Nirvana, but they certainly have their own energy and their own great catalogue; it’s just not as perfectly executed as Nirvana. Every time this song comes on, even now in 2026, I still get excited and carried away; it’s just one of those songs by the band that flies under the radar by the mainstream, but for long-time fans, it’s an absolute favorite.

89. Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Hell” (Hot; 1996)

This has always been a weird one. It didn’t sound like anything else on the radio or MTV; the video was essentially Lawrence Welk in hell. It was a mixture of swing, calypso and insane screaming courtesy of the song’s writer, Tom Maxwell. This was the type of song that when I first heard it in 1997, I was captivated. The Zippers were even my very first show, a few years after Maxwell had departed and years before the band were ensnared in legal paperwork and before they became a ghost band with only one original member. It’s one of those songs that stands out and sticks in your memory long after you last heard it. I was a huge Zippers fan for about two years and then they faded away. I still love this song about as much as when I first heard it. When I saw them in 2001, Maxwell was gone and I was disappointed to hear they weren’t going to perform this song that evening. It was like “Well, whether you like it or not, this song is part of your identity. Play the damn song.” 

88. Nirvana – “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” (MTV Unplugged In New York; 1994)

By 1999, I was finally getting into Nirvana. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t as captivated by them as I had been by Alice, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden. By the end of the ’90s, MTV decided it was a good idea to rerun their episode of “Unplugged” multiple times. I saw it, heard a few songs and was like “Okay, I think I get this now.” If memory serves, this was the first Nirvana record I got. The last song they played was this Leadbelly cover and Cobain sang his absolute heart out. It instantly became one of my favorites and as the years wore on and Nirvana ranked up there with the other giants of grunge, this song stuck with me. It’s probably one of the best single songs to ever come out of “Unplugged,” and that’s saying something in and of itself. Looking at this song as one of Cobain’s last musical statements, even though they still had about three months’ worth of shows left, one can’t help but hear the pain and torment and wonder if this was Cobain’s subtle way of telling everyone he didn’t have much time left?

87. Buddy Holly & The Crickets – “Rave On” (Buddy Holly; 1958)

Here’s another weird one. How does someone who’s into grunge, punk, alternative and metal hear about Buddy Holly and enjoy it enough to put it on a list this eclectic. Simple. I was a sponge absorbing everything about music as a kid. I can remember watching a Behind The Music episode around February 1999 about the 30th anniversary of “The Day the Music Died” and I was absolutely fascinated. It was one of the most interesting music stories I’d yet heard and I was interested in the music. Cut to about five years later and I’m at college exploring the library and discovering what types of CDs they had. Lo and behold, they had one of the first CD compilations of Holly’s work, From The Original Master Tapes. Took it back to the dorm and was blown away. This was the type of rock and roll I currently liked, but in the ’50s; pre-Beatlemania! This under two-minute blast was refreshing to hear and must’ve been sacrilege to hear it in the time of Bobby Vinton and Pat Boone. It’s the song of Buddy’s that I’ve probably listened to the most and it still sits at the top of the heap for this style of ’50s music. Never feels like an oldie and still remains fresh almost 70(!) years later.

86. Talking Heads – “Once In A Lifetime” (Remain In Light; 1980)

This is an oddity for me. I have no idea when I first heard it and no memory of its place in my musical training, but it’s been there for a hella long time. I remember seeing some Coneheads movie special in 1993 and this song was on there, but that’s about it. I was familiar with Talking Heads because of “Burning Down The House,” which was the first song I heard by them, but when I discovered this, that was all she wrote. Talking Heads were unlike anything I’d heard before and this song in particular always stuck out to me. Byrne is just as strange and herky-jerky in his lyrics as he is in the video and it all helps to make the song all that more pivotal and exciting. There weren’t a whole lot of bands that were making music like this at the time and the Heads spawned a whole lot of wannabes who thought they could ape the band’s approach, both musical and visual and they failed. There was only ever one Talking Heads and this song is the prime example of how exciting they were, especially on those first three records.

85. Dead Kennedys – “California Über Alles” (Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables; 1980)

As soon as I was introduced to punk rock, I was eager to hear about the DKs. I knew of them by name and a little by reputation but not much else. Luckily that was to quickly change and by the time I entered college, I was familiar with a few tracks and this was one of them. From the jump, the song impressed me. Not only due to the lyrical content, which is still noticeable in a fucked-up America in 2026, but how impressive the musicianship was. Jello Biafra’s confrontational style of singing was destined to make the band stand out even more than they already did and for someone my age who was discovering a love of political history, this song went off like a bomb. It was incendiary in 1980 and still was nearly 20 years later. It’s a shame the band ended the year I was born and has been an absolute shell of itself since “reforming” around 2001. But you can’t take away the power and intensity of the real version of the band while they were actually finding their sound and realizing their absolute intensity on their very first record.

84. My Chemical Romance – “Famous Last Words” (The Black Parade; 2006)

I am not, nor have I ever been a goth kid. I wasn’t into the scene and I could have cared less about most of the bands and music. Of course, being a college kid in the 2000s, you couldn’t escape My Chem. They were everywhere and this album, when it was released, was like an atom bomb going off for the youth of America. I vaguely remember hearing this a few times when it was released as a single, but nothing more. Eventually, I bought a greatest hits CD and was blown away by the sheer force and overwhelming intensity of the song, particularly the chorus, which is one of the most powerful of the 21st century. It spoke to me in a way a lot of “newer” songs haven’t and it nearly brings me to tears every time it comes on. That’s the overriding power of music, you can go back and relisten to something that had gone over your head or you had previously avoided and you’re overtaken by a sense of something you hadn’t experienced before. For me, this song is a prime example of realizing you had missed a song you didn’t realize you needed.

83. Coldplay – “Clocks” (A Rush Of Blood To The Head; 2002)

Yes, yes; I know Coldplay suck and whatever. They’ve sucked for a while now, since they “sold out” and went for the almighty pop dollar. They started out as a Britpop-influenced alternative band and then after 2008, weeded all those elements out of their sound for whatever BTS and Chainsmokers influence could help their career. But by the time of their second album, they were becoming one of the biggest bands in the world and this song helped get them there. It wasn’t as big of a smash as “My Universe” or “Something Just Like This,” but for me it’s one of the definitive songs of the early 2000s. The piano sets the tone for the entire song and the rest just envelops you and sweeps you around. To me, this is Coldplay, but while I wish they could be frozen in time circa 2003, I lost complete interest in them after 2008 and have rarely picked them back up. Dammit, this song is still amazing and hits me every time I hear it. It’s definitely a song that if you hear at Walgreens or Subway, you pause and smile a bit.

82. The Who – “A Quick One While He’s Away (Live ‘Rock And Roll Circus’ Version)” (The Kids Are Alright; 1978)

This is the definitive version of this already classic track. This is probably the first version I’d ever heard and it blew my mind. I’d never heard anything like it before and was immediately like, whoa, this is cool. College was an interesting time, because not only did I get into hardcore punk, I also discovered what type of classic rock I liked. It was primarily The Who and The Doors. I still like the Doors, but I keep going back to The Who; I think they had better songs that have stood the test of time and are still as fun now as they were in the ’60s. It’s been said that the “Rock And Roll Circus” was shelved at the time because the Rolling Stones were embarrassed that The Who had essentially blown them off the stage at their own showcase. And it’s true; if you watch the full performances on the DVD, The Stones are lacking energy and just seem done with the day. The Who were loaded with piss and vinegar and were there to show off. This version is a definitive reflection of what The Who could do live.

81. The Mamas And The Papas – “California Dreamin’” (If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears; 1966)

One song that’s always been a part of my musical whatever you want to call it. I’ve just always known this song and have always loved it. It’s hard not to love or appreciate this era of ’60s AM pop. The harmonies were unlike anything I’d ever really heard and I really couldn’t believe my ears, for sure. This was probably one of the songs along with another one further down the list that set off my love of the “oldies.” I was exposed early, in the mid-’90s and it was definitely a change from the Primus and Pearl Jam I was absorbing and I was unaware of anyone in my social bubble that was checking out the music of Creedence, Jim Croce or America by the age of 10. So I can certainly thank my grandfather (R.I.P.) and my mother for exposing me at a young age to things I wouldn’t have known about unless I was watching particular shows on VH1. While I only really dig a handful of Mamas and Papas songs, this is certainly one of the best songs to come out of the ’60s, post-Beatlemania. There’s a reason it’s also been called one of the greatest songs ever by various newspapers and magazines.

80. Porno For Pyros – “Tonight” (single b-side; 1993)

Yeah yeah yeah. “Porno aren’t as good as Jane’s!” Well, I heard Porno first. Porno still had songs popular enough to get decent airplay on MTV through 1997. The only Jane’s songs I’d heard were “Stop” and “Been Caught Stealing” and I didn’t much care for them at the time. But I did have “Pets” on cassingle (yes I am that old) and the b-side was this; their take on a classic from “West Side Story.” It’s been ingrained in my head for close to 30 years and while Porno have some really good songs like their title track, “Tahitian Moon” and “Cursed Female,” this one has always stuck out to me. Perry doesn’t sound coked out and the lyrics are more down to earth and a little bit more universal than everything being about heroin. The instrumentation is more electronic than what Perry and company usually did but it serves the song better and Perry’s restrained vocals show how good of a singer he could actually be when he wanted to. The song has popped up on various compilations and still isn’t that well known, but it’s a song that I can listen to on endless repeat.

79. Monster Magnet – “Powertrip” (Powertrip; 1998)

It was fall 1998 and my family had recently acquired a new cable channel called The Box. It was higher on the remote but it was all music videos 24/7 that people would actually phone and pay to play essentially. It was mind blowing to me because I didn’t have MTV2 and I wanted to see more music videos. I had seen the “Space Lord” video all over MTV that summer but I didn’t connect with the song. This second single and title track from Monster Magnet’s most successful record immediately grabbed my attention. It was heavier than “Space Lord” and took no prisoners; which was just the type of heavy music I was looking for at that time. I didn’t stay with the Magnet; I would pick them up periodically throughout the years if a record really hit me but this song always stayed with me. It’s still fantastic, still heavy and never fails to pump me up anytime it comes on. The band is still around, but to diminishing returns and that’s ok. We still need old school bands like this that have been around forever and still occasionally put out records with great songs.

78. Orange 9MM – “7” (Tragic; 1996)

I can’t believe this band originally passed me by. I knew the name from reading a lot of rock magazines in the Nineties but because they weren’t as huge as they should have been, they were never really on my radar. Cut to the late 2010’s and I was checking out random records on Spotify, listening to stuff that had passed me by. Landed on their second record and was blown away from the get-go. Powerful, heavy as fuck and with a flow in Chaka’s voice that surpassed what would be known as “nu metal.” 9MM arrived early; they were contemporaries with KoRn and Deftones, but they didn’t make the same impact as those bands. Their second record is just as good as early records by those other bands and they actually had respectable rapping by someone not ripping off the culture. It was like early Helmet but the music was heavier. “7” is a perfect example of how amazingly heavy this type of music could get. And it fell on deaf ears; the band pivoted toward an indie sound on their last record in 1999 and then fell apart. Recently reunited, they finally seem to be getting their flowers.

77. Too Much Joy – “Connecticut” (Son Of Sam I Am; 1988)

I was fresh out of college and adrift in life. Didn’t have a steady job, working crummy retail and trying to figure shit out. During that time, my purchases were limited due to income, but I could get cheap records on Amazon back when they still sold stuff for a penny plus shipping. I mostly knew TMJ just from reading different books, so I took a chance on this record and instantly fell in love. Snotty alt rock with a slice of punk from a bigger group of smartass nerds than had ever made music. I instantly became a fan and still am today even though they don’t release a record as often as they used to. The lyrical wit backed with the music is enough to impress even the most jaded listener. The fact this band wasn’t huge is still a sin and they’re just one band on this list out of many in that category and were kind of swept under the rug as grunge came in and took over. But this band made some really great tracks like this and deserve more listeners.

76. Peter Murphy – “Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem” (Deep; 1989)

For years the only song I knew from Mr. Murphy was “Cuts You Up” which I loved from the start. Then it was “All Night Long” which I loved even more. Then I finally got my hands on his third album and lo and behold, I found his true masterpiece. Released in the waning days as the Eighties turned into the Nineties, this song is utterly timeless and poetic in its lyricism and the music supports that poeticism. Though I feel Murphy’s career began a slow decline after this album, this is his peak and he’s never been able to top it. This is a song I love when it comes on as I’m swept away by the lyrics and melody and can lose myself for the running time and will usually throw it on repeat until it’s time to move to another song. As we get deeper into the list, there are songs I have loved since I was a child or at least middle school; this is not one of them. I’ve known this one for about 10 years but it’s the type of song where you have to ask, “Why oh why did I not know about this for so long?”

75. Tool – “Ænema” (Ænema; 1996)

It was fall 1996 and I was well aware that Tool were releasing their next record. I remember that time as being magical because there was so much new stuff coming out and I was trying to absorb all I could. It was around this time that I began losing interest in comics and video games and turning my full attention to music. I got Ænima on cassette that Christmas and while I adored “Stinkfist,” the title track is what really sucked me in and is still my favorite Tool track. I’m not as big a Tool fan as I used to be but you can’t deny this song or most of the whole album. Maynard’s anger is on full display and this was probably the first time I heard about L. Ron Hubbard and all his clones. Not to mention Bill Hicks. So not only was this an amazing collection of material, it was also a bit of a history lesson for kids like me. Some critics dismissed the album at the time but I have no idea what they were listening to. For kids still in elementary school on the cusp of middle school, this was eye-opening and still is today.

74. Suicidal Tendencies – “Alone” (Lights…Camera…Revolution!; 1990)

This is another band that I knew of by name and reputation and nothing much else until I was in college. Downloading music and scoring cheap records from The Record Exchange (R.I.P.) really helped open my ears and eyes to new music. Once I started listening to Suicidal, I was hooked. I believe this is their best record and while “You Can’t Bring Me Down” is one of their most recognizable songs, I think this is their best. It spoke to me at a time when I was discovering myself and realizing that I was the kind of person that might find themselves alone. It was hard to connect with the opposite sex on more than a friend level. Instead of turning into an incel, I made it a part of my personality. It’s also through Suicidal that I met one of my best friends. We lived down the hall from one another and we knew each other in passing but we realized we both liked Suicidal and Infectious Grooves. Twenty years later, we still talk all the time. Suicidal is not a band that enjoys Taylor Swift levels of popularity but if you’re down with ST, then you’re down for life!

73. Faith No More – “Everything’s Ruined” (Angel Dust; 1992)

At this point, with this band, I chose to select songs from various records that best represented those records. Angel Dust is one of the most definitive albums I’ve heard in my lifetime so trying to pick one song is damn near impossible, but I did it. From the opening “Land Of Sunshine” to the second to last “Jizzlobber,” the album is loaded with absolute classics. However, I had to choose this one because of Patton’s vocals and especially because of Billy’s monstrous bass work. One of the best music videos as well. The band had blown their video budget for the first two singles when it came to this, the label was essentially “do whatever the hell you want as long as it’s cheap.” So the band were filmed in front of a white screen with crazed video effects added later with a bunch of kids dropped in to help Patton with the lip sync. Tons of fun and just adds to the song. While it’s not as dark as other songs on the album, the attitude cannot be missed or understated. One of the best representations of the twists and turns one of the greatest albums of all time can make.

72. Megadeth – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” (Rust In Peace; 1990)

Never have been a huge Megadeth fan, but the power and intensity of this song cannot be denied. One of the heaviest riffs I’ve ever heard and as stated, the intensity never lets up. It takes a brief detour for an acoustic breakdown but then picks right up, continually slamming you in the face the entire time. This was the first album with Nick Menza on drums and Marty Friedman on guitar and to me and a lot of people, this is definitive Megadeth. They made some decent tracks and heavy riffs in the years after these guys left, but it was hard to top a band this fast at this time. This was one of those revelatory songs when I first heard it and it’s still the Megadeth song I go back to after all this time and it continually destroys. It’s just that good of a song both lyrically and especially musically. It’s one of those songs that either turns you into a metal head or you hear it and reject all metal as it’s not for you. I was already on my metal path by this point and this just cemented it definitively.

71. Nick Lowe – “Marie Provost” (Labour Of Lust; 1977)

Another weird one. I have always been a big reader and love anything pop culture. When I was younger, one book I devoured was “Hollywood Babylon.” Written by a renowned “satanist” who spewed out Hollywood gossip whether it was true or not, long before TMZ. To a kid, this was amazing and one of the stories was about actress Marie Prevost and how when she died of alcoholism, her body wasn’t discovered for a few days and allegedly her dachshund was nibbling at her ankles for sustenance. Well lo and behold, I discovered there was a song written about her by this guy Nick Lowe. I was aware of “Cruel To Be Kind” and like one other song by this point and I checked the song out and fell in love with it. Perfectly funny and dark at the same time. Told almost from the point of view of someone who was hearing the news about Prevost second hand and wanted to tell you all about it. It was a fun, quirky, dark song but I got into it immediately. Then I went back and looked at Lowe’s late Seventies and Eighties catalog and found even more gems, but this is what started it.

70. Husker Du – “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely” (Candy Apple Grey; 1986)

I discovered Sugar first—again thank the library; they had the foresight to have Copper Blue on cassette. As a 13-year-old, I was absolutely blown away. Then I heard that Bob Mould had been in a band before Sugar, something called Husker Du. I wasn’t familiar with them at all, but as I entered college I figured I’d start digging around and see what I liked. This was one of the first songs I discovered. It’s the first single from their first album for Warner Bros. and it’s a Grant song. There’s always been the thought, “Who had the better songs, Bob or Grant?” Well, in this exact case, Grant wins. Bob was jealous and fought to write “the single” for the next record, which was “Could You Be The One,” which is fine, but Grant really knocked it out of the park here. This was the song that was primed to take the band to the next step, but like The Replacements, they were too early to make an impact at the time. Fortunately, time has been kinder to the songs (if not the catalogue, i.e. no remasters) and Husker are bigger than ever, deservedly so.

69. The Smithereens – “Blood And Roses” (Especially For You; 1986)

This one’s courtesy of VH1. I must have been watching “Where Are They Now?” which chronicled everybody from Leif Garrett and Todd Bridges to Husker Du and the Smithereens. I was enthralled upon hearing this song and the intro bass riff, which for people growing up in the Eighties is in the top ten most recognizable bass riffs. I was hooked from the beginning and Pat DiNizio’s vocals and lyrics sucked me in. I was an instant convert. Now remember around 1999-2000, kids my age weren’t getting into the Smithereens, Sugar or the Dead Milkmen. It was all about Britney, Kid Rock and the Bizkit. I just could not get down with that jive and it’s that timeframe that set me on my ever-expanding musical journey. Ultimately, I never became a diehard for the Smithereens; they were never on my list of favorite bands. (I did try, but the catalogue was uneven for me.) But this track, from their debut, is legendary and still deserved a spot on the list due to where I was when I came across it the first time. It’s certainly one of the best alt rock songs of the decade and helped all that came later.

68. Stone Temple Pilots – “Dead & Bloated” (Core; 1992)

I got into STP around 1996 and then went backwards to get the first and eventually second records. I liked Tiny Music but when I got my hands on Core, that was all she wrote. There’s something about putting the cassette/CD in the player for the first time and the first thing you hear is Weiland yarling, “I am smelling like the rose that somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed / I am smelling like the rose that somebody gave me ’cause I'm dead and bloated.” Then the riff kicks in and damn it gets you going. I must have been about 10 or 11 when I first got the cassette and although I can do a mean version of “Plush,” and “Creep” is an all-time classic, this opener was the song that really got me into STP. They’ve always been one of my top bands from this era and while this song was never released as a single, it’s their definitive song for me. It tells you everything you want to know about what this band sounds like and what the record is really going to do for you.

67. Barenaked Ladies – “Lovers In A Dangerous Time” (Kick At The Darkness; 1991)

Okay I know, it’s not “cool” to like Barenaked Ladies. Unless it was never cool in the first place. Besides Faith No More’s greatest hits, Stunt, was one of the first CDs I ever got. They had some great songs, particularly ballads. I got BNL’s greatest hits disc when it came out in 2001 and this track was included. This was actually one of their first released tracks, before their debut came out. It was made for a Canadian tribute album for Canadian legend Bruce Cockburn, covering one of his greatest songs and showing what they, as a brand-new band, could do, especially on a slower song. I think some of the band’s best songs are their ballads (“The Flag,” “You Run Away” and “Break Your Heart”) and this is their best. I can’t recall hearing the song before 2001 and it instantly became my favorite of the band. Even though I lost interest in the band after their 2003 disaster “Another Postcard,” I’ve always dug this song. It definitely fit in with my folk era that I had in high school discovering other artists on this list. And it’s also just a great cover.

66. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – “Cut Up” (God Fodder; 1991)

Another great find from college. As stated previously, I had finally got VH1 Classic as part of my satellite package in January 2004 and started absorbing all the music videos I had never seen. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin were one of these discoveries. Obviously I was familiar with the odd name, having read a ton of rock and roll encyclopedias and the limited amount of success the band had seen in America. I saw the videos for “Grey Cell Green” and “Kill Your Television” and was hooked. Then I found the record in the trusty bargain bin of the only other record store in Lynchburg, VA: The Record Exchange. I took the record back to my dorm and fell in love with pretty much the whole thing, but this track in particular really stuck out. It was never a single, but damn if it isn’t one of their best songs. This was a band best known for having two bassists, one playing “lead bass” and the other playing the traditional role. The band never spawned any imitators, thank God, and while they’ve never released any new music since their early 2000s reunion, they really haven’t needed to because how can you ever try to top songs like this?

65. The 6ths – “You You You You You” (Hyacinths And Thistles; 2000)

The newest song on the list and one that, the first time I heard it on YouTube, left me dumbstruck. I had read something in 2024 about Katharine Whalen of the Squirrel Nut Zippers collaborating on vocals for a song written by Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. He had a side project dubbed The 6ths where he recruited different singers to interpret his songs—artists as diverse as Bob Mould and Lou Barlow to Odetta and Melanie. So, Ms. Whalen was presented with this song, one of the best love songs ever written, and nailed it right out of the park. Hearing this for the first time, I hit repeat as many times as possible. I had not had that kind of reaction to a song in quite some time. Proceeded to buy both 6ths albums and discovered other great songs, but damn if this isn’t legitimately one of the greatest love songs ever recorded. I have a friend who’s a singer and one of my goals is to get her to record a version of this song as her voice reminds me of Whalen’s and it would send me over the moon. Do yourself a favor; find this song, listen to it and love it forever.

64. Temple Of The Dog – “Hunger Strike” (Temple Of The Dog; 1991)

This was a song I discovered early on. From as early as I can remember, I was watching MTV. I was watching so much at a young age that my parents were legit worried and a doctor had to set time limits on how many music videos I could watch in a day. I was obsessed with music from that far back. I was absorbing everything that was on and discovering things that I already liked. My love of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden goes back to this time. I remember seeing the “Hunger Strike” video and just loving the song. The harmonies between Cornell and Vedder are unparalleled and still haven’t been matched. Even as a kid, I knew there was something different about this song and was blown away by it. I got the album on cassette but didn’t pay attention to how good other songs were till later. As I got older, the song never left, it just got stronger. When Cornell left us in 2017 and we would never hear that voice again, let alone duetting with Vedder, it felt way too real and hard.

63. Soul Asylum – “Cartoon” (Hang Time; 1988)

Yet another college find. When I tell you Lynchburg College helped shape my musical path, I’m not lying. Obviously, I knew who Soul Asylum was; if you had a brain, listened to the radio and watched MTV from 1992-1995 you definitely knew who this band was. I wasn’t a massive fan or anything, but I appreciated the band. Then once in college and ransacking the library, I came across their fourth album from 1988 and was blown away by this song. Written by guitarist Dan Murphy, this is a powerhouse of a song and I was able to tell Dan that once when I interviewed him years ago. The lyricism is one thing that struck me immediately. After college, my great aunt passed away and it was the first death I had experienced as an adult and it really hurt. This song came on shuffle one day and I started sobbing. It was just the emotional experience of dealing with death and this song with lyrics like “If you’re crying in your beer, you’re gonna drown” just spoke to me and I was able to rebuild and hold her memory. This song has always been a great reminder.

62. Jars of Clay – “Frail” (Much Afraid; 1997)

This was one of my more surprising college finds. Listening to alt rock radio circa 1996, I loved “Flood.” I already knew it was “Christian rock,” but that didn’t bother me; it was a great song and that’s what mattered to me. I lost track of the band for the most part after that, but by 2004, I discovered their second album at the library, once again. Their second record isn’t as dynamic as the first, but then in the middle of the record comes their absolute masterpiece. This originated as a song they had in their back pocket for years and were saving it. Almost seven minutes, loaded with strings and amazing flourishes, this is one of the best ballads ever written by any band, secular or no. It’s so enveloping and inviting and makes the listener feel wanted. If you’re not religious at all, then this probably isn’t for you. I’ve bounced around with my faith but have always had some kind of feeling guiding me. This is one of the only Christian songs that has ever spoken to me and it’s one that still gives me a warm feeling anytime it comes on.

61. Primus – “John The Fisherman” (Frizzle Fry; 1990)

This is an absolute no-brainer. Growing up, Primus was one of my favorites, right up there with Faith No More. That’s no longer the case, but as I was putting the list together, I started thinking about Primus songs that I have loved all this time. Of course, there’s “My Name Is Mud,” “American Life” and “Here Come The Bastards” but this one from their formal debut became a quick favorite. Being a kid of ’90s MTV, I wasn’t exposed to it until years later, before “Guitar Hero,” thank God, but it made an immediate impact. It shows off Claypool’s mastery of the bass and also allows Ler to really become a guitar hero, one of the first, post hair metal. The song has one hell of a bounce and it’s about fishing. I mean c’mon, what other band could make a killer song that has been passed down through the years about fishing? Primus is still around, almost as big as ever; their light has dimmed a bit for me as I’ve moved on to other bands I obsess over, but those early songs, still get me going and still sound as fresh as ever.

NEXT: #60 through #41