Couldn`t fit them all ....
50 JAM - TOWN CALLED MALICE
Weller shamelessly ripped off you can`t hurry love by the supreams but this is a great song & one of my first ever singles
49 HUSKER DU - EIGHT MILES HIGH
Heavy as **** & sounds nothing like the original at all
48 PRIMAL SCREAM - ROCKS
Loud dumb simple Rock & Roll & all the better for it
47 BEASTIE BOYS - FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS
(See Above)....Great guitar work by Kerry King of Slayer though
46 NIRVANA - SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT
It was a good single... NOTHING ELSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
45 MANIC STREET PREACHERS - MOTOWN JUNK
When they were good.Around that time they said they`d make one album & split up ..... please do it now you`re embarressing yourselves.
44 DAVID BOWIE - LIFE ON MARS
Could have picked DOZENS of Bowie songs but this just edges it
43 SUPER FURRY ANIMALS - THE MAN DON`T GIVE A ****
Back when they were good also... what is it about welsh bands sucking after a while (Manics,Crapeophonics,ect)
42 CHEMICAL BROTHERS - SETTING SUN
My first reaction to hearing this was 'dance music`s not supposed to be that heavy'
41 DOORS - LIGHT MY FIRE
If you don`t love it for Jim you gotta love Ray Manzerak`s keyboards on this song.
40 SPIRITUALIZED - COME TOGETHER
Not the version that was on their Ladies & Gentlemen album but rather the full orchestral version that was released as a single.A very powerful rendition of a very powerful song.
39 SMITHS - HEAVEN KNOWS I`M MISERABLE NOW
A refreshing change to all the new romantic crap that clogged up the music scene at the time
38 CHARLATANS - ONE TO ANOTHER
I always had this band down as a piss poor Roses clone till they made this godlike single
37 SPECIALS - TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG
Ska & 2 tone was just starting out when i started listening to music & I used to bounce around the house to this as a 7 year old.Wasn`t till I got older i understood the lyrics
36 AEROSMITH - WALK THIS WAY
I originally bought Run DMC`s version , then I bought the original & threw the rap version away.Those drums THAT riff make this special.
35 HAPPY MONDAYS - STEP ON
You`re twistin me melon man ...... genius
34 FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - RELAX
My first 'Naughty' record. I didn`t understand why it was so bad.OK it had a weird bondage picture on the cover but my mum didn`t seem to mind & I didn`t understand it anyway I just thought it was a great song.
33 PRINCE - 1999
I don`t think this guy`s given half the credit he deserves as a guitar player.I could never tire of hearing this song
32 ROXY MUSIC - VIRGINIA PLAINS
If i could be a rock star i`d like to be a smooth sophisticated one like Bryan Ferry
31 OASIS - DON`T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Could have put any Oasis song here but chose this one as it brings back happy memories of watching Euro 96 with about 30 mates in a pub singing along to this ...happy days
30 ALICE COOPER - SCHOOLS OUT
Possibly the rawest teen anthem ever recorded
29 THE CLASH - WHITE MAN IN HAMMERSMITH PALAIS
Lester Bangs once said this song is the reason the Clash stood head & shoulders above the rest of the punk rabble,I love the clash when they slow it down & show their musicianship & this is possibly one of their finest songs that show it
28 BEACH BOYS - GOOD VIBRATIONS
If only this was on Pet Sounds.This is also the only song on the list i don`t actually own myself
27 BECK - LOSER
Hard to believe now but he was being portrayed as the next big teen hearthrob at the time this came out.Luckily he did a load of folky stuff & Odelay next & nobody ever mentioned the teen idol thing again
26 REM - LOSING MY RELEGION
I was sick of this when it came out.But luckily the less I heard it the more i grew to like it until I was playing it of my own free will
25 DEEP PURPLE - HUSH
Not the original which sounded like a weak bunch of hippys.This was done with the all powerful reformed Mk 2 line up in 1988 & rocked like hell.
24 FAITH NO MORE - EPIC
This to me made all my hair rock albums obsolite the first time I heard it.And this was 2 years before Nirvana.
23 AIR - SEXY BOY
Cool chill out tune. Written about me (I wish)
22 BLUR - POPSCENE
Their best song & even heavier than Song 2.Put it on an album you Bastards
21 UNKLE - RABBIT IN YOUR HEADLIGHTS
Awesome song & great video . If only Kid A had been this good
20 McALMONT & BUTLER - YES
Huge orchestral Phil Spector wall of sound type rock song that should have been huge.David McAlmont is also one of the greatest singers in the world & deserves to be huge
19 PULP - BABIES
The best song they ever wrote,better even than Common People.It was this song that finally broke 15 years of annonimity
18 T-REX - GET IT ON
One of the sexiest sounding songs ever & such a great riff too
17 THE CULT - SHE SELLS SANCTUARY
I`ve said why I love this song loads of time in the past & I still think it rocks
16 SUEDE - ANIMAL NITRATE
When this came out I was only listening to metal/punk.After I heard this that wasn`t true anymore.9 years later i`m still not bored of hearing this
15 JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION - AFRO
One of the best examples of a 'what the **** was that?' song.Think Elvis doing punk rock
14 XTC - SENSES WORKING OVERTIME
Started as a punk band but ditched the idea after 2 albums because it was limiting.Andy Partridge was possibly the most underated songwriter in the UK.
13 SOFT CELL - TAINTED LOVE
The first single I ever bought and I still think it`s great.Mark Almond makes it sound far more menacing than Manson ever could
12 GUNS N ROSES - SWEET CHILD O MINE
Possibly the most recognisable intro in history.Appetite for Destruction was selling virtually nothing till this came out.
11 MASSIVE ATTACK - UNFINISHED SYMPATHY
I thought all dance music was cheesy & tacky until I heard this
10 ROLLING STONES - BROWN SUGAR
The best song ever written about oral sex.and then there`s that wonderful riff & Jaggers unmistakable vocals.Brilliant
09 ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - THE KILLING MOON
If the Smiths were the band of the 80s how come they never wrote a song as good as this.Frank Sinatra actually covered this a few times.
08 THE WHO - MY GENERATION
If I was ever asked to sum up Rock n Roll in 3 mins i`d just play this.This song Influenced virtually EVERBODY
07 RADIOHEAD - PARANOID ANDROID
I remember hearing this on a chart rundown on the radio when this came out.Sandwiched between a load of cheesy pop & bland repetative dance music,it stuck out like a sore thumb & wanted to make me get on my knees & thank god this band existed.
06 NEW ORDER - BLUE MONDAY
The biggest selling 12" single of all time & in my opinion the best song of the 80s
05 JIMI HENDRIX - CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC
The best example of the use of a kazoo in rock n roll.Funky as hell too
04 APHEX TWIN - COME TO DADDY
One word sums this up... Brutal.Makes the Prodigy sound like a bunch of Sunday school kids.
03 SEX PISTOLS - GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
The most controversial song in history? Never in history has there never been a no 1 in the charts until this came along.Never before has a song summed up a moment in history like this did.
02 STONE ROSES - FOOLS GOLD
I so wanted this to be no 1 but one song just beat it.This song represents a band at their peak.After this it was all downhill.The beauty of this was it`s simplicity.Simple riff simple bass with Ian Brown`s gentle vocals over the top of it.
01 JOY DIVISION - LOVE WILL TEAR US APART
This isn`t just a song, this is a man in torment bearing his soul to the world,if there was such a term as uneasy listening this is it.The last thing Ian Curtis ever recorded before he took his own life & it shows.This is a song that just demands attention when you hear it and no matter how many times I hear it I just have to stop what i`m doing & listen to every word.This isn`t Rock n Roll this is raw emotion with a soundtrack.The best single in the world & possibly the most intense song ever written.
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