Blog view of individual articles
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100. Sultans Of Ping FC – “Where’s Me Jumper” (1992)
99. Madonna – “Papa Don’t Preach”
98. Deee-Lite – “Groove Is In The Heart”
97. The Beat – “Save It For Later”
96. Belle And Sebastian – “Sleep The Clock Around”
95. Gladys Knight – “License To Kill”
94. Al Green – “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?”
93. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers – “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?”
92. Girls Aloud – “Love Machine”
91. Ike And Tina Turner – “River Deep, Mountain High”
90. The Only Ones – “Another Girl Another Planet”
89.5 Skeletal Family – “Promised Land”
89. REEL 2 REEL feat THE MAD STUNTMAN – “I Like To Move It”
88. Subway Sect – “Ambition”
87. Roxy Music – “Virginia Plain”
86. Janet Kay – “Silly Games”
85. Teddybears STHLM ft Mad Cobra – “Cobrastyle”
84. Pulp – “Babies”
83. Orange Juice – “Rip It Up”
82. Jimmy Cliff – “Many Rivers To Cross”
81. The JAMMS – It’s Grim Up North
80. Public Enemy – “Fight The Power”
79. Kim Wilde – “Cambodia”
78. Culture Beat – “Mr. Vain”
77. Depeche Mode – “Just Can’t Get Enough”
76. Shystie – “Woman’s World”
75. Art Garfunkel – “Bright Eyes”
74. Urban Cookie Collective – “The Key, The Secret”<
73. Smiley Culture – “Police Officer”
72. Wee Papa Girl Rappers – “Wee Rule”
71. Jay-Z – “The Takeover”
70. Aqua – “Lollipop (Candyman)”
69. Anthrax and Public Enemy – Bring The Noise
68. The Shirelles – Will You Love Me Tomorrow
67. The Velvelettes – “Needle In A Haystack”
66. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”
65. TEARS FOR FEARS – Pale Shelter
64. CHRISTINA AGUILERA – Dirrrty
63. TAKE THAT – Back For Good
62. GLEN CAMPBELL – Wichita Lineman
61. CARL DOUGLAS – Kung Fu Fighting
60. DIANA ROSS – “Upside Down”
59. C+C MUSIC FACTORY – “Things That Make You Go Hmmm”
58. SHANGRI LAS – “Leader Of The Pack”
57. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS – “Oliver’s Army”
56. MARVIN GAYE – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
55. DAVID BOWIE – “Suffragette City”
54. WILL YOUNG – “Leave Right Now”
53. Wham! – Wham Rap
52. Joe Jackson – It’s Different For Girls
51. WHIGFIELD- “Think Of You”
50. Gwen Stefani – What You Waiting For
49. SPICE GIRLS – WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
48. Glenn Campbell – Rhinestone Cowboy
47. DOOP – DOOP
46. Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
45. The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
44. The Selecter – On My Radio
43. Stina Nordenstam – Little Star
42. Abba – The Winner Takes It All
41. t.a.T.u. – Not Gonna Get Us
40. Led Zeppelin – “Immigrant Song”
39. Awesome Toys – Do The Fury Boogie38. Kenickie – Punka
38. BALTIMORA – Tarzan Boy
37. T-REX – Metal Guru
36. KLF – Justified And Ancient
35. Martha & The Muffins – Echo Beach
34. Shanice – I Love Your Smile
33. Echo and the Bunnymen – The Cutter
32. Amii Stewart – Knock On Wood
31. Prince – “I Would Die 4 U”
30. White Town- “Your Woman”
29. PJ & Duncan AKA – Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble
28. The Jam – Going Underground
27. Chaka Khan – I Feel For You
26. The Human League – Open Your Heart
25. MADONNA – “Into The Groove”
24. RACHEL STEVENS – Some Girls
23. Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights
22. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
21. Scooter – Ramp! (The Logical Song)
20. Chic – Good Times
19. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
18. The AlkoholiKs Only When I’m Drunk
17. The Ronettes – Be My Baby
16. EAST 17 – “House Of Love”
15. THE FUTUREHEADS – “The Hounds Of Love”
14. SHIRLEY BASSEY “Goldfinger”
13. Busted- Air Hostess
12. MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
11. MR OIZO – “Flat Beat”
10. West Side Story OBC – “America”
9. Uptown Top Ranking – Althea & Donna
8. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – There, There, My Dear
7. Little Fluffy Clouds – The Orb
6. Eartha Kitt’s “Just an Old Fashioned Girl”
5. Belle And Sebastian – The Boy With The Arab Strap
4. Madonna -”Like A Prayer”
3. Shaggy – Boombastic
2. THE TRAMMPS – “Disco Inferno”
1. PET SHOP BOYS – “Always On My Mind/In My House”
This top is absolutely not a bullshit. 4 and a half years down the line and it still ain’t dung.
Talk about HORNETS NESTS AND RATTLED CAGES!!!
And all this BEFORE Tom shows us his top 20!!!
You’re not supposed to take it that seriously people. Still, some of the comments gave me a good laugh. Personally I think your list shows an amazingly open-minded attitude to music. You obviously list many songs that you just plain ENJOY because they please your ear – fair enough! (How many of you out there won’t admit to actually liking “the birdie dance” or “the smurf song” or even “chirpy chirpy cheepcheep” etc.)
You know who you are!! Chill out, Guys!
Am I the first to notice that your top 100 list will contain 101 songs? Sneakily putting in skeletal family at 89.5.
BTW before you show your top 10 list please listen to “surfin’ bird” by the Trashmen on Spotify or similar. An episode of Family Guy unearthed this gem for me. Gotta be in your top 5 eh?
Hur hur hur the yellow text on ‘wee rule’ is still funny. PROVEN BY SCIENCE
cmon!!!!!!!! we want the top 20 !!!!!11
I’m really not impressed. I’m looking for music to fill my iPod from all era’s, and I didn’t take anything from this! Put your top 20 up!!! Doubt they’ll be any better though, so much for a ‘top 100 songs of all time’ more like ‘top 100 songs that will make you want to kill yourself’. BORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGG
People!
If you want at least some idea of Toms top 20, look no further than the tracks that he has given a score of 10 to. Logic dictates that those singles not already accounted for in the previous 80 must be included in his top 20 somewhere.
Logic would indeed dictate that, if I’d been responsible for more than about 1/12th of the nominations, and if I only ever listened to tracks that got to #1 :)
Well… “some people”. So far so good with this countdown. If people had taken the time to read the explanations Pete has provided, they might gain some insight into why some songs are here and some are missed. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s in the top 20. What I hope to find at the end of this project is a collage of what makes songs good, memorable, enduring, hateful, downright atrocious but above all, songs that illicit some kind of reaction rather than simply inspire nothing more than indifference. We don’t have to agree with the choices, but at least take some time to find out why those choices were made.
The list is wonderful, and the comment thread simply joyous.
TOP 10 NAO PLZ
Judging by the time gap in the comments (only one other posting between 26/11/09 qnd 22/1/11) you must have updated this thread very recently Tom.
You are my hero!!
Your additions of most favorite songs between No. 6 and 20 have given me a big Laugh!! I ADORE some of the choices
Eartha Kitt at No. 6!!! I spent YEARS trying to track down a ’45 of this record and finally stumbled on one at a car boot sale a couple of years ago.
And “America” is a fantastic song – always loved that. Even the Keith Emerson Intrumental on “The Nice” Album is a great rocking number, thought the composer (I think it was Bernstein – correct me if I’m wrong) was less than impressed.
Now thats what i calll music, AHH YEah
I believe the time is right to reveal #5, #4 and #3
LOOK, it’s the theme tune to Teachers, a much commented Popular track, and one guarded by a giant ragga bunny
You were all too drunk to veto B&S ?????
Leaving the last two unnamed is a shrewd move. The top place in these countdowns is always obvious once the rest have been eliminated.
Where’s Mariah Carey!?? “We Belong Together” ! Song of decade!? And “Fantasy” the first song that started rap and pop collabration!
Predicting a 4th January 2015 reveal for the #1, on its tenth anniversary.
Kevin- that was not the first rap-song collaboration- not even close (there was “I Feel For You” and Jody Watley’s ‘Friends” in the 80s, not to mention rappers appearing on Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna tracks prior to 1995, etc.). It may have helped popularize it, but not the first.
#170 Rapture by Blondie predates those/…
#170,1968: Pigmeat Markham “Here Comes The Judge” unless somebody knows of an earlier example?
Well, there’s The Goons’ “Ying tong song”, specifically Harry Seacombe’s bit in the middle.
Is No. 1 going to be revealed soon? i inquired about it via email and Twitter, but have had no response. Thanks.
No, 171- oh I know “Rapture” had Debbie Harry rapping, and she namechecks Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash, but there are no other acts with vocals on the track.
Wot!….no comments yet on 2,3 & 4 in this list? No quibbles from me about Nos, 3 & 4 but I can’t believe I’m the first to be a little mystified at the No.2 choice…Disco Inferno? A great Disco record of the era but few people would consider it the best……burn baby, burn. Curious to know the collective thinking of the freaky tigger committee behind this one.
If you must include a full blown “disco” track in this list, I would like to offer “Boogy Wonderland” as a superior alternative.
This list-making method tends to run into difficulties as the top of the list approaches (which is why the best way to do it is simply not to reveal that the top of the list IS approaching) – almost everything gets vetoed until someone suggests a pick that is undeniably A Good Thing and that everyone knows. If the proper venue for listmaking, i.e. a pub, is in use than the song will also be something that sounds even better when drunk. Which explains “Disco Inferno” nicely, though to be honest doesn’t do a lot to explain the eventual number one.
We’re awaiting the reveal. :) Will it be a left0field track, or one that’s generally acclaimed in the critical world…
Still waiting for the reveal. I know the somewhat unorthodox manner of compiling the list has been a good reason for the delays, but… :-)
Hmm. Madonna “bias” alert.
3 of her songs in this list?…….suggest more than just the quality of the song is creeping into the selection process.
I have started writing the No.1 entry!
“More than just the quality of the song is creeping into the selection process” – this is a feature not a bug :)