Rolling Stone recently put out a top 100 guitar songs of all time list. It is very interesting to look at, to see how they ranked songs, which songs are on there, which are highly rated, poorly rated, and which ones did not make the list. Visit their website to see the list yourself here. They have music clips to listen to, as well as some other stats on the songs. Check it out here for yourself and see what you think:
1. "Johnny B. Good" -Chuck Berry
2. "Purple Haze" -The Jimi Hendrix Experience
3. "Crossroads" -Cream
4. "You Really Got Me" -The Kinks
5. "Brown Sugar" -The Rolling Stones
6. "Eruption" -Van Halen
7. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" -The Beatles
8. "Stairway to Heaven" -Led Zeppelin
9. "Statesboro Blues" -The Allman Brothers Band
10. "Smells like Teen Spirit" -Nirvana
11. "Whole Lotta Love" -Led Zeppelin
12. "Voodoo Child" -The Jimi Hendrix Experience
13. "Layla" -Derek and the Dominos
14. "Born to Run" -Bruce Springsteen
15. "My Generation" -The Who
16. "Cowgirl in the Sand" -Neil Young and Crazyhorse
17. "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath
18. "Blitzkrieg Bop" -Ramones
19. "Purple Rain" -Prince and the Revolution
20. "People Get Ready" -The Impressions
21. "Seven Nation Army" -The White Stripes
22. "A Hard Day's Night" -The Beatles
23. "Over Under Sideways Down" -The Yardbirds
24. "Killing in the Name" -Rage against the Machine
25. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" -The Rolling Stones
26. "How Blue Can You Get" -BB King
27. "Look Over Yonders Wall" -The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
28. "Where the Streets Have No Name" -U2
29. "Back in Black" -AC/DC
30. "(We're Gonna) Rock around the Clock" -Bill Haley and his Comets
31. "Keep Yourself Alive" -Queen
32. "Sultans of Swing" -Dire Straits
33. "Master of Puppets" -Metallica
34. "Walk this Way" -Aerosmith
35. "1969" -The Stooges
36. "Interstellar Overdrive" -Pink Floyd
37. "That's All Right" -Elvis Presley
38. "Stay with Me" -The Faces
39. "Black Magic Woman" -Santana
40. "I Can See for Miles" -The Who
41. "Marquee Moon" -Television
42. "Hideaway" -John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
43. "Holidays in the Sun" -Sex Pistols
44. "Dig Me Out" -Sleater-Kinney
45. "I Saw Her Standing There" -The Beatles
46. "Miserlou" -Dick Dale and the Del-Tones
47. "Panama" -Van Halen
48. "London Calling" -The Clash
49. "Machine Gun" -Jimi Hendrix
50. "Debaser" -Pixies
51. "Crazy Train" -Ozzy Ozborne
52. "My Iron Lung" -Radiohead
53. "Born on the Bayou" -CCR
54. "Little Wing" -Stevie Ray Vaughn
55. "White Room" -Cream
56. "Eight Miles High" -The Byrds
57. "Dark Star" -Grateful Dead
58. "Rumble" -Link Wray
59. "Freeway Jam" -Jeff Beck
60. "Maggotbrain" -Funkadelic
61. "Soul Man" -Sam and Dave
62. "Born under a Bad Sign" -Albert King
63. "Sweet Child O' Mine" -Guns n' Roses
64. "Freebird" -Lynyrd Skynyrd
65. "Message in a Bottle" -The Police
66. "Texas Flood" -Stevie Ray Vaughn
67. "Adam Raised a Cain" -Bruce Springsteen
68. "The Thrill Is Gone" -BB King
69. "Money" -Pink Floyd
70. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" -Smashing Pumpkins
71. "Take It Or Leave It" -The Strokes
72. "Say It Ain't So" -Weezer
73. "Summertime Blues" -Blue Cheer
74. "La Grange" -ZZ Top
75. "Willie the Pimp" -Frank Zappa
76. "American Girl" -Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
77. "Even Flow" -Pearl Jam
78. "Stone Crazy" -Buddy Guy
79. "Silver Rocket" -Sonic Youth
80. "Kid Charlemagne" -Steely Dan
81. "Beat It" -Michael Jackson
82. "Walk--Don't Run" -The Ventures
83. "What I Got" -Sublime
84. "Gravity" -John Mayer
85. "You Enjoy Myself" -Phish
86. "I Ain't Superstitious" -Jeff Beck
87. "Red" -King Crimson
88. "Mona" -Quicksilver Messenger Service
89. "I Love Rock and Roll" -Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
90. "How Soon Is Now?" -The Smiths
91. "Drunkship of Lanterns" -The Mars Volta
92. "Memo from Turner" -Mick Jagger
93. "Only Shallow" -My Bloody Valentine
94. "Money for Nothing" -Dire Straits
95. "Omaha" -Moby Grape
96. "New Day Rising" -Hu sker Du
97. "No One Knows" -Queens of the Stone Age
98. "Under the Bridge" -Red Hot Chili Peppers
99. "Run Thru" -My Morning Jacket
100. "Vicarious" -Tool
As I was writing this, I was wondering: Who puts this list together? How are these decided?
I thought they did a good job of varying the genres and years that all the songs came out. To tell you the truth, I am unfamiliar with a lot of the bands or artists. But, I kind of like that. It gives me something to explore. I was surprised at how many artists appeared twice, and some that didn't appear at all. I think John Frusciante is amazing--perhaps more than just one song for him. "Freebird" was a bit low on the list for me. I was surprised that Nirvana came in at the top ten. I like them, but I was surprised that they got such a high rating. One for Pearl Jam? Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles are well-represented. Same with Pink Floyd.
I know with any list, someone is going to have complaints. There can't be a "best list" because everyone's likes and dislikes come into play. So, overall, I think this was well put-together, well-thought out. I wish that this was my job, even though I bet it was stressful to put together at Rolling Stone. Good job though, list makers.
So what did you think of the list? Who's missing? What songs do you like? Anything at all?
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