My Favorite Songs by Decade
Recently, Gretchen and I were listening to our favorite DJ, Richard Blade, on our favorite radio station, First Wave, on SiriusXM as he interviewed The Cure’s Robert Smith, one of my favorite singers from one of my favorite bands. Gretchen can’t stand him. Richard asked him an interesting question and I was surprised by Robert’s answer. The question was for him to name his top 30 songs from the 1980s. A tough question to answer. Since The Cure started out as post-punk in the late 1970s, before quickly transitioning to goth (which they’re still known as by most fans), and later simply as an alternative band, one of the biggest in the world, I was expecting mostly songs by alternative bands, as well as a few goth bands. I was surprised by the answer because that was not at all the case. It was a diverse mixture of songs from all genres and I thought that was very interesting. And it got both of us thinking about what our lists would look like. So we decided to make our own lists.
When I sat down to make my list of my favorite ‘80s songs, I knew it would be very long and I’d have to make some hard cuts. That’s exactly what happened. I initially chose close to 100 songs. Then I started cutting. The first 20 were pretty easy, but after that, it got surprisingly hard. Each song had merit. Each song deserved to be on the list. But I had to keep cutting. Finally I got down to 50 and had to stop. I couldn’t go any further. There was simply no way I could cut any from my list of 50 and have any integrity that the list would be a complete list of my top songs from that decade. So I was finished. When Gretchen did hers, she was much more brutal and ended up with 30. When we shared them with each other, to no one’s surprise, they were very different. There was almost no crossover. While I had a lot of new wave, goth, and industrial, she had almost none of that. It was interesting.
So interesting, we wondered what a list of the 1990s would look like. That decade is one of her favorites, while it’s one of my least favorites. Or so I thought. I didn’t think I could come up with enough songs, but Gretchen challenged me to do so, so I sat down and started thinking. And to my shock, I was able to come up with a few songs. I really don’t think much good music was made during that decade. At all. Gretchen loves the music from that decade, but I think it’s a lost decade. Nonetheless, I was able to compile a shortish list and when I was done, I counted how many songs I had and to my surprise, I had exactly 40. Since I didn’t really want to cut any of them, I decided to keep them all and left my list at 40. When Gretchen did her list, it was 30 again. And again, our lists were very different. While Gretchen’s was mostly grunge, pop alternative, and alternative, mine was mostly industrial, alternative, electronica, world, and metal.
This brought us to the gigantic decade: the 1970s! Since we both grew up in that decade, it would be a gigantic challenge because there would be so many songs to choose from. When I sat down to work on mine, little did I know it would take me three days. I also decided to cut as I went, instead of writing down all of the songs and then cutting after I had written them all down. So as I was writing, I cut well over 125 songs as I went along. When I was finished, I had a list of 128 songs! I have gone over and over that list to see what else I can cut, but I cannot bring myself to cut a single one. After all, I’ve already cut 125 as I was compiling the list. Many classics I love didn’t make the list. But the list is long. I wanted it to be no longer than 75 songs. However, that proved to be impossible. There are too many good bands, too many good songs. I simply can’t cut, so to my shame, I’m leaving my list at 128 songs. And Gretchen? She wants to make her list, again, 30 songs, but she hasn’t done hers yet. I am begging her to do at least 50 because 30 won’t be a fair representative of that decade, but she seems determined. And my list? It’s comprised of classic rock, disco, soul, metal, new wave, arena rock, and a couple of punk songs. A big variety of music.
Gretchen will probably want to do a list from the year 2000-. While I like some music from that decade, it’s mostly some “new” rock and I’m tired even of that, so I doubt I’ll do any more lists. I think these three are enough for me. I’m going to post all three in this blog post, in order of decade, from oldest to most recent. I’m sure no one will agree with many or most of my choices, but that’s the beauty of lists, subjectivity, and free will. Anyone can make a list of their own and they can all differ as much as they want. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy seeing my eclectic lists. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into these, for no good reason other than the fun of it. Cheers!
Scott’s Top ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s Songs
Top ‘70s Songs
1. AC/DC — Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
2. AC/DC — Highway to Hell
3. The B-52’s — Rock Lobster
4. Billy Squire — The Stroke
5. Black Sabbath — Paranoid
6. Black Sabbath — Iron Man
7. Boston — More Than a Feeling
8. Boston — Foreplay/Long Time
9. Boston – Don’t Look Back
10. The Cars — Good Times Roll
11. The Cars — My Best Friend’s Girl
12. Cheap Trick — Dream Police
13. Chic — Le Freak
14. Chicago — 25 Or 6 To 4
15. Chic Corea & Return to Forever – You’re Everything
16. Christopher Cross — Ride Like the Wind
17. Chuck Mangione — Feels So Good
18. The Commodores — Brick House
19. The Commodores — Sail On
20. David Bowie — Changes
21. David Bowie — Ziggy Stardust
22. David Bowie — Suffragette City
23. Deep Purple — Smoke On the Water
24. Deep Purple — Space Truckin’
25. The Eagles — Hotel California
26. The Eagles — The Long Run
27. Earth, Wind & Fire — September
28. Earth, Wind & Fire – Let’s Groove
29. ELO — Mr. Blue Sky
30. Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
31. Elton John — Island Girl
32. Fleetwood Mac — The Chain
33. Foreigner — Cold As Ice
34. Foreigner — Hot Blooded
35. Gary Numan — Cars
36. Gary Numan — Down in the Park
37. Heart — Barracuda
38. Heart — Magic Man
39. Heart — Crazy On You
40. James Taylor – You’ve Got a Friend
41. Jeff Beck — Led Boots
42. Jeff Beck — Blue Wind
43. Jeff Beck — People Get Ready
44. Jefferson Starship — Miracles
45. Jefferson Starship — Jane
46. Jethro Tull — Aqualung
47. Jethro Tull — Cross-Eyed Mary
48. Jethro Tull — My God
49. Jethro Tull — Locomotive Breath
50. Jethro Tull — Thick As a Brick
51. Jethro Tull — Bungle In The Jungle
52. Jethro Tull — Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day
53. John Lennon — Imagine
54. Journey — On a Saturday Night
55. Journey — Hustler
56. Journey — Feeling That Way
57. Journey — Wheel in the Sky
58. Joy Division — Isolation
59. Kansas — Dust In the Wind
60. Kansas — Carry On Wayward Son
61. KC & The Sunshine Band – That’s the Way (I Like It)
62. KC & The Sunshine Band — Get Down Tonight
63. KISS — Rock and Roll All Nite
64. KISS — Detroit Rock City
65. The Knack — My Sharona
66. Kool & the Gang — Celebration
67. Kool & the Gang — Get Down On It
68. Led Zeppelin — Good Times Bad Times
69. Led Zeppelin — Communication Breakdown
70. Led Zeppelin — Stairway to Heaven
71. Led Zeppelin — Rock and Roll
72. Little River Band — Cool Change
73. Lynyrd Skynyrd — Gimme Three Steps
74. Lynyrd Skynyrd — Call Me the Breeze
75. Lynyrd Skynyrd — Free Bird
76. Michael Jackson — Off the Wall
77. Molly Hatchet – Flirtin’ With Disaster
78. Mott the Hoople — Sweet Jane
79. Mott the Hoople — All the Young Dudes
80. Pat Benatar — Heartbreaker
81. Pat Benetar — Hit Me With Your Best Shot
82. Paul McCartney & Wings — Silly Love Songs
83. Paul McCartney & Wings — Live And Let Die
84. Paul McCartney & Wings — With a Little Luck
85. Paul McCartney & Wings — Band On The Run
86. Paul McCartney & Wings — Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
87. Paul McCartney & Wings — The Long And Winding Road
88. Paul McCartney & Wings — Listen to What the Man Said
89. Peter Frampton — All I Want to Be (Is by Your Side)
90. Peter Frampton — I Wanna Go to the Sun
91. Peter Frampton — Do You Feel Like We Do
92. Pink Floyd — One of These Days
93. Pink Floyd — The Great Gig In the Sky
94. Pink Floyd — Brain Damage
95. Pink Floyd — Welcome to the Machine
96. Pink Floyd — Have a Cigar
97. Pink Floyd — Wish You Were Here
98. Pink Floyd — Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
99. Pink Floyd — Comfortably Numb
100. Pink Floyd — Run Like Hell
101. Queen — Bohemian Rhapsody
102. Queen – You’re My Best Friend
103. Queen – I’m In Love With My Car
104. Queen — Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)
105. Queen — We Will Rock You
106. Queen — We Are the Champions
107. Queen — Sheer Heart Attack
108. Queen — Get Down, Make Love
109. Rainbow — Man On the Silver Mountain
110. Ramones — Blitzkreig Bop
110. REO Speedwagon – Ridin’ the Storm Out
111. The Rolling Stones — Shattered
112. Rush — The Trees
113. Rush — Closer to the Heart
114. Rush — La Villa Strangiato
115. Sex Pistols — God Save the Queen
116. Styx — Renegade
117. Styx — Come Sail Away
118. Styx — Suite Madame Blue
119. Styx — Miss America
120. Supertramp — The Logical Song
121. Supertramp — Take the Long Way Home
122. Tom Petty — Refugee
123. Tom Petty – Don’t Do Me Like That
124. Van Halen – Runnin’ With the Devil
125. Van Halen — Eruption
126. Van Halen — And the Cradle Will Rock…
127. ZZ Top — Tube Snake Boogie
128. ZZ Top — Cheap Sunglasses
Top ‘80s Songs
1. Asia — Time Again
2. Bauhaus — Stigmata Martyr
3. Bauhaus — Telegram Sam
4. Bronski Beat — Why?
5. The Cars — Magic
6. The Church — Reptile
7. The Cult — Phoenix
8. The Cure — Pornography
9. The Cure — Fascination Street
10. David Bowie — Cat People
11. Duran Duran — A View to a Kill
12. Echo & the Bunneymen — Bedbugs and Ballyhoo
13. The Fixx — Are We Ourselves?
14. Front 242 — Welcome to Paradise
15. Front 242 — Headhunter, Vol. 1.0
16. INXS — New Sensation
17. KMFDM — Virus
18. Dead Can Dance — Black Sun
19. Love and Rockets — Ball of Confusion
20. Love and Rockets — No New Tale To Tell
21. Madonna — Into the Groove
22. Michael Jackson — Beat It
23. Ministry — Stigmata
24. Ministry — So What
25. Moev — Wanting
26. Nine Inch Nails — Head Like a Hole
27. Nine Inch Nails — Terrible Lie
28. Nitzer Ebb — Control I’m Here
29. Peter Murphy — All Night Long
30. Peter Murphy — Cuts You Up
31. Prince – Let’s Go Crazy
32. Queen — Another One Bites The Dust
33. REM — Feeling Gravitys Pull
34. REM — The One I Love
35. REM — Orange Crush
36. Red Hot Chili Peppers — Higher Ground
37. Rush — Tom Sawyer
38. Simple Minds — All the Things She Said
39. Simple Minds — Sanctify Yourself
40. Sinead O’Connor — Jerusalem
41. Sinead O’Connor — I Want Your (Hands On Me)
42. Sisters Of Mercy — Dominion/Mother Russia
43. Sisters Of Mercy — Lucretia My Reflection
44. Skinny Puppy — Tin Omen
45. The Smiths — Bigmouth Strikes Again
46. Tears for Fears — Shout
47. Thomas Dolby — Hyperactive
48. Tones On Tail — Go!
49. U2 — Bullet the Blue Sky
50. Van Halen – Panama
Top ‘90s Songs
1. AC/DC — Back In Black
2. Arrested Development — Tennessee
3. Bigod 20 — The Bog
4. The Chemical Brothers — Block Rockin’ Beats
5. Dead Can Dance — Yulunga (Spirit Dance)
6. Dead Can Dance — The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove
7. Dead Can Dance — Carnival Is Over
8. Death In Vegas — Dirt
9. Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart
10. Deftones — My Own Summer (Shove It)
11. Depeche Mode — Enjoy the Silence
12. Depeche Mode — Policy of Truth
13. Depeche Mode — Barrel Of A Gun
14. Faith & the Muse — The Trauma Coil
15. Faith No More — Epic
16. Jane’s Addiction — Been Caught Stealing
17. Jesus Jones — Right Here Right Now
18. Lisa Gerrard — Sanvean: I Am Your Shadow
19. Manufacture — As The End Draws Near
20. Manufacture — A Measured Response
21. Marilyn Manson — The Beautiful People
22. Marilyn Manson — Rock Is Dead
23. My Dying Bride — Your Shameful Heaven
24. My Dying Bride — Turn Loose The Swans
25. My Dying Bride — She Is The Dark
26. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult — A Daisy Chain 4 Satan
27. Nine Inch Nails — Broken
28. Nine Inch Nails — Hurt
29. Nitzer Ebb — Lighting Man
30. Rage Against The Machine — Killing In The Name
31. Rage Against The Machine — Wake Up
32. Rammstein — Sehnsucht
33. Red Hot Chili Peppers — Under The Bridge
34. Revolting Cocks — Stainless Steel Providers
35. Skinny Puppy — Tormentor
36. Sonic Youth — Kool Thing
37. Tool — Stinkfist
38. Type O Negative — Black No. 1
39. Type O Negative — Love You To Death
40. Type O Negative — Burnt Flowers Fallen
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