Top 200: Greatest Songs (of All-Time)

71. She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy (Kenny Chesney)

Like a Prayer, a combination pop-rock and gospel song, was the lead song on Madonna’s fourth album, Like a Prayer (Sire Records, 1989). Then-disparaged almost universally by the Catholic church (specifically, the Vatican) and hardcore conservatives—but heralded as one of the best songs by one of the best artists of all time by almost every major critic and publication since—“Like a Prayer” was Madonna’s seventh No. 1 hit on the prestigious Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped other charts around the world from the United Kingdom, to Japan, to Canada and others.

The accompanying music video for the song–nothing short of revolutionary in the then still-fledgling music video world–included highly controversial elements including burning crosses, stigmata, a backup chorus performed by a full choir, and Madonna’s dream of having sex with a saint. Apparently, sex really does sell.

Meaning of the Song: “Like a Prayer” represented one of Madonna’s most artistic and personal approaches to music. Mixing liturgical lyrics with sexual innuendo, gospel, and pop rock, “Like a Prayer” represents two (often sparring) entities–the spiritual and the physical. Its lyrics describe Madonna as receiving a songwriting/singing “job” from God himself.
Accolades: RS/500, No. 300; Madonna’s seventh No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100; peaked at the top of singles charts in over a dozen countries around the world; went platinum in the U.S. and Australia, gold in the U.K, Switzerland, and Germany (among other countries); No. 6 on Blender magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born” roundup.

72. Paint It, Black (The Rolling Stones)

Debuting in May of 1966 as the Stones’ first single of their fourth album Aftermath (U.S. version), “Paint It, Black” was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Brian Jones developed and played the song’s signature sitar riff and Jack Nitzsche rocked the piano. Richards took on both the electric and acoustic guitars, as well the background vocals. Fun Fact: Initially titled “Paint It Black”, Decca Records mandated the comma that’s now in it. It also marked the first number-one single in the U.S. or U.K. to feature the musical instrument known as a sitar in the recording.

Meaning of the Song: Jagger, who contributed significantly to the lyrics, has said that they refer to a girl’s funeral (whose funeral is thought to be unknown).
Accolades: No. 1 on the United States and U.K. charts (1966); RS/500, No. 174; No. 1 on Canada’s RPM and the Dutch Top 40 charts.

73. Crazy (Patsy Cline)

Likely the epitome of Patsy Cline’s career and legacy, the jazz-pop ballad “Crazy” was composed by Willie Nelson (initially for Billy Walker, although he turned it down) and subsequently given to Cline to perform. absolutely hated it at first because Nelson’s demo “spoke” the lyrics ahead of and behind the beat, about which an annoyed Cline remarked that she ‘couldn’t sing like that’. However, Cline’s producer, Owen Bradley, loved the song and subsequently arranged it in ballad form. Patsy Cline, who was already a country music superstar and working to extend a string of hits, picked it as a follow up to her previous big hit “I Fall to Pieces”.

Meaning of the Song: Nelson wrote the song in early 1961; at the time he was a journeyman singer-songwriter who had written several hits for other artists but had not yet had a significant recording of his own. Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker who turned it down. The song’s eventual success helped launch Nelson as a performer as well as a songwriter. Musically the song is a jazz-pop ballad with country overtones and a complex melody. The lyrics describe the singer’s state of bemusement at the singer’s own helpless love for the object of his affection.
Accolades: A No. 2 country hit of 1962; No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100; No. 2 on Billboard‘s Easy Listening and Hot Country Singles charts; RS/500, No. 85.

74. That’s Amore (Dean Martin)

First appearing in the soundtrack to the 1953 comedy The Caddy (with Martin and Jerry Lewis), “That’s Amore” became a major hit and signature song for Dean Martin (a.k.a. Dino Crocetti) in the 1950s. According to one account, the song was only initially produced by songwriter Henry Warren at the request of Jerry Lewis because, apparently, Dean needed the motivation. “That’s Amore” bounced back in popularity when it was used in the movie Moonstruck.

Meaning of the Song: A one-off, romantic song, “That’s Amore” details ‘love’ the way southern Italians (Napoli, Italy, in specific) do it. “Amore” itself is Italian for “Love”. The narrator passionately compares the sentiment to his favorite Italian foods–pasta fagiole and pizza. It’s a quirky romantic song poking a bit of fun at Italian stereotypes, something Martin – born Dino Crocetti – had every right to do.

Accolades: Peaked at No. 2 on the primary Billboard chart; nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (1953); also featured in the films Rear Window (1954), Moonstruck (1987), and Enchanted (2007, sung by James Marsden).

75. Crazy in Love (Beyonce ft. Jay-Z)

“Crazy in Love” was the debut single–as well as first No. 1 hit–by R&B singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles (and first collaboration with Jay-Z), which featured rapper and now-husband Jay-Z, for her solo album entitled Dangerously in Love. “Crazy in Love” was an R&B love song that blended1970s-style funk, dance, pop, and soul, and prominently featured a hook sampled from the 1970s The Chi-Lites’ song “Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)”.

Meaning of the Song: “Crazy in Love” describes an obsession with another person that causes the narrator to act unlike herself. In Beyonce’s own words: “It celebrates the evolution of a woman. It talks about a girl who is at the point of a relationship. She realizes that she’s in love, she’s doing stuff she wouldn’t normally do but she doesn’t care. It doesn’t matter, she’s just crazy in love. Rich Harrison actually wrote the song with me and after I finished the song I asked Jay Z to be part of the song and he did. The song turned out great it ended up being my first single.”

Accolades: RS/500, No. 118; VH1‘s No. 1 song on its 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s chart; topped the Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks; garnered two Grammys for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best R&B Song; went multi-platinum in several countries (including the U.S.), having sold more than 8-million copies worldwide.

76. Be My Baby (The Ronettes)

A 1963 single produced Phil Spector and sung by The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” quickly became a smash hit, as well as one of the most well-known, lasting songs of the 1960s. According to critic Jason Ankeny, “No less an authority than Brian Wilson has declared ‘Be My Baby’ the greatest pop record ever made — no arguments here.” And on his hit show ‘American Bandstand’, Dick Clark went even further–proclaiming it the “record of the century.”

Meaning of the Song: The lyrical interpretation of “Be My Baby” is a straightforward one: The narrator has simply long-waited and yearned for the woman of his affection.

Accolades: Peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles chart, No. 4 on the British Record Retailer; peaked at No. 4 on the R&B chart; RS/500, No. 22; Grammy Hall of Fame induction; Library of Congress-inducted to the United States National Recording Registry; Pitchfork Media‘s No. 6 on its “The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s” chart; included in Time magazine’s “All-TIME 100 Songs”.

77. Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz)

“Fly Away” is Lenny Kravitz’s fourth single from his 1998 album entitled 5 . It’s also one of his most successful songs ever, becoming a hit in both the United Kingdom and United States as well as in Canada, Australia, and throughout Europe.

Meaning of the Song: Meaning-wise, “Fly Away” is about as clear cut and easy to understand as it gets in the mainstream music industry–which helped it become a favorite among the likes of movie directors, sport montage assemblers, and ad agencies. Kravitz maintains that good songwriting does not always require deep, mysterious lyrics.

Accolades: No. 1 in the U.K.; peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100; topped the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Tracks charts; peaked at No. 8 in New Zealand; certified gold; Grammy Award (1999) for “Best Male Rock Performance.”

78. Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp)

“Hurts So Good” is a 1982 hit by the singer-songwriter John “Cougar” Mellencamp for the album American Fool. In addition to this song, the Mellancamp’s other hit songs from American Fool included “Jack & Diane” and “Hand to Hold On To.” In a 1982 interview with The L.A. Herald Examiner, the singer claimed that: “My friend George said, why didn’t I write a song with the title ‘Hurt So Good’?” and that “I wrote it in three minutes, scrawled the first line in soap on the glass door in the shower. It was really just a joke. I think all good things probably started as jokes. Wasn’t God having a laugh when he made this whole place?”

Meaning of the Song: In the aforementioned interview, Mellencamp asserted that the first few lines of “Hurts So Good” were conceived of, of all places, in his shower and as a joke. Supposedly, the song refers to certain, explicit sexual acts between Mellencamp and his partner.

Accolades: Peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Hot (mainstream rock) Tracks chart; marked Mellencamp’s first of three major hits from the 1982 album American Fool; No. 83 on Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time compilation; spent a total of 16 whopping weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 chart.

79. No One (Alicia Keys)

Written and produced by Keys, the Kerry Brothers, Jr., and George M. Harry for Keys’ third studio album, As I Am, “No One” was the album’s lead single. It marked Keys’ biggest overall hit, having topped many singles charts for up to 10 consecutive weeks. “No One” was also her second solo number-one single in the United States after 2001’s Fallin. Billboard (on its Hot 100) placed Key’s song at No. 6 on its decade-end chart for best songs.

Meaning of the Song: In an interview with MTV News Canada, Alicia explained that “No One” “is really talking about the way that in relationships, the way that so many things are around you all the time to try to distract you [sic]” and continued “even though people may talk and say whatever they may want to say, but then no one can get in the way of this.”

Accolades: No. 42 on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs; No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 for five (consecutive) weeks; two 2008 Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song; over 3-million paid downloads U.S., 5.7 million globally.

80. SexyBack (Justin Timberlake)

“SexyBack” debuted as the lead single from Timberlake’s second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The instrumentation used in the song includes a pounding bass beat, electronic chords, and beat box sounds. Timbaland—who also worked on Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” and produced Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous”—produced “SexyBack” and also sings on the track.

Meaning of the Song: Timberlake revealed that he went “left”, singing the song in a rock style, not an R&B style.He described the song as musicians David Bowie and David Byrne “covering” James Brown’s 1970 song “Sex Machine”Timberlake said that the chorus was “very James Brown-ish, call out and repeat, like ‘Sex Machine’.”

Accolades: 2007 Grammy for Best Dance Recording; Timberlake’s first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, spending seven weeks there; topped most of Billboard magazine’s other charts (Billboard Pop 100, Hot Dance Airplay, and Hot Digital Songs chart and others); first Timberlake single to peak at No. 1 in the U.K.; 3x platinum by the RIAA; 6x platinum by Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA); won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite R&B song; voted ‘Male Artist of the Year’ at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.