With The List, American Songwriter details the best, the brightest, the most enduring, the worst, the most hated, and the most surprising songs ever–among many other qualifiers. If you’re looking for our definitive rankings on music, you’ll find them below.
Elton John speaks onstage during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Peacock Theater on November 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Kane/Getty Images for RRHOF)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 05: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Kelsea Ballerini performs onstage for All for the Hall a concert hosted by Keith Urban and Vince Gill benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Bridgestone Arena on December 05, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
English singer Morrissey, of the group the Smiths, Red Wedge Tour, Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, 1/31/1986. During the latter half of the 1980s, the Red Wedge collective organized a series of music and comedy tours throughout the UK in an attempt to mobilize young fans in opposition to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s then-ruling Conservative Party. (Photo by Steve Rapport/Getty Images)
American singer Bobbie Gentry performs on the Bobbie Gentry music series for BBC Television at Television Centre in London circa 1968. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
