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.
The Cure – Andy Anderson (Clifford Leon Anderson) (1951 – 2019), Lol Tolhurst, Paul "Porl" Thompson And Robert Smith – 1984, The Cure – Clifford Leon Anderson, Lol Tolhurst, Paul "Porl" Thompson And Robert Smith – 1984 (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images)
(MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin performing on stage at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, 23rd September 1971. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 06: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Singer/songwriter Don Schlitz performs during CMA Songwriters Series Featuring Mary Chapin Carpenter, Vince Gill, Mac McAnally and Don Schlitz at CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on June 6, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Mickey Bernal/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JULY 15: Katy Perry performs at the Kia Forum on July 15, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
UNITED KINGDOM – MARCH 24: RAINBOW THEATRE Photo of Ray DAVIES and KINKS, Ray Davies performing live onstage, with Gibson Melody Maker guitar (Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns)
Singer-songwriter Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda (1941 – 1998), of British rock group Wings, 21st November 1973. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
