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.
RHODE ISLAND – JULY 27: Country singer/songwriter Johnny Cash performs onstage at the New Folk Festival on July 27, 1968 in Newport, Rhode Island. (Photo by Julie Snow/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
The TALKING HEADS with David Byrne
In Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 1977
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(L-R) English musicians Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Steve Clark (1960 – 1991) and Joe Elliott, of the English rock band Def Leppard, pose for a group portrait during the 1987 Hysteria Tour at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, November 2, 1987. (Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images)
Atlanta – June 1: Fleetwood Mac, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1998) Singer/Songwriter Stevie Nicks performs at The Omni Coliseum in Atlanta Georgia June 1, 1977 (Photo By Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
The Beatles at the press launch for their new album 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', held at Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street, London, 19th May 1967. Left to right: George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and Paul McCartney. (Photo by John Downing/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
David Bowie Performs On English Rock & Pop musician and actor David Bowie (born David Jones, 1947 – 2016) performs on stage, Los Angeles, California, 1975. (Photo by Ellen Graham/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 1958: Pianist Bob Gaudio, drummer Tom Austin, tenor sax Larry Qualiano, singer Dianne Costello and guitarist Billy Dalton of the rock and roll band "The Royal Teens" pose for a portrait in September or October of 1958 at the Brooklyn Paramount in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Outdoor portrait of Norweigan pop band 'A-Ha'; (L-R) Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, May 1987. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)