Wouldn’t It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
Ah, sweet memories.
But then again, Loser by my boy Beck is truly amazing.
Opeth’s “Black Rose Immortal”. I know it’s the best because a) it hits every genre from folk music to thrash metal; b) I want to listen to it over and over again even though it’s over twenty minutes long.
I know this is going to look wierd next to all these famous songs, however in my mind this is the best song:
“Krwling” by Linkin Park, featuring Aaron Lewis of Staind (on the new REANIMATE CD).
I could listen to that song for HOURS. I just love it.
"disintegration" by the cure.
I have goosebumps from this point…
“now that I know that I’m breaking to pieces
I’ll pull out my heart and I’ll feed it to anyone…”
…until the end of the song.
best album, too. they said so on South Park. 
The only other song I connect with that emotionally and cathartically is “Porch” by Pearl Jam.
“I know when I would not ever touch you
Hold you…feel you…ever hold…never again…”
Man, I loved singing the end of that song in my old band…
good call on sympathy AND gimme shelter
Baker Street is NOT by Steely Dan, ferchrissake!
Scottish fellow by the name of (off the top of my head) Gerry Rafferty. Was also in the band Stealer’s Wheel and sang the cut “Stuck in the Middle With You” of Resevoir Dogs fame…
As for the OP - going for the Best Song Ever - I frankly don’t see the point in trying answer. Great, everybody gets to offer their eclectic selection, but the scope would have to be much narrower to enable some sort of reasonable listing…
I love a good imposition of rank on inherently artistic and therefore subjective things to stimulate discussion, but this pushing it.
There is no such thing as “best song.” The notion is inane.
i’m with jenex. the best song is ‘avalon’ by roxy music.
‘Every time we say goodbye’, by Ella Fitzgerald this should be included on K364’S list,
Rapsody in Blue - George Gershwin.
Love Hurts - Boudloux Bryant wrote it and everyone seems to have recorded it since.
OK, greatest Rock song ever. My inane choice: the Stones’ “Can’t You hear Me Knockin’”.
Wait, or maybe the Who’s version of “Summertime Blues”.
Or maybe Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”
Or maybe Humble Pie’s “Thirty Days in the Hole”
Or maybe Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “It Ain’t Me”
Or maybe the Allman Brothers’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”
Or maybe AC/DC’s “Problem Child”
Or maybe the Romantics’ “What I Like About You”
Or maybe the Clash’s “White Man in Hammersmith Palais”
Or maybe the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”
Or maybe XTC’s “No Thugs in Our House”
Or Maybe Blur’s “Song 2”
Or maybe Oasis’ “Cigarettes and Alcohol”
Or maybe…
If you’re going to limit it to rock and roll, I guess my favorites are “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys and “These Dreams” by Heart. If you’re going to include other genres, I would add Eva Cassidy’s version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” You never answered the question, Sublime54465, of whether you’re talking about the song as written or about the song as performed by a particular artist.
For sheer archetype:
“Killing Me Softly” except it uses gender pronouns because it’s written with Don McLean in mind =(
On that note, I really find a more ‘rock-n-roll’ type song with a great archetypal structure to be “Dredel” by Don McLean. I find an incredible degree of lyrical perfection in that song, although it is more rythmic than melodic or rythmic/melodic
Of course it’s just my opinion shrug
-Justhink
I’m not sure this counts as rock but I vote for “Tangled Up In Blue” by Bob Dylan. Actually, I’d vote for anything off of “Blood on the Tracks”.