# Best Song Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618 "2012-02-12T18:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/81 "2012-02-24T20:08:43Z")
**Turning Japanese** by the Vapors is the best song ever. EVER!!! ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/82 "2012-02-24T20:41:58Z")
If we are going with slowies, then this is pretty much the best ever, [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DjU6ZjrQulc/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDLUqqqne938Eei8ycihH1ldV4muA "Stardust - Nat King Cole") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjU6ZjrQulc) Stardust - Nat King Cole, originally written by Hoagy Carmichael and sung my many many artists, this one is the definitive version. The song is deceptively sophisticated with the key changes couple of time changes and inspiring lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/83 "2012-02-24T23:36:48Z")
Whole Lot of Love by Led Zeppelin or Shoot to Thrill by AC / DC ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/84 "2012-02-25T00:23:28Z")
[Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry](http://youtu.be/6ofD9t_sULM)is #7 on rolling stone’s list of 500 greatest songs of all time. It’s also the only rock and roll song to be (physically) sent into space on the Golden Record which is attached to the Voyager spacecraft. ---
**Author:** ![toonerama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@toonerama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toonerama)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/85 "2012-02-26T02:33:15Z")
My favourite song for years has been “Smells Like Content” by The Books. They’re an extraordinary little band, doing home-made folk, experimental and electronic. Nothing scary, just a lot of creative juice. In this case, it’s the lyrics that keep me coming back - never read anything quite like it. If you’re interested and can’t find it, I could throw it up on Mediafire. \*\*Smells Like Content - The Books Balance. Repetition. Proposition. Mirrors. Most of all, the world is a place where parts of wholes are described within an overarching paradigm of clarity and accuracy. The context in which makes possible an underlying sense of the way it all fits together, despite our collective tendency not to conceive of it as such. But then again, the world without end is a place where souls are combined, but with an overbearing feeling of disparity and disorderliness. To ignore it is impossible without getting oneself into all of kinds of trouble, despite one’s best intentions to not get entangled with it so much. Meanwhile, the statues are bleeding green. And others are saying things much better than we ever could; as the quiet become suddenly verbose. And the hail’s heralding the size of nickels. And the street corners are gnashing together like the gears inside the head of some omniscient engineer. And downward flows the garnered wisdom that has never died Then finally, we opened the box, we couldn’t find any rules. Our heads were reeling with the glitter of possibilities, contingencies… but with ever increasing faith we decided to go ahead and just ignore them, despite tremendous pressure to capitulate with fate. So instead, we went ahead to fabricate a catalog of unstable elements and modicums and particles. With not zero total strangeness for brief moments which amount to nothing more than tiny fragments of a finger snap. Meanwhile, we’re furiously seeing green. And the map has started tearing along its creases due to overuse… when in reality it’s never needed folds. And the air’s withholding the sound of its wellspring. And our heads approach a density reminiscent of the infinite productivity of the center of the sun. And therein lies the garnered wisdom that has never died. Expectation - leads to disappointment. If you don’t expect something big huge and exciting… usually… I dunno, just, uh yea…\*\* ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/86 "2012-02-26T05:57:42Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > \*\*Imagine \*\* > > John Lennon’s hymn to a utopian society. > > Love this tune, and the lyrics are simple and profound. That’s my choice too. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/87 "2013-07-24T18:31:55Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > [Best Song Ever](http://www.cmt.com/videos/katie-armiger/603382/best-song-ever.jhtml) by Katie Armiger. Reviving this thread to note that _One Direction_ has released their own song titled [Best Song Ever](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_v9MY_FMcw) which will no doubt become a Huge Hit even though I personally think Katie Armiger’s “Best Song Ever” song was the better of the “Best Song Ever” songs. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/88 "2013-07-24T18:48:57Z")
Like everyone else, this changes with the day, but neither [Sympathy for the Devil](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBecM3CQVD8)nor [Purple Haze](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNtuyQkh7tE) have ever done me wrong. ---
**Author:** ![EMCEE\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@EMCEE\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EMCEE_98)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/89 "2013-07-24T19:42:58Z")
Favorite songs for today: _Dragon Attack_ - Queen _Stuff is Messed Up_ - Offspring _Dreams_ - Molly Hatchett _How I Could Just Kill a Man_ - Rage Against the Machine ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/90 "2013-07-24T20:05:17Z")
The best song ever for covering an unusual topic brillantly is American Pie. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/91 "2013-07-24T20:24:49Z")
> [@Quercus\_alba](#): > > [Thunder Road](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I579UTHm-o&feature=related) I tend to judge people by how they react to this song. I took a lady I’d been dating to a Springsteen concert last year. I put my arm around her while he sang. It was quite obvious she didn’t get the significance. We broke up shortly thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/92 "2013-07-25T04:55:34Z")
Symphony No. 9 - Beethoven There isn’t a more amazing piece of music. Despite my other suggestions. Also see “Don’t Worry Baby” by The Beach Boys" and “Another Piece of My Heart” by Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/93 "2013-07-25T05:44:25Z")
There are a lot of great songs suggested in this thread, but you are all wrong; the best song ever is The Kingsmen’s version of [Louie Louie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vae_AkLb4Q). The second greatest song of all time is [Ace Of Spades](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YttBoorUksc) by Motörhead. Mods, feel free to close the thread now. 😛 ETA: > [@StusBlues](#): > > Like everyone else, this changes with the day, Nope, not with me it doesn’t. At least, not for the past, um, 33 years (Louie Louie has always been #1, but Ace Of Spades wasn’t released until 1980). Always those 2 songs, and always in that order. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/94 "2013-07-25T08:09:45Z")
[The most beautiful melody I’ve ever heard.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ1ZibzHFl8) ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/95 "2013-07-25T08:16:04Z")
Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason doing a live version of “Low Spark of High-heeled Boys.” Very different from the Traffic version. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/348YeQ-7TcE/hqdefault.jpg "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys-Jim Capaldi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=348YeQ-7TcE) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/96 "2013-07-25T12:33:57Z")
I’m going to go with “Would?” by Alice In Chains, which has been my favorite song for many years now. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/97 "2013-07-25T15:48:57Z")
‘‘Tom Sawyer’’ - Rush ‘‘Seven Nation Army’’ - White Stripes ‘‘Sanctuary’’ - Madonna ‘‘This is Why We Fight’’ - The Decemberists ‘‘Comfort Eagle’’ - Cake Yeah, I could go on. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/98 "2013-07-25T19:06:52Z")
5th Symphony - Ludwig van Beethoven 7th Symphony, 1st Movement - Ludwig van Beethoven (his 9th symphony has the Ode to Joy; well, this movement IS pure, unadulterated joy. Yeah, I know all about the 2nd movement, but give me the first movement any day.) “More Than This” - Roxy Music “If Not For You” - George Harrison’s cover “Birdhouse in Your Soul” - They Might Be Giants ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/99 "2013-07-25T21:58:14Z")
**Talking Heads** - [This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v19-ssWnn6k) **Bob Dylan** - [Thunder on the Mountain](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFVizveuT5Q) mmm ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618/100 "2013-07-25T22:15:16Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > “Birdhouse in Your Soul” - They Might Be Giants I recently found a box set by the Longines Symphonette at an estate sale. My favorite songs (partial list) “See A Little Light” - Bob Mould “Near Wild Heaven” - R.E.M. (now, where did my username come from? 😕) “Anagram (for Mongo)” - Rush “More Than A Feeling” - Boston “Hoover Dam” - Sugar “It’s Magic” - Pilot and plenty of others too numerous to list. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever/612618.md?page=6)