# Best Stones Song Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407 "2006-09-04T16:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/1 "2006-09-04T16:18:54Z")
I’m doing chores today, so threw in a two-CD “Best of the Stones” album that a friend gave me. Damn, I love the Stones, so I’ve been bopping around happily to one great song after another. (Plus some shit I’ve never heard before – must be post-_Tattoo You_.) Anyway, I’ve determined what the best Stones song ever is: “Gimme Shelter.” Thought you might like to know. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/2 "2006-09-04T16:24:17Z")
Yep. No doubt about it. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/3 "2006-09-04T16:51:33Z")
That’s what I came in here to post as well. Great song, made into legend by Merrie Clayton’s wailing at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Roonwit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Roonwit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roonwit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/4 "2006-09-04T17:22:57Z")
Well, that was easily settled. 😃 I really like _Can’t You Hear Me Knockin_ and _Fool To Cry_, but yeah, Gimme Shelter just kicks ass. How about the _worst_ Stones song ever? I vote for _Emotional Rescue_. “I’ll be your knight in shining armuuuurrrr…” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/5 "2006-09-04T17:25:54Z")
For me, their best is a toss up between “Gimme Shelter” and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” which doesn’t seem to get much air time around here. I’m always excited to hear that opening riff-- so raw and unrefined. It’s a great example of the Stones’ unique sound. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/6 "2006-09-04T17:28:14Z")
Dang it, I should have previewed. **Roonwit** beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/7 "2006-09-04T17:30:57Z")
The only song of theirs that I bothered downloading from iTunes is “Wild Horses,” and it’s one of their best. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/8 "2006-09-04T17:31:40Z")
Another vote for Gimme Shelter and Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/9 "2006-09-04T17:33:09Z")
“Moonlight Mile,” by a mile. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/10 "2006-09-04T17:40:49Z")
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277637&highlight=stones) is my thread on the Rolling Stones album. Tumbling Dice gets my vote as best song. ---
**Author:** ![Roonwit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Roonwit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roonwit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/11 "2006-09-04T17:43:24Z")
Oh, and the best _cover_ of _Gimme Shelter_? Grand Funk Railroad on their _Caught In The Act_ album. (Granted, Mark Farner ain’t Merrie Clayton, but he gives it a helluva shot.) ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/12 "2006-09-04T17:45:38Z")
It’s between “Gimme Shelter” and “Tumbling Dice” for me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/13 "2006-09-04T17:45:43Z")
Gimme Shelter is the best Stones _cover_, as performed by the Sisters of Mercy. However, the only good Stones songs period are Sympathy for the Devil, Paint it Black, and Girl I Miss You: you’d think that after dozens of albums they’d have more decent songs :::::::totally D+R’ing:::::::: ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/14 "2006-09-04T17:59:08Z")
Okay – how about “Best Underappreciated Stones Album”? I’d nominate _Some Girls_. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/15 "2006-09-04T18:15:00Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Sympathy for the Devil Kill it _kill it_ _ **kill it** _!! Sweet merciful crap, if I wanted to hear “woo-woo” over and over for 6 minutes, I’d get a frigging owl. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/16 "2006-09-04T19:18:28Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Sweet merciful crap, if I wanted to hear “woo-woo” over and over for 6 minutes, I’d get a frigging owl. This is what makes the pseudo-fascist Laibach cover(s) so good - no woo-woos. I’m actually quite partial to _Sympathy, Paint It, Ruby Tuesday_ and _Nervous Breakdown_, but the OP nailed it - _Give Me Shelter_ is the best. And Ludovic is right, the Sisters cover is the best cover version (Sisters did such brilliant covers - their version of Hot Chocolate’s “Emmaline” is sublime, and the reason for my daughter’s name). ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/17 "2006-09-04T19:36:31Z")
I really like _Street Fightin’ Man_ and _Dear Doctor_. I never really cared for all that overwrought stage-slapping in _Midnight Rambler_. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/18 "2006-09-04T19:40:24Z")
I’m just glad no one nominated _I Can’t Get No Satisfaction_ ! It seems to always turn up on the Top One Hundred lists, but its not even a good Stones song. Maybe when it first came out it was alright, but it hasn’t held up at all. Another vote for _Gemme Shelter_ here, but I really enjoy _Sympathy_ . ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/19 "2006-09-04T19:53:50Z")
“Moonlight Mile” for me, with a sly vote for “Crazy Mama” from “_Black and Blue_” on the side. mm ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407/20 "2006-09-04T20:34:12Z")
I’m hard pressed to pick one favorite. I guess Honkey Tonk Women does it for me, narrowly edging out Wild Horses, Angie, and Street Fighting Man. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stones-song-ever/371407.md?page=2)