# On Album X, Songs Y and Z get the most play/love, but the best song is clearly... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560 "2011-12-08T21:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/21 "2011-12-10T06:06:22Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > It’s pretty whiny. Billy Corgan doesn’t pull off ballads very well. Still, somehow he made it work, at least for me. See, I actually like “33” and pretty much any of the slow stuff off _Mellon Collie_ and even _Adore_ (which I think is a much better album than it’s given credit for being.) But “Disarm” just annoys me and bores me. Maybe it’s the damn bells. I don’t know. > [@](#): > > That’s the case with a lot of albums. It’s always curious that one song is released when there are so many “better” songs to choose from. Then again, how many albums are there where that one song is all that’s worth listening to? To be honest, from a pop songwriting perspective, I do think “Today” is a killer tune. That and “1979” are probably their finest moments in the craft of pop songwriting. Other songs are more interesting, but those are just tight and instantly memorable. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/22 "2011-12-12T15:44:15Z")
On the Association’s third album, _Insight Out,_ the hits were “Windy” and “Never My Love”… I do really like both of those, but probably the coolest song on the album is “[Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGq2AtuERFs)’”, which sounds like Beck. (Unfortunately the only YouTube version I could find is badly recorded.) ---
**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:** [December 12, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/23 "2011-12-12T16:04:33Z")
Les Miz’s I Dreamed A Dream gets airplay, but Master of the House and One Day More are the best. Jesus Christ Superstar has the title track and I Don’t Know How to Love Him, but The Last Supper gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/24 "2011-12-12T16:34:10Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Queen’s album _A Night at the Opera_ contains the overplayed “Bohemian Rhapsody” as well as the forgettable but often-played “You’re My Best Friend”, but the track to drop the needle into and crank it to 11 is most definitely “The Prophet’s Song”. Though it’s not a “crank the volume” piece, I think that “'39” is a tremendous song, and by far my favorite on the album. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/25 "2011-12-12T16:43:54Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Nirvana’s \*\*Nevermind \*\*is of course _Smells Like Teen Spirit_, which I also hated! Hated the band itself for the first six months because this stupid song is all anyone ever talked about. Then _In Bloom_ was released and I thought, hey, _that’s_ a killer song! Plus I started hearing that the band members themselves didn’t really like _Smells Like_… Agree on Nirvana. “Teen Spirit” was probably my least favorite of their hits. “Lithium” and “All Apologies” were much better songs. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/26 "2011-12-12T19:01:35Z")
This thread shows me that I prefer the songs that get the most play. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/27 "2011-12-12T19:15:28Z")
The first thing that jumped into my brain was that on \*\*Aerosmith’s \*\*first album, \*\*Dream On \*\*gets all the play and visibility. The best song, however, is [Mama Kin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1urxv2SkMo) (youtube). Great song, great, great riff (so fun to play), great guitar tones. Heck, it’s the songtitle Steve Tyler has tattooed on his arm, not Dream On… ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/28 "2011-12-12T21:38:37Z")
I’m astonished nobody has mentioned Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde. It’s got so many fantastic songs: Visions of Johanna, Stuck Inside Of Memphis, Just Like A Woman, Fourth Time Around, Absolutely Sweet Marie. Yet what is the only song classic rock radio plays? Yep the cheesy opener Rainy Day Woman (aka Everybody Must Get Stoned), the worst song on the album. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/29 "2011-12-12T23:58:08Z")
> [@MrSquishy](#): > > On Dire Straits’ _Brothers In Arms_, “Money for Nothing” and “Walk of Life” get the most airplay (around here anyway), but the best songs are everything else. Too true. That album is a masterpiece, in which those two songs stick out like sore thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/30 "2011-12-13T14:45:08Z")
The airplay songs on George Harrison’s _All Things Must Pass_ were “My Sweet Lord,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” and “What Is Life.” I’d argue that the best songs were the leadoff songs on sides 1 and 3: “I’d Have You Anytime” and “Beware of Darkness,” followed by “If Not for You” (later made famous by Olivia Newton-John), the title song, “Awaiting On You All,” and “Hear Me Lord.” ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/31 "2011-12-13T21:15:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Off the Smashing Pumpkins _Siamese Dream_, “Cherub Rock,” and “Today” are the two hits, but “Mayonaise” is the best song. Quoted for truth, ‘Mayonaise’ would have to be my favourite Smaashing Pumpkins song. Although I’d say I hear “Disarm” on the radio more than “Cherub Rock” ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/32 "2011-12-13T21:30:20Z")
**London Calling** - The Clash. _London Calling_ and _Train in Vain_ got all the airplay; _Clampdown_ and _Lost in the Supermarket_ got all the critical raves; but for sheer crank-the-volume-to-maximum-and-scream-along pleasure, nothing on the album or in the rest of their catalog beats their cover of _Brand New Cadillac_ ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/33 "2011-12-13T21:31:14Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Queen’s album _A Night at the Opera_ contains the overplayed “Bohemian Rhapsody” as well as the forgettable but often-played “You’re My Best Friend”, but the track to drop the needle into and crank it to 11 is most definitely “The Prophet’s Song”. Wow, never thaught I’d hear somebody else say this. Also, On melacholy and the infinite sadness (Pumpkins), Bodies is by far and away the best song… ---
**Author:** ![kskatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/85f322/32.png) [@kskatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kskatz)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/34 "2011-12-14T00:15:47Z")
_Goodbye Yellow Brick Road_, **Sweet Painted Lady**. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/35 "2011-12-14T02:50:07Z")
The Police - Synchronicity “every breath you take” is played to death, but the gem is “Murder by numbers” ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/36 "2011-12-14T05:56:17Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > You forgot “Disarm”, which was a big hit (and is a personal favorite), and “Rocket” was in heavy rotation on MTV, but the best song by far on that album was “Soma”. And I love “Rocket,” “Cherub Rock,” and “Mayonaise,” but “Hummer” is really where it’s at! “Rock and Roll” and “Stairway to Heaven” are definitely my least favorite songs from Led Zeppelin IV (though I’m not sure I can credibly say they’re the worst). And a big AMEN to “Release” being the best song off of Ten. (Though “Black” is great too.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/37 "2011-12-14T06:04:18Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > Wow, never thaught I’d hear somebody else say this. > > Also, On melacholy and the infinite sadness (Pumpkins), Bodies is by far and away the best song… Ooo, tough call. I think the “best” song is “1979,” but my personal favorite would be “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans.” Yeah, it’s long, it’s meandering, but it’s fucking brilliant. It’s just a song I could get lost in. I also have a soft spot for “Jellybelly” for its energetic and fun drum part. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/38 "2011-12-14T13:19:33Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The airplay songs on George Harrison’s _All Things Must Pass_ were “My Sweet Lord,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” and “What Is Life.” > > I’d argue that the best songs were the leadoff songs on sides 1 and 3: “I’d Have You Anytime” and “Beware of Darkness,” followed by “If Not for You” (later made famous by Olivia Newton-John), the title song, “Awaiting On You All,” and “Hear Me Lord.” Yes! And the “The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560/39 "2011-12-14T16:06:46Z")
On _The Yes Album_, “I’ve Seen All Good People” (aka “Your Move”) is a gorgeous song, but my favorite is “Yours Is No Disgrace”. (And “Starship Trooper” and “Perpetual Change” are right up there too.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-album-x-songs-y-and-z-get-the-most-play-love-but-the-best-song-is-clearly/605560.md?page=1)