# Which lesser known songs do you think are better than the greatest hits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 26, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494 "2025-08-26T14:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/81 "2025-08-28T19:56:15Z")
Irene Cara is famous for her song “Flashdance”, from that movie. But I like her song “Breakdance” much more. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/82 "2025-08-28T20:01:01Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Yeah, but did he write the instrumental part at the end? That damages _Lucky Man_ so badly that I used Audacity to replace it with Steely Dan’s _East St Louis Toodle-oo_. Heheh, it takes all kinds, I suppose. I’ll sit through the part with vocals because I know that synth solo is just around the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/83 "2025-08-28T20:01:33Z")
I’m a huge Billy Joel fan, but a lot of his best songs never made it as singles, or, if they did, weren’t as ubiquitous as his classics. I’m thinking of songs like _Sleeping With the Television On, And So It Goes, Tomorrow Is Today, Sometimes A Fantasy, and Laura_ are a few gems that never quite became as popular as his biggest hits. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/84 "2025-08-28T20:10:29Z")
Alice Cooper: “Generation Landslide” off of the “Billion Dollar Babies” album. A wonderful masterpiece of a song that wasn’t one of the singles releases. A deep track favorite among fans, but unknown otherwise. Van Halen: “Drop Dead Legs” off of “1984”. Again, not one of the singles, and one of my favorites of theirs. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/85 "2025-08-28T20:28:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’ve only heard Lucky Man and Karn Evil 9 from them And, honestly, unless one is an ELP fan (or a general fan of 1970s progressive rock), those are probably the only two songs of theirs you’re likely to ever hear. ELP does get play in the “classic rock” format, but primarily just those two songs (with “From the Beginning” and “Still…You Turn Me On” getting played on rare occasions), and “I Believe in Father Christmas” getting some play on radio stations that do a holiday format. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/86 "2025-08-28T20:29:49Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Ah, come on, give Greg a break. He wrote the song when he was 12 It sounds like it. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/87 "2025-08-28T20:39:38Z")
The Cardigans’ big hit was “Lovefool”, but I like “My Favorite Game” much more. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/88 "2025-08-28T20:43:33Z")
I was 17 at he time it came out and it hit a little to close to home and was being played constantly. I wore out several copies of the cassette before i got the CD. I have alsways hoped to hear her live but now she is no longer perfoming. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/89 "2025-08-28T20:46:46Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > > > 90% of ELP’s music is better than _Lucky Man_. > > Nitpick: 99% I will answer in two words: _Love Beach_. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/90 "2025-08-28T20:48:02Z")
Thinking about albums that are in of themselves greatest hit albums like Beach Boys _Pet Sounds_, U2 _Joshua Tree_, The Police _Syncronicity_, ISTM that this is a question about the singles chosen thus more popular than the other songs not rather Greatest Hits versus non. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/91 "2025-08-28T21:00:19Z")
In the case of Men at Work, while _Down By the Sea_ is the best song on the album, I will admit that it would not have played well on radio. I guess they knew what they were doing. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/92 "2025-08-28T22:46:43Z")
Good one. My favorite song from Green is Untitled (the unlisted 11th track.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KA2n60NoOwY/maxresdefault.jpg "Untitled (Remastered)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA2n60NoOwY) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/93 "2025-08-28T22:58:03Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Ludovic](#): > > > > I’ve only heard Lucky Man and Karn Evil 9 from them > > And, honestly, unless one is an ELP fan (or a general fan of 1970s progressive rock), those are probably the only two songs of theirs you’re likely to ever hear. I like their version of Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” (a.k.a. the “Beef - It’s What’s For Dinner” music). They also did a pretty good version of “Fanfare for the Common Man”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BWmohszZW_w/maxresdefault.jpg "Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Hoedown (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWmohszZW_w) ---
**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:** [August 28, 2025, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/94 "2025-08-28T23:05:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “I Believe in Father Christmas” getting some play on radio stations that do a holiday format. My favorite anti-Christmas song. His solo version is better than the ELP version, too. But Mariah Carey will get played a thousand times for each time somebody is brave enough to program Lake. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/95 "2025-08-29T05:00:24Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I will answer in two words: _Love Beach_. Oh all right, I settle for 95%. Regarding the seriously awful Love Beach: 10 tracks, five of which were Greg ballads. As mediocre as the five other tracks were, any one of them was still better than Greg’s five combined. All this is of course one old fart’s _opinion_. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/96 "2025-08-29T11:14:26Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Van Halen: “Drop Dead Legs” off of “1984”. Again, not one of the singles, and one of my favorites of theirs. Is it weird that one of my favorites of theirs is their random rendition of “Happy Trails” (on _Diver Down_ IIRC)? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/97 "2025-08-29T13:47:09Z")
Can you ELP fans get a room? 😆 Or discuss this in another thread. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/98 "2025-08-29T17:57:32Z")
Someone get me a ladder and I’ll be off. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/99 "2025-08-31T01:27:25Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > [Me And Magdalena](https://youtu.be/ZWBZJQmzRi4?feature=shared) won’t be found on any Monkees “greatest hits” or compilation albums, but it’s arguably the most beautiful song they ever released. Nice! ---
**Author:** ![boson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boson/32/11407_2.png) [@boson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boson)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494/100 "2025-08-31T03:53:29Z")
Re: Relish. It’s an amazing album. Up there with my favorites. Right Hand Man rocks hard. (Oops, what happened to original post.?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lesser-known-songs-do-you-think-are-better-than-the-greatest-hits/1022494.md?page=6)