I've got to go with (in order) 1) Led Zeppelin "Whole lotta love" 2) Led Zeppelin "Stairway to heaven" 3) Alvin Lee & Ten years after "I'm going home" Honorable mention.... Queen "Bohemian rhapsody" Iron butterfly "In a gadda da vida"
OK, great songs... But considering the lawsuits that Led Zeppelin ripped of Stairway to Heaven (which I thought was far better than Whole lotta love", my top 3 (which change daily) are: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit Bruce Springstein - Born to Run Honorable mention: Led Zepplin - Stairway to Heaven (knocked out of top 3 due to allegations) Eagles - Hotel California Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode The Who - We Won't Get Fooled Again U2 - One Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird Van Halen - You Really Got Me Now this is a tough topic because what is and isn't considered Rock? Arethra Franklin's Respect is considered among the top 5 all time Does Michael Jackson's work count? Beach Boys? Classic Rock vs "Modern" Rock vs Alternative Rock vs Hard Rock... Where does Elvis fit in? It's hard to compare Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, Elvis, & Aretha Franklin to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Eagles, The Who, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, CSN&Y, Doors, & Jimi Hendrix to the likes of Queen, AC/DC, U2, Police, Nirvana, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith, Guns & Roses, & Van Halen... And then there's Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone which had a BIG role in much of rock's development... Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys Sympathy For The Devil (I prefer GNR's over the Stones) Light My Fire by the Doors Imagine by John Lennon Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple Comfortably Numb / Hey You by Pink Floyd Khasmir by Led Zepplin (better than whole lotta love IMO) Back in Black or Highway to Hell by AC/DC Paranoid by Black Sabbath Ace of Spades by Motorhead More Than A Feeling by Boston Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf Layla by Derek and the Dominos (I'm partial to Eric Clapton's acoustic version) Dream On by Aerosmith Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison Enter Sandman by Metallica Welcome to the Jungle by Guns & Roses And of course, these aren't my favorite songs, but top Rock songs of all time worthy... Here are some lists... http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_songsddd.html http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/vh1rocksongs.htm http://www.planetrock.com/music/backstage/the-rock-lists/the-greatest-ever-rock-song/ http://www.rockpedia.info/top-50-classic-rock-songs-of-all-time.html http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407 http://www.listology.com/list/100-greatest-rock-songs http://rateyourmusic.com/list/LikeIRoll/100_greatest_rock_songs_as_voted_by_planet_rock_listeners_/
Stairway To Heaven Free Bird Comfortably Numb Honorable mention; A Day In The Life And though I don't consider it a "rock" song.... *Imagine*
Goes back to my question of what is and isn't considered Rock... Is Aretha Franklin? Michael Jackson? Elvis? Rock is such a broad category
Heard of who, it read like a broken sentence, "Do you feel like I do Kasmir,..................comfortably numb? Who the hell is this guy Kasmir & why does he make someone feel numb?
...lol Do you Feel like I Do is a Frampton song Kasmir is a Zepplin song Comfortably Numb is a Pink Floyd song
...yeah, I f the question had been "What are the most influential songs?", or "What are your favorite songs?" my answers probably would have differed a bit.
But it's more than that... There's Classic Rock, Soft Rock, Hard Rock, ALternative Rock, Metal, Glam Rock, etc. So many categories...
...if I had to sum up the entire "rock" genre into one category and pick one song that was so riveting and so crucial to rock music, it would be this;
Easy now, gonna give rick a heart a tack ack ack ack!!!! Anything from rush, AC dc was great, U2. Elton my fav, b52,s had a couple, can't forget my redneck days of Molly hatchet, skynard, and hold on loosely but don't let go
Stairway to Heaven All Along the Watchtower (Hendrix) Comfortably Numb Honorable mention: Dream On...Aerosmith Free Bird Bohemian Rhapsody
I just gave that "Comfortably numb" song a listen, I don't know what language he was singing in (I couldn't make it out) but the music was nice. Dream on, excellent choice, I forgot about that one.
