The Greatest Song Ever - Phase One ***FREE PUPPIES FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS, SEVERE BEATINGS TO NON-PARTICIPANTS!!***

Because it is obvious that OT.com's posters know what the hell is up with everything, I decided to start a quest to determine what the greatest song of all time is. Because we are not animals, there are parameters:

1) Your nominations come in the form of a top ten list - these are the ten songs you think deserve consideration for the greatest song of all time. Order your ten however you wish.

2) I recommend nominations which earned a spot no lower than #40 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. If the nominated song in question missed the Top 40 list, it may be allowed IF the song is deemed recognizable enough.

3) One song per artist, please. (At least in Phase One - when we get to Phase Two this may change) This does not apply to different posters - one poster may have "Let It Be" while another may have "Hey Jude", for instance.

4) Duplicate nominated songs must be replaced. The first poster to nominate the duplicated song may keep it - the burden of replacement falls upon the poster(s) who used the same song.

5) Until sufficient time has passed to allow for as many nominations as possible, you may edit your original nominations as often as necessary.  When Phase II is announced, your nominations are then locked in. This will hopefully allow you to remember every deserving song you can think of - an off-the-cuff list may not reflect all of your favorites.

Those are the rules. Now, on to my nominations. In artist alphabetical order:

1. Duran Duran, "Ordinary World"
2. Electric Light Orchestra, "Don't Bring Me Down"
3. James Ingram, "Just Once"
4. Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"
5. Howard Jones, "No One Is To Blame"
6. Men At Work, "Overkill"
7. Natalie Merchant, "Wonder"
8. Prince, "Let's Go Crazy"
9. Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
10. Del Shannon, "Runaway"

Off-the-cuff. My own list is subject to change between now and Phase Two.

I nominate George Lucas Raped Our Childhood.  Because after all this is an ot site,lol.

Can we open up this to albums that reached a high place on the charts, rather than just the singles? A lot of my favorite songs are too long for top places on the singles charts, particularly from Pink Floyd or The Who (I don't count "Won't Get Fooled Again", that single is horrendously cut).

No, because we're looking for songs.

I see where you're coming from. The songs I nominated are not literally my favorite songs; they're my favorite songs that reached a general audience. My personal favorites are overwhelmingly instrumental, and no one would know them.

Had order, accidentally X'd out - so this is slightly different than I'd originally planned. No order - 1 and 10 are two of my favorite songs of all time.

1. Nights in White Satin - Moody Blues
2. Let it Be - Beatles
3. Old Man - Neil Young
4. Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
5. Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
6. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
7. Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan (may switch this one out later)
8. Uncle John's Band - Grateful Dead
9. I Can't Tell You Why - Eagles
10. God Only Knows - Beach Boys (B Side, should have been the A side)


This is my list... it really says a lot that I had to be careful not to repeat artists... :/ I need to branch out

bkev's first post in the thread gave me pause - acts like the Grateful Dead didn't chart well in the singles chart for the most part but they were nevertheless a very popular band. In that vein, in bkev's second post Aerosmith's "Dream On" appears on his nominations list. That song peaked at #59, but it seems to me that everyone and their dog knows the song, so I'll allow it unless we have any objections.

As will be reflected in the original post, the #2 rule is not absolute, thanks to bkev.

Switched out Aerosmith for a song by the Dead, thanks to VFP reminding me I love at least 2 albums by them. Not the first song that comes to mind, but it opens Workingman's Dead - and according to wiki "Uncle John's Band... was the first time many in the general rock audience actually heard the band's music."

See, this is why we can adjust our lists.

Switched out Ohio for Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams". Sorry to switch another one out, but I forgot how much I loved it - and it was their only #1 hit in the US, so it better be valid! I'll try to stay hands-off from the list from now on.

bkev, by all means, edit your list as often as necessary. We're after the greatest song ever; this should be done right.

And I love Touch of Grey. Probably the hardcore Deadheads hate it since it got airplay,lol.

I for one like Touch of Grey as well, but not their best. This thread cannot die!

Oasis - "Wonderwall"
Bon Jovi - "Livin on a Prayer"
Van Morrison - "Brown Eyed Girl"
The Foundations - "Build Me Up Buttercup"
Manic Street Preachers - "Motorcycle Emptiness"
Bryan Adams - "Summer of 69"
Journey - "Don't Stop Believing"
Huey Lewis and the News - "The Power of Love"
Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing in the Dark"
The Beatles - "Hey Jude"
Gerry & The Pacemakers - "You'll Never Walk Alone"       
Lightning Seeds - "Life Of Riley"
Robbie Williams - "Angels"
John Lennon - "Imagine"
Don McLean - "American Pie"
Aztec Camera - "Somewhere in my Heart"
Blues Brothers - "Everybody Needs Somebody"
Don Henley - "Boys Of Summer"
Monkees - "Daydream Believer"
Neil Diamond - "Sweet Caroline"
Source Ft Candi Staton - "You Got The Love"

... and I'm only just getting started. There's no way I can narrow it down to 10.

Edit: OK, there's 10. Have deleted some UK tracks that didn't chart in the US, which I'm not sure is fair, but it helped narrow it down. I'm not completely happy, and may well swap some around later.

Thank you very much!

All right, we've got nominees from:

vote_for_palpatine

bkev

Moth3r

Let's do this thing! Then when we have our winner, we can put it in our iPods and listen to it over and over and over. Won't that be fun?

All right; for those with too many puppies, then you will get fruit cup.

I opt for both approaches.

Now that you mention it, I need to clarify the thread title once more.

David Bowie - Life on Mars

Elton John - Rocketman

The Ink Spots - If I Didn't Care

Bob Dylan - All Along the Watch Tower

Barenaked Ladies - If I Had 1,000,000 Dollars

Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day

The Fleetwoods  - The Great Imposter

Warren Zevon - My Shits Fucked Up

Rammstein - Rosenrot

Green Day - Basket Case