500 Greatest Songs of All Time...

[Nearly Sane]

According to Rolling Stone

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/aretha-franklin-respect-2-1225337/

[jeremyp]

According to Rolling Stone

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/aretha-franklin-respect-2-1225337/

It's laughable, unless they are not in order. Respect is not the greatest song of all time and the second best Beatles song is not I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

[Aruntraveller]

It's laughable, unless they are not in order. Respect is not the greatest song of all time and the second best Beatles song is not I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

Well I'm not even sure Strawberry Fields Forever is their best. I suppose the problem, as ever, is the subjective nature of this kind of list.

I mean, I can't see a mention of The Birdie Song anywhere.

On that little earworm, sleep well all.

[jeremyp]

Well I'm not even sure Strawberry Fields Forever is their best.

These things are always subjective but Strawberry Fields is up there as a contender. It's nowhere near my favourite though.

[ProfessorDavey]

It's laughable, unless they are not in order. Respect is not the greatest song of all time and the second best Beatles song is not I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

I agree, but then these lists are always a bit odd.

This one seems to have bent over backwards to include loads of fairly new stuff (last 20 years) and by black artists, which is reasonable as often these lists are just the standard 60s white stuff. But two songs by Outkast in the top 50 - I mean, really!

And Respect, number 1 - great song, don't get me wrong, but best song ever ... hmm, not in my book.

[Harrowby Hall]

I agree, but then these lists are always a bit odd.

Indeed. I suspect that that - in the main - they are compiled by people who have a very narrow experience of popular music and who may be, as you suggest, driven by a particular agenda.

In my opinion, one of the greatest songs of all time - certainly in the top fifty - is Charles Trenet's La Mer.. No doubt if it did appear it would be in its demeaned and trite Americanised version - Beyond The Sea.