Music: Which Band/Artist Has The Best 10 Greatest Hits?

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PANARIN BREAD FAN

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Feb 18, 2019
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I was just going by the Spotify top 10 most streamed songs since OP wants an « objective » list. Jumpin’ Jack Flash is #13.

Rock the Casbah is #3 on Spotify.
ahh yeah spotify. thanks for that clarification. i'm curious to see what's #11 and 12.
 

Mescaleroman

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Jan 13, 2019
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Neil Young

Like a Hurricane
Cortez the Killer
Cinnamon Girl
Powderfinger
Old Man
Helpless
After the Goldrush
Harvest Moon
The Needle and the Damage Done
Down by the River

Couldn't decide which song Heart of Gold would replace ? Or not a fan of it ?
Maybe have a mash up of After the Goldrush panning for a Heart of Gold 🤔
 
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WetcoastOrca

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Neil Young

Like a Hurricane
Cortez the Killer
Cinnamon Girl
Powderfinger
Old Man
Helpless
After the Goldrush
Harvest Moon
The Needle and the Damage Done
Down by the River
Hmmm. Tough one for me. I’d have to include Heart of Gold and Keep on Rockin in the Free World if I was doing a list of what I think people would generally have in his top 10.

My personal list of what I like would be comprised of 10 of the following but depending on my mood:

Cinnamon Girl
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
Down by the River
After the Goldrush
Don’t Let it Bring You Down
Old Man
The Needle and the Damage Done
Ambulance Blues
Tonight’s the Night
Albuquerque
Cortez the Killer
Like a Hurricane
Powderfinger
 

Neutrinos

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I was just going by the Spotify top 10 most streamed songs since OP wants an « objective » list. Jumpin’ Jack Flash is #13.

Rock the Casbah is #3 on Spotify.
Acting as if Spotify views are now the definitive word on the matter is just being << patronizing >>

Good Times, Bad Times is #6 on Zeppelin's Spotify list, while Kashmir is #7

Over on Zeppelin's official YouTube page, Good Times, Bad Times has 5.7 million views, while the remastered version has 82k views

But for some reason there are 4 remastered versions of Kashmir on Zeppelin's YouTube page, and they have 49 million, 39 million, 8.3 million, and 64k views respectively
 

phrenssoa

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Acting as if Spotify views are now the definitive word on the matter is just being << patronizing >>

Good Times, Bad Times is #6 on Zeppelin's Spotify list, while Kashmir is #7

Over on Zeppelin's official YouTube page, Good Times, Bad Times has 5.7 million views, while the remastered version has 82k views

But for some reason there are 4 remastered versions of Kashmir on Zeppelin's YouTube page, and they have 49 million, 39 million, 8.3 million, and 64k views respectively
But as soon as you start picking and choosing randomly with no defined criteria the list becomes subjective. I was just explaining why my list excluded Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
 

Mescaleroman

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My subjective Springsteen list which would all be prior to Born in the USA

Jungleland
Candy's Room
Rosalita
Born to Run
Badlands
Blinded by the Light
Spirit in the Night
Tenth Avenue Freezeout
Thunder Road
Adam Raised a Cain

The objective list would include his monster hits.
Born in the USA , Glory Days , Dancing in the Dark , I'm on Fire , Hungry Heart , Cadillac Ranch etc.
 
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kihei

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I think my top nine Neil Young songs are pretty solid. #10 Down by the River could have been any one of half dozen songs, though.
 

Neutrinos

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But as soon as you start picking and choosing randomly with no defined criteria the list becomes subjective. I was just explaining why my list excluded Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
Again, I go back to the hockey example where I also gave no defined criteria, yet, we can all agree who the best 4 centers are in Edmonton's history...

And we don't necessarily have to agree on exactly the 10 songs, but collectively, we should be able to come to a consensus on about 7 - 9 per band - still tough to do with the Beatles! - and then maybe we agree on an additional 4 or 5 songs to choose from for each band

For example, perhaps the majority of us agree that the following 7 songs belong in Elton John's top 10:

Tiny Dancer
Rocket Man
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Candle In The Wind
Daniel
Your Song
Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

And if most of us also agree in no particular order that these 6 belong in Elton's top 13:

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Crocodile Rock
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Honky Cat
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Using any 3 of those 6 will give us an accurate representation of Elton's top 10
 

WetcoastOrca

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I think my top nine Neil Young songs are pretty solid. #10 Down by the River could have been any one of half dozen songs, though.
I think if you asked 100 people pretty much everyone would include Heart of Gold.
Plus you missed an obvious one in Horse With No Name.
Joking on the last one just to be clear. 😆
 

PANARIN BREAD FAN

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i gotta ask as i'm very behind regarding music chart publications/services. back in the day i believe it was billboard and soundscan that for the most were supposedly the two main providers regarding airplay and sales data. is it safe to assume that spotify is the billboard of today? and who would be the replacement for soundscan? youtube?
 

Neutrinos

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Hockey players aren't songs.
office-900x600.jpg
 

phrenssoa

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Nov 21, 2014
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Again, I go back to the hockey example where I also gave no defined criteria, yet, we can all agree who the best 4 centers are in Edmonton's history...

And we don't necessarily have to agree on exactly the 10 songs, but collectively, we should be able to come to a consensus on about 7 - 9 per band - still tough to do with the Beatles! - and then maybe we agree on an additional 4 or 5 songs to choose from for each band

For example, perhaps the majority of us agree that the following 7 songs belong in Elton John's top 10:

Tiny Dancer
Rocket Man
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Candle In The Wind
Daniel
Your Song
Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

And if most of us also agree in no particular order that these 6 belong in Elton's top 13:

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Crocodile Rock
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Honky Cat
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Using any 3 of those 6 will give us an accurate representation of Elton's top 10.
This still doesn’t make sense to me. Seems the question you’re asking is:

What do you feel are the top 10 most popular songs by a given artist?

Which seems pointless. « Popular » does not mean « best ».

For fun, here is an attempt at my personal Elton John top 10 (based on how much I enjoy each song):

1. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
2. Daniel
3. Your Song
4. Candle in the Wind
5. Rocket Man
6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
7. Bennie and the Jets
8. Border Song
9. Honky Cat
10. Crocodile Rock
 

phrenssoa

Registered User
Nov 21, 2014
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Winnipeg
i gotta ask as i'm very behind regarding music chart publications/services. back in the day i believe it was billboard and soundscan that for the most were supposedly the two main providers regarding airplay and sales data. is it safe to assume that spotify is the billboard of today? and who would be the replacement for soundscan? youtube?
I’m not familiar with Soundscan but I think Billboard is still good for tracking chart performance. With Spotify you can look at total streams for each song since it has been on the platform, which doesn’t always give the full picture, but it generally gives a good idea about a band’s most popular songs.
 

Neutrinos

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Sep 23, 2016
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This still doesn’t make sense to me. Seems the question you’re asking is:

What do you feel are the top 10 most popular songs by a given artist?

Which seems pointless. « Popular » does not mean « best ».

For fun, here is an attempt at my personal Elton John top 10 (based on how much I enjoy each song):

1. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
2. Daniel
3. Your Song
4. Candle in the Wind
5. Rocket Man
6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
7. Bennie and the Jets
8. Border Song
9. Honky Cat
10. Crocodile Rock
So, because it doesn't make sense to you, you'll just continue to derail the thread by posting your own personal list rather than one you think would represent a general audience?
 

Mescaleroman

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Jan 13, 2019
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344
Southern Shore
Dylan

Like a Rolling Stone
Mr Tambourine Man
It Ain't Me Babe
Blowin in the Wind
Tangled Up in Blue
Lay Lady Lay
Hurricane
The Times They Are a Changin
Knocking on Heavens Door
All Along the Watchtower

HM - Hard Rains Gonna Fall , It's All Over Now Baby Blue , Maggie's Farm
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
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The Kinks

You Really Got Me
Waterloo Sunset
All Day and All of the Night
Lola
Victoria
Tired of Waiting for You
A Well-Respected Man
Sunny Afternoon
Celluloid Heroes
Till the End of the Day
 

PANARIN BREAD FAN

Registered User
Feb 18, 2019
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680
This still doesn’t make sense to me. Seems the question you’re asking is:

What do you feel are the top 10 most popular songs by a given artist?

Which seems pointless. « Popular » does not mean « best ».

For fun, here is an attempt at my personal Elton John top 10 (based on how much I enjoy each song):

1. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
2. Daniel
3. Your Song
4. Candle in the Wind
5. Rocket Man
6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
7. Bennie and the Jets
8. Border Song
9. Honky Cat
10. Crocodile Rock
perfect, just perfect. tiny dancer and philadelphia freedom are great as well but they won't crack into that list. i love island girl too but that would be blasphemy.
 
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frisco

Some people claim that there's a woman to blame...
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I think Presley is so far out in front he might win if you exclude his best 10 and run #11-20 in the race. I'd go (chronologically):

Heartbreak Hotel
Blue Suede Shoes
Don't Be Cruel
Hound Dog
Love Me Tender
All Shook Up
Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear
Jailhouse Rock
(Now And Then There's a...) Fool Such As I
It's Now Or Never
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Little Sister
Can't Help Falling In Love
Good Luck Charm
Return To Sender
Devil In Disguise
Blue Christmas
Suspicious Minds
Burning Love
An American Trilogy

I'd take any 10 of those against anyone else's best 10. And that list leaves out, by my count, at least 7 Billboard #1-singles.

My Best-Carey
 
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Neutrinos

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Sep 23, 2016
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I think Presley is so far out in front he might win if you exclude his best 10 and run #11-20 in the race. I'd go (chronologically):

Heartbreak Hotel
Blue Suede Shoes
Don't Be Cruel
Hound Dog
Love Me Tender
All Shook Up
Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear
Jailhouse Rock
(Now And Then There's a...) Fool Such As I
It's Now Or Never
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Little Sister
Can't Stop Falling In Love
Good Luck Charm
Return To Sender
Devil In Disguise
Blue Christmas
Suspicious Minds
Burning Love
An American Trilogy

I'd take any 10 of those against anyone else's best 10. And that list leaves out, by my count, at least 7 Billboard #1-singles.

My Best-Carey
Of the ones you listed, here are the 9 I'm familiar with:

Heartbreak Hotel
Blue Suede Shoes
Don't Be Cruel
Hound Dog
Love Me Tender
All Shook Up
Jailhouse Rock
Can't Help Falling In Love (you wrote Can't Stop Falling In Love)
Burning Love

As impressive as that list is, I struggle to see why that list of legendary 2 and a half minute pop-rock-love-songs should be elevated above the list of legendary 2 and a half minute pop-rock-love-songs that the early Beatles and Beach Boys can put together...

And from a technical standpoint, they're clearly a step down from some of the superior pieces you'll find on the top 10 lists of bands like Queen, Floyd, and Zeppelin...

Not to mention, Elvis didn't write his own music or lyrics, so the 10 songs on his list may very well have been written by 10 different songwriters...
 
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WetcoastOrca

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Of the ones you listed, here are the 9 I'm familiar with:

Heartbreak Hotel
Blue Suede Shoes
Don't Be Cruel
Hound Dog
Love Me Tender
All Shook Up
Jailhouse Rock
Can't Help Falling In Love (you wrote Can't Stop Falling In Love)
Burning Love

As impressive as that list is, I struggle to see why that list of legendary 2 and a half minute pop-rock-love-songs should be elevated above the list of legendary 2 and a half minute pop-rock-love-songs that the early Beatles and Beach Boys can put together...

And from a technical standpoint, they're clearly a step down from some of the superior pieces you'll find on the top 10 lists of bands like Queen, Floyd, and Zeppelin...

Not to mention, Elvis didn't write his own music or lyrics, so the 10 songs on his list may very well have been written by 10 different songwriters...
Personally I’d put Elvis’ top 10 up against anyone else’s too. As far as being less technical that’s really just a sign of the times. His peak years were before my time so he’s not someone I listen to but he was huge for his era.
But I do have to agree that writing the songs is what separates the others like the Beatles etc from him. For me, writing great lyrics is at least as important as singing and interpreting other people’s lyrics.
 

Neutrinos

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Personally I’d put Elvis’ top 10 up against anyone else’s too. As far as being less technical that’s really just a sign of the times. His peak years were before my time so he’s not someone I listen to but he was huge for his era.
But I do have to agree that writing the songs is what separates the others like the Beatles etc from him. For me, writing great lyrics is at least as important as singing and interpreting other people’s lyrics.
It's a sign of the times... until it isn't

IMO, that's part of what makes Floyd's top 10 so impressive... they brought innovation into the studio that still impresses half a century later...

As I said in the OP, I think judging a song is in some ways like judging competitive diving... degree of difficulty needs to count for something

Those early Elvis, Beatles, and Beach Boys tunes are each a flawless (or near flawless) 1-and-a-half in the pike position... but that's not as impressive as nailing a 3-and-a-half with 1-and-a-half twists, which is what I would consider a song like Stairway To Heaven to be...

With that said, originality certainly counts as well, as there's no doubt Elvis was a pioneer
 
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