50 Favorites By Artist

As a follow-on to this week's Musical Monday - to which, by the way, I've just posted the answers - here's a topic I've been thinking about for a while - my favorite songs by bands. Note this is not synonymous with my overall favorite songs - a question I've always adamantly refused to answer, mostly because it would be too hard to choose one over another. Plus, if I did compile a list of my overall faves, it would likely include several songs each by many of the following groups. Picking a favorite song by a particular band is somewhat easier, though even there, there were quite a few close seconds - some indicated below in parentheses.

As you'll also notice, most of my selections are not the band in question's most well-known song or biggest hit - in fact many of them are downright obscure. As I've noted before, the most popular song by a given artist is often among my least preferred of their songs. Whether this is due to the song's overexposure, or my generally contrary nature, is one of those questions that will never truly be resolved.

So here goes. In keeping with my Musical Monday theme this week, I kept the list of bands to fifty. Please comment back with your own favorite songs by artist, either these bands or any others:

1. Allman Brothers: Whipping Post
2. America : Sister Golden Hair
3. Bangles: Let It Go
4. Beatles : A Day In The Life (Close 2nd: While My Guitar Gently Weeps)
5. Billy Joel: The Ballad of Billy the Kid (Close 2nd: Angry Young Man)
6. Bob Dylan: Tangled Up in Blue
7. Bob Seger: Turn the Page
8. Boston: Peace Of Mind (Close 2nd: Don't Look Back)
9. Bruce Springsteen: Jungleland
10. Carly Simon: That's The Way I Always Heard It Should Be
11. Carole King: Home Again
12. Cars: Just What I Needed
13. Chicago: Make Me Smile (Close 2nd: 25 or 6 to 4)
14. CSNY: Wooden Ships (Close 2nd: Woodstock)
15. Dire Straits: Lady Writer
16. Doors: Shaman's Blues
17. Eagles: One Of These Nights
18. ELO: Mr. Blue Sky (Close 2nd: Sweet Talkin' Woman)
19. Elton John: Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
20. Elvis Costello: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding
21. ELP: From the Beginning
22. Eric Clapton: Can't Find My Way Home
23. Fleetwood Mac: Go Your Own Way (Close 2nd: Brown Eyes)
24. Foreigner: Blue Morning, Blue Day
25. Guess Who/BTO: She's Come Undone
26. Heart: Crazy On You
27. Jackson Browne: You Love The Thunder
28. Jim Croce: Operator (Close 2nd: I've Got a Name)
29. Jimi Hendrix: All Along The Watch Tower
30. Joe Jackson: Veronica
31. Kansas: Miracles Out Of Nowhere
32. Kinks: Catch Me Now I'm Falling
33. Led Zeppelin: Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Close 2nd: Stairway to Heaven)
34. Linda Ronstadt: Poor Poor Pitiful Me
35. Meat Loaf: Bat Out Of Hell (Close 2nd: Paradise by the Dashboard Light)
36. Monkees: Pleasant Valley Sunday
37. Moody Blues: Nights In White Satin
38. Neil Young: My My, Hey Hey
39. Pat Benatar: Silent Partner
40. Pink Floyd: Time
41. Police: Synchronicity II
42. Pretenders: Mystery Achievement
43. Queen: Play The Game (Close 2nd: Bohemian Rhapsody)
44. Simon & Garfunkel: Somewhere They Can't Find Me (Close 2nd: My Little Town)
45. Stevie Wonder: Higher Ground
46. Styx: Blue Collar Man (Close 2nd: Man In The Wilderness)
47. Rolling Stones: Paint it Black
48. Tom Petty: Running Down a Dream
49. U2: Where The Streets Have No Name
50. The Who: The Real Me (Close 2nd: Won't Get Fooled Again)