The 2000 Greatest Songs of All Time, 1955–2024
...and beyond!
#100 – #1
(Please revisit this site periodically as updates will continue until the full list has been presented.)
#100
"Umbrella"
Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
2007
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#99
"Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On"
Jerry Lee Lewis
1957
#98
"Rehab"
Amy Winehouse
2006
#97
"Good Times"
Chic
1979
![The Smiths There Is a Light That Never Goes Out [The Queen is Dead].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/07888e_a9f99813b28040e6b3f6ead0a4fee1ac~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_0,y_5,w_300,h_285/fill/w_258,h_245,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/The%20Smiths%20There%20Is%20a%20Light%20That%20Never%20Goes%20Out%20%5BThe%20Queen%20is%20Dead%5D.png)
#96
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"
The Smiths
1986
#95
"Wonderwall"
Oasis
1995
#94
"Reach Out I'll Be There"
Four Tops
1966
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#93
"Hey Jude"
The Beatles
1968
#92
"99 Problems"
Jay-Z
2004
#91
"Life on Mars?"
David Bowie
1973
#90
"Get Lucky"
Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers
2013
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In pop’s armory of emotions, fidelity is among the trickiest to get right. Too easily its expression tips into syrupy, reassuring sentimentality. This only makes “Umbrella” more startling and precious, as it avoids that schmaltz. The secret was to capture fidelity’s challenge, and Rihanna’s method is pleasingly literal, pitting her pledge of devotion against nature itself: synthesizer chords like a rainstorm and breakbeats like thunderclaps or trees crashing to the ground. In the midst of it all, Rihanna herself sounds hard and defiant, embracing a steely determination; hence the near-violence of her “um-be-rella-ella-ella”, as impacting and stirring as a war cry. --Tim Finney, Pitchfork
The song that will forever be linked to the piano-pounding shenanigans of Jerry Lee Lewis was actually written by country pianist Roy Hall and a black musician named Dave Williams. Jerry Lee took a mere fragment of the song, recast it into a relentless, pounding boogie rhythm, and imbued the finished product with a leering sexuality that was unmistakable on first listen. Propelled by a Sun session drummer, the track totters between a straight shuffle and a modified swing rhythm, with the only bass being Jerry Lee's left hand on the piano, Roland Janes' guitar filling in the middle, and the rest of the track simply simmering in tape echo.
--Cub Koda, AllMusic
Drawing on Winehouse's real-life struggles, this saucy, tongue-in-cheek, sonically perfect retro salvo made the London diva an international star. “Rehab” still sums up Amy's greatness: Spot-on retro soul with producer Mark Ronson's 21st-century beat-muscle and cheekiness. “Rehab” was all Ronettes sass and Motown horns, but at its heart was the memory of a very real conversation about Winehouse’s post-heartbreak addiction and how best to deal with it. In life and in the song, her team wanted her to seek help, but as she asserts in the lyrics, Amy would’ve rather sought the advice of other masters: Ray Charles and Donny Hathaway. --Rolling Stone & C Goodson
This hedonistic roller-disco classic is partly about getting down on steamy nights and partly an ironic commentary on the Seventies economic recession. And before the song’s genesis, some media pundits seemed to miss the point that Chic made good-time dance music, and somehow they'd amazingly overlooked the band's formidable playing skills and considerable stylistic range. Bernard Edwards' bass line—bouncing on one note, then climbing—proved too snappy for just one song: The Sugarhill Gang used the song's trademark riff on the formative "Rappers Delight," and Queen borrowed its groove for their 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust." --Ed Hogan, AllMusic & Rolling Stone
The song was never a commercially strong hit for the Smiths—much like many of their other beloved songs, it stands as a much-adored cult classic rather than a world-conquering single. But it is, perhaps, the crown jewel of the Smiths’ catalog. Containing just the right balance of ill-fated balladry and uplifting melodies, the song is the quintessential embodiment of Morrissey’s particular vision of romance as doom—two lovers’ death together as love’s greatest culmination. In addressing a person’s time of adolescence, it bewitches any of us with even the slightest flair for theatrics and evokes the darker delights of being young, lost, and desperately enamored. --Tyler Parks, Treble & Edward Dunbar, Spectrum Culture
The pugnacious artistry of the notoriously feisty Gallagher brothers is on full display in “Wonderwall,” Oasis’s first single to make waves on the U.S. pop charts.
Despite its airy, acoustic intro and string accompaniments, the song is a particularly belligerent and forthright ballad, roughly spat with an almost whiny glee by Liam Gallagher. And while only Noel Gallagher himself really knows if the song was written for his ex-wife or, as he’d later claim, an “imaginary friend,”
it doesn’t matter in the slightest, because “Wonderwall” is a singalong classic for the ages that’s equal-parts anthemic, tender, boozy, and sympathetic. -- NME &
Kevin Liedel, Slant
For many fans, this represents the pinnacle of the Holland-Dozier-Holland Motown sound, but it also smashed through the boundaries of Motown’s signature style, inspired by the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.” The propulsive bassline, the drop-forge drumming, and the wailing harmonies are surrounded by Motown’s most idiosyncratic offerings: sharp classical flourishes, flutes, and exotic percussion! On top of it all, lead vocalist Levi Stubbs sounds as if he’s about to burst into flames, delivering the lyrics with life-or-death urgency. It remains an astonishingly intense way to spend three minutes. --DW (Detroit Metro Times), Ian McCann (uDiscover Music), Alexis Petridis (The Guardian)