Top 50 Songs Of All Time

This is a list I've been in the works of making for a long time, at some point I would hafta try to rank my top songs of all time or my favourite songs of all time. I guess that's the criteria, this isn't what I think is critically the best songs but it's just my favourite 50 songs. As with any list, this will have some recency bias so my opinions on music are bound to change over time. Without further ado, onto the list.

50. Ride Wit Me - Nelly ft. St. Lunatics

Gotta start the list with a classic banger. This is one of the funnest songs ever to me. I feel like a lot of the music I generally listen to is nowhere near as lighthearted as this, so maybe that's gotta change. Nelly in the 2000s just hits good. Also side note watching this music video again I think it's hilarious that there's like an entire line and a half blurted out it sounds so weird in the chorus lmao.

49. Through the Wire - Kanye West

I had to have this in here, this is the most motivational thing I will ever listen to. The way Kanye lays down the foundations of his career here and breaks his barriers all while rapping with his jaw wired shut, I mean just cmon man.

48. Old English - Young Thug ft. Freddie Gibbs, A$AP Ferg

This a song I keep coming back to every once in a while. This is the type of timeless sonic aesthetic that trap could have turned out to be, it was even dropped when the genre was first picking up main stream appeal. All 3 verses are super dirty and are paired so well with the haunting instrumentals.

47. Run Away With Me - Carly Rae Jepsen

Again just a fun fun song man. This the perfect song to blast and sing along to in your car while pretending to romanticize the 80s. From the moment the first synths hit, you know this one is a banger. Emotion is also still underrated as a darkhorse top album in the last decade.

46. Rigamortis - Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick going all out on his lyrical prowess here, flow legit unmatched. Section 80 needs to get more credit than it deserves in Kendrick's discography. This is a song with insanely high repeatability.

45. With You - Chris Brown

The start of Chris Brown's career was legit fairytale status man before he beat Rihanna. He was pumping out hits like it was nothing and the thing is they were still all good songs. I enjoy a healthy diet of Forever, Say Goodbye, a lot of the stuff he was making in the 2000's. This is like my go to karaoke song tho, it's so classic and just flat out super enjoyable.

44. Land of the Free - Joey Badass

The rhyme scheme in the second verse is nasty as heck. It's definitely much more in the limelight now but it's always been great seeing artists use their platforms to elevate racial issues. There were a few other Joey songs that I considered for this list but there's something just so undeniably raw and real about how he spits this one.

43. When I’m Gone - Eminem

The older I get the cornier this song sounds, but it was such a staple song for me and nostalgically it's too strong that I couldn't leave it off the list. I would credit early Eminem as my gateway into hip hop and the way he is able to tell vivid stories is second to none. Unfortunately he is a shell of his former self sonically.

42. Control - Big Sean ft. Kendrick Lamar, Jay Electronica

Not much needs to be said aside from that bomb ass 3 minute Kendrick verse. Actually Big Sean surprisingly has a solid verse and Jay Electronica finished it off strong too. But man that Kendrick verse fucked the game up when he called out all those other rappers by name. Not many bigger dick moves in hip hop history and I'm here for it.

41. Good Morning - Kanye West

Possibly the best opening track all time? Graduation again is just too strong nostalgically and the way he created the whole anime inspired music video was so next level to me watching in 2007.

40. Don’t Play - Travis Scott ft. Big Sean, The 1975

This is the song that made me instantly pay attention to Travis as an artist. The way it blends a steady diet of trap drums yet stays in it's own lane of ominous hard hitting instrumentals is exceptionally well executed (honestly applies to this entire mixtape). Also maybe Big Sean's best verse of all time (which isn't saying much).

39. Freaks and Geeks - Childish Gambino

This is peak pun-game geeky-flow Gambino, not that I don't like his more recent sounds but early 2010's for him just really hit different. One of the funnest rap songs I've ever heard, the bars here are intoxicatingly entertaining to listen to.

38. Rock You Like a Hurricane - The Scorpions

It's no secret I enjoy my classic rock from time to time, and the Scorpions are surprisingly one of my favourite rock bands. The way they shred that first intro solo you know this song is gon mean business. The aggressive grungy aesthetic of some of these rock songs can really never be replaced.

37. So Appalled - Kanye West ft. Jay Z, Pusha T, Cyhi the Price

Bars on bars on bars on bars laid on a decadent string filled instrumental. I've said before that Jay Z and Pusha have 2 of the meanest back to back verses I've ever head. This is what every crew track should aim to be like.

36. Family Business - Kanye West

This like the most nostalgic song I've ever heard that's not even nostalgic. The way it seamlessly transitions between the verses and chorus is so effective. The family business he touches on in this song is also incredibly vivid and realistic. It's just a super grounded song and I like it too much.

35. Sunday Morning - Maroon 5

Way back when Maroon 5 was one of the most promising bands and made good music. The entire Songs about Jane album is lit. This song is like the actual embodiment of a sunday morning, the swing inspired instruments really brings it together. Also the way they change up the last pre-chorus is one of my favourite touches.

34. Hailie’s Song - Eminem

This album has a few songs that made this list so it seems that's how much I enjoy it. Again this is a song I vividly remember listening to as a kid after taking the album out from the library. I didn't think I'd like Eminem singing as much as I do. The verse he spits so so raw, and the entire energy of this song is too genuine to ignore for me.

33. High For This - The Weeknd

Ok maybe this opening track is better than Good Morning, apparently I ranked it higher. But yo contextually this being the opening song to Trilogy back in 2013 when the Weeknd was some mysterious dude on the internet is so hard to me. Just imagining playing this soundcloud album, not knowing what to expect and hearing this is crazy to me.

32. Jesus Walks - Kanye West

One of the most memorable beats of all time, the way Kanye turned that choir into an instrumental is so dope. Beat aside there's just something so classic about this track, taking it back to when Kanye won a BET for best gospel album lowkey totally based on this song.

31. Bed - J. Holiday

I've preached that this is my favourite rnb song of all time, and now actually trying to rank it I guess it does seem to be my favourite. I think I'm just too attracted to this 90s/2000s style of rnb instead of the progressive or trap variation are putting out now.

30. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

Jimi is still prolly my all time favourite guitarist, either him or John Mayer and this song is a perfect cover of Bob Dylan. There isn't a second that's wasted in this song between the verses and the solos he is doing after every chorus. Even though this was the sixties this song sounds timeless.

29. Can’t Tell Me Nothing - Kanye West

I think I ranked this a little too low in my Kanye list. I gotta repeat that this song is straight up big dick energy. The way this personifies wealth and status for Kanye so early on in his rap career is incredible. I remember hating the chorus when I first heard it but now it's truly iconic.

28. Gimme - Banks

This one of the best produced songs I've ever heard. Discovering Banks was one of my music highlights last year. The way the synths and vocal distortion construct the highs of this song and the bass hits on the lows is so nicely done. The drum pattern used in the verses where it feels like it accelerates the tempo (same used in Acquainted by the Weeknd) is so simple but so effective.

27. Skyfall - Travis Scott ft. Young Thug

Again I think style over substance pushes this one up so high. When I first heard this is 2018 I was repeating this walking to work and I never felt cooler lol. Idk about anyone else but no song makes me feel as cool listening to it than this one. Thugger puts in a truly mean ass verse as well but overall the gloomy atmosphere of this song (and tbh the whole album) is just so unique.

26. Perfect Places - Lorde

Perfect closing track to Melodrama. I think this is the highest place I'm giving a "pop" song which is pree high honor. It's just such a vivid representation of youthful affection and there is no higher note to close the woeful introspection of this album. Also I keep saying but the "tch tch" sound before the first chorous is so randomly satisfying.

25. 2009 - Mac Miller

This song feels like a powerful last goodbye from Mac to all of us. The entire tone of Swimming actually feels really optimistic (especially compared to Circles) and even though he talks about not asking why anymore, it is still put in such a somber manner that it feels like a goodbye rather than a

24. Ladders- Mac Miller

Prolly the most recent addition to this list and it made it all the way to 24. There's some songs on here that I would classify more as experiences than just a linear song, and this is definitely one of them. The build up of the instrumentals all the way to the trumpets after the chorus, even the structure of the song to start with the chorus and tag a second verse on after an instrumental interlude all culminate Ladders feeling like an truly uplifting anthem.

23. Saint Pablo - Kanye West

This like the most matter of fact serious song I've ever heard. It's literally just Kanye rapping for like 4 minutes about things that happened in his life to try to justify his ways. The entire thing just flows together so well with Sampha on the chorus (which sounds almost euphoric). There is no better note to end TLOP on than this.

22. Power Trip - J. Cole ft. Miguel

A nostalgia trip again with this one. I vividly remember the lyric video on Youtube for this and now anytime I listen to it I'm reminded of that. Visuals aside tho this is just a straight winning combo with early Cole and Miguel. Born Sinner is also a way better album imo than people remember it for, especially with bangers like this one.

21. Goldie - A$AP Rocky

I think this the only Rocky song that made this list? It's kinda a shame cause I used to think Rocky was goated in terms of rappers but unfortunately for me I just don't resonate with the full on psychadellic he's been dropping in the last few years. This is a fun song as well which is rare to make these upper echelons of this list but man I just keep coming back to this song it's seriously addictive to listen to.

20. Blood on the Leaves - Kanye West

I said it before but when the horns kick in on this track it's over. The pacing on this song may be the most perfect that I've ever heard, it truly flows like a tragic story. The sonic highs and lows keep the song engaging right from the first isolated vocal samples to the in your face aggressiveness of the second verse, and just as you think you've hit the climax it'll ground you back in the softness of the isolated sample.

19. New Slaves - Kanye West

However the best song on Yeezus has gotta go to New Slaves for me (albeit by one spot). The subject matter he speaks on in this track is like an abridged version of the interview he did with BBC in 2013 speaking on his entry into the fashion world. The line "You see it's leaders and it's followers/but I'd rather be a dick than a swallower" is top tier. Also the verse he puts in here may be my favourite Kanye verse all time.

18. If I Ain’t Got You - Alicia Keys

Not many love songs on here unfortunately but how can you not love this song. From the moment I heard it at some point on the radio when I was a kid, this was an instant classic to me. I do have a particular soft spot for Alicia Keys but this is my all time favourite of hers. There's just something so simplistically beautiful about that woman singing over a piano.

17. Superman - Eminem

It's funny how much of the shit OG Em rapped about would not fly at all in our modern age of political correctness. In this song alone he spits about cheating, drugging, and beating women. Unfortunately when you make him put on the filter he comes out with literal bottom tier trash music so I guess there's a tradeoff. The raw energy he spits all 3 (mean as hell) verses is unmatched. There's also just something so cohesive about his flow at this time.

16. Alright - Kendrick Lamar

TPAB has grown on me more and more and more since I dismissed it too early as an album that's good but didn't garner daily listening time, so yea I was totally wrong about that. The funk inspiration of the instrumentals here are single handedly boosting these songs to these heights, that sax is truly music to my ears.

15. i (Album Version) - Kendrick Lamar

The album version of this song is so much better than the single version. Adding the live atmosphere of the performance adds a layer of realism that is perfect on a song where Kendrick is talking about himself. The monologue/freestyle he performs on the tail end of the track is just the cherry on top.

14. All Falls Down - Kanye West

Peak old Kanye right here, the chipmunk soul vocals, female singer on the hook, conscious lyrics, it's all there. I hate to keep citing nostalgia as the reason for having these songs here but I legit don't really know why else I have this over another old Kanye College Dropout song. Maybe it's the alliterating nature of the first lines in each of the verses? Some of the wordplay here is also super clever and humorous.

13. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - John Mayer

This song has been a staple of my music ever since junior high I think, before I even had a deeper appreciation for John Mayer and his incredible talents as a guitarist. There's nothing more beautiful than a song about the dying embers of a relationship am I right. The live in LA version of this song also has one of the best solos I've ever heard.

12. Hey Mama - Kanye West

Incredibly personal song, right up there with some of his most sincere works. I am very partial to mom songs I think because of the relationship I have with my mom. It's one of the most bittersweet things I will ever listen to. Also the vocals sample he used for the main melody of the instrumental is one that gets stuck in my head too often.

11. Mockingbird - Eminem

I think this is definitively the most nostalgic song for me, at least out of music that I still listen to. Taking those Eminem CDs out from the library and then listening to them on my little radio is a staple childhood memory for me. I wonder if my parents knew what subject matter these songs went into at the time lol. I think the combination of me listening to this when I was a poor kid, while he is rapping about not being able to provide an ideal childhood for his own kids is just too perfect for me.

10. Drugs You Should Try It - Travis Scott

This is the pinnacle of trap music imo. This track is the maximal effort of everything trap music strives for. From the clustered high hats, to the distant vocals, to the heavy atmospheric aesthetic, this is everything that went right in trap. Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of the pop trap genre has really ruined it for me but this right here reminds me of a time when trap music was quickly becoming my favourite sub genre of hip hop.

9. Diamonds From Sierra Leone - Kanye West

Idk how else to describe it but this song feels like luxurious rap to me, like something about the James Bond sample and those strings. Also the way he spits like for a minute and a half straight on the second verse makes it one of my favourite verses of all time, some of his wordplay on that one is S tier material.

8. Donald Trump - Mac Miller

Man I can't believe out of all the songs that I listened to in high school this one ended up making it this high on the list. I listened to my fair share of frat type rap back in high school ish so I guess this is just gonna be the homage to that phase. This song feels just as fun every single time I listen to it even after almost 10 years.

7. Power - Kanye West

I'm not sure if this song made it this high because I love that music video renaissance type painting he created for the music video cause that shit was huge dick energy. Like man only Kanye would do some shit like that. But that aside this is a song that I will still go back and listen to over and over again so it's fair to say it's one of my favourite songs.

6. Don’t Cry - Guns N Roses

Man the guitar solo in this song is possibly my favourite of all time, Slash rips some next level tone here because it's not even a hugely technical solo. And also the way that Guns N Roses do their outros is one of my favourite things about music, maybe this applies to classic rock music in general. Cause they can rebuild momentum after a solo to really end songs with a bang in a way other genres can't do for me.

5. Desperado - Mac Miller

It's kinda ironic that even after all of the sad music that Mac made, the 2 songs that made the top 10 are both fun, straight forward songs. The first time I heard this, I legit could not stop smiling through the entire first listen. There's something about the songs that Mac made when times were simpler that resonate with me because of how his career unfolded. Also I can't lie, the electric guitar solo at the end really sold me, the end of his verse over that is my favourite part of the song.

4. Runaway - Kanye West ft. Pusha T

A song so iconically tragic, it's easy to see how this is pointed to as an all time great song by critics. There's so much to enjoy here in it's lengthy 9 minute runtime. Pusha T puts in a truly nasty verse, the iconic piano melody, but I mostly like to focus on the one actually unique part of this song. Kanye singing over a vocal distorter for like 3 minutes is the type of shit that makes music a truly personal experience. To interpret that section of the vocals without actually knowing what he says is what makes music the beautiful medium it is.

3. Backseat Freestyle - Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick had to squeeze into the top 3. This is the hardest rap song all time to me, the way each word Kendrick spits hits on that bell is insane. The last verse where he goes apeshit is some serious goat rap conversation material. I thought I would have more GKMC on my list but apparently it just had one really really good one.

2. I Wonder - Kanye West

One of the best examples of vocal sampling period. The way this song blends the sample into flow with the song just hits so smooth. The bars are incredibly inspirational and introspective, the synths are melodic, and the last verse is Kanye straight spitting to end it off. A surprise song maybe to have this high on my list but I've stood by it.

1.Gorgeous - Kanye West

This song is it for me, this the greatest song for me all time. Kanye going bars on bars on a nasty as fuck electric guitar sample, prolly one of his best lyrical songs of all time. Cudi hard as shit on the chorus. This is a song I can go through every bar over and over again and it will never get old. Raekwon (top 2 wu tang) also puts in a mean as fuck verse to end it off. It literally does not get better than this for me.