Thank God It's Christmas
1984
May and Taylor wrote it, Mercury sang it, and Queen waited until 2019 to give it a video.
★ 1.0
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Beautiful LifeAce of Base
Beautiful Life
1995
Written on New Year's Day in the Canary Islands, then finished at Cheiron by Denniz Pop and Max Martin.
★ 1.8
That's The Way It Is
1999
Three Swedes wrote and produced it, and Dion turned her greatest-hits lead single into a final Hot 100 top ten.
★ 2.6
Life is a Highway (Rascal Flatts)
2006
Written after Cochrane's famine-relief trip to Africa, and reborn as a Pixar road anthem by Rascal Flatts.
★ 2.6
Waiting for a Star to Fall
1988
Turned down for Whitney Houston and passed over by Belinda Carlisle, so the writers cut it themselves and reached number five.
★ 2.7
Haven't Met You Yet
2009
Buble wrote it with Chang and Foster-Gillies while dating Luisana Lopilato, who plays his love interest in the supermarket video.
★ 2.8
Life Goes On
2011
Critics heard the Kinks' Lola in the strum, and a Dancing on Ice slot lifted it to number fourteen.
★ 2.8
Don't Worry Be Happy
1988
Eight tracks at Fantasy Studios, every sound McFerrin's own voice, and the first a cappella number one ever.
★ 3.3
The Show Goes On
2010
Kane Beatz interpolated Modest Mouse's Float On, Atlantic made it the price of releasing Lasers, and Fiasco got his biggest hit.
★ 3.5
Grapevine Fires
2009 · From Narrow Stairs
Jason McGerr shaped the drums after the Purdie Shuffle, and Gibbard turned the 2007 California wildfires into something almost calm.
★ 3.7
Hold On (Wilson Phillips)
1990
Chynna Phillips drew the words from AA's one-day-at-a-time, Glen Ballard produced, and it topped Billboard's 1990 year-end chart.
★ 3.8
Hold My Hand
1994
Written by all four members in 1989, David Crosby added backing vocals, and the debut album sold twenty million.
★ 3.8
Forever Young (Rod Stewart)Rod Stewart
Forever Young (Rod Stewart)
1988 · From Out of Order
A father's blessing written for the kids Stewart missed while touring, and similar enough to Dylan's song that they share royalties.
★ 4.0
Life is a Highway (Tom Cochrane)
1991
A Red Rider demo called "Love Is a Highway", revived after Cochrane's World Vision trip to eastern Africa.
★ 4.2
The Rose
1980
A song its writer said had no bridge and no hook, written in 45 minutes and sung to number three.
★ 4.3
Steve McQueen
2011
Justin Meldal-Johnsen co-produced at Sunset Sound, and Gonzalez turns unembarrassed optimism into a wall of synthesizers.
★ 4.3
Hero
1993
Written for Gloria Estefan until Mottola heard the demo; Carey thought it schmaltzy and took it to number one.
★ 4.5
I Hope You Dance
2000
Sanders and Sillers wrote it in 1999; five weeks at country number one, and every graduation since has borrowed it.
★ 4.6
Alive and Kicking
1985 · From Once Upon a Time
Robin Clark, credited as additional lead singer, answers Kerr line for line while Iovine pushes everything skyward.
★ 4.7
One Headlight
1997
Jakob Dylan wrote it at a Los Angeles kitchen table, then watched it top all three Billboard rock airplay charts.
★ 4.8
Unwritten
2004
Cut in Venice Beach with Danielle Brisebois, then adopted by The Hills and every graduation slideshow since.
★ 4.8
Long December
1996
Duritz wrote it before dawn while a friend lay in hospital, and the band cut it almost entirely live.
★ 4.9
The Cave
2009
Written at a soundcheck in an Edinburgh pub, open-D guitar and banjo climbing into a stomp that drew four Grammy nominations.
★ 4.9
I Believe I Can FlyR. Kelly
I Believe I Can Fly
1996
Written for Space Jam, Paul Riser's strings taped in Detroit, the Luv Club Choir massed behind the vocal.
★ 5.1
Crystal Blue Persuasion
1969
James took the title from Revelation's New Jerusalem and floated it over organ, acoustic guitar and overdubbed bongos.
★ 5.3
Not Afraid
2010 · From Recovery
Boi-1da's beat, Resto's keyboards, and Eminem setting the Slim Shady mask aside; it debuted at number one.
★ 5.3
Learnin' to Fly
1991 · From Into the Great Wide Open
Four chords, F, C, A minor, G, looping unchanged while Petty and Jeff Lynne make uplift sound effortless.
★ 5.5
Come Sail Away
1977
A piano ballad at first, then a synthesizer break, then guitars, angels and a starship headed skyward.
★ 5.5
Hold On (Alabama Shakes)
2012
Four Alabama day-jobbers paid for their own sessions at a Nashville home studio, and Rolling Stone named it 2012's best.
★ 5.7
We've Only Just Begun
1970 · From Close to You
Richard Carpenter recognized Paul Williams singing a bank commercial and asked whether a whole song existed underneath.
★ 5.7
Red Eyes
2014 · From Lost in the Dream
Granduciel spent two years second-guessing these sessions, and the song still turns on one yelp before the chorus.
★ 5.8
This Will Be Our Year
1968 · From Odessey and Oracle
Take four, June 1967 at EMI, with a trumpet added later onto the mono mix and nowhere else.
★ 6.0
You Get What You Give
1998
Alexander buried a celebrity taunt in the last verse to prove the press would ignore the politics; it worked.
★ 6.0
Ooh Child
1970
Stan Vincent's song sat on a B-side until it broke out in Philadelphia and Detroit and climbed to number eight.
★ 6.1
One Fine Day
1962
Goffin and King built it for Little Eva; the Chiffons got the track, King's piano intro intact.
★ 6.5
Shining Star (Earth, Wind and Fire)
1975
A night walk at Caribou Ranch gave White the title, and the band their only Hot 100 number one.
★ 6.8
New Year's Day
1983 · From War
A bass line Clayton stumbled on while decoding Visage's Fade to Grey, then Bono aimed the words at Poland's Solidarity.
★ 6.8
Beautiful Day
2000 · From All That You Can't Leave Behind
Eno programmed the drum machine, Lanois played the Telecaster, and the Edge won the argument for his old delay-drenched sound.
★ 6.9
Everyday
1957
A celesta played by the producer's wife, Jerry Allison slapping his knees for drums, and two minutes of pure lift.
★ 6.9