A Whiter Shade of Pale
1967
Fisher's Hammond nods at Bach for a bar before veering off, and Reid took the title from a party remark.
★ 7.7
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.
Friends in Low Places
1990
Bud Lee forgot his wallet, joked that he knew the cook, and Brooks took it to number one.
★ 7.3
Drunk in Love
2013
Detail's beat was called "Drunk" before Beyoncé heard it; she and Jay-Z freestyled their verses in Manhattan.
★ 7.2
Who Are YouThe Who
Who Are You
1978 · From Who Are You
Townshend woke in a Soho doorway after drinking with two Sex Pistols, and Keith Moon's last album took the title.
★ 6.7
Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
1966 · From Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
Lynn and her sister Peggy Sue wrote it, and the album became country music's first gold record by a woman.
★ 6.3
Pursuit of Happiness
2010
Ratatat cut the beat before Cudi arrived, MGMT added vocals, and Steve Aoki's remix made a song about intoxication ubiquitous.
★ 6.2
Just Dance
2008
Twenty-two weeks crawling up the Hot 100 before number one, RedOne's synths announcing the pop decade ahead.
★ 6.2
Hey Nineteen
1980 · From Gaucho
Nineteen weeks on the Hot 100, fittingly, and a middle-aged narrator undone by a girlfriend who doesn't know Aretha Franklin.
★ 5.8
All I Wanna DoSheryl Crow
All I Wanna Do
1993
Crow found Wyn Cooper's poem 'Fun' in a Pasadena used bookstore and sang it into a Grammy.
★ 5.8
Margaritaville
1977
Norbert Putnam moved the sessions to Miami for the beachfront air, and Buffett turned one ruined afternoon into the chorus.
★ 5.7
Whiskey River
1973 · From Shotgun Willie
A Johnny Bush song Nelson borrowed for Shotgun Willie, then used to open nearly every concert since 1974.
★ 5.6
Brass Monkey
1986 · From Licensed to Ill
Rick Rubin looped Wild Sugar's "Bring It Here" under an 808, and a cocktail's name became a chant.
★ 5.5
We Are Young
fun. and Janelle Monae
2011
Six weeks at number one, and it began with Ruess singing the chorus, tipsy, at the Bowery Hotel.
★ 5.2
Lebanese Blond
1998
A sitar, a slow groove and Pam Bricker's voice, carried to a wide audience by the Garden State soundtrack.
★ 5.0
Red Red Wine
1983
UB40 knew only Tony Tribe's reggae cover, saw "N Diamond" on the label, and guessed a Jamaican singer.
★ 4.5
Moonshiner
1992
An old moonshiner's lament cut acoustic in Athens, Peter Buck producing, the band staying at his house to save money.
★ 4.5
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere
2003
Brown and Rollins wrote it, Stegall cut it, and Buffett collected the first major award of his thirty-year career.
★ 4.4
2 On
Tinashe and ScHoolboy Q
2014
Mustard's beat interpolates Sean Paul, ScHoolboy Q scuffs the gloss, and the Aquarius lead single went four times platinum.
★ 4.4
Blame It
Jamie Foxx and T-Pain
2009
Fourteen straight weeks atop the R&B chart, T-Pain's Auto-Tune at its peak, and a Grammy for the pair.
★ 4.3
