A Day in the Life
1967 · From Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Two unfinished songs bolted together, an orchestra climbing to nothing, and the last piano chord in pop.
★ 9.9
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.
HeroesDavid Bowie
Heroes
1977 · From "Heroes"
Recorded beside the Berlin Wall, Fripp's feedback howling while Bowie sings himself hoarse over a single defiant day.
★ 9.1
Baba O'Riley
1971 · From Who's Next
That opening arpeggio is a Lowrey organ's marimba repeat function; Dave Arbus's violin sends the ending careening.
★ 9.0
Last Nite
2001 · From Is This It
Built on the bones of Tom Petty's American Girl, which Petty confirmed without complaint, and recorded in Gordon Raphael's basement.
★ 7.7
Pinball WizardThe Who
Pinball Wizard
1969 · From Tommy
Townshend wrote it to flatter a pinball-obsessed critic, then called it the clumsiest thing he ever wrote.
★ 7.6
Shine on You Crazy DiamondPink Floyd
Shine on You Crazy Diamond
1975 · From Wish You Were Here
Four notes known as Syd's theme, and Barrett himself turning up at Abbey Road mid-session, unrecognized by the band.
★ 7.6
Marquee Moon
1977 · From Marquee Moon
Ten minutes captured in one take; Ficca thought it was a rehearsal and Verlaine refused Andy Johns another go.
★ 7.5
In Your Eyes
1986 · From So
Youssou N'Dour improvising in Wolof, and a bassline so deep it had to move up the vinyl.
★ 7.3
Mr. Blue Sky
1977
Two weeks of Alpine fog broke, and Lynne wrote this and thirteen more songs, closing it with a vocoder.
★ 7.3
Maps
2004 · From Fever to Tell
Zinner's looped riff, twenty minutes of writing from Karen O, and a video where the tears are real.
★ 7.3
Moonage Daydream
1972 · From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Bowie first threw it away on a fake band called Arnold Corns, then rebuilt it at Trident around Ronson.
★ 7.0
Venus in Furs
1967 · From The Velvet Underground & Nico
Cale's viola drone, Reed's ostrich guitar, Tucker's tambourine: one of three songs the band recut in Hollywood.
★ 6.8
Sound and Vision
1977 · From Low
The BBC ran its long instrumental intro under programme trailers, and Bowie's ultimate retreat song went to number three.
★ 6.8
Avalon
1982 · From Avalon
A swan song by Ferry's own account, with a wordless vocal from Yanick Etienne, found in the next studio.
★ 6.7
More Than This
1982 · From Avalon
Ferry's voice drops out almost two minutes before the end, leaving a synthesizer to finish the thought.
★ 6.4
Virginia Plain
1972
Ferry lifted the title from his own art-school painting of a giant cigarette packet, Eno's VCS3 shrieking behind him.
★ 6.3
Rock and RollThe Velvet Underground
Rock and Roll
1970 · From Loaded
Tucker was pregnant, so Doug Yule played drums, bass and the solo; Reed's Jenny finds her life on the radio.
★ 6.0
I Turn My Camera On
2005 · From Gimme Fiction
Daniel wrote it late for Gimme Fiction, cut it first, and sang in a Prince falsetto over Eno's hi-hat.
★ 6.0
Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller Band)
1976
Miller ran a Stratocaster through an Echoplex for that staggered triplet echo, and the synthesizer drifts like weather.
★ 5.9