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.
Penny Lane
1967 · From Magical Mystery Tour
McCartney heard a piccolo trumpet on a Bach broadcast, called David Mason in, and pop had never sounded brighter.
★ 8.1
It Was A Good Day
1993 · From The Predator
DJ Pooh looped the Isley Brothers' Footsteps in the Dark, and Ice Cube spent four minutes on an uneventful day.
★ 7.9
What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong
What a Wonderful World
1967 · From What a Wonderful World
Armstrong took union scale so the orchestra could collect overtime; ABC's president hated it and buried the record.
★ 7.8
La Di Da DiSlick Rick
La Di Da Di
1985
Two voices and no instruments at all: Doug E. Fresh's beatbox under Slick Rick's storytelling, sampled ever since.
★ 7.6
Sweet Jane
1970 · From Loaded
Tucker was pregnant, so Yule played bass and drums, and the bridge stayed missing from the mix for twenty-five years.
★ 7.5
Piano ManBilly Joel
Piano Man
1973 · From Piano Man
A lounge gig, a fake name, Bill Martin, and every regular at the Executive Room written into a verse.
★ 7.5
93 'Til InfinitySouls of Mischief
93 'Til Infinity
1993 · From 93 'til Infinity
A-Plus flipped Billy Cobham's Heather into a beat he made in high school, and Oakland never sounded calmer.
★ 7.1
The Breaks
1980
Eighty-four uses of one word, a live band instead of samples, and the first rap single certified gold.
★ 6.8
Up On Cripple Creek
1969 · From The Band
Hudson ran a clavinet through a wah-wah pedal, Helm sang lead, and the single reached number twenty-five.
★ 6.5
That's Entertainment
1980
Almost all acoustic guitar, one electric part running backwards, and an import single that still reached number twenty-one in Britain.
★ 6.1
Daydream Believer
1967
John Stewart wrote it after a day of pure daydreaming; Tork's piano and Jones's lead did the rest.
★ 6.0
What I Got
1996 · From Sublime
Half Pint's Loving supplies the chorus, Lady Madonna the verse melody, and Nowell was gone two months before the album.
★ 5.9
Me Gustas Tu
2000 · From Proxima Estacion: Esperanza
Three guitar chords, spoken city names saluting Havana's Radio Reloj, and a list of small pleasures that lands on you.
★ 5.8
Our Song
2007 · From Taylor Swift
Swift wrote it in roughly twenty minutes for a ninth-grade talent show, then spent six weeks atop the country chart.
★ 5.4
Ants Marching
1995
Played live since 1991 and cut twice on record, it rides Boyd Tinsley's violin hook and Beauford's snare.
★ 5.3
Lodi Dodi
1993 · From Doggystyle
Dre put music under Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's a cappella original, and Snoop made the story his.
★ 5.0
Just Another Day In Paradise
2000
Vassar and Craig Wiseman built it from household mishaps and money worries, and it became his first country number one.
★ 1.1