Muzički kritičar britanskog Telegraph-a Neil McCormick odabrao je 100 najboljih pjesama svih vremena. Njegov kriterijum bio je da pjesme “evociraju ideje i emocije” i da su od vremena kad su nastale “stekle sopstveni život”. Neke od njih izvodilo je više umjetnika kroz istoriju, ali je on odabrao verzije koje su mu se najviše dopale.

“U središtu pjesme nalazi se misterija, način na koji ona dodiruje uspomene i iskustva onog koji je sluša, postaje nešto intenzivno lično. Ljudi se sa pjesmama poistovjećuju više nego sa bilo kojim drugim umjetničkim izrazom. Bilo kakva lista pjesama uvijek će biti više lična nego definitivna – svi imamo pjesme koje čujemo u našim srcima. Ovo je 100 najboljih pjesama mog vremena”, piše McCormick.

100: Space Oddity – David Bowie (1969)

99: What a Wonderful World – Bob Theile & George David Weiss (1968); Definitive Version (DV): Louis Armstrong

98: Your Song – Elton John/Bernie Taupin (1971); DV: Elton John

97: Come On Eileen – Kevin Rowland/Jim Patterson/Billy Adams (1982); DV: Dexys Midnight Runners

96: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2 (1987)

95: Smells Like Teen Spirit – Kurt Cobain (1991); DV: Nirvana

94: Single Ladies (Ring On It) – Harrell/ Knowles/ Nash/ Stewart (2009); DV: Beyonce

93: I Am. I Said – Neil Diamond (1971)

92: Help! – Lennon & McCartney (1965); DV: The Beatles

91: Somebody To Love – Freddie Mercury (1976); DV: Queen

90: Take Me To Church – Andrew Hozier-Byrne (2013); DV: Hozier

89: Run – Snow Patrol (2003)

88: You’ll Never Walk Alone – Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II (1945); DV: Gerry and the Pacemakers 1963

87: All You Need Is Love – Lennon & McCartney (1967); DV: The Beatles

86: Jealous Guy – John Lennon (1971)

85: MacArthur Park – Jimmy Webb (1968); DV: Richard Harris

84: Light My Fire – The Doors (1966)

83: In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning – Bob Hilliard/David Mann (1955); DV: Frank Sinatra

82: Everytime We Say Goodbye – Cole Porter (1944); DV: Ella Fitzgerald 1956

81: Cold, Cold Heart – Hank Williams (1951); DV: Norah Jones 2002

80: Empire State Of Mind – Hunte / Keys / Shuckburgh / Keyes / Sewell-Ulepic / Carter (2009); DV: Jay Z & Alicia Keys

79: Watching the Detectives – Elvis Costello (1977)

78: I’m a Believer – Neil Diamond (1966); DV: The Monkees

77: Royals – Joel Little / Ella Yelich-O’Connor (2014); DV: Lorde 2014

76: The First Cut Is the Deepest – Cat Stevens (1967); DV: Rod Stewart 1976

75: All These Things I’ve Done – Brandon Flowers (2005); DV: The Killers

74: I Say a Little Prayer – Burt Bacharach/Hal David (1967); DV: Aretha Franklin 1968

73: My Funny Valentine – Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (1937); DV: Chet Baker 1953

72: Anarchy in the UK – The Sex Pistols (1976)

71: American Pie – Don McLean (1971)

70: Hotel California – Don Felder/Glenn Frey/Don Henley (1976); DV: The Eagles

69: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ – Phil Spector/Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil (1964); DV: The Righteous Brothers

68: Crazy – Willie Nelson (1961); DV: Patsy Cline

67: Jolene – Dolly Parton (1974)

66: Wichita Lineman – Jimmy Webb (1968); DV: Glen Campbell

65: The Scientist – Coldplay (2002)

64: Rehab – Amy Winehouse (2006)

63: Why – Annie Lennox/Peter John Vettese (1992); DV: Annie Lennox

62: The Mercy Seat – Nick Cave/Mick Harvey (1988); DV: Johnny Cash (2000)

61: Feel – Robbie Williams/Guy Chambers (2002); DV: Robbie Williams

60: You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Jagger & Richards (1969); DV: The Rolling Stones

59: When Doves Cry – Prince (1984)

58: Mr Bojangles – Jerry Jegg Walker (1968); DV: Nina Simone (1971)

57: Wish You Were Here – David Gilmour/Roger Waters (1975); DV: Pink Floyd

56: Something – George Harrison (1970); DV: The Beatles

55: Moondance – Van Morrison (1970)

54: 1000 Dollar Wedding – Gram Parsons (1973)

53: Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan (1963)

52: The Tears of a Clown – Stevie Wonder, Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson (1967); DV: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

51: In My Life – Lennon & McCartney (1965); DV: The Beatles

50: Let’s Face the Music and Dance – Irving Berlin (1936); DV: Fred Astaire

49: Bridge Over Troubled Water – Paul Simon (1970); DV: Simon and Garfunkel

48: I Will Survive – Freddie Perren/Dino Fekaris (1978); DV: Gloria Gaynor

47: Bird on the Wire – Leonard Cohen (1969)

46: Cry Me a River – Arthur Hamilton (1953); DV: Julie London

45: Waterloo Sunset – Ray Davies (1967); DV: The Kinks

44: Protection – Massive Attack with Tracy Thorn (1995)

43: The Needle and the Damage Done – Neil Young (1972)

42: Losing My Religion – REM (1991)

41: Hey Jude – Lennon & McCartney (1968); DV: The Beatles

40: One For My Baby (and One More for the Road) – Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer (1943); DV Frank Sinatra (1958)

39: Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) – Tom Waits (1976)

38: One Day I’ll Fly Away – Joe Sample/Will Jennings (1980); DV: Randy Crawford

37: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Ewan Macoll (1957); DV: Roberta Flack (1969)

36: Alison – Elvis Costello (1977)

35: Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan (1966)

34: River Deep, Mountain High – Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich (1966); DV: Ike and Tina Turner

33: I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself – Burt Bacharach & Hal David (1962); DV: Dusty Springfield 1964

32: Imagine – John Lennon (1971)

31: Working Class Hero – John Lennon (1970)

30: Stairway To Heaven – Jimmy Page / Robert Plant (1970)

29: For the Roses – Joni Mitchell (1972)

28: Common People – Pulp (1995)

27: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want  – Morrissey & Marr (1984); DV: The Smiths

26: Wonderwall – Noel Gallagher (1995); DV: Ryan Adams (2004)

25: Creep – Thom Yorke (1992); DV Radiohead

24: Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division (1980)

23: Stand By Me – Ben E King, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller (1961); DV: Ben E King

22: I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong (1966); DV Marvin Gaye (1968)

21: Satellite of Love – Lou Reed (1973)

20: We’ll Meet Again – Ross Parker & Hughie Charles (1939); DV: Vera Lynn

19: Dancing Queen – Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson (1976); DV: ABBA

18: God Only Knows – Brian Wilson & Tony Asher (1966); DV: The Beach Boys

17: One – U2 (1992)

16: Strange Fruit – Abel Meeropol (1936); DV: Billie Holiday (1939)

15: The Boxer – Paul Simon (1969); DV: Simon and Garfunkel

14: The River – Bruce Springsteen (1981)

13: Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen (1984); DV: Jeff Buckley (1994)

12: Sympathy for the Devil – Jagger & Richards (1968); DV: The Rolling Stones

11: God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind) – Randy Newman (1972)

10: Everybody Hurts – Stipe, Berry, Buck & Mills (1993); DV: REM

9: I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Cole Porter (1956); DV: Frank Sinatra

8: Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Harold Arlen & E. Y Yarburg (1939); DV: Judy Garland

7: Saint James Infirmary – Traditional blues; DV: Louis Armstrong 1928

6: Redemption Song – Bob Marley (1979)

5: Lola – Ray Davies (1970); DV: The Kinks

4: Unchained Melody – Alex North & Hy Zaret (1955); DV: The Righteous Brothers (1965)

3: Tangled Up in Blue – Bob Dylan (1975)

2: Let It Be – Lennon & McCartney (1970); DV: The Beatles (1970)

1: Life On Mars? – David Bowie (1971)