Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

So before we reveal our respected number one's lets remind you of the top ten. We're going to start with the albums and here we go.

"Oh Charles Don't You Ever Crave To Appear On The Front Of The Daily Mail, Dressed In Your Mother's Bridal Veil", when it comes to statements of intent and tracks that encapsulate the entire ethos of a band in one glorious pop song, no album opener is finer than The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty). It's a track that had it all, and thundering rhythem, glorious flourishes of guitar and of course Morrissey at the pinnacle of his powers. Morrissey is not only in fine voice, but he is dishing out these delicious witty jabs, that are so deep and cutting that they set him apart from any other song writer in musical history. The juaxtaposition on this record is utterly irrestiable. The Queen Is Dead track sees the Smiths reverse their usual roles, the guitars and drums kick hard, the message of the track is serious and dark, a bold and anti-monarchy statement combined with a some brooding introspection, yet in the midst of all this swirl visercal rage comes such sheer hilarity. It's ridiculous, and it's not a punk rocker decrying George Bush and making a cock joke, this is humour of the highest order, it's utterly delicious, it's self deprecating, it conjures ridiculous imagery. This is the record when Morrissey was a rock god, a pop star, a political activist, a poet, an operatic diva, a stand up comedian and best of all and honest to god artist.

We'll start with the comedy because Morrissey is on brilliant form, his turn of phrase is perfect from the first line ("Her very lowness with her head in a sling"). The highlight of the albums opener comes when Morrissey croons of breaking into Buckingham Palace;

It's barmy, it's off the wall, it's destinctly British and it's completely unique. When we look back at music's great lyricist, it will always be said that Morrissey is without a peer. There are other greats, but Morrissey is incomparible he's in a class of his own, he's like a huge one man melodrama, playing each and every part, going from the sublime, to the ridiculous. I struggle to think of another lyricist who can be so funny and yet so cutting and so affecting all in the same instance. You can see the Smiths influence to this very day, they pretty much created the entire cultural underpinning of Emo and of course it only takes a cursory examination of a Lily Allen record to see that the art of juaxtaposition is still going strong. Of course I said I'd start with the comedy and could there be a record more joyous and more comedic that Frankly Mr. Shankly, a track so charming, it completely disarms you on first listen and it's more serious undertones grab you subconsciously. It's a work of pop art, it combines timeless truisms ("This job pays my way and it corrodes my sould") and ludicrious lyrics that can't help but make you smile ("You are a flatculant pain in the arse"). Of course Morrissey is at his best when he does both at once, in possible my favourite lyric of all time; "I want to live and I want to love, I want to catch something that I might be ashamed of".

The Queen Is Dead is an emotional rollercoster, it takes you from hilarious highs to utter heartbreaking lows. From the laugh out loud thrills of Frankly Mr. Shankly we head to the tragedy of I Know It's Over. A song of such great resonance, It expresses such powerful emotive themes that we've all felt at one time or another, it's about loneliness and heart ache.

It's full of tragic eternally quotable lines;

"Loud loutish lover treat her kindly, though she needs you more than she loves you"

It's a brutal wrenching song, it feels like an opera, it's starts slowly and sombrely before building and building into a glorious widescreen full blown epic conclusion. It's huge, it's mamoth, it's almost uncontainable, but at it's heart it's a touching and emotive masterpiece of tender emotive song writing. It is part of a trio of tracks whose emotional power is only matched by their knowing pomposity. Never Had No One Ever follows, and this track is without the joy, it's hard, it bludgens, it's an unrelenting emotional beatdown as Morrissey insists again and again "I'm Alone, I'm Alone, I'm Alone", it's a bold track, it has a ghostly arrangement with a huanting whistle that blows towards the end, it's harsh and chilling, it's like a suicide note come to life, but in the form of a Shakespearean stage play. Then of course there's the third of the albums emotional epics, a song that hardly needs introduction, and you should damn well know it's name before I type it. The track I'm refering to is of course the devine There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. This is the undisputed pinnacle, it has power, it has punch, and it's biggest emotional punchline is interlinked with a maccabre peice of humour;

The Queen Is Dead is the ultimate in black humour, no record even comes close. The fact that you can have a track so beautiful, so powerful and so god damn brilliant as There Is A Light... and then follow it with Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others. A track of whismy and of throwaway humour, it's light, it's frothy, it's inescapibly infectious and yet it closes the album. Is it one last big joke orchestrated on us, the paying costumer? We are taken on this heartwrenching thrill ride culminating in the perfect moment of There Is A Light... and then they end with a two minute jape. It's as ballsy a move as I've ever seen; imagine if at the end of Gone With The Wind if after saying "Frankly I don't give a damn" if they'd thrown in a fart gag. It's ridiculous, it's the last thing they should have done, yet it's absolutely perfect.

It's always hard to single out tracks on a record of this quality to talk about but the one track that is deserving of extra special attention is Cemetry Gates. It's quite simply the wittiest song ever written. It's a delightful romp, with a lovely sunny guitar line, while Morrissey shows of his brilliant turn of phrase. It's joyous and maccabre, a walk through a cemetry on a "dreaded sunny day", they skip along and "gravely reading stones", before falling out over a quote which one of the protaganist tried to proclaim as their own work when of course it wasn't. It's seems a bizzare topic for a novel let alone a song but it works to a tee. Each and every line is enthralling, as Morrissey croons "if you must write prose or poems the words you use should be your own, don't plagarise or take on loan". The whole scene is ridiculous, but it's so querky and it's some how believable, walking through a grave yard and becoming engrossed in a pretentious debate, no wonder the Smiths are the prenenial students favourites. Cemetry Gates encapsulates the album as a whole it deals with deadly serious themes of death and the meaning of life but it gets lost in futility and comedy. It speaks to the futility of human life, we have our big hopes, dreams and ambitions but somehow we always get side tracked, corrupted and plans change. The Smiths laugh out our and their own pomposity, at the hopelessness of it all. Life can be hopeless, tragic and brutal if you let it, but instead take it lightly, treat it as one big joke a flight of fancy. After all as Oscar Wilde once says "Life Is Far Too Important To Be Taken Seriously".

The real key to the track are the wits who get named dropped "Oh Keates and Yates are on your side, but you lose, for the love of Wilde is on mine". It's a great line, but the point is more subtly, when we think of the Smiths as musicians and albums, it ranks not along side Doolittle and Thriller, instead The Queen Is Dead sits alongside The Importance Of Being Earnest and Twelfth Knight. It's a great work of melodrama and wit, Morrissey's peers are not Lennon and Cobain but Wilde and Yates. The Queen Is Dead is a work of art, it's utter tragic whismy, and that is why it is the best album of the eighties and possible of all time. It's transcendant, it's sets itself apart, it breaks as many rules as it writes. Morrissey's does have the love of Wilde on his side, Morrissey is his twenty first century heir, and The Queen Is Dead is his masterpiece. It is everything and nothing, it is the most important emotional affecting album you will ever hear, and yet it isn't, it's a silly goof, fully of jokes and flights of fancy. The Queen Is Dead is The Importance Of Being Earnest it's as hugely deep and incredibly shallow, it's beautiful and it's hideous, tragedy and joy, it's all of these things all at once, and yet it's none of the above. The Queen Is Dead is like nothing else, it is a truely unique work, and it most certainly is the greatest of album of the eighties by the decades greatest artists. So remember next time you list the great artists it goes Oscar Wilde, Mark Rothko, Stanley Kubrick, Tom Ford, Woody Allen, Stephen Morrissey & Johnny Marr.

So of course after having the tragic predictable number one in the album list, I had to throw a little bit of a curve ball in the singles list. It's not really that much of a stretch however, as Take On Me is still an unstoppable anthem to this very day. It's the ultimate in eighties synth pop. While I'd be hard pressed to ague against anyone who'd suggest Love Will Tear Us Apart is the greater song, it most certainly is. It has greater resonance, emotive power, it has great swathes of tragedy and dispear and it's endlessly danceable but that's not what the eighties were all about. When we think back to eighties pop culture now, two words spring to mind; fun and cheese. A brutal heart wrenching slice of death disco wouldn't suffice, the true greatest song of the eighties, has to be huge, commercial, silly, and utterly irrepressible. Take On Me is all of those things, it's utterly glorious, every inch of it is pop perfection.

It's one of those tracks that will forever be engrained in our collective consciousness. I could go up to every single person I know and start singing this song and I garentee they'd start singing along, try doing that with Joy Division I dare you. This truely is a case of everythings in it's right place, the way the drums pound in and then that epic keyboard line, followed by the gloriously syruppy eighties vocals leading to that ridiculously high chorus that everyone at one time in their life has tried and hideously failed to belt out. It's an utter gem, it's almost too well regarded to call it cheese, it's just an epic, and no matter how many horrible cash in covers are churned out the original has never been phased. It's one of those tracks that forces you to drop your facade and just enjoy at one time or another. It's sheer unrelenting joy, not to be taken too seriously.

Of course how could I conclude without mentioning that video. If I have to describe it to you, then I seriously question why your reading this blog, have you been devoid of pop culture for the last twenty years? It remains my all time favourite video. There are those that are better, more artistic, funnier, but this is a video that ticks all the boxes, it's charming and it's utterly captivating. Hell even twenty years later it's still being parodied just watch Family Guy (actually don't its horrible lately) or go on youtube have a browse, this is a piece of music television history that will never die. This track is eternal, forever young, it's incredibly dated, yet it never ages, what could be more eighties than that?

So Beat It will always be my favourite MJ track but in terms pure eighties pop genius Billie Jean is unbeatable, it remains the best song he ever wrote even retrospectively, enjoy the legendary performance that set him on the way to superstardom at the Motown tribute show.

A part of me wanted more than anything to make this song number one but it will have to settle for nineth. Taken from the brilliant Dare album, eighties tracks don't come more infectious than this. It's a total paradox both dripping with cool and smelling of cheese, but never anything less than brilliant.

Now you know this top ten is ridiculously strong when Blue Monday only places eighth. This has to be the greatest indie dance track of all time. It's just genius, every thunder clap, the robotic beat, the synthic "aaaahhhs", it all slides together perfectly around some of best dead pan vocals ever sung. A true masterpiece.

I have to say I'm more than a little excited, tomorrow I get to see the girl of my dreams Miss Lily Allen followed by her favourite band the legendary specials. With the backdrop of the Brixton race riots and chaos on streets along came a mix race group, with a West Indian flavour and one foot firmly on the dancefloor to define the entire era. Lyrically the Specials were on another planet but most of all we just wanted to dance, and Ghost Town brought the Specials two great powers together to perfectly encapsulate a unique period of social strife.

"Oh Shut your mouth, how can you say, I go about things the wrong way, I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does", songwritting par excellence, enough said.

How pissed am I that he didn't play this my favourite Springsteen track when I saw him back in July. I'll forgive him, but next time he comes around he better play it, damn those lucky folk at Glasto. Who knew the harmonica could be so powerful? Tender, heartbreaking and beautiful. Bruce creates the ultimate working mans ballad, a true heart breaker.

"I would go out tonight, but I haven't got a stich to wear" I think students will be belting that line out from now until the end of time. A controversial decision to finish above How Soon Is Now? but as a single, it has to get the nod, short, joyous and crammed full with bucket loads of delicious wit, another perfect single courtesy of Morrissey & Marr.

"Aaaaahooooooooo" the ultimate festival anthem, there's nothing like being lost in amongst a sea of humanity and singing the epic line "Where Is My Mind". This track needs little in the way of explination it's simply a thing of beauty.

Okay so just a few songs back I called Blue Monday the ultimate indie disco track, well I may have to revise that statement. A soaring beautiful arrangement contrasted against Ian Curtis' sombre croon, it's a beautiful track that never fails to bring a tear to your eye. Heartfelt, beautiful and eternal but only the second best single of the eighties.....(yes some of you are probably going to get pissed off all over again).

"Slicing Up Eyeballs, Ah Ha Ha Oh" oh yes it's Debaser time, signature tunes don't come any better than this. Of course as the title would suggest this track has a killer bassline but it's all about the craziness and the contrast. It's a soaring surf rock anthem mixed with the mental ravings of Frank Black, it's utter genius.

It's a tribute to the power of Springsteen that after all these years his biggest hit still doesn't great. It's a joyous mix of fun pop chords and earth honest songwritting and it contains one of my all time favourite lyrics "Check myself in the mirror, I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face" but hell every lyric in this track is one of my favourites.

"If Man is 5, if Man is 5, if man is 5, and the devil is 6, and the devil is 6, and the devil is six, then God is 7!!!", one of the funest vocals to scream along to live and a song so far beyond classic it serves little point describing it's transcendant awesomeness.

Okay so for the second time I just couldn't decide. Okay I promise for my subsequent poles I won't do this again, but honestly who cares, there is no argument on earth that could convince me to leave either of these stone cold classic out of the count down. So on one hand you have the heads most fun single and on the other hand we have there greatest ever song.

Oh yes I'm sure there wull be more than a few unhappy campers to see the queen of camp pop one spot above the king of gloom rock, but to be honest, when it comes to singles did Trent really stand a chance. As much as I dislike Madonna, Like A Prayer is a pop single of incomparible quality and it's more than worthy of a top 15 finish. It remains her best ever work. Why she fucks around with this track live I don't know.

Well it's official the King of Pop has pip the Queen to the post but lets face it Madonna never stood a chance. There's no need to spruse this track, everything is perfect, the incredibly guitar riff, Jackson perfect vocal performance, the feel good lyrics, the dance routine that everyone knows whether they care to admit it or not and of course that sick end solo. All in all Beat It is the perfect pop song, but it's not your number one. Listening to this track makes me really sad that I'll never get to see him live, I truly envy those who did.

So you know a song is fantastic when the B side made the list in its own right. Well while Michael Jackson decides to Beat It, G'n'R stick around for the fight with Axl epic screech "You've In The Jungle Baby, You're Gonna Die". This song is just total devastation, death by awesomeness.

So we've had the king and queen of pop, the ultimate gods of hair metal and now it's time for the undisputed king of sleeze. White Wedding is just one of those delicious singles that could have only been released in the eighties, and it still sounds as awesome today as it did back then.

Now you know a track is damn good when it's your mum's favourite song, well my mum's pretty cool, and this is her favourite Smiths track. I think the reason this track is so loved other than Morrissey wonderfully witty forked tongue is the sheer relateability of this song. Honestly has ever a true word been penned than "I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, but Heaven knows I'm miserale". An endlessly quotable track but I think my favourite line has to be "Oh why do I give valuable time, to people who I'd much rather kick in the eye".

So I'm finally on the verge of the top ten and I have to say I'm excited, I'm still rejigging the order because each of the songs in the top ten could easily claim pole position in its own right, but you'll have to wait and see who I choose. Anyway I'm off to V Festival to propose to Lily Allen (just joking...well maybe...we'll see).

Ah a cool smooth bass driven classic. The ultimate stalker anthem, thanks to twitter and facebook those of us inclined towards Stalker really don't have to put half the effort into our persuits that Sting used to back in the day. That said the beautiful line "I lie in bed, and I can only see your face" still rings ever so true.

While it didn't have the immediacy of Fuck Da Police it certainly had double the swagger and huge hit potential. From the second Ice Cube burst onto the mic with the epic opening line "Coming Straight Outta Compton, A Crazy Nigga Named Ice Cube". Set to a back drop of gang wars in L.A. hip hop tracks don't come bigger than this.

Guitar hooks don't come any sweeter, and lyrical performances are rarely more telling or tender than on Robert Smith's ultimate anthem. The Cure were the kinds of the spacious atomspheric albums but conversely the gorgeous throwway pop single, and this will always be their finest.

"There's Whores At The Door, And Whores In My Head", ah the wonderful world of Francis Black, beautifully, visceral and utterly bonkers, but most of all utterly brilliant, a true anthem. Beautiful guitar, a killer baseline, and those eternally quoteable lyrics "It's the noise the mother makes, when the baby breaks" all I can say is fuck yeah!

Ah as big and ridiculous as they come, I just wrote three paragraphs about the album in the best album list so I'll keep this short. A gospel funk classic of monsterous proportions.

Ah yes from the Purple Rain to the Orange Crush and absolute monster track courtesy of Michael Stipe and co. A glorious anti-war stomper, undoubtably there most thrilling sing along single.

Oh yes it's that time when we start pulling out the mamoth Maiden epics and they certainly don't come much bigger that The Number Of The Beast. It's classic Maiden need I really say more.

"Rain Blood From An Ulser In The Sky!!!" if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about Slayer and this track then nothing will. With a riff the knocks your socks off, this is a non stop pummelling, you will be bloodied, you will be battered and you will be thoroughly defeaten.

So after that ungodly pummelling its time to chill out, with a glorious summer festival anthem courtesy of the Pixies, often characterised by the Quiet-Loud demographic, Here Comes Your Man is a perfect example of the Pixies incredible versitility. Kim Deal's vocal on this track is just devine.

I have to admit seeing Iron Maiden live was one of the biggest dissapointments of my life, don't get me wrong they were absolutely awesome, but they only played tracks of the first four albums so we were robbed of classics like Fear Of The Dark. Luckily the awesomeness fo Run To The Hills can never fail.

New Years Day will always be my favourite U2 track, it's powerful, it rocks and Bono's vocals are at their best. Their big and epic but their not lost in their own seriousness. Like all the best U2 tracks it's driven by Adam Clayton undoubtably the most underrated Bassist in the world.

Okay for those of you raising an eyebrow I found two release dates for this track, it probably should be classed as a seventies track but come on who cares? It'd be near the top of either list, and what makes Kate Bush great is that's she's impluasibly hard to define. Enjoy this typically captivating performance.

R.E.M. would become drowned in there own seriousness in time, and smothered in dad rock sensibility but this joyous ludicrious pogo-athon was a perfect reminder of when they were just world's most insansely fun headling act.

"Nature is language can't you read, Nature is a language can't anybody read" Ask is one of the finest Smiths singles, another track that is just endlessly quoteable. It's seems odd looking back now to see Morrissey sing "Love is the bond that can bring us together".

It's tough picking the Roses best single but this was certainly there purest pop song, a killer hook and a hopeful and endearing chorus. It's probably my favourite Roses track all in all, enjoy the video, I strong recommend you watch it all the way through. Their First Ever TV performance.

Another slice of lyrically genius from Morrissey "I'd jump in front of a flying bullet for you, But What difference does it make" some would say this was the first of the great Smiths singles. Honestly the lines are just too good "The devil makes work for ilde hands to do", "I'm too sick and tired, and I'm feeling very sick and ill today, but I'm still fond of you", "I stole and then I lied just because you asked me to". This track is just wall to wall genius.

Seriously what do say about this track? It's Kiss it's Prince's, it's genius. "You don't have to be rich to be my girl, you don't have to be cruel to rule my world, I just want your extra time and your kiss", now that's what pop music is all about.

When it comes to your magnus opus they don't come any bigger or more epic that One. Trying to describe this song in a new way is just fruitless everything that can be said or needs to be said, has been said. So instead just enjoy this live performance.

Okay so we're finishing with two classic Smiths tracks tied for thirty first. The reason for this is their bizzare status. There Is A Light remarkably was only given a limmited release and Please... was a B side to early entry William It Was Really Nothing. So I figure two halves make a whole right? But honestly I don't think there's a person reading this who would dispute that these two songs deserve to make the top 100 so just sit back and enjoy two of the greatest songs ever written. Even if they weren't really singles. I've seen Morrissey three times and I've never manage to hear either live, damn those lucky gits on the 2004 comeback tour.

This has to be the most recognizable riff it rock and roll history, approximately three seconds into track and you already know it's gonna be awesome, and when the lyrics are as gloriously silly as "Forget the herse because I'll never die, I've got nine lives, Cats eyes" you have no choice but to switch your brain off and have fun.

It's Rick James bitch! Need I say more, well I probably do, when it comes to big time sleezy motown disco grooves no track is more silly and more irresistable than Super Freak. With a killer bass hook and the sleaziest lyrics in history, this track cannot fail.

Now from some soulful sexy funk to a monsterous beast of an epic. Metallica raging against the machine like no one else can. Big, bold, ballsy brilliant.

At first inspection it appears a soft and touching ballad of the heighest order but on a second listen is a deliciously witty and quite dark record. Another example of the Smith's versitility and hit making ability.

When it came to mainstream cross overs, Run-DMC were the original kings taking hip hop from the underground to the top of the billboard charts. No track is a finer example of their combination of irresistable hooks and sleek vocal interplay than It's Tricky.

I just wrote about this track in the album list, and it's a magnificient work. It see's Morrissey at his most in your face and political. Criticising those fools who try to beat children to "correct" their "unwanted" characteristics. It's all sung over the top of one of the Smith's jauntiest and most funky grooves, it a wonderous peice of juaxtaposition.

When it comes to the most covered tracks in history Cameo's pop masterstroke has to be right at the top of the list. However cynical and pathetic covers by the likes of Korn have never managed to capture the joy and the sleek sexy funk of Cameo's original.

When it comes to singles you don't really think of Sonic Youth but this track from their career defining Daydream Nation was utterly perfect. With a opening riff, that devolpes into one of the great fuzz rock anthems of all time climaxing in the killer line "It takes a Teenage Riot to get me out of bed right now".

So what's the most misunderstood song in the history of rock and roll? Yep you've guess it Born In The USA, The Boss's pulls no punches with his scathing attack on the Vietnam war, unfortuantely this song has become a flag waving pro USA anthem, that thanks to Ronald Reagan we'll never get to hear live.

The last of the big three off of the Joshua Tree, while I never really cared for this direction, the public ate it up and turned the album into a phenomina and these the singles into legends. Where The Streets Have No Names was the biggest and most anthemic of the bunch.

I know what your thinking, how on earth is this era defining classic not number one, well I don't know, it remains the greatest karaoke song of all time over twenty years after its original release.

Ah it's time to restore some testosterone to the list, and nothing says testosterone like bleach, eyeline and laytex, eh men!?! Regardless when it comes to stomping sleaze anthem Billy Idol was the unisputed king.

Wow another U2 track and its another sugary ballad, I think this is the one that most skeptics respect as an earnest, bold and plain statement of intent. We should have known they were destined for the stadiums.

From one simple straight forward statement to another "This One Goes Out To The One I Love, This One Goes Out To The One I Left Behind, A Simple Thought To Occupy My Mind, This One Goes Out To The One I Love, FIRE" there you go song done, number one.

I should officailly dub this the stadium section of the count down. Hungry Heart sees Bruce in full sing song mode, with his most melodiest and catchy song ever.

So who's the greatest lost talent? Buddy Holly? John Lennon? Perhaps but if you said Curt Cobain your wrong, sorry Curt. Marvin Gaye deserves to sit along side Lennon and Harrison and genius song writter with a beautiful soulful sexy voice. He is sorely missed.

Wow three U2 songs in one section, I'm gonna get some stick for this, however Sunday Bloody Sunday is one choice that few could quibble over. Back when Bono and co were flag waving rockers. Great drums, a great riff, and hell probably Bono's best lyrics, good to see them with some fire in their bellies.

The staple of every Maiden sets. A song so huge it defies an explination, can this song even be explained, its ludicrious, but it's also ludicriously awesome. One of the songs you have to hear live before you die.

Of all the Clash's songs this has to be their silly and most joy ful pop moment, granted it still has satire and it's not a throwaway, but this will always be remembered as the Clash's party song, the moment they decided it was time for us all to dance. They sure do thrash the shit out of it live though.

So it was only a matter of time wasn't it, when it comes to songs that will never die, that will never go away, that simple will be played until the end of time, then the mac daddy of them all is Livin' On A Prayer. Don't act like you don't love it.

Blondie managed to carry their song writting excellence over from the seventies to the eighties with this arguably their greatest and most recognisable single, a stone cold classic.

So remember when Ozzy was the famous Osbourne and we didn't give two shits about Sharon, Kelly and erh...well no one really cares about Jack or the other one anyway. God it was a simply time then, we could just enjoy the monsterous riffage and killer hooks, if only those days would return.

I wonder where hip hop would be today if Rick Rubin hadn't suggest turning this from a sample into a full blown cover. Well who knows, but one thing we do know for certian this is one of the most important records of all time and arguably the greatest cover ever.

Could you imagine today a record label allowing a band to throw away as many classic singles as the Smiths did in the eighties without attaching them to any album? Hell today if you release a single in between albums they reattached to the old ablum, double the price and sell it as a delux edition. Back in '85 the Smiths threw out singles willy nilly, well because they could.

From earthy Manchester honesty to rock and roll excess at its height, both equally brilliant. I spoke at lenght about this song in the album section so I'll let you enjoy the video.

Having just written a whole paragraph on this one track in the album review its hard to add more, expect to say that this as beautiful and as powerful a song as Springsteen has ever written, one of his most heart wrenching works. One of the songs (along with The River) that it breaks my heart that I didn't get to hear live.

Now from the Sublime to the ridiculous, The Beastie Boys in full rock the party mode with Kerry King coming in to lay down some monster riffage for the ultimate Beasties party anthem. Just in case you weren't sure of this tracks continue relevance then check out the reaction to Jay Z's recent live cover.

Ah third delicious slice of Blondie and singles don't come much more memorable than Call Me. Utterly iconic, perfect of Deborah Harry who was at the height of her Rock Godess powers, and the ultimate Rolling Stone cover girl.

When it comes to important rap acts no act is more important than Public Enemy, and even when they are writting an incredible pop slice they can't help but lay in a dose of scathing dose of social comentary.

You just had to know that Master Of Puppets was going to be the greatest metal album of all time from the moment the spanish guitar chimes of Battery drifted in. One of the best album openers and songs generally in metal history. I can't help but head bang sitting at my PC.

"Take Me Down To The Paradise City, Where The Grass Is Green And The Girls Are Pretty" a simple wish, an incredible riff, and a stadium rock monster for the ages. Enjoy this performance from the Freddie Mercury tribute gig.

The first real evidence that hip hop could conquer the dance floors around the world, no matter who the audience. With one of the sleakest hooks and some fun laid back rapping.

Perhaps the clearest and most obvious example of the Pixies legendary quiet loud dynamic, I'm sure Curt Cobain must have loved this track. Tame is a monster build to be played live, carried by the best screamer in the business Black Francis. On top of that we have some of the best sex offender vocals too "hips like Cinderella".

Another slice of super party funk, one of the most recognizable openings in rock history. A killer first line "I was Dreaming when I wrote this so kiss me if it goes astray, but when I woke up this morning could have sworn it was judgement day". The ultimate 80s party jam.

Another slice of AC/DC, so cheesey, so corny, so cringe inducing but so completely irresistable.

Just in case you thought the hair metal had gone away its back, what can I say about Jump I think this may very well be the most eighties sounding track of all time.

If your gonna release a song called When Doves Cry it better be damned good, luckily this is Prince so there was nothing to worry about. "How could you just leave me standing, alone in a world so cold, maybe I'm just to demanding, maybe I'm just like my father (to bold), maybe your just like my mother never satisfied" Prince is an original in the truest sense of the word.

One of the big three from The Joshua Tree, a song so big it will never die, no matter how hard we wish it would. Totally inescapable, and as much as it pains me to admit it, this was a slice of pure musical genius.

While its was one of MJ's weaker tracks over all, as a single it was sublime, driven by a killer bass hook, a cool dance routine and a chorus that was simply irresistable. Hell even no talent bums Alien Ant Farm couldn't fail with this track.

The Smiths have a musical legacy completely without parrelled, they never released an album that was anything less than excellent and they consistantly put out the best singles imaginable. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore was a beautiful ballad that built to the superb line "I've Seen this happen in other people's lives and now it's happening in mine".

A classic slice of riff-o-matic rocking from AC/DC, hardly needs discussion, if this song were by any other band I'd roll my eyes, but there's a honesty corny charm ot AC/DC that makes them irresistable.

Wow you know this list is jam packed with awesomeness when at number 97 the tracks already need no introduction. When it comes to the Jam's best singles Going Underground is only equaled by the sublime Eton Rifles who will certainly be making an appearence in the 70s list.

Norway's Aha didn't have many huge hits, but when they did have hits they made sure they were mamoth in size and scope. The Sun Always Shines On TV is a big shiny super single, the best single Duran Duran never made.

Now I have to admit until aproximately five minutes ago I thought this track was by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, but apparently not, that is a common misconception, this was all Melle Mel. While it throws off what I planned to say, it doesn't alter the fact that this is one of the greatest of the early hip hop records. Years, Years and Decades ahead of its time.

Ah the Misfits along with Portishead top my list of bands that everyone claims to love but who no one actually listens to. Seriously next time you see a guy with a Misfits shirt or poster try and strike up a conversation see what happens. This singles influence far outstrips it commercial success, one of the most important songs in punk history.

Now while this songs "official" release was in the ninities I've included it in the 80s section as realistically that's when it reached circulation and quite frankly because I left it off the ninities list in the release date confusion. Does it need introduction? Its from their incredible debut album, little more need be said.

"The rain rains hard on this humdrum town, this town has dragged you down" what an absolutely epic first line, to a classic single, you know your in the top 100 now the Smiths singles are coming thick and fast. As melodramatic as a song could possibly be, from depression to merriment to tragedy, could anyone other than Morrissey have penned this track?

Oh yes it's that time, it's time for our first slice of Purple Rain, I've criminally under rated this track burying at 91. Trying to synopsize Prince's talents in a couple of sentances is simply impossible, he's too...too good...too multi talented. Here we find Prince in silly fun pop mode only to suddenly drop into guitar god gear and end on a new wave piano line, frankly, he's Prince he can do whatever the fuck he wants.