With The List, American Songwriter details the best, the brightest, the most enduring, the worst, the most hated, and the most surprising songs ever–among many other qualifiers. If you’re looking for our definitive rankings on music, you’ll find them below.
MINNEAPOLIS – OCTOBER 1987: Surf Rock band The Trashmen pose for a portrait at First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis, Minnesota in October 1987. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
English rock group the Beatles hold a press conference at the Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles before their live performance at the Dodger Stadium, California, 28th August 1966. From left to right, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)
The Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison with a cardboard cut out of John Lennon from the film Yellow Submarine. July 1968. (Photo by Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
CIRCA EARLY 1970s: R&B quintet of brothers "Jackson 5" pose for a circa early 1970's portrait. (L-R) Tito Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Outdoor portrait of Norweigan pop band 'A-Ha'; (L-R) Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, May 1987. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – 1968: Married country singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash perform onstage in 1968 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)