The greatest song of all time

I'm not sure I can name just one song...

I think any song which deserves that title ought to have some history and influence to back it up. So I agree that "Stairway To Heaven" is the strongest contender for the throne. Very few songs have inspired as many imitators as "Stairway", plus it has one of the greatest guitar solos ever as a bonus.

Beyond that, it's hard to say. Certainly "Hallowed" is one of the greatest metal songs ever; I'd also say "Master Of Puppets" and "War Pigs" are in the same league. However, the influence of these songs hasn't spread much beyond the metal genre (at least not as much as "Stairway").

Two classic rock song that also deserve mention are "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Imagine".
 
I don't go by how influential songs are though. I simply judge them by the quality of the song. Another song that I remembered that I also consider a contender for the spot is Heaven and Hell by Sabbath.
 
I agree with Stairway to Heaven and Hallowed be thy Name.
Moreover the think that Free Bird(Lynyrd Skynyrd) needs to be mentioned.
I think some Eric Clapton Songs deserve mention: Tears in Heaven for example
 
Stairway to Heaven is the greatest song. You have to look at it like SMX did. "Best song" is significantly different than "greatest song".

American Pie by Don MacLean would be up there as well. Probably some of the Beatles stuff too.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-StrangerInAStrangeLand+Jun 11 2004, 10:35 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(StrangerInAStrangeLand @ Jun 11 2004, 10:35 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] I don't go by how influential songs are though. I simply judge them by the quality of the song. Another song that I remembered that I also consider a contender for the spot is Heaven and Hell by Sabbath. [/quote]
You have to take the song's influence as part of it's greatness, because who cares how good a song is if nobody knows it or it didn't carve any new ground beyond its genre.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Onhell+Jun 12 2004, 05:40 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Jun 12 2004, 05:40 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] You have to take the song's influence as part of it's greatness, because who cares how good a song is if nobody knows it or it didn't carve any new ground beyond its genre. [/quote]
After I posted that, I realized that by definition, great means "most important" and best means "of the highest quality." I was thinking of the songs in terms of "best" rather than "great" (and now I feel stupid [!--emo&:doh:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/11doh[1].gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'11doh[1].gif\' /][!--endemo--] ).
 
Alright, alright, I'm going down to four per band, but this is really not even remotely fair:

The Show Must Go On, Somebody To Love, Innuendo, Now I'm Here, Doing All Right by Queen
Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, Down By The Seaside, Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin
Time, Comfortably Numb, Hey You, Wish You Were Here, Pigs (Three Different Ones) by Pink Floyd
Man On The Silver Mountain, Stargazer, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Catch The Rainbow by Rainbow
Child In Time, When A Blind Man Cries, Black Night, Woman From Tokyo by Deep Purple
Into The Night, Thunder In The Silence, Keep It True, Hail To Majesty by Majesty
N.I.B., Wicked World, Die Young, Fairies Wear Boots by Black Sabbath
End Of The Night, Break On Through (To The Other Side), The Unknown Soldier, You're Lost Little Girl by The Doors
Look At Yourself, Easy Livin', July Morning, Lady In Black by Uriah Heep
The Seeker, Won't Get Fooled Again, We're Not Gonna Take It, Pictures Of Lily by The Who
Let It Be, Hey Jude, A Hard Day's Night, Revolution (the single version) by The Beatles
Diamonds And Rust, Metal Gods, Hell Bent For Leather, Beyond The Realms Of Death by Judas Priest
All Along The Watchtower, Like A Rolling Stone, Tangled Up In Blue, Masters Of War by Bob Dylan
The Evil That Men Do, Strange World, The Nomad, Fear Of The Dark by I forgot who

There! You forced me to do it, and I even cut back in bands! Now I'll never be able to sleep well again! [!--emo&:(--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/sad.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'sad.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Hmm.. A very difficult question. Besides Revelations (by Iron Maiden... d'uh [!--emo&:p--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--])
i would say The king will come by Wishbone ash.. Maybe Bouree by Bach/Jethro tull...
 
Either "Revelations" or "Hallowed Be Thy Name"

[!--emo&:(--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/sad.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'sad.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

what was i thinking.. it's definitely "Hallowed Be Thy Name" [!--emo&:rock:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/headbang.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'headbang.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
a few too many here but ill go for a couple of different styles of Music

Metallica - to Live is to die (thrash)

Iron Maiden - hallowed be they name (metal)

Celtic Frost - Mesmerized (death)

Robert Di Visee - Bouree In dm (Classical)

these are but just a few but the all time fav song of mine will have to be IMO

Through Eyes of Glass - Forbidden
 
[!--QuoteBegin-tabor+Jun 15 2004, 02:48 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(tabor @ Jun 15 2004, 02:48 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] a few too many here but ill go for a couple of different styles of Music

Metallica - to Live is to die  (thrash)

Iron Maiden - hallowed be they name (metal)

Celtic Frost - Mesmerized (death)

Robert Di Visee - Bouree In dm (Classical)

these are but just a few but the all time fav song of mine will have to be IMO

Through Eyes of Glass - Forbidden [/quote]
Trash and death ARE Metal. maybe you should have classified maiden under Melodic or Power metal.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-tabor+Jun 14 2004, 08:48 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(tabor @ Jun 14 2004, 08:48 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] Robert Di Visee - Bouree In dm (Classical) [/quote]
If you want to include classical music in this discussion, then the greatest piece of music ever written by a human being is Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, commonly called the 'Eroica'.
 
[!--QuoteBegin--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]If you want to include classical music in this discussion, then the greatest piece of music ever written by a human being is Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, commonly called the 'Eroica'.[/quote]

What about Dvorak's symphony no. 9 ("From The New World"), or Bedřich Smetana's Vltava (Moldau)?
 
Back
Top