Top 10: Songs

Today in our top 10 tour we’re going to look at music. This suffers from the same dilemma as books. Should we look at favorite artist/band? Song? Album?

Fortunately, I’m less musical savvy than I am a reader. So I’m just going to stick with favorite songs for now. We might take a look at artist/band later, as sometimes I really like a group, but no particular song makes it to the top of the list, where as, some of my favorite songs are by artists whose other work I can take or leave.

1. Sunny Came Home (Shawn Colvin)
2. For the Longest Time (Billy Joel)
3. 3am (Matchbox 20)
4. Standing Outside the Fire (Garth Brooks)
5. The Gambler (Kenny Rogers)
6. Smooth (Santana/Rob Thomas)
7. Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkle)
8. The Freshman (The Verve Pipe)
9. You Were Meant for Me (Jewel)
10. All the Small Things (blink-182)

Like many of my other favorites, you’ll notice many of these are rooted in the past. In fact, all of them were made in the 90’s or before. Which I expect is not an uncommon occurrence. I was a teenager then, which is when most people’s musical preferences set in. That’s not to say that I don’t like more recent stuff, just nothing then has had the time to settle in as a favorite.

Many of the songs came out when I first started paying attention to music. And by paying attention, I mean bothering to figure out who wrote a song I heard on the radio. I was not very big into music. I never liked a band because it was cool. In fact, many of my favorite all time artists/bands, which you’ll see next week, are from this same period. They make that list because I like their work but never bothered to learn who they were until much more recently.

The Gambler is one in particular that made the list because of my parents. My parents had a Kenny Rogers tape (yes, before even CD’s) that I only ever heard during road trips.  Usually when us kids were sleeping because my Dad liked to leave at 4am. So I remember hearing his songs, in particular this one, while half asleep.

Sunny Came Home, The Freshman, and You Were Meant for Me all were out at around the time I moved from Florida to Texas, leaving my home town at 16. They remind me of that time which was both terrible and amazing. I’d never lived anywhere else so it was cool, but I had to leave behind everyone I knew.

For the Longest Time only barely beat out Piano Man to make the list because it is the song I danced with my wife at our wedding.  You’ll see Billy Joel again next week and several of his could have made this list. But I forced myself to stick with one.

3am is in a similar position. Several songs from the Matchbox 20 album Yourself or Someone Like You sit high on the list because they make great car music. This is one of the few CD’s I leave in my car and the only CD I’ve bought 3 times because it needed to be replaced (one got lost by a friend and another got warped sitting in the hot car). Smooth and All the Small Things also fit that bill of good songs to crank up and listen and sing to while alone in the car for a long trip.

so there you have it, my top 10 songs. You may commence judging me.