finest songs of the 1960s. Dominique Leone contributed for its entry, "if you need a tie into the legacy of 1960s youth culture, glance no further than the naïve but strained optimism locked inside this song." In 2008, Popdose staff members ranked it the best single of the previous 50 years, writing, "It is simply one of the most beautifully composed and arranged songs in the history of not just pop music, but Western music. To place 'God Only Knows' in its proper context is to [place it with] 1836 Frédéric Chopin." In 2011, Paste ranked the song number two on their list of the 20 greatest Beach Boys songs. In a 2012 reader's poll conducted by Rolling Stone, it was voted the best Beach Boys song; the editors wrote that it had won "by a significant margin" and added that it was "one of the most heart-melting love songs ever penned[...] gorgeous in its form and sentiment". In 2012, it topped Consequence of Sounds list of the "100 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2016, it topped Pastes list of "The 100 Best Songs of the 1960s". In 2021, it was re-ranked number 11 in Rolling Stones list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2022, The Guardian Alexis Petridis ranked the song number eight on his list of the 40 greatest Beach Boys songs. Cover versions "God Only Knows" has been covered by a wide variety of artists that includes Andy Williams, Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton-John, Glen Campbell, David Bowie,Toni Tennille, Joss Stone, Mandy Moore, Michael Stipe, Rivers Cuomo, JR JR, and Taylor Swift. In 2007, Lyle Lovett performed a rendition of the song during Wilson's Kennedy Center Honor commemoration. Wilson later said it was "the best version I ever heard, including the Beach Boys." BBC Music version To commemorate the launch of BBC Music, a cover version of the song was simulcast across BBC television and radio channels on October 7, 2014. It featured an assortment of artists (including Wilson himself) that were collectively credited as the Impossible Orchestra. The music video, directed by François Rousselet, showed the artists in lavish, fantastical computer generated settings. The track was released the following day as a charity single for Children in Need 2014. Wilson said: "All of the artists did such a beautiful job [...] I can't thank them enough, I'm just honored that 'God Only Knows'