Title: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - Rolling Stone
Headings: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
500 Greatest Songs of All Time
Rolling Stone’s definitive list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
By Jay-Z
Read Jay-Z’s full essay here.
Elvis Presley, 'Don't Be Cruel'
The Chantels, 'Maybe'
Guns n' Roses, 'Sweet Child O'Mine'
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Buddy Holly, 'Peggy Sue'
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The Drifters, 'There Goes My Baby'
Glen Campbell, 'Wichita Lineman'
Amy Winehouse, 'Rehab'
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Lynyrd Skynyrd, 'Free Bird'
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Bob Dylan, 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'
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Bee Gees, 'Stayin' Alive'
AC/DC, 'Back in Black'
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Aretha Franklin, 'I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)'
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Creedence Clearwater Revival, 'Who'll Stop the Rain'
Bob Dylan, 'Desolation Row'
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The Beatles, 'Please Please Me'
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B.B. King, 'The Thrill is Gone'
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The Drifters, 'Save the Last Dance for Me'
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Booker T. and the MG's, 'Green Onions'
OutKast, 'Hey Ya!'
Joy Division, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
Big Star, 'September Gurls'
Tom Petty, 'Free Fallin''
The Beach Boys, 'Don't Worry Baby'
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The Bobby Fuller Four, 'I Fought the Law'
The Rolling Stones, 'Paint it Black'
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The Sex Pistols, 'God Save the Queen'
Abba, 'Dancing Queen'
Aerosmith, 'Dream On'
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Jay-Z, '99 Problems'
Joni Mitchell, 'Both Sides Now'
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R.E.M., 'Losing My Religion'
The Temptations, 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone'
Marvin Gaye, 'Let's Get It On'
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Tracy Chapman, 'Fast Car'
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Queen, 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
Sinead O'Connor, 'Nothing Compares 2 U'
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Ray Charles, 'I Can't Stop Loving You'
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Johnny Cash, 'Folsom Prison Blues'
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Public Enemy, 'Bring the Noise'
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The Velvet Underground, 'I'm Waiting for the Man'
U2, 'Moment of Surrender'
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Bill Haley and His Comets, ' (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock'
The Flamingos, 'I Only Have Eyes for You'
Simon and Garfunkel, 'The Sounds of Silence'
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Creedence Clearwater Revival, 'Proud Mary'
Buddy Holly and the Crickets, 'Rave On'
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The Beatles, 'A Hard Day's Night'
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The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Foxey Lady'
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The Penguins, 'Earth Angel'
The Byrds, 'Eight Miles High'

Content: No. 15
At 16, Smith wrote and sang lead on this towering doo-wop song, a template for a generation of girl groups. The Chantels' second single, "Maybe," was recorded at a church in midtown Manhattan in October 1957, when the girls were all still in high school at St. Anthony of Padua in the Bronx. The single was first credited to label owner George Goldner, but now the world knows better. Appears on: The Best of the Chantels (Rhino)
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Guns n' Roses, 'Sweet Child O'Mine'
Writers: Guns n' Roses
Producer: Mike Clink
Released: Aug. '87, Geffen
24 weeks; No.