The 50 most iconic songs ever, according to science
Should you really let science into the realm of art? The very nature of art is to find beauty in the eye of the beholder, and that should never be shaped or contorted by the unwieldy rigour of scientific discovery. But it does have a habit of coming to a conclusion.
In a world of absolutes, the need to have definition on our lives is even more apparent. How can we truly understand if we like something unless we have been told by an almighty power, in this case science, that it is indeed worth liking? That is a notion which we must all fight. But we must not only endure, but enjoy, our subjectivity.
In the heat of dinner table debates, it’s sometimes difficult to admit subjectivity. After all, having an opinion is rather fun, even if just to spur the art of conversation.
If you asked me to name the best song of all time, I wouldn’t be able to give you a singular answer, and anything I could offer in this instance would change with the weather. Some people, however, are particularly cocksure and are able to pinpoint one favourite that, after a few stiff drinks, is proclaimed volubly as the best of all.
If, in the heat of such trivial debates, your cocksure friend or relative fights a case for Nirvana’s 1991 single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ as the best of all time, then they might well be right – according to science, at least. However, the elder relative who backs John Lennon’s classic 1971 peace song ‘Imagine’ could also make a convincing case, thus triggering an inter-generational duel.
As you may have noticed, the title states, “The 50 most iconic songs” – here, we encounter our first caveat. By “iconic”, we, of course, mean popular, and so the below-listed songs are ranked in order of overall popularity. In light of this, the argument posited by your Nirvana-loving friend loses momentum, freeing you up to counter with a leftfield gem.
So, how was this aggressively cocksure list contrived to answer the unanswerable question? It all began with the bright idea of one Dr. Grierson of Goldsmiths University, London. The musically inclined boffin compiled multiple “all-time best song” lists from various sources to create an aggregated hierarchy. He then used analytical software to study the various parameters of the songs, including lyrical composition, beats per minute, chord progression and more.
After studying the attributes of the ideal pop song, the tracks were arranged into a final hierarchy. As you can see, Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ comes out on top as a work that appears on most “best song” lists and is most consistent with popular attributes.
Dr Grierson found that 80 per cent of “iconic” songs are in the major key, and their average tempo is 125 BPM. Furthermore, he noted that chord changes were minimal, with high timbral dissonance, dynamic melodies and an abundance of repeated buzzwords like “Baby”, “Feel”, and “Love”.
See Dr Grierson’s ranking of the 50 most iconic songs of all time below. If you like what you see, you can listen to our Spotify playlist, too.
The 50 most iconic songs of all time:
- ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ – Nirvana (1991)
- ‘Imagine’ – John Lennon (1971)
- ‘One’ – U2 (1992)
- ‘Billie Jean’ – Michael Jackson (1982)
- ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – Queen (1975)
- ‘Hey Jude’ – The Beatles (1968)
- ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ – Bob Dylan (1967)
- ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ – Rolling Stones (1965)
- ‘God Save The Queen’ – Sex Pistols (1977)
- ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ – Guns N’ Roses (1987)
- ‘London Calling’ – The Clash (1979)
- ‘Waterloo Sunset’ – The Kinks (1967)
- ‘Hotel California’ – The Eagles (1976)
- ‘Your Song’ – Elton John (1970)
- ‘Stairway To Heaven’ – Led Zeppelin (1971)
- ‘The Twist’ – Chubby Checker (1960)
- ‘Live Forever’ – Oasis (1994)
- ‘I Will Always Love You’ – Whitney Houston (1974)
- ‘Life On Mars?’ – David Bowie (1971)
- ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ – Elvis Presley (1956)
- ‘Over The Rainbow’ – Judy Garland (1939)
- ‘What’s Going On’ – Marvin Gaye (1971)
- ‘Born To Run’ – Bruce Springsteen (1975)
- ‘Be My Baby’ – The Ronettes (1963)
- ‘Creep’ – Radiohead (1992)
- ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ – Simon & Garfunkel (1974)
- ‘Respect’ – Aretha Franklin (1965)
- ‘Family Affair’ – Sly And The Family Stone (1971)
- ‘Dancing Queen’ – ABBA (1976)
- ‘Good Vibrations’ – The Beach Boys (1966)
- ‘Purple Haze’ – Jimi Hendrix (1967)
- ‘Yesterday’ – The Beatles (1965)
- ‘Johnny B Goode’ – Chuck Berry (1958)
- ‘No Woman No Cry’ – Bob Marley (1975)
- ‘Hallelujah’ – Jeff Buckley (1994)
- ‘Every Breath You Take’ – The Police (1983)
- ‘A Day In The Life’ – The Beatles (1967)
- ‘Stand By Me’ – Ben E King (1962)
- ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’ – James Brown (1965)
- ‘Gimme Shelter’ – The Rolling Stones (1969)
- ‘What’d I Say’ – Ray Charles (1959)
- ‘Sultans Of Swing’ – Dire Straits (1978)
- ‘God Only Knows’ – The Beach Boys (1966)
- ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’ – The Righteous Brothers (1964)
- ‘My Generation’ – The Who (1965)
- ‘Dancing In The Street’ – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (1965)
- ‘When Doves Cry’ – Prince (1984)
- ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ – Sam Cooke (1964)
- ‘River Deep Mountain High’ – Ike and Tina Turner (1966)
- ‘Best Of My Love’ – The Emotions (1977)
