Let the Games Begin...

A while back, I was reading a book by John Sandford. In it, the lead character had been given a $100 iTunes card and an iPod for Christmas. The character took the $100 limit to heart, and decided that he would make a list of the 100 greatest songs of the rock era. The author made mention of "The List" several times during the book. At the back of the book, he posted the characters' final list. While I agreed with many of the songs listed, I found myself thinking that there were many other songs I could think of that should have been there. Hey, what are opinions for, right?

So, I was discussing the book and "The List" with a few of my co-workers, and some of us decided that we would attempt to come up with our own lists. The only rule we had was that no one group could be represented more than three times. We gave ourselves a two week time limit, and none of us were able to bring our own lists in within the time frame. Personally, I had a big problem with cutting it down to just 100. The three song limit was also a bit of a hindrance for me. One of the guys said that it was just too hard, as his list would change on a day to day basis. I was also stymied by faulty memory, as I would have the radio turned on, and a song I'd forgotten about played and I'd think "Damn! How'd I miss THAT one!" So it was not an easy task at all, and I began to think that it just may be too difficult.

Shortly after the two weeks were up, I finally had my list. One of my co-workers also had his ready. One had the excuse that he was typing his up when his kid came along and shut the computer off, so his was not ready. The two lists we did have, we were somewhat shocked to discover, had about 40 of the same songs on them. His was a little more pop oriented, while mine rocked a bit harder, but we agreed on what we thought were quite a lot of songs.

So, here is my list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era". It is, of course, colored by mood and memory, as some songs have special significance or meaning in my life. The list is not in any order whatsoever, though.

1. Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
2. Back In Black by AC/DC
3. Keep Away by Godsmack
4. Detroit Rock City by KISS
5. Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy
6. Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden
7. Night Moves by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
8. Feel Like Makin' Love by Bad Company
9. Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
10. House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
11. Crossroads by Cream
12. I Put A Spell On You by Creedence Clearwater Revival
13. Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
14. Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash
15. Last Child by Aerosmith
16. Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard
17. You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest
18. Crazy On You by Heart
19. Bound For The Floor by Local H
20. Time of the Season by The Zombies
21. Walk Away by The James Gang
22. Satch Boogie by Joe Satriani
23. Feels Like the First Time by Foreigner
24. Smooth by Santana (ft. Rob Thomas)
25. Dream On by Aerosmith
26. Freewill by Rush
27. Pearl Necklace by ZZ Top
28. Fire and Rain by James Taylor
29. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
30. Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf
31. Why Go by Pearl Jam
32. Take the Money and Run by Steve Miller Band
33. Eyes of a Stranger by Queensryche
34. Music by Madonna
35. Something by The Beatles
36. Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
37. Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
38. Rock Me by Great White
39. (Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
40. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye
41. Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings
42. Foreplay / Long Time by Boston
43. Life in the Fast Lane by The Eagles
44. The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
45. Tom Sawyer by Rush
46. Layla by Derek and The Dominoes
47. (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
48. Yesterday by The Beatles
49. Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
50. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
51. Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings
52. Hotel California by The Eagles
53. More Than a Feeling by Boston
54. Voices by Cheap Trick
55. Underneath the Radar by Underworld
56. Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas
57. Beginnings by Chicago
58. Hush by Deep Purple
59. Radar Love by Golden Earring
60. Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who
61. Our House by Madness
62. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
63. Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 by Bob Dylan
64. Cortez the Killer by Neil Young
65. 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago
66. The Zoo by The Scorpions
67. The Pretender by Foo Fighters
68. Roadhouse Blues by The Doors
69. Ramblin' Man by The Allman Brothers Band
70. What I Like About You by The Romantics
71. Love Hurts by Nazareth
72. The Way of the World by Earth, Wind & Fire
73. Flirtin' With Disaster by Molly Hatchett
74. Would? by Alice in Chains
75. Midlife Crisis by Faith No More
76. In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
77. Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
78. Rock is Dead by Marilyn Manson
79. Rocket Man by Elton John
80. Anthony's Song (Movin' Out) by Billy Joel
81. Aqualung by Jethro Tull
82. I Like to Rock by April Wine
83. How Long by Ace
84. Balls to the Wall by Accept
85. 5150 by Van Halen
86. Alone Again, Naturally by Gilbert O'Sullivan
87. Highway to Hell by AC/DC
88. Smokin' by Boston
89. Runnin' with the Devil by Van Halen
90. Round and Round by Ratt
91. Psycho Holiday by Pantera
92. Thunderkiss '65 by White Zombie
93. Even Flow by Pearl Jam
94. I Don't Believe in Love by Queensryche
95. Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin
96. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
97. Moving in Stereo by The Cars
98. Primal Scream by Motley Crue
99. Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd
100. My City Was Gone by The Pretenders

I invite anyone to try this and let me know what you think, and feel free to debate.

(BTW, I graduated high school in 1983, so the list is colored a lot by the times I grew up in, of course! Also, there were times that I lived where there was never a good radio station around, and when my kids arrived in the mid to late '90's I didn't get to listen to much on the radio anyway {and would have gladly killed Barney with a freakin' axe!}).

Keep Rockin'!!!

Dean-a-ling