Best song ever written

Off Topic Music
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The “best song ever written” is such a personal and subjective matter.

It depends on what moves you—lyrics that touch your soul, melodies that give you

goosebumps, or rhythms that make your heart race.

Some might argue that classics like Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen or Imagine by

John Lennon have transcended generations.

Others might champion timeless pieces like Clair de Lune by Debussy

or Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven for their sheer emotional impact.

Then there are songs like Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone, celebrated for its poetic brilliance.

What about you?

Do you have a song that feels like the best in your book?

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Stairway to Heaven -Led Zeppelin IV Jimmy Page and Robert Plant

“Stairway to Heaven” The song consists of three distinct sections, beginning with a quiet introduction on a finger-picked, six-string acoustic guitar and four [recorders](ending at 2:15) and gradually moving into a slow electric middle section (2:16–5:33), then a long guitar solo (5:34–6:44), before the faster [hard rock) final section (6:45–7:45), ending with a short vocals-only epilogue. Plant sings the opening, middle, and epilogue sections in his mid-vocal range; he sings the hard rock section in his higher range, which borders on falsetto.

The song has been covered in many different musical genres and it holds up incredibly well.

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For me, the song which sends shivers up my spine is Va,pensiero, also called The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, from the opera Nabucco. It made the career of Giusseppi Verdi:

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There’s a whole album of covers: Stairways to Heaven - Various Artists | Album | AllMusic

Some of them are on youtube, a few of them are even mildly entertaining, eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WfoccRna6I

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Heart - Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin - Kennedy Center Honors HD

And my favorite Cover Dread Zepplin’s version which Robert Plant absolutely loved.

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What about Tubular Bells. Part One?

Besides the album hitting #1 on various charts in the US, UK and Canada and selling over 15 million units - basically unheard of for an instrumental:

  • It’s been on a stamp (although so has IV - the album Stairway to Heaven is on)
  • It’s been played during an Olympics opening ceremony
  • None of the Virgin companies would likely exist without it
  • It was recorded by a 19 yo who played nearly every instrument on it
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I believe “Imagine” & Bob Marley’s “One Love” are two of the greatest songs ever written because of their message, hence timelessness. I also agree with “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” is classic and Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” is one of the best love songs. Water’s “Mannish Boy”, Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone” and any song by Stevie Ray Vaughan for the Blues. Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” is probably my favorite jazz song.

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Goodnight Irene