whether it’s pop disco grunge rap rock
and roll heavy metal or another genre
these tracks changed music history or
good welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we’re counting down our picks for the
top ten decade defining songs of all
time for this list we’ve looked at a
combination of the most commercially
successful songs the most influential
records the tracks that stood the test
of time and which best reflect the
decades in which they were released
look number 10
lose yourself Eminem read one shot one
opportunity here is our ultimate decade
definer of the 2000 it’s appropriate
that lose yourself opens this list his
palms are sweaty knees weak arms are
heavy there’s vomit on his sweater
already mom’s spaghetti he’s written
during filming breaks on the set of
eight mile
this is Eminem at the peak of his power
times uh-oh last net back to reality oh
there goes gravity oh there goes Rabbit
show he’s owned that the record draws on
past experience and speaks to the
listener like little has before it the
music the moment you own
music is this powerful it has you
believing that you really can do
anything Grammy Awards and an Oscar it’s
clearly Eminem’s crowning achievement
and one of the Nadi’s best beat family
night this may be the only up
music c’mon number 9
like a virgin Madonna as the first
single offer sophomore effort like a
virgin was the record that really
propelled Madonna into the public eye
lyrically it was especially racy but
musically it stood out as well as
Madonna favorite actual musicians to the
synthesizer sound of her first album
based on her performance of the tune at
the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984
the soon-to-be Queen of Pop was clearly
as excited by the song as the rest of us
were and decades later still are gone
through a pot in number eight Jailhouse
Rock Elvis Presley man was dumping nine
to jump again the swing you should a
girl opt-out jam-packed seen a track
from his movie of the same name
jailhouse rock enjoyed worldwide success
and quickly became a flag bearer for the
rock revolution
Elvis Presley was a performer perhaps
unrivaled in history he had a rock voice
a cheeky charm and dance moves that
maybe blush rhythm such a wanna boogie
affectionately dubbed the King Elvis and
his jailhouse rock marked the beginnings
of his rise to the throne the ones
anybody don’t you be no square then fine
upon to use a wooden chair for many he
was the face of the 50s
yet this bluesy blistering number lives
on
number seven smells like teen spirit
here vana
if the 90s are responsible for
popularizing one music genre in
particular its grunge and smells like
teen spirit was certainly a trailblazer
in that regard
Nirvana smashed into the mainstream with
awesome apathy and a record that rings
in your ears for days
inspired by graffiti left by a
girlfriend on Kurt Cobain’s bedroom wall
it’s a typically Nirvana combination of
loud and quiet subdued and severe
didn’t hold back and continues to stand
the test of time which is why it’s on
this list
number six I can’t get no satisfaction
the Rolling Stones
in America during their first stateside
tour legend has it that following a less
than successful gig Stones guitarist
Keith Richards awoke in the middle of
the night with this riff fully formed in
his head
the band would record and release it
within three weeks scoring themselves in
number one in America and Britain
social frustration sexual frustration
and musical pleasure
it’s a double negative but do we really
care
it may have come out in the 60s but
satisfactions still rings oh so true
today
number five stayin alive the Bee Gees
it’s the epitome of what’s known as the
70s signature disco sound
after the BG’s wrote a few tracks for a
movie including stayin alive they became
the faces of dancefloor fashion Saturday
Night Fever proved a huge success thanks
in no small part to this high falsetto
phenomenon the song put the git brothers
atop worldwide charts and got them a
Grammy
ah
it’s shown no signs of dying out and is
still go to disco it just demands to be
danced
number four Bohemian Rhapsody Queen
okay hands up if you’ve ever tried to
sing this and hands up if you failed yep
that’s pretty much everyone Bohemian
Rhapsody is just one of those songs that
redefines what we previously thought
about music
in an era before MTV it’s video
accompaniment was part of the success
but the sheer ambition of the track is
what scored Queen their first American
top ten and nine weeks atop the British
charts scatter BuChE BuChE will you do
the bond on both its opera its life and
its brilliant even now
number three stairway to heaven Led
Zeppelin
electric terraces
and she’s fine
and over eight minutes long stairway to
heaven is an all-out epic records
lyrically it’s luxurious it said that
Robert Plant was reading the Lord of the
Rings while writing its parent album and
the influence is clear it harbors a
spookiness
that’s only heightened by suggestions of
satanic messages within its makeup and a
beauty that no amount of devilry could
ever steal from it
not to mention the fact that the
ambition is quite amazing and
atmospherically it’ll be forever hard to
beat
number two I want to hold your hand the
Beatles oh yeah their first u.s. number
one this record provoked a British
Invasion of America and turned Beatle
mania into a multinational frenzy
John Lennon and Paul McCartney co-wrote
the song and collaborated on the vocals
to produce a sound that became so
beatles and so 60s and when added to i
feel happy inside the hysteria
surrounding the Liverpool for peace was
so loud that Lennon later admitted to
playfully changing the lyric hand to
gland during live shows in truth
whatever they sang was successful by
setting the 60s trend they shaped modern
music for decades to come
where we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
the chocolate John
creation
Oh
my
they pause your mind
number one beat it Michael Jackson after
topping our 80s list beat it has
appropriately beaten everything else to
the top of this list
– why Michael Jackson was the first
black artist to get regular airplay on
MTV and this song’s choreography filled
video was one of the most plays
but that’s not all with an unpaid eddie
van halen on guitar
and MJ’s signature vocal style beat it
also carried unrivaled charisma and
attitude
you danced its way to the top of music
charts worldwide and collected two
Grammys
he’s the King of Pop after all where
else would you expect he’d be
you agree with our list what’s your
favorite decade defining song
for more chart-topping top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
and roll heavy metal or another genre
these tracks changed music history or
good welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we’re counting down our picks for the
top ten decade defining songs of all
time for this list we’ve looked at a
combination of the most commercially
successful songs the most influential
records the tracks that stood the test
of time and which best reflect the
decades in which they were released
look number 10
lose yourself Eminem read one shot one
opportunity here is our ultimate decade
definer of the 2000 it’s appropriate
that lose yourself opens this list his
palms are sweaty knees weak arms are
heavy there’s vomit on his sweater
already mom’s spaghetti he’s written
during filming breaks on the set of
eight mile
this is Eminem at the peak of his power
times uh-oh last net back to reality oh
there goes gravity oh there goes Rabbit
show he’s owned that the record draws on
past experience and speaks to the
listener like little has before it the
music the moment you own
music is this powerful it has you
believing that you really can do
anything Grammy Awards and an Oscar it’s
clearly Eminem’s crowning achievement
and one of the Nadi’s best beat family
night this may be the only up
music c’mon number 9
like a virgin Madonna as the first
single offer sophomore effort like a
virgin was the record that really
propelled Madonna into the public eye
lyrically it was especially racy but
musically it stood out as well as
Madonna favorite actual musicians to the
synthesizer sound of her first album
based on her performance of the tune at
the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984
the soon-to-be Queen of Pop was clearly
as excited by the song as the rest of us
were and decades later still are gone
through a pot in number eight Jailhouse
Rock Elvis Presley man was dumping nine
to jump again the swing you should a
girl opt-out jam-packed seen a track
from his movie of the same name
jailhouse rock enjoyed worldwide success
and quickly became a flag bearer for the
rock revolution
Elvis Presley was a performer perhaps
unrivaled in history he had a rock voice
a cheeky charm and dance moves that
maybe blush rhythm such a wanna boogie
affectionately dubbed the King Elvis and
his jailhouse rock marked the beginnings
of his rise to the throne the ones
anybody don’t you be no square then fine
upon to use a wooden chair for many he
was the face of the 50s
yet this bluesy blistering number lives
on
number seven smells like teen spirit
here vana
if the 90s are responsible for
popularizing one music genre in
particular its grunge and smells like
teen spirit was certainly a trailblazer
in that regard
Nirvana smashed into the mainstream with
awesome apathy and a record that rings
in your ears for days
inspired by graffiti left by a
girlfriend on Kurt Cobain’s bedroom wall
it’s a typically Nirvana combination of
loud and quiet subdued and severe
didn’t hold back and continues to stand
the test of time which is why it’s on
this list
number six I can’t get no satisfaction
the Rolling Stones
in America during their first stateside
tour legend has it that following a less
than successful gig Stones guitarist
Keith Richards awoke in the middle of
the night with this riff fully formed in
his head
the band would record and release it
within three weeks scoring themselves in
number one in America and Britain
social frustration sexual frustration
and musical pleasure
it’s a double negative but do we really
care
it may have come out in the 60s but
satisfactions still rings oh so true
today
number five stayin alive the Bee Gees
it’s the epitome of what’s known as the
70s signature disco sound
after the BG’s wrote a few tracks for a
movie including stayin alive they became
the faces of dancefloor fashion Saturday
Night Fever proved a huge success thanks
in no small part to this high falsetto
phenomenon the song put the git brothers
atop worldwide charts and got them a
Grammy
ah
it’s shown no signs of dying out and is
still go to disco it just demands to be
danced
number four Bohemian Rhapsody Queen
okay hands up if you’ve ever tried to
sing this and hands up if you failed yep
that’s pretty much everyone Bohemian
Rhapsody is just one of those songs that
redefines what we previously thought
about music
in an era before MTV it’s video
accompaniment was part of the success
but the sheer ambition of the track is
what scored Queen their first American
top ten and nine weeks atop the British
charts scatter BuChE BuChE will you do
the bond on both its opera its life and
its brilliant even now
number three stairway to heaven Led
Zeppelin
electric terraces
and she’s fine
and over eight minutes long stairway to
heaven is an all-out epic records
lyrically it’s luxurious it said that
Robert Plant was reading the Lord of the
Rings while writing its parent album and
the influence is clear it harbors a
spookiness
that’s only heightened by suggestions of
satanic messages within its makeup and a
beauty that no amount of devilry could
ever steal from it
not to mention the fact that the
ambition is quite amazing and
atmospherically it’ll be forever hard to
beat
number two I want to hold your hand the
Beatles oh yeah their first u.s. number
one this record provoked a British
Invasion of America and turned Beatle
mania into a multinational frenzy
John Lennon and Paul McCartney co-wrote
the song and collaborated on the vocals
to produce a sound that became so
beatles and so 60s and when added to i
feel happy inside the hysteria
surrounding the Liverpool for peace was
so loud that Lennon later admitted to
playfully changing the lyric hand to
gland during live shows in truth
whatever they sang was successful by
setting the 60s trend they shaped modern
music for decades to come
where we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
the chocolate John
creation
Oh
my
they pause your mind
number one beat it Michael Jackson after
topping our 80s list beat it has
appropriately beaten everything else to
the top of this list
– why Michael Jackson was the first
black artist to get regular airplay on
MTV and this song’s choreography filled
video was one of the most plays
but that’s not all with an unpaid eddie
van halen on guitar
and MJ’s signature vocal style beat it
also carried unrivaled charisma and
attitude
you danced its way to the top of music
charts worldwide and collected two
Grammys
he’s the King of Pop after all where
else would you expect he’d be
you agree with our list what’s your
favorite decade defining song
for more chart-topping top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
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