All-Time 'Best Ever' Singles?

We have updated this page to reflect the fact that towards the end of 2006 both Virgin Radio and Q Magazine compiled lists of the 'best ever' singles based on votes from their listeners / readers.

Periodically, magazines and radio stations mount grand polls, asking readers and listeners to register their "all-time favourite" singles/songs.

The most recent of these was carried out by Virgin Radio. The resulting chart was unveiled in Dec 2006.

This page shows the Top 100 (and then some!) singles - obtained by combining the results of the Virgin poll with the five previous National listeners'/readers' 'Best Ever' polls. These were conducted by Q Magazine (2006), Radio 2 (2004), Guinness (2002), Radio 1 (1998) and Mojo Magazine (1997).

We have calculated this chart by combining the positions in each of the individual polls, following the type of statistical distribution obtained in music listings based on public votes. A track must appear in at least two separate Top 100s to be included in our chart.

By using this methodology we have largely eliminated any idiosyncrasies caused by 'fad' voting (favouring very recent releases), skewing resulting from a restrictive demographic (most radio stations/magazines aim at a relatively narrow age-band) and attempts by artist fan clubs to influence voting.

Snow Patrols' "Chasing Cars" topped the Virgin poll and, whilst few people would disagree that it is a single par excellence it is unlikely to be occupying that slot by their next compilation. No doubt it will appear in our listing at the next update but our methodology means that it will have a more graceful and appropriate placing than would otherwise be the case..

The listing illustrates the premise that short (weekly) snapshots of sales, whilst accurately reflecting the mood of the Nation at the time, do not always reveal the public's true, long-term appreciation of a song. Many singles which sell hundreds of thousands per week at the height of their chart success are relegated to the bargain bins (or consigned to waste bins!) within weeks of leaving the chart. This listing is about songs which, in theory at least, ooze quality and have longevity.

What follows is totally subjective, of course, but it is the nearest it is possible to get to the definitive "all-time best-ever" 'singles' (though, by our reckoning, the entries marked "(*)" have never been released as singles!)

All-Time 'Best Ever' Singles			Year	Virgin	Q	Radio 2	Guin'ss	Radio 1	Mojo
1	Queen	Bohemian Rhapsody	1975	11	6	2	1	18	23
2	John Lennon	Imagine	1980	18	25	5	2	8	21
3	Robbie Williams	Angels	1997	21	11	3	6	12
4	Beatles	Hey Jude	1968	12	23	11	3		7
5	Nirvana	Smells Like Teen Spirit	1991		3	70	11	2	32
6	Oasis	Live Forever	1994	45	1	12		9	42
7	Oasis	Wonderwall	1995	4	2	40	30	29
8	U2	One	1992	3	5	16		21
9	Verve	Bitter Sweet Symphony	1997	19	9		38	3	60
10	U2	With Or Without You	1987	55	17	29	20	7
11	Beatles	Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever	1967	49	31	66	7		1
12	Beach Boys	Good Vibrations	1966	89	21	10	51		3
13	REM	Losing My Religion	1991	15	58	85	16	20	46
14	Bob Dylan	Like A Rolling Stone	1965	59	12	37	64		4
15	Beach Boys	God Only Knows	1966	44	36	15	56		12
16	REM	Everybody Hurts	1993	41	28	68	32	6	98
17	Kinks	Waterloo Sunset	1967	96	38	19	91		2
18	Oasis	Don’t Look Back In Anger	1996	29	20	82	12	85	100
19	Procol Harum	A Whiter Shade Of Pale	1967			1	19		38
20	Led Zeppelin	Stairway To Heaven	1971	47	8	7
21	Beatles	Yesterday	1976	30	52	34	9
22	Beatles	A Day In The Life (*)	1967	22	4	38
23	Eagles	Hotel California	1977	39	70	25	17		85
24	Massive Attack	Unfinished Sympathy	1991		40	44		1
25	Abba	Dancing Queen	1976			27	4		87
26	Madonna	Like A Prayer	1989		27		5	77
27	Jimi Hendrix Experience	All Along The Watchtower	1968	68	41	88	99		5
28	Radiohead	Creep	1993		30			5	82
29	Michael Jackson	Billie Jean	1983		16	81	15
30	Who	My Generation	1965	31	63		88		14
31	Kate Bush	Wuthering Heights	1978	36	61	30	40		88
32	Radiohead	Paranoid Android	1997		10			24
33	Undertones	Teenage Kicks	1978		49	51	74		15
34	Joy Division	Love Will Tear Us Apart	1980		7	39			95
35	Simon And Garfunkel	Bridge Over Troubled Water	1970	87		13	35		94
36	Bruce Springsteen	Born To Run	1987		86	26			17
37	Bob Marley & The Wailers	No Woman No Cry	1975	43	91				8
38	Guns N Roses	Sweet Child O Mine	1988	20	22		95
39	Elvis Presley	Suspicious Minds	1969		53	60	14		90
40	Beatles	Let It Be	1970	74		49	10
41	Rolling Stones	(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction	1965	52	66		37		31
42	Meat Loaf	Bat Out Of Hell	1979	85		8	59
43	Pulp	Common People	1995		44		90	16	83
44	Mariah Carey	Hero	1993			4	67
45	Marvin Gaye	I Heard It Through The Grapevine	1969			69	39		18
46	Derek And The Dominoes	Layla	1972	82		53	46		25
47	Don Mclean	American Pie	1972			47	31		34
48	Killers	Mr Brightside	2004	10	47
49	Madness	It Must be Love	1981	9		56
50	Rolling Stones	Paint It Black	1966	17					36
51	Sex Pistols	Anarchy In The UK	1976		46		96		16
52	Green Day	Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance)	1998	6				86
53	Oasis	Champagne Supernova	1996	95	35			23
54	Jam	A Town Called Malice / Precious	1982	7	80
55	Spice Girls	Wannabe	1996				8	76
56	Radiohead	Street Spirit (Fade Out)	1996		42			17
57	Free	All Right Now	1970	57					13
58	Stone Roses	Fools Gold / What The World Is Waiting For	1989		67			22	52
59	Coldplay	Yellow	2000	13	64
60	Electric Light Orchestra	Mr. Blue Sky	1978	70		18	77
61	Sinead O’Connor	Nothing Compares 2 U	1990				13		71
62	Smiths	This Charming Man	1983			97			11
63	George Michael	Careless Whisper	1984			35	33	99
64	Clash	London Calling	1979		14				76
65	Blur	Song 2	1997		71			15
66	Jam	That's Entertainment	1981	25		43
67	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Under The Bridge	1992	24				45
68	Radiohead	Karma Police	1997		33			33
69	Sex Pistols	God Save The Queen	1977		18		65
70	Ottis Redding	(Stittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay	1968		89	59			24
71	Pink Floyd	Wish You Were Here (*)	1975		26	45
72	Beatles	In My Life (*)	1965		57	22
73	Police	Every Breath You Take	1983	37		83	45
74	Animals	House Of The Rising Sun	1964	65					22
75	Stone Roses	I Am The Resurrection	1992		93	61		28
76	Bryan Adams	(Everything I Do) I Do It For You	1991			91	18
77	Radiohead	Fake Plastic Trees	1995		54			27
78	Pink Floyd	Comfortably Numb (*)	1979		19	90
79	Van Morrison	Brown Eyed Girl	1967	42		100			44
80	Gerry Rafferty	Baker Street	1978			48	34
81	Beatles	She Loves You	1963				43		39
82	Dire Straits	Romeo And Juliet	1981	33		58
83	Rolling Stones	Jumping Jack Flash	1968	81					27
84	Celine Dion	My Heart Will Go On	1998				28	84
85	Puff Daddy And Faith Evans	I’ll Be Missing You	1997				36	60
86	Smiths	How Soon Is Now?	1985		56			51	77
87	Beatles	Help!	1965	38			60
88	U2	Where The Streets Have No Name	1987	94	43			63
89	David Bowie	Space Oddity	1975	35			70
90	David Bowie	Heroes	1977		68	75	61		97
91	David Bowie	Life On Mars	1973		45	57
92	LAs	There She Goes	1990		90			47	70
93	Righteous Brothers	Unchained Melody	1965				52		51
94	Jam	Going Underground / Dreams Of Children	1980	66	98				48
95	Smokey Robinson & The Miracles	Tracks Of My Tears	1969			98			35
96	Dexy's Midnight Runners	Come On Eileen	1982	46					63
97	Moody Blues	Nights In White Satin	1967			36			93
98	New Order	Blue Monday	1983		69			43
99	George Harrison	My Sweet Lord	1971			63	49
100	Eminem	Stan	2000		59		54
101	Manic Street Preachers	Motorcycle Emptiness	1992		88			41
102	Abba	The Winner Takes It All	1980		72		47
103	Kylie Minogue	Can't Get You Out Of My Head	2001		55		63
104	Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl	Fairytale of New York	1987	54	96	84
105	Scissor Sisters	Take Your Mama	2004	79	50
106	Elvis Presley	Heartbreak Hotel	1956				48		96
107	Crowded House	Don't Dream It's Over	1987	78		55
108	10CC	I’m Not In Love	1975			92	50
109	Verve	The Drugs Don’t Work	1997		60		73
110	Kinks	Lola	1960	67					66
111	Human League	Don’t You Want Me	1981	86			57
112	Nilsson	Without You	1972			99	55
113	Cher	Believe	1998				84	66
114	Glen Campbell	Wichita Lineman	1969			87			72
115	David Gray	Babylon	2000	88	76
116	Bryan Adams	Summer Of ’69	1985			95	75
117	Paul Weller	Wild Wood	1999	92				81
118	Jimi Hendrix Experience	Voodoo Chile	1970		85		93

No other singles have made the Top 100 in two or more of the included charts.
Notes:
• Polls which place restrictions on voting (eg. by allowing voting only for tracks which made no. 1 - such as this one broadcast on Radio 2 in Nov 2002) have deliberately been excluded from the compilation process.
  
  
  
• There is a popular misconception that Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" has never been released as a single. In fact it has been issued as such on three separate occasions, failing to make even the lower reaches of the chart each time.