Dr. L's "Top 10+" Lists

[Top 10+ Albums | Top 10+ Tracks | Top 10+ Beatles Tracks | Top 10+ Songs with a Message |
Top 10+ Unique Tracks | Top 10+ Albums You May Not Have Heard (but Should!) | Top 10+ Tim Minchin Tracks]

[still in-progress: Top 10+ List of Hit Single Perfection | Top 10+ Singers I Wish I Could Sound Like]

Lists Last Updated: April 3, 2026 12:39 PM

Introduction

As a continuation of the "Get to Know Your Prof!" assignment, I provide this set of "Top 10+" lists, revealing my personal, musical preferences developed over my lifetime (I was born in August 1959). In my general education music courses (Music 151: Rock History to 1980 & Music 351: The Beatles), I require all students enrolled to submit a Top 10 list of their favorite rock songs (Music 151) or favorite Beatles songs (Music 351). Over the course of the semester, students submit the list three times: initial (about 1 month into class), revised (near the middle of the semester), & final (at the very end of the semester). When I consider a group of songs in order of preference, those preferences change almost every time I look at the list, so I expect to see some changes from beginning to end of the semester. I will confess that I am also hopeful the music that students listen to in my classes challenges them at times and introduces them to music they would not otherwise have heard. So you will know when the lists were last updated, I include -- near the top of the page -- the date when this page was last updated, saved, and uploaded to this website.

The purpose of this set of Top 10+ lists is to model for students the process of representing their musical preferences in hierarchical order, providing an opportunity for me to "model" that behavior. While the assignments in my classes involve creating a "Top 10" list (a list of 10 songs in order of preference, most-liked to least-liked among the limited set), you will find that the lists below are labeled "10+," allowing me to extend the lists beyond a mere 10 songs. You can consider the songs listed after #10 as "honorable mention" tracks, which are also listed in order of preference. I hope you enjoy perusing these lists ... it was a lot of fun to create them. I'm going to maintain and update them as time goes on.

Top 10+ Albums [on Spotify]
  1. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
  2. Aja, Steely Dan
  3. Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars, David Bowie
  4. Abbey Road, Beatles
  5. A Night at the Opera, Queen [near tie: Sheer Heart Attack]
  6. Jaco Pastorus, Jaco Pastorius
    • remember, I'm a bass player; this album rocked my world & opened my eyes to new possibilities for the instrument (e.g., speed, dexterity, and harmonics)!! Before Jaco, I didn't know I could do that!! :)
  7. Spilt Milk, Jellyfish
  8. Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra, Tim Minchin
    • an even better performance — if you can find it! — the video recorded at Royal Albert Hall, where he performed to two sold-out houses during the weekend of the Royal Wedding (Will & Kate)
  9. Metropolis, Part 2, Dream Theater
  10. Netherlands, Dan Fogelberg
  11. Overnight Sensation, Frank Zappa
  12. Rockin’ the Suburbs, Ben Folds
  13. Nilsson Schmilsson, Harry Nilsson
  14. The Stranger, Billy Joel
  15. Toto IV, Toto [near tie: Toto [debut album]]
  16. The Nightfly, Donald Fagen (vocalist, Steely Dan)
  17. Armed Forces, Elvis Costello
  18. Ten Summoners Tales, Sting
  19. 2112, Rush
  20. Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe), the Alan Parsons Project
  21. Desolation Boulevard, The Sweet
  22. Are You Experienced?, Jimi Hendrix
  23. Boston, Boston (debut)

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Top 10+ Tracks [on Spotify]
  1. A Day in the Life, Beatles
  2. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
  3. Kid Charlemagne, Steely Dan [near tie: Deacon Blues]
  4. God Only Knows, Beach Boys
  5. Come Together, Beatles
  6. Starship Trooper, Yes
  7. Imagine, John Lennon
  8. Tom Sawyer, Rush
  9. Yesterday, Beatles
  10. All Right Now, Free
  11. Paranoid, Black Sabbath 
  12. The Decline, NoFX [almost 20 minutes long, but worth every second ... fasten your seatbelts!!]
  13. The Luckiest, Ben Folds [near tie: Rockin' the Suburbs]
  14. Scene 4: Beyond This Life, Dream Theater
  15. American Idiot, Green Day
  16. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression, Part 2), Emerson, Lake & Palmer
  17. East River, Brecker Brothers
  18. Alison, Elvis Costello [near tie: Everyday I Write the Book]
  19. Ballroom Blitz, The Sweet [near tie: Fox on the Run]
  20. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
  21. Burning Down the House, Talking Heads [near tie: Once in a Lifetime]
  22. Paranoid Android, Radiohead
  23. My Generation, The Who
  24. White America, Eminem [near tie: Without Me]
  25. Sweet Child o' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses
  26. He's My Best Friend, Jellyfish
  27. Let It Roll, Little Feat
  28. You Are So Beautiful, Joe Cocker
  29. Lady, Little River Band
  30. It's Oh So Quiet, Björk
  31. Cruise Control, Dixie Dregs
  32. You're Breakin' My Heart, Harry Nilsson

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Top 10+ Beatles Tracks [on Spotify]
  1. A Day in the Life
  2. Come Together
  3. Strawberry Fields Forever
  4. Something
  5. You Won't See Me
  6. Imagine [solo John Lennon]
  7. Penny Lane
  8. Paperback Writer
  9. Rain
  10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  11. Get Back
  12. Hey Jude
  13. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
  14. Nowhere Man
  15. The Long and Winding Road
  16. Let It Be
  17. I Want to Hold Your Hand
  18. The Fool on the Hill
  19. I'm So Tired
  20. Got to Get You Into My Life
  21. Here, There, and Everywhere
  22. Revolution (single version)
  23. Lady Madonna
  24. I'm Only Sleeping
  25. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Medley [Wings (Paul McCartney)]
  26. I've Got a Feeling
  27. Ticket to Ride
  28. Here Comes the Sun
  29. I Saw Her Standing There
  30. Helter Skelter
  31. Two of Us
  32. Back in the U.S.S.R.
  33. Oh! Darling
  34. From Me to You
  35. Can't Buy Me Love
  36. She Loves You
  37. When I'm Sixty-Four
  38. Julia
  39. Her Majesty
  40. Savoy Truffle

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Top 10+ Songs With a Message [on Spotify]
  1. War, Edwin Starr [topic: anti-war]
  2. Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday [topic: racism]; perhaps the most disturbing use of "fruit" as a metaphor in the history of literature!
  3. American Idiot, Green Day [topic: politics & media]
  4. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan [topic: inequality/racism]
  5. Mississippi Goddam, Nina Simone [topic: inequality/racism]
  6. Fight the Power, Public Enemy [topic: political powe & inequality/racism]
  7. Freedom, Beyonce (feat. Kendrick Lamar) [topic: political power/inequality][near tie: Formation]
  8. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield [topic: anti-war protest]
  9. Ohio, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young [topic: National Guard killing four students at Kent State University; May 4, 1970]
  10. Self-Evident, Ani DiFranco [topic: 9/11 as an excuse to go to war]
  11. One Tin Soldier (Theme Song for The Legend of Billy Jack), Coven [topic: anti-violence & political protest]
  12. Masters of War, Bob Dylan [topic: anti-war]
  13. The Message,  Grand Master Flash & the Furious Five (feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee) [topic: inequality]
  14. A Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke [topic: racism/inequality]
  15. American Skin (41 Shots), Bruce Springsteen [topic: anti-violence & inequality]
  16. Fuck tha Police, N.W.A. (topic: police violence)
  17. The Blacker Berry, Kendrick Lamar [topic: racial violence & inequality]
  18. This Land is Your Land, Woody Guthrie [topic: national pride]
  19. What's Going On?, Marvin Gaye [topic: racism/inequality]
  20. Imagine, John Lennon [topic: anti-war, anti-religion] [near tie: Give Peace a Chance]
  21. Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2 [topic: anti-violence & media; 1972 massacre of protestors in Derry (northern Ireland)] [near tie: Pride (In the Name of Love) [topic: non-violence & equality (in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.]]
  22. Black & White, Three Dog Night [topic: racial harmony & equality; though released in 1972, inspired by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools]
  23. Thank You God, Tim Minchin [topic: religion]
  24. We Shall Overcome, Pete Seeger [topic: civil rights & equality]
  25. A Church is Burning, Simon & Garfunkel [topic: racial violence & media][near tie: 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night]
  26. I Ain't Marching Anymore, Phil Ochs [topic: anti-war]
  27. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival [topic: anti-war & social/racial inequality]
  28. Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine [topic: police brutality, systemic racism, & abuse of power]
  29. Biko, Peter Gabriel [topic: police violence; honors anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who was killed in police custody in 1977 in South Africa]
  30. Clampdown, the Clash [topic: suppression of youthful idealism, individuality, and rebellion by a conformist capitalist system, fascism, and monotonous work][near tie: Washington Bullets]
  31. Birmingham Sunday, Joan Baez [topic: racial violence; a protest song about the September 15, 1963, 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, when the KKK killed four young African-American girls, naming them: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley]
  32. People Have the Power, Patti Smith [topic: promotes collective empowerment, social change, and the ability of ordinary people to shape history; a call to action]
  33. God Save the Queen, Sex Pistols [topic: a satirical, anti-authoritarian punk anthem attacking the British monarchy and social stagnation; release of this track was timely, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee]

    34. Global Voices on America (more recent recordings):
  34. This is America, Childish Gambino [topic: U.S. gun violence, systemic racism, and the entertainment industry's role in distracting from these issues]
  35. El Apagon, Bad Bunny [topic: government corruption, gentrification, & frequent power outages; an anthem celebrating local culture in Puerto Rico]
  36. This is Not America, Residente [topic: cultural identity; challenges the U.S.-centric definition of "America"]

    Using the "protest song" format for tongue-in-cheek, humorous presentations:
  37. Almost Cut My Hair, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young [topic: defiance against societal conformity and police harassment]
  38. M.T.A., the Kingston Trio [topic: protests a 5-cent fare increase that forced Boston passengers to pay to exit the train!!]

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Top 10+ Unique Tracks [on Spotify]
  1. Revolution 9, Beatles
  2. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
  3. Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
  4. Good Vibrations, Beach Boys [near tie: Heroes and Villains]
  5. They're Coming to Take Me Away, Napoleon XIV
  6. Witch Doctor, David Seville & the Chipmunks [near tie: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)]
  7. The Decline, NoFX
  8. Symphony for the Devil/Sympathy for the Devil, Blood, Sweat & Tears
  9. Help, I'm a Rock/It Can't Happen Here, Frank Zappa
  10. It's the End of the World As We Know It, R.E.M.
  11. Jesus of Suburbia, Green Day
  12. I'd Rather Be Dead, Harry Nilsson
  13. O Superman, Laurie Anderson
  14. Word Crimes, "Weird Al" Yankovic
    • like many comedians, I consider Weird Al quite brilliant [Beware: if you listen carefully, you may learn something from this track!]
  15. It's Oh So Quiet, Björk [near tie: Cvalda from the soundtrack for Dancer in the Dark]
  16. A Quick One, While He's Away, the Who
  17. F Sharp, Tim Minchin
  18. One Tin Soldier, Coven
  19. BOOM BAP, Doechii
  20. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow, Frank Zappa [near tie: The Central Scrutinizer]
  21. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Medley, Paul McCartney & Wings
  22. The Magician's Birthday, Uriah Heep (check out the kazoo virtuosity; beginning @ 1:35)
  23. We Didn't Start the Fire, Billy Joel [near tie: Scandanavian Skies]
  24. If You Wanna Boogie, Brecker Brothers
  25. Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads
  26. Dreadlock Holiday, 10cc
  27. Now Do You Wannta Dance, Graham Central Station [near tie: Happ-E-2C-U-A-Ginn]
  28. Rap God, Eminem [rap flow speed; 4:25]
  29. The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag, Country Joe & the Fish
  30. River Why, Manu Chao
  31. Flies, Cheekface

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Top 10+ Albums You May Not Have Heard ... But Definitely Worth a Listen! [on Spotify]
Before I get started with this list, there are two albums that I want to recommend highly ... but I also want to acknowledge a potential "conflict of interest." ;) The two albums below (before we get to my 10+) are ones that I strongly recommend:
  • Mr. Green, Volume 1, Carney
  • Good as New, Aiden Moore
My son, Aiden Moore, is bassist for Carney (Interscope recording artists), and the 2nd album above is one of his solo recordings. The Carney album remains one of my all-time favorites, and it is not because my son is playing on the album. It is a truly phenomenal album ... very creative songwriting, superb musicianship (even virtuosic at times), and the production is excellent. I also really love Good as New, which is in a lighter, folk-influenced style. I hope you'll listen to both of these albums and let me know what you think about them.

  1. Spilt Milk, Jellyfish
  2. Metropolis, Part 2, Dream Theater
  3. Sheer Heart Attack, Queen
  4. Desolation Boulevard, The Sweet
  5. Rockin' the Suburbs, Ben Folds
  6. Nilsson Schmilsson, Harry Nilsson
  7. Over-Night Sensation, Frank Zappa
  8. Boston, Boston
  9. Mandatory Fun, "Weird Al" Yankovic
  10. Last of the Runaways, Giant
  11. Comfort Eagle, Cake

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Top 10+ Tim Minchin Tracks [on Spotify]

Why Tim Minchin? That's a reasonable question. During a sabbatical from my position at the University of Minnesota (January 2011), my family & I were living in New York City. My wife stumbled upon Tim Minchin's musical performance on a Showtime special ... it was a one-and-a-half-hour version of his two-and-a-half-hour concert at the Royal Albert Hall (2010) (to rent or buy via YouTube). To this day, it remains one of my, favorite musical performances ever, and he performed for two sold-out nights at the Royal Albert Hall during the Royal Wedding (Will & Kate). I identified Tim Minchin as my "musical discovery" for 2011 ... wondering why I hadn't heard of him earlier. I consider his comedy performances the pinnacle of his success. In my opinion, he is not only a highly creative, gifted creative talent, he is also a truly phenomenal performer, composer, and comedian. [Side note: I consider comedians among the most highly intelligent communicators in our culture.] Tim brings together his musical brilliance (not a word I use often) with what I consider to be hilariously comedic narratives between the songs. Many of his lyrics are either outright hilarious or cause you to think ... a LOT! He then went on to portray Judas in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "arena tour" of Jesus Christ Superstar (DVD released 2012); as you may be aware, that story is told through the eyes of Judas. Then, he went on to create the music and lyrics for Broadway musicals: Matilda (2011) and Groundhog Day (2017).

I hope you enjoy the songs below. Like any decent comedian, these days, I guarantee that just about everyone will be offended by at least something he says, sings, or does. I encourage you to take it as a challenge ... and think!!
  1. Prejudice
  2. Thank You God
  3. Storm
  4. If I Didn't Have You
  5. F Sharp
  6. White Wine in the Sun
  7. School Song [from Matilda]
    • listen carefully and you will hear the alphabet integrated into the lyrics (warning: in Australia & Britain, the letter "z" is represented as "zed"
  8. Cont
    • YOU MUST COMMIT!! ... if you begin this song, you HAVE TO commit to finishing the track. [Otherwise, in Tim's words, he "might be misconstrued."]
  9. Lullaby
  10. Mitsubishi Colt
  11. If This Plane Goes Down
  12. Not Perfect [a pretty awesome life philosophy, if you ask me ...]

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In-Progress Lists Below ... not quite yet "Ready for PrimeTime"

 

Top 10+ List of Hit Single Perfection [on Spotify]
  1. Come and Get It, Badfinger (composed & arranged by Paul McCartney)
  2. Imagine, John Lennon
  3. Hip to Be Square, Huey Lewis & the News
  4. I've Got the Music in Me, Kiki Dee
  5. Yesterday, Beatles
  6.  

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Top 10+ Singers I Wish I Could Sound Like [on Spotify]
  1. Carry On Wayward Son, Kansas (Steve Walsh, keys)
  2. Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say), Jesus Christ Superstar (Ian Gillan, Deep Purple vocalist)
  3. I Can't Tell You Why, Eagles (Timothy Schmit)
  4. One on One, Hall & Oates (Daryl Hall)
  5. The Night Owls, Little River Band (Wayne Nelson, bassist)
  6. All in Love is Fair, Stevie Wonder
  7. Now and Then, Kenny Loggins 
  8. Faithfully, Journey (Steve Perry)
  9. Without You, Harry Nilsson
  10. New York State of Mind, Billy Joel [near tie: She's Got a Way]
  11. Kiss, Prince [near tie: Let's Go Crazy]
  12. One Bad Habit, Michael Franks

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