30 songs you can't live without

[maximzub]

You know how famous musicians often get asked what are their "desert island" albums? The ones that they would have with them if that was all they could listen to. Well, I tried this myself, and realized that I couldn't really choose 5 albums (for example) without sacrificing most of my favorite songs. So I decided to do it a little differently. I challenged some friends to this, and I'm also wondering what people on here think. If you had to be stuck listening to the same 30 songs for a period of time, what would you choose? In other words, what are 30 songs you can't live without? This can be from any album by any artist (except yourself, if applicable). Bonus points if you can explain why.

[maximzub]

Here are my 30 songs I can't live without, complete with explanations.

1. "Nona/Kosovski božuri/Sama" by YU Grupa. Technically this is three songs in one, but it counts. There’s so much musical greatness going on in this song. Every instrument has the chance to shine. And speaking of every instrument, this is a great example of bare-basics instrumentation, with just two guitars, bass, and drums. Crazy drum rhythms that you don’t often hear in rock music, awesome dual lead guitars…what more could you ask for?

2. "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. Out of all the songs on this list, I feel like this one has the most qualities that define it as an anthem. And a great one at that. And it’s a great song in pretty much any form, whether it’s the uptempo electric version or the slower, more ballady acoustic version.

3. "If It Means A Lot To You" by A Day To Remember. Not many songs have this structure. Most of the way through it’s a calm ballad with just acoustic guitars and vocals and no drums. But as the lyrics get darker and the female character in the story loses hope of a successful relationship with the male character while he is away, the instruments slowly build up to heavy. And the ending is somehow both happy (because finally everybody is singing “la la la”) and sad (because the female character has pretty much lost all her hope) at the same time. I don’t think I’ve heard any other song that has the music complementing the lyrics as well as this one.

4. "The Bliss" by Volbeat, and…

5. "Lola Montez" by Volbeat. I’ll explain these two together. Both are amazing examples of happy, driving hard rock songs. The key difference is the lyrics: while Lola Montez is more of a fun song about an exotic dancer, The Bliss has a more profound meaning of discovering oneself again. Because of this, I can’t choose one or the other. I need both of these songs in the list. Plus, Lola Montez has awesome guitar solos and some elements that qualify it as a metal song while still retaining the happy rock vibe.

6. "Addicted To Pain" by Alter Bridge. The last two songs were happy hard rock. This is not happy, but it’s still hard rock. And it’s perfect at being that. Amazing riff, amazing vocal melodies, amazing drumming, amazing solo…is that enough amazings? Sure, they may have other songs that check these boxes, but I don’t think there’s any one song more well-crafted than this one. And it’s so fun to air drum to.

7. "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin. Well, this has many of the qualities that Addicted To Pain has. Why is it on my list? Because there’s something about the half-time drums in the chorus that makes it such a headbanger. Plus it’s another song that could qualify as an anthem because of its lyrics. Great singalong and it’s one song that I feel like jumping around to.

8. "Watch Over You" by Alter Bridge. I haven’t had any ballads in the list yet (besides If It Means A Lot To You, which is more of a half-ballad). This one is perfect to have on here. Even though it’s lower than most things he sings, this is probably one of Myles Kennedy’s best vocal performances. You can really feel all the emotion in his voice. I’m not sure how else to word it.

9. "Breath" by Breaking Benjamin. Out of the heavy modern rock songs on this list, this one is an outlier as it doesn’t really have a main riff. But that’s not a problem at all. This is one I find myself liking to sing along or lip-sync along to. It has that singability that I think few modern hard rock songs have. Plus, it’s got some very tasty vocal harmonies by Ben and lots of scattered lead guitar parts throughout. Considering how simple the song sounds, there are actually a lot of nuances that are easy to miss, and I keep discovering more every time I listen to the song.

10. "Pawns & Kings" by Alter Bridge. This may not be their best epic song, but it’s probably their most accessible. It follows a more-or-less typical song structure, but everything about it sounds larger than life. They chucked everything they could into this song.

11. "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin. Simply because of THAT RIFF. And the lead guitar melody in the verses.

12. "Breathe Again" by Pop Evil. Here’s another one that is both a headbanger and an anthem. The reason why I include it on the list in addition to I Will Not Bow is because this is more than just straight-up hard rock. There’s elements of hard rock, djent, heavy metal, and electronic, all lumped into one song. And while I normally disapprove of electronic elements in rock songs, over here they made it subtle. It’s not like they added some synths or trap drums that could not be reproduced live.

13. "Love Bites (So Do I)" by Halestorm. Probably one of the fastest songs on the list, because the list needs that. Also, I don’t think I’ve heard such a good yet simple chorus like this one. This is proof that you don’t always need to have good lyrics for a chorus; you could just repeat the song title or a variation of it and it sometimes works. And can we talk about that bridge? It’s so frantic. The drumming, the guitar riffs, the screaming…but it’s not out of control. It’s actually so well executed.

14. "Strange Girl" by Halestorm. With pretty much any song, I have something to complain about, even my favorite songs. Not this one. This is a perfect song in every way. It takes everything good about Halestorm, turns it up to 11, and chucks it all into one song. What more can I say?

15. "Cry Of Achilles" by Alter Bridge. I already included one epic by them on the list, but I have to include this one because it’s different. It may be less accessible, but there’s a lot more musical greatness going on here across all instruments.

16. "Rebel Monster" by Volbeat. Sometimes it’s okay to let loose and play something really heavy that isn’t really controlled. This song is what you get. And still there’s a melodic chorus with it. I was blown away by this song when I first heard it, and it still does that to me now.

17. "If Not For You" by Tremonti. Even though it’s my favorite Tremonti song, this barely made the list because it has a lot of similarities to other hard rock songs that made the list. I think the reasons why it made the list are the drops and everything that’s going on during the chorus.

18. "The First The Last" by Tremonti. Since I don’t have that many ballads on the list, I’ll throw one here. Since I also don’t have many love songs on the list, I’ll throw this one on. Even though it’s a ballad, it has that heaviness that the other ballads on this list don’t have. Plus, the lyrics are very emotional. They remind me of Addison, and I would like to have at least one song that reminds me of her if I don’t have Still Friends and Crushless Summer.

19. "Now And Forever" by Tremonti. Probably only because of that breakdown.

20. "Tourniquet" by Breaking Benjamin. I don’t like when songs rely on screaming to be angry. This one doesn’t need screaming to be one of the angriest songs I’ve ever heard. I don’t think I have anything else this angry on the list, so I’ll throw it on.

21. "Don't Tread On Me" by Volbeat, originally by Metallica. They really made this song their own. And I didn’t have anything of this tempo on this list. Nor did I have many songs that could really be considered metal. So this one has to make the list, because it’s what I like to call “controlled heavy metal”.

22. "Apocalyptic" by Halestorm. This one taps heavily into Lzzy’s sexy vocal style, which I didn’t have any of on the list yet. And it’s not just her vocals that make the song sexy; the lead guitar lines in the first half of the song and the drumming do as well. Towards the end, however, the guitar solo is sadder, a reflection of the lyrics (the relationship in the story is coming to an end). It’s another song where the music complements the lyrics better than most.

23. "Slaytan / Dead But Rising" by Volbeat. Because I need another “controlled heavy metal” song on this list. Preferably one in the best tuning of all time, Standard D.

24. "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles. Most of what I had on the list so far is modern hard rock, but I do love classic rock as well. You almost can’t go wrong with the blues chord progression.

25. "Break In" by Halestorm. Yes, I do like songs without drumming and distorted guitars. This one has so much emotion and I never thought I would like piano as much as I do in this song. It's one of few songs that can make me cry.

26. "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit. I need a party rock song to help round out this list.

27. "Monster You Made" by Pop Evil. A stark contrast to the other Pop Evil song on this list, but it's necessary because Pop Evil used to make songs that perfectly rode the line between classic rock and modern rock. This is a great example of that, and a great ballad too. The main arpeggio is iconic.

28. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Daughtry, originally by Journey. First of all, it's a modern take on a classic rock song, which I love. It's probably the best example of this that I've heard so far. Also, I love duets only if the two voices are different enough, but on the same level skill-wise. Not only are Chris Daughtry's and Lzzy Hale's voices on the same level, but that level is really high!

29. "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. Want iconic riffs? Here you go. Also, I had to include at least one song that I grew up with.

30. "Blackbird" by Alter Bridge. While not one of my favorite songs, this is probably the best Alter Bridge song ever, and maybe it's one of the best songs ever, period. One of the best solos ever. One of the best vocal performances ever. One of the best put together long songs ever. That's enough to say about it.

[gbruin]

That turns out to be not very many songs and requires a lot of thought. I started making some notes and narrowed it down to about a hundred songs over forty+ bands. I went back and culled it to around 70.

Geez. This is impossible. I limited it to a max of 2 songs/band and I still had well over 50.

I can't do it.

If I do one song per band, and omitting solo acts (Tremonti, Todd LaTorre, MK, etc) which leaves out a ton of amazing songs, I'm still at almost 40. This sucks.

In very vague order:

Iron Maiden: Paschendale
AB: One Day Remains
Kamelot: My Therapy
Queensrÿche: Take Hold of the Flame
Metallica: Disposable Heroes
Armored Saint: Last Train Home
Gn'R: Rocket Queen
Skid Row: Wasted Time
Nevermore: Dreaming Neon Black
Journey: Faithfully
The Alarm: Spirit of '76
Tesla: Love Song
Van Halen: Dreams
Anthrax: Only
Dio: Rainbow In The Dark
Shinedown: Sound Of Madness
Bruce Dickinson: Tears Of The Dragon
Iced Earth: The Gettysburg Trilogy (The Devil To Pay, Hold At All Costs, High Water Mark)
Pantera: Cemetery Gates
Pearl Jam: Black
Bad Company: Shooting Star
Styx: Come Sail Away
Foreigner: Juke Box Hero
Boston: Foreplay/LongTime
Damn Yankees: High Enough
Ozzy: Shot In The Dark
Dream Theater: Pull Me Under
The Grandmaster: Someday Somehow
Seventh Wonder: The Light
Nothing More: Funny Little Creatures
Sarayasign: Distant Memories
REO Speedwagon: Take It On The Run
Serentity: Engraved Within
Edguy: 9-2-9
Evanescence: Bring Me To Life
Rush: Red Barchetta
Avantasia: Ghost In The Moon