The Y! Music Playlist Blog

The Top 25 Songs of the Twentieth Century

By | The Y! Music Playlist Blog – Thu, May 29, 2008 3:29 PM EDT

The "Songs of the Century" list was put together as an music education tool by the Recording Industry of America Association (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Scholastic Inc. and AOL@School.

The stated goal behind the extensive list of songs is to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and cultural heritage" in American schools.

The way the songs were picked is a little bit fuzzy, but each was voted in by people in the music industry, the media, teachers, elected officials and students. Each person with a vote was asked to consider "historical significance" when making their selections.

The complete list includes the top 365 songs of the twentieth century as selected by this process.

Unfortunately, the methods used to select the voters has not been revealed and anything with the mark of the RIAA tends to be met with disdain by many. Sure, there are plenty of songs I would have picked over some of these, and the Beatles not appearing in the top 25 seems like a pretty massive blunder (they first appear at #28).  But at the end of the day this is a good list. 

I have included the top 25 "Songs of the Century" in this playlist.

The Top 25 Songs of The Century

1. Over The Rainbow - Judy Garland

2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby

3. This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie 

4. Respect - Aretha Franklin

5. American Pie - Don McLean

6. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews Sisters 

7. Maria - Broadway West Side Story Cast

8. Take Me Out To The Ballgame - Harvey Hindermyer

9. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - The Righteous Brothers

10. The Entertainer - Scott Joplin 

11. In The Mood - Glenn Miller

12. Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & The Comets 

13. When The Saints Go Marching In - Louis Armstrong

14. You Are My Sunshine - Gene Autry 

15. Mack The Knife - Bobby Darin

16. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones 

17. Take The 'A' Train - Duke Ellington

18. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino 

19. God Bless America - Kate Smith

20. Stars And Stripes Forever - John Phillip Sousa 

21. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

22. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding

23.  I Left My Heart In San Francisco - Tony Bennett

24. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys

25. Stand By Me - Ben E. King 

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