The Countdown Begins!

When looking at this countdown you may notice that some groups/artists have more songs on here than others. You might not agree with the breakdown. You might think this list is filled mainly with our favorites. All I can tell you is we tried to be as unbiased as any other news organization out there (like CNN, NPR and the New York Times). I’m sure you will agree we succeeded as much as they have. All I can say is we did our best. Also, you may note that some of the songs on this list are covers. That’s because I like that version more than the original. Or, in some cases, I liked both and both are on the list. Sometimes I will remember to point out cover songs… but sometimes I might forget. Sorry to all of the original artists out there. Email me and I’ll change it. Now, let’s get the I’m just sayin… Top 1,081 Songs of All Time countdown started! (*Note: I got lyrics off various sites on the internet... google the song and I'm sure you'll see the site(s) I used)

1081 - “Your Favorite Song Not On The List” by Various

That’s right, we’re starting this list with a blank. It’s pure genius if you ask me. Now you can’t complain to me that your favorite song was left off the list because… well, it’s here! I think every list should start like this. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

1080 - “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears

“When I’m not with you I lose my mind/ Give me a sign/ Hit me baby one more time”

There are some Britney Spears songs on here to prove that it’s not just songs I like on this list. The Wife loves her though. I don’t just mean back when this song came out… I mean even after all of these years, The Wife still loves her. Very strange…

1079 - “Everything I Own” by Vanessa Hudgens

“I would give everything I own/ Just to have you back again”

Call me what you want, but I like this song and I like her singing it. Honestly, I have no idea who she is… I saw her sing it in some movie that was on HBO one morning when I was getting ready for work and I was hooked.

1078 - “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” by Def Leppard

“Here I am, I’m in the wrong bed again/ It’s a game I just can’t win”

Here we have Def Leppard with their first (but not last) song on the list. I don’t think it is one of their more well known songs, but it is a good one.

1077 - “Whiskey River” by Willie Nelson

“Whiskey river, take my mind/ Don’t let her memory torture me/ Whiskey river, don’t run dry/ You’re all I’ve got, take care of me”

And now we have Willie Nelson on the list. This is a great little old school-type country song. Using whiskey to erase the memory of a woman… What great advice.

1076 - “Didn't We Almost Have It All” by Whitney Houston

“Didn’t we almost have it all/ When love was all we had worth giving?/ The ride with you was worth the fall my friend/ Loving you makes life worth living”

Whitney Houston… How great was she? We’ll be seeing more of her songs on this list. Man she was great… up until ‘crack is whack’. That should be a lesson to all the kids out there.

1075 - “We Are The World” by USA for Africa

“We are the world/ We are the children/ We are the ones who make a brighter day/ So let’s start giving”

Call me an old sap, but I like this song. I remember I had the record (as in, you could only listen to it on a record player). I like the different voices singing it. Is it the best song ever? No… but it’s good enough to make this list.

1074 - “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman

“You got a fast car/ I want a ticket to anywhere/ Maybe we make a deal/ Maybe together we can get somewhere”

I like how simple this song it. And the tempo of it. It also helps that Tracy Chapman has a voice that’s easy to sing with.

1073 - “Make This Day” by Zac Brown Band

“I passed out last night, and I never made it home/ Wound up on a bus to San Antone/ Now my head hurts bad/ And I ain’t wearin’ shoes”

I don’t think I knew about this band a year ago. But now that I know about them, I love them. This is just one of many songs on the list.

1072 - “Still of the Night” by Whitesnake

“In the still of the night/ I hear the wolf howl, honey/ Sniffing around your door/ In the still of the night/ I feel my heart beating heavy/ Telling me I gotta have more”

I love the way this song just jumps out from the start. Your throat will hurt if you try to sing along with it… but it’s still a good song.

1071 - “Ala-Freakin-Bama” by Trace Adkins

“I said slow down sister/ Don’t mean to make you mad/ I grew up on Skynyrd/ And I’m a Bear Bryant fan”

One thing I love about Country songs is the name-dropping that happens in a lot of them. This is the kind of song that can get stuck in your head.

1070 - “I'm Alright” by Jo Dee Messina

“Well we had a lot of dreams when we were younger/ They thought we were crazy but we had the hunger/ We kept a lot of friends, skipped a lot of class/ Been on top of the world and knocked on our ___”

I like the lyrics to this one. It seems so simple to write… but I didn’t write it. Still, kind of a fun song to listen to.

1069 - “Four On The Floor” by Lee Brice

“We got the horses moving/ we got the woofers grooving/ we got the Waylon wailin/ everybody’s head is bobbin”

I like the beat of this song. And I like the reference to Waylon Jennings.

1068 - “Lightning Crashes” by Live

“Oh, I feel it comin’ back again/ Like a rollin’ thunder chasing the wind/ Forces pullin’ from the center of the Earth again/ I can feel it”

I’ve liked this song from the first time I heard it back in high school (I think I was in high school).

1067 - “Letter To My Penis” by Rodney Carrington

“Dear Rodney/ I don’t think I like you anymore/ ‘Cause when you get to drinkin’/ You put me places I’ve never been before/ Dear Rodney/ I don’t like you anymore."

The first (but not last) Comedy song on the list. It was hard for me to find lyrics to put on here… but man this song is funny.

1066 - “Every Morning” by Sugar Ray

“Something’s got me reeling/ Stopped me from believing/ Turn me around again”

I don’t remember when it came out, but I remember this mainly from my college days. A good song… nothing great… but good enough for the list.

1065 - “Hell, I Can Do That” by Trace Adkins

“Oh hell baby, I can do that/ I don’t see the big deal/ Kiss a girl, save the world and the monster ain’t even real/ He just takes off his shirt/ Stuntman does the work/ He gets a boat load of cash, for a quick shot of his ass/ Hell, I can do that”

A great song because I can see myself saying the things he sings about in this song.

1064 - “I'd Rather Miss You” by Little Texas

“And if I have to choose/ Between living without you/ And learning to love someone new/ Then I’d rather miss you”

This is a nice little song by Little Texas. Nice slow pace.

1063 - “Drinkin' Bone” by Tracy Byrd

“The drinkin’ bone is connected to the party bone/ The party bone’s connected to the stayin’ out all night long/ And she won’t think it’s funny/ And I’ll wind up all alone”

A funny drinking song that I like to listen to… even when I’m not drinking.

1062 - “Cold Hearted” by Zac Brown Band

“Fell to my knees with a knife in my back/ Never thought you’d be the kind to do something like that/ But you did/ Cold hearted”

Who doesn’t like a Country song about someone doing someone wrong?

1061 - “Some Guys Have All the Luck” by Rod Stewart

“All of my friends have a ring on their finger/ They have someone/ Someone to care for them it ain’t fair/ I got no one”

A nice little song by Rod Stewart about me. Ok, not really about me… but since I got married before most of my friends, I guess I was the guy with all the luck. If you want to look at it that way… ;)

1060 - “Closer To Fine” by Indigo Girls

“The best thing you’ve ever done for me/ Is to help me take my life less seriously/ It’s only life after all”

The only Indigo Girls song on the list. I included it because word on the street is that one of my loyal readers is a huge fan of the Indigo Girls. That, and I kind of like the song a little. I remember hearing Hootie and The Blowfish sing the first verse (in the middle of “Only Wanna Be With You”) during a concert (that was broadcast over the radio) back when I was in high school. Kind of a catchy little number… simple music wise, but I like the lyrics.

1059 - “Take It on the Run” by REO Speedwagon

“But I know the neighborhood/ And talk is cheap when the story is good/ And the tales grow taller on down the line”

This song takes me back to my childhood in the ‘80s… probably a big reason it’s on the list.

1058 - “Oops!... I Did It Again” by Britney Spears

“I think I did it again, I made you believe/ We’re more than just friends”

The only thing more surprising by the fact that two Britney Spears songs are on this list, is the fact that there is one more left.

1057 - “Sacrifice” by Elton John

“Mutual misunderstanding/ After the fact/ Sensitivity builds a prison/ In the final act”

The only real question is can an Elton John song written by/with Bernie Taupin be left off this list. I honestly don’t know.

1056 - “What the Hell Happened to Me?” by Adam Sandler

“I used to ride my big wheel, and sell lemonade,/ Eat popcorn with grandpa while we watched the parade/ But now I’m only happy when I’m drinking J.D./ What they hell happened to me?”

Another Comedy song on the list. I was hooked after hearing the above lyrics.

1055 - “Meet in the Middle” by Diamond Rio

“It was seven hundred fence posts from your place to ours/ Neither one of us was old enough to drive a car/ Sometimes it was raining, sometimes it would shine/ We wore out that gravel road between your house and mine"

I don’t think I can name another Diamond Rio song, but I like this one.

1054 - “Last Man Standing” by Bon Jovi

“It might change the way you think/ There’s no dancers, there’s no diamonds/ No this boy he don’t lip synch”

A song about an old rock n’ roller from their Have a Nice Day album.

1053 - “She Ain't Worth It” by Glenn Medeiros with Bobby Brown

“Better make tracks fast on the double/ The girl’s jazzy, but she’s nothin’ but trouble”

If only I’d remembered these words of wisdom when I met The Wife…

1052 - “More Than Words” by Extreme

“More than words is all you have to do to make it real/ Then you wouldn’t have to say that you love me/ ‘Cause I’d already know”

I wasn’t a fan of Gary Cherone with Van Halen… but I like him with Extreme singing this song.

1051 - “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls

“And I don’t want the world to see me/ ‘Cause I don’t think they’d understand/ When everything’s made to be broken/ I just want you to know who I am”

I like the vocals of this one. Not sure what it is… I just like it.

1050 - “Keep Me In Mind” by Zac Brown Band

“How come all the pretty girls like you are taken baby/ I’ve been looking for someone like you to save me/ Life’s to easy to be so damn complicated”

The lyrics to this one aren’t really my favorite, but I like the musical part.

1049 - “Last Cigarette” by Bon Jovi

“Your love’s like one last cigarette/ Last cigarette, I will savor it/ The last cigarette/ Take it in and hold your breath, hope it never ends”

Not one of their more well known songs, but a good one nonetheless.

1048 - “The Whiskey Ain't Workin'” by Travis Tritt with Marty Stuart

“There was a time, I could drink my cares away/ And drown out all of the heartaches that hurt me night and day/ When the thought of you came crashing through/ I’d have one more, but now the whiskey ain’t workin’ anymore”

What a great song! How it isn’t ranked higher, I’ll never know… but what can I do? The whole staff voted and this is where it ended up. Another great Country song on this list.

1047 - “Heaven” by Warrant

“Heaven isn’t too far away/ Closer to it every day/ No matter what your friends might say…”

What list would be complete without a classic love ballad by Warrant

So there we are… the start of the list. Check back each day (I hope) to see where your favorite song is (hopefully it’s on the list and not at 1,081).

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Commander Willis Winter Bradley, Jr. (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on July 23, 1917 on board the USS Pittsburgh. His citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving on the U.S.S. Pittsburgh, at the time of an accidental explosion of ammunition on that vessel. On 23 July 1917, some saluting cartridge cases were being reloaded in the after casemate: through an accident an explosion occurred. Comdr. Bradley (then Lieutenant), who was about to enter the casemate, was blown back by the explosion and rendered momentarily unconscious, but while still dazed, crawled into the casemate to extinguish burning materials in dangerous proximity to a considerable amount of powder, thus preventing further explosions.

Chief Gunner’s Mate George F. Brady (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 11, 1898 at Cardenas, Cuba. His citation reads:

On board the torpedo boat Winslow during the actions at Cardenas, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Conspicuously gallant during this period, Brady, by his energy in assisting to sustain fire, his efforts to repair the steering gear and his promptness in maintaining watertight integrity, was largely instrumental in saving the vessel.

Private James Brady (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 29, 1864 at Chapins Farm, Virginia. His citation reads:

Capture of flag.