Category Archives: Music

Favorite Songs: A List

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My cousin Jack decided to make a list of his 60 favorite songs and asked family and friends to do the same. I couldn’t stop at 60, of course.  I ended up with a list of over 300 favorite songs.  In order to avoid having the list get even longer, I imposed some (somewhat random) restrictions on myself:

  • These are my favorite recordings of songs that I have listened to many times. So, in one case, I have listed the same song recorded by two different artists.
  • The songs are not ranked. I have listed them in chronological order.
  • I omitted classical, jazz, and blues, although I have many favorite songs/pieces in those genres.
  • I limited myself to a maximum of one song per musical artist. This was painful as I could have easily chosen multiple songs for certain artists (Buddy Holly, Beatles, Paul Simon/Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, New Pornographers, Aimee Mann, Wilco, Radiohead, etc.), but I felt the limitation was necessary to keep the list a reasonable length.  I made a few exceptions to this rule to accommodate situations when the same vocalist performed both as a solo artist as well as in a band (or in a duo or trio).
  • The list is limited to songs I had in my iTunes library in October/November 2026. If I used to own the album, CD, or tape of the song in the past or only heard it on the radio, I didn’t list it (e.g., Runaround Sue, American Pie).
  • These are not necessarily my favorite artists – there are numerous artists I like very much but for whom I could not identify a favorite song (Jason Isbell, Fairport Convention, SZA, The War on Drugs, Kendrick Lamar, Beach House, etc.).
  • Ask me the same question next year, and I might come up with an entirely different list.

Here is the list.  Feel free to use the comment section to share your favorite songs.

  1. Rocky Road Blues (1945) – Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys*
  2. Lost Highway (1949) – Hank Williams*
  3. The Man Who Got Away (1954) – Judy Garland
  4. Good Rockin’ Tonight (1954) – Elvis Presley**
  5. Not Fade Away (1956) – Buddy Holly*
  6. Right String Baby, Wrong Yo-Yo (1957) – Carl Perkins
  7. Whole Lotta Loving (1958) – Fats Domino
  8. Breathless (1958) – Jerry Lee Lewis
  9. Sleepwalk (1959) – Santo & Johnny
  10. Cathy’s Clown (1960) – The Everly Brothers
  11. Will You Love Me Tomorrow (1960) – The Shirelles
  12. Crying (1961) – Roy Orbison
  13. I Fall to Pieces (1961) – Patsy Cline*
  14. Do You Love Me (1962) – The Contours
  15. Something’s Got a Hold on Me (1962) – Etta James
  16. Bring It On Home to Me (1962) – Sam Cooke
  17. You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me (1962) – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*
  18. Be My Baby (1963) – The Ronettes
  19. No Particular Place to Go (1964) – Chuck Berry
  20. Fly Me to the Moon (1964) – Frank Sinatra
  21. Psycho (1965) – The Sonics
  22. She’s Not There (1965) – The Zombies
  23. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag (1965) – James Brown
  24. It’s My Life (1965) – The Animals
  25. Good Vibrations (1966) – The Beach Boys
  26. Love Is like an Itching in My Heart (1966) – The Supremes
  27. Try a Little Tenderness (1966) – Otis Redding**
  28. Go Where You Wanna Go (1966) – The Mamas and the Papas
  29. For What It’s Worth (1966) – Buffalo Springfield*
  30. Visions of Johanna (1966) – Bob Dylan
  31. I’m A Believer (1966) – The Monkees*
  32. A Day in the Life (1967) – The Beatles
  33. The End (1967) – The Doors
  34. All Tomorrow’s Parties (1967) – The Velvet Underground
  35. Darlin’ Be Home Soon (1967) – The Lovin’ Spoonful*
  36. You Set The Scene (1967) – Love
  37. Respect (1967) – Aretha Franklin**
  38. Nights in White Satin (1967) – The Moody Blues
  39. I Don’t Need No Doctor (1967) – Ray Charles
  40. My Back Pages (1967) – The Byrds**
  41. Alice’s Restaurant (1967) – Arlo Guthrie
  42. All Along the Watchtower (1968) – Jimi Hendrix**
  43. I Put a Spell on You (1968) – Creedence Clearwater Revival**
  44. Sweet Thing (1968) – Van Morrison
  45. The Weight (1968) – The Band
  46. Israelites (1968) – Desmond Dekker
  47. Son of a Preacher Man (1969) – Dusty Springfield
  48. Willie the Pimp (1969) – Frank Zappa (feat. Captain Beefheart)
  49. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (1969) – The Hollies
  50. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (1969) – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
  51. Gimme Shelter (1969) – The Rolling Stones
  52. Hot Fun in the Summertime (1969) – Sly & the Family Stone
  53. We Can Be Together (1969) – Jefferson Airplane
  54. Whipping Post (1969) – The Allman Brothers
  55. Conversation (1970) – Joni Mitchell*
  56. Quem Tem Medo De Brincar De Amor (1970) – Os Mutantes
  57. The Boxer (1970) – Simon & Garfunkel
  58. I’ll Be There (1970) – The Jackson 5
  59. Lola (1970) – The Kinks*
  60. Friend of the Devil (1970) – Grateful Dead*
  61. What Is Life (1970) – George Harrison
  62. God (1970) – John Lennon
  63. Layla (1970) – Derek & the Dominos
  64. Where Do the Children Play? (1970) – Cat Stevens*
  65. Northern Sky (1971) – Nick Drake
  66. Life on Mars (1971) – David Bowie
  67. (I Know) I’m Losing You (1971) – Rod Stewart
  68. Without You (1971) – Harry Nilsson
  69. Me and Bobby McGee (1971) – Janis Joplin**
  70. Will You Love Me Tomorrow (1971) – Carole King
  71. What’s Going On (1971) – Marvin Gaye
  72. Let’s Stay Together (1971) – Al Green
  73. I Know (1972) – Bonnie Raitt
  74. And You and I (1972) – Yes
  75. Supper’s Ready (1972) – Genesis
  76. Thirteen (1972) – Big Star
  77. Walk on the Wild Side (1972) – Lou Reed
  78. Alabama (1972) – Neil Young
  79. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (1972) – Elton John
  80. Political Science (1972) – Randy Newman
  81. Ventura Highway (1972) – America
  82. Children of the Revolution (1972) – T.Rex
  83. Mr. Bojangles (1972) – David Bromberg (live version)***
  84. American Tune (1973) – Paul Simon
  85. Take Me Home, Country Roads (1973) – Toots & the Maytals**
  86. Ashes Are Burning (1973) – Renaissance
  87. Search and Destroy (1973) – Iggy & the Stooges
  88. I’m Straight (1973 version) – The Modern Lovers
  89. Love, Reign O’er Me (1973) – The Who
  90. My Old School (1973) – Steely Dan
  91. Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing (1973) – Stevie Wonder
  92. Let It Grow (1974) – Eric Clapton
  93. Willin’ (1974) – Linda Ronstadt***
  94. Love Hurts (1974) – Gram Parsons (feat. Emmylou Harris)**
  95. Too Far Gone (1974) – Emmylou Harris
  96. Thunder Road (1975) – Bruce Springsteen
  97. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-IX) (1975) – Pink Floyd
  98. Ten Years Gone (1975) – Led Zeppelin
  99. Love Is the Drug (1975) – Roxy Music
  100. What Do You Want from Life (1975) – The Tubes
  101. American Girl (1976) – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
  102. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (1976) – Billy Joel
  103. Jamming (1977) – Bob Marley & the Wailers
  104. Songbird (1977) – Fleetwood Mac
  105. Pretty Vacant (1977) – The Sex Pistols
  106. Sheena Is a Punk Rocker (1977) – The Ramones
  107. Excitable Boy (1978) – Warren Zevon
  108. Hanging on the Telephone (1978) – Blondie
  109. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1978) – Devo**
  110. Runs in the Family (1979) – The Roches
  111. Money (1979) – The Flying Lizards**
  112. I’m In Love with You (1979) – Steve Forbert
  113. Too Much Too Young (1979) – The Specials
  114. Romeo & Juliet (1980) – Dire Straits
  115. If I Didn’t Love You (1980) – Squeeze
  116. Train in Vain (Stand by Me) (1980) – The Clash
  117. When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around (1980) – The Police
  118. What I Like About You (1980) – The Romantics
  119. Our Lips Are Sealed (1981) – The Go-Gos
  120. The Weakness in Me (1981) – Joan Armatrading
  121. Senses Working Overtime (1982) – XTC
  122. Beyond Belief (1982) – Elvis Costello
  123. Absolutely Sweet Marie (1983) – Jason & the Scorchers**
  124. Add It Up (1983) – Violent Femmes
  125. Do You Wanna Hold Me? (1983) – Bow Wow Wow
  126. This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) (1983) – Talking Heads
  127. Show Me (1984) – Pretenders
  128. Let’s Go Crazy (1984) – Prince
  129. Don’t Worry Baby (1984) – Los Lobos
  130. Blind Love (1985) – Tom Waits
  131. Would I Lie to You? (1985) – Eurythmics
  132. Angel from Montgomery (1985) – Bonnie Raitt & John Prine (live duet)***
  133. In Between Days (1985) – The Cure
  134. Don’t Toss Us Away (1985) – Lone Justice
  135. Cloudbusting (1985) – Kate Bush
  136. Some Journey (1985) – Suzanne Vega
  137. Scorpio Rising (1985) – 10,000 Maniacs
  138. Let’s Go (1986) – The Feelies
  139. Honky Tonk Man (1986) – Dwight Yoakam**
  140. In Your Eyes (1986) – Peter Gabriel
  141. Baby, It’s You (1987) – Nick Lowe & Elvis Costello**
  142. 4th of July (1987) – X
  143. With or Without You (1987) – U2
  144. The Pain of Loving You (1987) – Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris**
  145. Sweet Jane (1988) – Cowboy Junkies**
  146. Don’t Let It Break You Down (1988) – Graham Parker
  147. Lock, Stock & Teardrops (1988) – k.d. lang**
  148. Fight the Power (1988) – Public Enemy
  149. Ana Ng (1988) – They Might Be Giants
  150. You Are the Everything (1988) – R.E.M.
  151. Fisherman’s Blues (1988) – The Waterboys
  152. Under the Milky Way (1988) – The Church
  153. Gigantic (1988) – Pixies
  154. (Believed You Were) Lucky (1988) – ‘Til Tuesday
  155. Birthday (1988) – Sugarcubes
  156. I Knew Love (1988) – Nanci Griffith
  157. Flying Cowboys (1989) – Rickie Lee Jones
  158. Kid Fears (1989) – Indigo Girls (w/ Michael Stipe)
  159. Deadbeat Club (1989) – The B-52’s
  160. I’ll Sail This Ship Alone (1989) – The Beautiful South
  161. Groove Is In the Heart (1990) – Deee-Lite
  162. Black Boys on Mopeds (1990) – Sinéad O’Connor
  163. Come As You Are (1991) – Nirvana
  164. Payphone (1991) – Tribe
  165. Superman’s Song (1991) – Crash Test Dummies
  166. Landslide (1992) – Sun-60
  167. Wild Horses (1992) – The Sundays**
  168. Climb On (A Back that’s Strong) (1992) – Shawn Colvin
  169. Every Time You Say Goodbye (1992) – Alison Krauss & Union Station
  170. Mr. Jones (1993) – Counting Crows
  171. 6’ 1’’ (1993) – Liz Phair
  172. Fade Into You (1993) – Mazzy Star
  173. Here & Now (1993) – Letters to Cleo
  174. My Wife Thinks You’re Dead (1993) – Junior Brown
  175. Cannonball (1993) – The Breeders
  176. Love Is Everything (1993) – Jane Siberry
  177. Les Ailes (1993) – Khaled
  178. Linger (1993) – The Cranberries
  179. Cherub Rock (1993) – Smashing Pumpkins
  180. The Wheel (1993) – Rosanne Cash
  181. Cornflake Girl (1994) – Tori Amos
  182. Hallelujah (1994) – Jeff Buckley**
  183. Twiggy Twiggy/Twiggy vs. James Bond (1994) – Pizzicato Five
  184. Undone (The Sweater Song) (1994) – Weezer
  185. Jing Jing (Firefly) (1994) – Shoukichi Kina
  186. Violet (1994) – Hole
  187. Interstate Love Song (1994) – Stone Temple Pilots
  188. Delores (1994) – Freedy Johnston
  189. Forgiven (1995) – Alanis Morissette
  190. Just a Girl (1995) – No Doubt
  191. Snow Day (1995) – Lisa Loeb
  192. Crazy Baby (1995) – Joan Osborne
  193. Where I Go (1995) – Natalie Merchant
  194. Wise Up (1996) – Aimee Mann
  195. Everyday is a Winding Road (1996) – Sheryl Crow
  196. Not the Girl You Think You Are (1996) – Crowded House
  197. History Repeating (1997) – Propellerheads (feat. Shirley Bassey)
  198. She’s the One (1997) – World Party
  199. This Is the Day (1997) – Ivy
  200. Sweet Surrender (1997) – Sarah McLachlan
  201. To Zion (1998) – Lauryn Hill (feat. Carlos Santana)
  202. Can’t Let Go (1998) – Lucinda Williams
  203. Backseat (1998) – Juliana Hatfield
  204. Push It (1998) – Garbage
  205. Tassez-Vous De D’là (1998) – Les Colocs
  206. Army (1999) – Ben Folds Five
  207. She’s A Jar (1999) – Wilco
  208. Two Points for Honesty (1999) – Guster
  209. Papa Was a Rodeo (1999) – The Magnetic Fields
  210. Fast As You Can (1999) – Fiona Apple
  211. Life Is Bad (1999) – Shelby Lynne
  212. Prom Theme (1999) – Fountains of Wayne
  213. Waitin’ for a Superman (1999) – The Flaming Lips
  214. Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House (2000) – Yo La Tengo
  215. One Is the Magic # (2000) – Jill Scott
  216. Bohemian Like You (2000) – Dandy Warhols
  217. One (2000) – Johnny Cash**
  218. The Galway Girl (2000) – Steve Earle (feat. Sharon Shannon)*
  219. The National Anthem (2000) – Radiohead
  220. Glitter in their Eyes (2000) – Patti Smith
  221. Weapon of Choice (2000) – Fatboy Slim
  222. A Place Called Home (2000) – PJ Harvey
  223. Sexual Revolution (2001) – Macy Gray
  224. California Stars (2001) – Billy Bragg & Wilco
  225. Lovin U (2001) – Alicia Keys
  226. Someday (2001) – The Strokes
  227. Unison (2001) – Björk
  228. Gimme a Sign (2002) – Ryan Adams
  229. Sympathy (2002) – Sleater-Kinney
  230. Lose Yourself (2002) – Eminem
  231. The Scientist (2002) – Coldplay
  232. The Golden Age (2002) – Beck
  233. Get Free (2002) – The Vines
  234. Lover I Don’t Have to Love (2002) – Bright Eyes
  235. The Equaliser (2002) – Clinic
  236. Love Vibration (2003) – Josh Rouse
  237. Cish Cash (2003) – Basement Jaxx (feat. Siouxie Sioux)
  238. The Way You Move (2003) – OutKast
  239. I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself (2003) – The White Stripes
  240. I Can’t Remember (2003) – The Thorns
  241. Wake Up (2004) – Arcade Fire
  242. Babe, You Turn Me On (2004) – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  243. Sari (2004) – Nellie McKay
  244. Nanny Nanny Boo Boo (2004) – Le Tigre
  245. The Book of Right-On (2004) – Joanna Newsom
  246. Michael (2004) – Franz Ferdinand
  247. A.S.A. to Accuracy (2004) – KaitO
  248. Miracle Drug (2004) – A.C. Newman
  249. Stevie Nix (2005) – The Hold Steady
  250. Casimir Pulaski Day (2005) – Sufjan Stevens
  251. Sing Me Spanish Techno (2005) – The New Pornographers
  252. The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth (2005) – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
  253. Night Nurse (2005) – Young People
  254. World Spins Madly On (2006) – The Weepies
  255. Falling Slowly (2006) – Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová (The Swell Season)
  256. Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken (2006) – Camera Obscura
  257. You Know I’m No Good (2006) – Amy Winehouse
  258. Born Secular (2006) – Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins
  259. Spare-Ohs (2007) – Andrew Bird
  260. Killing the Blues (2007) – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss**
  261. Breakin’ Up (2007) – Rilo Kiley
  262. Open Your Heart (2007) – Lavender Diamond
  263. I Feel It All (2007) – Feist
  264. Re: Stacks (2007) – Bon Iver
  265. Creator (2008) – Santigold (feat. Switch & Freq Nasty)
  266. Silence (2008) – Portishead
  267. You! Me! Dancing! (2008) – Los Campesinos!
  268. Rococo Zephyr (2009) – Bill Callahan
  269. This Tornado Loves You (2009) – Neko Case
  270. Hysteric (2009) – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  271. Crystalised (2009) – The xx
  272. Useful Chamber (2009) – Dirty Projectors
  273. Train Song (2009) – Feist & Ben Gibbard
  274. And It Spread (2009) – The Avett Brothers
  275. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (2010) – The National
  276. Alpha Shallows (2010) – Laura Marling
  277. Memory Boy (2010) – Deerhunter
  278. I Can Change (2010) – LCD Soundsystem
  279. Power (2010) – Kanye West (feat. Dwele)
  280. Powa (2010) – Tune-Yards
  281. Born Free (2010) – M.I.A.
  282. Bright Lit Blue Skies (2010) – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
  283. I Saw the Light (2010) – Spoon
  284. Calamity Song (2011) – The Decemberists
  285. Cheerleader (2011) – St. Vincent
  286. Shook Down (2011) – Yuck
  287. Magic (2011) – Girls
  288. The Night I Learned How Not to Pray (2012) – Iris DeMent
  289. Elephant (2012) – Tame Impala
  290. Kevin’s (2012) – Sharon van Etten
  291. The Nights of Wine and Roses (2012) – Japandroids
  292. Laura (2012) – Bat for Lashes
  293. Acts of Man (2013) – Frightened Rabbit
  294. Sweet Dreams (2013) – Angel Olsen
  295. Two Weeks (2014) – FKA Twigs
  296. Party Police (2014) – Alvvays
  297. Pedestrian at Best (2015) – Courtney Barnett
  298. Kill v. Maim (2015) – Grimes
  299. Real (2016) – Lydia Loveless
  300. Best to You (2016) – Blood Orange (feat. Empress Of)
  301. …Drugs with Friends… (2016) – Car Seat Headrest
  302. Malamente (2018) – Rosalía
  303. Nobody (2018) – Mitski
  304. Night Shift (2018) – Lucy Dacus
  305. Make Me Feel (2018) – Janelle Monáe
  306. Almost Had To Start A Fight/In And Out Of Patience (2018) – Parquet Courts
  307. Your Dog (2018) – Soccer Mommy
  308. Future Me Hates Me (2018) – The Beths
  309. Cattails (2019) – Big Thief
  310. Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys) (2020) – Rina Sawayama
  311. Together (2020) – beabadobee
  312. The Steps (2020) – Haim
  313. August (2020) – Taylor Swift
  314. Smile (2021) – Wolf Alice
  315. Ur Mum (2022) – Wet Leg
  316. Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father… (2023) – Lana Del Rey (feat. RIOPY)
  317. Right Back To It (2024) – Waxahatchee (feat. M.J. Lenderman)
  318. Prep School Gangsters (2024) – Vampire Weekend
  319. This World Is Dangerous (2024) – Hurray for the Riff Raff (w/ Conor Oberst)
  320. Thank You (2024) – Clairo

* I have performed live.
** Cover song

The Show Must Go On: Introducing the Best Musicals Meta-Lists

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A regular reader of the Make Lists, Not War website recently suggested that I create a meta-list of the Best Musicals of All Time. I thought it was a great idea, but I realized immediately that one list would not be sufficient. Stage musicals and movie musicals are very different genres (although many musicals have both stage and film versions), so I created a pair of meta-lists for both stage (also sometimes referred to as Broadway) musicals and movie musicals. For each format, I’ve created a ranked list (with the musicals on the most lists at the top) and a chronological list.  The ranked lists have more pictures.  For the stage musicals, I tried to find original posters to use as the images. For the movie musicals, I used still images from the films. Each entry includes relevant information.

Here are the links:

Best Stage Musicals of All Time – Ranked
Best Stage Musicals of All Time – Chronological
Best Movie Musicals of All Time – Ranked
Best Movie Musicals of All Time – Chronological

Finding lists of best stage musicals raised an interesting question. For stage productions from the 1950s and earlier, the number of people still living who saw the original production is probably small, so many excellent musicals may not make the list only because few of those who saw them are still among us. Some of those older musicals may be revived, however, giving new, younger audiences a chance to enjoy them (and put them on “best musicals” lists).

The sources of the stage musicals are diverse. Some are based on novels, short stories, non-musical plays, and even nonfiction books (like Hamilton, which is based on a biography of Alexander Hamilton). Some musicals are based on movie musicals (like The Lion King, Singin’ in the Rain and Moulin Rouge!); some are based on non-musical movies (like Hairspray, Sunset Boulevard, and Little Shop of Horrors). Some are pure originals.

Most of the movie musicals fall into one of three categories:
(1) Original movie musicals in the old style (examples: Gold Diggers of 1933, Singin’ in the Rain; Top Hat, The Band Wagon)
(2) Film versions of stage musicals (examples: Oklahoma, West Side Story, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd)
(3) Original movie musicals in a newer style (Dancer in the Dark, Once, Sing Street)

Here are some facts about the lists:

— Number of Musicals on the meta-lists:  83 stage musicals & 76 movie musicals
— Top Rated Stage Musical: West Side Story (1957) (on 15 lists)
— Top Rated Movie Musicals: Singin’ in the Rain (1952) (on 10 lists) & West Side Story (1961) (on 10 lists)
— Oldest Stage Musical: Show Boat (1927) (on 5 lists)
— Oldest Movie Musical: Love Me Tonight (1932) (on 3 lists)
— Most Recent Stage Musical: Moulin Rouge! The Musical (2018) (on 3 lists)
— Most Recent Movie Musicals: West Side Story (2021) (on 4 lists) & tick, tick… Boom! (2021) (on 3 lists)

My Year in Review 2025: Movies, Books, Music & Live Performances

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MOVIES

It was a slow year for moviegoing.  I watched fewer movies than usual, either in the theaters or streaming.  I’m not sure why, but family health issues and national politics may each have played a part. Early in the year we caught up on some of the acclaimed movies from 2024, and about halfway through the year, we were inspired by the New York Times’ ‘best movies of the 21st century so far’ list to see some of the films on that list. (I also added the NYT list to my own meta-list of 21st Century films.) One of my New Year’s resolutions is to watch more movies in 2026.  Here are the films I watched in 2025, with my 1-10 rating:

10/10
The Zone of Interest (UK/Poland, 2023) Dir: Jonathan Glazer

9/10
Margaret (US, 2011) Dir: Kenneth Lonergan
Toni Erdmann (Germany/Austria, 2016) Dir: Maren Ade
The Worst Person in the World (Norway, 2021) Dir: Joachim Trier
I Saw the TV Glow (US, 2024) Dir: Jane Schoenbrun
Anora (US, 2024) Dir: Sean Baker
One Battle After Another (US, 2025) Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson

8/10
 Jazz on a Summer’s Day (US, 1959) Dir: Bert Stern
I Am Not Your Negro (US, 2016) Dir: Raoul Peck
His Three Daughters (US, 2023) Dir: Azazel Jacobs
The Outrun (Germany/UK, 2024) Dir: Nora Fingscheidt
A Complete Unknown (US, 2024) Dir: James Mangold
The Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan/US, 2025) Dir: Shih-Ching Tsou

7/10
The Snapper (Ireland, 1993) Dir: Stephen Frears
Hamilton (US, 2020) Dir: Thomas Kail
Hit Man (US, 2023) Dir: Richard Linklater
Challengers (US, 2024) Dir: Luca Guadagnino
Heretic (US, 2024) Dir: Scott Beck & Bryan Woods
The Substance (France/UK/US, 2024) Dir: Coralie Fargeat
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (UK, 2024) Dir: Nick Park

6/10
Ocean’s Eleven (US, 2001) Dir: Steven Soderbergh
Idiocracy (US, 2006) Dir: Mike Judge
Sicario (US, 2015) Dir: Denis Villeneuve

5/10
Hundreds of Beavers (US, 2022) Dir: Mike Cheslik
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (US, 2025) Dir: Christopher McQuarrie

BOOKS

In 2025, I continued to work my way through a large chronological ‘best literature’ reading list that is based on my meta-list of the greatest works of literature.  This year, I read a number of works published in the 1910s and 1920s.  I decided to take on Marcel Proust’s seven-volume novel In Search of Lost Time, which occupied most of my reading time this year (I hope to finish it in 2026).  I also read Miracles and Wonder, the newest book by Elaine Pagels about the history of Christianity (you can read my review here) as well as two of her earlier books. A trip to England inspired me to read two books on British history.  Here is a list of the books I read in 2025, with my 1-5 star rating.

5/5
In Search of Lost Time I: Swann’s Way (1913). By Marcel Proust. Translated by Lydia Davis.
The Rainbow (1915). By D.H. Lawrence.
The Education of Henry Adams: An Autobiography (1918). By Henry Adams.
In Search of Lost Time II: In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower (1919). By Marcel Proust. Translated by James Grieve.
In Search of Lost Time III: The Guermantes Way (1920). By Marcel Proust. Translated by Mark Treharne.

4/5
Kokoro (1914). By Natsume Sōseki. Translated by Meredith McKinney.
The Home and the World (1916). By Rabindranath Tagore. Translated by Surendranath Tagore.
Selected Stories (1918-1926). By Lu Xun. Translated by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang.
Main Street (1920). By Sinclair Lewis.
The Forsyte Saga (1921). By John Galsworthy.
Zeno’s Conscience (1923). By Italo Svevo. Translated by William Weaver.
Three Plays (1923-1926). By Sean O’Casey.
An American Tragedy (1925). By Theodore Dreiser.
Three Tragedies (1932-1936). By Federico García Lorca. Translated by James Graham-Lujan and Richard L. O’Connell.
Adam, Eve, and the Serpent: Sex and Politics in Early Christianity (1988). By Elaine Pagels.
The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics (1995). By Elaine Pagels.
A History of Britain I: At the Edge of the World? 3500 BC-AD 1603 (2000). By Simon Schama.
These Truths: A History of the United States (2018). By Jill Lepore.
Life Between the Tides (2021). By Adam Nicolson.
Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures (2024). By Katherine Rundell.
Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus (2025). By Elaine Pagels.

3/5
A Short History of England: The Glorious Story of a Rowdy Nation (2011). By Simon Jenkins.
Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change (2025). By Olga Khazan.

MUSIC

My music listening in 2025 was dominated by my discovery of the rock band The Warning, a trio of sisters from Mexico who play hard rock with tinges of metal, pop, and punk. Many of their fans refer to them as ‘the future of rock’ and I don’t disagree. I also spent a lot of time listening to new albums from my best of 2024 meta-list. I also binged several favorite artists of years past: The Roches, The Who, and Steely Dan. Classical music listening was down this year. Here are the top 50 albums I listened to in 2025: 

  1. The Warning – Keep Me Fed (2024)
  2. Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (2024)
  3. The Warning – ERROR (2022)
  4. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us (2024)
  5. The Roches – Speak (1989)
  6. Clairo – Charm (2024)
  7. Charles Lloyd – The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (2024)
  8. The Roches -The Roches (1979)
  9. The Who – Live at Leeds (1970)
  10. The Roches – A Dove (1992)
  11. Yasmin Williams – Acadia (2024)
  12. Mabe Fratti – Sentir Que No Sabes (2024)
  13. The Who – Quadrophenia (1973)
  14. Steely Dan – A Decade of Steely Dan (1972-1980)
  15. The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy (2024)
  16. Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive (2024)
  17. The Roches – Keep On Doing (1982)
  18. Adam Steinberg – Angels + Angles (2022)
  19. The Roches – Another World (1985)
  20. Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill (1972)
  21. Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The ‘Royal Albert Hall’ Concert (rec. 1966)
  22. Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic (1974)
  23. The Roches – Can We Go Home Now (1995)
  24. Alvvays – Blue Rev (2022)
  25. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God (2024)
  26. World Party – Arkeology (rec. 1984-2011)
  27. Michael Kiwanuka – Small Changes (2024)
  28. Charlie Parker – The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (rec. 1944-1948)
  29. Steely Dan – Katy Lied (1975)
  30. Brittany Howard – What Now (2024)
  31. SZA – SOS (2022)
  32. Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy (1973)
  33. Nala Sinephro – Endlessness (2024)
  34. The Who – Tommy (1969)
  35. The Who – Who’s Next (1971)
  36. Waxahatchee – Out in the Storm (2017)
  37. Jessica Pratt – Here In The Pitch (2024)
  38. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud (2020)
  39. Janelle Monáe – The ArchAndroid (2010)
  40. Lucinda Williams – West (2007)
  41. The New Pornographers – Electric Version (2003)
  42. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema (2005)
  43. Andrew Sue Wing – Seventeen (2024)
  44. Björk – Vespertine (2001)
  45. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks (1975)
  46. Fontaines D.C. – Romance (2024)
  47. Jamey Johnson – The Guitar Song (2010)
  48. Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More (2024)
  49. Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (2023)
  50. Oscar Peterson – Night Train (1962)

LIVE PERFORMANCES

For the first time in several years, I didn’t attend concerts by any of my favorite indie or alternative pop & rock artists.  Instead, most of the concerts I attended in 2025 were for classical music, with two jazz concerts, and one singer-songwriter concert at a new (to me) venue: the Rec Room in Belmont.  I didn’t see any plays this year, but did enjoy a night of improv comedy for the first time in many years.  Here are the live performances I attended in 2025, in chronological order:

  • The Makanda Project with Charles Tolliver at Boston Public Library, Roxbury, MA 3/5/25
  • Jeremy Denk at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA 3/21/25
    Performing Partitas (BWV 825-830) by J.S. Bach
  • Cambridge Jazz Festival at Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA 7/26/25
    Ron Reid’s Precious Metals Project
    Namisa Mdalose & Lumanyano Bizana
  • Improv Asylum at Charles Playhouse, Boston, MA 8/16/25
    The Main Stage Show (Barker, Carty, Gillis, Sosebee, etc.)
  • Andrew Sue Wing at The Rec Room, Belmont, MA 9/9/25
  • A Tribute to Scott Nickrenz at Calderwood Hall, Gardner Museum. Boston, MA 9/10/25
    Performers included: Yo-Yo Ma, Jason Bell, Paavali Jumppanen, Lawrence Dutton, Borromeo Quartet, A Far Cry
  • Convivium Musicum at First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA 11/23/25
    Performing works of Gregorio Allegri, Noel Bauldeweyn, Adrian Willaert, Jacob Handl, and Josquin des Prez
  • Paula Robison & Paavali Jumppanen at Williams Hall, NEC, Boston, MA 12/14/25
    Performing works of J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, and Mozart

The Best of 2025: Movies, TV, Music & Books

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It’s that time of year again, when various publications and individuals publish their “best of the year” lists. It seems like these lists come out earlier every year.  (I only hope that the listmakers go back to the prior December to find any gems they’ve missed in their eagerness to get their list out in late November or early December.)

I’ve compiled dozens of lists, as I do each year, to see which items reached a critical consensus as the best in their particular art form.  These are not my personal opinions.  I have not seen all these movies or TV shows, read all these books, or listened to all this music.  The links to the lists are below:

Best Films of 2025
Best TV Shows of 2025
Best Music of 2025
Best Books of 2025

To give you a sneak peek, here are the top items on each of the four lists:

BOOKS (3-way tie)
A Guardian and a Thief. By Megha Majumdar.
Audition. By Katie Kitamura.
Mother Mary Comes To Me. By Arundhati Roy.

MUSIC 
Geese – Getting Killed

TV SHOWS
Andor 

FILM
One Battle After Another

Please feel free to leave your comments about favorite movies, books, TV, and music of 2025 in the comments!

The Opera Lists Get a Makeover

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I’ve added 12 more lists to the opera meta-lists, bringing the total number of lists to over 30.  The three opera lists (by rank, chronological, and by composer) were in need of an update – I hadn’t done any serious work on the lists since 2017.  The only major change I made was I eliminated the operas that were only on two of the original source lists.  Since the last update, I have tried to adopt a consistent standard throughout the Make Lists, Not War website to include only items that are on at least three original source lists.

Here are links to the updated meta-lists:

Best Operas of All Time – By Rank
Best Operas of All Time – Chronological
Best Operas of All Time – By Composer

The addition of new lists has rearranged the top operas quite a bit.  Here are the new top 10 (including ties):
1. THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Mozart)
1. CARMEN (Bizet)
2. LA TRAVIATA (Verdi)
2. LA BOHÈME (Puccini)
3. TOSCA (Puccini)
4. THE MAGIC FLUTE (Mozart)
4. THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Rossini)
5. MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Puccini)
6. DON GIOVANNI (Mozart)
7. RIGOLETTO (Verdi)

The meta-list contains 141 operas by 74 composers with libretti in seven languages:
Italian: 44 operas
German: 27
French: 24
English: 13
Russian: 10
Czech: 6
Hungarian: 1

The oldest opera premiered in 1607 and the two most recent operas on the list are from 1987.

The composers with the most operas on the meta-list are:
Giuseppe Verdi: 13
Richard Wagner: 11
Giacomo Puccini: 8
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 6
Richard Strauss: 6
Benjamin Britten: 6

The 12 new ‘best operas’  lists come from the following sources:

  • DavesMusicDatabase (another meta-list site)
  • iconik magazine
  • Classic.FM
  • English National Opera
  • Classical-Music.com
  • Radio Art
  • MSN
  • San Francisco Opera
  • udiscovermusic
  • Gramophone
  • Stage Door
  • Phamox Music

All 12 lists were published between 2018 and 2025.

My Year in Music – 2024

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I have so far continued to buck the trend of the music industry and still own my music instead of listening to a streaming platform like Spotify.  I no longer have a CD player, but I upload CDs onto my computer’s hard drive, and download a portion of the music collection onto my iPhone, which allows me to access music wherever I am.  I currently have 166 GB of music (almost 32,000 tracks).  I could explain in detail why I do this, but I’m afraid this would bore most readers.  The short answer is that I find streaming platforms unacceptably restrict the ways I can listen to music and also lack the full range of music I am looking for.  This may be changing, and I may give in to streaming eventually, but not this year.

I keep track of my listening habits through the last.fm website, which keeps track of every song I play on my computer or phone from my collection.  Unfortunately, last.fm doesn’t track the songs I listen to on YouTube, where I often go to listen to artists I’m not familiar with.

The results of my year in music, shown below, were influenced in large part by three factors:

  1. I love love love the Canadian band The New Pornographers, and sometimes they’re all I want to listen to. I truly believe that A.C. “Carl” Newman is one of the most gifted songwriters of the 21st century.
  2. I created an iTunes smart playlist called “Artists I’ve seen live” and listened to it quite a bit. On the list below, I’ve added an asterisk to any artist I’ve ever seen perform live.
  3. When I’m not listening to a specific playlist, I just put my entire music collection on random shuffle and listen to whatever pops up. I love the odd, often serendipitous juxtapositions of genre and mood that this creates, although this also means that artists with more (and shorter) tracks in the collection tend to rank higher in the end-of-the-year stats than artists with fewer and/or longer tracks.

NOTE 1: Even though I have listed “most listened-to album” by each artist below, that doesn’t mean I’m actually listening to the album start to finish (something I do very rarely), only that songs from that album were played more frequently than songs from other albums by the same artist.

NOTE 2: I normally only begin acquiring music from the current year in late December after the “best of the year” critics’ lists are released, so there are no 2024 releases on the list. Check in next year for those results.

Most Listened-to Artists (including the artist’s Most Listened-to Album)

  1. The New Pornographers* – Electric Version (2003)
  2. The Decemberists* – The Hazards of Love (2009)
  3. Aimee Mann* – Queens of the Summer Hotel (2021)
  4. PJ Harvey – Rid of Me (1993)
  5. Angel Olsen* – Burn Your Fire For No Witness (2014)
  6. The National* – Trouble Will Find Me (2013)
  7. Juliana Hatfield – Only Everything (1995)
  8. Alvvays* – Blue Rev (2022)
  9. Wolf Alice* – Blue Weekend (2021)
  10. Steely Dan – A Decade of Steely Dan (1972-1980)
  11. The Roches* – The Roches (1979)
  12. Sharon Van Etten* – Are We There (2014)
  13. Bob Dylan – No Direction Home: Bootleg Series, Vol. 7 (1959-1966)
  14. The Beatles – With the Beatles (1963)
  15. R.E.M.* – Around the Sun (2004)
  16. Frank Sinatra – Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years (1960-1979)
  17. The Hold Steady* – Stay Positive (2008)
  18. Paul Simon – Hearts and Bones (1983)
  19. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (1984-2005)
  20. The War on Drugs* – I Don’t Live Here Anymore (2021)
  21. Buddy Holly – Memorial Collection (1954-1959)
  22. Laura Marling – Once I Was An Eagle (2013)
  23. Talking Heads* – Sand in the Vaseline (1976-1992)
  24. Yes* – The Yes Album (1971)
  25. Julien Baker* – Little Oblivions (2021)
  26. OutKast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
  27. Duke Ellington – The Blanton-Webster Band (1940-1942)
  28. The Everly Brothers* – Cadence Classics: Their 20 Greatest Hits (1957-1960)
  29. Alison Krauss & Union Station* – Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004)
  30. Beck – Morning Phase (2014)
  31. T-Bone Walker – The Complete Imperial Recordings (1950-1954)
  32. World Party* – Arkeology (1986-2011)
  33. Yo La Tengo – Summer Sun (2003)
  34. The Who – Quadrophenia (1973)
  35. Bill Frisell – Have a Little Faith (1992)
  36. Miles Davis – ‘Round About Midnight (1957)
  37. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief (2003)
  38. Jimi Hendrix – The Ultimate Experience (1966-1970)
  39. Muddy Waters* – The Best of Muddy Waters (1948-1954)
  40. Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension (2020)
  41. The Velvet Underground – Peel Slowly and See (1965-1970)
  42. Genesis* – Selling England by the Pound (1973)
  43. Little Walter – The Essential Little Walter (1952-1963)
  44. Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever (2022)
  45. SZA – SOS (2022)
  46. Elvis Costello – Punch the Clock (1983)
  47. Lester Young – The Complete Aladdin Sessions (1942-1947)
  48. Bud Powell – The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 (1954)
  49. Dizzy Gillespie* – The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1937-1949)
  50. Spoon* – They Want My Soul (2014)

* = have seen this artist perform live

Most Listened-To Albums Released in 2023

  1. Lankum – False Lankum
  2. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.
  3. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn into You
  4. Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
  5. PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying

Most Listened-To Classical Albums

  1. Jacques Offenbach – The Tales of Hoffman (Andre Cluytens, Choeur et Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opera-Comique)
  2. Isaac Albéniz – Piano Music (Esteban Sánchez)
  3. George Frideric Handel – Twelve Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra)
  4. Johann Sebastian Bach – St. Matthew Passion (Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus)
  5. Henry Purcell – Dido and Aeneas (Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert)
  6. Anonymous – Adorate Deum: Gregorian Chant from the Proper of the Mass (Alberto Turco, Nova Schola Gregoriana)
  7. William Bolcom – Songs of Innocence and Experience (Leonard Slatkin, University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra)
  8. Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonatas 7-10 (Daniel Barenboim & Pinchas Zukerman)
  9. Modest Mussorgsky (arr. by Ravel) – Pictures at an Exhibition (Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra)
  10. Philip Glass – Einstein on the Beach (Michael Riesman/Philip Glass Ensemble)

Meta-List Updates

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I’ve updated a number of the website pages on Make Lists, Not War.

(1) Timeline of Human History, Part V: 2000-Present
I’ve been a little behind in doing the year-by-year summaries, but I am now up to date.  I’ve added important world events for the years 2021-2024.  The big additions include the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, various items regarding Donald Trump, and news about climate change.  I’m still delinquent about adding photos to the years since 2016. I’ll get to that eventually.
Here’s the link:
Timeline of Human History Part V: 2000-Present

(2) Best of the 21st Century (so far): Film, Music, and Books
As we approach the end of the 1st quarter of the 21st Century, a number of new lists have been published, and I’ve added these to the meta-list.  The new lists didn’t change the top items in music or film (The White Stripes – Elephant, and There Will Be Blood), but the top of the book list is now a three-way tie: The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen, Atonement, by Ian McEwan, and The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.  As I mention elsewhere, one of the odd results of collecting “best of the 21st century” lists over time is that the meta-list tends to be biased toward the first part of the century.  The lists contain almost no items from 2020 or later.  I’m sure that will be remedied as new lists are produced and added to the meta list.
Here’s the link
Best of the 21st Century (so far)

(3) Best Athletes of All Time
It has been several years since I updated the Best Athletes lists. I found six new lists and added them to the meta-lists.  New additions include Simone Biles and Novak Djokovic.  Athletes who were already on the lists but moved up considerably included Serena Williams, Tom Brady, and LeBron James.  To the dismay of all, Lance Armstrong remains on the list, due to a glitch in the meta-list process. Even though none of the lists that were made after 2013 include Armstrong, I found 8 lists made before the revelations about his performance-enhancing drug use that did include him. I have left this artifact of time on the list with an asterisk to explain the oddity.  Not yet on enough lists to make the meta-list are swimmer Katie Ledecky and basketball phenom Caitlin Clark, although my guess is that they will reach the meta-list in the future.
Here are the lists:
Best Athletes of All Time – Ranked (with photos)
Best Athletes of All Time – By Sport (without photos)

The Best of 2024: Film, TV, Music, Books

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I’ve created meta-lists of the best of 2024 by collecting end-of-year lists from the critics.  Here are the meta-lists, organized with the items on the most lists at the top.

Every year since the 1990s, I’ve been creating these meta-lists to help me decide what to watch, listen to, and read.  I hope they can provide you with some guidance in making intelligent choices for the use of your precious time!

Best Films of 2024
Best TV Shows of 2024
Best Music of 2024 (Albums)
Best Books of 2024

The Best of 2023: Movies, TV, Music & Books

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Once again, I have compiled meta-lists of the best of the year in film, television, music, and literature.  I began undertaking this project over 20 years ago when I decided that, with limited time to read books, watch movies and TV shows, and listen to music, I wanted to reduce my chances of encountering dreck and increase the percentage of that I would encounter gems.  The solution I chose to this problem was to collect the opinions of multiple critics when they issue their end-of-year “best of” lists.  While the method is not foolproof (I do occasionally find critical faves that I don’t like, and I also sometimes run across items I rate highly that the critics didn’t like so much), it has been a success overall.  One of the best aspects of this method is that it gets me outside my comfort zone.  By collecting and collating these lists, creating the meta-lists that are linked below, I have expanded my horizons and encountered works of art that I might not have found if I had stayed within the recommendations of friends and family, or of just one favored critic.  Why go by the recommendations of one random person when you have at your fingertips the critical consensus of over a dozen experts?

Here are the links to this year’s lists:

Best Films of 2023
Best TV Shows of 2023
Best Music of 2023
Best Books of 2023

The Best of 2022: The End-of-Year Lists

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I have compiled meta-lists of the best movies, TV shows, music, and books of 2022 by combining multiple end-of-year lists published in magazines, newspapers, and websites.  These lists provide a critical consensus of the year’s best.

Here are links to the lists:

Best Films of 2022
Best TV Shows of 2022
Best Music of 2022
Best Books of 2022

As a sneak preview, here are the most-listed items in each category:

Film: Aftersun
TV: Better Call Saul
Music: (tie): Beyoncé – Renaissance and Rosalía – Motomami 
Book: The Candy House. By Jennifer Egan