100 All-Time Favorite Songs (with bonus tracks!)

After working on this for over a year, I have finally compiled a list of 100 of my all-time favorite songs. I have tried to have at least one song per artist and an equal amount of male and female artists. Unfortunately, there is a large amount of white artists vs. artists of color (something I'm currently working on).

How this is gonna work: all the songs will be linked to YouTube, either to the music video or the actual song or an excellent live version (I will indicate "music video" with an asterisk and a special note if it's a live performance).

If (and when) I get more time, I might go back and add some commentary.

These are the songs that didn't quite make the list, yet still deserve mention:

105. "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen*
104. "Golden Haze" by Wild Nothing
103. "Ladytron" by Roxy Music (live on The Old Grey Whistle Test)
102. "Steve McQueen" by M83
101. "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals*

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Now, the 100...

100. "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley
99. "There's A Light" by The Doobie Brothers
98. "Ride A White Horse" by Goldfrapp*
97. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by Scissor Sisters*
96. "Army of Me" by Björk*
95. "Mohammad's Radio" by Warren Zevon (live on The Old Grey Whistle Test)
94. "Brainpower" by Freezepop*
93. "Looking At the Invisible Man" by The Dead Weather (live at Third Man Records) (may not be an epilepsy-friendly video)
92. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" by Nelly Furtado*
91. "Aeon" by Lacuna Coil
90. "You Can Have It All" by Yo La Tengo (only cover song in the entire list)
89. "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (live on a TV show in 1973)
88. "Copy" by Plastics
87. "My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks) by David Byrne (live with Talking Heads in London)
86. "Baba O'Riley" by The Who
85. "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" by The White Stripes
84. "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives" by Voxtrot
83. "Private Idaho" by The B-52's* 
82. "L'Elephant" by Tom Tom Club (skip to 2:13)
81. "After the Glitter Fades" by Stevie Nicks
80. "Electioneering" by Radiohead
79. "Undertow" by Warpaint*
78. "Spoilt Victorian Child" by The Fall
77. "Cities in Dust" by Siouxsie and the Banshees*
76. "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold* (may be too violent for some viewers)
75. "Crucify" by Tori Amos*
74. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants*
73. "The Caves of Altamira" by Steely Dan
72. "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin*
71. "Raspberry Beret" by Prince and the Revolution (may not be epilepsy-friendly) (see bottom for special note)
70. "Watercolors" by Nina Gordon (please refer to a legal music source for clips)
69. "Conversation 16" by The National (see bottom for special note)
68. "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" by Gnarls Barkley*
67. "The Fallen" by Franz Ferdinand*
66. "Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips*
65. "Middle Cyclone" by Neko Case
64. "It's Too Late" by Carole King
63. "Hurricane Drunk" by Florence + the Machine
62. "Savoir Faire" by Family Fodder
61. "California" by Brenda Weiler (please refer to a legal music source for clips)
60. "Walking On a Dream" by Empire of the Sun*
59. "Rapture" by Blondie*
58. "Lady Writer" by Dire Straits* (my namesake, y'all!)
57. "Brandy Alexander" by Feist*
56. "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
55. "Come Together" by The Beatles
54. "Whole Lotta Losin'" by Monsters of Folk
53. "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae*
52. "Couldn't Stand the Rain" by Mindy Smith (featuring Amy Grant) [please refer to a legal music source for clips]
51. "Haiti" by Arcade Fire
50. "Tom Sawyer" by Rush*
49. "White" by Charlotte Hatherley*
48. "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall*
47. "Worms" by Beth Orton
46. "Never Say Never" by Romeo Void*
45. "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie*
44. "Mirage" by Ladytron*
43. "Helena Beat" by Foster the People*
42. "Eliza" by If By Yes (featuring David Byrne)
41. "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd* (may be too violent for some viewers)
40. "The Nightfly" by Donald Fagen
39. "Nightwatchman" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (live version, skip to 1:17)
38. "Haunted" by Poe
37. "That's Just About Right" by Blackhawk*
36. "Darkness" by The Police (forgive the video, it's goofy, but it had the music intact)
35. "Land" by Patti Smith
34. "Is It Any Wonder?" by Keane*
33. "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel*
32. "See No Evil" by Television
31. "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson (lyrical content may be too violent for some)
30. "My Dark Hour" by Steve Miller Band (please refer to a legal music source for clips)
29. "Sleep Alone" by Bat for Lashes*
28. "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline
27. "Love Don't Live Here" by Ladyhawke
26. "Through Being Cool" by Devo*
25. "October" by Broken Bells
24. "Munich" by Editors*
23. "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire* (may not be epilepsy-friendly)
22. "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups* (may not be epilepsy-friendly)
21. "Tears of Pearls" by Savage Garden

Here it is: the final twenty. The songs that, if they didn't exist, my life would be a sad and music-less one. The songs that will make me squeal like a teenage girl if I hear them out in the world. The songs I will stop for if their music videos appear on TV, even if I've seen it a hundred times. The songs that you can find me humming under my breath as I shelve books. The songs... okay, you get it.

20. "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.*
19. "New Dawn Fades" by Joy Division
18. "San Jacinto" by Peter Gabriel (live during the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour)
17. "Think Too Much (A)" by Paul Simon 
16. "Train in Vain" by The Clash
15. "Man With a Gun" by Jerry Harrison*
14. "King's Lead Hat" by Brian Eno
13. "Venus in Furs" by The Velvet Underground
12. "Hope On Fire" by Vienna Teng
11. "The Sensual World" by Kate Bush*
10. "Long Way Down" by Goo Goo Dolls* (the video is not epilepsy-friendly, here is just the song)
9. "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac*
8. "Maybe Tonight" by Nicole Atkins*
7. "Amsterdam" by Guster*
6. "A World of Madness" by Akira Yamaoka (only instrumental in the list and only song from a video game)
5. "Keep It Dark" by Genesis*
4. "Anyone Can Be Somebody's Fool" by Nanci Griffith (please refer to your favorite legal music provider for a sample...)
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears*
2. "Soul Drifter" by Lindsey Buckingham (live on David Letterman)
1. "Houses In Motion" by Talking Heads (live in Rome, with Adrian Belew on guitar!)

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There you go, folks. Enjoy!

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Special notes:

"Raspberry Beret": For some reason, finding the official video proved difficult, so the Pop-Up Video version will have to suffice. Sorry, y'all.

"Conversation 16": I did not link to the original video because it is probably one of the most offensive things I've ever seen. Yeah, thanks, just perpetuate that women presidents would be goofy and incompetent.