My All-Time Hot 100 [With An Asterisk]

Inspired by my pal Fritz Van Leaven, I've made many occasional attempts to compile and update a list of my all-time Hot 100 tracks. Back in the '80s, I used to be able to slice my list down to a mere hunnert, albeit with considerable moanin' of the epithets and gnashin' of the teeth. In recent years, my few attempts generally haven't gotten much below 300 selections. I like pop music. I like a lot of pop music. I am as God made me.

I wanted to try again this year, and I really wanted to cut it down to an actual Hot 100. So I started listing songs. As always, there were many fine selections from my five favorite acts, The Beatles, The Ramones, The Flashcubes, The Monkees, and The Kinks. Some folks who attempt these lists restrict themselves to one song per artist; I don't do that. But given how much I love those five bodies of work, howzabout I try a Hot 100 without them?

So here's an attempt at a Hot 100 with no Beatles, no Ramones, no Flashcubes, Monkees, or Kinks. And it's still hard to narrow things down! Man, I'm bailin' on this at 125, with full and acknowledged awareness that I left out a whole bunch of great, great stuff. You can see annotated lists of my 25 favorite Beatles and Monkees tracks elsewhere on this blog (and I did a Paul McCartney list, too). I may yet tackle All-Time Top 25s of The Ramones, Flashcubes, and Kinks. For now, here's my Hot 125 of everyone else.



10-5-60 The Long Ryders
Aim Low Mary Lou Lord
Allison Road The Gin Blossoms
American Beat '84 The Fleshtones
Another Sad And Lonely Night The Bobby Fuller Four
Any Way You Want The Dave Clark Five
Apache The Shadows
Baby Blue Badfinger
Beach Baby The First Class
Beg, Borrow And Steal The Ohio Express
Bittersweet The Hoodoo Gurus
The Boat That I Row Lulu
California Nights Lesley Gore
Catch Us If You Can The Dave Clark Five
Couldn't I Just Tell You Todd Rundgren
Cryin' Shame The Parties
Da-a-a-ance The Lambrettas
Dancing With Joey Ramone Amy Rigby
Day After Day Badfinger
Diamonds In The Rough The Vertebrats
Did You Ever The Cichlids
Die Trying New Math
Do The Freddie Freddie & the Dreamers
Don't Talk To Strangers The Beau Brummels
Double Our Numbers Parthenon Huxley
Empty Hangers Anny Celsi
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love Solomon Burke
Everywhere That I'm Not Translator
Fire Brigade The Move
The First Cut Is The Deepest P. P. Arnold
First Plane Home The Flamin' Groovies
Five O'Clock World The Vogues
Five Personalities The Richards
Fool I Was Sex Clark Five
Fool Of Love The Bobby Fuller Four
For A Smile The Fleshtones
Girls In Their Summer Clothes Bruce Springsteen
Girls Talk Dave Edmunds
Glad All Over The Dave Clark Five
Go All The Way The Raspberries
God Only Knows The Beach Boys
God Save The Queen The Sex Pistols
Going Down To Liverpool The Bangles
Gone, Gone, Gone The Everly Brothers
Goodbye Girl Squeeze
Got To Have You Back The Isley Brothers
Green Hornet Theme Al Hirt
Had To Be Me The Ohio Express
Happy The Rolling Stones
He'd Be A Diamond The Bevis Frond
Heart Full Of Soul The Yardbirds
Hearts In Her Eyes The Searchers
Hearts Will Be Broken The Records
Highway Lines Mannix
Him Or Me--What's It Gonna Be? Paul Revere & the Raiders
His Last Summer The Barracudas
Hold Tight Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
I Can't Explain The Who
I Can't Let Go The Hollies
I Love You The Heartbreakers
I Only Want To Be With You Dusty Springfield
I Tell No Lies The Shoutless
I Wanna Be With You The Raspberries
I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again The Barracudas
I'm Gonna Be Strong Gene Pitney
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me The Jayhawks
I'm In Love The Dirty Royals
(I'm) Stranded The Saints
If I Can't Change Your Mind Sugar
In The City The Jam
In The Midnight Hour Wilson Pickett
It's About Time The Pandoras
It's Cold Outside Stiv Bators
It's My Life The Animals
It's The Same Old Song The Four Tops
Kim The Waitress Material Issue
Laugh, Laugh The Beau Brummels
Lies The Knickerbockers
Life Begins At The Hop XTC
Life On Mars? David Bowie
Look Through Any Window The Hollies
Love Hurts Nazareth
Love Is Pain Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Man's Best Friend Rachael Gordon
A Million Miles Away The Plimsouls
Miserlou Dick Dale & The Deltones
(My Girl) Maryanne The Spongetones
No Matter What Badfinger
No Milk Today Herman's Hermits
Nothing Really Matters When You're Young Screen Test
On Broadway The Drifters
Pretty Vacant The Sex Pistols
Promised Land Chuck Berry
Red Wine And Whiskey Katrina & the Waves
Rock And Roll Love Letter The Bay City Rollers
Rosemary The Dickies
Saying Goodbye The Muffs
September Gurls Big Star
Shake Some Action The Flamin' Groovies
She's A Fool Lesley Gore
Shopping For A Dog Fear Of Strangers
Shout It Out Loud KISS
Solitary Man Neil Diamond
Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White The Standells
Sorry The Easybeats
Sound Of The Radio Screen Test
St. Valentine's Day Massacre Cocktail Slippers
Sugar And Spice The Searchers
Summer Breeze The Isley Brothers
Syracuse Summer The Tearjerkers
The Tears Of A Clown Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
They Ran For Their Lives The Knickerbockers
This Year's Gonna Be Our Year Eytan Mirsky
Time Will Tell Holly Golightly
To Sir, With Love Lulu
Tomorrow Night Shoes
True Love Ways Buddy Holly
Uncle John's Band The Grateful Dead
Vacation The Go-Go's
Walk Away, Renee The Left Banke
Wouldn't You Like It The Bay City Rollers
You Tore Me Down The Flamin' Groovies
You Won't Be Sad Anymore Lyres
You're Gonna Miss Me The 13th Floor Elevators

LAST FOUR OUT: 
"Elevation" Television
"2 + 2 = ?" The Bob Seger System
"Crash" The Primitives
"I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" Prince



TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.