Member Since: 3/2/2014
Posts: 2,262
|
Madonna's 15 Best Songs [Billboard Picks]
Madonna's 15 Best Songs: Billboard Staff Picks
From the 1982 release of her debut single "Everybody" to Rebel Heart's "Living for Love," Madonna has given the world some of the best pop songs of all time.
While there are dozens of Madonna songs the Billboard staff collectively adores, we decided to sit down and hash out our absolute favorite Madonna songs -- these are the most elite entries on an already elite list. After voting, discussing and singing, we agreed upon this list of our 15 favorites. [The years in parenthesis are for the single's release date, not necessarily the same as the album release date.]
15. "Justify My Love" (1990)
....her trip-hop-indebted spoken word ode to sadomasochism is alluring, mesmerizing and unforgettable.
14. "Borderline" (1984)
....It's also one of her best early vocal performances: While her voice aches with unfulfilled desire, it's still peppered with playfulness.
13. "Material Girl" (1984)
12. "Live To Tell" (1986)
One of Madonna's greatest ballads is also one of her most personal......
11. "Papa Don't Preach" (1986)
The melancholy tune about a girl confessing her unplanned pregnancy to her father pushed the boundaries of pop lyrics for its time. The song showed Madonna beginning to address more mature themes on her third album, and it remains a quintessential part of her button-pushing oeuvre.
10. "Take A Bow" (1994)
9. "Music" (2000)
Do you like to boogie-woogie? In addition to making the bourgeoisie and the rebel come together, "Music" peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and the Dance Club Songs chart. At the time of release, Billboard gave a very enthusiastic review of the song: "Music" is a stunning enterprise, a ballsy testament to [Madonna's] insistence on being a style-setter and one of the industry's most savvy-and now critically accountable-tunesmiths. Call this one dance, pop, even alternative… listeners will be shocked then mesmerized by this composition, showcasing yet another side of an artist, who after twenty years, continues to be a true industry artisan and the by-the-book definition of 'evolutionary.'"
8. "Open Your Heart" (1986)
Try not to get up and dance to this sparkly, uptempo beat....
7. "Holiday" (1983)
6. "Hung Up" (2005)
"Hung Up" finds Madonna reaching back to her dance floor past -- via a sample of ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" -- to create one of the most undeniable dance jams of the 21st century.
5. "Ray Of Light" 1998)
Madonna's "Ray of Light," taken from the first album released after the birth of her daughter Lourdes, marked a new chapter in her illustrious career. The song -- which Billboard's Larry Flick described as "Madonna at her absolute best" -- won two Grammy Awards (best dance recording and best short form music video) in 1999. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 but remains more iconic and enduring than several of her No. 1s. The music video, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, is a sped up "day in the life" on our planet from sunrise to sunset -- and when it's quitting time, Madonna hits the clubs to unwind.
4. "Express Yourself" (1989)
3. "Into The Groove" (1985)
"Into the Groove" is more than just another Madonna club track -- it's the Madonna club track. It set the framework for the many "lose yourself to dance" songs that followed and could still work on radio today (can't you imagine a Rihanna cover?).
2. "Vogue" (1990)
Inspired by the New York underground ballroom scene, "Vogue" introduced a new word, a dance trend and an NYC subculture to the mainstream....
1. "Like A Prayer" (1989)
While we hotly debated the placement of several singles on this list, there was no doubt about which song would take the top spot. Fearlessly melding the sacred and the sexual (both musically and lyrically), "Like a Prayer" was a crowning achievement for Madonna and pop music in general.
Read the full article here
It's hard to argue with most of these choices and I for one think this is one of the better 'best Madonna songs' lists!!
What do others think? 
|
|
|
|
