The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the album that proved he was a songwriting genius. Even Rolling Stone says "the most optimistic Dylan fans underestimated this album."
"Like a Rolling Stone." A gorgeous song, and a personal revolution for Dylan himself, it doesn't deliver a message but a question that resonates with any sense of confusion you have about who you are and where you're going.
From Physical Graffiti, "Kashmir" just oozes this epic feeling, like a big confrontation is about to go down.
When the Hammond organ starts and Robert Plant sings the title of "Your Time Is Gonna Come".
Sure, it's overplayed all to hell and covered by everyone from Rolf Harris to Frank Zappa — but "Stairway to Heaven" is flat-out amazing. Epic Rocking at its finest.
"All of My Love" gets a little emotional, yet it rocks out loud when Robert Plant really picks up on the vocal delivery towards the end.
Might not be as well known, but "Trampled Under Foot" might be one of their best displays of groove.
"Good Times, Bad Times", the first song off their first album. Catchy as hell, upbeat and an excellent way to start off the career of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Godsmack's cover of it is definitely worth listening to as well.
Cat Stevens. "Father and Son" is one of the most beautiful songs in existence.
Cat definitely qualifies as awesome, if only because his lyrics are so beautiful. "I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul. I let my music take me where my heart wants to go."
"Moonshadow". "Yes I'm being followed by a Moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
"Where Do The Children Play?" "Will you keep on building higher 'til there's no more room up there?"
"I always flirt with death, I look ill but I don't care about it! I can face your threats and stand up straight and tall and shout about it! I think I'm on another world with you, with you..." "Another Girl, Another Planet" by the Only Ones. That intro...That guitar solo...The lyrics, hell everything about this song is amazing.
Tom Waits has quite a few amazingly good songs, but his awesomest would have to be "Goin' Out West" and "Hoist That Rag".
His crowning moment has to be "On The Nickel." Who thought a song about Skid Row could be so beautiful?
Take everything off the album Rain Dogs. Insert here. That's just getting you STARTED.
"You know there ain't no devil, just God when he's drunk!"
The Goo Goo Dolls have awesome songs like "Sympathy", "Here Is Gone", "Let Love In", "Black Balloon", "Feel the Silence", "Slide", "Stay with You", "Falling Down", "Long Way Down" and more.
Both "Iris" and "Better Days" are just uplifting!
"Give a Little Bit", Covered Up from the already amazing Supertramp.
"Name" is what propelled the band to huge popularity, and for good reason.
Liz Phair's debut album Exile in Guyville is one of the most important rock records ever recorded. Intelligent, sexual, lustful, with slinky rhythms and alternately pleading, sneering, and snarling, but always achingly honest lyrics, Phair's debut record was one for the ages.
Nick Cave's double album Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus contains a few of these things. "Hiding All Away", "Abattoir Blues", "Carry Me", and "O Children" stand out.
Nick Cave's "Into My Arms" kicks arse like nothing alive.
Speaking of Nick Cave, Grinderman. The song "No Pussy Blues" is 4 1/2 minutes of shouting about a mid-life crisis, set to some of the noisiest guitar you'll ever hear.
Grinderman 2 opens with "Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man," which manages to rock balls-out, and feature some sexy howling.
The Men They Couldn't Hang have a song called "The Ghosts of Cable Street", about the Battle of Cable Street, when a mob of enraged East-Enders beating the tar out of a parade of Black Shirts. The song is appropriately awesome.
The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets' "Power Up" is as kickass as the name demands.
"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey is so awesome that it's reached the point of parody due to overuse in Sports Venues and the end of The Sopranos. That does not diminish its awesomeness, however.
"Falling Down". This song was so awesome it was used at the opening for Eden of the East in JAPAN. Not the U.S opening, the Japanese one. Japan liked this song enough to use it. That's how awesome it is.
"Gas Panic!" is definitely one of the awesomest songs off of Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
"Songbird" from Heathen Chemistry manages to combine a guitar, a flute, a violin, Liam's wonderfully slightly-off-key vocals, and some of the sweetest rhymes you'll ever hear into two minutes of Sweet Dreams Fuel.
Southern Rock. While most of its famous songs are awesome, "Free Bird", by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Now with 100% more cowbell!), and "Green Grass and High Tides", by The Outlaws, take guitar playing to a whole new level with it's gigantic, impressive "something you'll remember forever from the first time you hear them" solos.
The Allman Brothers Band! "Whipping Post", "Ramblin' Man", "Midnight Rider", and the iconic "Jessica".
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia", a song based on the concept of a fiddle duel with Satan himself. (Both the original version and the cover in Guitar Hero 3 count, by the way. Which version you think is more awesome will depend on your personal tastes.) And if the lyrics are any indication, the Devil's intended victim curbstomps him.
And then there's the Levellers' version. Ever wondered what a punk version would sound like?
Riffing off a similar theme is "Tribute" by Tenacious D. "All of a sudden,/There shined a shiny demon,/In the middle of the road,/And he said!/Play the best song in the world, or I'll eat your souls.../Well me and Kyle,/we looked at each other,/And we each said,/Okay."
That and you have David Grohl of the Foo Fighters (and formerly Nirvana) playing the Devil in the music video.
The significant number of parodies of this song should speak for it's awesomeness.
Charlie Daniels collaborated with violinist Mark O'Connor on an official sequel, "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia", with Travis Tritt as the Devil and Marty Stuart as Johnny. Adding to the awesome is the narration by Johnny Cash in full preacher-mode. Oh, and final score; Johnny 2, Satan 0.
The initial trailer for Sin City sparked a flood of 'what the hell is that awesome music?' comments; it's a song called "Cells" by The Servant, and many were disappointed that it didn't feature in the film.
"I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by Dropkick Murphys. When you take cellos, a banjo, and a concertina and make them sound like a world of hurt is about to descend upon some poor bastard, you know you've accomplished something.
Speaking of "Shane MacGowan", the Dropkick Murphys version of "Spancill Hill" is a definite CMOA, for when you get to that reflective, melancholy phase of drunkenness.
Dead Can Dance's version of Middle-Ages Italian folk song "Saltarello". Their whole career is a CMOA. Lisa's trademark One-Woman Wail and Brendan's playing...
Cryoshell is an obscure Danish band that originally provided music for BIONICLE commercials, but has since produced music on their own. Hereareexamples of their music.
"Invincible" by Pat Benatar may just be the ultimate cure-all for any sad, depressed, or hopeless feeling anyone could conceivably feel. Ever.
The cover of this song by Ayria just adds to the awesomeness of this song. It turns it into a "stand-on-a-tank-and-wave-a-revolutionary-flag" anthem...
Muse's song by the same name, though unrelated, has a similar effect, plus makes a mean warm-up song before any sort of competition.
The Killers have many. "Read My Mind" is a favorite, but "Mr. Brightside" was once named the greatest song ever written by a British radio station.
Just to further back up how good "Mr. Brightside" is — this song is played at all social events, and everyone, regardless of their musical tastes, knows all the words. That's how big it is, at least over in the UK.
Then there's this version of "Human". A great song, epic visuals, and added thematically relevant lyrics? Awesome.
Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland". Goddamn epic. There's an amazing version on the Live in Hyde Park DVD. We get to see Clarence Clemons playing his famous saxophone solo against the backdrop of a beautiful summer sunset.
"Born to Run". The man made riding a carnival ride sound epic!
The old stuff is the best. "Rosalita", "No Surrender", "Born in the USA", "Dancing in the Dark", Thunder Road. It's like he puts his whole soul into it.
Hey what else can we do now, except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair? Well, the night's bustin' open these two lanes'll take us anywhere! We got one last chance to make it real, to trade in these wings on some wheels. Climb in back, heaven's waiting on down the tracks.
This bit in "City of Ruins" in particular hits close to home with New Yorkers:
Now, with these hands, with these hands I pray for the faith, Lord I pray for the strength, Lord I pray for Your love, Lord — Come on, Riiiiiiiise up, come on riiiiiiise up....
From the same album: "The Rising." It is just glorious, especially the "la la la la"s after the chorus.
His performance of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" at the 2009 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert, though his co-performer Tom Morello's absolutely mind-blowing guitar solo contributes to the awesome. Watch it here.
"Youngstown" from the same album. Folk or rock version.
BAD-LAAAANDS, you gotta live it every day Let the broken hearts stand as the price you gotta pay Keep pushin' til it's understood and these badlands start treatin' us good!
The other songs off Darkness on the Edge of Town aren't half bad either -– especially the live radio broadcasted performances from the Darkness Tour. "Racing in the Street" has got to be the most poignant song ever about car racing, "The Promised Land" is a defiant roar in the face of adversity and the live version of "Prove It All Night" is, as one youtuber put it, "pull me off of the ceiling" euphoric.
Off of Live in New York City listen to "Lost in the Flood" one of his lesser known but man that is one killer song.
And everybody's wrecked on main street from drinking unholy blood! Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud And I said "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, that's quicksand that ain't mud Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?"
"The River" from the eponymous album. Very melancholy but gorgeous regardless.
Also from The River is "Point Blank". Moody, atmospheric, and emotionally devastating.
"I'm on Fire", one of the starkest (and probably sexiest) songs about desire ever recorded. Helped by its minimalism: it's barely two and a half minutes long and has very sparse instrumentation.
Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows". Quite possibly the single best song ever recorded.
Hallelujah", his most famous work. "The Faith", his last song, is so perfect that once he wrote it, there was nothing more to be said.
Frank Zappa's Over-Nite Sensation is more than qualified to be on this list. The solos on this album really bring it to CMOA, particularly the ones on "Dirty Love" and the second one on "Fifty-Fifty".
Also, "Billy the Mountain" from Just Another Band from L.A., quite possibly the greatest absurdist rock opera ever. The only way to make it better is to do it a cappella... and here it is. Dweezil even signed off on how awesome it is.
"Miss You" from Some Girls has one of the catchiest riffs in rock history, ever.
Dire Straits' contributions to awesome music begin with Mark Knopfler's unforgettable guitar sound and carry on from there.
Their 1985 album Brothers in Arms was the first million-selling CD. It's not hard to see why; there's hardly a weak song on the whole record.
The guitar riff that opens the plaintive "So Far Away" gets the album off to a great start, with Knopfler in fine form as both guitarist and vocalist.
"Money for Nothing" is more than just a memorable early use of CGI in music videos. Anchored, like so many Dire Straits songs, by a killer guitar riff, and with special guest backing vocalist Sting using the tune from the verses of the Police's 1980 hit "Don't Stand So Close to Me" for the "I want my MTV" chants, it remains one of the most enduring tracks on the album.note When one sets aside the Values Dissonance in some of the lyrics, anyway.
"Walk of Life" opens with a catchy organ riff that will make almost any listener want to get up and dance.
The sax solo from "Your Latest Trick" is so well-known that if someone walks into a music store with the intent of buying a saxophone, chances are this is what they'll play to test it.note Well, that or "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty.
The haunting "Ride Across the River" is awesome enough in the studio version, the "panpipes" (rendered by a synth) and drums really conveying the atmosphere of a soldier of fortune deep in the jungle ready to give his life if need be. Live, however, complete with extended guitar and flute solo, it reaches whole new levels of epic.
The angsty "One World" may be one of the most overlooked tracks on the album, but Mark's outstanding guitar work and the catchy guitar/synth hook make it a winner.
If you can listen to the album's closer, the heart-rending title track "Brothers in Arms" (often said to complete a story arc beginning with the soldier of fortune in "Ride Across the River" who then becomes a tyrant in "The Man's Too Strong" but meets a tragic end in "Brothers in Arms"), without being moved, you make the Straw Vulcan look emotional.
"Tunnel of Love". One of the best guitar solos ever. "Telegraph Road" ain't half bad either, being the best driving song ever, especially if it's raining.
"Sultans of Swing" is already an outstanding tour de force for Mark as both guitarist and singer in the studio version. But in the live version from Alchemy, where the closing guitar solo is expanded from thirty seconds to over five minutes (which finally ends by returning to where it began), it becomes one of the greatest displays of guitar virtuosity Knopfler ever gave.
"Romeo and Juliet". They took one of the most cliched, over-used allusions in history, and they made one of the best, most emotional songs ever written out of it.
"I'm Yours" was immensely successful in the U.S. on the Billboard charts. It spent 76 weeks on the Hot 100, breaking the record for most weeks on the chart. It is currently the eighth-best selling digital song of all time in the U.S., selling in excess of 6 million downloads.
Smile. Brian Wilson again faces a project which was the source of painful personal issues, had a massive reputation to live up to, was conceived as a studio work but was put together as a live show, and ended up with one of the most acclaimed albums of recent times.
Brian Wilson? Awesome. Brian Wilson completing an unfinished Gershwin song? Magical.
If you think "Hurt" is epic, just listen to Johnny Cash's cover. As Trent Reznor famously said, "that song isn't mine anymore."
"Just Like You Imagined" requires at least a little awesome to be used in the trailer for 300. What clinches it is the rising scream at the climax.
Acid Folk Rock band Jefferson Airplane's "We Can Be Together" is a fairly easy-going song... it's not even epic in length. However, it does have its own crowning moment, in which the vocalists harmonize to sing the line, "Up against the wall, motherfucker, tear down the wall!" The song sparked a good bit of controversy when it was performed, uncensored on The Dick Cavett Show in 1969, and the performance is often noted for being one of the first times "fuck" was ever said on national television. The fact that this song is more well-known than its A-Side ("Volunteers") is something astounding, as well.
For the record, the lyrics also quote, word-for-word, the philosophies on a leaflet written by a member of an anarchic group called the Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers.note They tore down the fences at Woodstock and very likely torched the overpriced cult-run Food for Love concession. The song helped the phrase, normally used by police arresting civil rights activists and war protesters, rise in popularity as a rallying cry. Not bad, considering the song was originally released as a B-Side.
Grace Slick's mind-blowing vocals in...well, every song she sings, but "Somebody to Love" is worthy of a special mention.
"White Rabbit" is a surreal classic with some slick bass playing.
Jefferson Airplane's follow-up band, Jefferson Starship, had some rather awesome music too — cheesy, but awesome. The most (in)famous was "We Built This City", but "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is a high point.
"Sturmnacht" by the German Medieval Rock band Schandmaul. Translates to "Storm Night". Despite the name it doesn't have any connection to Those Wacky Nazis. It's purely instrumental and pure awesome.
The album Alaska by Between the Buried and Me is epic in its entirety, but "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" takes the cake. "WhiteWalls" too. Specifically the the intro, the White Walls and "We will remembered for this" roars, and the incredibly amazing ending solo.
They score at least one every album. Since three have been covered, we'll just add "Wolves, Lower", "Perfect Circle", "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)", "Green Grow the Rushes", "The Flowers of Guatemala", every single song on Automatic for the People, "Electrolite", "Diminished", "Beat a Drum", and most of Accelerate.
"Nightswimming" is haunting and lets Michael Stipe's voice shine. So beautiful.
"The Great Beyond" may just reach "Nightswimming" levels of haunting beauty.
"Drive" sounds like the sort of song that would play over the opening credits of an old western, and "Find the River" will make you cry, period.
Their early output is also rife with these. Special mention goes to practically all of their debut albumMurmur.
"Harborcoat", from 1984's Reckoning. Great album opener, and truly underrated overall.
"A Month of Saturdays", "We All Go Back to Where We Belong", and "Hallelujah", the last three songs on their Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 compilation album, and the last three songs they recorded together before their breakup.
Santana, the band and the man, have been fountains of awesome music for over forty years.
Abraxas, one of the records that really put Santana on the map, is a whole album of awesome.
The cover of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by, respectively, Fleetwood Mac and Gábor Szabó is a particular highlight. The distorted guitar hook from the original version of "Black Magic Woman" is replaced by an almost circular organ riff that draws the audience in from the very start, and then the tempo and energy suddenly shift into high gear for "Gypsy Queen".
The cover of Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" holds its own very well against the original, the interplay between flutes and saxophones from the original being re-scored for Gregg Rolie on organ and Carlos Santana himself on guitar.
For a legendary song that can cheer you right up, try "Samba Pa Ti". As with the cover of "Gypsy Queen", things really shift into high gear in the latter half of the song.
Supernatural was the big winner at the 1999 Grammies, and deservedly so. The album's centrepiece, "Smooth" (with special guest vocalist Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty), is truly brilliant.
"Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)". The vocal part of the song has a great groove to it, but wait until 4:24. If you're familiar with the song, you know what this is getting at...and if you don't, be prepared for an ending that just melts in your ears.
"Soul Sacrifice", from freakin' Woodstock. Possibly the best drum solo ever, and by a 19 year old kid. Check out 3:48 especially.
Try not to enjoy this 1-2 punch of Clapton and Santana, known as "The Calling".
The entire Shaman album. 75 minutes of pure musical magic that has unmatched variety and a little something for almost everybody. Examples:
Everybody has heard "The Game of Love". It's one of Carlos' most popular songs for a reason; it's uplifting and can easily put you in a good mood.
America is Santana's take on heavy metal, backed by none other than P.O.D., and it will get you banging your head. And that fucking solo.
His collaboration with Macy Gray, Amore (Sexo), is just begging to be played at a beach party.
The opera song Novus is something that really shouldn't work, but somehow does. Doubles as a Tear Jerker. Carlos couldn't have picked a better song to close out the album.
The John Butler Trio's song "Caroline" can make you want to jump up and down and scream the last verse, where the string instruments kick in and the music just gets that much more awesome.
And if birds could fly high over their troubles
She gonna find some of her own wings and fly
And no one could convince or pay her double
Or tell her she was too young to die! Oh, Caroline, Caroline!
Their cover of "I Will Survive". I Will Survive, sung in that funky, halting Cake style, with trumpet solos, and a few lyrical tweaks, the most badass of which being,
"And so you're back from outer space; I just walked in to find you here without that look upon your face. I should've changed that fucking lock; I would've made you leave your key, if I'd have known for just one second you'd be back to bother me."
L. Udo's rock opera, The Broken Bride. Especially the chorus: "I crashed before the birth of Christ / Pterodactyls swarming / You died in nineteen eighty-nine / I want to get back to that morning in May —"
A bit indie, but nevertheless serious Awesome Music: "Headlights Look Like Diamonds" by Arcade Fire. Like all the painful joy and joyous pain in the world condensed into a song. Catch them in a smaller venue singing balls out and the glory of the thing hits you in the face like a ton of bricks.
Go to a B-52s concert. Just do it. If you don't have the urge to get up and dance at least once, then you just might be a robot. Besides, you might get the chance to realize the place where it sounds like they use a theremin is Kate Pierson singing. Your mind will be blown clear into the next county.
"Take me home, country roads..." One of John Denver's finest. The cover version on Whisper of the Heart is pretty fine too.
Approximately 70% of everything ever performed by Cold Chisel.
"Khe Sanh". Whenever an Australian radio station does a "greatest songs of all time" countdown, it's guaranteed to be at least in the top 5, and probably number one.
Chicago's early years, particularly The Chicago Transit Authority (their first album) and Chicago (II). These guys brought together blues-rock, jazz, and the early prog-rock movement together into one big package (literally; their first three studio outputs were all double albums, and the Carnegie Hall release was four vinyls long). Need to be convinced that Chicago had more than one good rocking song besides "25 or 6 to 4"? Try these: "Poem 58", "South California Purples", an early live version of "It Better End Soon" (the studio version is even better), and from the same concert, "Introduction".
How about this version of "25 or 6 to 4", performed live with Earth, Wind & Fire? The best part about that song is how meta it is. It's not about drugs, or gambling, or any of the other random interpretations. It's about... writing "25 or 6 to 4". The title refers to how the band had writer's block early in the morning.
Try sitting still while Farin Urlaub of Die Ärzte fame performs "Zehn". "I want to see you jump" indeed. Also, Bonus points for the female drummer and guitarists.
Similarly, "Unrockbar" (un-rockable) by Die Ärzte is a song about his rock-hating girlfriend. The last third deserves special mention for being objectively epic.
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" manages to be super-awesome in its simplicity despite being a seriesof Bible quotations from Ecclesiastes. The fact that it was set to music by Pete Seeger in the 1950s (although not released until 1962), a time where Cold War paranoia was gripping much of the world makes its "world peace" subject an anvil that really, really needed to be dropped.
Buckethead. "Jordan" is a classic, as are "Nottingham Lace" and "King James". "Soothsayer" can be both this and a Tear Jerker at the same time. There's just something about listening to someone with a near-complete mastery of the guitar that's incredible — even if said person is an insanely creepy, impossibly tall man with a KFC bucket on his head.
Gogol Bordello. Unusual and gimmicky, but their music is more loud and energetic than possibly anything else in the world. Also, they have an impossibly cool-looking fiddle. For example, "Mishto!" Here's a live performance.
"Dogs Were Barking" is reserved on wedding playlists for a reason.
Now, consider Phish's "Divided Sky," as well as "Guyute" and "Harry Hood."
Their versatility is just stunning. Here's a good example. Have you ever heard a Zeppelin cover rock so hard and sound so joyous? As an added bonus, that song that they segue into at the end — one of their originals called "Tweezer Reprise" — is in a completely different key than they normally play it in (E instead of D). They never rehearsed that or anything. It just happened.
Mark Knopfler. Not only is he perfectly able to put out good material with a variety of genres, but he's a downright masterful writer when it comes to lyrics.
"What it is" is the perfect combination of rhythm, lyrics, and storytelling that will capture the hearts of everyone and anyone that listens to them.
"Boom, Like That" is a song about Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's and it is badass.
"Postcards from Panama", which takes a story about a criminal skipping town towards the titular country after attracting too much attention, a cheerful, almost-danceable tune, and combines them perfectly.
"Don't Crash the Ambulance" sets some playful political commentary to a relaxing, almost Latin-esque groove.
Morrissey's"Jack the Ripper", which more makes up for every bad or mediocre song that he's ever written, and is so objectively awesome that even people who hate Morrissey have to admit that it's good.
My Dying Bride. If "The Cry Of Mankind" is not awesome enough, there's the opening song of the 2004 album Songs Of Darkness, "Words Of Light". They even did an awesomePortishead cover (and the Youtube video is a Tim Burton-esque uncanny / horrifying/Narm clip).
Flogging Molly's "Requiem for a Dying Song".
"Rebels of the Sacred Heart". While definitely not their best song, it deserves a CMOA for the first chorus. "Oh yeah, some psuedo-protest song, nice flute playing, but it's not really pun-WOAH WHAT THE FUCK AWESOME!"
Hoobastank's "Born to Lead" should be on here. Quite a driving, heart pumping song for those of us who love a good positive song we seem to be lacking nowadays. The music video is also fairly trippy and cool as well.
Even haters of My Chemical Romance love "Welcome to the Black Parade". It's just... listen to it. Read the lyrics, too. And don't get discouraged by the slow opening or the band it's by. Looks can be deceiving.
All of The Black Parade is Awesome Music (just check out the album page) Also, their version of "Desolation Row" definitely qualifies.
The B-sides from The Black Parade are pretty good too: the absurdly catchy "Where Is My Mind?" soundalike "Kill All Your Friends" and slightly epic "Heaven Help Us".
"You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" just for the lyrics.
Their single "Na Na Na" counts as this too, and not only because that's Grant Morrison at the beginning there.
Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo.
"Desert Song" from their first DVD "Life On The Murder Scene." The lyrics are a somber look inside Gerard's head through all the bad that he and the band have been through to that point.
"Astro and Mary" is definitely worth a listen. Great lyrics, great voice and a sweet guitar solo.
Cream. "White Room", "Badge", and "As You Said" are just magnificent.
"Sunshine Of Your Love" starts with an instantly memorable guitar/bass riff and just gets better from there.
Great Big Sea's version of "John Barbour". Starts out as your basic ballad, then subtly builds until after the final line it swells until it makes a tin whistle sound badass. Cool enough on the album, but live it more than deserves this title.
Another GBS example — "Gallows Pole", specifically the performance at the 2009 Junos. Sean McCann was singing this with a lung infection.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Their pieces always take a while to get into stride, but the wait's always worth it. They treat every single song like it's a symphony, taking as long as they need to run the full gamut of emotions. It's impossible to list individual standout tracks, but for a start, there's all of F#A#infinity and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven.
The Australian band Bridezilla's song, "Chainwork". Bloody brilliant. They should win an ARIA for that.
Another brilliant Australian group: Dead Letter Circus. Theyepitomizethe term"epic", and they've only released one album and two extended plays so far!
"Field of Daggers" by House of Heroes. The title may sound like a Naruto attack, but just wait until the song gets to 1:06, at which point the epic begins.
"Telstar", originally by the Tornados, is almost an anthem to human achievement. It has an extensive Cover Version record for that reason. Here's the Shadows's version.
"Bleed It Out" by Linkin Park. Yes, the song follows the same done-to-death "rapped verses, screamed everything else" formula that they've been doing since they formed, but eschewing nu-metal in favor of alternative/Rap Metal and the fact that Mike and Chester sound so pissed off just makes the song work better than any of their previous attempts.
The whole Jay-Z mashup album was genius, but especially "Numb/Encore". Far better than the sum of its parts. This remix also counts, replacing most of Jay-Z's Encore with parts from Eminem's song of the same name.
Reanimation is an entire Album of Awesome. Even people who hated Hybrid Theory or hate Linkin Park in general would find themselves drawn to Reanimation, because of the quality of the music. To name two songs off the top of my head, "P5hng Me A* wy" (which is definitely better than the original, and is the version they perform live) and "1Stp Klosr".
"Halfway Home" by TV on the Radio starts off high, but at the "Is it not me" bridge around 2:00 it takes off into the stratosphere.
Their Dear Science album is one big example, really. There's a reason Rolling Stone named it the best album of 2008.
The Stone Roses in general: "This Is The One", "Waterfall", "She Bangs The Drums", "I Am The Resurrection", "I Wanna Be Adored", "Made Of Stone" in particular.
"Elephant Stone" has the most epic drum beat since Keith Moon.
And carrying on from there, The Seahorses with "Love Is The Law" (the opening riff is awesome and the lyrics are quite funny in places) and "Blinded By The Sun".
The live version of The Smashing Pumpkins song "silverfuck" is made of this trope. With a "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" tease, an extended middle section and the ending which usually detoriates in to mess of feedback makes it a prime example of this trope!
"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" shows that no matter how well you can control yourself, we are all just animals underneath. Put it on your car stereo and crank it to 11.
That moment in "Soma" when the wall of fuzz guitar erupts out of silence.
Probably the most unexpected example is Quasar, which opens the first album in years that just about all Pumpkin fans can agree is pretty great. And it's not even the best song on it.
The Smashing Pumpkins are basically a band made up of this trope, as far as most of their fans are concerned.
Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." Good luck finding an individual song, other than maybe "Like a Rolling Stone," with a greater influence than this one, which apparently convinced The Rolling Stones to get serious, was the subject of one of the earliest Beatles demos, and practically invented the Epic Riff and Rock-Star Song as we know them. Go, Johnny, go.
Whatever you think of Weezer or the song, it's near impossible not to sing along to the chorus of "Beverly Hills".
Continuing with the above, no matter what you think of their later work, Pinkerton is absolutely brilliant from start to finish. "Across The Sea" has to be one of the most simultaneously heartfelt and creepy statements in music history.
"One" by U2 is one of the most beautiful songs ever.
Their album No Line on the Horizon has no shortage of awesome, as evidenced by "Magnificent", and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight".
The Joshua Tree, from start to finish. (How the HELL do you choose between the opening to "Where The Streets Have No Name" or that anguished shriek in Bono's voice at the end of "One Tree Hill" or....).
Achtung Baby is this trope personified. The transition from the idealistic, ethereal "Joshua Tree" into a rather dark, yet powerfully anthemic and emotional album's worth of awesome is done so brilliantly.
And of course, "Bad" at Live Aid, which epically coincides with a Moment of Awesome. Seriously, the whole thing feels like it's ripped out of a movie.
The version of "Love is Blindness" from their Zoo TV Live in Sydney concert. There's no U2 like live U2.
Eric Clapton. The man who brought us "Layla", "Tears in Heaven", and more!
Andrew WK:
"Party Hard". So much fun energy that in the 2000s everyone had to get in on the action.
"Ready to Die." Listen with caution, because this song will make you feel like you can take on an army — no, a planet singlehanded.
Silversun Pickups, the best indie band of this DECADE! "Future Foe Scenarios", "Well Thought Out Twinkles", and.... scratch that, the entirety of "Carnavas" was awesome!
Swoon has some of the most effective uses of strings in modern rock ever.
Then there is Velvet Underground. Their level of influence could very well be on the same level as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, acting as the leaders of the proto-punk movement of the late 60s/early 70s and taking rock music to new, artistic heights. Some of their most famous songs include "Venus in Furs", "Heroin", "White Light/White Heat", and "I'm Waiting for the Man".
There's a persistent urban legend that everyone who bought their first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, when it came out was inspired to form their own band.
Anything by Sublime, but especially their self-titled album, which went quintuple platinum, despite the band being unable to tour, due to lead singer/lead guitarist Bradley Nowell's tragic overdose, weeks before the album came out.
"Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)" is another epic song.
While they fell out of favor in America after a while, they deserve a shout out to their later songs "The Stairs", "Beautiful Girl", "The Gift", and "I'm Just A Man." And as for their post-Hutchence album Switch, there's "Pretty Vegas" which honestly lead to a well-earned (but brief) comeback and made their stupid reality show worthwhile..
Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" is the perfect anthem for people who refuse to be pushed around by the world and for people whom the world is constantly dragging down.
The Dresden Dolls. "Coin-Operated Boy", "Backstabber", "Girl Anachronism"... Amanda Palmer's pounding piano and heartfelt vocals combine with Brian Viglione's awe-inspiring drum work to create punk-cabaret-rock. And it is AWESOME.
The King himself, Elvis Presley had some of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time! "Jailhouse Rock", "Hound Dog" and "Heartbreak Hotel" are some of his greatest works. Some of his later work like "Suspiscious Minds" and "Burning Love" also deserve to be on here.
Elvis' other CMOA can be found on his '68 Comeback Special. Elvis is playing the lead guitar, too.
"Blue Suede Shoes" stars off rockabilly, but his soft gentle love songs like "Love Me Tender" also qualify. For the ultimate in awesome, listen to "If I Can Dream" from the '68 Comeback Special.
Incubus had a hit in 2001 with "Drive", an acoustic rock song with inspirational lyrics about embracing new experiences, good or bad, and deciding for yourself what to make of them.
Also "Hard to Concentrate", "Throw Away Your Television", "Torture Me", "This Velvet Glove", "This is the Place", "Hey", "Road Trippin'"... Flea himself says "Hey" was his best.
Just by listening to it you can tell what kind of guitarist he was. The last verse will give chills.
'Voodoo Chile' off of ''Electric Ladyland' is a standout. Clocking in at 15 minutes exactly the song not only features some of Jimi's finest guitar work, but a fantastic drum solo from Mitch Mitchell and a killer organ provided by none other than Steve Winwood.
'Machine Gun' is the angriest song made by Hendrix. A powerful, 12-minute masterpiece that includes possibly the best guitar solo of Hendrix's career.
T'Pau's "Only a Heartbeat", was written to symbolise the fall of the Berlin Wall and does so to almost tearjerking effect.
They took the wall away
Brick by brick it came down again
A Chain reaction, a solemn vow
Who in the world can stop this now?
"Rock Around the Clock", by Bill Haley & His Comets. The song that started Rock and Roll. Its guitar solo, originally played by Danny Cedrone, inspired many future guitarists, including Jeff Beck.
This is an obscure one, but it is one gem worth tracking down; the Artists United Against Apartheid project. It was one of the gazillion "mass-supergroup charity albums" from the '80s — THIS one, though, was an anti-apartheid album, specifically targeting the "Sun City" resort in Johannesburg. There's one hell of a cast on board — Little Steven started it, so he got Bruce Springsteen in easily; but he also got Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Joey Ramone, Eddie Ruffin (from the Temptations), Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Ruben Blades, Peter Gabriel, Nona Hendryx, Bonnie Raitt, Miles Davis, Gil-Scott Heron, Herbie Hancock...the video for the main song was pretty kick-ass and gives an idea of the scope of artists. The album also has Bono's original SOLO version of U2's "Silver And Gold". The original features just Bono singing, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on guitar and slide guitar, and some random studio hand whanging on a cardboard box for the "percussion."
DC Talk started out as a Christian hip-hop group, but they eventually switched to rock and became seriously awesome. Their musical style was very similar to that of The Beatles, but their songs conveyed a completelydifferentmessage. While they were much better after the switch, their transitional album, Free at Last, is all quite interesting.
Ex-Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers' debut album Joy of a Toy, is a worthy candidate, especially the title track with its cool parade atmosphere that foreshadows the music from Lemmings.
Switchfoot: "Dare You to Move", "Meant to Live", and "Dirty Second Hands" are absolutely mind blowing when performed live.
Paramore's live performance of "Let the Flames Begin" comes right the hell out of nowhere and turns a great middle-of-the-album song into an epic performance.
Say what you want about the rest of Phil Collins' music, but "In The Air Tonight" is awesome in song form. And if that's not good enough for you, check out the Ben Liebrand remix!
Harry Chapin. In the interest of not running favourites all the way down the page, just one: "Sniper". Pure lyrical brilliance with a soundtrack to match.
Peter Gabriel. "In Your Eyes." A thing of glory well before John Cusack blasted it on a boom box.
The Pretty Things may have been largely forgotten, but their 1970 album Parachute contains "Grass", one of the most beautiful rock songs ever.
"Don't Talk In Your Sleep" by the Magik Markers. Quite simply the most seething, visceral, and powerfully feminine song ever recorded. The pulsing, repetitive melody, scatterbrained drums, knife-sharp hiccups of funk guitar, all slathered in a terrifyingly emotionless warning. The chorus alone speaks volumes.
Don't talk in your sleep, don't leave a trace
Because a loving woman can have the devil's face
I don't want to be mean, but I'm not afraid
Anything you steal baby you'll pay for in spades
"The Logical Song" by Supertramp. Upbeat, yet cynical, meaning it somehow matches the attitudes of Generation Y, and it's just so epic.
Love's Forever Changes album. All of it. Rhino even put the whole thing on a Love compilation. It is that good.
"7 & 7 Is" from Da Capo, one of the most insane pieces of garage-based rock to come out of the '60s, with its high-speed energy, surprisingly good lyrics and an atomic explosion in its ending, all in just two minutes and thirteen seconds.
To list a specific example, "The Drumming Song". Excellent.
Cosmic Love. With powerful, ethereal lyrics, a pounding instrumental, and truly fantastic singing, it becomes a small opera, evoking more than one kind of emotion with every verse.
The follow-up, Ceremonials, sounds quite different from the previous album, but no less amazing. Standouts include the haunting "What the Water Gave Me" and the upbeat "Spectrum", perhaps the straightest love song the group has done.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, kids. An absolute rock GODDESS with some of the best pipes ever. And the band is killer too. Their entire albums constitute this trope start to finish. But if you're looking for particular examples, "Apologies", "Sweet Hands", "Paris", "Ah Mary", "Mastermind", "Medicine", "Tiny Light", and "Oasis"...on and on it goes.
Swans, as a group, period. Often goes hand-in-hand with Nightmare Fuel, but still: The only singular words appropriate to describing something like "Helpless Child" are "epic" and "awesome" in their original senses.
"Barracuda" hits the ground running with a flanging effect on the opening guitar riff that has defied generations of guitarists' attempts to replicate it; at the time, flanging effects were mostly achieved in the studio, but the song was one of the first to use a flanging pedal that could be used in live performance. The rest of the song, a blistering Take That! against Mushroom Records execs for fabricating a story that Ann and Nancy Wilson were in an incestuous relationship, is equally awesome, led by a first class lead vocal from Ann.
The Pretty Reckless created such magic as "Make Me Wanna Die", "He Loves You", "Miss Nothing", "Light Me Up", "Since You're Gone"...Taylor has one of the best voices ever!
There's also "Heart" and "You", both of which can be considered Tear Jerker songs. Oh, and you think she doesn't have power in her voice? Get a load of "Victory"! There are female singers and then there's Taylor Momsen!
The Zombies' 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. Only "Time of the Season" was ever a hit, but "Care Of Cell 44" (an oddly cheery love letter to a convicted criminal), "A Rose For Emily" (a piano elegy for a spinster who dies alone), "Brief Candles" (a breakup song that's actually about getting over it instead of wallowing), and "Hung Up On A Dream" (despite the psychedelic Mellotron, possibly the most beautiful anti-drug song ever) all deserve to be more famous.
Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Dazzle". This could easily be the sound of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE in your ears!
"Hong Kong Garden" is a punk song with a xylophone.
The Doobie Brothers bring us "Long Train Runnin'". It's epic for an acoustic song, and you'll be hearing it for days.
The Hoosiers' "Choices" is quite frankly one of the most incredible songs in its simplicity.
As far as chillwave goes, people aren't very inclined to call it "awesome." Go listen to "Amor Fati" by Washed Out. Your mind may change.
"WhereButterfliesNeverDie." Never heard of it? If not, don't worry, you aren't alone. Broken Iris's only album,The Eyes of Tomorrow, is a masterpiece of anguish and grief, showing the progression of a troubled relationship ending in tragedy that continues into unstableinsanity.
"Bright Lights" by Matchbox Twenty, from the below lines to the big rock ending, complete with flawless build:
Baby baby baby, when all your love is gone
who will save me from all I'm up against
in this world
Foster the People, anyone? They're masters of catchy melodies and dark lyrics; "Warrant" is a triumph, from the soaring angelic beginning to the foot-tapping chorus to the garbled verse at the end.
Buddy Holly, one of the founding fathers of rock as we now know it. "Rave On", "Peggy Sue", "Rock Around With Ollie Vee", "Everyday", "Maybe Baby", "Brown Eyed-Handsome Man", the list goes on.
For that matter, "La Bamba", "Donna", "Come On Let's Go", "We Belong Together". Welcome to your spot here, Richie Valens!
Roy Orbison, one of the greatest voices in Rock ever. Just try "Only The Lonely", "Oh, Pretty Woman", "It's Over" and "In Dreams" to name but a few.
"Forever" by In This Moment, one of the best female singers ever along with a KILLER chorus makes for one hell of a song!
Halestorm is just awesome incarnate: "It's Not You", "Taste Of Poison", "I Get Off" are all great.
Rev Theory's "Hell Yeah", the song title says it all really, "Light It Up" rocks pretty hard as well.
Jet Black Stare"Ready To Roll". WARNING: this song is so awesomely catchy that you should not under any circumstances listen to it while driving.
Hinder: "Up All Night", "See You In Hell", "Freakshow", "Waking Up The Devil", "Striptease", "Ladies Come First", "Take Me To The Limit", "Use Me", and "The Best Is Yet To Come" all rock hard.
"Glad All Over" by the Dave Clark Five. One of the early British Invasion hits, it's not just catchy, but awesome.
That's just scratching the surface! Take a look at "We Weren't Born to Follow", "Last Man Standing", and "Born to Be My Baby". And that's only naming a few.
Though it produced no recognizable single hit song and is treated as an Old Shame by the band, as its songs are rarely (if ever) performed live, their second studio album 7800 Degrees Farenheit could qualify as one big Moment of Awesome.
Kid Rock: "All Summer Long" is the PERFECT song for driving along during a warm summer day, while "Cowboy" is just 10 levels of badass.
Despite being a Black Sheep Hit and despite their constant dismissal and disownment of the tune, it's still impossible to talk about Simple Minds without bringing up "Don't You (Forget About Me)", an irresistible 80s classic immortalized by The Breakfast Club.
Girls' "Jamie Marie". The song is a heartfelt acoustic guitar track, up until the very end, where the drums kick in and the rest is an epic organ solo.
"My Sacrifice" by Creed. Narmy, maybe, but damnit, it's Narm that you HAVE to love.
Dave Hole's "My Bird Won't Sing." A breakup song that's blues to the point that you want to drink yourself catatonic is just great.
Mirah's "Archipelago". The only bad thing is that every time she sings, "Goodbye my love," her speech sounds really slurred. Otherwise, it's a very beautiful piece of music. For a breakup song.
The live version of "Whipping Post". The "At Fillmore East" live album version is 23 minutes long and manages to be gorgeous and heartbreaking every step of the way. Plus EPIC GUITAR.
The wailing vocals and incredible medley of space rock makes M4 Part II is the CMoA for a band all about epic space rock.
The track "Live and Learn" by a somewhat obscure band called House of Fools is a somewhat depressing but very awesome track.
"Barra Barra" by Rachid Taha is not only awesome for its fusion of hard rock and traditional Algerian music, but its lyrics, though pretty depressing, sound so angry and powerful in Arabic.
The Pixies' "Gigantic". Incredibly breathtaking, especially at the moment when the guitars kick in after the second chorus.
The entire album New Again by Taking Back Sunday. From the title track ("I am/ready to be new again/I'm ready to hear you say/who I am/is quite enough") to Capital ME about their former guitarist who left in a huff ("he taught me how to hold my tongue/and wait to strike 'til their backs were turned/and you slither away like the snake that you are") to closer Everything Must Go about lead singer Adam Lazzara's broken engagement ("You quote the Good Book when it's convenient/But you don't have the sense/No, you don't have the sense to tie your tangled tongue"). The entire album is practically constructed to show how much better off they are with their current line-up, not to mention how far they've come from "you could slit my throat/and with my one last gasping breath/I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt". Kudos.
"Starblood" by Cranes. A creepy broken little girl voice against epic, tribal drumming, and then when it reaches the chorus? Epic wall of guitars, and even more epic drumming. Just, wow.
Matthew Good. This and this are two in a massive flock of awesome songs that are, well. Awesome.
"The '59 Sound" by The Gaslight Anthem, which is a goodbye to a friend of theirs who'd passed away. Ever since the early 90s, many have wondered who if anyone would be the rightful heir to Bruce Springsteen. We now have a definite answer.
"45" is a catchy, punchy song with a clever music metaphor.
Ludo's "Save Our City" is about a zombie apocalypse and is part of a rock opera from the CD Broken Bride. They have incredibly hilarious songs like "Girls on Trampolines", "Good Will Hunting by Myself."
Anything by Electric Six. "Formula 409". Watch the video.
If "Dance Commander" doesn't make you want to jump off your seat and go nuts then you probably need to check your pulse.
"Conquistador" . Procol Harum. A SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA playing with Procol Harum.
Jukebox the Ghost, an indie rock band from Washington, D.C., kicks butt on the song "Somebody". The problem is, you may find yourself singing it randomly.
Ra. Their music has a very distinct Egyptian-inspired tune, alongside some amazing rock melodies; IT. IS. AWESOME. Sky, Don't Turn Away, and Running Blind are great examples.
Youth Of The Nation by P.O.D., which was written as a result of two school shootings, one of which being the Columbine shooting. Very powerful and moving.
There's also "Beautiful", which is... well, beautiful.
We could just go ahead and put most, if not all, of Satellite on the list. It isn't the band's most successful album ever for nothing. "Alive" is a highlight, though. It's also quite Heartwarming when you hear how uplifting it is and then discover the album was released on September 11, 2001.
Frank Turner has the inspirational "If Ever I Stray" and the very catchy Motor Mouth "Recovery". The build-up in the piano solo in the latter song is enough to cause Manly Tears at its perfection.
The Cab has "Angel with a Shotgun" which begins with a rather epic chorus and only gets better from there. Unofficial video. The bridge where the chorus returns only ups the awesomeness.
Their third album is seen as somewhat of a slump for them, but try listening to "You Only Live Once", "Heart in a Cage", or even "Ask Me Anything" and not love them.
"Under Cover of Darkness" from the polarizing Angles, is pure sunshiny rock n roll joy. "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight" is a fan favorite too.
Even their much-maligned (by half the fanbase at least) fifth album Comedown Machine has some gems on it. Listen to "Tap Out", "All the Time", "Welcome to Japan", or "Happy Ending" and hear for yourself.
The album version of "Glitter and Trauma". The track starts off with a weird, slightly creepy techno beat, which doesn't sound like Biffy Clyro at all. The come the drums. Then the guitar. Then the song.
Evanescence's My Immortal (band version) will remind you of why they were successful. That piano, those vocals, the bridge leading into the band joining in.
The White Stripes. Proof that a new generation was capable of making "classic rock" music.
30 Seconds to Mars has the GORGEOUS Jared Leto, and most of their songs (especially "Kings and Queens", as well as "Closer to the Edge") just SCREAM triumph.
"A warning to the people/the good and the evil/this is war"
"To the right/ to the left/ we will fight to the death/ To the edge/ of the earth/ it's a brave new world from the last to the first."
Attack: "I won't suffer/ be broken/ get tired/ or wasted/ surrender to nothing/ and give up what I started/ and stopped it/ from end to beginning/ a new day is coming/ and I am finally free!" It ends in a scream.
"The Kill" in itself was basically a Crowning Music of Awesome, edging out Linkin Park's "In the End" and Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" (according to AOL here) as top alternative song of the decade and spent 94 weeks on the charts.
"Come, break me down/ Marry me, bury me/ I am finished with you."
Ozomatli, probably the most L.A. of all the L.A. bands. They combine Latin music, hip-hop, and rock into songs like Saturday Night and Believe.
The epic guitar riffs from the first 28 seconds of the Raspberries' "Go All the Way".
To anyone who doubts that instrumental music rocks, listen to "Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter Group. All five minutes of this song are worth it. Nine minutes if you watch this version.
The Knack spent their entire career trying to live down the fact that their label tried to market them as a Spiritual Successor to The Beatles, but they got pretty close with 1998's "(All in the) all in all", a gorgeously trippy number that recalls the Beatles' "Dear Prudence", or possibly "Real Love" or "Free as a Bird". It even got used in Daydream Believer The Monkees Story for a scene where the Monkees meet the Beatles.
Van Fan's "What Brings You Here" is a good soft rock ballad with an epic hard rock chorus.
Bread are more known for producing inoffensive soft-rock than awesome music, but they absolutely have their moments.
"Mother Freedom". A Hard Rocking tune that shows they're more than just AM Radio pleasantry.
"Down On My Knees" is Power Pop joy, with Jimmy Griffin's vocals and Mike Bolts' superb drum fills leading the whole track.
Asia's "Heat of the Moment" sounds like the opening Dancing Theme of the 1980s as a whole; a blood-pumping arena rock song, it's strangely tinged with doubt that only gets you excited about what's coming next.
just oozes this epic feeling, like a big confrontation is about to go down.