Soul Brother Top 25

On one of mine and Melissa’s approximate two thousand trips to Las Vegas, we were on the strip when a fellow tourist screamed atop his lungs, “THIS MY FAVORITE SOOOOOOONG!” as the smash hit “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Nayer, & Afrojack began blasting from the sidewalk soundsystem. What many would cast aside as a seemingly inconsequential moment of life provided me with a catchphrase that I have adopted as my own.

Anytime one of my jams comes on I love to spout those four words – of course with the extended ‘o’ sound in song as it clearly adds strong emphasis to my love. Well, my Soul Brother and twice over co-worker, Dylan, grew exhausted from my constant proclamation of love each time a jam of mine came on and he asked me to make a definitive list of my true Top 25 Favorite songs. I rose to the challenge and after over a month of deliberating, I have my list.

Diving right into it, you’ll first see the song title, followed by the artist, then the year it was released all before my brief explanation as to why I love that song as much as I do. So, in the words of the greatest singer in the world, Céline Dion, I now ask of you again, “Shall we go for it!?!”

25. Oops!…I Did It Again, Britney Spears – 2000 – The lead single from what many would argue is the single most important album ever conceived (also titled, Oops!…I Did It Again) holds a truly special place in my heart. From singing it atop my lungs on the swings during recess in 8th grade to using the iconic bridge to ask Melissa to marry me in the photo room of Splash Mountain. This song has cemented itself in my legacy. Now let’s discuss that bridge a little further, shall we? Britney, who is an obvious disciple of Céline, used the bridge in this anthem as a bridge between her and the greatest singer in the world, Céline Dion. With her obvious tie in to Titanic, “but I thought the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end” and NO ONE can think of Titanic without thinking of Céline’s masterful hymn, My Heart Will Go On (which may surprise many of you will not be found on this list). The bridge between these two Earthly Angels was cemented in time then and remains impenetrable to this day. This some legendary shit that your favorite’s could never.

24. How Can We Be Lovers, Michael Bolton – 1990 – The first of two entries on this list by the King of Keychanges, Mister Michael Bolton himself. This uptempo number has long been a go-to of mine when I just want a classic soft rock jam to rock out to. Honestly, the whole song has me singing from the top of my lungs, but the chorus is just pure magic! The keychange that Michael drops on the listener at 2:35 will make your head wanna explode with it’s sonic brilliance! Trust me, I know, because according to my iTunes library, I’ve felt this way over 1,000 times! That’s how many times I’ve jammed to this song just off this computer! #NotEnough

23. I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Whitney Houston – 1987 – This was the first song played for the Dollar Dance at mine and Melissa’s wedding and it was also prominently featured on our DeShon Dynasty soundtrack to our wedding and for obvious reasons, it’s a jam! Whitney Houston has given us some of the greatest songs in music history, but in my opinion, this is her best. The whole song is a rager, but from 4:16 to the end (4:50) Whitney turns up the heat! If you’re not up outta your seat, movin’ and groovin’ during this anthem you better check your pulse because chances are, you’re dead.

22. See You Again, Carrie Underwood – 2012 – I cannot listen to this beautiful hymn without tears forming in my eyes and don’t even think about having me watch the video without a fit of sobs. This song is so beautiful and endearing that each and every single time I have made a mixed cd for those I love whenever I’m turning the page into another chapter of my life, I always close out the soundtrack with this number. Carrie Underwood has never recorded a bad song in her already legendary career, but this one rises above them all for me.

21. One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men – 1995 – Another extreme tear jerker for me. This one strikes just as hard as Carrie’s, but Mariah just delivers those vocals that only very few people – fortunately I’m one of them – can deliver. Her harmonies mixed with those from the Boyz II Men create the perfect musical masterpiece. This was the longest running #1 in Billboard Hot 100 history for over twenty years till Lil’ Nas X dethroned it last year with his inescapable hit, Old Town Road. Now while I may have a soft spot for some Lil Nas X, but he’ll never beat MC. Even on her worst days she still does it better than nearly any other artist on their best.

20. It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, Céline Dion – 1996 – Like a fine wine, Céline has proven to only get better with age and the same can be said for her legendary hits as well. The music video for this generation defining hit is so iconic that Instagram had Céline recreate it to launch their shopping service. Legends only. Outside of Downtown Train by Rod Stewart in 1989 when I was 3, this was the first song I truly fell in love with and for obvious reasons – it’s a masterpiece! This is one of those songs that I can’t really sing without shouting and punching the air before each “BABY! BABY! BABY!” that prelude the chorus. Also, don’t cheat yourself and listen to the single mix. You deserve the full 7:37 version. It’s the best!

19. Fight For This Love, Cheryl Cole – 2009 – Everyone knows that I love, LOVE pop music, but some of my absolute favorite pop music comes from across the pond. The United Kingdom has blessed my ears with some of the greatest pops jams y’all have never heard. These are HUGE hits throughout the UK and Europe, but for whatever terrible reason, they never made the US airwaves. This is my go to jam when I’ve found myself in a particularly difficult situation and I know the right thing to do is stick it out. It always feeds my inspiration. Not to mention the fact that Cheryl is easily one of the world’s most beautiful people. Her dimples make my heart skip-skip-skip a beat. She’s perfect and so is this song.

18. This Magic Moment, The Drifters – 1960 – Perhaps made most famous when Squints finally summoned up his courage and to kiss lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn in the generation-defining, cinematic classic, The Sandlot, this song is legendary. There is nothing I love to do more when something great happens for me than sing the song title aloud in the same bars Ben E. King does throughout the course of this short, but spectacular song. Maybe the visuals from The Sandlot have helped, but I cannot hear this jam without thinking of summertime and I’m definitely okay with that. Summer is my favorite season and putting this song on during a cold winter’s day makes any moment magical.

17. What Makes You Beautiful, One Direction – 2012 – I love, LOVE boybands! I can’t think of a single boyband I don’t love, but while *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and 98º (who we’ll find in some capacity a little later) defined my generation, One Direction took what all those bands before them had and double down on the formula. They were the very definition of perfection and their debut single defined a generation – not mine – but still, this legendary hit with it’s infectious melody and irresistible chorus certainly earns it’s spot in my top twenty.

16. Hung Up, Madonna – 2005 – This is my ultimate workout jam. I have ran more miles to this song than the accumulation of every other song I’ve listened to while running combined. This ABBA sampling anthem gives me a positive boost that energizes me like a certain bunny to just keep going and going. Madonna is the undisputed queen of music and this top ten hit more than two decades into her career proves why she can always be counted upon to deliver the jams.

15. Livin’ On A Prayer, Bon Jovi – 1986 – I LOVE Bon Jovi! I always want to think that Born To Be My Baby is my favorite song of theirs, but then I listen to this one and I know my original thought was wrong. This song is the very definition of iconic. Released the year I was born, but good music never goes bad and that’s why I’m oh-so-thankful recordings like this stand the test of time. Also, this one of my favorite songs to karaoke to. It’s just such a crowd pleaser because who the Hell at a karaoke joint doesn’t know the lyrics to the chorus of this song!?!

14. Thank God I Found You, Mariah Carey featuring Joe & 98º – 1999 – Mariah Carey has so many loveable songs, but this one has Forever remained my favorite. When the beat drops and the final chorus sets in around the 3:00 mark I feel like I have been instantly transported to the most sacred cathedral on Earth, The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, where Mariah performs her residency while our Lord and Savior, Céline Dion, is away. This was Mariah’s 15th #1 (reminder: she’s had 19!) and it only spent one week in the pole position. It was robbed as it should have remained there for weeks on end as this song is practically perfect in every way.

13. Umbrella, Rihanna featuring Jay-Z – 2007 – To say I was OBSESSED with this song upon it’s summer 2007 release would be a massive understatement! It defined the year for me! There wasn’t a Bruisers Soccer soundtrack that didn’t include this song in one form or another (remixes people!) To this day I still add it to ANY friendship inspired playlist because it is the undisputed perfect friendship song. If you don’t find yourself singing along to “ella-ella-ella! Ay! Ay! Ay!” you should probably check your pulse again because chances are like with Whitney before, you’re dead.

12. I’m Your Angel, Céline Dion & R. Kelly – 1998 – Maybe it’s taboo to include a R. Kelly song amongst my favorites, but it doesn’t change that fact that this is an incredible song and has forever been one of my jams. I find it impossible to listen to this song without crying. The lyrics, the melody, the vocals, this song is the complete package. When the choir joins in around 3:50 is when my tears really start flowing and while I continue to sing along I do so messily. It’s hard to get out some of those words when I’m gasping for breath over my tears and lyrical exertions, but it’s something I’ve continued to do all these years.

11. The Best, Tina Turner – 1989 – I spent countless hours in rehearsals throughout the first half of 2017 learning my cousin’s choreography to this masterpiece, so when I moved back to St. Louis I could teach Melissa to ensure we gave our wedding guests a truly entertaining spectacle for our first dance. I feel confident we succeeded. This song has always been one of my favorites and for good reason, it’s an uplifting and positive anthem that manages to be so without being schmaltzy or cheesy. This is one of the rare versions where I actually usually listen to the single edit over the album one. This stems from our choosing of the shorter version for our first dance and it has just stuck with me. The album version is over a minute longer and arguably more impactful, but the single edit hits all those nostalgic notes for me.

10.  Said I Loved You… But I Lied, Michael Bolton – 1993 – Where do I even begin on this one!?!  If you watch the video, you’ll notice right away that it was filmed in the same location as Britney Spears 2002 smash hit, I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman, obviously Michael too has been inspired by Britney.  This in and of itself is reason enough for celebration, but when coupled with the fact that the song is one of the greatest love ballads of all time, you get a complete package of everything a song and video should be.  Like any Michael Bolton hit, there is a key change that will rock your world at the 4:00 mark.  When those drums come through I find myself pounding the air in a symphonic way that only Michael Bolton can make me do, he’s amazing.

9.  Cool, Gwen Stefani – 2005 – I talked about the perfect song and video combination in the last entry, but here, Gwen Stefani created what might very well be my favorite music video on this entire list.  The cinematography is just unbelievable.  On my flight home from California the other day I watched this video four times in a row – it’s that good.  Gwen always gets remembered for her uptempo classics, but it’s always been her ballads that I love best and this one is just sonically perfect. It reminds me of Britney Spears Lucky in a lot of ways and that’s a wonderful comparison to be able to make.

8.  Hold It Against Me, Britney Spears – 2011 – Britney Spears has always been a musical revolutionary and her Femme Fatale album set many trends in the early 2010’s.  From the mainstream introduction of dubstep that came as a result of this Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit to having the entire music industry whistling away as a result of her biggest radio hit, I Wanna Go, Britney has remained fearless and fierce in her musical stylings.  The music video for Hold It Against Me is another reason why I love the song so much.  The Britney Versus Britney battle sequence over the bridge is unlike anything any other artist had ever done before.  God Bless Britney Spears.

7.  Viva Forever, Spice Girls – 1998 – Sure everyone knows Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life, but this UK #1 off their sophomore album, Spice World, is the one that I love most.  This moving ballad truly tugs at the heartstrings and leaves me feeling a tinge of sadness each time I listen – which according to my iTunes library is quite a bit, over 2,000 times in fact.  I’m always a sucker for a good ballad and like with Gwen Stefani, the Spice Girls got some of my favorites!  Too Much, Goodbye, and 2 Become 1 are all certifiable jams that don’t get half the attention their uptempo smashes get.  Nonetheless, Viva Forever, is an incredible triumph for the world’s best-selling female group and is easily cemented in my top ten favorites. Everyone should know this song.

6.  The One That Got Away, Katy Perry – 2011 – Katy Perry tied Michael Jackson’s record for five #1’s with her Teenage Dream album, this was her shot at beating that record, but regrettably, the song stopped short at #3.  No doubt about it, it deserved better.  This is another song and video combination that is worth your time.  While I can listen to the song itself without crying, I cannot watch the video till the end and do the same, it always leaves me in tears.  Also, the emotions you can hear in Katy as her vocals glide across the lyrics sound genuinely heartfelt, like she feels this song and I can respect that, I feel it too.

5.  Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx – 1989 – This is the ultimate power ballad and I experience tears and goosebumps each time I listen.  Seeing Richard perform this number last month with nothing but his voice and his piano was a lifetime in waiting experience for me.  When asked by my Soul Brother Dylan which singer’s voice I wish I had I chose Richard Marx because his vocals are so pure and perfect.  He may not have the strongest voice, I mean, he’s no Britney Spears, but he does have smooth vocals that sound effortlessly against even the most complex of melodies.  This song literally hits all the right notes for me and I’ll be jammin’ to this one till the world ends!

4.  Stronger, Britney Spears – 2000 – In need of inspiration?  Then THIS is your song!  Britney’s inspirational hymn has propelled me through so much of my life and I am undoubtedly in a better place because of it.  The song’s accompanying video is another one worth your time.  This is Britney’s first video where she dances without backup dancers.  Incredible.  Her visuals are always on point and have inspired every generation that has ever lived.

3.  I’m A Slave 4 U, Britney Spears – 2001 – The most popular MTV Video Music Award performance of all-time was set to this iconic autumn jam back in 2001.  Britney left the world shook when she danced around stage with Banana the python draped around her shoulders.  No performance on any stage has even come close to that level of legendary.  The music video is nothing to forget either, set in a steamy bathhouse, it gives us some of the greatest choreography the world has ever known.  This song sounds so fresh, unique, and different that it very well could have come from any time and place.  Britney is unrivaled like that, she transcends time with her sound.  She truly is in a league of her own.

2.  That’s The Way It Is, Céline Dion – 1999 – Another one of my inspirational go-to’s!  This song is everything to me.  This past October, when we saw Céline live and she performed this song I about pooped all over myself.  I even knew the setlist beforehand, but hearing it live for the first time was one of those unbelievable life experiences that truly cannot be duplicated.  I nearly hopped up into my chair to shout the lyrics from the top of my lungs, but I resisted the immense temptation to do so.  Céline has recorded so many songs that I hold dear to my heart, but there is something about the positivity in this one that I can just cling to it over and over again.  Also, it is notable as the final song on the DeShon Dynasty wedding soundtrack.  No better way to close out that (or really any) tracklist than with this timeless hymn.

1.  Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis – 2007 – I literally go on binges where for roughly 72 hours this will be the one and only song I consume.  I do this about every other month.  While flying home from California the other day I wrapped up my three hour flight by listening to it about ten times through.  I don’t know what it is about this song that I cannot quit and one listen will just throw me into it’s loving arms and hold me there for days on end.  I have probably listened to this song well over 10,000 times in my life and that might even be selling it short.  There is not a strong enough word to describe how much I love this beautiful love ballad and I truly cannot imagine ever loving another song more.

Alright well, there you have them, my Soul Brother Top 25 Favorite Songs of ALL time! Does your own hypothetical list have any crossover with mine? I’d love to know! As always, I LOVE hearing what you all have to say, so PLEASE feel free to drop me a comment below and when you do, I would greatly appreciate you subscribing to future posts by email! It will help me immensely when I try to promote my book to a literary agent!

Speaking of my book… I plan on FINALLY finishing my book proposal in the next week! I haven’t honestly done shit on it this entire 2020 and as Covid-19 has shutdown The Men’s Wearhouse for the next couple weeks, I now have nothing but time. Ooh goodness… I cannot even begin to imagine how much my Soul Brother has to be missing me right about now. This temporary shutdown coupled with my vacation will have me out of the store for at least twenty-five days! What a crazy time to be alive. If any of you are looking for extra reading materials, feel free to peruse through my past posts! I appreciate all the support you’re willing to give! Wishing you all THE BEST during this unique moment in time! See you all again next week with another new post!