It’s hard to believe that The Lion King is 30 years old, but it is, and at the time it was one of the biggest Disney movies if not its biggest box-office success at that point.  A big reason for it was the soundtrack, and while one of my favorites was Circle of Life, this track is the one that makes it into the countdown.  It won the Oscar for Best Song and gave yet another new era of life for this singer/songwriter.  Coming in at #12 is Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John.

This next track turning 40 years old this year is arguably one of my favorite ballads of all time.  Great ballads have a way of triggering emotion when they intend to, and this track is a great example.  It may be his best ballad ever too, with one of the best guitar solos written for a ballad.  Just everything about this song is awesome, but it only reaches #12 in this countdown.  It’s Hello by Lionel Richie.

A track that is synonymous with one of the greatest comebacks in rock and roll history, this song still sounds fresh when it is played today.  It has not gotten old, and if anything, it has only gotten better with time, like a fine wine, which is a great characteristic to have for songs in these countdowns.  The queen of rock & roll may be gone, but this song will always live on.  Coming in at #12 is the 1984 classic What’s Love Got to Do With It by Tina Turner.

If I could recommend an album from 1994, it would be Throwing Copper by this next group.  Every track on there is great and this won’t be the only song from that album that makes this list.  Although this wasn’t their debut album, it exploded them on the scene and this track is one of my and my wife’s favorite songs from it.  At #13 it is I Alone by Live.

There are only a couple of songs that people immediately think of when somebody mentions this group.  One song will likely appear in an older countdown to come, the other is this song.  At the time, it was so revolutionary yet fit in the grunge/punk era we were in, that it is viewed as a part of the foundation for what would become metal-rap.  This song still holds up to this day, and at #14 in the top 20 songs turning 30 years old countdown, it’s Sabotage by The Beastie Boys.

One common theme we’re going to hear in this 1984 countdown is how could song A beat out song B, and there will be a myriad of reasons given.  For example, this next entry in this countdown beat the previous track by being one of the most recognizable keyboard rock riffs of all time.  It is not only one of the best tracks to balance keyboards and rock guitars, but it’s also a song that everyone goes to when they mention their name.  Another song I grew up to as a kid, the #14 song in the 40 year old …..more →