‘Good Vibrations’ — The Beach Boys
In 1966, the Beach Boys saw a lot of success with “Good Vibrations.” It reached the top spot of charts in both the U.K. and the U.S. Back then, it made history the most expensive single to be recorded. It cost the studio $50,000 to make! Brian Wilson produced and composed the song, which drew inspiration from his interest in cosmic vibrations. In his childhood, his mother attempted to explain to him why dogs barked at certain people but not others this way. He explained, “A dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can’t see, but you can feel. And the same thing happened with people.” One of his goals was to make a better song than “You’ve Lost That Lovin Feelin’.” He did exactly that. It is No. 6 on Rolling Stone’s list, while Ranker put it at No. 8 instead.
‘Good Vibrations’ — The Beach Boys
‘Yesterday’ — The Beatles
This must be the most famous ballad by the Beatles. It was voted the third-best song by the Ranker readers, while Rolling Stone put it at 13th. On the BMI list of the Top 100 Songs of the Century, it reached the third spot. In 1999, BBC Radio 2 declared it the greatest song of the 20th century after polling music experts and listeners alike. It only featured Paul McCartney on the vocals with a string quartet. According to him, it was “one of the most instinctive songs I’ve ever written.” He said that he came up with the melody in a dream while staying with Jane Asher, his girlfriend at the time. At first, the band felt “a little embarrassed” about the song since it was different from their typical tracks.
‘Yesterday’ — The Beatles
