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1. Weezer - "Only In Dreams", "Butterfly", "Across The Sea" - I have to put a few Weezer songs, because they are my favorite band. These are some of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.
2. Sebadoh - "Soul & Fire", "Brand New Love", "Together or Alone" - Another one of my favorite bands. Lou Barlow has been one of my biggest inspirations musically. One of the most underrated bands ever in my opinion.
3. The Smiths - "Asleep", "I Know It's Over", "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me", "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" - I gave up trying to pick one song. Between the musical inventiveness of Johnny Marr, and Morrissey's haunting voice and excellent lyrics, there is simply no way to select just one song by this mighty band.
4. Sonic Youth - "PCH", "Confusion is Next" - This band has inspired many of today's bands. Two of their best songs from their early years.
5. Slint - "Good Morning Captain" - One of the most influential bands. This song is amazing, especially the ending.
6. John Coltrane - "Spiral", "Naima" - One word: wow. I have "borrowed" the main chord progression of "Spiral" many times and "Naima" is exquisite.
7. The Velvet Underground - "After Hours" - Out of all of their ground breaking work, for some reason this simple song appeals to me the most.
8. The Beatles - "Julia", "In My Life", "Across The Universe" - The Beatles were a great band, but their mellower songs are their best in my opinion.
9. Low - "Over The Ocean" - This band creates some of the most delicate music I've ever heard. This songs is beautiful.
10. Roy Orbison - "Crying" - One of the greatest singers of all time in my opinion.
11. Red Stars Theory - "A Sailor's Warning" - Lois Maffeo sings on this haunting ballad. An amazing song.
12. Sleater-Kinney - "The End of You", "Be Yr. Mama" - Sleater-Kinney is, to me, a true punk band. They are incredible musically and they focus on many important topics in their lyrics.
13. Lois - "Silent Auction" - Lois Maffeo has one of the most beautiful voices ever. This is a great showcase for her voice and it is a wonderful song as well.
14. Pixies - "Vamos" - The version from "Surfer Rosa". This band is responsible for many clichés in music today, but the Pixies originated many of these ideas. It is hard to pick one song, but this one is pretty crazy.
15. Swans - "God Damn the Sun" - One of the most depressing pieces of music I've ever heard.
16. Joan of Arc - "When The Parish School Dismisses and the Children Running Sing" - This is my favorite Joan of Arc song. I loved this band because they made the combination of acoustic sounds and electronic experimentation seem very natural.
17. Mogwai - "Stereodee" - Over 12 minutes of pure noise. Incredible.
18. Blonde Redhead - "Hated Because of Great Qualities", "In An Expression of the Inexpressible", "Young Neil" - There is no one song that can describe Blonde Redhead, so I feel that these three showcase all the sides of this amazing band.
19. My Bloody Valentine - "To Here Knows When", "Sometimes" - This band redefined the ways to create music. Two of their most beautiful songs from their best album, "Loveless".
20. The Secret Stars - "Vague" - This is the side project of Geoff Farina of Karate. Unlike the jazz influenced rock of Karate, most TSS songs, such as this one, are mellow acoustic ballads that break the heart with each listen.
21. Sunny Day Real Estate - "5/4" - This band had so much power and emotion, they had to break up twice.
22. The Sea And Cake - "Alone, For the Moment" - This song is almost a celebration of being alone… almost.
23. Bright Eyes - "A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction" - This song captures all the best qualities of Bright Eyes, soft tender singing and tortured screams.
24. Scarnella - "The Most Useless Thing" - This song is worth it just for the powerful singing of Carla Bozulich. The fact that Nels Cline is one of the most inventive and unique guitarists also makes this worthy of praise.
25. "All the other songs ever recorded" - You never know what kind of mood I might be in, so I want everything!!!!
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