93. Something About You by Boston

"Something About You" by Boston

Written by Tom Scholz
Produced by John Boylan and Tom Scholz
Released on Boston (August 25, 1976)
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Boston's first album was everywhere when I was a teenager. Whenever I looked through any of my friends' CD collections, I would almost always find Boston's self-titled debut, which makes sense because it is an amazing album. Back in the days of CDs, albums needed to be good. I hated buying an album only to discover that it only had two good songs. Boston by Boston is one of those epic rarities, an album with no bad songs. You felt safe putting this into your CD player knowing you never had to press skip. Its only downside was that its run-time was just 37 minutes.

It's actually somewhat surprising to me that anyone makes albums anymore. With streaming services providing cultivated playlists on demand, is there any reason to release an entire album? Will people actually listen to it? I still find myself buying and listening to albums, but I'm pretty sure that makes me the exception. I grew up with album oriented rock being the template, so I don't know any better.

The enduring greatness of Boston's best songs can be attributed to two things: Tom Scholz and Brad Delp. Everything great about Boston starts with Scholz. His guitar sound and songwriting defined the band. He actually recorded everything in his own home studio, playing all the instruments except the drums. His guitar sound, soaring and heavily layered, is simply spectacular. And the way he uses his unique sound is perfect: pick drags, harmonized lead lines, and crunchy riffs. These are all things I love. But his sound and vision could have been for naught if he hadn't found the perfect singer to bring it all together.

Brad Delp's beautiful high voice brings Scholz's melodies to life. However, as much as I love his voice, it's nearly impossible to sing along with. Boston's hooks are so catchy, I simply have to try, but eventually Delp reaches for that next level. Every single time. Every song. I'm driving around and singing along and stretching my voice. I'm feeling good, and then he just goes that one step higher, and it's all over. But I keep trying anyway.

"Something About You" is easily my favorite Boston song. It pumps me up. It has a great melody, soaring guitars, and it rocks. Even when I fail to reach that high note, I can't help but feel good about everything.

Right now "Something About You" by Boston is (probably) my 93rd favorite song of all time.

94. Ride wit Me (feat. City Spud) by Nelly

"Ride wit Me" by Nelly feat. City Spud

Written by Cornell Haynes Jr., Lavell Webb, Jason Epperson
Produced by Jason Epperson
Released on Country Grammar (June 27, 2000)
Released as single on March 10, 2001
Peaked at #3 on Billboard Hot 100
Warning: Explicit Lyrics
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When I was in college I got pulled into an argument between two of my fraternity brothers. Though I didn't know the significance of this at the time, one was from St. Louis, and the other was from California. The argument was Nelly vs. Snoop Dogg. Even today, I don't listen to much hip hop, but at that time I listened to almost none. All I knew then, was that The Chronic was maybe the greatest rap album ever released, and Snoop was a huge part of the reason why. Nelly, on the other hand, was to that point a one hit wonder, and that one hit didn't seem very good. I sided with my California friend in a way that was probably pretty condescending to my St. Louis brother.

Why would anyone try to put Nelly on that kind of level?

Have you ever had one of those moments where, all of a sudden something that had confused you earlier suddenly makes sense? The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards were one of those moments for me. Nelly was from St. Louis! I had no idea. When Nelly came out to perform, even though he wasn't wearing a shirt, the rest of his crew were wearing Cardinals, Blues, and Rams jerseys. Now that argument from a few months earlier made sense. Of course my friend from St. Louis would think that a St. Louis rapper was an all-time great.

St. Louisans will defend their own. Nelly is from St. Louis and had a hit record. Of course he's the best. Right? While that may not be something I believe, I will defend St. Louis' tradition in popular music until I die. Scott Joplin wrote his greatest ragtime melodies here. Miles Davis rose out of East St. Louis to become jazz music's most innovative and influential trumpeter and composer. Clark Terry was the first black musician to play with NBC's orchestra and the Tonight Show Band. St. Louis can make a strong case for being the birthplace of rock and roll because of the work and enduring legacies of Chuck Berry and Ike and Tina Turner. The early 2000's saw a resurgence of St. Louis talent. Nelly led the way, but the Urge, Chingy, Uncle Tupelo, and others made many a St. Louisan proud.

While most of Nelly's catalog never resonated strongly with me, "Ride wit Me" is the exception. It is  smooth. It grooves. It's simply a fun song. I was not expecting it to end up in my top 100, but as I was putting this list together, other songs that I love just couldn't quite bump Nelly from this spot. Maybe it's that he's from St. Louis. Maybe I wanted to have just one more hip hop song on my list. Maybe I wanted an excuse to attempt to compare Nelly with all those other transcendently talented St. Louis musicians. Or maybe this song is just that good.

Right now "Ride with Me" by Nelly is (probably) my 94th favorite song of all time.

95. Slip Slidin' Away by Paul Simon

"Slip Slidin' Away" by Paul Simon

Written by Paul Simon
Produced by Paul Simon and Phil Ramone
Released on Greatest Hits, Etc. (November 1977)
Released as single October 1977
Peaked at #5 on Billboard Hot 100
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When I got sick as a child, my mom would sing hymns in order to comfort me. Music--good music--has always been comforting to me. The best way that I can describe "Slip Slidin' Away" is to say that it is musical comfort food. As soon as those opening notes are sung, I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. I love songs that give me that feeling.

I have always loved Paul Simon, as a songwriter and performer. His video for "You Can Call Me Al" was one of my favorite music videos growing up. He seemed really cool. The song featured silly lyrics, fun horns, and cool African rhythms. The video was just Paul Simon and Chevy Chase being silly. What more could a 9 year old watching MTV want?

This song is on this list because it is beautiful, because it relaxes me, because I love when I hear it. That's all I need to say.

Right now "Slip Slidin' Away" by Paul Simon is (probably) my 95th favorite song of all time.