200. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers — “Walls” — Whether played in the “happy” or “sad” tempo, this is a great Petty tune. 199. Epic Hero — “One Fine Day” — The best track by the best band to […]

210. Foo Fighters — “Long Road to Ruin” — The Foo Fighters have a knack for writing songs that you feel should’ve been written already. It’s like they fill in the obvious gaps of rock history. 209. […]

220. Jewel — “Intuition” — I admit it; I think this song is catchy. I also like how Jewel was doing a parody of sell-outs and got wrongly criticized by people who didn’t understand that it was […]

230. Hootie and the Blowfish — “Tucker’s Town” — The first time I heard the transcendent opening chords, I wanted to go to Tucker’s Town, wherever that might be. 229. Doves — “Pounding” — As the name suggests, it […]

240. Michael Jackson — “Black or White” — A classic riff, and the song has an interesting subtext because it came out during the time that MJ’s skin color was changing from black to white due to […]

250. Britney Spears — “Sometimes” — If pop songs had flavors, this one would taste like strawberries. 249. Tonic — “Head on Straight” — For some bizarre reason, I and the Grammy Awards voters were the only people who […]

260. Gnarls Barkley — “Crazy” — For about a month in 2006, I thought this was the catchiest song ever. I’m not as crazy about it now, but the craftsmanship is still undeniable. 259. Bruce Springsteen — “Darkness […]

270. Bruce Springsteen — “Streets of Philadelphia” — Another Boss song where you start off like “Well, that beat’s pretty repetitive and obvious” and then you get into the lyrics and a few minutes later you’re a […]

280. Everclear (pictured) — “Wonderful” — It’s nostalgic (the ‘Star Wars’ poster on Art Alexakis’ bedroom door) and upbeat at first glance, but it soon becomes clear that it’s sarcastic and negative. 279. The Ramones — “I Wanna […]

290. Gin Blossoms — “Hey Jealousy” — The Gin Blossoms knew the ’90s were here before a lot of their contemporaries did, as this 1992 song demonstrates. 289. Natalie Imbruglia — “Torn” — Natalie is all torn up by […]