Top 10 Underrated Songs

Top 10 Underrated Songs

Written by Zeromage 32 Comments
Last Updated:: August 27, 2009

We just made the ultimate Top 10 Most Overrated Songs of all time list, so it seemed fitting to do a Top 10 Underrated Songs list. As always, it’s a list; of what we think are the most underrated songs ever of all time, this time around. The usual suspects are on this list. Maybe a couple new ones are on here for you to check out. Maybe even a couple of new bands are on here for you the check out that might become your favorite band after listening to them. Then you can tell everyone that you learned of them from Old-Wizard, and maybe even buy one of our T-shirts where we list the Top 10 underrated Songs of all time on it. Basically, we just want you to make us popular.

10. Sam Roberts – Brother Down

Now that Sam Roberts has become somewhat popular and a major live music attraction, no one remembers what started him off on his path to great music. It was a call to existential despair in “Brother Down” that paved the way for the spirit of Sam Roberts. If you want to find the origins of where Sam Roberts comes from, you have to return to this first single. This song was recorded in an 8 track but busted open the doors of Canadian radio to a new style of quality songwriting, a style that would trump all those other shitty Canadian indie bands that came after. For any Sam Roberts fans out there, don’t forget this song.

9. Kenny Logins – I’m Alright

This song is seen as a joke by everyone who hears it probably because it was always going to be tied with one of the funniest movies of all time in Caddyshack. But try to distancing yourself from any idea of the movie and one will hear an amazing cheesy 80’s song with an absolutely ripping chorus that is as odd as it is poppy. The lyrics speak for themselves but not so much to the point of blatant obviousness. It’s at 1:44 that the song takes an incredible turn with a stop in all the instrumentation. It’s perfectly ung vocal harmonies arranged in a completely unexpected way. This song is one of the most odd and blatant pop songs you could hear. Everyone needs to hear it.

8. Suede- Electricity

No one talks about Suede’s “Electricity” off their rippin “Head Music” album. This song grooves like no song after. The bass line is strange. It’s sort of dumb sounding with the drum rhythm in the verse but conveys a feeling of unease. Wait till this fucking chorus hits you though. If you want to know what a great chorus sounds like, listen to “Electricity.” You could listen to this damn chorus for a year straight and never get sick of it. How this never went #1 in the British charts is beyond me. This is the music that is meant to go #1 all over the world, not just in your native country. This is Suede doing more perfect pop.

7. Oasis – D’ya Know what I mean

How easy it is to forget this amazing first single off one of the greatest albums of all time? “D’Ya Know What I Mean” kicked the ass of the listener into listening to good music. The beats were heavy and compressed, Liam gave a perfect vocal delivery, and Noel experimented with guitar overdubs on par with Jimmy Hendrix. In short, this was a psychedelic maelstrom. This was Oasis at their finest. Massive sounding, unafraid and enveloped by a great chorus. That this is never named in Oasis’s greatest songs is beyond us at Old-Wizard. This shit dominates 90’s rock.

6. The Vandellas – Come and Get these Memories

The Vandellas, like The Supremes seemed to have a never ending amount of great songs (much due to the DHD songwriting combo). People forget this early single from The Vandellas though. It barely made a dent in the charts but after a couple listens this may just be The Vandella’s best single. It’s starts off big, and ends off just as big. The chorus is big while still retaining an easygoingness that’s known to the best of Motown. The song rhythmically moves well and doesn’t reach too far lyrically which is to the songs credit. It’s simple and great, like most great pop songs.

5. Kasabian – Processed Beats

Kasabian are the shit. Their first album was one of the best albums of the new decade, but people never mention “Processed Beats” as being one of their great songs. This song grooves with the best R and B ever made while still retaining it’s cool from songs like LSF. It’s vocally delivered with a rawness that only Tom Meighan knows how to deliver. And what about that chorus? This thing is slinky and sensuous. Imagine getting in on this at a dance club with people who actually had good taste in music. A dream come true if only others had good taste in music. Kasabian may have had more popular songs but none ripped the groove harder than “Processed Beats.”

4. Shed Seven – The Heroes

Listen to this song and you will wonder why you never heard of this band, let along this song. How could a song be so good and the band isn’t even popular. How can a production be this smooth and melodically so perfect without anyone knowing about it? How is this song not going to be remembered for decades to come? How is this band not going to be remembered for decades to come? Unfortunately for them, they were competing within one of the greatest musical movements ever in Britpop where every song was a single. The thing was, Shed Seven’s songs were just as good as the “first rate” bands as proved on this grand sweeping waltz of a song. All Old-Wizard readers, download this song, down this album “Let it Ride.”

3. T-Rex- Dreamy Lady

Has there ever been a song with better sexual lyrics than Dreamy Lady by T-Rex? Bolan of course was the master of turning on everything under the sun, but with this song he goes all out. “Oh, dreamy lady, won’t you come to my bed…night is the right time, to get acquainted, with my head, in my bed”. Just barely a metaphor, the obviousness of this line is hilariously executed. The song itself is a super melody of sass and passion. For all it’s sexuality it still retains it’s innocence which is one of Marc Bolan’s greatest traits. It’s a shame that all his later work became ignored because it was just as good as early work even if more dramatic. The songs were still there and is exemplified best by this oddity of a song.

2. Happy Mondays- Dennis and Lois

This song starts off like your watching the beginning of Wheel of Fortune and that’s great! Whenever “Pills Thrills and Bellyaches” is mentioned, this song is never mention as being one of the standout songs on the album, but this is one of Shaun Ryder’s best vocal deliveries in the Happy Monday’s history. Never mind the vocals though, listen to the song. This song has got spirit. The chorus is made for a stadium but not in a cheesy Bon Jovi way, but for the way the British know how to make timeless songs that can be sung by 100,000 people in an arena. “Dennis and Louis” was never released as a single and was in the middle of this timeless album but it can’t be forgotten as an incredibly good song.

1. Stone Roses- Bye Bye Badman

The Stone Roses debut album is certainly not underrated, not in Britain at least. It has been listed as the greatest album of all time by publications in the UK. Never though is Bye Bye Badman mentioned in the reviews of the album and it’s arguably the best song on the album. The song is strangely excluded from their greatest hits album also. This song defines what makes The Stone Roses debut album probably the greatest debut album of all time; An insatiable rhythm section, Ian Brown’s lyrics that are full of bravado while never feeling forced, John Squire’s indelible guitar playing that shows his greatest guitar work in The Stone Roses history at 3.00 minutes in. This song says everything about why The Stone Roses are a band that will never happen again. That these elements can combine into this one sound is an anomaly, one for better or worse is only reserved for the nature of pop music’s flexibility.

32 Comments

#1 Delta says:
March 15th, 2010 at 12:24 am

::GASPS!!!!!:: AN OASIS SONG IS OVERRATED BY ZEROMAGE’S OPINION?!?!?!!

#2 Adam says:
March 15th, 2010 at 12:32 am

LOL. Delta, the list is UNDER-rated songs. Maybe this is why you get so mixed up when talking about comic books. Its your dyslexia.

#3 LEGONESFISH says:
March 15th, 2010 at 10:51 am

guys, i love you’re site, but, in my opinion your music articles are the most boring of all your articles. I think you should stick to video-games, films and television.

also, delta, underrated is the opposite to overrated, read the title of the page

#4 avi says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:12 am

notice that delta said ”overrated BY ZeroMage’s opinion, instead of ”overrated IN ZeroMage’s opion.”

#5 Delta says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:20 am

Opps, I made a mistake. It happens. I mean Adam was born, AND he actually thinks he’s right.

#6 President Steve says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:46 am

Delta: There’s a lot of people gunning for you on this site. You need to get a proof reader for your comments.

Onto this list: That Kasabian song is great. I heard it before, but never knew who it was.

#7 Delta says:
March 15th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

I should probably just be more careful when commenting on here while sleep deprived, Steve.

#8 RedRedWineNeck82 says:
March 15th, 2010 at 9:11 pm

bye bye badman is the most underrated song of all time…period….however shoot you down is right there too…buen hecho mae!

#9 RedRedWineNeck82 says:
March 15th, 2010 at 9:13 pm

#1 is the greatest choice this website has ever made…not only is this the greatest debut it could be the best album ever made

shoot you down could have made this list if BBM hadnt

#10 George says:
March 15th, 2010 at 10:07 pm

I don’t care how good these songs are, the whole damn thing is invalidated by saying freaking Noel Gallagher is on par with Jimi Hendrix. Besides, the most under- rated song of all time is “Dreams” by The Allman Brothers Band.

You’ve really gone downhill Zeromage, it’s a real shame. Adios, and see you in hell.

#11 Atomsk says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:29 pm

Haha, Zeromage. Oasis is over!!!! Cry into your beer and be shattered!

#12 avi says:
March 15th, 2010 at 12:26 am

look, you used to be the 2nd best site on the net( the best is youtube.) but now that you’ve turned into a music site, i’ve demoted you to mediocre. i really enjoy your articles on video games, comics and science and technology, but i really don’t like your music lists.

#13 Andreas says:
March 15th, 2010 at 1:56 am

Apparantly Oasis broke up today. Looks like you have to close the site down.

#14 bob says:
March 15th, 2010 at 2:23 am

Its funny how little you guys know about music, and yet you continue to write about it. The Stone Roses are a completely irrelevant band. They are underrated for a reason. The reason being that disco sucks. And trying to incorporate disco into rock music is even worse. You guys suck at life.

#15 ima420r says:
March 15th, 2010 at 3:55 pm

I’ll have to check out some of those songs, I have only heard of a few of them.

Off topic: Is Noel Gallagher leaving Oasis because of an asian woman he is dating?

#16 Noel's Nose says:
March 15th, 2010 at 4:41 pm

ima420r, no, he’s not leaving for an Asian woman…this time. That happened back in the 90s, duh!
(No, really, doesn’t anyone else remember?)

#17 LEGONESFISH says:
March 15th, 2010 at 8:14 pm

thank god, avi, someone who agrees that recently OW has lost their way

#18 Jeff says:
March 15th, 2010 at 8:49 pm

…dull as fuck.

Oasis are dead now, the only talented member has left.

Talk video games again, I never thought I would say that.

oh and… fuck you.

I’m loosing the urge to swear and abuse you anymore, it must be bad.

#19 RedRedWineNeck82 says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:18 pm

Bob you are a fucking idiot if u think the Roses sounds like disco…you never would’ve heard Fool’s Gold at Studio 54… sorry pal

#20 bob says:
March 15th, 2010 at 2:22 pm

Redredwineneck82:

Actually, you’re the fucking idiot. Its clear that you get all your music knowledge from reading the NME. I’m sure when you saw that Stone Roses topped NME’s best-albums-ever list in 2003 and then decided it was the best album ever. I’ll bet when the Arctic Monkeys came out you also thought they were the shit. I’ll also bet you think Oasis is a great band too, even though now that they are broken up they are bound to be forgotten in about a decade, just the Stone Roses already are. I fucking hate hipsters who get all their fucking opinions from magazines that like to hype up shitty music.

#21 Jeff says:
March 15th, 2010 at 12:35 am

Bob.

RRW is right, you are a fuck wit.

#22 Bye, Oasis. says:
March 15th, 2010 at 1:28 am

HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA,

OASIS is a joke!!! And the joke is finally over!!!!!!!

#23 Oasis Sucks says:
March 15th, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Hey dickhead, now that Oasis is broken up (something they have done after their second album), does that mean that you’re done writing about music finally? I’ll bet your world has come crashing down all around you. I just wish I could have watched you cry when you heard the news. When will you accept that unlike other bands from the 90s (like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Radiohead) Oasis’s legacy will be one of being nothing but a passing fad, a couple of no-talent morons who got popular by outright plagarising the greatest band of all time.

#24 bob says:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:10 pm

Jeff.

Seems to me like you’re the fuck wit. You’re the one who earlier in these very comments said that you’re bored of this site but yet you keep coming back. Why don’t you go to some other site?

#25 BERSERKR says:
March 15th, 2010 at 10:57 pm

I agree with Bill, Stone Roses suck and so does most of Ow’s musical preferences it seems, besides T-Rex. Stick to gaming guys, even though i don’t usually agree with you there either, stick to comics, ya we definitely agree there:P

#26 avi says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:39 pm

who’s bill?

#27 BERSERKR says:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:21 am

Oops i meant Bob, where was my head at?:P

#28 dood says:
March 15th, 2010 at 3:08 am

Now I actually like Noel Gallagher and a lot of Oasis. Liam on the other hand can go fuck himself for all I care. Now that Noel’s gone, Liam is little more than tabloid fodder for Fleet Street. Having said that, the problem I have with ‘D’you Know What I Mean?’ being on this list is that he got so lazy with the 3rd album (by his own admission he can’t stand to listen to it because it’s his overblown coke album) that he couldn’t be bothered to change the chords around from ‘Wonderwall’. Same basic progression (F#m7/A/Esus4/B7sus4) just played with a distortion pedal through a Marshall instead of an acoustic. Lazy.

#29 Ninja Claw says:
March 15th, 2010 at 4:46 am

hahahah!

#30 Pacific Temple says:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:14 am

A pathetic list compiled by an imbecile! Oasis? Are you kidding me? I’ve actually heard that song a few times, and it’s absolutely pathetic, especially when accompanied with the ridiculous video they made for it.

Here are just a few songs that deserved to be there:

Sugar – “If I Can’t Change Your Mind”
Polvo – “Thermal Treasure”
Sunny Day Real Estate – “Every Shining Time You Arrive”
The Smoking Popes – “Let’s Hear it for Love”
Ween – “The Mollusk”
The Silver Jews – “Random Rules”
Guided by Voices – “Blimps Go 90″
Unrest – “Makeout Club”
Modest Mouse – “Doin’ the Cockroach” (they’re big now, but this remains their definitive statement)
Dillinger Four – “The Great American Going-Out-of-Business Sale”
Jawbreaker – “Sluttering”
Jets to Brazil – “Sweet Avenue”
Screeching Weasel – “The Science of Myth”

#31 Oasis says:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:05 am

How about some of you guys try to compose some music? I seriously doubt any of you have any true talent. Go FUCK OFF BITCHES!

#32 Jake says:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:03 am

I would have but The Masterplan by Oasis on there. Nobody know’s about it because it’s a b side.

Oasis will be inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame in the future, you heard it here first.

As of June 2009, Oasis had sold more than 70 million records worldwide.[1] They have had eight UK number-one singles, seven UK number-one albums, fifteen NME Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and six BRIT Awards, including one in 2007 for outstanding contribution to music and one for the best album of the last 30 years as voted by the BBC Radio 2 listeners, and also for being nominated for three Grammy Awards.
And a the prestigious silver clef award last year.

man they suck.

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