The Definitive Ranking of Madonna's Top 55 Songs

[groovyguy 63,869]

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/definitive-ranking-madonnas-top-55-songs150814

Gay Star News readers get into the groove and have voted for the number one Queen of Pop track

15 AUGUST 2014  | BY JOE MORGAN

 

It's Madonna's 56th birthday on Saturday (16 August), and what better time to rank 55 of her best songs?

From Madonna to MDNA, the Queen of Pop has given us some of the best music moments in the world.

GSN readers were also asked to vote for their favorite track.

 

See what song won your hearts below:

 

55. Give Me All Your Luvin'

Let's start off by saying this was not a bad song. None of the songs on this list are bad. But, Superbowl aside, this was a bad choice for a lead single from MDNA. And therefore it deserves to be punished.

 

54. American Life

Rapping about soy lattes aside, this had an amazing (original) video.

 

53. Don't Cry For Me Argentina

Best film role to date. That's not saying much though.

 

52. Girl Gone Wild

Gaymazing video.

 

51. Causing A Commotion

Classic 80s track. But there's not much to it.

 

50. Give It 2 Me

Madonna is all about self-empowerment, and this is a great modern song. It might not be to everyone's tastes, though.

 

49. Me Against The Music

Instantly catchy, but oddly a little forgettable.

 

48. Bedtime Story

Madonna at her most daring and experimental, but it doesn't exactly have much replay potential.

 

47. Everybody

Her first single, and it sounds at first listen like a typical song of the decade. But there is something special to it, something that proves there's a Queen of Pop to come.

 

46. Turn Up The Radio

Like with Hung Up, that completely reinvented Madonna as a modern dance icon, this MDNA track has the same propulsive energy. And if you weren't the biggest fan of the last album, this deserves another listen.

 

45. Who's That Girl?

This might not be the best time Madonna was influenced by Spain (that's coming later), but it certainly wasn't the worst (that was Hard Candy's Spanish Lesson). A little unfairly maligned by some, but this is a great fun song.

 

44. Celebration

Apart from the slightly dodgy bridge section, and feeling  a little forced, this track has a lot of what people love about Madonna. It instills a sense of nostalgia for her beginnings, but unapologetically looks to her future.

 

43. Nothing Really Matters

With hard-step beats and soaring melody, this is a Ray of Light stand-out.

 

42. Secret

Soft, sensual, and very sexy.

 

41. Die Another Day

It may not be the best Bond theme, but it's still far better than people tend to think it is.

 

40. Jump

If you've gone from rural life to the big city, this should be your soundtrack.

 

39. Dress You Up

When it comes to 80s Madonna, this might be her sexiest song that manages to appeal to both men and women of all sexualities.

 

38. Rescue Me

It's as if Justify My Love and Vogue had a song baby.

 

37. Open Your Heart

One of Madonna's classics, and for a good reason. Music video gets plus points for the gay sailers and for making short hair on women sexy, but gets them taken off again for the pervy teen.

 

36. Drowned World/Substitute For Love

If you've listened to Madonna's albums, you'll know she likes to ponder on the meaning of fame. This was one of her most personal moments.

 

35. Hollywood

Far catchier than most songs on American Life, this takes Drowned World's message and kicks it up several more notches.

 

34. You'll See

Madonna's been criticized heavily at several points in her career, and this was one ballad that was a quiet but defiant response.

 

33. Love Profusion

It's not surprising American Life scared some, but what is surprising is how she finished the album campaign. Starting off with literal grenades, and ending with this - something softer, sweeter and easier to swallow.

 

32. The Power Of Goodbye

This is a serious, mature, heartbreaking song. And it's still a beautiful listen.

 

31. Don't Tell Me

Lyrics don't make a lot of sense, but that doesn't matter. This is unique, country-electronic pop.

 

30. Take A Bow

With soulful, poetic lyrics, this is bittersweet but also stunning.

 

29. True Blue

Totally retro, light-hearted and fun.

 

28. Oh Father

Most people know Madonna lost her mom at a young age and know this song is about her dad. But this can also be interpreted as one of her most subtle takes on religion.

 

27. Bad Girl

The album Erotica was all about the pleasure of pain, and many saw this song as somewhat out of character for Madonna. But this is about the pain of pleasure, and deserving of another listen.

 

26. La Isla Bonita

Another classic, but a divisive one. Escapism at its finest.

 

25. Sorry

When you're the Queen of Pop, you have to make sure your songs translate. Thumping beats and a killer melody makes sense in any language.

 

24. Justify My Love

Has the sound of sex ever been done better?

 

23. Crazy For You

Slow dance at prom, anyone?

 

22. 4 Minutes

It might not be the Madonna/Michael Jackson collaboration people wanted. It's a bombastic tune, and easily one of the best duets of her career.

 

21. Burning Up

She started out in a band, and she proved she could still rock with Burning Up.

 

20. Beautiful Stranger

Easily better than her James Bond offering, this Austin Powers song is incredibly catchy.

 

19. Music

Instantly embraceable, and one of her best calls to the dance floor. And how often do you hear 'bourgeoisie' in a song?

 

18. Live To Tell

Looking at Madonna's career, one theme keeps coming up. And that's the keeping and telling of secrets. This is one of her best.

 

17. Erotica

Daring, sexy, and unabashed. NSFW.

 

16. Frozen

The production behind this is phenomenal, with soaring strings and breath-taking beats.

 

15. Human Nature

Released when Madonna was being heavily slammed for choosing to be open about this, this is an ultimate middle finger to her critics.

 

14. Lucky Star

Songs like Lucky Star are what made the LGBTI community fall in love with Madonna.

 

13. Cherish

Sometimes, all you want from a song is a simple message about love. And this is Cherish, a perfectly constructed, effortless pop song.

 

12. Borderline

Madonna may have done more complicated songs, and experimented more, but Borderline is purer pop finery. With it being Madonna's first song in the US top 10, it made her the star she is today.

 

11. Deeper And Deeper

Why does a fairly obscure song deserve to be number 11 on this list? Not only is it infectious, entrancing and one of her best dance anthems, the lyrics are a metaphor for a boy accepting his homosexuality. This was done a full 20 years before other artists told us we were 'born this way'.

The rest of the top 10 were voted for by you. We had a poll going for a few days, and this is what you chose.

 

10. Papa Don't Preach

9. Holiday

8. Into The Groove

7. Material Girl

6. Ray Of Light

5. Hung Up

4. Express Yourself

3. Like A Virgin

2. Like A Prayer

1. Vogue

     

 

[Fighter 28,888]

If it included album tracks it would be so different 

[groovyguy 63,869]

In honor of her birthday, let's revisit @Madonna's 10 best songs that radio forgot:

http://www.idolator.com/6151271/madonna-10-best-songs-radio?utm_source=sc-tw&utm_medium=ref&utm_campaign=madonna

Madonna’s 10 Best Songs That Radio Forgot

 

 

Madonna is on a triumphant streak lately that is quite fit for a queen. In addition to scoring a Golden Globe Award, the Material Girl has her directorial effort W.E. â€” which just earned an Oscar nomination â€” hitting theaters on February 3, will perform at the Super Bowl two days after that and has a highly-anticipated albumon the way in March, via her new label deal with Interscope. And, like any red-blooded pop music fan, we’re chomping at the bit for the arrival of Her Madgesty’s new Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.-featuring single â€œGimme All Your Luvin’â€.

That said, we’ve been spinning some of Madonna’s older jams in the meantime, and we couldn’t help but feel like some of her songs just don’t get, to quote from “Material Girlâ€, proper credit. Flip the dial on any given day and you’ll hear “Holidayâ€, “Express Yourself†and “Take A Bowâ€, but what about Madge’s songs that time — and radio — seem to have forgotten? We rounded up (what we think are) the 10 best of these below!

 

10. â€œRESCUE ME†(listen)
ALBUM: The Immaculate Collection, 1990.
“I’m talking….I’m talking,†Madonna declares at the beginning of this house-y love song — and boy, was she ever. This and “Justify My Love†kicked off the diva’s early-’90s period where she gabbed through tracks rather than singing on them.

 

9. â€œCAUSING A COMMOTION†(listen)
Album: Who’s That Girl (Soundtrack), 1987.
M meets her perfect match, but — yowza! â€” their sexy chemistry threatens to disrupt the universe! If onlyWho’s That Girl hadn’t taken a cue from the song’s lyrics and spontaneously combusted at the box office upon its release.

 

8. â€œI’LL REMEMBERâ€
ALBUM: With Honors (Soundtrack), 1994.
Madge has lost many friends and lovers over the years, but here she turns lemons into lemonade by cherishing the good times and learning from “the way that you changed me.†(She also turned cheesy lyrics to cha-ching by contributing this surprisingly saccharine post-Erotica ballad to the Brendan Fraser flick With Honors.)

 

7. â€œTRUE BLUEâ€
Album: True Blue, 1986.
Madonna gives her then-beau Sean Penn the gift of song, and the masses in turn get a ’60s-sounding retro girl group homage. It’s exclusion from her subsequent hits collections makes us think that some love letters are too painful to revisit — even if you’re the Queen Of Pop.

 

6. â€œGET TOGETHERâ€
ALBUM: Confessions On A Dancefloor, 2005.
Uh oh! Madonna has locked eyes with the man of her dreams on the dance floor, and she’s ready for some strobelight-lovin’. American radio unfortunately skipped over the bulk of Madonna’s Confessions singles. That’s a real shame, as the album boasted her finest material since Ray Of Light.

 

5. â€œKEEP IT TOGETHER†(listen)
ALBUM: Like A Prayer, 1989.
Even a Material Girl needs to lean on her family for support from time to time when fame gets to be too rough. The funky album version of this forgotten Like A Prayer gem is a true toe-tapper, but it pales in comparison to the Soul II Soul beat-infused single mix.

 

4. â€œTHE POWER OF GOOD-BYE†
ALBUM: Ray of Light, 1998.
Madonna knows that it’s better to be alone for the right reasons than stay with someone for the wrong ones. This lush, ethereal William Orbit co-produced ballad will forever remind us of Felicity Season 1 TV promos. That’s a good thing, by the way!

 

3. â€œBURNING UPâ€
ALBUM: Madonna, 1983.
Madge has been tempting us with her saucy ways from the get-go, as evidenced by this, the second single of her career. Sample lyrics: “Unlike the others, I’ll do anything / I’m not the same, I have no shame — I’m on fire!†Why, you wicked little minx!

 

2. â€œJUMPâ€
ALBUM: Confessions On A Dancefloor, 2005.
When all is said and done, the future is uncertain, life is what you make of it, and therefore, Her Madgesty is happy to jump head-first into the great unknown. Are you ready to take her hand and join her?

 

1. â€œDEEPER AND DEEPERâ€
ALBUM: Erotica, 1992.
When love comes along, you can’t let it slip through your fingers. Madge employs parental advice — and Shep Pettibone’s relentless disco beat — in an effort to win her man. Bonus points for the unusual-at-that-time “Vogue†mash-up at the end.

[Voguerista 13,307]

The press is loving her. So awesome!