Official Top 75 Rush songs Thread!!! (Top 2 revealed!!)

[wolfking]

And I don't speak for anyone else, but that's my way of showing gratitude that you made it through.  I don't mean to cheapen or minimize your experience in any way.

I don't take it that way from anyone Bill, don't stress about that.  I take it as love.

Yeah, that's kinda guy culture in a nutshell, add in the Aussie factor and jabbing someone's sore spot is the ultimate expression. Isn't it?

I have no electricity jokes for you, Kade. Sorry, mate. 

I truly appreciate keeping me on my toes with the back and forth between Aussie jokes and electricity jokes.....it's refreshing Gregg.

[King Postwhore]

I'm waiting for Gregg to use the hair comparisons with Young Einstein. 

[wolfking]

I'm waiting for Gregg to use the hair comparisons with Young Einstein.

 

[pg1067]

Using the ranker without any adjustments (the margins in the 8-13 range are paper thin):

1   Hemispheres
2   Moving Pictures
3   Permanent Waves
4   A Farewell to Kings
5   Signals
6   Fly by Night
7   2112
8   Presto
9   Vapor Trails
10   Caress of Steel
11   Rush
12   Counterparts
13   Test for Echo
14   Grace Under Pressure
15   Power Windows
16   Clockwork Angels
17   Snakes & Arrows
18   Hold Your Fire
19   Roll the Bones

[jammindude]

I’m still working on my song list, but I did take a few minutes to follow everyone’s lead and throw the albums into the ranking engine.

I was happily surprised that my top five is exactly what I have always said it was. I was a little surprised to see the Test for Echo got beaten out by A Farewell to Kings…which placed probably about 3 spots higher than it does when I just make my own list. Everything else was almost exactly as I suspected.

Ranking Engine

Rank   Item
1   Hemispheres
2   Permanent Waves
3   Power Windows
4   Moving Pictures
5   Clockwork Angels
6   A Farewell to Kings
7   Test for Echo
8   Signals
9   Snakes and Arrows
10   Grace Under Pressure
11   Caress of Steel
12   2112
13   Fly By Night
14   Rush
15   Hold Your Fire
16   Presto
17   Counterparts
18   Roll the Bones
19   Vapor Trails

[TAC]

My albums list would be..

1. Moving Pictures
2. Hemispheres
3. Permanent Waves
4. 2112
5. Signals
6. Counterparts
7. Grace Under Pressure
8. Presto
9. Rush
10. Fly By Night
11. Clockwork Angels
12. Vapor Trails
13. A Farewell To Kings
14. Power Windows
15. Roll The Bones
16. Test For Echo
17. Hold Your Fire
18. Caress Of Steel
19. Snakes & Arrows

[Cool Chris]

1   Permanent Waves
2   A Farewell to Kings
3   Moving Pictures
4   2112   
5   Hemispheres

I've said that I'd put this stretch of 5 albums against any bands as my favorite 5 album run. If Rush only released these 5 albums, they'd still be one of the most influential bands of my musical journey.

There is a pretty big drop-off here:
6   Clockwork Angels
7   Presto
8   Fly By Night
9   Rush

Then another big drop:
10   Power Windows
11   Snakes and Arrows

And another smaller one, where things bunch together where I almost don't care: 
12   Grace Under Pressure
13   Signals
14   Caress of Steel
15   Vapor Trails
16   Roll the Bones
17   Counterparts
18   Test for Echo
19   Hold Your Fire   

[Stadler]

My albums list would be..

1. Moving Pictures
2. Hemispheres
3. Permanent Waves
4. 2112
5. Signals
6. Counterparts
7. Grace Under Pressure
8. Presto
9. Rush
10. Fly By Night
11. Clockwork Angels
12. Vapor Trails
13. A Farewell To Kings
14. Power Windows
15. Roll The Bones
16. Test For Echo
17. Hold Your Fire
18. Caress Of Steel
19. Snakes & Arrows

Not gonna lie; mildly surprised at how low AFTK is on your list, given the albums around it are #2 and #4.  That intro to the title track is just massive, and Xanadu! That's like the better version of A Passage to Bangkok and Twilight Zone all mashed together! 

[TAC]

I've never been a fan of the AFTK's title track. I don't know, it doesn't do anything for me. I love Xanadu and well, let's just say it made my list. But AFTK is easily my least favorite of the that era.

[HOF]

This is what the ranker spit out for me just now, and it was close enough that I didn’t change anything. Closest call is Signals v. Presto v. Grace Under Pressure. Those three could probably go in any order on any given day.

1   Power Windows
2   Signals
3   Presto
4   Grace Under Pressure
5   Counterparts
6   Test for Echo
7   Vapor Trails
8   Permanent Waves
9   Hold Your Fire
10   Moving Pictures
11   Roll The Bones
12   Hemispheres
13   Caress of Steel
14   Clockwork Angels
15   Fly By Night
16   A Farewell To Kings
17   2112
18   Snakes and Arrows
19   Rush

[Stadler]

Looking at some of these lists, it's interesting to me how varied the "groupings" are.   It's kind of well-accepted that Rush has "eras": 

Rush - 2112
AFTK - MP
S - HYF
P-TFE
VT-CA

Some people have a mix, some people have clumps.  Neither is a right answer, but it's interesting to me.  I think there's an arc to their career; there are no HUGE jumps from album to album, but certainly, comparing "CoS" and, say, "RtB", the differences are stark.  I would argue that the only constant is Neil Peart's drumming and Geddy's bass; Neil's lyrical approach is different across the various eras, Geddy's singing is different across the various eras, the keyboards are different across the various eras, the guitars are different across the various eras, the songwriting is different across the various eras...

What a fascinating band, from this perspective.

[HOF]

Looking at some of these lists, it's interesting to me how varied the "groupings" are.   It's kind of well-accepted that Rush has "eras": 

Rush - 2112
AFTK - MP
S - HYF
P-TFE
VT-CA

Some people have a mix, some people have clumps.  Neither is a right answer, but it's interesting to me.  I think there's an arc to their career; there are no HUGE jumps from album to album, but certainly, comparing "CoS" and, say, "RtB", the differences are stark.  I would argue that the only constant is Neil Peart's drumming and Geddy's bass; Neil's lyrical approach is different across the various eras, Geddy's singing is different across the various eras, the keyboards are different across the various eras, the guitars are different across the various eras, the songwriting is different across the various eras...

What a fascinating band, from this perspective.

I’d probably go broadly with:

Rush - Fly By Night (bluesy hard rock)
Caress - Moving Pictures (progressive hard rock)
Signals - Roll the Bones (keyboard era)
Counterparts - Clockwork Angels (grungy/modern hard rock)

But then you have Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures really being sort of on the bubble between those eras, and Presto and Roll the Bones also leaning away from the keyboards a bit towards the next era. If you were making a Venn diagram of the Rush eras, the circles would definitely overlap somewhat.

[Stadler]

I can't really argue with that. 

I've noted that before; one of the coolest things about Rush is how there IS overlap.  A Passage To Bangkok could absolutely be on A Farewell To Kings.   Vital Signs could absolutely be on Signals.   There are other examples as well.  It's almost like foreshadowing.

[KevShmev]

Oh, we are doing this? Okay.

Using the ranking engine...

1   Moving Pictures
2   Power Windows
3   Permanent Waves
4   2112
5   Counterparts
6   Hemispheres
7   Signals
8   A Farewell to Kings
9   Clockwork Angels
10   Grace Under Pressure
11   Hold Your Fire
12   Roll the Bones
13   Fly by Night
14   Presto
15   Caress of Steel
16   Rush
17   Snakes & Arrows
18   Test for Echo
19   Vapor Trails

[devieira73]

About Rush eras, of course the end of one blends a bit with the begginning of the next and it's an aproximation - after all, Rush's music complexity defies any categorisation, but I hear them this way: heavy blues rock (Rush-FBN), prog (CoS-MP), keyboard  (Signals -HYF), pop (Presto-RTB) and hard rock (Counterparts-CA).

Really cool, HOF, you see the Rush eras almost exactly the way I do!

Stadler made interesting observations about the eras/albums, it is really fascinating to think about them and how the fans hear them differently.

[wolfking]

Sorry lads, random post in the middle of this conversation but threw Different Stages in the car today and this is a great set.  Another one I don't think I've ever listened to.

[TAC]

In before Kingshmegland says "I was there!".

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Sorry lads, random post in the middle of this conversation but threw Different Stages in the car today and this is a great set.  Another one I don't think I've ever listened to.

Different Stages is my absolute favorite live album, and not just for Rush. Of all live albums in my library, that is my favorite.

In before Kingshmegland says "I was there!".

I saw them on the TFE and Counterparts tours, but not the shows that are highlighted on the album.

[TAC]

In before Kingshmegland says "I was there!".

I saw them on the TFE and Counterparts tours, but not the shows that are highlighted on the album.

As did I.

[King Postwhore]

My ears were burning.

[nick_z]

Sorry lads, random post in the middle of this conversation but threw Different Stages in the car today and this is a great set.  Another one I don't think I've ever listened to.

Couldn't agree more. I listened to that live a ton when it came out, as I was in peak-Rush fandom mode. Fantastic set of songs.

[wolfking]

Yeah nice, glad I brought it up! 

[wolfking]

Should be working on my song ranking but......

1. Power Windows
2. Grace Under Pressure
3. Counterparts
4. Permanent Waves
5. Signals
6. Roll the Bones
7. Hold Your Fire
8. Moving Pictures
9. Presto
10. Hemispheres
11. A Farewell to Kings
12. Snakes and Arrows
13. A Caress of Steel
14. Fly By Night
15. Vapor Trails
16. Test for Echo
17. Clockwork Angels
18. Fly By Night
19. Rush

[TAC]

Is that in reverse order??

[wolfking]

Is that in reverse order??

I guess I'd have to have some side effects from the accident right? 

[King Postwhore]

It's Bizaro Tim!  Lol

[Podaar]

No 2112, either.

[TAC]

No 2112, either.

He likes Fly By Night

[KevShmev]

That's just keeping in line with the many submitted lists I have gotten with the same song listed twice. 

With only a future days left, no more Mr Nice Guy...any new submitted list now that lists a song more than once will be disregarded and not count towards the cumulative ranking, so, to anyone still looking to send one, proofread it before sending. 

[Dream Team]

What in heck are my eyes seeing?? Moving Pictures 10th?? Hemispheres 12th?? 

[Dream Team]

That's just keeping in line with the many submitted lists I have gotten with the same song listed twice. 

With only a future days left, no more Mr Nice Guy...any new submitted list now that lists a song more than once will be disregarded and not count towards the cumulative ranking, so, to anyone still looking to send one, proofread it before sending. 

Yikes. Was I one of the culprits?

[nick_z]

No 2112, either.

He likes Fly By Night

 

[Stadler]

That's just keeping in line with the many submitted lists I have gotten with the same song listed twice. 

With only a future days left, no more Mr Nice Guy...any new submitted list now that lists a song more than once will be disregarded and not count towards the cumulative ranking, so, to anyone still looking to send one, proofread it before sending. 

You should keep all the lists but make any duplicate a vote for "The Great White North". 

[Deadeye21]

That's just keeping in line with the many submitted lists I have gotten with the same song listed twice. 

With only a future days left, no more Mr Nice Guy...any new submitted list now that lists a song more than once will be disregarded and not count towards the cumulative ranking, so, to anyone still looking to send one, proofread it before sending. 

You should keep all the lists but make any duplicate a vote for "The Great White North".

If he did that, my list would feature about 5 votes for GWN… no matter how you cut it, 😱

[BRGM]

Should be working on my song ranking but......

As should I but...

1   Permanent Waves
2   Hemispheres
3   Moving Pictures
4   2112
5   A Farewell to Kings
6   Grace Under Pressure
7   Clockwork Angels
8   Power Windows
9   Signals
10   Counterparts
11   Presto
12   Hold Your Fire
13   Roll the Bones
14   Caress of Steel
15   Fly By Night
16   Test For Echo
17   Snakes and Arrows
18   Vapor Trails
19   RUSH