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

[King Postwhore]

Both songs made my top 75.

[Setlist Scotty]

Too long to watch again.

Can someone sum up what their picks were?

Just watch the last 10 seconds of the video.

[wolfking]

It's a year old, but here's MP and JP on The Prog Report choosing the ultimate Rush compilation album..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7VDF457u7w

Sounds fun, look forward to watching this one tonight.

[DragonAttack]

Because of this thread, I'm going to give 'Everyday Glory' a spin or three on Monday.

That's why I enjoy playing along and reading all the in depth comments.

And, Kev, once again, 'thank you' for all of your efforts on this and the DT rankings.   

[Tomislav95]

Emotion Detector - at #24, uplifting, catchy with great chorus.
Everyday Glory - #46, love that guitar, so lush. Bridge is one of the best, always give me chills.
Something for Nothing - #68 couldn't not include it, classic, one of their first songs I heard.

[wolfking]

It's a year old, but here's MP and JP on The Prog Report choosing the ultimate Rush compilation album..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7VDF457u7w

Sounds fun, look forward to watching this one tonight.

Fuck, it's 65 minutes long.  Pass.

[Tomislav95]

I listened it in background, it's fun podcast. Fun fact: they included my top 2 songs

[KevShmev]

Here are two for this lovely Monday morning...

62 Driven
Appeared on 14 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 13 (wolfking)

I didn't rank this one, but this is definitely one of the better songs from Test for Echo.  And, in fact, it is the highest ranked song from that record in the top 75.  Great riff, fun song to crank up on the highway.


61 Cut to the Chase
Appeared on 16 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 8 (wolfking)

I guess it's fitting that we were just talking about this one.  I had it at 48.  Definitely very high on my "I can't believe they never played this song live" list when it comes to Rush songs.  That guitar solo is like running water...so fluid. 

[ReaperKK]

Emotion Detector - I never really clicked with this song, it didn't make my list
Everyday Glory - Number 67 on my list. I never really cared for this song but my recent Rush discog playthrough I changed my mind on it. I enjoy a fair bit now.
Something For Nothing - Number 69 (nice) on my list. Looking at it now I'm wondering if I should've ranked it higher. These rankings are tough . I feel like so many songs could be shuffled around on a daily basis.

[HOF]

Here are two for this lovely Monday morning...

62 Driven
Appeared on 14 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 13 (wolfking)

I didn't rank this one, but this is definitely one of the better songs from Test for Echo.  And, in fact, it is the highest ranked song from that record in the top 75.  Great riff, fun song to crank up on the highway.


61 Cut to the Chase
Appeared on 16 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 8 (wolfking)

I guess it's fitting that we were just talking about this one.  I had it at 48.  Definitely very high on my "I can't believe they never played this song live" list when it comes to Rush songs.  That guitar solo is like running water...so fluid. 

Man, that’s a disappointing showing for T4E. I had six songs from that album ranked, and the two that made it are two I didn’t rank! Not surprised about The Color of Right (which I had at 17), but I thought maybe Half the World (31) might do better. Now I kind of wish I had ranked it higher.

I do like Driven though. Probably would have made my top 100. I like the chorus a lot, and the heavier verse with some cool bass work from Geddy. But like the title track it chugs on a bit slowly, and I feel like the album doesn’t really get going until Half the World. Which is part of why I’m surprised those two did so well, but those are two of the heavier and maybe more proggy songs (along with Time and Motion).

I had Cut to the Chase at 63. It’s a really fun rocker, with that great, quiet intro with the bass, then the drums kick in, then the heavy guitars in the chorus, and I love the momentum it has throughout. And absolutely, that guitar solo is amazing.

[nick_z]

Driven (ranked #44)

My second favorite from T4E, after the title-track. Always liked this song, alternating between the heavier riff and the acoustics, and the cool tempo change to close it...

Cut to the Chase (ranked #43)

Kinda interesting these two songs had consecutive ranking on my list too  100% agree with Kev's and HOF's comments. Love this one. The clean guitars at the beginning, with the drums and the bass coming in...the solo...really brings back memories of when I discovered Rush with Counterparts...

[King Postwhore]

Driven # 33 for my rankings

Cut To The Chase# 45 for my rankings

Cut To The Chase is one of 2 rocking tracks on Counterparts I wished they would have played live.

[nick_z]

I listened it in background, it's fun podcast. Fun fact: they included my top 2 songs

Had it as background too, last night. If anyone's interested, here's the 12-song list they picked:

By-Tor and the Snow Dog
Red Barchetta
Subdvisions
Countdown
Jacob's Ladder
2112
Animate
La Villa Strangiato
Xanadu
Marathon
YYZ
Mission

MP's picks were By-Tor, Jacob's Ladder and Xanadu. JP's were Countdown, La Villa Strangiato and Mission.

It's a pretty cool list. Of course, with only 12 songs, some crazy "omissions" are bound to happen. Very interesting that JP went with Countdown as one of his.

[Deadeye21]

Here are two for this lovely Monday morning...

62 Driven
Appeared on 14 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 13 (wolfking)

61 Cut to the Chase
Appeared on 16 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 8 (wolfking)

Driven, I didn’t rate it. A huge rockin’ feel but honestly, apart from the live bass solo extension, there is nothing that wasn’t done better on other tracks. However, if this is the highest ranked track from T4E, does that mean there’s no hope for a song that’s technically from this album that took on fresh life on live albums?

Cut to the Chase, my number 73. Yeah, I think this one deserved better. Barely scraped onto my list, but it should be in the top half. I find the little drum led section after the bridge is a little odd with the “cut, cut” vocal, but this is easily one of Lerxst’s best solos and some of the best riffs.

🤔 is it too late to completely overhaul a lot of my list? 🤔

[Deadeye21]

Btw, check out 0:55 in this one. Always reminded me of the main riff from Driven, and would be great to hear your thoughts.
https://youtu.be/do9XlWvb5ko

[devieira73]

62 Driven (#71)

61 Cut to the Chase (#58)

Both are excelent songs and great examples of Rush going heavier in the 90's. Cut to the Chase indeed has an amazing Lifeson solo. Also I would highlight the perfect NP drumming on Driven - on T4E he managed to put more groove in his signature style and Driven shows that: a lot of hi-hat going on beneath the syncopated rhythm of the song.

[KevShmev]

Man, that’s a disappointing showing for T4E. I had six songs from that album ranked, and the two that made it are two I didn’t rank! Not surprised about The Color of Right (which I had at 17), but I thought maybe Half the World (31) might do better. Now I kind of wish I had ranked it higher.

Ugh, I would hope no one is ranking like that, as that is trying to goose the order.  Now, this is obviously all for fun, and everyone can do their rankings however they want, but if someone is putting a song higher because they think it won't get enough love from others, or lower because they want to knock it down because they think it will get too much love from others, that is not playing fair, IMO.

[Setlist Scotty]

Man, that’s a disappointing showing for T4E. I had six songs from that album ranked, and the two that made it are two I didn’t rank! Not surprised about The Color of Right (which I had at 17), but I thought maybe Half the World (31) might do better. Now I kind of wish I had ranked it higher.

Ugh, I would hope no one is ranking like that, as that is trying to goose the order.  Now, this is obviously all for fun, and everyone can do their rankings however they want, but if someone is putting a song higher because they think it won't get enough love from others, or lower because they want to knock it down because they think it will get too much love from others, that is not playing fair, IMO.

Agreed. It kinda defeats the purpose of this thread, which is *not* a Survivor type thing like Marc is presently doing. This is more an average of how DTF ranks Rush songs. While I'm bummed that some of my favorites won't make the cut (such as Time and Motion, my favorite on T4E), it's interesting to see everyone's thoughts on each of the tracks that did make it.

As for the latest two, as I've said before, T4E is an uneven album to me. Driven is one of the more "middle of the road" tracks for me. It's OK but it's not one of my favorites on the album. As such, it only made it to #104 on my list. However, I do have to give props to the video for that song. Rush's videos have largely been an iffy affair for me, but I really like the one they did for Driven. Very clever, entertaining and it shows Rush's humor.

Cut to the Chase is my favorite song on CP, so I would have loved to see it ranked higher than it got, but it is what it is. As has already been said, it's a real tragedy that it was never played live. Cool to see that Wolfking even rated it higher than I did - I put it at #9.

[HOF]

Man, that’s a disappointing showing for T4E. I had six songs from that album ranked, and the two that made it are two I didn’t rank! Not surprised about The Color of Right (which I had at 17), but I thought maybe Half the World (31) might do better. Now I kind of wish I had ranked it higher.

Ugh, I would hope no one is ranking like that, as that is trying to goose the order.  Now, this is obviously all for fun, and everyone can do their rankings however they want, but if someone is putting a song higher because they think it won't get enough love from others, or lower because they want to knock it down because they think it will get too much love from others, that is not playing fair, IMO.

I mean, I didn’t do that, but in retrospect I do kind of think I under ranked it a bit. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Was just looking at my list and thinking it could have probably been higher. I’d say the songs from about 23-36 on my list I could have fairly put in any order.

[Stadler]

Okay, as we continue with Rush's greatest songs, tonight's two will be presented by one of the greatest songwriters of the 21st century...

Gene and Paul?   

In no century should either of them ever be considered "greatest songwriters"

What!?!


So I had Countdown at #19 and Presto at #31.   I like the atmosphere of Countdown.  I am a sort of fan of NASA and space, and I think the lyrics (and Geddy's delivery of same) really got to the mood and emotions of what I imagine a launch is like.  This is a lot like Double Agent in a way, as it's a really creative piece of work. It might not be the best "song" in the way that one of the top ten songs might be, but it's a great piece of art, in my opinion.

[Stadler]

Okay, as we continue with Rush's greatest songs, tonight's two will be presented by one of the greatest songwriters of the 21st century...



69 Presto
Appeared on 12 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 13 (kingshmegland)

It feels like this song got the live bump, as it seemed like this song was rarely talked about until it got played on the Time Machine tour. I admittedly liked it more after seeing it live, although it still didn't crack my top 75.




68 Countdown
Appeared on 12 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 18 (Dream Team)

I had to admit that I was quite shocked at how much love this song got.  I like it, but always thought it was somewhat of an average ending to an otherwise fantastic record.  Feels like one of those songs where the end result didn't meet the ambition they had for it.

Let’s start with the obvious. PLEASE NO MORE TAYLOR SWIFT!

Right. Presto. Didn’t rate it, but I love it. Kinda hating how much this ranking is making me realise I put in songs that comparatively I shouldn’t have.

Countdown. Number 38. It’s a damn good closer about a great advancement in human history. Great drumming, massively epic feel. Can’t say much better than that.

PLEASE MORE TAYLOR SWIFT!   There, like Larry David says, we've cancelled each other out.  In fact, I wouldn't mind if Kev used that red magicians GIF for each and every posting!   

[Stadler]

Guessing the two that didn’t have a song make the top 75 are Caress of Steel and Snakes and Arrows.

That's what I was thinking.

No.  I have a song from one at #20 and a song from the other at #29.   

It's going to be either Vapor Trails or Test For Echo, because I have a song from every other album in the top 75.  EXCEPT...  one song from T4E is already in the top 75, and someone said they have a song from VT on there.  Did I misunderstand the fun fact?  Or is it one of those that is neither fun, nor a fact.

[pg1067]

Guessing the two that didn’t have a song make the top 75 are Caress of Steel and Snakes and Arrows.

That's what I was thinking.

No.  I have a song from one at #20 and a song from the other at #29.   

It's going to be either Vapor Trails or Test For Echo, because I have a song from every other album in the top 75.  EXCEPT...  one song from T4E is already in the top 75, and someone said they have a song from VT on there.  Did I misunderstand the fun fact?  Or is it one of those that is neither fun, nor a fact.

I believe this was a reference to the aggregate top 75, so it doesn't matter what any particular submitter had in his/her top 75.  For example, I had songs from all 19 albums in my top 75, and I believe that's true of several folks.  We already know that COS has at least one song in the top 75, and I'd be absolutely shocked if at least one other doesn't make it.  We've also seen two from T4E so far.  We haven't yet seen a VT or S&A song, so they're still in the running.

Here are two for this lovely Monday morning...

62 Driven
Appeared on 14 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 13 (wolfking)

I didn't rank this one, but this is definitely one of the better songs from Test for Echo.  And, in fact, it is the highest ranked song from that record in the top 75.  Great riff, fun song to crank up on the highway.


61 Cut to the Chase
Appeared on 16 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 8 (wolfking)

I guess it's fitting that we were just talking about this one.  I had it at 48.  Definitely very high on my "I can't believe they never played this song live" list when it comes to Rush songs.  That guitar solo is like running water...so fluid. 

I didn't have either of these songs in my top 75.  I had Driven at #80 and Cut to the Chase at #96.  I like Driven, but I never really cared for the extended bass stuff when it was played live, and that probably influenced my ranking.  CTTC is good but not great.


Here's a running album count so far (bold indicates no more songs to come):

Rush -
Fly by Night - 1 song (Fly by Night - #70)
Caress of Steel - 1 song (The Necromancer - #67)
2112 - 1 song (Something for Nothing - #63)
A Farewell to Kings -
Hemispheres -
Permanent Waves -
Moving Pictures -
Signals - 1 song (Countdown - #68)
Grace Under Pressure -
Power Windows - 1 song (Emotion Detector - #66)
Hold Your Fire - 2 songs (Prime Mover - #73; Open Secrets - #72)
Presto - 2 songs (Presto - #69; Show Don't Tell - #64)
Roll the Bones - 1 song (Roll the Bones - #75)
Counterparts - 3 songs (Double Agent - #74; Everyday Glory - #65; Cut to the Chase - #61)
Test for Echo - 2 songs (Test for Echo - #71; Driven - #62)
Vapor Trails -
Snakes & Arrows -
Clockwork Angels -

10 of 19 albums have made an appearance through the first 15 songs, with Counterparts thus far being the most represented album.

[Stadler]

Necromancer: 93
Emotion Detector: 99
Everyday Glory: 121
Show Don't Tell: 40
Something For Nothing: 7
Driven: 117
Cut To The Chase: 85

I LOVE Something For Nothing; I'm not a fan of the "banshee" Geddy either, but the introduction and the bridge are nice set offs for that.  It's also one of the first songs I was able to play on guitar all the way through, so there's that.   Show Don't Tell is a personal favorite, from a personal favorite album (I have 9 out of the 11 songs from that record on my list).

The rest of this list is a bunch of songs that are good not great, and just don't rise to the level of what I would consider to be Rush CLASSICS.

[Stadler]

I believe this was a reference to the aggregate top 75, so it doesn't matter what any particular submitter had in his/her top 75.  For example, I had songs from all 19 albums in my top 75, and I believe that's true of several folks.  We already know that COS has at least one song in the top 75, and I'd be absolutely shocked if at least one other doesn't make it.  We've also seen two from T4E so far.  We haven't yet seen a VT or S&A song, so they're still in the running.

Gotcha; that makes a lot more sense.  Thanks!

Here's a running album count so far (bold indicates no more songs to come):

Rush -
Fly by Night - 1 song (Fly by Night - #70)
Caress of Steel - 1 song (The Necromancer - #67)
2112 - 1 song (Something for Nothing - #63)
A Farewell to Kings -
Hemispheres -
Permanent Waves -
Moving Pictures -
Signals - 1 song (Countdown - #68)
Grace Under Pressure -
Power Windows - 1 song (Emotion Detector - #66)
Hold Your Fire - 2 songs (Prime Mover - #73; Open Secrets - #72)
Presto - 2 songs (Presto - #69; Show Don't Tell - #64)
Roll the Bones - 1 song (Roll the Bones - #75)
Counterparts - 3 songs (Double Agent - #74; Everyday Glory - #65; Cut to the Chase - #61)
Test for Echo - 2 songs (Test for Echo - #71; Driven - #62)
Vapor Trails -
Snakes & Arrows -
Clockwork Angels -

10 of 19 albums have made an appearance through the first 15 songs, with Counterparts thus far being the most represented album.

So from that list, I imagine it's going to be two of the three out of Grace Under Pressure, Vapor Trails, or Snakes and Arrows.   I kid, I kid.  I can't imagine it's not VT and S&A, even though I have a couple S&A songs pretty high.  PRITTY HIGH, as Larry David would say. 

The albums with all songs would be:  Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and... I can't decide on the fourth.

[HOF]

I feel pretty confident that all of Power Windows is making it if Emotion Detector made it.

[pg1067]

So from that list, I imagine it's going to be two of the three out of Grace Under Pressure, Vapor Trails, or Snakes and Arrows.   I kid, I kid.  I can't imagine it's not VT and S&A, even though I have a couple S&A songs pretty high.  PRITTY HIGH, as Larry David would say. 

The albums with all songs would be:  Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and... I can't decide on the fourth.

I will be blown over if these songs don't make the list:  Between the Wheels, Earthshine and Far Cry (all are in my top 35), but I think it's pretty obvious that two of them will be off the top 75.  I'm not entirely certain that PEW will have all of its songs.  While it's in my top 50 (and probably higher for you), it wouldn't surprise me if Different Strings didn't make it.  My guess is that, bafflingly, POW will get all 8 songs in the top 75 (which now amounts to 7 in the top 60).

[nick_z]

I feel pretty confident that all of Power Windows is making it if Emotion Detector made it.

Yep, that seems very likely

[nick_z]

So from that list, I imagine it's going to be two of the three out of Grace Under Pressure, Vapor Trails, or Snakes and Arrows.   I kid, I kid.  I can't imagine it's not VT and S&A, even though I have a couple S&A songs pretty high.  PRITTY HIGH, as Larry David would say. 

The albums with all songs would be:  Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and... I can't decide on the fourth.

I will be blown over if these songs don't make the list:  Between the Wheels, Earthshine and Far Cry (all are in my top 35), but I think it's pretty obvious that two of them will be off the top 75.  I'm not entirely certain that PEW will have all of its songs.  While it's in my top 50 (and probably higher for you), it wouldn't surprise me if Different Strings didn't make it.  My guess is that, bafflingly, POW will get all 8 songs in the top 75 (which now amounts to 7 in the top 60).

I guess there is a chance the debut could be one of the two? I'd be shocked if at least Working Man didn't make the aggregate top 75 (didn't make mine, although it was close), but maybe there wasn't enough of a critical mass of people with more of an appreciation for very early Rush...?

Also, nothing baffling about Power Windows having all songs in the top 75 

[KevShmev]

PLEASE MORE TAYLOR SWIFT!   There, like Larry David says, we've cancelled each other out.  In fact, I wouldn't mind if Kev used that red magicians GIF for each and every posting!   

I get that any mention or picture of Taylor Swift makes some see red (see what I did there? ), but no one noticed that I used her magicians gif to introduce Presto.   

[pg1067]

PLEASE MORE TAYLOR SWIFT!   There, like Larry David says, we've cancelled each other out.  In fact, I wouldn't mind if Kev used that red magicians GIF for each and every posting!   

I get that any mention or picture of Taylor Swift makes some see red (see what I did there? ), but no one noticed that I used her magicians gif to introduce Presto.   

All I know is that, in four years, the 1/2 + 7 rule will be on my side.   

[romdrums]

62. Driven (29).  One of my favorites from Test for Echo, and another fun song to play on drums.
61. Cut to the Chase (42).  Like just about everyone else here, I can’t believe this never got played live.  Alex’s solo is fantastic.

[TAC]

While I'm bummed that some of my favorites won't make the cut (such as Time and Motion, my favorite on T4E), it's interesting to see everyone's thoughts on each of the tracks that did make it.

It's mine as well. It didn't make the cut?

[TAC]

62 Driven
Appeared on 14 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 13 (wolfking)

61 Cut to the Chase
Appeared on 16 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 8 (wolfking)

I had Driven at #52, three spots behind Time And Motion. I like the song. Nice and heavy. Not nearly as interesting as Time And Motion though, which feels more Rush-like.

I had Cut To The Chase at #64, so pretty close to the aggregate.

[nick_z]

While I'm bummed that some of my favorites won't make the cut (such as Time and Motion, my favorite on T4E), it's interesting to see everyone's thoughts on each of the tracks that did make it.

It's mine as well. It didn't make the cut?

Apparently not, based on Kev's comment that this is the highest ranked song from T4E...

I'm actually not a huge fan of Time and Motion - I was kind of excited with the first few listens at the time, as it felt like Rush wanted to be a bit proggier...but then the excitement waned as it started to feel like they did want to write a quirky song, but ended up not going anywhere particularly interesting (for me, of course).

For contrast, Double Agent managed to be weird and interesting at the same time