Billy Joel top 25 Countdown! (#s 3-1 revealed!!)

[KevShmev]

Okay, I have wanted to do this one for a while, and there seemed to be some interest in the appreciation thread for him a while back, so let's tackle a top 25 for Billy Joel.

I will count down the top 25 songs songs in order, and they will be taken from lists of anyone who wants to send me theirs via PM. Do not post them on the forum here. Send them to me via PM.  I will take all of the lists and come up with a top 25 based off all lists cumulatively and count the songs down from 25 to 1.

The rules:
-Songs must be listed from 25 to 1 in order (in reverse order), with no ties.  No having three songs at number 1 or anything like that. 25 songs, listed from 50 to 1. DO NOT list your songs with the points total. List them in your order (I will figure out the points on my end).  Any list submitted with the songs not numbered will be ignored.
-Anyone wanting to submit a list must do so by the end of day, Saturday, February 4th.  I will then begin the countdown shortly thereafter.
-The list will be tallied numerically in a simple way. On each list, whatever song is at number 1 gets 25 points, number 2 gets 24 points, number 3 gets 23 points, etc.
-PROOFREAD YOUR LISTS BEFORE SENDING THEM.  Any list with the same song mentioned twice will be not be counted.

Feel free to post in this thread as well that you have PM'd me, if for no other reason than to bump this back up for others who may want to participate who may not have seen the thread yet.

This ranking engine link below works great. You can input all of the songs, and then you pick your favorite of every 1 on 1 matchup and then it spits out your list.  If I forgot any song, feel free to point it out and I will add it.

https://rankingengine.pubmeeple.com/

25 An Innocent Man
24 A Matter of Trust
23 The Downeaster ‘Alexa’
21 (t) Uptown Girl
21 (t) It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
20 Captain Jack
19 Just the Way You Are
18 My Life
17 She's Got A Way
16 Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
15 Big Shot
14 You May Be Right
12 (t) Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
12 (t) Honesty
11 Goodnight Saigon
10 Vienna
09 Pressure
08 Prelude/Angry Young Man
07 She's Always a Woman
06 The Stranger
05 Only the Good Die Young
04 Piano Man
03 New York State of Mind
02 Allentown
01 Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

[DTA]

This one will be a lot of fun. I already know what the top song will most likely be, but I'm curious to see how the rest of the top 10 plays out.

[DTwwbwMP]

PT gets a top 50 but Billy only gets a top 25?

[TAC]

I couldn't do a Top 5 for either.

[King Postwhore]

I couldn't do a Top 5 for either.

WUT?

[Kram]

I couldn't do a Top 5 for either.

It's just really hard to rank songs for me.  Much easier to do albums.  But I told you I'd participate in this one Kev so I'll make a list.

[pg1067]

I couldn't do a Top 5 for either.

Looking at the song list, I think I recognized 13-15 of them (and one I absolutely despise), and I've never heard a Porcupine Tree song (AFAIK).

I'll follow along with this one because I'm curious where my overwhelming favorite song will rank, but I shan't participate.

[DTwwbwMP]

First pass through brought me to 63 songs. THIS is going to be VERY TOUGH getting to just 25!

[Samsara]

YES!

Thank you! I can't wait for this!!!

[DTwwbwMP]

Done and done. List sent. THIS should be very cool. Love Billy!

[Samsara]

List sent. Looking it over, any of my top-50 can be in my top-25. So cool.

When I was in law school, I used to sing Billy Joel with some cover bands during the week. I needed a break from my studies, and particularly first year, we were not permitted to work. So I'd go out late, 11, midnight, just myself, kick back with a beer or two and sit in with a few bands and sing A Matter of Trust, Piano Man, I Go to Extremes, New York State of Mind (which made me wistful for home), etc. Good, good times. A dozen times or so those three years of law school. In some ways, I miss those times. Although I don't miss being piss poor. 

[DTwwbwMP]

List sent. Looking it over, any of my top-50 can be in my top-25. So cool.

When I was in law school, I used to sing Billy Joel with some cover bands during the week. I needed a break from my studies, and particularly first year, we were not permitted to work. So I'd go out late, 11, midnight, just myself, kick back with a beer or two and sit in with a few bands and sing A Matter of Trust, Piano Man, I Go to Extremes, New York State of Mind (which made me wistful for home), etc. Good, good times. A dozen times or so those three years of law school. In some ways, I miss those times. Although I don't miss being piss poor. 

 

[KevShmev]

Glad to see some good interest already.  This one will be fun.

25 sounded right since Billy isn't by any means one of the most popular artists here, but I think those who are fans will really enjoy this one.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I never expected to see a Billy Joel countdown here, but I think I have to participate in this one.

[Cool Chris]

Looking at the song list, I think I recognized 13-15 of them...

That's about where I am at.

[HOF]

Don’t know any more than the radio hits for Billy Joel, but I’ll try to listen along like I did as LZ was revealed.

[KevShmev]

Don’t know any more than the radio hits for Billy Joel, but I’ll try to listen along like I did as LZ was revealed.

That's a lot of songs, though.   What songs classic rock and/or 80s radio stations play will obviously vary, but over the years, I count about 20-25 songs of his that still to this day get played regularly.   I always say that he and Tom Petty are similar in that they both have more classic rock mainstays than you can shake a stick at.

[DragonAttack]

I've narrowed mine down to 45.  This is not easy.

For those unfamiliar with the 'deeper cuts', wiki his discography, and some of the somewhat unfamiliar songs are also highlighted.  Might be useful.

In this area, it was just announced that he would be returning to Baltimore in October (with Stevie Nicks opening!). Lower bowl tickets are over $300 a piece, upper deck $140 plus.  Just can't pull the trigger at those prices. 

Saw him at Madison Square Garden a handful of years ago as that venue's monthly 'house band'    Easily a Top Ten concert experience. 

[Stadler]

YES!

Thank you! I can't wait for this!!!

I literally wrote out the exact same post, almost word for word.

[KevShmev]

Okay, since I will (almost) three weeks to do the PT countdown instead of two, I am pushing the deadline on this back a week to February 4th.

Remember, fans, it's still only rock and roll, so don't feel any pressure to get it right the first time.  If you want to play with your lists a few times before submitting, so it goes. 

[ReaperKK]

Alright so I actively despise Billy Joel but I never gave him a fair shake so I'm going to follow along to this thread and see if I can get turned on to some new tunes. 

[Stadler]

Alright so I actively despise Billy Joel but I never gave him a fair shake so I'm going to follow along to this thread and see if I can get turned on to some new tunes.

Hmm.  Taste is taste, and I don't know what it is that you don't like, but if it matters, I've been a fan since forever (The Stranger - which will probably make my list in it's entirety - was pretty sure the first record I ever bought with my own money; that or Kiss Alive II) and I really don't care for too many of his hits.   I'm a deep cut guy; but something like "Scandinavian Skies" is sublime.  He's also a closet prog guy, IMO; he's got at least one, maybe two, concept albums (An Innocent Man and The Nylon Curtain), and perhaps more.   

[TAC]

Alright so I actively despise Billy Joel but I never gave him a fair shake so I'm going to follow along to this thread and see if I can get turned on to some new tunes.

Hmm.  Taste is taste, and I don't know what it is that you don't like, but if it matters, I've been a fan since forever (The Stranger - which will probably make my list in it's entirety - was pretty sure the first record I ever bought with my own money; that or Kiss Alive II) and I really don't care for too many of his hits.   I'm a deep cut guy; but something like "Scandinavian Skies" is sublime.  He's also a closet prog guy, IMO; he's got at least one, maybe two, concept albums (An Innocent Man and The Nylon Curtain), and perhaps more.   

I had Glass Houses on 8 track in a Columbia House haul when I was a kid. Billy Joel is just not my thing. I don't hate him or even dislike him. The radio hits are fine enough, but I have never had the urge to explore anymore. I actually heard Piano Man on my work intercom a couple of weeks ago and found it kind of cringey.

[Samsara]

YES!

Thank you! I can't wait for this!!!

I literally wrote out the exact same post, almost word for word.

 

I've been a fan since forever (The Stranger - which will probably make my list in it's entirety - was pretty sure the first record I ever bought with my own money; that or Kiss Alive II) and I really don't care for too many of his hits.   I'm a deep cut guy; but something like "Scandinavian Skies" is sublime.  He's also a closet prog guy, IMO; he's got at least one, maybe two, concept albums (An Innocent Man and The Nylon Curtain), and perhaps more.   

I've been a fan ever since I heard my parents play 52nd Street on the turntable when I was...man, I remember it being in the late-70s. It came out in late 78, so it must have been around there. Some of my earliest memories was being in the living room and hearing that record.

And you nailed it with The Nylon Curtain. An Innocent Man is a unique concept for sure...songs done in the styles of those who influenced Billy. I know it IS a concept, but I never really view it as such. I just think it's a great album, and An Innocent Man is such a wonderful song. He sings that chorus so powerfully. I'm not as big on Scandinavian Skies as you are, but I completely agree that Billy is a huge prog guy. He's admitted as such over the years. I love the influence The Beatles had on Billy throughout his career too, particularly their latter era, which was more experimental.

[DTA]

He always described the vocal melody of Movin' Out's verse as him doing his best Jon Anderson impression.

[Kram]

List sent.  I gotta say this was pretty difficult for me he has so many great songs and on any given day my list probably could look significantly different.

[KevShmev]

I had Glass Houses on 8 track in a Columbia House haul when I was a kid. Billy Joel is just not my thing. I don't hate him or even dislike him. The radio hits are fine enough, but I have never had the urge to explore anymore. I actually heard Piano Man on my work intercom a couple of weeks ago and found it kind of cringey.

Honestly, I find his deep cuts to be more miss than hit (in the grand scheme; there are a few albums where that is not the case), but most of his hits are so damn good except for a couple (The River of Dreams should have been taken out back and shot), and when you factor those in with the many deeper cuts that I do in fact like or love, it's still a lot of songs I like by the man.

[pg1067]

Alright so I actively despise Billy Joel but I never gave him a fair shake so I'm going to follow along to this thread and see if I can get turned on to some new tunes.

Hmm.  Taste is taste, and I don't know what it is that you don't like, but if it matters, I've been a fan since forever (The Stranger - which will probably make my list in it's entirety - was pretty sure the first record I ever bought with my own money; that or Kiss Alive II) and I really don't care for too many of his hits.   I'm a deep cut guy; but something like "Scandinavian Skies" is sublime.  He's also a closet prog guy, IMO; he's got at least one, maybe two, concept albums (An Innocent Man and The Nylon Curtain), and perhaps more.   

I'm anything but a big Billy Joel guy, but it seems to me he is a bit of a chameleon.  He's got that lounge lizard side (Piano Man and New York State of Mind), a rocking side (Pressure), a doo wop side (Longest Time and Uptown Girl), and whatever We Didn't Start the Fire is (and probably a couple others I don't know).  I think WDSTF is on a short list of worst popular songs ever, and I can see not liking some of the other stuff (particularly the doo wop stuff), but he seems to have at least a little something for everyone.

BY THE WAY...I encourage anyone who hasn't listened to it already to check out Jim Gaffigan's Billy Joel bit.  It's friggin' hilarious.

[cfmoran13]

List sent.  Pretty curious to see how this one turns out.  Other than KISS, Billy Joel is probably the artist I've been a fan of the longest.  I sill have my 52nd Street vinyl from when I was 5 back in '78.  For anyone looking for a great live collection, look no further than Songs In The Attic.  The versions on this album have a lot more life than the studio versions and, in my opinion, are far superior to the originals.

As far as pg1067's comment about his doo wop side, each song on 'An Innocent Man' pays tribute to a Doo Wop or Motown legend.  While it's definitely not for everyone, listening to the album knowing that kinda paints it in a different light.

[pg1067]

As far as pg1067's comment about his doo wop side, each song on 'An Innocent Man' pays tribute to a Doo Wop or Motown legend.  While it's definitely not for everyone, listening to the album knowing that kinda paints it in a different light.

Stadlerian comment of the day!

[Samsara]

Stads has a way about him. I don't know what it is...

[bosk1]

I couldn't do a Top 5 for either.

Looking at the song list, I think I recognized 13-15 of them (and one I absolutely despise), and I've never heard a Porcupine Tree song (AFAIK).

I'll follow along with this one because I'm curious where my overwhelming favorite song will rank, but I shan't participate.

Just pull up his Greatest Hits on YouTube or your favorite streaming service and play that in the background while you are working, and you should easily be able to do a top 25.

[Stadler]

Stads has a way about him. I don't know what it is...

I'm always a woman.

[jammindude]

Stads has a way about him. I don't know what it is...

I'm always a woman.

There’s honesty for ya… 

[DragonAttack]

Or some times a fantasy…. 

I made sure I had a couple of his LPs in college, because the rockers were OK with him, the girls loved him, and one was always ‘good’ with those ladies (or maybe better  ) when putting one of his vinyls on at house party 👍