Official Yes Top 50 Countdown Thread! - THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

[DTwwbwMP]

I would be willing to do one for Black Sabbath or Judas Priest.  I'd also be down for Styx, Kansas or Triumph, but I doubt if there'd be enough interest in any of those bands to make it worthwhile.

ooooh, I'd be in BIGTIME with ANY of those 5 GREAT bands!

[KevShmev]

Close to the Edge likely would have been around top 5 for me.  My top 3 would have been And You and I (number 1), Starship Trooper (number 2) and The Gates of Delirium (number 3), with Close to the Edge in the next tier along with Siberian Khatru, Roundabout, I've Seen All Good People, Leave It, Endless Dream and South Side of the Sky.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Totally in for Sabbath next. Bring it on!

[DragonAttack]

Would have liked to have chimed in more with my old fogey opinions more, but that's life....


20. Wonderous Stories  (#19) maybe I should have ranked this #3, just for the amount of times I listen to Side Two.

19. Long Distance Runaround  (#16) with 'The Fish' as my #17

18. To Be Over  (#40)

17. Tempus Fugit  (#26)  I'll be the second to say 'YES!'

15T. Sound Chaser  (NR)  those odd vocals at the end aren't my cup of tea

15T. I've Seen All Good People  (#13)

14. Going for the One  (#28)

13. Turn of the Century  (#29)

12. The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn) (NR)  It is my least objectionable from 'Tales', but I could do without that 3 1/2 minute intro.

11. Starship Trooper (#1)  I had heard 'Fragile', and then months later, 'The Yes Album'...some FIFTY years ago.  Love the song so much that I ranked 'The Clap' at #34, because of the Pavlovian effect I feel at the end of that little ditty. (kind of like 'Good Company' before 'Bohemian Rhapsody')

10. Yours Is No Disgrace  (#3)  the opener at the two shows I attended (1991 and 2010).  Those light blasts with those power chords at the beginning still gives me goose bumps.

9. Machine Messiah  (NR)

8. Roundabout  (#5)

6T. Siberian Khatru  (NR)  those ending vocals ruin it for me

6T. South Side of the Sky  (#11)

5. Heart of the Sunrise (#4) such a great album closer, and on its own as well. 

4. And You and I  (#10)

3. The Gates of Delirium  (#35)

2.  Awaken (#2)  really enjoyed it when it was first released.  It rose to another echelon after seeing it performed in '91.  An almost spiritual
sensation with every listen afterwards.

1.  Close To The Edge (#9)  I do 'get up' and 'get down' each time I hear it.

Enjoyed going down memory lane with this one.  Thanks, Paul.

[Mladen]

Awaken was my #15 and Close to the edge was my #5. I have nothing to add to what everyone had already said. These are the songs you play to people who've never heard Yes.

There aren't many songs that I had in my list but didn't end up in the overall top 50. Mostly the stuff from The Ladder. Also, I'm not surprised about the lack of songs from the first two albums, nor from the last ten years. I didn't have any of those tracks in my top 50. I sort of wish I had included A Living island, since I recently revisited some of the newer stuff and realized this is the only great song they released since Davison took over.

Hats off to pg1067, you did an amazing job. 

[Cool Chris]

I never dug Yes much, and I really cannot articulate why, but always enjoy following these countdowns. Yes was a staple on the classic rock radio station I grew up listening to. Never changed the channel, but never dove deeper in to their catalog either. I did own Yessongs and enjoyed it for a spell back in the day. My favorite Yes songs are Wondrous Stories and Changes,

[The Letter M]

50. Future Times/Rejoice - 28th
49. Cinema - 38th
48. City of Love - NR
47. Mood for a Day - NR
46. Lift Me Up - NR
45. Homeworld (The Ladder) - NR
44. I Am Waiting - 50th
43. Leave It - NR
42. The Ancient (Giants under the Sun) - 32nd
41. Does It Really Happen? - 30th
40. Final Eyes - NR
39. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) - 47th
38. Love Will Find a Way - NR
36T. It Can Happen - 49th
36T. Release, Release - NR
35. Fly from Here - 15th
34. The Calling - NR
33. Hearts - 31st
32. Hold On - NR
31. Mind Drive - 17th
30. On the Silent Wings of Freedom - NR
29. Into the Lens - 21st
28. Onward - 35th
27. Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil) - 2nd
26. Endless Dream - 10th
25. The Remembering (High the Memory) - 22nd
24. Changes - 37th
23. Perpetual Change - 19th
22. Owner Of A Lonely Heart - 36th
21. Parallels - 27th
20. Wonderous Stories - 39th
19. Long Distance Runaround - 20th
18. To Be Over - 26th
17. Tempus Fugit - 25th
15T. Sound Chaser - 8th
15T. I've Seen All Good People - 16th
14. Going For The One - 29th
13. Turn Of The Century - 45th
12. The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn) - 13th
11. Starship Trooper - 7th
10. Yours Is No Disgrace - 14th
09. Machine Messiah - 6th
08. Roundabout - 12th
06T. Siberian Khatru - 11th
06T. South Side Of The Sky - 18th
05. Heart Of The Sunrise - 5th
04. And You And I - 9th.
03. The Gates Of Delirium - 1st

02. Awaken- 3rd - I figured this would be a Top 5 or even Top 3, so I'm happy to see it here in second place. This was an instant favorite when I was first discovering Yes, and it still excites and moves me when I listen to it to this day.
01. Close To The Edge - 4th - As expected, CTTE reaches the top spot, and deservedly so. It only made it to fourth for me (beaten by Awaken, Ritual, and The Gates Of Delirium), since this was one of their epics that took me the longest to really get into, but once I did, I loved it...but not as much as the other three that finished above it for me.

For the curious, I ran a Yes Survivor last fall here, and it's interesting to compare those results with the countdown here, which, thanks again pg for running it!

The Finals
01. Close To The Edge
02. Awaken
03. The Gates Of Delirium
04. And You And I
05. Turn Of The Century
06. Heart Of The Sunrise
07. Siberian Khatru
08. Machine Messiah
09. Roundabout
10. South Side Of The Sky
11. Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil)
12. Starship Trooper
13. The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)
14. Yours Is No Disgrace
15. Tempus Fugit
16. Sound Chaser
17. Into The Lens
18. Owner Of A Lonely Heart
19. To Be Over
20. Onward
21. On The Wings Of Freedom
       Endless Dream
23. Changes
24. I'm Running
       The Calling
26. I Would Have Waited Forever
      Fly From Here
28. Final Eyes
       Miracle Of Life
30. Quartet
       Mind Drive
32. Homeworld (The Ladder)
       New Language
34. Birthright
       Magnification
36. That, That Is
       Dreamtime
       Astral Traveller
       Time And A Word
40. Into The Storm
       Open Your Eyes
42. New State Of Mind
       Yesterday And Today
44. Survival
45. The Game
       A Living Island
       Cut From The Stars
       Mirror To The Sky
49. The Ice Bridge
50. In A World Of Our Own

Note - because of the Survivor format, at least two songs from every album made it to the Finals, and no more than 4 songs from a single album made it.

-Marc.

[pg1067]

For the curious, I ran a Yes Survivor last fall here, and it's interesting to compare those results with the countdown here, which, thanks again pg for running it!

Note - because of the Survivor format, at least two songs from every album made it to the Finals, and no more than 4 songs from a single album made it.

Thanks for including this link.  I recalled that Ritual had been the highest ranked song from TFTO and was surprised that it didn't perform as well in this countdown.