Nardo's Retaliation for the HondoJoe Top 200

The HondoJoe Top 200 has ruined radio for me. Completely.

It used to be that I'd turn on the radio, hit the seek button until I found a song that I liked, and then just listen to it without doing much thinking about the song. Yes, those were the days when all I heard was radio ga ga, radio goo goo, radio blah blah.

But then the HondoJoe Top 200 started up. Before the first 10 songs were listed, I found myself surprised by how many of the songs I hadn't heard before or hadn't heard in a long time. (I've listed the entire HondoJoe Top 200 below for reference.) After the first 50, I began thinking about what made all of these songs so good and why I hadn't heard so many of them before and how they had been ranked. Then that made me think about what songs I would put in my own top 200 list and how they would compare to the HondoJoe Top 200. I began hunting songs on the radio like I was on safari. If I didn't think a song could possibly make it into my top 200 list, I'd kill it. I'd punch buttons to surf from channel to channel until I found a song that I thought might have a shot at making the list. And while I was listening to the song, I would be trying to figure out what made it so good that I'd want to put it on the list instead of the song I just killed. Radio was no longer a pleasant background noise. It became a musical blood-sport.

Now it's time for payback. I will exact my revenge eye for eye and tooth for tooth with another blog containing my own top 200 favorite songs.

Well, that's actually not quite true. My top 200 favorite songs aren't even on this list. That's because I'm not including any Billy Joel songs. That's right. No Billy Joel at all. Why? Because my affinity for Billy Joel songs is absolute and completely irrational. You could take what you believe to be the worst song that Billy Joel ever wrote or performed--including the songs by "The Hassles" and "Attila"-- and I would rather listen to that Billy Joel song than any other song by any other artist. If a Billy Joel song comes on the radio, the volume gets turned up and the dial gets parked until the song is over. Even if the reception is bad and there is a lot of static and the sound fades in and out, I'm still going to listen to that Billy Joel song because I know there's nothing else playing on the radio that I'll enjoy more. And since Billy Joel has written or performed more than 200 songs, if I were to create a top 200 list that included Billy Joel songs, then there wouldn't be anything else on the list. Therefore, in the interest of making an interesting list for people who have a more reasonable level of appreciation for Billy's songs, I'm excluding all of his songs from my top 200 list.

With that qualification out of the way, my vengeance is now at hand! Read on, if you dare!

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The HondoJoe Top 200

1. "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds
2. "Eldorado/Eldorado Finale" by Electric Light Orchestra
3. "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel
4. "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" by Queen
5. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
6. "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
7. "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC
8. "The Diary of Horace Wimp" by Electric Light Orchestra
9. "Piano Man" by Billy Joel
10. "Older" by They Might Be Giants
11. "Fingertips" by They Might Be Giants
12. "Rasputin" by Boney M
13. "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil
14. "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra
15. "You May Be Right" by Billy Joel
16. "Hold the Line" by Toto
17. "Superman's Song" by Crash Test Dummies
18. "One Country" by Midnight Oil
19. "Summer, Highland Falls" by Billy Joel
20. "Pop Muzik" by M
21. "Big Shot" by Billy Joel
22. "Miss America" by Styx
23. "Do Ya" by Electric Light Orchestra
24. "Let It Run" by Jeff Lynne
25. "I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins
26. "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" by Billy Joel
27. "Learning to Fly" by Pink Floyd
28. "No Rewind" by The Orchestra
29. "I Want It All" by Queen
30. "Three Is a Magic Number" by Bob Dorough
31. "No Stopping" by the Dave Clark Five
32. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the Proclaimers
33. "Come Sail Away" by Styx
34. "Hello/Honest Men" by Electric Light Orchestra Part Two
35. "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners
36. "Love Stinks" by the J. Geils Band
37. "True" by Spandau Ballet
38. "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche
39. "Our House" by Madness
40. "Eldorado Overture/Can't Get It Out of My Head" by Electric Light Orchestra
41. "99 Red Balloons" by Nena
42. "(Ocean Breakup)/King of the Universe" by Electric Light Orchestra
43. "Vertigo" by U2
44. "All For Leyna" by Billy Joel
45. "Absolutely Bill's Mood" by They Might Be Giants
46. "Exquisite Dead Guy" by They Might Be Giants
47. "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling
48. "Here It Goes Again" by OK Go
49. "Free As a Bird" by the Beatles
50. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel
51. "South Carolina" by John Linnell
52. "Root Beer Rag" by Billy Joel
53. "Mister Kingdom" by Electric Light Orchestra
54. "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet
55. "Synchronicity II" by The Police
56. "Born To Be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez
57. "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins
58. "I Want to be Happy" by Sammy Davis, Jr.
59. "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go" by Soft Cell
60. "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats
61. "Superman" by REM
62. "United" by Judas Priest
63. "One In a Million You" by Larry Graham
64. "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra
65. "Closing Time" by Semisonic
66. "Birdhouse In Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants
67. "Take On Me" by A-ha
68. "I Love Things That Are Great (Theme from the Tony Bennett Show)" by Alec Baldwin (as Tony Bennett)
69. "When I Fall In Love" by Rick Astley
70. "Heart and Soul" by T'Pau
71. "She's Got a Way" by Billy Joel
72. "Better Now" by Collective Soul
73. "Doctor Worm" by They Might Be Giants
74. "Do What You Want" by OK Go
75. "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles
76. "Ordinary Dream" by Electric Light Orchestra
77. "Good" by Better Than Ezra
78. "Need You Tonight/Mediate" by INXS
79. "Driver's Seat" by Sniff 'N' the Tears
80. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might Be Giants
81. "Down In the Silvermine" by Diesel
82. "Dreaming of 4000" by Electric Light Orchestra
83. "Tragedy" by Jonas Nordwall
84. "Brimful of Asha" by Cornershop
85. "What I Like About You" by the Romantics
86. "That's All" by Genesis
87. "The Impression That I Get" by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
88. "Spread Your Wings" by Queen
89. "Allentown" by Billy Joel
90. "Hey Jude" by the Beatles
91. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" by Journey
92. "Revolution" by the Beatles
93. "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" by Billy Joel
94. "Space Oddity" by David Bowie
95. "Information" by Dave Edmunds
96. "Overkill" by Men At Work
97. "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd
98. "Don't Let's Start" by They Might Be Giants
99. "Question" by Rhett Miller
100. "Super Hero" by Wade Egan
101. "Earth and Sun and Moon" by Midnight Oil
102. "Pressure" by Billy Joel
103. "Come Dancing" by the Kinks
104. "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
105. "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men At Work
106. "Girl" by Davy Jones
107. "Sometimes a Fantasy" by Billy Joel
108. "Borrowed Time" by Styx
109. "Bring On the Change" by Midnight Oil
110. "Smile" by the Jayhawks
111. "Jungle" by Electric Light Orchestra
112. "Just What I Needed" by the Cars
113. "In a Big Country" by Big Country
114. "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves
115. "You Got It" by Roy Orbison
116. "Wonder Woman Theme" by Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel, and the Ron Hicklin Singers
117. "Sowing the Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears
118. "White Wedding" by Billy Idol
119. "Wild West Hero" by Electric Light Orchestra
120. "Sleeping with the Television On" by Billy Joel
121. "Boss of Me" by They Might Be Giants
122. "I Don't Mind At All" by Bourgeois Tagg
123. "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work
124. "Run Runaway" by Slade
125. "YMCA" by The Village People
126. "Beverly Hills" by Weezer
127. "Why Does the Sun Shine?" by They Might Be Giants
128. "Barnaby Jones Theme" by Jerry Goldsmith
129. "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band
130. "I Thank You" by Tom Jones
131. "Authenticity" by Harvey Danger
132. "Until the Night" by Billy Joel
133. "Makin' Some Noise" by Tom Petty
134. "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora
135. "Take Off" by Bob and Doug McKenzie
136. "Cruel to be Kind" by Nick Lowe
137. "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears
138. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" by They Might Be Giants
139. "Maple Leaf Rag" by Russ David
140. "Movin' Out" by Billy Joel
141. "Another Brick In the Wall" by Pink Floyd
142. "Roxanne" by The Police
143. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meat Loaf
144. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" by Electric Light Orchestra
145. "Inside Out" by Eve 6
146. "Freeze Frame" by J. Geils Band
147. "Grace Kelly" by Mika
148. "867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone
149. "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris
150. "Far From Over" by Frank Stallone
151. "Veronica" by Mary Kai
152. "Rock Lobster" by the B-52's
153. "Missing You" by John Waite
154. "Nights In White Satin" by The Moody Blues
155. "Stuck In a Moment and You Can't Get Out of It" by U2
156. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" by Haircut 100
157. "Anyone For Tennis" by Men At Work
158. "The Luckiest Man In the World" by Neal McCoy
159. "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by John Denver
160. "Smile" by PoP Is ArT
161. "Jack the Lion" by Harvey Danger
162. "Breakfast At Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something
163. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds
164. "I Like Hubcaps" by Brak
165. "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel
166. "No One Is to Blame" by Howard Jones
167. "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles
168. "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by REM
169. "Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day)" by Jethro Tull
170. "Amos Moses" by Jerry Reed
171. "All Fall Down" by Electric Light Orchestra Part II
172. "Headache" by Frank Black
173. "Rockaria!" by Electric Light Orchestra
174. "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred
175. "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" by Quiet Riot
176. "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)" by Old 97's
177. "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days
178. "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago
179. "I Can't Dance" by Genesis
180. "Somebody to Love" by Queen
181. "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins and Phillipp Bailey
182. "All Star" by Smashmouth
183. "Hold Me Now" by The Thompson Twins
184. "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie
185. "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" by Electric Light Orchestra
186. "Close to the Borderline" by Billy Joel
187. "Back On the Borderline" by Midnight Oil
188. "Sky High" by Jigsaw
189. "Self Esteem" by The Offspring
190. "Real Live Girl" by Matt Monro
191. "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes
192. "Shine" by Collective Soul
193. "I Love You, Baby" by Brak
194. "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
195. "Buddha's Delight" by Haley Bennett
196. "Brontosaurus" by The Move
197. "Do You Like Waffles? (Sweet Suite)" by Parry Gripp
198. "If I Had $1,000,000" by Barenaked Ladies
199. "Oh Yeah" by Yello
200. "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" by Genius Entertainment