Although I agree that pre-rock songs should be included on the list ("Rocket 88," anyone?) I was still shocked at how little I disagreed with the list. Did Rolling Stone pay Christgau, Marcus and Marsh under the table?

Just about all eras and styles were accounted for. Even the Britney choice made sense -- when you consider that the world can be changed for the worse. Unfortunately, pop music today still molds itself on the Britney/N'Synch template. While contemporary rock breaks almost no new ground.

My only suggested changes:

1) Bowie -- replace "Ziggy" with "Space Oddity." When the latter was first released in '69 and again in '72 it sounded like nothing else.

2) Zeppelin -- Can't believe "Whole Lotta Love" is on the list, but "Stairway" isn't.

3) Joni Mitchell -- The Eagles' "Take it Easy" is much more emblematic of the '70s mellow-California style than even the best of Joni's output.

3) Queen -- "Bohemian Raphsody" wasn't that popular until it was revived by "Wayne's World" 15 years after it was first released. For a song that opened up possibilities for meat-n-potatoes '70s rock, I would choose Tom Petty's "American Girl."

4) The Cure -- Glad to see English Gloom and Doom represented. But New Order's "Blue Monday" was far more influential.

No Clash? "London Calling" doesn't make the top 40? Granted, the Sex Pistols are there, but come on... I'd consider the Clash far more influential...

Assuming these were all post-1967 (after all, we're talking 40th anniversary here):

Judy Collins -- Both Sides Now

Leonard Cohen -- Suzanne

Crosby, Stills, and Nash - (pick one)

Eric Clapton - Layla

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven

Funny, I thought they hit senility years ago.

It's the Mozart of pop tunes. The crispest best most perfectly formed pop tune in the history of the world. You cannot add or substract anything to it.

#13 - Jimi so hated playing that song

#15 - Boring as fuck

#18 - You dirty hippy, that's your pick?

#25 - Not a pop tune

#31 - I hate U2

#32 - C'mon?

#33 - Why not pick something w/o a White Boy?

#37 - 40 a)You posers b)You can't pick anything that new

Patti Smith - Land or Gloria. She changed the world.

I'd put it on a list with "Rock And Roll Fantasy", "Barracuda", "Make Your Own Kind Of Music", and "Rock Lobster". The good stuff that didn't change the world, just made it a bit better.

Uh, no.

Thank you for playing.

Well their list seems fine to me as far as it goes… Briteny and the White Stripes? But then I looked at the title of the list again and thought “Changed the World”?... “Nothing But A “G” Thang”….

So where is Louis Armstrong, or W.C. Handy? How about the Marseillaise, or “Dixie” or the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” or “Amazing Grace”? How about “We Shall Overcome” or for that matter, Hank Williams “Cold, Cold Heart”? Heck I think I could make an argument for “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” by everyone’s Mom. Maybe I'm coming at this from a different angle.

What Fun, thanks for the diversion.

PS What about GMF's "The Message" instead of "Rappers Delight"?

Cheers

"launced" should be "launched" in my post, and thanks to mjwycha for pointing out a couple other crucial omissions - Parliament/Funkadelic should definitely be in there somewhere, as should Howlin' Wolf, though for him I personally favor "Wang Dang Doodle". Likewise, I'd much prefer Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You" to some of the weaker be-bop choices they made.

I'm not at all a metal fan, but it would seem that the whole genre is missing from the intial list. At least one Van Halen track should be on there (as EVH was a massive influence over later guitarists), probably an early Metallica track of sorts, and maybe Motorhead's Ace of Spades as a Metal/Punk fusion. I'm not sure there is much on the original list I'd kick off, but at least the EVH omission is pretty glaring.

Seriously? Please explain?

Also, I think Rolling Stone is way too parochial in its outlook.

They forgot key, world-changing songs like "la marseilles," "the internationale," The "Horst Wessel Leid," etc.

After all, nobody invaded Poland or stormed the Bastille singing "All Right Momma."

Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" was a huge influence on early hip-hop. Their music has informed all electronic/pop/hip hop music to follow in the past 30 years.

Not sure what Beach Boys song I would pick. Good Vibrations is the obvious, but their real impact was earlier in the decade. But they are way more important than the White Stripes.

What a list of American Boomer nostalgia-dominated nonsense, made even more irrelevant by inclusions #35 and #38-#40, and by the general focus on mainstream pop/rock. Where are songs that changed the musical landscape like Kraftwerk's Autobahn (launced Electronica), XTC's Dear God (spearheaded the college radio revolution), or The Resident's Hello Skinny (gave birth to truly alternative music)? Not to mention people who pioneered real indie music, like Wire, Pere Ubu and Laurie Anderson. Whole movements are missing, like Industrial and New Romantic, as well as almost any band you'd see at Lollapalooza (Front 242, Ministry, RHCP), while New Wave scarcely makes a showing with a late entry by The Cure (instead of one of their foundation tunes like Boys Don't Cry).

Instead of a challenging look across the breadth and depth of music history, we get this, a list of songs that looks like the track listing on the back of K-Tel's Golden Hits, available now for $24.99 if you call in the next hour. Sure there is some important stuff in there, but there's way too much junk that reeks of audio complacency. And the last entry is symptomatic of that phenomenon where people just can't resist adding their current favorite to the list of "things that will live forever". Don't expect to see it on next year's list, assuming anyone can expend the same minimal effort to do another one.

You put Robert Johnson at number 1 on your list.

Wow, that rocks. I love you so much!

He created Led Zeppelin. He created heavy metal. He created Southern rock.

How could people not know that? I thought everyone knew that.

The old editors of Rolling Stone knew that. Shame on the new ones if they don't.