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No extra info but would love to know if he ever tried to make contact with the band and if so what year. P/G might have benefited, that was a difficult time with Lilywhite bailing on the project, leaving the band high an dry

Back up. Download it sharpish!

Agreed. Thanks to hi_water for getting this whole list thing started.

That calls for an expanded sneak preview: 163. 164. Half The World 165. Anagram (For Mongo) 166. Second Nature

That would've made it even worse, not a Rush fan.

After further analysis, after a refresher listen...holy shit, those two songs sound so much worse than I thought. To have a level of loathing and revulsion for a song actually grow with each listen is actually kind of impressive. Sneak preview of my list: 164. 165. Anagram 166. Second Nature Never have two songs been so firmly entrenched in the bowels of a rankings list.

Did you advise her to leave The Thing alone?

I finished my list a few weeks ago, but when I say "finished" I mean I had every song in a slot where I thought they should go, figuring I'd be moving some songs around later after further analysis, especially those that I hadn't listened to in a while. Or in the case of a few, listened to only once. Ever. My first listen of those few songs never led to a second one. One thing these lists that you guys have been posting has done is made me go back and listen to some of these forgotten songs, and yeah, a couple of them that were ranked very low got moved up a bit.

News headline tonight: Unexpected inventory shrink hits Dick's where it hurts (Dick's Sporting Goods)

Great job on the list. I know I didn't comment much but I was following the whole way.

For me, the height of their power was the ESL concert video version of Xanadu. As far as showcasing what they could do as a trio, it is perfection.

As for me, I've never seen Titanic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Top Gun. I think there's something fun in being a little bit contrary when the crowd is rushing to see something. Good Will Hunting and The Sixth Sense do seem like important movies, though!

Just got off the phone with my niece in Tennessee. She's 30, and she told me about her honeymoon plans. She and the fiancé are going to Boston and other places in Massachusetts. Me: Are you going to see "The Bench"? Niece: Huh? Me: The Bench! From "Good Will Hunting"...! Niece: Umm....I haven't seen that. Me: WHAT?! You haven't seen Good Will Hunting?!! Cancel whatever you're watching tonight, and watch GOOD WILL HUNTING. Niece: [laughing] OK.... She also hasn't seen The Sixth Sense. What do I do with this girl??!! Her fiancé has seen both films, so I barked at him, "NO SPOILERS!" Has anyone else been shocked to learn that someone hasn't seen a certain popular film, or is it just me? It's probably just me.

The best rock festival ever. I was there. Enjoy.

Yeah, it's worse than a blockage. I've never experienced dysentery, but thanks to Second Nature and Anagram, I don't have to.

I actually did some research/googling, thinking initially that dystenery was the opposite of blockage, but the only thing I really found out was that I didn't want to do any more research about it.

Yes. Musical dysentery.

That sounds like the worst kind of intestinal blockage possible.

I agree with that confidence vs concentration comparison, it's a great point. But that live version of Xanadu gets my "height of their powers" ranking not only because it's a great song, but also because of that concentration, mainly the multi-tasking. Alex and Geddy both playing doublenecks (and not just to show off -- all those necks are serving the song). Both are playing lots of notes on their Taurus pedals (check out 4:50 in the video below -- you don't see him, but Geddy is playing those synth melodies with his foot) Geddy at times is singing, playing bass and playing notes with his feet (6:10 below). Neil uses every piece of percussion in his arsenal, and again, all in service of the song. Watching Alex switch back and forth between guitar necks and making it sound seamless -- that takes a shitload of practice (7:50). It's impressive to hear the boys pull off Natural Science live -- it's a top-10 song for me -- but performance-wise I think Xanadu was on a different level.

So did Second Nature get moved up.to your top ten, or did Anagram nudge it out for that honor?

Completely agree with you about the lyrics. But I tend to be music-first, so songs with good lyrics and boring music usually to fall away for me.

Roots to Branches -- Jethro Tull

This is of course in my top 10 as well. A no-brainer.

its very clearly the weakest of the Neal catalogue, however i have not heard past Snow so I cannot say for all of the Beard. i know Feel Euphoria isnt very loved with the fans, so im expecting to love it lol

this is my least fav Spock's Album. Bores me too tears. lol Mick

My favorite R.E.M. album. No question.

Got 8 of 9 in MLB, NFL, and NBA. Rarity scores of 349, 192, and 166 respectively. I guess it helps your rarity score when most of your knowledge ends in the 80s, like for the NBA.

Why doesn't Mike Pence have sex? He's afraid it would lead to dancing. (plagiarized from Steve Martin and Martin Short)

I suspect this would be an excellent question for Geddy and Alex at some point if it could happen.

La Villa is very good but not top 25 material for me. Not knocking it. Rush just has better. Limelight - my #6 Xanadu - My #9 The Enemy Within - clearly in the top 100 but not in the top 25. Likely not top 50. Good song but Rush has better. Freewill - My #4 Kid Gloves - ok song for me. Not terrible but nothing I am wild about. Might, or might not, make my top 100. Its ok but not special and Rush has better. The Anarchist - near the bottom of the barrel for me. Prime Mover - excellent song. Clearly in the top 100 but where? Not certain. Hemispheres - decent song but IMO its overrated. Good but I don't go wild for it. Likely in my top 100 but down the list. Not certain exactly where. Natural Science - a very hard song for me to rank. The studio version was always sort of there. Ok but nothing I went crazy for. Then I heard the live version on Different Stages and was rather impressed. Then I saw them play it live on the VT tour and was blown away. Collectively that made me re-evaluate it.. The result is that I have a split personalty reaction to the song - something that rarely happens with Rush songs. Normally, if I like a song on the album I also like it live. Dislike it on the album I am also likely not to like it live. This song is out of that normal pattern. Its good on the album but still not a song I go wild for. The live versions though - o my. Yum. So likely to be a top 100 song if we are talking the studio version. But clearly not top 25. Likely not top 50. But the live version is seriously awesome.

Freewill - #4 on my list.

Quite a few years ago I went with my wife to a work outing and the admin person for their section literally and honestly didn't know who Tom Cruise was. She was in her early 60's and he'd had been in many movies. Several of us just looked at each other in disbelief.

Most of these are close to my top ten, if not in it. I have nothing against Kid Gloves and Prime Mover, they're both enjoyable listens, but not transcendent to me, as everything in the top 30 is. Two other comments, if everyone had the same opinion, life would be dull, and everyone has at least one song in their top 10 that most people wouldn't have in their top 50. Thanks for sharing your choices and rationale! I really appreciate the discussion, and in no way thought you making your picks in this thread was inappropriate.

#165 Need Some Love (Rush, 8th best of 8) #164 Tears (2112, 6th of 6) #163 Stick It Out (CP, 11th of 11) #162 What You're Doing (Rush, 7th of 8) #161 Here Again (Rush, 6th of 8) #160 In The Mood (Rush, 5th of 8) #159 Before and After (Rush, 4th of 8) #158 Finding My Way (Rush, 3rd of 8) #157 Second Nature (HYF, 10th of 10) #156 Bravest Face (S&A, 13th of 13) #155 Sweet Miracle (VT, 13th of 13) #154 BU2B2 (CA, 12th of 12) #153 Speed of Love (CP, 10th of 11) #152 Good News First (S&A, 12th of 13) #151 Madrigal (AFTK, 6th of 6) #150 Faithless (S&A, 11th of 13) #149 Half the World (T4E, 11th of 11) #148 Out Of the Cradle (VT, 12th of 13) #147 Red Lenses (P/G, 8th of 8) #146 Tai Shan (HYF, 9th of 10) #145 Peacable Kingdom (VT, 11th of 13) #144 Freeze (VT, 10th of 13) #143 Stars Look Down (VT, 9th of 13) #142 Lakeside Park (CoS, 5th of 5) #141 Leave That Thing Alone (CP, 9th of 11) #140 Secret Touch (VT, 8th of 13) #139 Totem (T4E, 10th of 11) #138 Neurotica (RtB, 10th of 10) #137 Spindrift (S&A, 10th of 13) #136 Limbo (T4E, 9th of 11) #135 Lessons (2112, 5th of 6) #134 Best I Can (FBN, 8th of 8) #133 Mission (HYF, 8th of 10) #132 I Think I'm Going Bald (CoS, 4th of 5) #131 Superconductor (P, 11th of 11) #130 We Hold On (S&A, 9th of 13) #129 Scars (P, 10th of 11) #128 Take A Friend (Rush, 2nd of 8) #127 Ghost of a Chance (RtB, 9th of 10) #126 Resist (T4E, 8th of 11) #125 Caravan (CA, 11th of 12) #124 Double Agent (CP, 8th of 11) #123 Making Memories (FBN, 7th of 8) #122 Rivendell (FBN, 6th of 8) #121 Twilight Zone (2112, 4th of 6) #120 Dog Years (T4E, 7th of 11) #119 Bravado (RtB, 8th of 10) #118 The Garden (CA, 10th of 12) #117 Halo Effect (CA, 9th of 12) #116 Presto (P, 9th of 11) #115 Virtuality (T4E, 6th of 11) #114 Time and Motion (T4E, 5th of 11) #113 Hope (S&A, 8th of 13) #112 Armor & Sword (S&A, 7th of 13) #111 Roll the Bones (RtB, 7th of 10) #110 Show Don't Tell (P, 8th of 11) #109 Where's My Thing (RtB, 6th of 10) #108 Chemistry (S, 8th of 8) #107 Red Barchetta (MP, 7th of 7) #106 Available Light (P, 7th of 11) #105 Mystic Rythms (PoW, 8th of 8) #104 The Pass (P, 6th of 11) #103 Lock and Key (HYF, 7th of 10) #102 Losing It (S, 7th of 8) #101 Anthem (FBN, 5th of 8) #100 Hand Over Fist (P, 5th of 11) #99 Main Monkey Business (S&A, 6th of 13) #98 Open Secrets (HYF, 6th of 10) #97 Wish Them Well (CA, 8th of 12) #96 War Paint (P, 4th of 11) #95 The Larger Bowl (S&A, 5th of 13) #94 Everyday Glory (CP, 7th of 11) #93 The Way The Wind Blows (S&A, 4th of 13) #92 Vapor Trail (VT, 7th of 13) #91 Ceiling Unlimited (VT, 6th of 13) #90 Clockwork Angels (CA, 7th of 12) #89 Emotion Detector (PoW, 7th of 8) #88 Entre Nous (PeW, 6th of 6) #87 Different Strings (PeW, 5th of 6) #86 Cinderella Man (AFTK, 5th of 6) #85 Closer to the Heart (AFTK, 4th of 6) #84 Marathon (PoW, 6th of 8) #83 Cold Fire (CP, 6th of 11) #82 New World Man (S, 6th of 8) #81 A Passage To Bangkok (2112, 3rd of 6) #80 You Bet Your Life (RtB, 5th of 10) #79 Headlong Flight (CA, 6th of 12) #78 Malignant Narcissism (S&A, 3rd of 13) #77 Ghost Rider (VT, 5th of 13) #76 Working Man (Rush, 1st of 8) #75 Bastille Day (CoS, 3rd of 5) #74 Fly By Night (FBN, 4th of 8) #73 Heresy (RtB, 4th of 10) #72 Between The Wheels (P/G, 7th of 8) #71 Anagram (P, 3rd of 11) #70 Red Tide (P, 2nd of 11) #69 The Big Wheel (RtB, 3rd of 10) #68 One Little Victory (VT, 4th of 13) #67 Nobody's Hero (CP, 5th of 11) #66 Wreckers (CA, 5th of 12) #65 Workin' Them Angels (S&A, 2nd of 13) #64 Alien Shore (CP, 4th of 11) #63 2112 (2112, 2nd of 6) #62 BU2B (CA, 4th of 12) #61 How It Is (VT, 3rd of 13) #60 Carve Away The Stone (T4E, 4th of 11) #59 Test For Echo (T4E, 3rd of 11) #58 Force Ten (HYF, 5th of 10) #57 Face UP (RtB, 2nd of 10) #56 The Big Money (PoW, 5th of 8) #55 Nocturne (VT, 2nd of 13) #54 The Trees (H, 4th of 4) #53 Chain Lightning (P, 1st of 11) #52 Red Sector A (P/G, 6th of 8) #51 Jacob's Ladder (PeW, 4th of 6) #50 Witch Hunt (MP, 6th of 7) #49 Earthshine (VT, 1st of 13) #48 The Colour Of Right (T4E, 2nd of 11) #47 Distant Early Warning (P/G, 5th of 8) #46 Time Stand Still (HYF, 4th of 10) #45 Afterimage (P/G, 4th of 8) #44 The Body Electric (P/G, 3rd of 8) #43 In The End (FBN, 3rd of 8) #42 Turn The Page (HYF, 3rd of 10) #41 Middletown Dreams (PoW, 4th of 8) #40 Carnies (CA, 3rd of 12) #39 Animate (CP, 3rd of 11) #38 Cygnus X-1 (AFTK, 3rd of 6) #37 Between Sun and Moon (CP, 2nd of 11) #36 Cut to the Chase (CP, 1st of 11) #35 Driven (T4E, 1st of 11) #34 Countdown (S, 5th of 8) #33 Far Cry (S&A, 1st of 13) #32 High Water (HYF, 2nd of 10) #31 Manhattan Project (PoW, 3rd of 8) #30 Dreamline (RtB, 1st of 10) #29 A Farewell to Kings (AFTK, 2nd of 6) #28 Circumstances (H, 3rd of 4) #27 Grand Designs (PoW, 2nd of 8) #26 The Weapon (S, 4th of 8) #25 YYZ (MP, 5th of 7) #24 The Spirit of Radio (PeW, 3rd of 6) #23 Tom Sawyer (MP, 4th of 7) #22 By-Tor and the Snow Dog (FBN, 2nd of 8) #21 Digital Man (S, 3rd of 8) #20 The Necromancer (CoS, 2nd of 5) #19 Seven Cities of Gold (CA, 2nd of 12) #18 The Fountain of Lamnneth (CoS, 1st of 5) #17 Territories (PoW, 1st of 8) #16 The Camera Eye (MP, 3rd of 7) #15 Vital Signs (MP, 2nd of 7) #14 Beneath, Between and Behind (FBN, 1st of 8) #13 Subdivisions (S, 2nd of 8) #12 The Analog Kid (S, 1st of 8) #11 Something For Nothing (2112, 1st of 6) #10 La Villa Strangiato (H, 2nd of 4) #9 Limelight (MP, 1st of 7) #8 Xanadu (AFTK, 1st of 6) #7 The Enemy Within (P/G, 2nd of 8) #6 Freewill (PeW, 2nd of 6) #5 Kid Gloves (P/G, 1st of 8) #4 The Anarchist (CA, 1st of 12) #3 Prime Mover (HYF, 1st of 10) #2 Hemispheres II (H, 1st of 4) #1 Natural Science (PeW, 1st of 6) As promised the remainder of my top ten, all at once. This is LABT's thread and he should end it with his choices (although, of course, my choices are better :) I have La Villa at 10, which is very very high for an instrumental. But if ever an Instrumental spoke to me it's this one. It's an incredibly lyrical work, and no apologies for it rising so high. I said YYZ was flawless. This transcends the instrumental into the dreamscape Alex was going for. Limelight at 9th is low, I love this song. It has been my intro to Rush song for people who aren't into prog and just want rock, but want it to be particularly creative and well written. A perfect rock song. Xanadu isn't everyone's thing, but it works for me. There are a few moments I'd have them do differently, I think it could have built into even more intensity considering the start. But whatever. It's 8th, that's not shabby. The Enemy Within- Grace gets 2 entries in the top ten, the most recent album to accomplish that feat. I know some people don't like the genre experiments, but I do and I love this song. Freewill. When I was exploring what I was pretty sure was my agnosticism- really my atheism- this song really echoed my musings. I had several reasons I concluded what I had, all born of my own thinking on the matter, but it was nice to have a song that shared my view. It's easier to be an outlier when you have company. And Geddy shines in this. Kid Gloves is my favorite straight up rocker they've ever made. I understand a lot of people dislike this song. I have absolutely no idea why. I'm hoping one of the few people reading this dislike Kid Gloves so they can tell me why. The Anarchist. Best song Rush wrote since the 80's, arguably even since 1980. It wasn't my first favorite off CA, that was Seven Cities of Gold (which a lot of people dislike). But The Anarchist is easily top ten for me. On the day I rated these songs it fared particularly well. Prime Mover. I'd say I'm just messing with you all, but I have always loved this song. My favorite off HYF immediately, and over the years it passed Grand Designs, Territories, Enemy, Kid Gloves, etc. for my favorite of the synth era. It doesn't full on rock. It isn't particularly complex. It's not an amazing epic. The lyrics aren't next level. But whatever. I love Prime Mover. I love the different instruments taking the repeating patterns in the song. It's always top ten. Hate away. :) Surprise, surprise. A Rush fan has Hemispheres II and Natural Science as their top songs. Shock of the century, right? They trade places all the time so I'll write them here as if that was true on this day (although it was a Natural Science day, it seems). I love the epics, and to my ears these were perfect. A not small part of me chooses to regard CA as a singular Jethro Tull style full album epic. I might place that first overall if I let that side win. But it's only lyrically an epic, not musically, so I'll avoid that temptation. A handful of Rush fans might place either song low, but not many. Both of these songs go without saying.

Quizz Kid - Jethro Tull

"This movie about a mentally ill murderer is now my personality."

Same in my city. Just the normal flooding on a really rainy Winter day, nothing more. That snowy weekend in late February was way more threatening here. Rather fitting that COCAINE Bear opened on a SNOWY weekend.

Jethro Tull - Crest of a Knave ‘87 (8.8/10) ( played this a lot recently.. I’m new to Tull’s music and still have many albums to check out ) Whitesnake - Slip of the Tongue ‘89 (8/10) … a good album .. but for me, just not in the same league as the one before it ( nor the one before that neither )

Just found out on Valerie Bertinelli's (RIP EVH) Threads feed that on top of the storm, we had an earthquake centered in Ojai. I'm just east of the L.A./SB county border so I didn't feel it anyways. Stay safe.

I find that song beautiful. Tragedy put Neil on the precipice, and finding love kept him from cashing in.

How is Freeze still alive when Ghost Rider and Ceiling Unlimited are not?

Ghost of a Chance spent 27 weeks on the Billboard mainstream rock chart and peaked at #2.

Things You Don't See Every Day (And Won't Ever See Again): Peggy Jones from Silsbee, Texas was on her riding lawn mower, mowing her very large lawn, when out of the blue, something happened. Out of the blue came falling a SNAKE! It fell right out of the air and onto her arm, then coiled around her arm and started attacking her. Seconds later, a HAWK came flying down to retrieve the snake that it had dropped. The hawk attacked the woman while trying to grab the snake. Her arm is all bandaged up because of all the wounds the hawk gave her. She's had bad encounters with snakes before, and now this. She's not happy.....

I remember back when Chuck Woolery was the Wheel of Fortune guy. He was a lot of fun