LABT's Rush song rankings (1-165), with special dispensation from hi_water to reveal them concurrent with his list

**TheAccountant** · August 23, 2023

9 hours ago, laughedatbytime said:

At first I was reluctant to take the suggestion of anyone who can't distinguish pizza from bad third grade art (no, that's not a Half the Word reference), but he has provided us with this wonderful forum, so I've decided to go through the top ten one at a time.

#165 Half the World (T4E, 11th best of 11)

#164 Good News First (S&A, 13th of 13)

#163 The Speed of Love (CP, 11th of 11)

#162 Tai Shan (HYF, 10th of 10)

#161 Bravest Face (S&A, 12th of 13)

#160 Second Nature (HYF, 9th of 10)

#159 Faithless (S&A, 11th of 13)

#158 Neurotica (RTB, 10th of 10)

#157 Anagram (for Mongo) (Presto, 11th of 11)

#156 High Water (HYF, 8th of 10)

#155 Spindrift (S&A, 10th of 13)

#154 Stick It Out (CP, 10th of 11)

#153 Peaceable Kingdom (VT, 13th of 13)

#152 The Larger Bowl (S&A, 9th of 13)

#151 Out of the Cradle (VT, 12th of 13)

#150 Scars (Presto, 10th of 11)

#149 Superconductor (Presto, 9th of 11)

#148 Heresy (RTB, 9th of 10)

#147 The Way the Wind Blows (S&A, 8th of 13)

#146 War Paint (Presto, 8th of 11)

#145 You Bet Your Life (RTB, 8th of 10)

#144 Open Secrets (HYF, 7th of 10)

#143 In the Mood (Rush, 8th of 8)

#142 Time and Motion (T4E, 10th of 11)

#141 Hand Over Fist (Presto, 7th of 11)

#140 Presto (Presto, 6th of 11)

#139 Available Light (Presto, 5th of 11)

#138 Emotion Detector (PoW, 8th of 8)

#137 Take a Friend (Rush, 7th of 8)

#136 Grand Designs (PoW, 7th of 8)

#135 Armor and Sword (S&A, 7th of 13)

#134 Resist (T4E, 9th of 11)

#133 Freeze (VT, 11th of 13)

#132 The Stars Look Down (VT, 10th of 13)

#131 Dog Years (T4E, 8th of 11)

#130 Double Agent (CP, 9th of 11)

#129 Chemistry (Signals, 8th of 8)

#128 Here Again (Rush, 6th of 8)

#127 Middletown Dreams (PoW, 6th of 8)

#126 Mission (HYF, 6th of 10)

#125 The Twilight Zone (2112, 6th of 6)

#124 The Big Wheel (RTB, 7th of 10)

#123 Face Up (RTB, 6th of 10)

#122 I Think I'm Going Bald (CoS, 5th of 5)

#121 Everyday Glory (CP, 8th of 11)

#120 Totem (T4E, 7th of 11)

#119 Territories (PoW, 5th of 8)

#118 Cut to the Chase {CP, 7th of 11)

#117 Alien Shore (CP, 6th of 11)

#116 Red Lenses (p/g, 8th of 8)

#115 The Color of Right (T4E, 6th of 11)

#114 Ghost of a Chance (RTB, 5th of 10)

#113 BU2B2 (CA, 12th of 12)

#112 Mystic Rhythms (PoW, 4th of 8)

#111 The Pass (Presto, 4th of 11)

#110 What You're Doing (Rush, 5th of 8)

#109 Digital Man (Signals, 7th of 8)

#108 Nobody's Hero (CP, 5th of 11)

#107 Need Some Love (Rush, 4th of 8)

#106 Madrigal (AFTK, 6th of 6)

#105 Carve Away the Stone (T4E, 5th of 11)

#104 Vapor Trail (VT, 9th of 13)

#103 Virtuality (T4E, 4th of 11)

#102 Chain Lightning (Presto, 3rd of 11)

#101 Before and After (Rush, 3rd of 8)

#100 Different Strings (PeW, 6th of 6)

#99 The Fountain of Lamneth (CoS, 4th of 5)

#98 Bravado (RTB, 4th of 10)

#97 We Hold On (S&A, 6th of 13)

#96 Tears (2112, 5th of 6)

#95 Lessons (2112, 4th of 6)

#94 Red Tide (Presto, 2nd of 11)

#93 Marathon (PoW, 3rd of 8)

#92 Lock and Key (HYF, 5th of 10)

#91 Working Them Angels (S&A, 5th of 13)

#90 Limbo (T4E, 3rd of 11)

#89 Where's My Thing? (t4\, 3rd of 10)

#88 The Necromancer (CoS, 3rd of 5)

#87 Making Memories (FBN, 8th of 8)

#86 Hope (S&A, 4th of 13)

#85 Kid Gloves (p/g, 7 of 8)

#84 Halo Effect (CA, 11th of 12)

#83 Countdown (Signals, 6th of 8)

#82 The Body Electric (p/g, 6th of 8)

#81 Lakeside Park (CoS, 2nd of 5)

#80 Finding My Way (Rush, 2nd of 8)

#79 Prime Mover (HYF, 4th of 10)

#78 Animate (CP, 4th of 11)

#77 Test for Echo (T4E, 2nd of 11)

#76 Leave That Thing Alone (CP, 3rd of 11)

#75 Cold Fire (CP, 2nd of 11)

#74 Carnies (CA, 10th of 12)

#73 How It Is (VT, 8th of 13)

#72 Afterimage (p/g, 5th of 8)

#71 Between Sun and Moon (1st of 11)

#70 Turn the Page (HYF, 3rd of 10)

#69 Secret Touch (VT, 7th of 13)

#68 7 Cities of Gold (CA, 9th of 12)

#67 Show Don't Tell (Presto, 1st of 11)

#66 The Main Monkey Business (S&A, 3rd of 13)

#65 Sweet Miracle (VT, 6th of 13)

#64 The Wreckers (CA, 8th of 12)

#63 Rivendell (FBN, 7th of 8)

#62 Malignant Narcissism (S&A, 2nd of 13)

#61 New World Man (Signals, 5th of 8)

#60 Clockwork Angels (CA, 7th of 12)

#59 Caravan (CA, 6th of 12)

#58 Wish Them Well (CA, 5th of 12)

#57 Fly By Night (FBN, 6th of 8)

#56 The Big Money (PoW, 2nd of 8)

#55 Ghost Rider (VT, 5th of 13)

#54 Earthshine (VT, 4th of 13)

#53 Roll The Bones (RTB, 2nd of 10)

#52 One Little Victory (VT, 3rd of 13)

#51 Beneath Between and Behind (FBN, 5th of 8)

#50 In the End (FBN, 4th of 8)

#49 Between the Wheels (p/g, 4th of 8)

#48 Nocturne (VT, 2nd of 13)

#47 Losing It (Signals, 4th of 8)

#46 Best I Can (FBN, 3rd of 8)

#45 Cinderella Man (AFTK, 5th of 6)

#44 A Passage to Bangkol (2112, 3rd of 6)

#43 Red Sector A (p/g, 3rd of 8)

#42 Force Ten (HYF, 2nd of 10)

#41 Closer to the Heart (AFTK, 4th of 6)

#40 A Farewell to Kings (AFTK, 3rd of 6)

#39 Far Cry (S&A, 1st of 13)

#38 Manhattan Project (PoW, 1st of 8)

#37 Ceiling Unlimited (VT, 1st of 13)

#36 The Camera Eye (MP, 7th of 7)

#35 Time Stand Still (HYF, 1st of 10)

#34 The Weapon (Signals, 3rd of 8)

#33 BU2B (CA, 4th of 12)

#32 Cygnus X-1 Book I (AFTK, 2nd of 6)

#31 Entre Nous (PeW, 5th of 6)

#30 Driven (T4E, 1st of 11)

#29 The Enemy Within (p/g, 2nd of 8)

#28 The Garden (CA, 3rd of 12)

#27 The Analog Kid (Signals, 2nd of 8)

#26 By Tor and the Snowdog (FBN, 2nd of 8)

#25 Headlong Flight (CA, 2nd of 12)

#24 Bastille Day (CoS, 1st of 5)

#23 Jacob's Ladder (PeW, 4th of 6)

#22 Anthem (FBN, 1st of 8)

#21 Working Man (Rush, 1st of 8)

#20 Distant Early Warning (p/g, 1st of 8)

#19 Limelight (MP, 6th of 7)

#18 Something for Nothing (2112, 2nd of 6)

#17 Witch Hunt (MP, 5th of 7)

#16 The Anarchist (CA, 1st of 12)

#15 Cygnus X-1 Book II (Hemi, 4th of 4)

#14 Dreamline (RTB, 1st of 10)

#13 Tom Sawyer (MP, 4th of 7)

#12 The Trees (Hemi, 3rd of 4)

#11 Vital Signs (MP, 3rd of 7)

#10 Freewill (PeW, 3rd of 6)

3:00 to 4:00. Need I say more?

Freewill - #4 on my list.

**TheAccountant** · August 23, 2023

4 hours ago, Mosher said:

#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.

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.

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

4 minutes ago, TheAccountant said:

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.

The live versions are far superior to the studio version in my opinion. I think its the R30 version that made it toward the top of the pantheon. Three supremely great musicians, commanding the stage, maybe not at the height of their power but still toward their peak...there are no words to describe just how great it is.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

25 minutes ago, TheAccountant said:

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.

18 minutes ago, laughedatbytime said:

The live versions are far superior to the studio version in my opinion. I think its the R30 version that made it toward the top of the pantheon. Three supremely great musicians, commanding the stage, maybe not at the height of their power but still toward their peak...there are no words to describe just how great it is.

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.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

5 hours ago, Mosher said:

#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.

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

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

7 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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.

I've watched that quite a bit lately, and if it's not perfection, it's because it's better than that. It just seems to me that that performance required total concentration, while the last part of NS on R30 was a show of confidence, they knew they were masters of their domain (no, not in that way) and acted that way, and that they outwardly took pleasure in that and imbued it with a sense of fun. (Not that it's a simple song for mere mortals.)

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

#165 Half the World (T4E, 11th best of 11)

#164 Good News First (S&A, 13th of 13)

#163 The Speed of Love (CP, 11th of 11)

#162 Tai Shan (HYF, 10th of 10)

#161 Bravest Face (S&A, 12th of 13)

#160 Second Nature (HYF, 9th of 10)

#159 Faithless (S&A, 11th of 13)

#158 Neurotica (RTB, 10th of 10)

#157 Anagram (for Mongo) (Presto, 11th of 11)

#156 High Water (HYF, 8th of 10)

#155 Spindrift (S&A, 10th of 13)

#154 Stick It Out (CP, 10th of 11)

#153 Peaceable Kingdom (VT, 13th of 13)

#152 The Larger Bowl (S&A, 9th of 13)

#151 Out of the Cradle (VT, 12th of 13)

#150 Scars (Presto, 10th of 11)

#149 Superconductor (Presto, 9th of 11)

#148 Heresy (RTB, 9th of 10)

#147 The Way the Wind Blows (S&A, 8th of 13)

#146 War Paint (Presto, 8th of 11)

#145 You Bet Your Life (RTB, 8th of 10)

#144 Open Secrets (HYF, 7th of 10)

#143 In the Mood (Rush, 8th of 8)

#142 Time and Motion (T4E, 10th of 11)

#141 Hand Over Fist (Presto, 7th of 11)

#140 Presto (Presto, 6th of 11)

#139 Available Light (Presto, 5th of 11)

#138 Emotion Detector (PoW, 8th of 8)

#137 Take a Friend (Rush, 7th of 8)

#136 Grand Designs (PoW, 7th of 8)

#135 Armor and Sword (S&A, 7th of 13)

#134 Resist (T4E, 9th of 11)

#133 Freeze (VT, 11th of 13)

#132 The Stars Look Down (VT, 10th of 13)

#131 Dog Years (T4E, 8th of 11)

#130 Double Agent (CP, 9th of 11)

#129 Chemistry (Signals, 8th of 8)

#128 Here Again (Rush, 6th of 8)

#127 Middletown Dreams (PoW, 6th of 8)

#126 Mission (HYF, 6th of 10)

#125 The Twilight Zone (2112, 6th of 6)

#124 The Big Wheel (RTB, 7th of 10)

#123 Face Up (RTB, 6th of 10)

#122 I Think I'm Going Bald (CoS, 5th of 5)

#121 Everyday Glory (CP, 8th of 11)

#120 Totem (T4E, 7th of 11)

#119 Territories (PoW, 5th of 8)

#118 Cut to the Chase {CP, 7th of 11)

#117 Alien Shore (CP, 6th of 11)

#116 Red Lenses (p/g, 8th of 8)

#115 The Color of Right (T4E, 6th of 11)

#114 Ghost of a Chance (RTB, 5th of 10)

#113 BU2B2 (CA, 12th of 12)

#112 Mystic Rhythms (PoW, 4th of 8)

#111 The Pass (Presto, 4th of 11)

#110 What You're Doing (Rush, 5th of 8)

#109 Digital Man (Signals, 7th of 8)

#108 Nobody's Hero (CP, 5th of 11)

#107 Need Some Love (Rush, 4th of 8)

#106 Madrigal (AFTK, 6th of 6)

#105 Carve Away the Stone (T4E, 5th of 11)

#104 Vapor Trail (VT, 9th of 13)

#103 Virtuality (T4E, 4th of 11)

#102 Chain Lightning (Presto, 3rd of 11)

#101 Before and After (Rush, 3rd of 8)

#100 Different Strings (PeW, 6th of 6)

#99 The Fountain of Lamneth (CoS, 4th of 5)

#98 Bravado (RTB, 4th of 10)

#97 We Hold On (S&A, 6th of 13)

#96 Tears (2112, 5th of 6)

#95 Lessons (2112, 4th of 6)

#94 Red Tide (Presto, 2nd of 11)

#93 Marathon (PoW, 3rd of 8)

#92 Lock and Key (HYF, 5th of 10)

#91 Working Them Angels (S&A, 5th of 13)

#90 Limbo (T4E, 3rd of 11)

#89 Where's My Thing? (t4\, 3rd of 10)

#88 The Necromancer (CoS, 3rd of 5)

#87 Making Memories (FBN, 8th of 8)

#86 Hope (S&A, 4th of 13)

#85 Kid Gloves (p/g, 7 of 8)

#84 Halo Effect (CA, 11th of 12)

#83 Countdown (Signals, 6th of 8)

#82 The Body Electric (p/g, 6th of 8)

#81 Lakeside Park (CoS, 2nd of 5)

#80 Finding My Way (Rush, 2nd of 8)

#79 Prime Mover (HYF, 4th of 10)

#78 Animate (CP, 4th of 11)

#77 Test for Echo (T4E, 2nd of 11)

#76 Leave That Thing Alone (CP, 3rd of 11)

#75 Cold Fire (CP, 2nd of 11)

#74 Carnies (CA, 10th of 12)

#73 How It Is (VT, 8th of 13)

#72 Afterimage (p/g, 5th of 8)

#71 Between Sun and Moon (1st of 11)

#70 Turn the Page (HYF, 3rd of 10)

#69 Secret Touch (VT, 7th of 13)

#68 7 Cities of Gold (CA, 9th of 12)

#67 Show Don't Tell (Presto, 1st of 11)

#66 The Main Monkey Business (S&A, 3rd of 13)

#65 Sweet Miracle (VT, 6th of 13)

#64 The Wreckers (CA, 8th of 12)

#63 Rivendell (FBN, 7th of 8)

#62 Malignant Narcissism (S&A, 2nd of 13)

#61 New World Man (Signals, 5th of 8)

#60 Clockwork Angels (CA, 7th of 12)

#59 Caravan (CA, 6th of 12)

#58 Wish Them Well (CA, 5th of 12)

#57 Fly By Night (FBN, 6th of 8)

#56 The Big Money (PoW, 2nd of 8)

#55 Ghost Rider (VT, 5th of 13)

#54 Earthshine (VT, 4th of 13)

#53 Roll The Bones (RTB, 2nd of 10)

#52 One Little Victory (VT, 3rd of 13)

#51 Beneath Between and Behind (FBN, 5th of 8)

#50 In the End (FBN, 4th of 8)

#49 Between the Wheels (p/g, 4th of 8)

#48 Nocturne (VT, 2nd of 13)

#47 Losing It (Signals, 4th of 8)

#46 Best I Can (FBN, 3rd of 8)

#45 Cinderella Man (AFTK, 5th of 6)

#44 A Passage to Bangkol (2112, 3rd of 6)

#43 Red Sector A (p/g, 3rd of 8)

#42 Force Ten (HYF, 2nd of 10)

#41 Closer to the Heart (AFTK, 4th of 6)

#40 A Farewell to Kings (AFTK, 3rd of 6)

#39 Far Cry (S&A, 1st of 13)

#38 Manhattan Project (PoW, 1st of 8)

#37 Ceiling Unlimited (VT, 1st of 13)

#36 The Camera Eye (MP, 7th of 7)

#35 Time Stand Still (HYF, 1st of 10)

#34 The Weapon (Signals, 3rd of 8)

#33 BU2B (CA, 4th of 12)

#32 Cygnus X-1 Book I (AFTK, 2nd of 6)

#31 Entre Nous (PeW, 5th of 6)

#30 Driven (T4E, 1st of 11)

#29 The Enemy Within (p/g, 2nd of 8)

#28 The Garden (CA, 3rd of 12)

#27 The Analog Kid (Signals, 2nd of 8)

#26 By Tor and the Snowdog (FBN, 2nd of 8)

#25 Headlong Flight (CA, 2nd of 12)

#24 Bastille Day (CoS, 1st of 5)

#23 Jacob's Ladder (PeW, 4th of 6)

#22 Anthem (FBN, 1st of 8)

#21 Working Man (Rush, 1st of 8)

#20 Distant Early Warning (p/g, 1st of 8)

#19 Limelight (MP, 6th of 7)

#18 Something for Nothing (2112, 2nd of 6)

#17 Witch Hunt (MP, 5th of 7)

#16 The Anarchist (CA, 1st of 12)

#15 Cygnus X-1 Book II (Hemi, 4th of 4)

#14 Dreamline (RTB, 1st of 10)

#13 Tom Sawyer (MP, 4th of 7)

#12 The Trees (Hemi, 3rd of 4)

#11 Vital Signs (MP, 3rd of 7)

#10 Freewill (PeW, 3rd of 6)

#9 YYZ (MP, 2nd of 7)

Interesting facts about this song.

1). YYZ is the ID code for the Toronto airport

2). The song opens with the Morse code signal for YYZ being played by the band

3). Unlike US residents, Canadians pronounce the letter z as zed, so this song is often referred to as YY Zed.

Oh, and the instrumentation and playing is top notch (any help I could get with alternatives to sublime would be appreciated). But you already knew that.

**Mosher** · August 23, 2023

3 minutes ago, laughedatbytime said:

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

#165 Half the World (T4E, 11th best of 11)

#164 Good News First (S&A, 13th of 13)

#163 The Speed of Love (CP, 11th of 11)

#162 Tai Shan (HYF, 10th of 10)

#161 Bravest Face (S&A, 12th of 13)

#160 Second Nature (HYF, 9th of 10)

#159 Faithless (S&A, 11th of 13)

#158 Neurotica (RTB, 10th of 10)

#157 Anagram (for Mongo) (Presto, 11th of 11)

#156 High Water (HYF, 8th of 10)

#155 Spindrift (S&A, 10th of 13)

#154 Stick It Out (CP, 10th of 11)

#153 Peaceable Kingdom (VT, 13th of 13)

#152 The Larger Bowl (S&A, 9th of 13)

#151 Out of the Cradle (VT, 12th of 13)

#150 Scars (Presto, 10th of 11)

#149 Superconductor (Presto, 9th of 11)

#148 Heresy (RTB, 9th of 10)

#147 The Way the Wind Blows (S&A, 8th of 13)

#146 War Paint (Presto, 8th of 11)

#145 You Bet Your Life (RTB, 8th of 10)

#144 Open Secrets (HYF, 7th of 10)

#143 In the Mood (Rush, 8th of 8)

#142 Time and Motion (T4E, 10th of 11)

#141 Hand Over Fist (Presto, 7th of 11)

#140 Presto (Presto, 6th of 11)

#139 Available Light (Presto, 5th of 11)

#138 Emotion Detector (PoW, 8th of 8)

#137 Take a Friend (Rush, 7th of 8)

#136 Grand Designs (PoW, 7th of 8)

#135 Armor and Sword (S&A, 7th of 13)

#134 Resist (T4E, 9th of 11)

#133 Freeze (VT, 11th of 13)

#132 The Stars Look Down (VT, 10th of 13)

#131 Dog Years (T4E, 8th of 11)

#130 Double Agent (CP, 9th of 11)

#129 Chemistry (Signals, 8th of 8)

#128 Here Again (Rush, 6th of 8)

#127 Middletown Dreams (PoW, 6th of 8)

#126 Mission (HYF, 6th of 10)

#125 The Twilight Zone (2112, 6th of 6)

#124 The Big Wheel (RTB, 7th of 10)

#123 Face Up (RTB, 6th of 10)

#122 I Think I'm Going Bald (CoS, 5th of 5)

#121 Everyday Glory (CP, 8th of 11)

#120 Totem (T4E, 7th of 11)

#119 Territories (PoW, 5th of 8)

#118 Cut to the Chase {CP, 7th of 11)

#117 Alien Shore (CP, 6th of 11)

#116 Red Lenses (p/g, 8th of 8)

#115 The Color of Right (T4E, 6th of 11)

#114 Ghost of a Chance (RTB, 5th of 10)

#113 BU2B2 (CA, 12th of 12)

#112 Mystic Rhythms (PoW, 4th of 8)

#111 The Pass (Presto, 4th of 11)

#110 What You're Doing (Rush, 5th of 8)

#109 Digital Man (Signals, 7th of 8)

#108 Nobody's Hero (CP, 5th of 11)

#107 Need Some Love (Rush, 4th of 8)

#106 Madrigal (AFTK, 6th of 6)

#105 Carve Away the Stone (T4E, 5th of 11)

#104 Vapor Trail (VT, 9th of 13)

#103 Virtuality (T4E, 4th of 11)

#102 Chain Lightning (Presto, 3rd of 11)

#101 Before and After (Rush, 3rd of 8)

#100 Different Strings (PeW, 6th of 6)

#99 The Fountain of Lamneth (CoS, 4th of 5)

#98 Bravado (RTB, 4th of 10)

#97 We Hold On (S&A, 6th of 13)

#96 Tears (2112, 5th of 6)

#95 Lessons (2112, 4th of 6)

#94 Red Tide (Presto, 2nd of 11)

#93 Marathon (PoW, 3rd of 8)

#92 Lock and Key (HYF, 5th of 10)

#91 Working Them Angels (S&A, 5th of 13)

#90 Limbo (T4E, 3rd of 11)

#89 Where's My Thing? (t4\, 3rd of 10)

#88 The Necromancer (CoS, 3rd of 5)

#87 Making Memories (FBN, 8th of 8)

#86 Hope (S&A, 4th of 13)

#85 Kid Gloves (p/g, 7 of 8)

#84 Halo Effect (CA, 11th of 12)

#83 Countdown (Signals, 6th of 8)

#82 The Body Electric (p/g, 6th of 8)

#81 Lakeside Park (CoS, 2nd of 5)

#80 Finding My Way (Rush, 2nd of 8)

#79 Prime Mover (HYF, 4th of 10)

#78 Animate (CP, 4th of 11)

#77 Test for Echo (T4E, 2nd of 11)

#76 Leave That Thing Alone (CP, 3rd of 11)

#75 Cold Fire (CP, 2nd of 11)

#74 Carnies (CA, 10th of 12)

#73 How It Is (VT, 8th of 13)

#72 Afterimage (p/g, 5th of 8)

#71 Between Sun and Moon (1st of 11)

#70 Turn the Page (HYF, 3rd of 10)

#69 Secret Touch (VT, 7th of 13)

#68 7 Cities of Gold (CA, 9th of 12)

#67 Show Don't Tell (Presto, 1st of 11)

#66 The Main Monkey Business (S&A, 3rd of 13)

#65 Sweet Miracle (VT, 6th of 13)

#64 The Wreckers (CA, 8th of 12)

#63 Rivendell (FBN, 7th of 8)

#62 Malignant Narcissism (S&A, 2nd of 13)

#61 New World Man (Signals, 5th of 8)

#60 Clockwork Angels (CA, 7th of 12)

#59 Caravan (CA, 6th of 12)

#58 Wish Them Well (CA, 5th of 12)

#57 Fly By Night (FBN, 6th of 8)

#56 The Big Money (PoW, 2nd of 8)

#55 Ghost Rider (VT, 5th of 13)

#54 Earthshine (VT, 4th of 13)

#53 Roll The Bones (RTB, 2nd of 10)

#52 One Little Victory (VT, 3rd of 13)

#51 Beneath Between and Behind (FBN, 5th of 8)

#50 In the End (FBN, 4th of 8)

#49 Between the Wheels (p/g, 4th of 8)

#48 Nocturne (VT, 2nd of 13)

#47 Losing It (Signals, 4th of 8)

#46 Best I Can (FBN, 3rd of 8)

#45 Cinderella Man (AFTK, 5th of 6)

#44 A Passage to Bangkol (2112, 3rd of 6)

#43 Red Sector A (p/g, 3rd of 8)

#42 Force Ten (HYF, 2nd of 10)

#41 Closer to the Heart (AFTK, 4th of 6)

#40 A Farewell to Kings (AFTK, 3rd of 6)

#39 Far Cry (S&A, 1st of 13)

#38 Manhattan Project (PoW, 1st of 8)

#37 Ceiling Unlimited (VT, 1st of 13)

#36 The Camera Eye (MP, 7th of 7)

#35 Time Stand Still (HYF, 1st of 10)

#34 The Weapon (Signals, 3rd of 8)

#33 BU2B (CA, 4th of 12)

#32 Cygnus X-1 Book I (AFTK, 2nd of 6)

#31 Entre Nous (PeW, 5th of 6)

#30 Driven (T4E, 1st of 11)

#29 The Enemy Within (p/g, 2nd of 8)

#28 The Garden (CA, 3rd of 12)

#27 The Analog Kid (Signals, 2nd of 8)

#26 By Tor and the Snowdog (FBN, 2nd of 8)

#25 Headlong Flight (CA, 2nd of 12)

#24 Bastille Day (CoS, 1st of 5)

#23 Jacob's Ladder (PeW, 4th of 6)

#22 Anthem (FBN, 1st of 8)

#21 Working Man (Rush, 1st of 8)

#20 Distant Early Warning (p/g, 1st of 8)

#19 Limelight (MP, 6th of 7)

#18 Something for Nothing (2112, 2nd of 6)

#17 Witch Hunt (MP, 5th of 7)

#16 The Anarchist (CA, 1st of 12)

#15 Cygnus X-1 Book II (Hemi, 4th of 4)

#14 Dreamline (RTB, 1st of 10)

#13 Tom Sawyer (MP, 4th of 7)

#12 The Trees (Hemi, 3rd of 4)

#11 Vital Signs (MP, 3rd of 7)

#10 Freewill (PeW, 3rd of 6)

#9 YYZ (MP, 2nd of 7)

Interesting facts about this song.

1). YYZ is the ID code for the Toronto airport

2). The song opens with the Morse code signal for YYZ being played by the band

3). Unlike US residents, Canadians pronounce the letter z as zed, so this song is often referred to as YY Zed.

Oh, and the instrumentation and playing is top notch (any help I could get with alternatives to sublime would be appreciated). But you already knew that.

YYZ is a perfect instrumental, only surpassed by the transcendental LaVilla. Great song

**Nova Carmina** · August 23, 2023

10 minutes ago, laughedatbytime said:

#9 YYZ (MP, 2nd of 7)

Unimpeachably top nine! My favorite instrumental. I get all the love for "La Villa" but this seems more concentrated, more forceful; there isn't a wasted moment. Even a brass band version can't dim the inherent skill and verve of this track.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

3 hours ago, laughedatbytime said:

#9 YYZ (MP, 2nd of 7)

Interesting facts about this song.

1). YYZ is the ID code for the Toronto airport

2). The song opens with the Morse code signal for YYZ being played by the band

3). Unlike US residents, Canadians pronounce the letter z as zed, so this song is often referred to as YY Zed.

Oh, and the instrumentation and playing is top notch (any help I could get with alternatives to sublime would be appreciated). But you already knew that.

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

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

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.

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

3 hours ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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.

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

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

17 hours ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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.

17 hours ago, laughedatbytime said:

I've watched that quite a bit lately, and if it's not perfection, it's because it's better than that. It just seems to me that that performance required total concentration, while the last part of NS on R30 was a show of confidence, they knew they were masters of their domain (no, not in that way) and acted that way, and that they outwardly took pleasure in that and imbued it with a sense of fun. (Not that it's a simple song for mere mortals.)

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.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

5 minutes ago, laughedatbytime said:

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

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.

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

3 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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.

That sounds like the worst kind of intestinal blockage possible.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

4 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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.

1 minute ago, laughedatbytime said:

That sounds like the worst kind of intestinal blockage possible.

Yes. Musical dysentery.

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

5 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

Yes. Musical dysentery.

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.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

16 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

Yes. Musical dysentery.

9 minutes ago, laughedatbytime said:

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.

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

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

2 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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 see I spelled it (dysentery) wrong above. That's probably because I'm used to referring to it as "Half the World".

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

3 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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

Just now, laughedatbytime said:

I see I spelled it (dysentery) wrong above. That's probably because I'm used to referring to it as "Half the World".

That calls for an expanded sneak preview:

163.
164. Half The World
165. Anagram (For Mongo)
166. Second Nature

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

2 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

That calls for an expanded sneak preview:

163.
164. Half The World
165. Anagram (For Mongo)
166. Second Nature

Looking forward to the rest of your list) I'm a statistician so I'm looking forward to the statistical analysis I can do once we get enough of these. I can't say I'm looking forward to the data entry, though...anyway, we can do a consensus list, see whose picks are the most different, top albums, top songs from.albums etc. Highest standard deviation for any song...go ahead and suggest other categories as well.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

1 minute ago, laughedatbytime said:

Looking forward to the rest of your list) I'm a statistician so I'm looking forward to the statistical analysis I can do once we get enough of these. I can't say I'm looking forward to the data entry, though...anyway, we can do a consensus list, see whose picks are the most different, top albums, top songs from.albums etc. Highest standard deviation for any song...go ahead and suggest other categories as well.

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

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

10 minutes ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

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

I did have a thought about how to do this in terms of fixing differences. If the numbers were not somehow adjusted, a song someone rated as 117 that someone else rated as 76 would have a greater difference than a song rated 40th and 3rd respectively, but most people would agree that the difference of opinion is regarding the latter song. How I was thinking of accounting for this is to put the songs on a normal curve and calculating t-scores for each song and taking the difference that way. The problem with this is that the average Rush song isn't average (which is the peak of the curve), it's very good. So I was thinking of calculating these scores based on the 25th rightmost area on the curve or maybe 1 standard deviation which if memory serves is the 84.2nd percentile (I'd have to verify that to make sure it's the one tailed value) and see how that worked until something formulaic seemed to reflect common sense.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · August 23, 2023

50 minutes ago, laughedatbytime said:

I did have a thought about how to do this in terms of fixing differences. If the numbers were not somehow adjusted, a song someone rated as 117 that someone else rated as 76 would have a greater difference than a song rated 40th and 3rd respectively, but most people would agree that the difference of opinion is regarding the latter song. How I was thinking of accounting for this is to put the songs on a normal curve and calculating t-scores for each song and taking the difference that way. The problem with this is that the average Rush song isn't average (which is the peak of the curve), it's very good. So I was thinking of calculating these scores based on the 25th rightmost area on the curve or maybe 1 standard deviation which if memory serves is the 84.2nd percentile (I'd have to verify that to make sure it's the one tailed value) and see how that worked until something formulaic seemed to reflect common sense.

I took statistics in college, and got an A. Reading this post of yours confirms how little I've retained from that course after all these years. :biggrin:

**laughedatbytime** · August 23, 2023

1 minute ago, 1-0-0-1-0-0-1 said:

I took statistics in college, and got an A. Reading this post of yours confirms how little I've retained from that course after all these years.

I can handle the mechanics, but what I'm more interested in is your opinion on the following questions (everyone else's as well).

Song A: person 1 rates it 70th best and person 2 rates it 110th

Song B: person 1 rates it 3rd best and person 2 rates it xth

What should x be to make the differences roughly equivalent?

The same thing could occurs on the bad side of the midpoint, eg.,

Song A: person 1 rates it 70th best and person 2 rates it 110th

Song B: person 1 rates it 163rd and person 2 rates it yth

What should y be to make the differences roughly equivalent?

I don't think it's a matter of just applying the difference, at the extremes the differences should be greater.

I might just see if I can use something like kenpom.does for college basketball and use that for one or both extremes.

Any thoughts?

LABT's Rush song rankings (1-165), with special dispensation from hi_water to reveal them concurrent with his list

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