Ranking All the Counting Crows Songs
When I was sixteen, the song “Angels of the Silences” came out as the lead single for the Counting Crows sophomore record Recovering the Satellites. It blew my mind. Round Here, Mr. Jones, Einstein of the Beach, Murder of One, and Rain King were all great singles, but I never bought August and Everything After. When Angels came out, I bought everything, AEA, Recovering the Satellites. I bought tickets to my first real show without my parents with the Counting Crows headlining and a new artist, Fiona Apple opening, I even bought DGC rarities collection too because the Counting Crows song Einstein on the Beach was on it. I used my lunch money to buy Counting Crows records and tickets, I skipped lunch for a month. They were instantly my favorite band, and would be till I graduated college.
So that and a midlife crisis is the reason why I am ranking all the Counting Crows songs*. Here we go.
Updated with Butter Miracle Songs.
The Bad Ones
110. Anyone But You-Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
ABY is just a painful song. Part of my issue with SN&SM is that it hammers home the point over and over again that Adam does not want his partner. ABY just happens to the bleakest version of a trope that he pulls out four or five times on that album. Probably the only CC song that I have never liked.
109,108. All My Failures and Coming Around-Underwater Sunshine
You get the feeling that Underwater Sunshine (an album of covers) is just CC having fun, and most of them are fun. These two are the rare exceptions where I don’t think the original songs are good, and nothing the Crows do on these tracks changes that.
107. Butterfly In Reverse-Hard Candy
Man, this song is a mess. I want to like it, but sort of has the worst elements of the two songwriters. Parts of it are beautiful a worthwhile experiment but don’t understand why it’s on the final album.
106. Sunday Morning LA- SN&SMs (b-side)
The beginning music is good, but the lyrics are putrid. Then, we are forced to listen to about two and a half minutes of guitar solos that sound like Seven Mary Three was covering Led Zeppelin II.
105,104. Mean Jumper Blues and This Land is Your Land-August and Everything After (Deluxe)
I think all I have to say about these acoustic covers is that I wish other tracks off the Flying Demos replaced them.
103. There Goes Everything-SN&SMs (b-side)
Man, this music deserves better lyrics because it’s pretty good. Unfortunately, the lyrics are a series of cliches and, while inoffensive, pretty forgettable.
102. You Can’t Count on Me-SN&SMs
Just a blah of a song but not as offensive as the ones above may be but the worst Counting Crows video of all time.
101. Elvis Went to Hollywood-Somewhere Under Wonderland
I am putting this one a little higher because New Frontier has taught me that a song like this might grow on me. Update: It hasn’t. Right now, I think the verses are good, but the chorus is just atrocious.
Not horrible but pretty forgettable
100. Possibility Days-SUW
I moved this up little bit in this edit, I guess it works on some level musically but the lyrics are just meandering. Meh.
99–95. Return of Grievous Angel, Ooh La La, Start Again, The Ballad of El Goodo, You Ain’t Going Nowhere-US
All pretty pedestrian covers of great songs that were done better by the original artists. Ranked ‘You Ain’t Going Nowhere’ slightly higher cause CC does a fun version live. These songs are still fun, but none of these are essential.
94–93. On Almost Any Sunday Morning and Le Ballet D’-SN&SMs
These songs hold together better than something like Possibility Days, which means I won’t flip them off, but I don’t remember them after their done.
92. Sundays-SN&SMs
The worst song on the Saturday side, which is way better than the Sunday side of SN&SMs, has its moments and has other moments where it’s kind of annoying.
91. Insignificant-SN&SMs
A generally good song with the most generic chorus you have ever heard in your life.
90. Love and Addiction (Demo)-August and Everything After (Deluxe)
Sort of like an early version of 95–94, I like the production a little more and ends a little cleaner, but it makes sense that they would cut it from the first record. Note I only include “Flying Demo” songs that have been officially released on this list.
89. Going Down to a New York Town-Mr. Deeds Soundtrack
This is a really fun song except for the fact that the guitar riff sounds like the Friends theme. Anyway this might be a good spot to let you know I only included Counting Crows movie songs on actual soundtracks not just on a film. My general is rule if they actually released it and I can find it online easily it is on this list. That is why this two minutes of derivative sunshine is on here.
88. Margery Dreams of Horses (Live)-AAEA (Deluxe)
Maybe Adam talking about the choruses in this song being bad has kind of sour me on this song. Also, the live version on AAEA is not the best version of this song out there. Adam recently said he was working on a better version of the song. I hope he gets it there because the great parts of Margery are pretty great.
87. New Frontier-HC
When this song came out, I hated it. It’s grown on me over the years. It’s fun, and it’s dumb — sort of earworm but also pretty cringe. I have a complicated relationship with this song.
86. Ghost in You-Clueless Soundtrack
Speaking of complicated relationships with songs, I loved this song when it came out, and before I had heard the original. Over the years, I realized that much like 100–96, it’s pretty nonessential, but it’s higher because of nostalgia.
Good Songs that I find flaws with and flawed songs that I think are good.
85. Colorblind-This Desert Life
Look, I am rarely in the mood for Colorblind. I know it’s a good song. That is why it’s this high on the list; it’s just not for me.
84, 83 Hospital and Mercy-US
These are good obscure covers that are only this low because the Counting Crows studio versions are not as good as the live versions.
82. Amie-US
Amie is just a good fun song, this cover does not change the original, but it does not need too.
81,80. Hazy-New Amsterdam-Live and Walkaways-Recovering the Satellites
Both not really full songs. I like them, though.
79. God of Ocean Tides-SUW
I moved God Of Tides up another six spots for earlier list versions, but this may be it. I like the song, but if that makes sense, it feels like a good transition, not a really good song. It’s better in album flow than listening to it on its own.
78. Why Do You Come When I Call?-HC
I mean, this is some dumb fun. Definitely have to be in the mood, but WHEN I AM. OH YEAH!. OK, I’ve creeped myself out.
77. Sessions-SN&SMs (b-side)
Sessions is a really rocking song my guess is it was not put on the album because it’s a four and half minute song with a two minute guitar solo. Still it’s a fun romp that is better than about half a dozen songs that made the final album.
76. Dislocation-SUW
In an early version of this list, I had Dislocation at 90, comparing it to Isolation. After spending more time with the song, I think I was wrong. This song is really growing on me. I think the lyrics are sort of spot-on and unique, while the music is still a little generic. I have a new respect for this track, and who knows, it might be even higher in a few years.
75. Black & Blue-HC
I can take or leave this song like many songs in this section; I just have to be in the mood for it. The biggest slight on this song is that the subject matter is done better on other songs on Hard Candy.
74. Meet Me on the Ledge-US
This cover song makes sense as a Counting Crows song, not a revolutionary cover, but the CC plays it really well. A good Counting Crows b-side.
73. August and Everything After-Amazon Exclusive
I will admit that I bought this song to review for this list which is sort of embarrassing. Some Crowheads online say they demo is better than the released version those fools are wrong. The music which is played by an orchestra is worth the price of admission, it’s beautiful. The issue with the song is the same issue that most eight and half minute songs in popular music have it’s too long. The song reaches it’s climax at about minute six with a powerful (angry?) lyrics and the music dropping out. Unfortunately the music comes back and Adam says buffalo nine times in the next two minutes.
72. On a Tuesday In Amsterdam Long Ago-SN&Ms
I like this song, it’s a little slight, and I’m still getting into it. It might be higher in like ten years.
71. Miller’s Angels-RTS
Supposedly there is a solo (just Adam) version of that some folks liked better than the one on Recovering the Satellites. I would probably agree with some folks — a potentially great song that tries to do too many things and is about a minute too long.
70. Big Yellow Taxi-HC
I don’t hate this as much as some Counting Crows fans. It’s fun. It’s different than the original. It’s sort of a lark but a fun lark.
69. The Tall Grass-Butter Miracle: Suite One
The Tall Grass is not a stand-out song, but what makes Butter Miracle work is how the four pieces in the suite fit together. In that context, it’s a very strong opening song. That slowly gets better until it flows right into Elevator Boots.
68. Time and Time Again-AAEA
This my least favorite song on their first record. I think lyrically, Adam does the same thing better at other points. I hardly ever skip it, but if I skip a song on August and Everything After, it’s usually this one.
67. Jumping Jesus-US
Jumping Jesus is a cover of Sordid Humor, a San Fransisco band that Adam sang backgrounds in pre-fame days. This cover is different because the original lead singer of SH is weird as hell in the right way. Anyway, check them out. They’re fun.
66. Carriage-HC
Carriage is a beautiful song about a miscarriage (get it). I am not always in the mood for that type of jam.
65. Earthquake Driver-SUW
ED is a fun original that is not going to change the world, and that’s OK. I am usually in a good mood when this is playing.
64. Shallow Days (Demo)-AAEA Deluxe
I will admit that some of the songs lower on the list are better songs, but I keep coming back to listen to this early demo. It does not quite sound like Counting Crows song (too sterile?), which is probably why it was not in August. It’s catchy as all hell, though.
The Good Stuff
63. Chelsea-Across the Wire
Chelsea is sort of my Mendoza line for the Counting Crows for me. If a song is better than Chelsea than it’s a good Counting Crows song. If it’s not, it’s not.
62. Cowboys-SN&SMs
Cowboys is just a good song. I think if it were the only song about not wanting someone on the album, it would probably be higher.
61. Like Teenage Gravity-US
What a great song. This cover studio version is not quite as good as the live version of the original but still breathtaking.
60. Goodnight LA-HC
Adam’s slow goodbye to LA, in a weird way it sums up his thesis, “what brings me down is love.”.
59. Perfect Blue Buildings-AAEA
A lot of little tricks in this song; it one of those songs where an average song is taken to the next level by the arrangement.
58. Four White Stallions-US
CC has put this song, a cover of Dan Vickery’s old band Tender Mercies on multiple singles, live, and studio albums. With good reason, it sounds like a Counting Crows song, and that is a high compliment.
57. Mercury-RTS
Much like Goodnight LA, this is a half song with a very compelling message about relationships and addiction. It may be one-note, but it’s a powerful one.
56. 1492-SN&SMs
It’s hard to know what to make of 1492. It rocks as hard as anything since Angels of the Silences. The lyrics are ridiculous, but they usually work. Good, but not a great song.
55. Angel of 14th Street-BM:SO
Angel of 14th Street songs like an album track on one first three Counting Crows records, which may seem like faint praise, but after albums like Saturday Nights and Sundays Mornings, it’s a minor revelation.
54. Untitled (Love Song)-US
Much Like Teenage Gravity, a great great song, the Counting Crows version is also great. Maybe the only essential recording on Underwater Sunshine.
53. When I Dream of Michelangelo-SN&SMs
This is a really good song that famously Adam had for almost two decades before releasing it in 2008. It predates some of the classic Counting Crows songs. It seems to be copying.
52. Daylight Fading-RTS
This next patch of songs (ten) is tough, all just below great in my estimation. My main issue with Daylight Fading is that it sounds like a REM song. Still a pretty good REM song.
51. Cover Up The Sun-SUW
I like this song a lot. I will grant I might underrating some of the songs on Somewhere Under Wonderland because I am still getting into them. Adam is talking shit in this one, and I like it when he does that.
50. Friend of the Devil-Greatest Hits
Their best cover something about the Counting Crows covering The Grateful Dead is just unique and perfect.
49. She Don’t Want Nobody Near-Greatest Hits
They should’ve saved this one for SN&SMS because it’s better than a lot of those songs.
48. Kid Things-TDL
Kid Things is just the sound of people having fun and playing music.
47. I’m Not Sleeping Anymore-RTS
Although it has not aged as well as some other Recovering the Satellites songs, sixteen-year-old Robert loves this song about insomnia and growing up.
46. Los Angeles-SN&SMS
Just your classic song about being a famous aging rockstar too many city references, but the taco line at the end is perfect.
45. Another Horsedreamer’s Blues-RTS
Just a fluffy cloud dream of a song.
44. American Girls-HC
What a polarizing Counting Crows single. My best friend in college, when this came out, said it was the first song CC song she didn’t like. Most of it works, but I don’t know if it should have been a single.
43. John Appleseed’s Lament-SUW
More shit-talking on Somewhere Under Wonderland, you know I think I like that album. The real kicker of this song is just arrangement, which goes from fun to super fun.
42. Monkey-RTS
Monkey is a good pop song, points for calling someone Monkey your in love with and getting away with it.
41. Hanging Tree-SN&SMs
Hanging Tree is a theme that Adam hits over and over again in his songs. Fame is just overwhelming for the author and sort of ruining his life. It rocks in a way that the rest of the Saturday Nights side just doesn’t.
The Great Stuff
40. Bobby the Rat-Kings: BM:SO
With the quality of Butter Miracle, you wish it was a full album. Although it’s a four-song run, maybe the reason the quality is so high. Bobby the Rat-Kings would have been a radio hit at the height of the Crows’ fame. It’s one the better songs about being a fan I have heard in years and bookends a song about being famous that is a little higher up this list.
39. Baby I’m a Big Star-B-Side TDL and SN&SMs
Like Hanging Tree but more to the point and with a bigger hook. I love this song and don’t understand how it was not on an album. The chorus deserves to be played on the radio.
38. High Life-TDL
Adam said this one of the three songs he thought represented the Counting Crows. You can see why this is Round Here for someone jaded by LA and fame, a masterpiece.
37. Ghost Train-AAEA
It’s hard to deny the consistent greatness of the Counting Crow’s first record. Ghost Train is a stone-cold classic, and it’s like the eight or ninth-best song on the record. “How do you do?” indeed.
36. Raining in Baltimore-AAEA
See above.
35. Four Days-TDL
When you listen to this song, it feels like the winter sky has opened up and revealed a bright full moon.
34. Hard Candy-HC
Hardy Candy is the Counting Crows summer record, but even in the bright sunshine, they want to remind you that sweet memories can hurt. These guys won’t give us a break.
33. Elevator Boots- BM:SO
Elevator Boots is about as close to a classic Counting Crows song as you can get in 2020. Adam is still talking about fame, but now with a nostalgia romance that twenty or thirty-something probably couldn’t muster. Everybody wants to know you when you’re the only one to know.
32. Sullivan Street-AAEA
A tale of a bittersweet lost relationship that would have been the lead single on a lesser record.
31. Scarecrow-SUW
Just an awesome latter pop song from our heroes; you are either into this goofy thing or not, and I am really into it.
The Classics
30. Amy Hit Atmosphere-TDL
This is where the list gets hard for me. A song about a friend pulling themselves out of the gutter. The repeating end chorus gets me every time. The music. Wow.
29. Have You Seen Me Lately?-RTS
Some Counting Crows fans/critics have this lower because it’s sort of a straight-ahead rocker. But on an album where dealing with fame is the main subject, this feels like one of the centerpieces thematically, and also it rocks.
28. Catapult-RTS
If you first heard this song when it came out in 1996, you knew that you were dealing with a different band than on AAEA. As great as that record is, there is nothing as musically complex as Catapult, and the lyrics are some of Adam’s best.
27. All My Friends-TDL
All My Friends feels like it could be the centerpiece of a Fleetwood Mac or Beatles record, and no one would bat an eye. Just a classic song and one of the most underrated in the entire catalog. “Thought I might get a rocket ride when was a child, but it was a lie. That I told myself when I needed something good.” That is how you start a song!
26. Miami-HC
Talk about underrated Miami gets slag by some Crows fans, I think, because it has a drum machine. What they are missing out on is one of the best ballads CC ever put out.
25. Children In Bloom-RTS
LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE. SHE DON’T DESERVE THIS. SHE IS A FLOWER, AND I AM FLOWER, AND WE ARE ALL ALONE.
24. Accidentally In Love-Shrek 2 Soundtrack
Just a perfect pop song. The Counting Crows could have given the Beachboys a run for their money if they chose a different path. Adam is proud of this song. He should be.
23. Up All Night (Frankie Miller Goes to Hollywood)-HC
The most summertime song on their most summertime record. It just feels like you are staying up late to go to the most fantastic party with the sexiest person.
22. Washington Square-SN&SMs
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings has some of the lowest lows in the entire Counting Crows catalog. Washington Square proves it also has some of the highest highs. A beautiful acoustic ballad about never being able to go home again.
21. Einstein on the Beach (For An Eggman) -DGC’s rarities vol. 1
I have a soft spot in my heart for this song. The hook is immense, and the subject is creative in a way that the CC is usually not. I bought DGC’s rarities vol. 1 when I was 15, and it had artists like Teenage Fanclub, The Sundays, and That Dog on it. Aka some of my favorite bands of all time. It also had Nirvana, Beck, and Weezer. I don’t think they ever made a volume two.
20. A Murder of One-AAEA
Even old crow heads who say their first record is their best have to admit that it’s pretty top-heavy. A Murder of One is the first of what I call the big six. A call to arms. A naming of a band.
19. I Wish I Was a Girl-TDL
The last three songs (non-hidden) on This Desert Life could win the best three-song run of the Counting Crows catalog. This song, like it’s sister song on RTS, is about Elisabeth but darker. The protagonist is willing to change his identity to win back his lover that is just out of reach. Heartbreaking.
18. Hanginaround-TDL
I lived in Austin for fifteen years, and this song gets more relatable every year. The clubhouse feels, and the singalong chorus starts what my probably my favorite Counting Crows record top to bottom.
17. Omaha-AAEA
Omaha feels like it’s as old and as natural as a song from the turn of the twentieth century. This song has so much sweetness.
16. If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)-HC
Got a few questions on this one: Can we just call it Richard Manuel is Dead? That is what Adam wanted to call it. Can we do that now??? Second question why wasn’t this and Holiday in Spain the first two singles on Hard Candy and not the last two. No disrespect to American Girls and Miami (well maybe little to AG), but I feel like Hard Candy would have sold some more copies if this perfect countrified bag moonshine was released first.
15. Mr. Jones-AAEA
I know it seems stupid to rank Mr. Jones fourteenth on a list of best Counting Crows songs. But the Counting Crows are a great band, and as great as Mr. Jones is (and it’s great), it’s not a top ten Counting Crows song.
14. Come Around-SN&SMS
The second best Counting Crows song in the last fifteen years. To me, Come Around is about the band, the fans, and the promise to never abandon them.
13. Good Time-HC
Counting Crows get sleazy, and it works. The sadness underlying the song is palatable. You just want to have a good time to be close to someone, but you can’t even talk because everyone goes away. Universal.
12. Saint Robinson in His Cadillac Dream-TDL
Just a unique song in the Counting Crows catalog. There is nothing quite like it. Twangy. Loose. A tell off. A dream. I just do the same things over and over again.
11. Palisades Park-SUW
I know that they are ripping off bits Ricki Lee Jones classic We Belong Together, and I don’t care. The pure wonderment of this song; it takes you on many beautiful journeys before it’s 8+ minute run time is done. Maybe we should move to California? For any other band this would be a top ten song.
10. Holiday In Spain-HC
It’s important to note here that Hard Candy has one song in the top ten, This Desert Life has two, Recovering The Satellites has four, and August and Everything After has three. This means that Holiday In Spain is the last song from Hard Candy. Not only that, but it’s also the best end to an album in the Counting Crows career. From the piano line at the very beginning, HIS sounds like a timeless classic. Who doesn’t want to throw their money down the drain and fly away somewhere new?
9. Anna Begins-AAEA
The more straight forward sibling of Round Here, people love this song, and it’s not hard to see why a beautiful long song that somehow goes through every stage of a relationship in four and a half minutes. The tension builds in Anna until it explodes in the last minute.
8. Angels of the Silences-RTS
The song that started it all for me, I like the Counting Crows before Angels, but after I heard, I was a fan. It hits hard after all these years, for a band that is not known for its rock songs, Angels of the Silences hits to the back wall of the arena, and the outro takes you home.
7. Goodnight Elisabeth-RTS
The lyrics shine on Goodnight Elisabeth, comparing fame to a circus maybe a bit cliche, but it’s never done so effectively or beautifully as it is in this song.
6. Rain King-AAEA
One the most recognizable Counting Crows song to date. Adam said he thought this was the single off of AAEA and then famously did not release it as single because he thought the Counting Crows were getting too big. Just about a perfect song, musically interesting, and maybe the best melody in the entire catalog. YEAAAHHHHH
5. Speedway-TDL
This my list, and I love this song. So sad, so lonely, so simple. Everyone has felt this way. When the music drops out, and Adams sings, “I just need somebody to talk to me,” I am usually already crying.
4. Recovering the Satellites-RTS
It feels like Recovering the Satellites is the Counting Crows lost classic as good as anything they have ever put out. A lot of Counting Crows songs are pretty narcissistic in RTS Adam is singing to all of us about loss and trying to keep the memories and people you can.
3. Round Here-AAEA
To a lot of fans, Round Here is the Counting Crows. It winds around the spaces of your mind. Is it about love or having a nervous breakdown? Both? The music would be the showcase here if the lyrics weren’t so good. When the Counting Crows break up this, Mr. Jones and the number one song will be in the montage.
2. Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby-TDL
“Well, I woke up in mid-afternoon cause that when it hurts the most. I dream I never know anyone at the party, and I’m always the host.” The best two opening lines in Counting Crows history. But MPL is so much more, Maria makes an appearance, but the star is a real-life actress. Adam rips open This Desert Life to let us see the bowl of stars.
- A Long December-RTS
A Long December is the perfect Counting Crows single. Mr. Jones may be their most famous song, Round Here maybe the most Counting Crows song, but A Long December is the best Counting Crows song. You can hear people singing along to it in 100 years, and it resonates this year, especially this year. I know I will be singing it in December, hoping next year will be better.