Top 50 Ska Songs
My brother Brad has played trumpet in a few ska bands, at least one or two of which have performed live. He’s a devoted ska fan. As a listener and performer, he’s somewhat of a ska expert. I asked him to make a list of the best ska songs, and he more than stepped up to the challenge, producing a list of fifty. Without further ado, Brad’s 50 favorite ska songs.
The Top 50 Ska Songs
by Brad
Keep in mind that this list is written by a guy who listens to a lot of Suburban Legends, Catch 22, Streetlight Manifesto, and Reel Big Fish. The list is weighted toward these groups. I have listened to lots of other bands too, but these are my favorite.
Most lists like this will be about how important and influential songs are. This one is simply made of ones that I like, in order from 50 down to 1. I hope you enjoy it!
50. Fashion Zombies – The Aquabats
Although a favorite of my brothers, I don’t view this one quite as highly. I like a bunch of things about this song, though, and The Aquabats are great. It’s a very strange song, but hey: I’m a very strange person.
49. The Greatest Story Ever Told – Five Iron Frenzy
I like this song a lot, the only problem is that it get’s old pretty fast. It’s kinda repetitive although quite catch. This song has been stuck in my head plenty of times, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
48. History of a Boring Town – Less than Jake
My one major complaint with this song is that the vocals sound too much like yelling for my liking. Also, the brass seems to be pinned on at the last minute, not intended for the melody or harmonies, like I’m used to hearing in a ska band. Don’t get me wrong, though. The voices are awesome at the refrain, and when the song goes into half time, it’s catchy.
47. Zanzibar – Suburban Legends
Every good ska band I know has an instrumental song. This is the one for Suburban Legends. It’s quite good, but VERY repetitive and it just seems to go on forever. Give it a taste, though. If you only listen to the first 2 minutes of this song, you’ll like it for sure, but much longer than that, it gets kinda old.
46. Point the Blame – Catch 22
This is by the ‘new’ Catch 22. Though not the same without Tomas Kalnoky, they’re still pretty good in my opinion. One interesting thing about this song is that I lose the game whenever I listen to it, because at the beginning it says “Point the blame/Picture frame/Playing by the rules is why you’re losing the game”. And it is for this reason that this song cannot be higher on this list.
45. Amalgamate – Five Iron Frenzy
Amalgamate reminds me of an oldies song, not a particular one, but classic pop and rock in general. It has nice horn parts and a good theme. It’s not particularly catchy, but still gets 2 thumbs up from me.
44. Autumn in the Park – Suburban Legends
Sweet horn parts and awesome harmonies highlight this song. I hate to put this song so far from #1, but there are a lot better songs here. If the whole song were as good as the refrain, this one would be way up there; the only problem is its weird interludes and verses, so I couldn’t move it any higher up.
“WHAT?” Yep, I put RBF’s most famous song this low. Well, hear me out. This song is catchy; that’s RBF’s thing, they’re catchy ska. I just think that this song isn’t nearly as good as some of the others they make. I like it a lot, and I like the band, but there are better songs by them.
42. Up all Night – Suburban Legends
With a killer trombone line at the beginning, followed by the words “Shake your booty”. Unfortunately, though, the beginning is the best that this song gets. It has a repetitive tune, and it’s sure to get stuck in your head if you’re not too careful. It’s a good song, just not as good as it could have been.
41. Bats in the Belfry – Dispatch
I learned about this song on Pandora. And it is awesome. It’s a bit too sporadic and unpredictable to be near the top, though. Awesome refrain, but the horn parts are not too hot. Still, this song will get stuck in your head, watch out.
The Aquabats pose as a group of superheros, and their song is hilarious. It’s too short to be a serious candidate on this list at less than 2 minutes. It’s very catchy though. (And don’t forget to “watch [them] every week on [their] TV show”.)
39. My Evil Plan to Save the World – Five Iron Frenzy
This song has a lot going for it. With a phenomenal horn intro and some pretty sweet solos, you’d think I’d put this be higher. However, There are many dull moments in this song and the up-beat refrain and intro can’t quite make up for them. (It’s still awesome when the tenor sax player breaks out into a mad “Mary Had a Little Lamb” solo, though.)
38. Walking Away – Streetlight Manifesto/Catch 22
I absolutely love the horn solos in this song. The mood of the song changes too much for me, though. I’m not a big fan of that approach; two, maybe three moods would suffice. Great song off a great album by great bands (I don’t prefer one over the other).
37. The Story of Nothing – The Aquabats
At the beginning of this song is possibly the greatest tenor sax solo I’ve ever heard. After that, it gets a bit weird. The singer’s voice sounds a little whinier than normal. But the key change at the end, and the tempo increase improve the song.
Superman was one of the first ska songs I ever heard. It’s great: upbeat, catchy, and just plain awesome all-around. Why isn’t this higher, then? First, it lacks powerful horn parts. If it had more horns and more creative use of their instruments, it would be a truly great ska song. The song also lacks a truly syncopated feel. However, the drum part is kickin’ and the bridge is pretty cool too. Overall, a cool song.
35. The Joust – Mad Caddies
The Joust wins with an awesome trumpet solo. One thing I love about the Mad Caddies is that they experiment with different genres of music as they play ska. This one has a salsa, bossanova feel to it. It works pretty well. I love how each instrument is used at the same time, especially right before the trumpet solo. This one’s a keeper.
34. What a Wicked Gang Are We – Streetlight Manifesto
This number off of Somewhere in the Between has one of the greatest trombone solos you’ll ever hear in a ska song. The main horn theme and solo are really the most appealing part of this song, though. The song just lacks a certain power that I’m used to seeing in Tomas Kalnoky’s songs.
33. Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates – The Aquabats
How can you not love a song with that title? No doubts about it, it’s a funny, catchy song that saves the best for last: a horn feature on the melody of “Rule, Britannia.” I liked it so much I learned how to play it. The song even has a full story line going along with it. Genius, pure genius.
32. Popular Demand – Suburban Legends
At the beginning, the song kind of has a Mariachi sound to it, but then it goes to a normal ska sound, and builds from there. It’s a pretty sweet song, although kind of repetitive. The rhythm is syncopated very tightly and, and everything in the song flows perfectly from part to part.
31. We are the Few – Streetlight Manifesto
Man, this one’s great. I have great memories of spending hours learning the horn parts because . I couldn’t wait to get to school the next day to show the other trumpets during warm up of band class, which was the time when we’d all show off the stuff we could play.
30. Bright Spring Morning – Suburban Legends
The one part of this song I don’t like is the second half of the refrain. It’s a bit cliché. (The refrain is long: nearly 45 seconds.) The rest of Bright Spring Morning is great, though. There’re some sweet horn parts, and I love the way the bridge I love the way it unfolds, even if it’s a bit wacky. I hate putting it all the way down at #30, but hey: there are better songs. Keep reading.
29. Third World Think Tank – Five Iron Frenzy
Although it may come off as a bit goofy at the beginning, with the singer talking in a fake southern accent, this song is great once it goes into the refrain. The background horn feature is awesome. One annoyance with this song is the 5 minute silence at the end of the track when you take it off the CD. It’s pretty annoying when I’m trying to listen to my mp3 player and then I notice that I haven’t heard anything for the past 2 minutes and I realize that I had just listened to this song.
28. Don Juan – Suburban Legends
This song makes the list this high for one major reason: the trumpet part. It’s omnipresent, and I love it so much that I just want to keep listening. I even want more when the song’s over. It’s amazingly well-written. Overall, an awesome song and a great listen.
27. Albuquerque – Buck-O-Nine
Albuquerque has an absolutely sick melody. The horn feature after the first verse is outstanding. I sometimes want to fast forward to the song, but it’s worth listening to the build-up. That’s not to say that the rest of the song is bad; just that it doesn’t even come close to the part right after the first verse.
12341234 is… awesome. I gotta say that straight off the bat. It’s got a slow start, until you reach The Drums. You’ll know it when you hear it. It’s kind of like a punch in the face that feels good. The song would be betterif it had horns like most Catch 22 songs, but it doesn’t. Even with the amazing drumming, I have to put it lower because it lacks the horns, which is always crucial. I couldn’t bring myself to putting it in the upper half of the songs because of it. (Keep in mind that I’m just ignoring the second half, non-song part of it.)
On & On & On is one of Catch 22’s faster songs, which is actually saying quite a bit. The lyrics are said so fast that they’re barely comprehensible. Only when the song goes into half-time is when it’s easy to make them out. Nonetheless, it’s a blast to sing along with. Ask my family or friends: I speak from experience. This one definitely deserves to be in the upper half.
24. Paint by Numbers – Upstanding Youth
Pretty awesome from the get-go, this song has outstanding tenor sax throughout the song. The instrument has many solos in there. Paint by Numbers has more of a reggae feel than most of the songs on this list, or at least at the beginning. The tempo eventually picks up, thankfully. At the end, after the song is over, about 3 minutes into it, there’s a pretty awesome piano solo, too.
”Two-four-one” (not “Two-forty-one”) is first-rate. As Reel Big Fish’s instrumental song, it is great fun to listen to and even more so to play. It has sweeet trumpet solos (that I can play!) and a nice head melody that grounds the song. Great song, great fun.
22. The Receiving End of it All – Streetlight Manifesto
Another Streetlight Manifesto classic, with many still to come. This one has a sweet intro with lots of horns and nifty drums. When the lyrics hit you for the first time, it sounds kind of strange. But before you know it, there’s a sweet trombone lick and then more backup trombone as it continues on. At the refrain, the song takes somewhat of an acoustic feel, and it all just clicks. This song rocks.
21. Kristina (She Don’t Know I Exist) – Streetlight Manifesto
This song is astounding. For the first 2:30, you think — eh, it’s kinda catchy, but why is it so great? And then all the instrumentalists, every single one in the band minus the drummer, have solos. It’s great. Particularly, the two sax solos are two of the most fantastic ones I’ve ever heard. Incredible. And then it winds down slowly with the recurring trumpet theme as the end of the song.
20. Riding the Fourth Wave – Streetlight Manifesto
This is Streetlight Manifesto’s instrumental song. It’s sensational, even if it does have a flute solo at the beginning. That glaring error is quickly made up for by a drum fill, though. I love listening to it, especially as an instrument-player. I get to hear a song where there’s no singing, just some great horn parts to listen to.
19. One Foot on the Gas, One Foot in the Grave – Streetlight Manifesto
This one might be on the top of a ranking of ska song names. I love its name. The song itself is great, too. I really wish that I could put this one higher, but others are a bit better. This one has a slow start, but it makes up for it later clocking in at 225+ beats per minute. It has great horn line features, one for each type of instrument: trumpet, trombone, and saxes. And it all wraps up with a trumpet solo and a ritardando as the tune fades out slowly.
18. One Hit Wonderful/Drunk Again – Reel Big Fish
Now with these songs, there’s a bit of a story. Neither of them were particularly big hits. They’re the ones that people get when they buy an album, but never really give a chance. “One Hit Wonderful” wasn’t even released by a record label that worked with Reel Big Fish at the time; RBF had already left. Drunk Again is sung by the band’s trumpeter and backup singer, Scotty Klopfenstein, and it’s awesome. Both of these songs are slower for RBF songs: not as catchy, but quite a bit more subtle and restrained.
17. Alternative, Baby – Reel Big Fish
Jam-packed full of musical greatness, this song has an awesome trumpet solo and catchy refrains to back everything up. It’s fun to listen to and I a blast to play (I learned it on trumpet). It’s just a fun listen and vintage RBF.
16. Nobody Wins at the Laundromat – Mad Caddies
Strange name, rockin’ song. There is not one dull second in this song: it’s fast from start to finish. Although it has a heavy metal sound to it, it has the horn parts moving all around the whole time; a feat not easily accomplished by a ska band. It’s great fun and a good sing-along. Yep, especially the screaming at the end.
15. The Blonde Lead the Blind – Streetlight Manifesto
My first instinct was to put this in the bottom half of the list. But then I listened to it, and remembered how much it deserves a spot this high. I’d forgotten, for example, the horn feature late in the song. It’s almost inspirational, that’s how great it sounds. This song is extremely catchy, even if you can’t sing it because the vocal parts are just flying by every which way.
14. Confessional – Upstanding Youth
I only recently discovered this song (thanks again, Pandora). It’s rockin’. I especially love the trumpet solo near the end of the song, even though I haven’t gotten a chance to learn how to play it yet. The intro is legit and backed up by some clever vocal placement. Syncopated and evenly flowing, this song is a great listen and well-deserving of the spot it has.
13. Every New Day – Five Iron Frenzy
This was the last song that Five Iron Frenzy ever played as a band. They broke up a while back. I can imagine that it was quite the finale with such a great band. In spite of a sad mood, it’s got a happy and positive message. It’s one of the most emotional ska songs I know of. It’s got solid horns and vocals that are unmatched by any other FIF song. Simply one of their best.
12. The Science of Selling Yourself Short – Less than Jake
This song is highlighted by stellar vocal harmonies and progressions. Although slow for third wave ska, it’s right up there with the best of them. The third verse has awesome vocals from the backup singer. The changes in mood come at the just right times, it works well.
11. Me Oh My – Five Iron Frenzy
First comes the gut-busting drum solo, then a sweet horn part, and finally the singing comes in. The lyrical composure is quite good; it flows well like any song needs to be ranked this high. Though the song is a bit short, but it doesn’t matter when awesome as this one. If you like upbeat, exciting songs, this is definitely one worth listening to.
10. Here’s to Life – Streetlight Manifesto
Woo… top 10, here come the truly amazing songs. And we start with Here’s to Life. It has a beautiful melody and awesome drums throughout the song, with the nice touch of some chamber sounds mixed. The sax feature at each refrain is pretty sweet too. My favorite part of the song is the end when with Kalnoky’s expressive cry of “Here’s to LIIIIIIIIIIIIFE” that he just holds onto. It is a perfect ending for the song.
9. The Big Sleep – Streetlight Manifesto
The song starts slow but gradually picks up in tempo and mood. Getting to the refrain is a bit like waking up in the morning: You do your routine and then you turn on the shower, but you forget it’s cold and then… BAM you wake up. (The refrain is also one of the three that uses “na-na-na” on the album Everything Goes Numb.) The best part of this song is at the end when the tempo takes it up one more notch, and the horns come in with a sweet melody and it all finally comes to a close. It’s blast to listen to. Even if it gets a little repetitive, it’s well worth multiple listens.
8. Somewhere in the Between – Streetlight Manifesto
It kicks off with a swashbuckling intro, but then it quickly changes to a more traditional ska sound and constantly seems to change tempo, with distortions of guitar changing all the time, and the horn parts can never seem to go away. Halfway through the song, the trombone and the saxophone have a solo and counter-solo, then all the horns except the trumpet come in without any other instruments. It’s a great moment. It speeds up again and comes to a crashing halt with the end the song. This song is truly great, one of Streetlight Manifesto’s best.
This song has an awesome beginning, with the distorted guitar + trombone combo. It really works an gets you hooked on this song. It changes drum beats throughout the songs at just the right times and the horns do an awesome job backing up the main melody. It just seems that everything that happens in this song goes on at just the right time. When you want to hear something different, they mix it up. Stuff like that. When there’s a solo needed, the guitar comes in with some sweet lixx. Old or new, this is Catch 22’s best song, in my opinion.
This song begins with a bizarre banjo part. But then a guitar comes in, with some awesome muted trumpet. The jazzy, smooth vocals emphasize the mysterious mood of the song. Some background noise is faint and subtle, and it all adds up to something awesome. The horns work perfectly with the rest of the instruments. After a couple verses, there’s some alternating solos with the trumpet and the trombone. It all sounds so great and can be listened to over and over. The best song by the Caddies I have heard thus far.
5. If and When We Rise Again – Streetlight Manifesto
This song starts out with some abstract guitar. Give it a few seconds, and it builds — slowly but surely. You can tell the big hit is coming, you just don’t know when. But it keeps building past what you expect. It keeps going, and finally… IT HITS YOU! The drums come in with some crazy beats, the horns backing it up quite effectively. Then the guitar comes in with a crazy fast pace. The horns soon follow the drums as well. All the instrumentalists join in harmonizing as background singers while Tomas Kalnoky is singing and they back him up in the refrain as well. This song features a classic Mozart riff during one of the instrumental sections. It’s all just beyond belief.
I only recently discovered this song, but that doesn’t take away from how great it is. The has some pretty sweet lyrics. It’s about being a rebel, something I’m all for. And then just as you get used to the fast paced punk mood of the song, it throws a half time part at you with a wicked trombone solo. Crazy awesome. “Now it’s time to start a fight!”
3. A Better Place, a Better Time – Streetlight Manifesto
It’s slow for the first 2 or so minutes into the song, but then it just picks up, and you realize how well it’s been building to the fast part. The guitar has some sweet progressions and the horns have nice parts that synergize with the rest of the song. Ska is all about syncopation, and this song has tons of that. It’s got the horns to make great ska, and flows at such a comfortable pace. The best part of all, though, is at the end when the drums and guitars are working off of each other.
2. Down, Down, Down, to Mephisto’s Café – Streetlight Manifesto
Like many Streetlight songs, Mephisto’s starts slow, and picks things up from there. But everything just happens perfectly here. The horns sound perfect. Their licks are delicious, especially a killer sweet trombone solo later in the song. One of the reasons I put this song so high is how happy it made me when I first listened to it. It was the first Streetlight Manifesto song I’d heard when I got it on a demo CD from a concert. I brought it home, I put it on my mp3 player. And then, I listened to this song, over and over. I put it on repeat, and every time through, I found myself smiling. This song truly raised my expectation of ska music.
1. I Want More – Suburban Legends
This song rocks. It has my absolute favorite horn part ever. It just sounds so… so perfect. I have never heard, in all my years of playing trumpet and listening to ska, any more pleasant brass part than this series of notes. After 2 verses, the song goes into a bridge-type thing, another an awesome part. I try to do the harmonies when I’m in the shower and listening to this song, but I can never pull it off.
The song then builds a little bit again and goes into a complete outburst of musical genius, with the vocals going crazy, the horns playing that gorgeous lick. And it just sounds so… wow. That’s all I can say about it. Know that there is a reason this song is #1. It emphasizes everything good I know about ska: the horns, the syncopation, everything. I am proud to have this song as my #1 pick in my ska list, because it most certainly deserves it. Ya gotta love it.
Well, there you have it, my list. I hope you see where I’m coming from on all these, and that I didn’t just put my mp3 on shuffle and write some stuff down about the next song that came up. It actually took quite a bit of thought to straighten everything out. Thanks for reading, and leave me some comments or send me an e-mail with your thoughts.
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I’ve only heard 10 songs out of these, but judging from the placement of those 10, this list is super well-thought-out and the songs are fairly ranked.
HOWEVER. It is a complete and utter travesty that “We Will Fall Together” (by SM) did not get included. I realize it might have too much guitar where should be brass in your opinion, but even taking that into consideration, it should at least make the top 15 or 20. The brass parts, while not omnipresent, play off of each other and fit perfectly into the song’s framework. The song as a whole is sweeping and epic with awesome solos sprinkled in throughout, and it totally draws you in. Like a good roller coaster (for lack of a less cliche analogy), it takes you on a crazy ride and leaves you wanting nothing more than to listen to it again when it ends.
That’s every Streetlight song, though, Amilie. Every song is presented with an epic scope, which is why the ska band is my favorite band. But every ska collection needs some straightforward song structures. If you have to pick from a certain amount of Streetlight songs, We Will Fall Together is not really better than other ones. Right on par, sure. It’d be in MY top 50 ska songs, but I wouldn’t call it a lock for the honor.
I have to say brad, nice list, while a few songs would have been added, and i havnt heard all of them enough, i mostly agree. Your #1 song has my favorite lyrical bridge of all time (it is a bridge right?), It’s not cool, to play ska music(repeats like 3 times) Its not cool to play ska music BUT I DO IT ANYYYWAY
@raptor: You’re right about every SM song being epic. It’s possible “We Will Fall Together” is more of a personal favorite than a true masterpiece, but you’d have a hard time convincing me of that. And as far as it deserving a spot on this list goes, there are arguments on both sides. I feel like it fits right in with “Somewhere in the Between” and “Receiving End,” but I can understand that there was just too much Streetlight in the list. Anyway, nice list Brad! It was really interesting reading what you had to day about each song.
say*
Pretty Good list… But I like RBF alot more than you. Like a whole lot.
For example, you say that you don’t like sell out that much. I can’t begin to describe why it is such a good song. Well, I can and will. First off, the song isn’t too complicated, which says alot for how good it sounds. Another thing is, it is a freaking happy song. I know of like one other song that’s happier than it, and I don’t like to talk about that one. Thirdly, but oh so importantly, when you hear it live your head just about explodes.
Alright, so, I have to say this is a pretty good list. A couple random songs I would include would be “9mm and a Three Piece Suit,” “Kristina She Don’t Know I Exist,” and “San Francisco Payphone,” by Catch 22. Also, a few more samplings from the earlier Aquabats would be good. Stuff like “Pool Party,” “Pizza Day,” and “Red Sweater.” Finally, it’s an absolute travesty that you don’t include any of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones in here. I mean, it’s undeniable that “That’s the Impression That I Get,” and “The Rascal King,” are top notch ska. While it may be a little too screamish for you, I also like “A Jackknife to a Swan,” by the Bosstones.
a message to you rudy
My girl lollipop
On my radio
dude, you gotta check the old school stuff.
these are the bands that i got into and got me into ska and are some of my favorites.
but man, check out the the smooth side and you will be changed.
aggrolites, slackers, westbound train, the beat, skatalites…all greats and will satisfy your need for horn play/instrumentals.
I am a huge Reel Big Fish and Catch 22 fan and this list has given a much wider view of many types of ska music it is a spot on list it is awesome!
sorry, but this list is sorely lacking. when getting into a new genre of music, everyone must start somewhere but you really should branch out from this handful of radio-friendly bands. here’s a few suggestions (that any real fan of ska knows) to get you started…
1st wave - the skatalites, toots & the maytals, desmond dekker, prince buster, justin hinds & the dominoes
2nd wave - madness, the specials, the english beat, bad manners, the selecter
3rd wave - the toasters, mephiskapheles, skankin pickle, the pietasters, the slackers
i could easily put together a list of 100 of my favorite ska tunes & never repeat a band. i’m not bragging - there’s that much good stuff out there. check it out.
This is a respectable list, but it does lack variety. I’m nearly positive that your brother hasn’t heard any MU330 yet, which is surprising for a Streetlight fan. But more importantly, he didn’t include an Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution which is even more surprising for someone who listens to Streetlight, being as they are in essence Streetlight Strings.
Take KP suggestions. All 3 waves of ska provide fantastic listening material. There are so many amazing ska bands you haven’t heard yet, some that have been around longer than you have been alive, lol.
OK REALLY!!!!!!! WAT THE HELL!!!! I thought this list was good til i noticed THERE IS NO SUBLIME!!!!!!!!
The Specials, Madness, The Toasters, The Selecter….?! Your list is bad and you don’t know what is real ska!
I 100% agree wit u twotone badass
WHERE ARE THE SPECIALS?
WHERE IS SUBLIME - SANTERIA?
Nice list but slightly lacking (The Specials)…
Stop your messin around!
I am the writer of this article and although a fair number of you are disappointed in my taste, as well as my variety of bands that i listen to (i hadn’t heard any sublime until after writing this list). A better name for this article would have been “top 50 third wave ska songs”. Since writing this article i have been exposed to a lot more bands (including a few of the 2nd wave). I’m sorry, my list would be a lot modified by now, but not as much as people say it should be.
the most terrible “ska” list i have ever seen.
most these song i didnt know i like the list after hearing them at least you took the time to put ur input on each song i wonder if any of theses ppl could actually list them and put the time to talk about each song LOL but do u know what band and song was used in the disney movie the luck of the irish if u know id really like to know or if u could find out ive been trying to find out since ive seen the movie way back when it came out which i think was 2002…it was on the chase scene
Looks like my comment will be a bit of a late one for this haha but I just gotta ask:
Where’s Madness, The Specials, The Beat, Bad Manners in all of this?!
I don’t know, maybe I just love those old legendary bands too much but I do agree with Jonny here, you did take the time to explain why these songs are your top 50 and everyone has their own opinions. Ah well, Lip Up Fatty. ;D
Umm yeah how do you forget MMBT?
This is an absolutely fantastic list. however it does lack 1st wave ska songs, its mostly modern ska. but either way i agree with almost all of this list.
great list. missing sublime and slow gherkin though
decent list, but wheres the mighty mighty bosstones, or the supervillains, or sublime, and big d & the kids table? if you make a list, collaborate with people to get a large range, not just ur selection
Any top top ska list not even mentioning the Jamaican and British bands is sorely lacking perspective. Its like creating a top 50 rock song list and missing the 50s and 60s songs.
vuuury nice!
hey brad where do u learn to play these tunes?
i know theres horntabs.net but is there another spot that has music on it?
Also, I would like to say that while I absolutely love the song “Every New Day” by Five Iron Frenzy and I think that it has AMAZING emotion shown, I don’t think that it is the most emotional Ska song. Have you ever heard “On Distant Shores” By FIF? I think that they show the most emotion I’ve ever heard in any punk/ska song hands down. On top of that, the final part of the song even comes from “Every New Day” as a kind of cool down verse at the end if that says anything about it. I love both of those songs with a passion though, so it’s all good.
How can “Dear Sergio” by Streetlight / Catch 22 not have made this list? Other than that, great list
hate to call everyone out on these comments but do you people even know what the hell ska is. not only has no one recognized long shot hero. all of you so called ska listeners have yet to mention mustard plug.
how could you not mention sublime or pepper 2 of the greatest ska bands ever. santeria is the greatest ska song of all time.
thank you brad! you truly do appreciate good music and good ska at that!
epic fail list
even in the 3th wave ska you could easily put a top 50 list without repeating any band !!
couldn’t have put it better myself
p.s. Alex - I don’t class Sublime as being ska, don’t get me wrong, I love them - they are my favorite band, also ‘Santeria’ is more reggae, wouldn’t you agree?
p.p.s - to everyone disagreeing with this list, this is one guys opinion, his own favorite ska songs, fair enough if you disagree, but keep that in mind - if we all loved the same music this world would be incredibly boring!
(sorry to post so many comments haha)
This list is absolutely amazing! (:
Good list and I do love the bands and songs but seriously lacking variety
I’m sorry to tell you this but if you think that all this crap has nothing to do with the real spirit of ska…
streetlight manifesto??thats a bunch o’ bologna man
If you want real ska, you’ve got to go to the origins
LAUREL AITKEN
THE SKATALITES
in the 80’s you’ve got THE SPECIALS
and the best United States SKA band there’s ever been THE TOASTERS
only 2 less than jake songs?!?
no save ferris??
what about no doubt, the tragic kingdom album was fab!
sublime?
voodoo glow skulls?
oreskaband?
the specials
i liked your list but it was like the same 4 bands back to back..
what a disappointing list…who ever made this knows nothing about ska and only knows about ska bands they saw on mtv. sad sad day i see this.
When I was searching for some ska songs on the net I was actually hoping to find the greatest original ska hits from the early 60s from the likes of desmond decker, skatalites, etc. When reading this list it became clear to me that the writer of the article didn’t have a clue what real ska is and labelled punk ska as ska which sickens me because its not the same, it murdered real ska music and it is offensive to the musicians who invented the genre. I’ve been reading the comments underneith as well and have read people saying, “where’s the real ska music? The likes of the specials/bad manners?” Now as much as I love 2 tone, I don’t classify that as the same genre as ska, I classify it as something influenced by a combination of ska, pop, rocksteady and british punk. I think people really need to do a lot more research in order to appreciate and respect the founding musicians more.
BOO!!!
Not a single Bosstones sont
Come on man, no Sublime? I know they are more on the punk side of ska but they should be mentioned. They pretty much brought life to ska.
I agree except for the streetlight manifesto stuff at the top of the list and no sublime? not pure ska but how can you not include them?
Making a list of the 50 best ska songs is almost impossible because there are so many good ones but you’ve done pretty well I’d say. I’ve heard all but 5 of these songs and I love all of them… But I don’t know if I think all of them are truly ska. Its kind of hard to argue what’s 3rd wave or not. I’d say there’s a few greats missing, but who has listened to EVERY ska song? Pretty good list overall though, keep listening to ska man!
Not a single song by The Suicide Machines? “Hey” should be in the top 10.
dude, MU330 deserves to be on this list
For some ska bands I appreciate:
the toasters
hepcat
the madness
voodoo glow skulls
mu330
the hippos
spring heeled jack
dance hall crashers
go Jimmy go
westbound train
There are others I really enjoy but I feel everyone else has talked about them and I don’t wanna be too repetitive. Look them up and broaden your horizons.
Basically every single song by Streetlight Manifesto should be on this list
I saw them multiple times live and WOW!
They blow your mind away…im lucky enough to have their autographs and what-not
Basically every single song by Streetlight Manifesto should be on this list
I saw them multiple times live and WOW!
They blow your mind away…im lucky enough to have their autographs and what-not
No 1st or 2nd wave songs. I like the effort and really like the songs on this list but it doesn’t quite make it. Only one RBF song, one Lily Allen song, nothing by No Doubt and Smashmouth
Free Nelson Mandela - AKA Specials
Freedom - Skatalites
Ghost Town - The Specials
The Impression that I Get - The M. M. Bosstones
Save Ferris - I’m Not Crying For You
Mustard Plug - Brain on Ska
Big D and The Kid’s Table - Shining
Operation Ivy - Sound System
Planet Smashers - Raise Your Glass
The Toasters - 2 Tone Army
Sublime - What I Got
A few to give consideration too.
Excellent choices, but way too narrow. You are totally overlooking the bands that these bands have emulated.
The Specials, The Beat, Madness, The Toasters, Fishbone, Bigger Thomas, Buck-0-Nine, Sublime.
Great list.
And, okay, seriously. I APPRECIATE Sublime as much as the next person but they are ENTIRELY overplayed. In fact, they aren’t very much ska. Just as new Green Day isn’t very much punk. Streetlight Manifesto is one of the greatest ska bands ever, but Sublime is a watered-down, pop-ified version of the genre.
Good list, but could use some more underground work. Perhaps its just a matter of background, since I’m very involved in the local ska scene in SD, but good list nonetheless keep it up.
what about the mighty mighty bosstones?
I can see the list, and it does include some great tunes, but Sublime is missing (btw Santeria is not ska, it’s Reggae-rock), songs such as Date Rape, or 54-46 that’s my number/ ball and chain. You have acknowledged that you haven’t mentioned first or second wave, although these were the golden days of ska (for me), although I do love third wave.It’s practically unheard of, but Drinkin’ is a great song (by RBF).
awesome list man, good to know skas still alive
What about all the classics like The Specials, Toots And The Maytals and Madness?
I don’t see any of them here.
Sorry but the best Ska song ever is French: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Aj9jYGsDw
Kangourou Nomade by Nomades & Skaetera
I can appreciate the effort you put into this list. It appears you’ve spent a lot of time on it. I’m assuming that since this posting your experience in the genre has grown, but just a bit of advice - if posting a list of this sort I think it would be much more valid if it had more variety. I wouldn’t list more than 2 songs from a particular band, and even then I wouldn’t do it very often.
Another point, just like people are condemning this list because it’s strickly 3rd wave, I can’t stand when people knock newer ska bands by saying only first wave is ska. That’s like saying that any rock band from the 70’s through now isn’t rock ‘n roll because it doesn’t sound like Bill Haley and the Comets. Come on, musical styles change and evolve; it’s not an offense to prior bands.
Some of my favorites include Desmond Dekker, Prince Buster, The Maytals, The Jolly Boys, The Dragonaires, Baba Brooks, The Wailing Wailers, The Paragons(check out Tide Is High, which was way before Blondie), Drudge Dread, The Ammonites, The Specials, Madness, Bad Manners, The Beat, The Gangsters, The Clash did some ska like songs, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Toasters, Bosstones. There’s a ton of additional good 3rd wave bands, and it looks like people mentioned quite a few but I’ll add The Skankaroos, I just heard of these guys a few months ago and they sound pretty good.
I think that the R&B spirit is dead in ska. Symarip and The Maytals, are the only famous bands of blues ska, one of the best ska styles, for this Skinhead Moonstomp and 54/46 are one of 20 best ska songs of all time. For me Get up Edina is the best, it have got an old but marvellous sound, because it’s nostalgic. The 21 best ska songs of all time for me:
-GET UP EDINA-DESMOND DEKKER
-OUR HOUSE-MADNESS (POP SONG, but SKA BAND)
-54-46 WAS MY NUMBER-TOOTS&THE MAYTALS
-RUDY A MESSAGE TO YOU-DANDY LIVINGSTONE
-ROYAL CHARLIE-CHARLIE ORGANAIRE
-CALAVERAS Y DIABLITOS-LOS FABULOSOS CADILLACS
-SKINHEAD MOONSTOMP-SYMARIP
-VERSION GIRL-DANDY LIVINGSTONE
-SAVE IT FOR LATER-THE ENGLISH BEAT (POP SONG, but SKA BAND)
-PENDULUM-THE TOASTERS
-THE GUNS OF NAVARONE-THE SKATALITES (LIVE VERSION)
-MA AND PA-FISHBONE
-BEER-REEL BIG FISH
-MARRIED GIRL-THE SLACKERS
-I’M NO DIFFERENT-WESTBOUND TRAIN
-I LOVE YOU-CLASH OF THE SKA TITANS
-ONE STEP BEYOND-MADNESS
-SUPER ORGY PORNO PARTY-THE PLANET SMASHERS
-FIRECRACKER-THE AGGROLITES
-SUFFERING STEREO-NO TORSO
-PROST!-THE PORKERS
There isn’t reggae, because in reggae, Pastorius’ versions of Marley’s songs are one of the best songs of all time. PASTORIUS POWER (BIRDLAND THE BEST JAZZ SONG)!!
—Sorry for my horrible english, but I’m from Catalunya—
LEMON 1460, I THINK LIKE YOU, BUT DON’T BE ABSOLUTELLY RADICAL, SOME SONGS OF SKA-PUNK ARE REALLY NICE, Beer/Reel Big Fish. I think the modern ska is for skinheads and not for ska lovers. Ska anti-commercial spirit is falling: pop, rock, funk, reggae, and now ska, Wich is the next style? JAZZ NO, PLEASE
The songs on this list are GREAT! I can’t believe you put “I Want More” as #1, it’s my favorite song, but I don’t know many people who feel the same. I have to agree with the other commenters though… No Bosstones?! What’s up with that?!
Mate i reckon ya done bloody good! I,m an OZZIE, thats right not OSSSSSIE as most from your country would pronounce it! Oprah just left here! I reckon none of the negative comments above are justified, i just heard I WANT MORE, and Thought it rocked! I grew up with selector specials etc etc, you took the time to make a list not like the other rude noddys! good on ya mate opened my world up to new styles! On xmsas day here also! Cheers! thanx fellas!
Everyone has a different 50 as well! So maybe they can make a top 500! I,d love to read that! I,ve always liked real big fish, and bostones! The bigger the band fatter the sound! More brass the better! If a singer can swap bands’ and do the impression that i get ” and its just as good, that tells ya something! I,m an all round guitarist/average singer/ but what music hasnt evolved and changed? to me if it sounds good then its ska! Just peoples different interpretations of it! I can remember not so long ago when R B was just that, not the other version thats on tv!
Great website fellas, we have some good stuff here also! What kind of a DINOSAUR is a LISTOSAURUS anyway? I once owned a Holden Torana! I named it TORANASAURUSREX! Thanx for the list fellas!
MERRY CHRISTMAS ALSO!
[...] two years ago on an old site of mine, he wrote a similar article that, according to Google Analytics, has been read 1.5x as often than all of the articles on Earn [...]
No Madness or The Specials……….it’s madness
Worst list ever. It makes me want to punch someone in the face. Nothing off Trojan, Two-Tone, Moon, Stubborn, etc. Absolutely awful.
Somebody should tell this guy there are more than 5 Ska bands out there. These bands are great, but why isn’t the list called “50 Best Streetlight Songs”
I love Streetlight Manifesto, they’re my favorite ska band. Good list, but i think you put too many of their songs on here. It needs more variety. It is you’re opinion though, so it really doesn’t matter.
Skatalites? The pioneers of ska? no?… just sayin
I believe that this selection is far too tame to represent the Godly Genre of Ska. I would recommend to anyone the geniuses that are The Cat Empire and Ska-P; as both of these beautifully bouncy, brilliant breath-taking bands are as wild as an army of flying turtles wearing rainbow-coulored capes.
SKAAAAAAAAA!!!
Everyone. This list. Is what this person believes is the Top 40 Ska Songs. If you don’t like it make your own. Don’t critisize his.
this list is pop ska. not ska. the reason he gets criticism is because it’s not the right genre most of the time.
you want original ska look no further than classic rock steady artists like the skatalites. they straight up invented the genre.
want a more punk/ska sound try operation ivy. absolute legends in the bay area ska scene.
less than jake makes the transition into pop/ska. fortunately at their concerts they play just about all hello rockview.
this list has lots of room for improvement. just like every other list ever made.
worst list I have ever seen I hope you rot in hell for all eternity
You don’t know many ska bands, you’ve just gone to see reel big fish and like their cover bands, it’s pretty much streetlight manifestos greatest hits.
Check out Jesse James, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sublime, The Specials, Madness………your list will probably change then.
This is a great list. I have heard of most of these artist and songs, but not all. I will have some music to listen to. Thanks for putting this up!
From the early 1990’s: Magadog–Monkey in the White House! Great tune. And no, it’s not referring to old Barry O’, either.
U miss so much great band such MMBS, Save ferris, Kemuri etc.
50 greatest ska songs since 2005 you mean
No Specials, Beat, Selecter, Toasters, Bodysnatchers not even third wave ska - DHC, Op Ivy
sheesh
I’ve gained a few good songs from this list, however you repeat bands a little too much for those looking to find new songs in this genre
I think you should have included more of a variety within the genre as well, lots of the songs are very similar, and you could take some of the punk side of things and mention songs like “Date Rape” by sublime or even some rancid along many others listed in your comments. But I did gain a couple good songs from here so thank-you.
When it comes to music everybody has a different preference and opinion, no ones is better than anyone elses.
Back to the 60s dude. Back to Jamaica. Please. Ska is Jamaican. Listen to the Skatalites. Desmond Dekker. Early Jimmy Cliff. Derrick Morgan. Buy a few albums, download, go to youtube, whatever. But please go back to the 60s.
I love RBF, Streetlight Manifesto, and Suburban Rhythm as much as the next guy, but seriously? No Mighty Mighty Bosstones? No old school ska? Don’t get me wrong, the songs on this list are great, but no way can you credibly claim to have a list of the Top 50 ska songs and not have Desmond Dekker, the Bosstones, the Skatalites, Sublime, or any of the Two-Tone ska bands. This is basically a list of “Top 50 third wave ska songs I’ve actually bothered listening to” than anything.
Yeah, I get that it’s an opinion, but this list is such a small representation of ska music.
Love this list. I was making my own list of my favorite ska songs. Oddly enough as I was cruising down I didn’t see my #1 anywhere until I got to the bottom. “I Want more” is pure genius the horn section and lyrics make this one of the top 10 SKA songs of all time IMO.
Ok, so I hadn’t heard any of those songs. Listened to a few- some a really good. But, more importantly, WHERE THE HELL IS THE BOMBSKARE, MIGHT MIGHTY BOSSTONES, THE TOASTERS AND MADNESS? YOU CRAZY FOOL!
No Big D and the Kids table?
No Mighty mighty bosstones?
No “We will fall together?”
Anyone else notice he critiqued every single song? Is he the Ska master?
:Facepalm:
Dude. You have to broaden your horizons a little bit. Streetlight and Suburban Legends are great, but they’re far too over-represented. This is a “best of” ska list. Where’s The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sublime, Pepper, No Doubt, The Toasters, The Specials and even Operation Ivy. I appreciate you enjoy a few ska bands, but c’mon, make it with more variety.
Hey! I liked this list. Streetlight is my favorite band of all times. Could have a little more variety but I like. Don’t listen to all the haters. Good suggestions though haters lol. I’m going to look up a lot of what I learned here!
[...] um tempinho que o blog Listosaurus Rex fez uma listinha com as top 50 melhores músicas de ska do mundo. Como hoje é dia de Sexta Ragga no MAMBO DRINKERIA e a gente vai tocar mucho desse ritmo [...]
your brother knows about 6 bands, he is a chump
Umm, If and when we rise again doesnt have any mozart in it. I dont know if this has been said but thats brahm’s 5th hungarian dance, not mozart, brahms
I’m a huge Streetlight fan, and I definitely agree with your assessment of “Here’s to Life” - that ending made that song for me. When I saw them live, they came back to play that for their (first) encore and it was amazing, that ending was. That and the drums (and bass) were mic-ed up ridiculously loud so that drum solo got 1768451 times more epic.
Aside from that, I’ve been looking for more ska music as of late and this list is going to be/has been of immense help!
Thank you much!
I think this is a great list. It is his “favorites” list, let him have his list of favorites
I gotta say…You have a very well put together list. I’d maybe rearrange a few of them to better suit my personal tastes, but I don’t think I’d add/remove much of anything, even taking all the other ska/punk bands not mentioned into account.
I mean, I like a lot of the other bands these other commentors are complaining about, but the groups like SM/Catch 22, Suburban Legends, and the Mad Caddies are pretty much the icons of modern Ska (and perhaps even spearheading a 4th wave).
So I’ll gladly give kudos to this list. It’s very well constructed and thought out, even if it is simply an opinion.