Top 7 Rush Songs
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Top 10s and lists
Forum Description: List all your favourites here
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=134124
Printed Date: January 22 2025 at 01:14
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Topic: Top 7 Rush Songs
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Subject: Top 7 Rush Songs
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 09:06
Hold Your Fire because Hey Presto, all the Signals indicate it's time for a Top 7 Rush songs poll as 2025 fast approaches, but let's jump ahead to 2112, the title of Rush's fourth album and the album which led to their big breakthrough in North America, leaving many other bands tailing behind in the wake of their Vapor Trails. When it comes to the Snakes & Arrows of outrageous fortune, Rush are without doubt the most successful Canadian band of all time (and maybe even the best-known Heavy Prog band this side of the twin Hemispheres) and one of the most respected bands amongst their Counterparts in the rock fraternity, where All the World's a Stage. And so, with that said, it's time for me to Exit Stage Left again in preparation for an on-Rush of votes (hopefully).  Simply list your Top 7 Rush songs in order of preference below and then I'll assign points to your listings as per usual:- 1st song - 12 points 2nd song - 8 points 3rd song - 6 points 4th song - 4 points 5th song - 3 points 6th song - 2 points 7th song - 1 point Starting with my Fly by Night Top 7 rankings (an unreliable guide to the best Rush songs)  1. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (12 points) 2. The Spirit of Radio (8 points) 3. Working Man (6 points) 4. Tom Sawyer (4 points) 5. Time Stand Still (3 points) 6. La Villa Strangiato (2 points) 7. Subdivisions (1 point) |
Replies:
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 09:50
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I've never really gotten Rush's music under my skin. Not enough to feel qualified to make a list. It's funny, I own nine or ten* of their albums - all their classics 1976-1985 + a couple of later ones. But I haven't listened to any of them in full more than once. I do love Xanadu, Cygnus X-1 (hey that's over half of A Farewell to Kings right there, maybe I should get re-aquainted with the reamining half), Subdivisions and well a lot of their early Hard n' Heavy Rockin' songs - such as Bastille Day, Anthem and Working Man. The latter three from albums I do not own. I guess while I'm willing to defend them as a Progressive Rock band, I personally prefer them in a more straight forward power trio mode. Similar to me having a preference for plain, "meat and potatoes Metal" with awesome riffs over Progressive Metal. Whenever I seek complexity, I tend to look elsewhere. *bought in an era where you could get all of the classic Rush, Yes, Genesis etc... LP's practically for free. |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 10:53
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Quite hard to choose. I'll pick one per album and for today, it's. 2112 La Villa Strangiato Tom Sawyer Xanadu Freewill Between the Wheels Subdivisions |
Posted By: Big Sky
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 11:29
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1) Xanadu 2) La Villa Strangiato 3) Red Barchetta 4) Jacobs Ladder 5) The Weapon 6) YYZ 7) The Trees Just missing: Spirit of the Radio, Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions and Manhattan Project. |
Posted By: Floydoid
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 12:27
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1) ... 2) ... 3) ... 4) ... 5) ... 6) ... 7) ... ------------- Is it any wonder that the monkey's confused? |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 13:01
You're not a Rush fan then.
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Floydoid wrote:Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: December 29 2024 at 13:06
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Obviously very difficult, but I'll go with these old friends.  Here Again Cygnus X-1 Book I:Hemispheres Fountain of Lamneth Something for Nothing Circumstances Anthem What You're Doing ------------- ...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell" |
Posted By: Octopus II
Date Posted: December 30 2024 at 02:44
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The Spirit Of Radio 2112By-Tor and the Snow Dog La Villa Strangiato Tom Sawyer Working Man
Subdivisions |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 30 2024 at 22:57
So tempting just to pick the seven tracks from Moving Pictures  . Anyway..1) Tom Sawyer 2) YYZ 3) Freewill 4) Xanadu 5) Subdivisions 6) Jacobs Ladder 7) Red Sector A only one track from the seventies but Xanadu represents everything about that era I love about them. 80's Rush is where it's really at for me and mainly those first 4 albums.
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Posted By: Bonnek
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 04:27
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1. Subdivisions 2. YYZ 3. Xanadu 4. La Villa Strangiato 5. By-Tor & the Snow Dog 6. Vital Signs 7. Cygnus X-1
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 06:34
Your Top 7 looks very much like mine, only in a slightly different order.
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Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 06:47
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La Villa Strangiato Subdivisions Camera Eye Jacob's Ladder Marathon Afterimage Xanadu Very hard to choose from a career & discography that spreads close to 4 decades. Tomorrow i could create a totally different list. |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 07:22
In that case I'll wait until tomorrow before I add your points on.
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Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 08:31
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Natural Science Cygnus X-I Book II Cygnus X-I Xanadu Jacob's Ladder 2112 The Camera Eye I'll go with that.... if you'd had asked the 15 year old Jared, then Signals and GUP would have featured more prominently but they don't get played as much these days... ------------- Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson |
Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 08:33
It's funny, my fave song of theirs has always been Natural Science, but it's not in your Top 7! ------------- Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 08:42
Like i said, choosing 7 Rush songs is quite difficult, as they never released anything bad. They released 19 studio albums + their covers album. Plenty to choose from.
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Posted By: Floydoid
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 08:42
I couldn't possibly comment. ------------- Is it any wonder that the monkey's confused? |
Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 08:45
I think he's just posted my Ayreon page for me! ------------- Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: December 31 2024 at 09:34
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The Top 7 Rush songs after nine rounds of voting:- 01. La Villa Strangiato (38 points) 02. Xanadu (31 points) 03. Subdivisions (26 points) 04. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 05. 2112 (22 points) 06. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (21 points) 07. The Spirit of Radio (20 points) 08. YYZ (18 points) 09. Cygnus X-1 (17 points) 10. Jacob's Ladder (13 points) 11. Natural Science (12 points) 11. Here Again (12 points) |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 04:09
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^ 'XYZ' BTW 'YYZ' (the actual title) was airport code for Vancouver or Toronto which is where they got it from.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 04:36
It just goes to show how much I know about Rush songs.
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 07:36
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My knowledge is relatively limited, but I've revisited various Rush-songs in the last couple of days. Love these: 1 Xanadu 2 Subdivisions 3 Jacob's Ladder 4 Cygnus X-1 5 Working Man 6 Anthem 7 Bastille Day |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 07:42
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Top 7 update with Saperlipopettel's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (43 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (38 points) 03. Subdivisions (34 points) 04. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 05. 2112 (22 points) 06. Cygnus X-1 (21 points) 06. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (21 points) 08. The Spirit of Radio (20 points) 09. Jacob's Ladder (19 points) 10. YYZ (18 points) 11. Natural Science (12 points) 11. Here Again (12 points) 13. Working Man (11 points)
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Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 08:02
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Top 7 but..... Xanadu Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres La Villa Strangiato Freewill Camera Eye Red Barchetta Natural Science ....so many more I could have listed ------------- We all dwell in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain. My face IS a maserati |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 08:16
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Top 7 update with Jeffro's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (55 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (44 points) 03. Subdivisions (34 points) 04. Cygnus X-1 (29 points) 05. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 06. 2112 (22 points) 07. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (21 points) 08. The Spirit of Radio (20 points) 09. Jacob's Ladder (19 points) 10. YYZ (18 points) 11. Natural Science (13 points) 11. Freewill (13 points) 13. Here Again (12 points) 14. Working Man (11 points) |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 08:18
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1. Xanadu 2. Witch Hunt 3. The Camera Eye 4. La Villa Strangiato 5. Second Nature 6. Jacob's Ladder 7. Halo Effect ------------- 
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 01 2025 at 08:30
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Top 7 update with Someone Else's votes added 01. Xanadu (67 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (48 points) 03. Subdivisions (34 points) 04. Cygnus X-1 (29 points) 05. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 06. 2112 (22 points) 07. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (21 points) 07. Jacob's Ladder (21 points) 09. The Spirit of Radio (20 points) 10. YYZ (18 points) 11. The Camera Eye (16 points) 12. Natural Science (13 points) 12. Freewill (13 points) 14. Here Again (12 points) 15. Working Man (11 points) |
Posted By: Steve Wyzard
Date Posted: January 02 2025 at 09:24
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1. La Villa Strangiato 2. The Analog Kid 3. Chemistry 4. Natural Science 5. Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres 6. Jacob's Ladder 7. The Fountain of Lamneth
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 02 2025 at 09:36
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Top 7 update with Steve Wyzard's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (67 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (60 points) 03. Subdivisions (34 points) 04. Cygnus X-1 (32 points) 05. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 06. Jacob's Ladder (23 points) 07. 2112 (22 points) 08. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (21 points) 09. The Spirit of Radio (20 points) 10. YYZ (18 points) 11. Natural Science (17 points) 12. The Camera Eye (16 points) 13. Freewill (13 points) 14. Here Again (12 points) 15. Working Man (11 points) |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: January 02 2025 at 15:17
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01. La Villa Strangiato 02. Xanadu 03. Working Man 04. Cygnus X-1 (AFTK) 05. 2112 06. Cygnus X-2 (Hemis) 07. By-Tor and the Snow Dog Anthem, Something For Nothing, Natural Science, Camera, YYZ, Passage to Bangkok . ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 02 2025 at 16:05
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Top 7 update with Sean Trane's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (75 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (72 points) 03. Cygnus X-1 (36 points) 04. Subdivisions (34 points) 05. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 05. 2112 (25 points) 07. Jacob's Ladder (23 points) 08. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (22 points) 09. The Spirit of Radio (20 points) 10. YYZ (18 points) 11. Working Man (17 points) 11. Natural Science (17 points) 13. The Camera Eye (16 points) 14. Freewill (13 points) 15. Here Again (12 points) |
Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: January 02 2025 at 16:33
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1. Xanadu 2. The Spirit of Radio 3. The Camera Eye 4. Red Barchetta 5. 2112 6. La Villa Strangiato 7. The Analog Kid |
Posted By: mellotronwave
Date Posted: January 02 2025 at 17:11
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1. Subdivision 2.Red Sector A 3.Natural Science 4.Jacob's lader 5.Camera eye 6.Witch hunt 7.The Enemy within |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 00:59
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Top 7 update with Mathman0806 & Mellotronwave's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (87 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (74 points) 03. Subdivisions (46 points) 04. Cygnus X-1 (36 points) 05. 2112 (28 points) 05. The Spirit of Radio (28 points) 07. Jacob's Ladder (27 points) 08. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 08. The Camera Eye (25 points) 10. Natural Science (23 points) 11. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (22 points) 12. YYZ (18 points) 13. Working Man (17 points) 14. Freewill (13 points) 15. Here Again (12 points) |
Posted By: Hector Enrique
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 02:09
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It's very difficult to choose only 7 songs, here's my list: 1. Xanadu 2. By-Tor & and the Snow Dog 3. Cygnus X-1 Book II 4. Natural Science 5. Here Again 6. 2112 suite 7. The Camera Eye There are too many songs left out (Working Man, A Farewell to Kings, The Spirit of Radio, La Villa Strangiato, Mission, The Pass, etc, etc and etc) ------------- Héctor Enrique |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 02:29
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Top 7 update with Hector Enrique's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (99 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (74 points) 03. Subdivisions (46 points) 04. Cygnus X-1 (42 points) 05. 2112 (30 points) 05. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (30 points) 07. The Spirit of Radio (28 points) 08. Jacob's Ladder (27 points) 08. Natural Science (27 points) 10. The Camera Eye (26 points) 11. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 12. YYZ (18 points) 13. Working Man (17 points) 14. Here Again (15 points) 15. Freewill (13 points) |
Posted By: A Crimson Mellotron
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 02:56
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Seeing that I haven't answered this poll (as I had the King Crimson one ), let me try to get my top 7 Rush songs down:1. Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres 2. Caravan 3. The Camera Eye 4. YYZ 5. Jacob's Ladder 6. La Villa Strangiato 7. Clockwork Angels
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Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 03:04
something like that ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 03:32
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Top 7 update with A Crimson Mellotron & Bj-1's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (102 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (84 points) 03. Cygnus X-1 (66 points) 04. Subdivisions (46 points) 05. The Camera Eye (34 points) 05. Jacob's Ladder (34 points) 07. 2112 (30 points) 07. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (30 points) 09. The Spirit of Radio (28 points) 09. Natural Science (28 points) 11. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 12. YYZ (22 points) 13. Working Man (17 points) 14. Here Again (15 points) 15. Freewill (13 points) |
Posted By: Gentle and Giant
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 06:57
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01. La Villa Strangiato 02. YYZ 03. Cygnus X-1 04. Working Man 05. By-Tor and the Snow Dog 06. Here Again 07. Freewill ------------- Oh, for the wings of any bird, other than a battery hen |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 03 2025 at 07:05
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Top 7 update with Gentle and Giant's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (102 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (96 points) 03. Cygnus X-1 (72 points) 04. Subdivisions (46 points) 05. The Camera Eye (34 points) 05. Jacob's Ladder (34 points) 07. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (33 points) 08. 2112 (30 points) 08. YYZ (30 points) 10. The Spirit of Radio (28 points) 10. Natural Science (28 points) 12. Tom Sawyer (25 points) 13. Working Man (21 points) 14. Here Again (17 points) 15. Freewill (14 points) |
Posted By: Jaketejas
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 22:26
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1. Xanadu (best heard in a continuous unbroken sequence preceded by Broon’s Bane and The Trees on Exit Stage Left) 2. Freewill (so many seamless time signature changes and each part smoothly transitions, culminating in a complex combined bass / guitar solo … and Geddy hits some vocal pitches that rival Mariah Carey) 3. The Spirit of Radio (nice guitar riff intro and pure positive energy) 4. Tom Sawyer (this is driven by percussion grooves and fills) 5. Subdivisions (nostalgic synth lines) 6. Limelight (interesting quirky punchy guitar riff trading off with lovely arpeggiated minor chord voicings and a dynamic guitar solo) 7. The Big Money (hear Geddy play intricate bass lines while singing … how can you leave it off the list?) |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 09 2025 at 01:15
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Top 7 update with Jaketejas' votes added:- 01. Xanadu (114 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (96 points) 03. Cygnus X-1 (72 points) 04. Subdivisions (49 points) 05. The Camera Eye (34 points) 05. Jacob's Ladder (34 points) 05. The Spirit of Radio (34 points) 08. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (33 points) 09. 2112 (30 points) 09. YYZ (30 points) 11. Tom Sawyer (29 points) 12. Natural Science (28 points) 13. Freewill (22 points) 14. Working Man (21 points) 15. Here Again (17 points) |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: January 19 2025 at 15:13
| I'm amazed 2112 is rated so low. Definitley my favourite of their songs. |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: January 19 2025 at 16:57
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 20 2025 at 02:21
yep there is not much of a points difference between places 5-12.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 20 2025 at 02:41
I noticed you haven't yet voted, so if you were to place the 2112 album at the top of your list, that would bump it up to 5th place in the overall Top 7.
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Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 09:51
I'm one of those rare Rush weirdos who doesn't get moved by 2112. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it and appreciate its significance to the band. I rarely listen to it. I'd much rather listen to Caress of Steel than 2112. ------------- We all dwell in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain. My face IS a maserati |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 10:06
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 10:51
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My top 7 for today....... 1. Xanadu 2. Camera Eye 3. La Villa Strangiato 4. Jacobs Ladder 5. Tom Sawyer 6. Subdivisions 7. Natural Science -------------   
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 10:55
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"Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" blows "2112" away! ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 11:14
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Top 7 update with Catcher10's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (126 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (102 points) 03. Cygnus X-1 (72 points) 04. Subdivisions (51 points) 05. The Camera Eye (42 points) 06. Jacob's Ladder (38 points) 07. The Spirit of Radio (34 points) 08. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (33 points) 09. Tom Sawyer (32 points) 10. 2112 (30 points) 10. YYZ (30 points) 12. Natural Science (29 points) 13. Freewill (22 points) 14. Working Man (21 points) 15. Here Again (17 points) |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 13:41
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My Top 7 for the moment. 1. The Big Money 2. Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres 3. Limelight 4. Distant Early Warning 4. Driven 5. Subdivisions 6. Vital Signs 7. Freewill ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 15:32
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Top 7 update with Verslibre's votes added:- 01. Xanadu (126 points) 02. La Villa Strangiato (102 points) 03. Cygnus X-1 (80 points) 04. Subdivisions (54 points) 05. The Camera Eye (42 points) 06. Jacob's Ladder (38 points) 07. The Spirit of Radio (34 points) 08. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (33 points) 09. Tom Sawyer (32 points) 10. 2112 (30 points) 10. YYZ (30 points) 12. Natural Science (29 points) 13. Freewill (23 points) 14. Working Man (21 points) 15. Here Again (17 points) |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 16:53
I wish I could count as well as you ( and I'm an accountant)
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Posted By: Jaketejas
Date Posted: January 21 2025 at 22:50
| That’s a solid list! I love Vital Signs. Big Money moving up. I really wanted to include Distant Early Warning, New World Man, and Broon’s Bane / The Trees as well. So many great songs. |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 22 2025 at 00:33
Drats! Foiled again! ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: January 22 2025 at 00:39
Awesome to see a song from Test for Echo in the list.
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 22 2025 at 00:44
I love that song. Paul, if you have to kick one (due to a clerical error, lol), you can drop "Freewill." ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |