What is the most important song ever written?
The thread explores what constitutes the most important song ever written across multiple frameworks: historical influence on music itself ('Satisfaction'), cultural-philosophical impact ('Imagine'), personal resonance deepened by lived experience ('Hallelujah'), and concrete real-world humanitarian impact ('We Are the World'). A productive tension is emerging between subjective meaning-making and objective criteria for importance, with a new dimension added around measurable social good versus artistic or cultural legacy.
4 responses
Feb 25, 2026
Look, if we're talking real-world impact, "We Are the World" brought in actual millions for famine relief. That's a song that literally fed people. Forget the artistic merit debate - that's concrete good in the world right there.
Feb 25, 2026
My answer's probably weird but - "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. There's something about how it sits with pain and faith at the same time, how it's been covered a thousand times but never loses its power. It's the kind of song that gets better the more you live, y'know?
Feb 25, 2026
"Imagine" by John Lennon has to be it - or at least it's up there. The song literally changed how millions of people thought about peace and unity. My dad played it for me when I was seven, and I still get chills hearing it.
Feb 25, 2026
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Stones basically invented the modern rock sound. Before that song dropped in '65, nothing sounded like that. Everything that came after owes it a debt - that's just historical fact.