My Top 5 Favorite Songs
I'm feeling a bit ill today, so I'm going to cheat and bring back an old post from 2024. I had it up for a while, but I eventually unpublished it because my opinions slightly changed. I'm doing some rewrites, so this is technically a new post, just updated to fit my thoughts today.
When you ask someone what their favorite song is, you might not get a clear answer. It's often one of those questions that has lots of answers. It's hard to narrow down, and people usually associate many different songs with important memories, events, and feelings.
My personal favorite songs have changed a bit over the years but have mostly remained the same. Here are my top five songs as it stands now, with the caveat that these are subject to change in the future and I reserve the right to edit this and repost it!
Note: The links in the headings all lead to YouTube videos of the respective songs.
1. "Winter" by Tori Amos
I got into Tori Amos when I was in middle school, maybe around 13 years old. She's been a staple of my listening habits ever since. "Winter" has always resonated with me because it's about the love that parents have for their child, even after they've grown up and gone away, and I have a close relationship with my parents.
The chorus is a father asking his daughter, "When you gonna love you as much as I do?" Then, in the end, that chorus is turned back on the parent, asking the same question of them. It's just a beautiful, heart-wrenching song that never fails to give me chills, even after all these years.
2. "End of Small Sanctuary" by Akira Yamaoka
This is a short track, but I listen to it probably more than any other song in existence. It's so chill and calming, and it immediately puts me in a good mood. It transports me back to being a teenager and exploring the liminal mall in Silent Hill 3, a game that left a lasting impression on me because of Heather, the teenage protagonist who I thought was just like me. Good vibes, good memories.
3. "Downfall" by Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is my favorite band of all time, and this is my favorite song of theirs. I love Cristina's smooth vocals, Andrea's haunting backing vocals, and the epic guitar solo by Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge. It's my number one song for rainy days and just lying down in bed with my headphones on. It's melancholy but somehow therapeutic at the same time, the kind of song you can just wallow in for a while.
4. "Love Will Come to You" by Poets of the Fall
This song has an uplifting message and a soothing melody, and it never fails to make me feel better when I listen to it. It helped get me through a difficult time in my life, so it has special meaning to me, and it remains one of those songs that I can't skip when it comes up on shuffle. It's a healing song.
5. "Your Star" by Evanescence
The Open Door is one of my favorite albums of all time, and it's my favorite Evanescence album, despite the overall popularity of their debut, Fallen. I resonated with the lyrics of this song a lot when I was a moody teenager. I still love it for its haunting opening and trip-hop elements throughout. I think it's one of the most beautiful Evanescence songs, which is saying a lot because Amy Lee writes some gorgeous music!
There are so many more songs that I love and have meant something to me at certain points in my life, but these are the staples, the ones that I immediately go to in my mind when I think of my favorite songs. It may change in the future, but most of these have been my favorites for years, and I'm confident they'll always be with me.