What's the best opening track ever? We asked and listeners responded with roughly 800 picks, posted on our blog and via Twitter.
On this edition of All Songs Considered, we gathered a crew to play the best songs that kick off albums. These are often game-changers, from Frank Sinatra to Gang of Four. Join host Bob Boilen as he chats with Tom Moon, author of 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, and Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein as they look at what an opening track can mean.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
1 of
— Entertainment
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2 of
— Cover for Shake Some Action
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3 of
— Stained Class
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4 of
— Cover for Saturation
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5 of
— Cover for Nefertiti
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6 of
— Cover for In the Wee Small Hours
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7 of
— Cover for Let It Bleed
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8 of
— Cover for Purple Rain
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9 of
— More Songs About Buildings and Food
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10 of
— Cover for Country Life
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11 of
— Cover for Lou Reed
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12 of
— Cover for Led Zeppelin III
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13 of
— In the Court of the Crimson King
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![Cover for Highway 61 Revisited [Remastered]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/60a4378/2147483647/strip/true/crop/200x123+0+38/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fmusic%2Fprograms%2Fasc%2F2010%2F06%2Fhighway61cvr-533ac38f681556b51915c901eb00699130da2529.jpg)
14 of
— Cover for Highway 61 Revisited [Remastered]
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