One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel

TOP TWENTY-FIVE

My personal top twenty-five list.

1. Summer, Highland Falls
(Turnstiles) (1976)
(Songs In The Attic (1981) (live)

2. Vienna
(The Stranger) (1977)

3. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
(The Stranger) (1977)

4.  New York State of Mind
(Turnstiles) (1976)

5. Only The Good Die Young
(The Stranger) (1977)

6. Miami 2017
(Turnstiles) (1976)
(Songs In The Attic) (1981) (live)

7.  She's Right On Time
(The Nylon Curtain) (1982)

8.  Famous Last Words
(River of Dreams) (1993)

9. Rosalinda's Eyes
(52nd Street) (1978)

10. Say Goodbye To Hollywood
(Turnstiles) (1976)
(Songs In The Attic) (1981) (live)

11.  She's Always A Woman
(The Stranger) (1977)

12.  Sleeping With The Television On
(Glass Houses) (1980)

13.  Piano Man
(Piano Man) (1973)

14.  The Entertainer
(Streetlife Serenade) (1974)

15.  Where's The Orchestra
(The Nylon Curtain) (1982)

16. And So It Goes
(Storm Front) (1989)

17. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
(River of Dreams) (1993)

19. Through The Long Night
(Glass Houses) (1980)

19.   The Ballad of Billy The Kid
(Piano Man) (1973)
(Songs In The Attic) (1981) (live)

20.  Blonde Over Blue
(River of Dreams) (1993)

21. Captain Jack
(Piano Man) (1973)
(Songs In The Attic) (1981) (live)

22.  Until the Night
(52nd Street) (1978)

23. Souvenir
(Streetlife Serenade) (1974)

24. Big Shot
(52nd Street) (1978)

25. Just The Way You Are
(The Stranger) (1977)

Honorable Mentions: She's Got A Way, Everybody Loves You Now, Stiletto, Zanzibar, You May Be Right, It's Still Rock and Roll To Me, Closer To the Borderline, Allentown, Goodnight Saigon, A Room of Our Own, Easy Money, Keepin' The Faith, The Night Is Still Young, A Matter of Trust, Getting Closer, The Downeaster Alexa, Leningrad, When In Rome; Air: Dublinesque.

In December 2014, Newsday's Glenn Gamboa put out a list of the top fourteen Billy Joel songs, in an online article featuring great photos. The top fourteen were:

1. New York State of Mind (Turnstiles) (1976)
2. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant (The Stranger) (1977)
3. Piano Man (Piano Man) (1973)
4. Only The Good Die Young (The Stranger) (1977)
5. She's Always A Woman (The Stranger) (1977)
6. Big Shot (52nd Street) (1978)
7. Summer, Highland Falls (Turnstiles) (1976)
8. Vienna (The Stranger) (1977)
9. Goodnight Saigon (The Nylon Curtain) (1982)
10. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) (1993)
11. It's Still Rock and Roll To Me (Glass Houses) (1980)
12. We Didn't Start The Fire (Storm Front) (1989)
13. The Longest Time (An Innocent Man) (1983)
14. Miami 2017 (Turnstiles) (1976)

In December 2012, Rolling Stone polled readers asking them to rank Billy Joel's best songs. The number one song was "Piano Man." The complete top ten was:

1. Piano Man (Piano Man) (1973)
2. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant (The Stranger) (1977)
3. New York State of Mind (Turnstiles) (1976)
4. Only The Good Die Young (The Stranger) (1977)
5. Captain Jack (Piano Man) (1973)
6. Vienna (The Stranger) (1977)
7. Just The Way You Are (The Stranger) (1977)
8. We Didn't Start the Fire (Storm Front) (1989)
9. Summer, Highland Falls (Turnstiles) (1976)
10. Goodnight, Saigon (The Nylon Curtain) (1982)

YouTube Playlist of Top 25

Amazon.com preview of my top twenty-five.

Amazon.com Widgets

"Piano Man" was Billy's first hit, reaching #25 on the charts. Released in 1973.

"The Entertainer" reached #34 on the charts in 1974.

"She's Always A Woman" charted in 1977 and again in the UK in 2010.

Billy's first song to hit number 1 on the charts was "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" released in 1980.

"She's Right On Time" from the Nylon Curtain (1982).

"And So It Goes" from Storm Front was a modest hit (1989).

"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" is one of Billy's most popular ballads (1993).

Billy has been on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1980, 1982, 1986 and 1989 (above).

In March 2013, Vulture put out a list of the top twenty "forgotten" Billy Joel songs that "haven't been played to death." They are, in chronological order.

1. Tomorrow Is Today
2. Travelin' Prayer
3. Somewhere Along The Line
4. Los Angelenos
5. Souvenir
6. All You Wanna Do Is Dance
7. I've Loved These Days
8. Everybody Has A Dream
9. Vienna
10. Zanzibar

11. Sometimes A Fantasy
12. All For Leyna
13. Where's The Orchestra
14. Christie Lee
15. This Night
16. Running on Ice
17. Modern Woman
18. Storm Front
19. No Man's Land
20. The Great Wall of China

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