10: New Divide - Linkin Park
This one is pretty cool. Although I haven't taken the time to really listen to it and interpret the lyrics, it's a powerful and epic song. It's inclusion in Transformers 2 was nice as well.
"I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me..."
9: It Ends Tonight - All American Rejects
I like the mixture of solemness and rock in here. AAJ is one of my favorite bands and this one is my favorite AAJ song by a small margin. It fits its subject well - finality. It's calm yet powerful. AAJ is one of the best modern rock bands.
"When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight."
8: Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
What a poem of a song. This is the definition of a "rock opera". With the mixture of heavy metal, a ballad, and amazing vocals by Freddie Mercury, this is one of the greatest songs of all time.
"Nothing really matters to me."
7: Faithfully - Journey
This is a song I got into recently, and I love it. This is quite a powerful power ballad. If I'm ever on the road going away from loved ones, I'll be singing this song. It's just got a perfect melody, and the guitar is powerful. I'm glad I discovered this one.
"I get the joy of rediscovering you."
6: M.I.A. - Avenged Sevenfold
We just left Iraq, but we're still in Afghanistan. Since we don't see the action, we don't think about the troops too much. But the stuff they go through is quite frankly, hell. Allow Avenged Sevenfold to create a blazingly powerful portrait of the horrors of war. If you were to just listen to the music, you could tell there's a vicious battle taking place. Although it sounds like your typical metal song about guns and killing, a closer look reveals that it's actually an accurate depiction of war. It sounds like some horrid fantasy, but it's reality. Also, I pin the "Best Guitar Solo I've Ever Heard" on this song.
"Staring at the carnage, praying that the sun will never rise..."
5: Unwell - Matchbox Twenty
We all have our quirks. Sadly, it's not exactly a free world out there. There's a magnifying glass on you, everyone's out to get you somehow. You just want to be yourself, but it doesn't seem like you can without some critiscm. You soon feel... unwell. Matchbox Twenty made a really catchy, well written (almost poetic) song about this. I can personally relate to this song. And along with the hours I clocked listening to this song as a child, I just love it.
"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell."
4: This is War - 30 Seconds to Mars
Another war song. Although I don't think the depiction of war in this song is as accurate as M.I.A., it's still an extremely powerful and epic rock song that covers why we must go to war. Without war, there is no peace. This song is about peace, suprisingly. Jared Leto lends his powerful vocals in a call for peace in an almost surreal song that makes your heart race. I love 30 Seconds to Mars and I love this song.
"To the right, to the left, we will fight, to the death!"
3: Her Diamonds/Someday - Rob Thomas
I tried to limit one song per artist, but I love Mr. Thomas' songs so much that I had to have more. I couldn't decide between Her Diamonds and Someday, so I tied them. Her Diamonds is a slightly dark song that talks about his wives' struggle with LUPUS, a disease that sometimes makes it painful to move. I talks about not only her struggles, but his. In this song, Rob expresses his poetic songwriting to the fullest and it flows so well. I really cannot describe how well this is done. As for Someday, same thing as Her Diamonds except this song is brighter and gives a message that a lot of people need: hope. Thanks, Rob Thomas.
"I sit down and I cry too, but don't let her see."
"You can start all over again."
2: Drift Away - Uncle Kracker
I know what you're thinking. What on earth? This song as number two? This choice is almost purely based on nostalgia. Drift Away was my fist favorite song that I remember and I never stopped listening to it. But there's more to it than that. Me and my best friend listened to this song all the time as children. He moved away recently. But when I listen to this song, I think about how simple it all was. Lord, I'm about to cry... But yeah, the song represents to me my childhood - no worries, laughter, fun - peace.
"Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll and drift away..."
1: Little Wonders - Rob Thomas
I do not know how to describe this. Rob Thomas does it again in the most poetic, soulful, and just EMOTIONAL song ever. It is just good... like everything in the universe is working in harmony when this song is heard. It does what it's supposed to - it makes you feel like you're at peace, harmony... This is the best song I've ever heard.
"Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulders, don't you know, the hardest part is over."