Top Ten Cover Songs

What makes a good cover? I think the best covers come when an artist takes a song and transforms it into a whole new creation while still maintaining the essence of the original. A kickass cover song adds to the original and causes you to appreciate the original even more.

A quick disclaimer: this top ten list does not include any Spotify singles covers or YouTube videos. I am going to do a separate top ten Spotify singles, and I’ve included some YouTube videos below. I will also do another list for Triple J's Like a Version. Drop your favorites in the comments.

I thought about just doing I’m a Believer by Smash Mouth ten times but decided against it.
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One last disclaimer: This list includes a lot of recency bias.

10. The Book Of Love by The Airborne Toxic Event (Original by Peter Gabriel). I’m not sure why I love this song so much. It’s probably the hopeless romantic inside of me that has somehow survived a brutal last decade of my love life. But I think the story he tells at the beginning of this song is great and adds to his performance. I love how each verse changes instrumentally and the lack of instruments on the last verse gets me every time. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the books, but it just does it for me every single time.

​9. Time After Time by Iron & Wine (Original by Cyndi Lauper). First and foremost, let me say that Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper slaps. It is a certified banger of a song. You cannot change my mind on this. The original is dope. This cover by Iron & Wine just adds to the song. It turns the song from a typical 80s, synth-based bopper of a song to a slow acoustic love ballad.

​8. Free Fallin’ by John Mayer (Original by Tom Petty). I am including this on this list because (1) it is an objectively great song and cover and (2) John Mayer played a significant part of my teenage music discovery. I remember Ed having an argument with Shannon Rogers during one swim practice about whether or not the John Mayer version was better than the original by Tom Petty. I will give Ed an opportunity to recant that right now. Ed, please leave a comment regarding your current 2021 take on which version of Free Fallin’ is better. To be clear, I am not judging you one way or the other for your circa 2010 take.

​7. Black Hole Sun by Brandi Carlile (Original by Soundgarden). I have recently become a huge fan of Brandi Carlile. I absolutely loved her 2018 album, By The Way, I Forgive You. I don’t even know why she released this cover now. I know in the past she did it in concert as a tribute to Chris Cornell. Regardless, the song is amazing. This is the kind of matchup you want for a cover. A singer known for a certain kind of style and crossing over into a completely different genre and in the process knocks it out of the park. The second chorus will straight up give you chills. This song makes you wonder whether Brandi Carlile could really have been successful doing whatever genre she wanted.

​6. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (Original by Corinne Bailey Rae). Salt Lake City legend Ritt Momney released this single in peak quarantine last year and it put him on the map. He’s got a pretty cool background as to why he decided to cover the song. If you haven’t already, go check out his other stuff. He unapologetically does what he wants in his music and doesn’t let any norm or genre define his music. The cover itself an upbeat, electronic version that respects the original while revitalizing it in a whole new way.

​5. Under Control by Rostam (Original by The Strokes). I don’t think I have ever heard a cover besides Johnny Cash’s hurt give the original song more of a different twist more than this song. This song takes on a whole new meaning as Rostam slows it down, making it a slow piano jam in contrast to The Strokes’ version.

​4. The Modern Leper by Julien Baker (Original by Frightened Rabbit). If you have not listened to Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight, stop everything right now, and go listen to it. In 2018, Frightened Rabbit’s lead singer, Scott Hutchison took his own life. Though originally designed to celebrate 10 years of The Midnight Organ Fight, the album Tiny Changes is now a tribute to Scott Hutchison and a portion of the proceeds of the album goes to a charity of the same name. The album is full of incredible covers from The Midnight Organ and will make you think about mental health in a different light. Also, remember when I said going quiet on instrumentals after a full chorus does it for me every time? Well, here it is again.

​3. The Man Who Sold The World by Nirvana (Original by David Bowie). Okay this is one of those that I am sad to admit that I actually had no idea this was a cover for a very long time. I have huge gaps of music knowledge. I blame my parents because despite being teenagers in the 70s, they didn’t really listen to much music. But I’m 28 now. Any gaps of music knowledge I have are solely my fault at this point. This is a great cover all around. The iconic guitar lick, Kurt Cobain’s vocals, all of it.

​2. A Change Is Gonna Come by Los Coast, Gary Clark Jr. (Original by Sam Cook). When I said there was recency bias, I was mostly referring to this song. I featured this as one of the blog’s first Fresh Finds. Its message just seemed really pertinent and powerful to come out in the midst of so much social change and turmoil in our country.

​1. Hurt by Johnny Cash (Original by Nine Inch Nails). I featured this song as a part of my Top Ten Sad Songs to Listen to When You’re Sad. Near the end of his life, Johnny Cash recorded a couple albums of pure covers with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The combination of this song and the video that won the 2004 Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. I really don’t know how I can really do this song justice. Just watch the video. If don’t immediately have a semi-existential crisis following, you might not have a heart or soul. Other great songs he covered on these cover albums he did are “I won’t back down” and “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.”

Honorable Mentions:
Moon River by Frank Ocean
Ivy by Car Seat Headrest
Hold On by Madison Cunningham
Come Talk To Me by Bon Iver
John My Beloved by VERITE
I’m on Fire by The Staves (see also by Soccer Mommy)
Skinny Love by Birdy

Other Covers only found on YouTube: