100 songs that everyone should know, according to artificial intelligence

Technology

By Kieran Galpin

11 September 2024

With help from ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence, we have compiled a list of 100 songs that absolutely everyone should know and listen to.

Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence is here and it’s not going anywhere. From the upcoming iOS 18 update that will bring AI to the forefront of the iPhone, to theories that you will one day be able to talk to dead relatives, it’s slowly making its way into almost all areas of our lives.

The ‘I listen to everything’ trend began on TikTok

As all great things do, the “I listen to everything” trend started on TikTok as a way to address those people who claim they have the most varied music choices. We all know one, and if you don’t, it’s probably you.

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A general complaint about the trend was that many of the songs seemed to be pulled straight from popular radio stations. They were almost always pop, with a few classic rock and roll tunes thrown in for good measure.

But that’s where ChatGPT comes in, which we used with the prompt: “List 100 songs that everyone should know with no repeats. Feature as many genres as possible and popular international tracks.”

For 10 rock classics that you should know, ChatGPT chose:

Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
Hotel California – Eagles
Imagine – John Lennon
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses
Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
Let It Be – The Beatles
Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix

On to what AI deems as essential listening for pop fans:

Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
Like a Prayer – Madonna
Hey Jude – The Beatles
Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
Rolling in the Deep – Adele
Toxic – Britney Spears
Shape of You – Ed Sheeran
I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
Dancing Queen – ABBA
Superstition – Stevie Wonder

ChatGPT didn’t forget about you R&B fans

Next up was R&B, which ChatGPT combined with Hip-Hop despite the grey area in between and the number of songs that could be considered for other genres.

Still, the artificial intelligence put forward:

Lose Yourself – Eminem
Juicy – The Notorious B.I.G.
Alright – Kendrick Lamar
No Scrubs – TLC
Crazy in Love – Beyonc� ft. Jay-Z
Gold Digger – Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx
Gin and Juice – Snoop Dogg
Hotline Bling – Drake
Fight the Power – Public Enemy
The Message – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Next up was jazz and blues, a genre that was famously birthed by Black communities of New Orleans, Louisiana. ChatGPT chose:

What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Take Five – Dave Brubeck
Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday
Feeling Good – Nina Simone
Summertime – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
At Last – Etta James
So What – Miles Davis
Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles
The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King
Cantaloupe Island – Herbie Hancock

For classic soul and Motown, the top picks were:

What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
Respect – Aretha Franklin
My Girl – The Temptations
I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Super Freak – Rick James
Heard It Through the Grapevine – Gladys Knight & the Pips
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Stevie Wonder

Americans love their country music, so you should know these

For arguably America’s most famous genre, ChatGPT suggested listening to:

Jolene – Dolly Parton
Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
The Times They Are A-Changin – Bob Dylan
Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash
Man in Black – Johnny Cash
Crazy – Patsy Cline
The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
Coal Miner’s Daughter – Loretta Lynn
Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan

Next up on your “I listen to everything tour”, we’ve got classical music, which is shown to improve your mood. ChatGPT said:

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 – Ludwig van Beethoven
Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy
The Four Seasons: Spring – Antonio Vivaldi
Canon in D – Johann Pachelbel
Ave Maria – Franz Schubert
Requiem: Lacrimosa – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Nocturne in E-flat Major – Fr�d�ric Chopin
Eine kleine Nachtmusik – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Moonlight Sonata – Ludwig van Beethoven
The Nutcracker Suite – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Global hits, which included international hits from the likes of South Korea and Mexico, the AI said:

One Love – Bob Marley & The Wailers
Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) – Shakira
La Bamba – Ritchie Valens
Volare – Domenico Modugno
Hips Don’t Lie – Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean
Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers
Gangnam Style – PSY
Macarena – Los del R�o
Despacito – Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee
The Girl from Ipanema – Jo�o Gilberto & Stan Getz

Film soundtracks were also featured on ChatGPT’s list of music

Some of the most recognizable songs were originally featured in enormous blockbusters, think Topgun’s Danger Zone or All Star from Shrek.

When asked to provide 10 songs from movie soundtracks, ChatGPT suggested:

My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion (from Titanic)
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor (from Rocky III)
Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees (from Saturday Night Fever)
Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds (from The Breakfast Club)
Over the Rainbow – Judy Garland (from The Wizard of Oz)
Circle of Life – Elton John (from The Lion King)
Take My Breath Away – Berlin (from Top Gun)
Moon River – Audrey Hepburn (from Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston (from The Bodyguard)
Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head – B.J. Thomas (from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

Last, but certainly not least, was what the AI referred to as “Influential Alternative and Indie Tracks”, which we take to mean songs that broke into the mainstream.

Top picks included: