At first, I wanted to create a list with the top 10 most favorite songs. But only ten out of millions of songs out there? Is this a futile attempt? Absolutely! Who knows how many songs should be in the Top 10? No, it’s not 10. So, I am just adding without counting. Obviously, trying to limit myself; otherwise I would add hundreds of songs. Who knows how many songs I have missed! Anyway, I am adding these songs in no particular order but I will try to categorize them based on language–Bangla, Hindi/Urdu, English, Other languages, and an honorable mention regardless of the language.
This is a list of my all-time favorite songs; songs I have liked years ago and kept liking. Therefore, there are not many new songs. Before adding the newly released songs, I would like to see how long they last in my mind. That would be a different list, some other day. These are songs that touched somewhere deep in my heart and soul. I do not get tired of these songs.
I hope that many of these songs are already familiar to you. If not, then my suggestion- do not listen to all the songs on the same day. No one will be able to properly appreciate all the songs at the same sitting. Take your time and enjoy.
Bangla
Amar Aponar Cheye Apon Je Jon
Lyrics and Music: Kazi Nazrul Islam; Singer: Anwesha
If you don’t know Nazrul (1899-1976), here is a small attempt to introduce him. He is the national poet of Bangladesh. His songs range from dear affection to wild revolution. His songs were covered by many artists, this version is by Anwesha. This song is about the longing experienced by the person, in search of their lover.
Mor Ghum Ghore Ele Monohor
Lyrics and Music: Kazi Nazrul Islam; Singer: Anuradha Paudwal
Allow me to add another Nazrul song in the list. I had to. His songs are super difficult to sing. Somehow, that’s part of the appeal. When done properly, it’s magic.
Mayabono Biharini
Lyrics and Music: Rabindranath Tagore; Singer: Chinmoy Chatterjee
If you don’t know Rabindranath (1861-1941), here is a small attempt to introduce him. He got a Nobel in literature. The national anthem of both Bangladesh and India was written by him. His songs talk about complex emotions you have only felt but never talked about, never could express. This particular one talks about loving from a distance. His songs were covered by many artists, this one by Chinmoy Chatterjee.
Gohono Ghono Chayilo
Lyrics and Music: Rabindranath Tagore; Singer: Sreekanto
This is a song for the rain and storm. This is a more classical melody (called Raag) than modern melody. This is Megh-Malhar Raag (Cloud Melody). There will be a few more Malhar-based songs in this list. To be honest, I can fill up this list with all Nazrul, Rabindra, A R Rahman, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan songs. They are some of my most favorite musicians, I suppose. But their other songs are for you to discover.
Ami Tomakei Bole Debo
Lyrics and Singer: Sanjeeb Choudhury; Music: Bappa Mazumder; Band: Dolchut
In this soft melody, a person is describing his anguish.
Chiltey Rodey
Lyrics: Shahana Bajpeyi, Music and Singer: Arnob
This song is about remembering a loved one on a lazy afternoon when the suburb is lit with golden sunlight. He remembers her but cannot tell her that he is missing that person.
Chithi
Lyrics, music, and singer: Moushumi Bhowmick
This song is about two people living on opposite sides of the world. One of them is writing a letter (Chithi in Bangla) to the other person, sharing updates. A lot of people who know about Moushumi Bhowmick, know her for another song Ami Shunechi Sedin Tumi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZt_VPyLLrc.
Porojonome Hoyo Radha
Lyrics and Music: Unknown (Guessed to be Radharomon Dutta); Singer: Paban Das Baul
The love story of Krishna and Radha is a mythological one. They could not be together. This song is sung from Radha’s perspective – Radha is asking Krishna to be born as Radha in the next life so that he can feel a woman’s anguish. No one really knows who wrote this traditional folk song or composed it. Radharomon Dutta is a guess only. Perhaps, he wrote a variation of it. Many people sang it. I love this version by Paban Das Baul the most.
Hindi/Urdu
Ye Haseen Waadiyan
Lyrics: P K Mishra; Music: A R Rahman; Singer: Chithra and S P Balasubramanyam
This is from a movie called Roja (1992). The music was composed by A R Rahman. If you don’t know about him, then here is a small attempt to introduce him. His music in Roja was so new that the whole industry was stunned. All songs from this movie are great. The songs created a new genre – “The A R Rahman Genre”. No one could put it in any other bucket. His music is also defined as slow-burn. Because it is so new that, for some people, the ear rejects it first. But when you are a bit more familiar with it, it refuses to leave your head. He got Academy and Grammy awards for Slumdog Millionaire. But those who know his repertoire, know that Slumdog is not even among his Top 20 works.
Dola Dola
Lyrics: Mehboob; Music: A R Rahman; Singer: Srinivas and Swarnalatha
It’s a love song. The lyrics are absolutely fantastic, describing the first moments of love. How it feels when someone expresses their love, it’s like a test and you’re waiting for the result.
There is another song from the same movie, with the same music director, Ae Nazneen Suno Na –
Some people like this one better. This one describes the beauty of his lover.
Unke Andaz-e-Karam
Lyrics: Peer Naseeruddin Naseer; Music, additional lyrics, and Singer: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997)
This is the best heart-break song I have ever listened to. It’s a Qawali. For people who don’t know, Qawali is a musical genre built on classical melodies and practiced primarily in the North-West part of the Indian subcontinent. I think that the Qawali concerts are THE BEST CONCERTS out there. The feeling created in a Qawali Concert (called Mehfil) is unparalleled. And Nusrat is called the Shahenshan-E-Qawali (Emperor of all the Emperors of Qawali) and no one disagrees. It’s kind of unanimous. He died only at the age of 48, but his repertoire is immortal.
In this song, the lyrics are very emotional, describing unfulfilled love. On top of that, the pain Nusrat’s singing evokes is just heart-wrenching. For Bangla speakers, I translated this song in Bangla. You can listen to it here – Unke Andaz-e-Karam Bangla.
As I mentioned, I can just keep listing his songs in this list, but I will leave those for you to discover. However, I will add one more in the Other language category (Punjabi), and two more in the honorable mentions. Can’t help it.
Pyaar Kiyaa to Darnaa Kyaa
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni, Music: Naushad, Singer: Lata Mungeshkar
Composed for the film Mughal-E-Azam (1960). It’s an iconic song. There is probably no one born after 1960 who did not hear about this song. Fantastic lyrics about showing the courage to declare their love at the face of an opposing world. The video was a feat on its own. For that time, nobody went further to make a music video so majestic. All the songs in this movie are fantastic.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya; Music: Pritam; Singer: Arijit Singh
It’s an intense love song. The passion in this song is unpalpable.
Sajni
Lyrics, music, and singer: Jal (Band)
Jal is a Pakistani Band. This is also a romantic song where he is waiting for his loved one to come.
Teri Deewani
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Kailash Kher
This amazing song mixes love and spirituality. It talks about losing oneself and becoming one with the loved one, and how love finds a way amid all the world’s troubles.
English
Mystery of Love
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan made this song for the movie “Call Me By Your Name”. Brilliant movie, brilliant musical score. Soul-touching. It touches how bittersweet love is in the beginning, joy mixed with sadness.
There is another song from the same movie, called The Visions of Gideon, also made by Sufjan.
It portrays a melancholic reflection on lost love. It blends themes of memory, nostalgia, and the finality of a relationship.
Scarborough Fair
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Simon and Garfunkel
This is an English folk song, recreated by Simon and Garfunkel. It was used in the movie “The Graduate”. It is about unrequited love. The singer asks his lover to complete a series of impossible tasks and only then she will become “the true love of mine”. There is another version by Celtic Woman. I think this woman can stop a war with her voice.
They have another song in the same movie, called the Sound of Silence.
It’s also super beautiful. Art Garfunkel described it as a song about the inability of people to communicate, love, or truly listen to one another.
May it be
Lyrics: Roma Ryan; Music and Singer: Enya
This heavenly song is composed for the movie Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring (2001). It plays while the end credits roll. And people in the theater just could not get up and leave because of how beautiful this song is.
Rocky Road to Dublin
Lyrics and Music: Irish Folk Song; Singer: The High Kings
It’s an Irish folk song. Even though I don’t have a single Irish blood in my body, it feels like this is my song, a song of my people. Such is the power of good music that transcends the borders of countries, languages, and ethnicities. There are many versions of this song. Here is another version, used in the movie Sinners.
The movie starts with this quote – “There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death, conjuring spirits from the past and the future. In ancient Ireland, they were called Filí. In Choctaw land, they called them Firekeepers. And in West Africa… they’re called Griots. This gift can bring healing to their communities… but it also attracts evil.” I am not surprised that this movie chose this song (among others) to prove the point. This song does connect the past and the future.
Set Fire To The Rain
Lyrics, Music, and Singer – Adele
To me, Adele is one of the finest singers of our time. Only her vocal range could capture the pain in this song.
Home
Lyrics: Drew Pearson and Greg Holden, Music and Singer: Phillip Phillips
Phillip was the winner of American Idol in 2012. He sang it in the finale. This song is about shedding all your worries and settling down. It’s rare that you hear a song and imagine a music video and it matches perfectly. This is one of those rare occasions. I also recommend his song “Gone Gone Gone”.
Take me to Church
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Hozier
Hozier is the voice of our time. This song is brilliant. He talks about how the church’s view is narrower than human emotions. Ironically, the church has taken this song as a hymn and they sing it without understanding the point.
Numb
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Linkin Park (Band)
This heart wrenching song, made by the band Linkin Park, talks about how a person has had enough and will not surrender to their partner’s whims anymore.
Beyond The Invisible
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Enigma (Band)
I remember this song from my early childhood. My uncles used to listen to Enigma. I rediscovered this song when I was 17 or 18, and stayed with me since then. It’s such a timeless song, such a modern classic!
A Deal with God: Running Down That Hill
Lyrics, Music, and Singer: Kate Bush
This song is about reducing the distance with someone you love. It got immensely popular when it was used in the Netflix show Stranger Things. But I learned about her from another show called The Handmaid’s Tale. They used her song Cloudbusting, a few years before Stranger Things. That is also an amazing song. Highly recommended.
Other Languages
Miya ki Malhar
Lyrics: Unknown/Multiple, Music: Miya Tansen
This is in Awadhi language. People who speak Hindi and Bangla, can understand most of it. Malhar is a rain melody. This variation is called Miya ki Malhar (Miya’s Malhar) because it was created by Miya Tansen, about 500 years ago. Many artists performed it. This Coke Studio Pakistan version is just one variation. A little bit about Coke Studio here – It started as a platform for fusion music. There are many Coke Studios now in different languages but when people hear about Coke Studio in general, they think about Coke Studio Pakistan. But did you know that Coke Studio first started in Brazil?
This song has three singers for three stages of a storm. It starts with wind and light thundering in the first act, then starts drizzling in the second act, and storm rages violently in the third act.
Jhol
Lyrics and Singer: Maanu, Annural Khalid; Music: Maanu, Xulfi
Another Coke Studio Pakistan creation. This song is in Punjabi and Saraiki language. The couple here is expressing their love for each other. But there is a distance between them that they can’t seem to cross. At first, this song seems good. But after two-three months, suddenly this song just refuses to leave the brain. It happened to me and many other people I know.
Rangabati
Lyrics: Traditional folk (unknown), Mitrabhanu Guintia, Laxmikanta Mohapatra; Music: Unknown, Balakrushna Dash, Tony Sebastian (rap), Rajesh Radhakrishnan (rap); Singer: Sona Mahapatra, Tony (rap), Rajesh (rap), Rituraj Mohanty
Most of the song is in Odia (pronunciation: Oria, language of the Indian State Odisha) language but the rap part is Tamil. This is produced in Coke Studio India. The first part before the rap, sung by Sona Mahapatra, is a very old (nobody knows how old) traditional Odia folk song, and its creator’s name is lost in time. The rap section in Tamil language is written and composed by Tony and Rajesh. And finally, it ends with the state anthem of Odisha, written by Laxmikanta Mohapatra over a hundred years ago (1912), composed by Balakrushna Dash, and sung here by Rituraj Mohanty.
Nit Khair Manga
Lyrics: Badar Al Ansari; Music, additional lyrics, and Singer: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
It’s a love song, written in Punjabi language. But it is also like a prayer. He is asking god only one thing – to always keep his lover safe. The desire to be with the person is intense. But that desire is surpassed by the prayer to keep that person safe and free from all misfortunes.
Bratja Brothers
Music: Michiru Oshima
It’s from a Japanese Anime called Fullmetal Alchemist. But the language is Russian. Why? That’s a long story, for another day. This song is serene and calming. The story is about two brothers gifted in Alchemy who lost their mother, and commit a cardinal sin of Alchemy by trying to bring her back. This anime (especially the second but original version, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is one of the finest forms of entertainment.
L’Amour est Bleu
Lyrics: Pierre Cour, Music: André Popp, Singer: Vicky Leandros
This French love song has a very soothing melody.
Now We Are Free
Lyrics and Singer: Lisa Gerrard; Music: Hans Zimmer
The language is a made up language called “idioglossia” or the “language of the Heart,” created not for speaking, just for singing. It uses vocal sounds to convey emotions. That’s why this song does not have a translation. I could just as easily put this in the instrumentals category, it would not have mattered.
Honorable mentions
Amar Porano Jaha Chay
Lyrics and Music: Rabindranath Tagore, Singer: Indrani Sen
Another Rabindra song in Bangla. It’s a love song.
Fourth of July
Lyrics, Music, Singer: Sufjan Stevens
This superb heart-breaking song Sufjan wrote for his mother. She was a bipolar, schizophrenic, who died really early in cancer. This song is a conversation with his mother. The chorus is from his mother’s point of view.
Him and I
Lyrics, Music, Singer: G-Eazy and Halesy
The lyrics are alright. But the music is deep.
JRR Tolkien Vs GRR Martin
Artist: Epic Rap Battle
This youtube channel creates battles between prominent figures (some historical, some current). This one is my favorite. There are many amazing ones. I would recommend watching Che Guevara Vs Guy Fawkes as well.
If you know the backgrounds or their history, it’s more funny. They have a website where they explain each line in the rap battle.
Tum ek Gorakh Dhanda Ho
Lyrics: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Farrukh Ali Khan, Niaz Khialvi. Music and Singer: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
This song, written in Urdu language, puts God in a witness box, saying that his actions don’t make any sense. Some actions are good, some are bad, some are contradictory. This qawali is 30 minutes long but the time just flies.
Afreen Afreen
Lyrics: Javed AKhtar; Music: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; Singer: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Momina Mustehsan
This one just describes the beauty of his lover, and this is probably the best song for a lover’s description. Composed by Nusrat and sung by Nusrat’s nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Ghanan Ghanan
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar, Music: A R Rahman, Singer: Various artists
This is another Malhar (rain) melody. It’s from the hindi movie Lagaan (2001). The movie was amazing, nominated for Oscars as well. Highly recommended. In this song, the villagers rejoice because the clouds are gathering which will enable them to sow seeds and grow food. They are celebrating in the hope of a bountiful year.
Breathless
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar, Music and Singer: Shankar Mahadevan
As the title says, the song seems breathless, sung in one breath without stopping (however, obviously it was not sung in one breath). The singer Shankar Mahadevan sang in multiple long stretches. The songwriter once said that THIS is what AI cannot create, because AI can only create something similar to what has been done before. THIS has never been done before.
I hope, you enjoyed this. Share your list of most favorite songs in the comment below. If you are still looking for more good music, I also made a list of My Most Favorite Instrumental Music. Making this list was way easier.
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Even now, I don’t know how many other songs I have missed and should have been in this list. I will, probably, edit this list from time to time.