So, about a month ago, I was watching the Stanley Cup Final, being depressed and interested simultaneously. The absolute slaughter that was Game 5 was ending; there was about two minutes left on the clock, but there were stoppages often because of some of the shenanigans the players were getting into. And during those stoppages, the arena crew saw fit to play some songs. The crowd – pumped up from the 5-0 drubbing their team put on the Penguins – sang along to the songs played, often continuing during the action after the music had been shut off. I’m not a fan of the Red Wings, but that was a pretty cool event (click here to see what I’m talking about).

That got me thinking – there are some songs that people just love singing along to, that are just so iconic in that way that its hard NOT to sing along to them. So I decided to compile a list of the top ten (okay, eleven) songs that you sing along to, in my very personal opinion.

HM: Old Time Rock and Roll – Bob Seger

While this song was immortalized by Tom Cruise in Risky Business (and the subsequent Guitar Hero commercials), and it does have a certain amount of singability, it does not have that magical crowd feeling, the one that causes everyone to sing along to it. However, because it does cause people to turn up the radio, it deserves an honorable mention.

10. Twist and Shout – the Beatles

While this is technically a cover, what has been deemed as the “greatest rock performance ever” has overshadowed the original recording so much so that the Beatles’ rendition of this song deserves to be on the list. Being the song used in what might be one of the greatest crowd singing and dancing scenes in a movie ever (well, at least in my personal opinion) also helps – the construction worker who dances at the beginning of the clip wasn’t part of the movie, he just felt like dancing along to the song and the cameras caught that.

9. Rock and Roll All Night – Kiss

This song’s chorus encourages people to stay up all night to “rock and roll” and to do so every day – presumably trying to convert people into being nocturnal. That said, the extremely simple chorus, almost always preceded with some sort of encouragement (“I can’t hear you!”), just invites everyone to sing along, and definitely gets a crowd pumped up and ready to rock. The awesome alarm clock just makes it even more of a ready contestant.

8. YMCA – Village People

This is probably one of the most famous songs in the world, one that most elementary school kids know. Why isn’t it ranked higher? Well, I never said that people liked it. This song isn’t likely to be playing over your radio any time soon, nor is anyone likely to keep it at the station to sing along to the chorus and do those arm motions that are practically required when listening to the song. It has fallen into the “corny” category, so much so that it isn’t played unless at some family-friendly event.

However, the fact that everyone knows the chorus and the Y-M-C-A dance that goes along with it makes this song’s inclusion on the list necessary.

7. We Are the Champions – Queen

Without fail, when a team wins a championship (or even a division or conference, in some cases), the fans will start singing this song. And why not? It proclaims, “No time for losers ’cause we are the champions,” a sentiment that is perfect for rubbing in the faces of the losing team. This song is known world-wide, and the slow, not very vocally challenging ballad is perfect for crowds, like the Penguins Cup parade.

6. You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC

Imagine you’re at your high school dance. The lame DJ has been playing mediocre rap the entire night, and you are starting to get bored. But then the first few chords of the song blare over the loudspeakers, and the crowd of people born at least a decade after the song had debued starts cheering and singing along:

“YOU! SHOOK ME ALLL NIIIIIGHT LOOONG!”

And so AC/DC’s infectious chorus begins, inviting everyone within hearing distance to shout along, bobbing their heads while throwing up the horns. At this point, I’d try to link to some awesome video, but the awesomeness was never really caught well on Youtube. So here is the music video, which is one of my favorites.

5. Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi

Besides being one of the more playable songs on Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this song has also been a favorite of fans during the playoffs – “Ohhhhhhhh, we’re half way there-ere. OHH-OHH! LIVING ON A PRAYER!” It signifies hope, a challenge to go on, and has a completely shoutable chorus. Jon Bon Jovi’s insistence to sing/scream in the upper echelons of his vochal range, prompting drunken fans to do the same, helps the song as well. Just a great crowd song. According to youtube, it is also rather popular to sing on bus rides.

4. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

This song has immortalized Alabama in a way that nothing else has. Besides being made into a crappy movie featuring Elle Woods (or, you know, Reese Witherspoon), it has withstood the test of time and is still often played on radio stations across the country. Kid Rock even sampled it, to some success. But what makes it such an iconic song is the chorus (as most songs on this list), which not only imbues a country charm, but also features background singers that urge everyone to join in. And really, who can resist? Certainly not these folk (granted, this is in Alabama, but still).

3. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

“Just a city boy. Born and raised in SOUTH DETROIT! He took the midnight train going anywhere.”

Despite my utter perplexity as to why Detroit fans would love singing along to a song where the boy wants to be anywhere but Detroit, this song has proven to be one of the most popular songs to sing along to – especially in Detroit, but other places as well. But what is unique about Journey’s iconic song is the lack of a recognizable chorus to sing along to until the very end. This has caused the first verse of the song to become the singable part, and there are few experiences like hearing a group of people sing in unison, “Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world…”

The fact that this song has somewhat become a rallying point for fans during dire straits helps it immensely, as well.

2. Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

“Hand, touching hands. Reaching out, touching me, touching you! Sweet Caroline! BA BA BA! Good times never seemed so good. SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD! I’ve been inclined. BA BA BA! To believe there never would, oh now I…”

I am no Red Sox fan, but BoSox Nation has made this old, slightly sappy Neil Diamond song into one of the top songs to sing along to of all time. The extra lyrics, shouted as loudly and drunkenly as possible, makes the song what it is. While it is unofficially owned by the Red Sox, virtually anybody can play the song (except for perhaps the Yankees) and get the same level of drunken participation. Except for, apparently, at Jonas Brothers concerts, because I assume that 11 year old girls have no idea who Neil Diamond is (that one girl who shouts the “SO GOOD” part is my hero, even though she was a a Jonas Brothers concert).

1. We Will Rock You – Queen

There really is no other choice for the number one spot – I challenge you to come up with one. Queen’s rock anthem has become so recognizable that two beats into the song, most of the crowd has already picked up the iconic stomp-stomp-clap beat. Hell, even ancient Rome was able to get into it. While the verses of the song are largely ignored, the recitation of the chorus is mandatory, especially when sung as loud as possible – “WE WILL, WE WILL, ROCK YOU!”

To commemorate all these songs, I made a playlist on YouTube, which you can find here. Or, you know, the embedded player below.

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