1. Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Itt02QOO0 Though 'A Day In The Life' is widely held as the best Beatles song of all time, the deliriously charming 'Eleanor Rigby', with its haunting refrain and soaring strings easily deserves equal footing at the very least. Despite being held as one of the archetypal Beatles songs, 'Rigby' was a departure from the usual pop conventions, exploring themes of loneliness rather than love with a tragic sting in the tale, and perfectly exemplifies why the band were so widely popular. And who else would have recorded something as sad as this in the '60s? If it wasn't for their bravery - and McCartney's defiance of John Lennon's adamance not to include the final funeral lines - the entire culture of darker, more thoughtful music that came after the '60s might never have happened. Just don't try and listen to it on Spotify.