400. “Baby I Need Your Loving” – Four Tops
The Four Tops are consistently one of those bands that are right on my fence between good but forgettable and excellent and this song is no exception. It’s certainly catchy and soulful, and I can certainly understand the appeal, but is it really one of the 400 Greatest songs ever? No way.
Burnes’ Turns: No
Top 500 Consideration: No

399. “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” – The Temptations
Genius. Pure and simple. All it takes to make a great song is a spark of inspiration, and Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong nailed it out of the park with this masterpiece. This was The Temptations’ lead singer Eddie Kendricks’ last song as a part of the group, and what a sendoff it was. Even The Rolling Stones couldn’t improve it.
Burnes’ Turns: Yes
Top 500 Consideration: Yes

398. “Roxanne” – The Police
Any time I see a song by The Police, I automatically assume I’m going to hate it, but I was pleasantly surprised by this track about being in love with a prostitute. I’m still not ready to call this one of the greatest songs of all time, but it was definitely better than I expected.
Burnes’ Turns: Yes
Top 500 Consideration: Long Shot

397. “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John
I’m not the biggest Elton John fan, but there’s no doubt that he and his lyricist Bernie Taupin have crafted some truly excellent songs. This is one of them. John’s skills as a pianist take the forefront here, even if the Tiny Dancer that he sings about means nothing to him.
Burnes’ Turns: Yes
Top 500 Consideration: Yes

396. “I Know You Got Soul” – Eric B. and Rakim
This may be the worst song I’ve heard so far on this list. The mix is incredibly empty and the M.C. is about as monotonous as a blank wall. Considering how late it was released in the Hip-Hop fueled ’80s (July 1987, well after landmark releases from Run-DMC and The Beastie Boys) coupled with the fact that it didn’t even appear on the charts makes me seriously wonder how in the world it got on this list at all, much less higher than some of the classics we’ve already heard like “Fuck tha Police” and “Juicy.”
Burnes’ Turns: No
Top 500 Consideration: No

395. “Ohio” – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
I’m not a big fan of this song from a listening standpoint, but I love the message behind it; it was written to protest the murder of four protesters at the hands of The National Guard in 1970. Considering the current atrocities being committed against our Native American brothers and sisters at the time of this writing, I can appreciate it even more.
Burnes’ Turns: No
Top 500 Consideration: No

394. “Ticket to Ride” – The Beatles
I love The Beatles, but there is no denying that a lot of their music is way overrated. This is a great example. I like this song; it’s catchy enough. But to call it one of the greatest songs ever recorded (much less the first Heavy Metal song as John Lennon once claimed) is preposterous.
Burnes’ Turns: Yes
Top 500 Consideration: No

393. “Whipping Post” – The Allman Brothers Band
Like a good soldier, I listened to the 23-minute Live at Fillmore East version of this track as suggested by Rolling Stone. Honestly, the music in this is actually quite good. Duane Allman was one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and the majority of this recording is simply him soloing with a chorus from the original song thrown in every once in a while. But do I really want to listen to this for 23 minutes on a regular basis? Probably not.
Burnes’ Turns: No
Top 500 Consideration: No

392. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” – The Verve
Very strange song. Apparently it’s ripped off of an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time,” one of the first originals they ever cut. I’m sure the Stones’ version is better and would’ve much preferred that Rolling Stone included it over this.
Burnes’ Turns: No
Top 500 Consideration: No

391. “Tell is Like it is” – Aaron Neville
I love ballads like this, and Neville’s vocals here are great, but I’ve simply heard too many similar tracks to really appreciate this one for what it probably was upon its release.
Burnes’ Turns: No
Top 500 Consideration: No