Favorite Songs of 1997

For most of my favorites from 1997, I listened to an alternative rock station, 97.7-WRRX “97X” and a mainstream rock station, 103.7-WRUF “Rock 104”. I was also, at this time, heavily into listening to the first four studio albums by The Who, recorded from 1966-1968. My favorite album was their third, The Who Sell Out, with the best tracks being I Can’t Reach You, Relax, Sunrise, and Rael. Also, The Good’s Gone, from their first album The Who Sing My Generation, is my all-time #20 favorite song. I also bought Collective Soul’s album Disciplined Breakdown, and regard it as their best work. Here’s my list for 1997:

Precious Declaration (Collective Soul)
Maybe (Collective Soul)
Giving (Collective Soul)
Naked Eye (Luscious Jackson)
Casual Affair (Tonic)
Criminal (Fiona Apple)
Deadweight (Beck)
Everything To Everyone (Everclear)
Fly (Sugar Ray)
Four-Leaf Clover (Alba Moore)
The Girl I Love (Led Zeppelin)
How Bizarre (OMC)
Lakini’s Juice (Live)
The Big Time (Neil Young)
Lovefool (Cardigans)
The New Pollution (Beck)
Push (Matchbox 20)
A Change Would Do You Good (Sheryl Crow)
Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind)
The World Tonight (Paul McCartney)
Sunny Came Home (Shawn Colvin)
Everlong (Foo Fighters)
Sweet Surrender (Sarah McLachlan)
Taste Of India (Aerosmith)
Tubthumping (Chumbawamba)
Volcano Girls (Veruca Salt)
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone (Paula Cole)
You Were Meant For Me (Jewel)
Your Woman (White Town)
Bittersweet Symphony (Verve)
Brick (Ben Folds 5)
The Good’s Gone (The Who) [from 1966]
I Can’t Reach You (The Who) [from 1967]
Relax (The Who) [from 1967]
Sunrise (The Who) [from 1967]
Rael (The Who) [from 1967]

Precious Declaration, at the beginning of 1997, was my favorite. But as the year wore on, I became captivated by Luscious Jackson’s beautiful harmonizing in their catchy tune Naked Eye (which was my top favorite for 1997). The Foo Fighters put out an emotionally gut-wrenching tune in Everlong. Paul McCartney came out with his best tune in decades (and possibly ever as a solo artist) in The World Tonight. Sheryl Crow’s A Change Would Do You Good was a relentless, funny song containing some great lines. Sunny Came Home was a beautifully sung tune by Shawn Colvin (why haven’t I heard anything else by her?). My all-time favorite Beck song came out this year in Deadweight. And the tearjerker of the year award goes to old-time rocker Neil Young with his slow, sweet, and long ballad The Big Time.