#TwitterList: 30 Album-Opening Songs

First impressions are important. There's no going around that. And in music, the equivalent of the first impression is an album's first song. So, when you want people to pay attention to your album and, eventually, buy it, you have to pick it wisely. Track #1 will have to be good enough to make your listeners stay for the whole thing. Musicians know that, and there are so many legendary opening songs to legendary albums, as well as lesser-known ones. We have picked 30 that we love dearly, without ranking.

(As posted for the #AlbumOpeningSongs Twitter challenge which ran throughout November 2022.)

1. Tindersticks - "Another Night In" (Curtains, 1997)

I was going to start with another song, but I just came back from my first live show in 3 years and this huge favourite of mine was performed, strings and all. So beautiful.

2. Joy Division - "Atrocity Exhibition" (Closer, 1980)

From the first time I heard this, the jaw-dropping, mesmerising percussion grabbed me. But everything on this song is just sheer genius.

3. Low - "Sunflower" (Things We Lost in the Fire, 2001) Among many incredible openers ("Gentle", "White Horses", "Monkey" spring to mind) I'll go with the first Low song I heard and which made me fall in love with them.

4. Neil Young - "Tell Me Why" (After the Gold Rush, 1970) My favourite Neil Young album and what an opening trio of songs it has! This one always stays in my mind for days.

5. Paavoharju - "Pimeänkarkelo" (Laulu Laakson Kukista, 2008)

Music that sounds like it comes out of a chest in a haunted attic, from another world. It actually comes from two ascetic Christian brothers from Finland.

6. The Velvet Underground & Nico - "Sunday Morning" (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967) One of the best albums of all time, and it opens with a timeless classic. Perfect for this rainy Sunday morning.

7. Depeche Mode - "Never Let Me Down Again" (Music for the Masses, 1987)

8. Grandaddy - "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" (The Sophtware Slump, 2000)

The first song that sprang into my mind when @tansleyjames announced this challenge. Almost 9 blissful minutes, opening a masterpiece.

9. David Bowie - "Space Oddity" (Space Oddity, 1969)

It boggles the mind that he even thought of this in 1969. It still sounds just as chilling 53 years later. What else can one say that hasn't been said?

10. Massive Attack - "Safe From Harm" (Blue Lines, 1991)

This classic was one of the first albums I got when my listening preferences started expanding beyond guitar music, and this song was my joint favourite w/ Unfinished Sympathy.

11. Nick Drake - "Time Has Told Me" (Five Leaves Left, 1969)

This album has so many incredible songs, and its opener is definitely one of them.

12. Daft Punk - "One More Time" (Discovery, 2001)

This and Aerodynamic are quite a spectacular one-two punch to open an album. Particularly this absolute monster of a dance tune, with an iconic video to match its ambition.

13. Pixies - "Debaser" (Doolittle, 1989)

When you open your album with one of the most instantly recognisable riffs in rock music history, you can't really go wrong.

14. Bjork - "Army of Me" (Post, 1995)

It was difficult to decide which of her openers to pick, but in the end, this modern classic won. Intense and menacing. You wouldn't want to mess with her.

15. Spiritualized - "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" ("Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space", 1997) An epic song opening a stone-cold classic of an album.

16. Goldfrapp - "Lovely Head" (Felt Mountain, 2000)

This song was also in my favourite songs of the 2000s list. Cinematic and chilling at the same time. When you open your debut album with a song like this, people will pay attention.

17. Mercury Rev - "Holes" (Deserter's Songs, 1998)

It was hard to decide between this and "The Dark Is Rising" which I also love. I think it was the horns that did it. Not to mention that it opens an incredible album.

18. Suede - "So Young" (Suede, 1993)

I'm going with the song that got me into the band. The hooks, the guitars and THAT piano never fail to give me chills.

19. The Beta Band - "Dry the Rain" (The 3 EPs, 1998)

Couldn't omit this beast of a tune. It may have made them, unfairly, look like one-hit wonders, due to the infamous High Fidelity scene, but it's such a superb and uplifting song.

20. Scott Walker - "Farmer in the City (Remembering Pasolini)" (Tilt, 1995) It was hard choosing between this and "It's Raining Today", but I chose to go with the more mature, dramatic Scott Walker. An immense piece of music.

21. Chemical Brothers - "Block Rockin' Beats" (Dig Your Own Hole, 1997) It took me 3 listens to appreciate this but it opened up my ears to the possibility that yes, music can be exhilarating even if there's no melody whatsoever.

22. Asian Dub Foundation - "Naxalite" (Rafi's Revenge, 1998) Hard to resist an album that starts with a song that goes off like a bomb in your ears. A killer riff and merciless beats, and you're suddenly shouting along and dancing like mad at the same time.

23. Dubstar - "Stars" (Disgraceful, 1995) I've loved this song for years, and music Twitter made me realise that it was in fact far more popular than I thought. I'm really glad because it's a pretty much perfect slice of yearning pop.

24. Cocteau Twins - "Blue Bell Knoll" (Blue Bell Knoll, 1988) My favourite CT song, with a gorgeous melody and that harpsichord-like keyboard being the perfect vehicle for Elizabeth Fraser's voice.

25. Bat For Lashes - "Glass" (Two Suns, 2009) A gorgeous song that signalled Natasha's leap from hopeful young artist to fully-formed musical entity and is still one of her best songs.

26. The Beatles - "Come Together" (Abbey Road, 1969) It was hard to pick between some legendary songs, but this wins because it opens my favourite Beatles album.

27. Robert Wyatt - "Sea Song" (Rock Bottom,1974) I discovered this late-ish (circa 2008) through BBC6 and was awestruck from the first time I heard it. And the rest of the album is equally amazing.

28. Nick Cave & Bad Seeds - "Do You Love Me?" (Let Love In, 1994) Another huge artist with many legendary openers. I picked this one because it was the first of his songs that I loved and perfectly showcases most of what he's so good at.

29. Boney M - "Ma Baker" (Love For Sale, 1977) I was born in 1976 and my parents bought this album (and the 2 after it) when it came out. I literally grew up with this song. Definition of a TUNE and totally impossible not to dance to!

30. Radiohead - "Airbag" (OK Computer, 1997) I love "Bloom" pretty much equally, but this is the better opener. It's a major achievement of a song with stratospheric self-confidence. and opens my favourite consecutive 25 minutes in pop music, and a masterpiece.