What is Pink Floyd's Greatest Song?

I already replied pretty much the same thing before I read this comment. They say great minds think alike. Fortunately many of us appear to have great minds.

@Davo Aha! A Gentleman of quality! 👏

True. 👍

Absolutely. All is right with the world looking at it that way.

That is the perfect response for Pink Floyd music!

Key word... "subjective".

the music's good but the vocals are painfully soppy

Omg it is mine also.

yooo same

Is in my top five, actually 2nd to Comfortably numb

Second favorite for me. Wish you were touched my soul in ways comfortabley numb never could.

David Gilmour's incredible mind-bending solo at the end of this song is what pushes it to the top all by itself.

I am with u

Ditto. But in truth.they created so many timeless cuts that I couldn't do it in 5 songss.

@Geoffrey Currie it was meant to be played and flipped and played. The best albums, think Sticky Fingers, are sequenced in a perfect order.

like one long song

Agree . It could be argued that the best song is dark side of the moon , fully

@Fabio HCwas meant to be looked at, listened to as one long piece divided into pieces. It helps to know what rattled them and set them on this course.

@MikeHF cheers

The version on pulse….has no pulse.

amazing song, i do think its way overplayed though.

I literally had the same thought. The Wall is my favourite album but Time is the Epitome of great Pink Floyd songs.

Yeah it’s a clear winner for me, and I’d even argue it’s one of the best songs ever written

Agree with my heart and soul. Lyrics are profound and are relevant for an eternity.

I agree.

For me CN is musically better but Time is over-all better because it's lyrics are effing amazing like you said. I agree with you "Time" is the best Pink Floyd song and to me it's the best song ever :D

The entire album start to finish is unbelievable

@Mikey Roberts I thought you were going to tell the story of him showing up during the recording of the Wish You Were Here album, shaved head and gaunt, looking nothing like the shining diamond of a man he was as the band leader just a few years before. Crazy story.

It's quite the composition. The band was in the studio recording the song which of course is about Syd Barrett. He was the brilliant, charming, witty, good looking young artist who started as front man for Pink Floyd. There was a party going on where he was slipped a huge amount of LSD. He was also in the early stage of schizophrenia. It is thought by most who were close to him that these conditions flipped the switch off in his brain. It is said that when he looked at you, rather than seeing his normal brilliant, charming, mischievous, almost child like demeanor, that his eyes were like "black holes in the sky", as described by the lyrics of Roger Waters in Shine On You Crazy Diamond. It's so sad how his mind transformed so darkly, and he came to resemble Uncle Fester of the TV series Adams Family, but only with a very morbid demeanor.

I can't believe it took so far into the comments to find Shine On. As my life goes on different Floyd songs become my favorite and this has been it for me for quite awhile now. The guitar work is some of the finest of any musician ever.

Just happened to listen to Us and Them yesterday. Love it!

its spine tingling for sure. But far from the only Floyd song that will do that to ya! I get that feeling with Whats Uh The Deal, and I dont rightly even know what its about! Its just so beautiful it doesnt matter that much what its about.

Agree with you.

That video is legendary.

Haven't heard that 1 in a bit....I agree

One of these days , for me

I totally agree - Echoes is over 20 minutes of magic, the album version is killer too. Love the funky jam too it suits the era nicely

@DJ Robot Citizen I can assure you that she was neither.

for me it's the only classic era PF song I *have* to skip through ... those vocals, while technically impressive are just painful and embarrasing. It would have been OK if it was like 2-3 minutes max but it just goes on and on ... the singer comes across as terribly self-indulgent narcissist

Female singer Clare H. Torry was perfection !

It’s fun to spend time on BRvid listening to female vocalists attempt it. There are some amazing renditions in videos from tribute bands like Brit Floyd.

Agreed, every time I listen to anyone of a number of tracks, it’s my favourite until the next one. Time, comfortably numb, wish you were here, crazy diamond, Sorrow, High hopes, us and them and on and on. It’s like trying to choose your favourite child, even if you had one, you just can’t 🇬🇧 . I’m just thankful I have and will have Floyd throughout my life. First time I heard them was Time when I was 13, blew me away then and still does today. The Steel guitar solo in high hopes is from another dimension, words can’t describe.

Good problem to have

Absolutely. Sgt Pepper - listen now and it's a very ordinary collection of songs. Disraeli Gears, Axis Bold as Love and PF's 1st album were '67 albums as well but still hit the spot.

I went through drug addiction andI credit this song for getting me clean

@it's pabbs One of Gilmour’s best

@Paul Stevens you keep saying medicated...drugged is synonymous. It doesn't matter. It can be different things to different people.

Absolutely. It takes me to where no other musical creation does

@Maxx Schneider in one sense you are right Maxx as Roger did have to perform due to contractual obligations, so he was medicated to go on stage and perform on that occasion. As for the industry controlling musicians with drugs, that’s not quite the case

You have summed up beautifully what I was about to write, thank you! That is a fabulous solo and my Gilmour fave.

Absolute beauty of a song with a stirring bluesy guitar bonus ending. Pure 'Floyd virtuosity. AHM is a classic and its cover shot iconic.

Great song. David's voice was so on point.

@Erich Harrington My favorite too. The guitar start is so so so so groooove!

'Dogs' is amazing in so many ways - lyrically and musically. To me, the lyrics parallel my life experiences so perfectly, having wasted most of my life f*cking around in corporate America, chasing the wealth and status that I never really wanted, while foregoing most of what life is really about. Now that my time is drawing short, the likelihood that I will be "all alone, and dying of cancer" in the end is palpable.

Exactly!...skip to 5.30 and tell me that solo doesn't stack up with any DG ever did!

Dogs is the absolute best song. I have a young friend who started getting into Pink Floyd listening to The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon & Wish You Were Here..... well then I showed him Animals and when he heard Dogs... he literally started crying. He said it is the best song by any band ever... definitely the best guitar solos ever. I don't understand how people don't give the album Animals and especially Dogs its rightful place in Pink Floyd Anthology!

If you held me down... it would be Dogs... "who was breaking away ... from the pack?"

High hope is extraordinary

Absolutely agree.

IMHO, each of the four members were essential and irreplaceable. Roger for writing and the dark vocals, Dave for a complementary vocal and the lead work, Rick for the harmonic glue, and Nick for the foundation and perfect fills.

Couldn’t agree more. Waters is the best lyricist in classic rock.

Amen, it is Rogers band. Period.

@Ozy Mandias Yes, everything "went south".....If selling more records than they did with Roger Waters means "went south", I guess I have to agree. Facts are stubborn things though. Momentary Lapse of Reason - the first post Waters album, sold 4 million copies in the US. By contrast, The Final Cut, the last Waters PF album sold 2 million. And oddly enough, the Division Bell Tour of 1994 became the biggest grossing tour in history. So yeah, they really went south after Roger Waters left. Btw, what did Waters do after 1983? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@DJ Robot Citizen Well, again, the truth is almost always in the middle, the other guy is too harsh on Roger, thats too harsh on David. The fact is that Pink Floyd is a corporation. All you have to do is watch a few docs to see all the collaboroation. Roger wanted The Wall to be a ninety minute one song WITHOUT most of what has since become its standout moments. How much Roger needed Dave is obvious from the lack of success in his solo endevours. There ARE band musicians who become solo stars, so its not JUST the name 'Pink Floyd', although it helps. There have ALWAYS been session players with Pink Floyd. Just like there's always been producers and engineers and art collaborotors. I EASILY like MLOR AND DB better than A Final Cut, but then some say thats not an 'actual' Pink Floyd album, but hten others also say its their favourite one. But the 'what is Pink Floyd' is an open question for obvious reasons, and nobody is going to agree. Not having seen the alternative, we don't actually know that Gilmour is that 'lucky'. The guy has been called a great producer and musician, so its likely he would have made soem bucks, at least enough to build his boat. He's always seemed at least a LITTLE uncomfortable with the adoration, so its quite likely he'd have been 'luckier' with another gig. But had only Roger had the reigns then you could say their later albums would be no bigger than his solo ones, which I would call certainly more 'important', if not better.

You need to do some reading. Roger Waters created, composed, directed and produced the vast majority of the classic albums from DSoTM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall and Final Cut. The others were like actors in movies he directed. Those albums made PF a household name. Without them PF would be a band known only to die-hard fans of psychedelia and prog rock. Without those albums most of us never would have checked out the earlier albums. Nothing after 1983 truly qualifies as Pink Floyd. David Gilmour was very lucky that Syd Barret psyched-out and that he - as a mediocre guitarist and vocalist - got the gig in an established band with a cult following. Gilmour did not do anything particularly amazing, to really stand out in the music world, for 4 years, until the solos on Dark Side of the Moon. The warmup precursors were the solos on One of These Days and Echoes. How lucky he was to get 4 years of paid touring in order to become a good guitarist. Gilmour was blessed that Roger Waters came up with great album after great album in the 70s. It was criminally wrong that Gilmour's third solo album was released as "Pink Floyd" in 1987. I imagine it was done because his first two didn't sell well. I bought them in the 80s because I loved his guitar work on the 70s PF albums. But the solo albums are dull and boring. MLOR was a Gilmour solo album with many sessions musicians. They tacked in a few bits from Mason and Wright to release it as PF. So that it would get lots of marketing hype and sell lots and then they could tour and play the classic songs composed by Roger Waters, which is what everyone went along to hear. Gilmour is one of the luckiest men in rock. And slippriest.

@Jnichos No, I wrote above that it was DAVID who said that, just like the other quote was Roy Harper. They've ALL admitted that after Dark Side they likely would have packed it in but for Roger. Even Nick admits in his book that its likely he and David would have retired...EXCEPT that the way Roger talked about replacing them really pissed them off. And frankly you can easily say things DID go south when Roger left. Nick says that it was mostly Bob Ezrin who kept their feet to the fire, in other words, 'was the force'. I always had a pet theory that the whole lawsuit thing was just a way to keep their name in the paper and give them publicity, Roger doesn't seem an unintelligent guy, but maybe his hubris really was in total control because Nick says that one thing about David is that he knows how to stick his feet down. So at the last point when theyw ere talking about reforming Pink Floyd Roger pointedly said "You'll never do it", and basically that was all the 'fire' that Dave needed to follow through. He needed prodding no doubt because apparantly the ENTIRE music industry was coked up all through the eighties.

@Mike Archibald it’s been well documented… by Roger…

whats uh the deal... such beauty should be impossible. ALso a big fan of Fearless.... I cant even work out the tuning, let alone the progression.

Childhood's End and Fearless are on the top 5 songs in my acoustic guitar chord/lyrics book

Great thing about music…it’s very subjective.

good song but no, cmon.

Yeah, def no way on the 2nd pt. And reg no way on the 1st.

Oh gag, c'mon. That solo is great but it's not their best song by a longshot. It's around mid twenties, they have many songs better than that.

In my opinion “numb” might be Floyd’s best rock song but for someone that appreciates the entirety of their catalogue, it’s not their best track.

Until you get old and realize you've pissed your life away. Then it's just depressing.

@craenor WYWH is brilliant. Shorter, more concise tune, but the production on the guitar intro ...

Absolutely!

It isn’t. Confident but wrong.

I absolutely love seeing all the support for Time here. Much as I love CNumb and Wish You Were Here, the two songs you usually see ranked as PF's best, Time rarely gets the acclaim it deserves.

Well put!

@Geezer 1962 Ha ha! I disagree. . . but I also sympathize.

I agree. I always go back to Time as my favorite. Especially the pulse live version. Love the guitar solo on that one

Always part of my practice routine.👍 Works my finger bends and my footsteps pedal-wise for the gain/effect stages.

@numonezeldafanBRAD THANK YOU! The first time I've ever heard anyone else state the obvious- Time contains David Gilmour's greatest guitar solo. Every time there's a list, CNumb gets the nod, but Time is barely mentioned. You have great taste my friend!

@James Dixon It's beautiful, but wouldn't ya consider that more so as being a track than a song?

what about great gig in the sky?

Agree

I agree, picking just five is indeed a mission impossible...

Yeah, I was gonna say the first song of DSOTM, the last song of The Wall, and everything between. Best 4 album stretch in history.

Absolutely

My thoughts exactly

As a drummer myself, I’ll tell you what Nick does is incredible. Understated, sure, but as close to perfect as you’ll ever see. He doesn’t beat the hell out of the skins, but he plays them instrumentally, adding to the melody. It’s truly genius.

Technically not the best, instantly recognizable, a specific style, perfect for PF.

@DJ Robot Citizen I totally disagree with this statement . The Great gig in the Sky has all of the essence of a Pink Floyd song but elevated to perfection with the help of a very creative and talented singer how was able to clearly understand the concept behind the song and in response offer these amazing complex vocals in only two takes. It is definitely a collaborative work, but it doesn't mean that it is less Pink Floyd than the other songs. It just makes the final product more rich and profound.

consisting of some piano and a wailing diva who wasn't in the band ... It's not really Pink Floyd but a side step.

@Kevin Lalague Nope They played her for chord structure, and then she rift over it on the first cut. She then said she could do better, but they all said it was brilliant so what you’re listening to is the very first time she ever laid down her vocals have a look on the dark side of the Moon documentary it tells the story there

Agreed! The singer just came and was ready in two shots! Besides the intense melody and harmonics.... I thought would be mentioned at some point. Anyway, hard to pick just one song, PF is just amazing and inspiring band...

Absolutely my favorite!

Absolutely brilliant and moving song.

Best song, not just of Pink Floyd,, just there is no song to compare. I'm dieing with that voice!

When I saw them in Detroit when they were touring to support Dark Side of the Moon they had a black female soloist for great gig in the sky, but the original singer was an English white woman. Kinda a cool Floyd history.

@Mr. BooYa Vegetable Man!

When I listen to that song, I feel like my ears are dying

Yeah, while there are a LOT of truly excellent Pink Floyd songs, this is a no contest for me, Comfortably Numb, especially the live Pulse version, is just perfect.

@Sister Rose right now,the only music legend i need to see now is Paul mccarthney. I dont mind spending 2 000 dollars if i knew that was my only possibility in my life before he is gone. he means everything to be, and imagine telling ur grandchildren u have seen a beatle alive, wow. ive seen ringo starr tho )

@Tyrone Jeff O'Reilly Ramirez it's the stuff of superb memories my friend :)

@Duff01 yeah I consider myself very fortunate that I live in UK... however it was insanely difficult to get David Gilmour tickets that year and it was actually cheaper for me to have a minibreak in Toronto than buy a 700 quid ticket for London and need train and accomm lol

@Duff01 it's a very dystopian sounding song too!

Yeah since I heard it first time, (no pun intended) Time has been my favorite Pink Floyd song, as well as my favorite song overall!

Yep, time is what you can never get back once you've wasted it listening to Floyd. Haha!

My thoughts exactly. Best Pink Floyd song ever!

correct answer objectively

I agree with Time. It has literally every aspect of what makes Pink Floyd great. Dreamy chorus, great guitar solo, those great female backing vocals.

good choice. The whole 'Final Cut' album is excellent, though 'Not Now John', which caught my ears as a 13yo, I can do without hearing that again; it comes across as too boisterous and buffoonish, like The Nile Song.

@tarkett85 You're right about the resemblance to a classical piece, which is probably what makes Shine On so different among Floyd's numbers. However, if we don't call it a song, then what is it? Although it's mostly instrumental, it won't make it into the instrumental category because it has 3 verses of words. Those words are Water's lyrics that resonate the most with me, telling a poetic story of the loss of their bandmate. The instrumental sections are not filler sections: they paint a musical landscape which build up to and ebb away from the words, giving them stronger emotional impact. I feel that Rick was struggling to explain why he doesn't call this a song, and his argument wasn't convincing. Maybe it doesn't follow the traditional song structure, but if we use a loose definition of the word song, I think it fits in. Actually, in my opinion, it's the best song of all time!

Absolutely

I agree with you Derek. Your avatar is also their best album.

@tarkett85 Nah, it's just prog rock.

Like best bands best songs to me are tied. Shine is one of 5 or so Floyd songs, that hit all of my needs from skin chills to happy ears and a full heart, they just do it all. Cheers !

Agreed. 100%

Agreed

Always considered Animals their most underrated album. With DSOTM, WYWH and The Wall it gets lost in the mix. Animals and Zep 4 got me thru Desert Storm.

@Carl Marks Yep,completely agree.

@Bob Bab yeah, it suits my inverse snobbery down to the ground as it's my 3rd most fav album of all time...😄

Childhoods End is one of my favourites, more so for the lyrics and singing than the music. Dave has such a great voice.

And coincidentally the last time Gilmour was able to pen lyrics to a song that Roger allowed to be put on an album. Very underrated tune indeed

It's a strangely good album that no one ever talks about, including Floyd members as far as I can tell!

@yes indeed agreed 100%

I would rate Comfortably Numb as one of my top favorites.

It is truly something sublime that so many of us shared.