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Last Active 05-23-13 6:19 am
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| Top 20 John Mayer Songs
I feel like John Mayer is consistently underrated/overlooked by any as just a Top 40 musician, when I feel like he has a lot more to offer. Here are his top 20 songs in my opinion: | | 1 | John Mayer
Covered in Rain
Not only is "Covered in Rain" the greatest song that John Mayer has ever made, it wins the top position without contest. Above all else, John Mayer is an exceptionally talented guitarist, and in that regard this is his finest hour. It is rumored that this song addresses how people coped in a post 9/11 world. I'm not sure if that is completely accurate, but listening to the song, it makes perfect sense. There's a prevalent sadness lurking behind the characters in "Covered in Rain", with the song being quite gloomy, but it's also a comforting song. It's the sound of people trying to make sense of a scary and convoluted world, and in turn resorting to each other for moments of solace to keep them going; to give their lives a meaning through gentle hugs and holding hands. There is some good lyrical work on display here, but Mayer's guitar works most of the magic, and that's before the song hits the 2:45 mark, where Mayer breaks out into what can only be described as one of the greatest guitar solos I've ever heard. It is extensive without being indulgent; providing the transcendental majesty that the guitar solo is known for while also maintaining the complicated mood of the song it lives inside of. A little over a minute into the solo, there exists a moment that I can only describe as breathtaking, as if the music forced you to exhale all of the oxygen in your lungs during that powerful moment, and it only builds from there. Simply a masterpiece.Without question, "Covered in Rain" reigns as the best John Mayer song. | | 2 | Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
The best song on "Continuum" is the most heartbreaking, emotionally scathing song Mayer has ever sung. This song, like "Gravity", is on the bluesy side, and the opening chords of the guitar are enough to bring tears to the eyes. Mayer details the relationship that he sees declining before his eyes, knowing that it's only a matter of time before it ends. It's clear that Mayer still very much loves this girl deep down, but at the same time he is unable to handle her any longer. Insults are thrown, names are called, and everyone is worse for it. All that the two characters in the song can do is clutch on to one another, continuing to unintentionally hurt each other in an attempt to desperately cling to the last sliver of love they share, slowly dancing together in silence as the room around them burns to the ground... | | 3 | Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967
The best song on "Born and Raised" is John Mayer's best lyrical work to date. Here, Mayer weaves a tale about a middle aged man who, in his attempt to escape the grind of his life, commits himself to building a homemade submarine and taking it out to sea. Mayer fleshes out this scenario so well in this five minute song that I was truly surprised that the character of Walt Grace was fictitious. Mayer doesn't use any fancy flourishes or pop tricks to try and enhance this song other than some piano and vocal harmonies (minus a low-key opening trumpet solo); instead letting his words provide the emotional impact. A truly inspiring song that shows that, regardless of what our peers may think, and provided the proper amount dedication, our capabilities are limitless and our future is never completely out of our control. | | 4 | Gravity
There are a great many people who consider this to be Mayer's finest song. Personally, I feel like it lacks a particular x-factor that would set it over the top, but make no mistake; "Gravity" is an excellent song, and certainly one of Mayer's best. Mayer puts his blues influences to good use here, with some of the best guitar playing of any of his studio work. There isn't much left to say here, other than this song is sublime and you should give it a listen if you haven't heard it already. | | 5 | Edge of Desire
The greatest song on "Battle Studies" is perhaps Mayer's most overlooked studio track. This song contains so much pure sensual desperation that it's struggling to contain itself. It's the sound of wanting somebody so much that you'll damn every consequences just to be satisfied for one perfect moment. The sensual themes are clear from the title alone, but the song also conveys the crippling fear of being meaningless to someone that you obsessively require. "I want you so bad I'll go back on the things I believe/There I just said it, I'm scare you'll forget about me." When you are truly obsessed with a person, you will do whatever it takes to make them yours, regardless of how terrible they make you feel. "Edge of Desire" hits both sexual desperation as well as the desperation of parasitic relationships. | | 6 | Free Fallin'
I know I'm going to get some heat for this, but I prefer this live cover over the Tom Petty original. The original is obviously a great song and a classic, but what Mayer does here isn't so much cover the song as he does reinvent it. Tom Petty's original version was a soulful and energetic beast, where as Mayer's is a pained, sobering one. Using only an acoustic guitar and his voice, Mayer conveys a staggering amount of emptiness, sadness, and regret. While Tom Petty howled the chorus, Mayer's words seem to fade away and dissolve into a passing breeze, like everything around him is a dream that he is watching in slow motion. Without question, Mayer turns the lyrics and tone of the song into something far more intimate, and as a result, far more affecting. | | 7 | Waiting on the World to Change
Okay, this is seriously the last opening track that I'll put on this list, (sorry "No Such Thing", you simply didn't make the cut.) "Waiting on the World to Change" is a bit of an oddity in Mayer's catalog, being more of a soul song than anything else he has done before or since. It brings to mind Marvin Gaye's iconic "What's Going On" to an extent, with its feeling of urban bustle and its political message. Mayer targets his generation's lack of action, criticizing their apathy when it comes to nodding along to the wrongs of the world rather than doing anything to change them. A standout song on a standout album. | | 8 | Clarity
Yet another opening track (I swear that this was unintentional), "Clarity" happens to be the best song on "Heavier Things". Opening with (and built upon) a series of hand claps and piano notes, it explodes into a flurry of guitar in the chorus. Both sections happen to be insanely catchy and pleasing to the ears, and that is before introducing a trumpet near the end. "Clarity" enacts its themes in musical form: A momentary ray of bliss that subsides far too quickly. | | 9 | Queen of California
Another opening track, this is one of the best songs on one of Mayer's best albums. It opens the record up with the twang of a guitar, signifying the folk-styled influence that Mayer would soon explore, (not to mention that folk icons like Neil Young and Bob Dylan get referenced in the middle of the song.) More than that, it sets us up on a journey through the Midwest that was alluded to earlier, putting us in the front seat of a van without a known destination; only with the goal of escaping our confines on a perfectly sunny day where anything is possible. The outro introduces a twinkling piano, creating one of the most flat-out gorgeous moments of any John Mayer song to date. | | 10 | Heartbreak Warfare
At last, we've gotten to the top ten. This opening track to "Battle Studies" also happens to have possibly the best opening to any song in his oeuvre. It paints a picture of a fog covered street, with smoke rising through the air after some great conflict. Mayer creates so much emotion with his guitar in the opening thirty seconds before a single word is spoken. The lyrics, while on the heavy side, work effectively as a metaphor for a relationship so tattered that both partners are lost looking through the breathtaking scale of desolation that they have conjured. | | 11 | A Face to Call Home
For the most part, "Born and Raised" feels like a road trip through the deserts of the American Midwest, searching for a breath of fresh air to clear the head and contemplate the rigors of life. These songs convey images of barren canyons and small cottages on prairies, what with their use of space and natural approach to instrumentation. This penultimate track, however, wraps the album up in a spectacular fireworks show. It signifies the end of a long, life-changing journey, and the hopeful beginning to the life remaining. "A Face to Call Home" builds in inspiring fashion, with spurts of beautiful female harmonies to help generate a transcendental feel, and finally explodes in its final minutes into the orchestral climax of the entire album. | | 12 | Belief
On an album full of heartbreak and emptiness, "Belief" somehow manages to be one of the darkest sounding songs on "Continuum". This is because this song trades the album's usual anxiety for a decisive stand on a topic which it knows the consequences of all too well. Mayer discusses how stalwart people are in their belief systems, and warns against the futility of pressing your beliefs too hard or following them too far, as doing so inevitably leads only to conflict. Over a bed of swirling guitar and rhythms, Mayer speaks some of his most haunting lyrics: "What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand? Belief can. / What puts the folded flag inside his mother's hand? Belief can..." | | 13 | Something's Missing
"Heavier Things", like "Battle Studies", is on the hit-and-miss side, but the peaks and valleys aren't nearly as prominent on his sophomore LP. The most well known track from the album is probably the monster hit "Daughters", which while good, didn't quite make this list. There are a few quality album tracks on the record however, most notably this lost gem, which delves into feelings of nagging discontent that causes you to search in the back of your head for some hidden x-factor to complete a life that should all intents and purposes be flawless. | | 14 | Neon
For my money, the best song on "Room for Squares" is this live staple and long time fan favorite. Lyrically it is another song about relationship turmoil, but the technical efficiency on display here shows early signs of Mayer's guitar prowess. It's the type of song that you could see him playing casually at an artsy coffee shop, only much better than that terminology would imply. | | 15 | Assassin
Another underrated "Battle Studies" track, the slinking strings make it unlike any other song that Mayer has made. Detailing the exploits of a notorious womanizer who has had the tables turned on him, this song brings the sort of atmosphere one would see coming from a sensual spy movie, but exchanges the stylish splendor for cold, darkly motivated characters. | | 16 | Born and Raised
Ah, "Born and Raised". His latest release is perhaps his most divisive, but I personally find that he has only bettered it in the studio with "Continuum". In fact, the orchestral canyon pop of "Age of Worry" and folksy sing-along "Something Like Olivia" basically tied with the entry slots of this list, and were only left off for diversity's sake. The title track, much like "Stop this Train", deals with the trepidation of growing old and seeing your years move behind you, but "Born and Raised" is more resigned in its tone; more wise at its heart. The harmonica and folk-style guitar prevalent on the album are used to give this song a timeless western feel. | | 17 | Stop this Train
Most consider "Continuum" to be Mayer's best album thus far, and I'm inclined to agree, (a quarter of the songs from this list are from "Continuum".) One of the main themes represented in the album is trepidation for the future and growing old, and "Stop this Train" hits this squarely. Yet despite all of the anxiety, the song features a gorgeous twinkle of a guitar melody that chugs it along. | | 18 | Who Says
Whereas "Room for Squares" is consistent in its song craft, "Battle Studies" is a definite hit-and-miss. Yet I feel like the "hits" on his fourth album are among the most underrated tracks in his catalog. Such is the case with "Who Says", a quietly affecting song that shows an introverted Mayer listing off a number of confessions and rhetorical questions regarding his vices (and the media reaction to these pitfalls) in a nonchalant, almost bored manner. | | 19 | Why Georgia
Another relative standout on "Room for Squares", this single is full of warm guitar playing and was another great indicator of Mayer's future potential. Trading much of the silliness found in some of the other songs on the record, Mayer makes this anecdote of existentialism as inviting as a warm cottage. | | 20 | Back to You
John Mayer's debut LP is a favorite among many of his fans, and while it has consistently good songs across the board, they mostly sound pretty similar; so only a few stand out in the top tier of his output. "Back to You" is one such song, not because it is more daring than what surrounds it, but because it encompasses the airy and melodic nature of its album as well as any song on the record. | |
Noteros
07.21.13 | Great list. Stop This Train needs to be higher though. | tommygun
07.22.13 | sweet list i love a bit of jm, continuum is flawless | Cygnatti
07.22.13 | 16 sucks. | IbenizGEO1
07.22.13 | John Mayer is an asshole | tommygun
07.22.13 | i enjoy 16 a lot that hurts cyg :[ | Cygnatti
07.22.13 | oops, wrong song, I mean to say shadow days sucks, sorry tom tom :'[ | tommygun
07.22.13 | i'll pay that | scorpiusx
07.22.13 | "Shadow Days" doesn't suck, but it's the most overrated song on the album for sure. Hence why it's not on here. And I don't care if he's a jerk or not, I listen to him because I like his music, not for an ethical sermon. Not to mention that the media blows things way out of proportion anyway.
And can we all just agree that "Covered in Rain" is flipping amazing? | IbenizGEO1
07.22.13 | Kanye West is also an asshole | tommygun
07.22.13 | yea jm might be a douche he might not who knows it's not like any of us know him personally, all i care about is he makes beautiful beautiful music
my fave is prob slow dancing but i haven't heard covered in rain gotta check | tommygun
07.22.13 | keen af for paradise valley | scorpiusx
07.23.13 | Switched out "Your Body is a Wonderland" for "Why Georgia" after I realized that I was an idiot for not doing this in the first place. ^ | jtswope
07.23.13 | 19 is too low. I'd include My Stupid Mouth too. Nice job though! | patterson29
03.08.18 | Love the list. Born & Raised is my personal favorite song by JM, but it's difficult to argue against Covered in Rain or Slow Dancing as being his "best" songs. It's nice to see a list that can appreciate all of JM's styles! Some other songs that are worth mentioning IMO: War of My Life & Waitin' on the Day |
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