The Best Folk Music Songs of All Time
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A list of the best folk music songs of all time, including Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and Woody Guthrie.
The best folk songs of all time according to Billboard
In including “Folk” in a list of the best Billboard songs of all time, the publication is honoring a musical style that has its roots in the everyman. Folk music has always been about storytelling, and expressing the human condition through simple melodies and plainspoken lyrics. It’s a genre that has been handed down from generation to generation, with each new artist adding their own unique touches.
The songs on this list are some of the most influential and important folk songs of all time. Each one is a classic in its own right, and they all helped to shape the sound of folk music as we know it today. From protest songs to love songs, these tracks have it all. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the best folk music ever written.
The best folk songs of all time according to Pitchfork
In no particular order, here are the 50 best folk songs of all time, according to Pitchfork.
1. “I Will” – Joan Baez
2. “The Times They Are A-Changin’” – Bob Dylan
3. “Oh, Shenandoah” – The Indigo Girls
4. “John Riley” – The Byrds
5. “ Scarborough Fair” – Simon & Garfunkel
6. “ Mr. Tambourine Man” – Bob Dylan
7. “Laurel Canyon Home” – Jonah Tolchin
8. “Wild Mountain Thyme” – Eva Cassidy
9. “Both Sides Now” – Joni Mitchell
10. “The Water Is Wide” – Judy Collins
11 .“Morning Song” – Julie Gold
12 .“The Beginning of the End (Reprise) (featuring Billy Bragg) [Live]”- Jeff Tweedy & Billy Bragg
13 .��Farewell Angelina (featuring Natalie Merchant) [Live]”- Joan Baez
14 .“The Wagoner’s Lad (featuring Emmylou Harris & Gillian Welch) [Live]”- Mary Gauthier
15 . “Darling Corey (featuring Kate Rusby) [Live]”- Joe Henry
16 . “Barbary Allen (featuring Liam O’Maonlai) [Live]>br/> 17 . “John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man (featuring Tim O’Brien & Darrell Scott) [Live]>br/> 18 . “Single Girl, Married Girl”- Dolly Parton
19 .”Hello in There”- John Prine
20 .”Wayfaring Stranger”- Emmylou Harris
The best folk songs of all time according to NPR
NPR’s 100 Greatest Songs of All Time (Folk)
1. This Land Is Your Land – Woody Guthrie
2. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan
3. Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
4. We Shall Overcome – Traditional
5. The House of the Rising Sun – Traditional
6. Amazing Grace – Traditional
7. Guantanamera – traditional Cuban folk song
8. If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song) – Pete Seeger and Lee Hays
9. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? – Pete Seeger
10. Leatherwing Bat – traditional folk song
