The Ultimate New York City Playlist Project

   Why do New Yorkers always have headphones over their ears on the subway? Is it to try to avoid hearing high school kids on the train yell slurs at each other? Is the homeless man at the end of the train car ranting about goldfish? Or are there just so many fantastic songs about New York and by New Yorkers that there isn't enough time in the day to listen to them all? Probably all of these are correct, but I am going to focus on the third one.
   I went on a quest to find as many great New York songs as I could and came up with a list of 80 songs from the whole recorded history of the city. But there are a few rules I imposed on myself. One, the artist has to be from the New York area. Connecticut and New Jersey are cool. Also, an artist need not be from New York originally, as long as they spent significant time here. Second, an artist can not be repeated. Everyone gets one song. Third, as many different genres of music should be included as possible. And finally, if a song is about New York or reflects it in some way, it gets automatically selected. I've broken it down into four albums of four eras, with 20 songs each. So behold, the ultimate NYC playlist:





New York - The Jazz Age and Beyond (1890-1955)

1. Rhapsody in Blue (1924) - George Gershwin
2. Take the "A" Train (1939) - Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn
3. Sidewalks of New York (1894) - Charles B. Lawlor, James W. Blake
4. Luck be a Lady (1950) - Frank Loesser
5. Jumpin' at the Woodside (1938) - Count Basie
6. Stompin' at the Savoy (1934) - Edgar Sampson, Chick Webb
7. Quiet City (1940) - Aaron Copland
8. Talking Union (1941) - Pete Seeger, The Almanac Singers
9. Central Park in the Dark (1906) - Charles Ives
10. Nightmare (1934) - Artie Shaw
11. Scrapple from the Apple (1947) - Charlie Parker
12. Puttin' on the Ritz (1929) - Irving Berlin
13. Castle House Rag (1914) - James Reese Europe
14. Give my Regards to Broadway (1904) - George M. Cohan
15. New York, New York (1944) - Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green
16. Manhattan (1925) - Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart
17. 52nd Street Theme (1944) - Thelonious Monk
18. The Joint is Jumpin' (1937) - Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, J.C. Johnson
19. Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) (1937) - Louis Prima, Benny Goodman
20. Autumn in New York (1934) - Vernon Duke

New York - Salsa, Jazz, Folk, and Rock (1956-1975)

1. Blue in Green (1959) - Miles Davis, Bill Evans
2. 110th St and 5th Ave (1973) - Tito Puente, Noro Morales
3. Spanish Harlem (1960) - Phil Spector, Jerry Leiber
4. Summer in the City (1966) - The Lovin' Spoonful
5. Chelsea Morning (1969) - Joni Mitchell
6. Outside of a Small Circle of Friends (1967) - Phil Ochs
7. Walk on By (1964) - Burt Bacharach, Hal Davis
8. The Bridge (1962) - Sonny Rollins
9. Up on the Roof (1962) - Carole King, Gerry Goffin
10. Piss Factory (1974) - Patti Smith, Richard Sohl
11. I Am...I Said (1971) - Neil Diamond
12. Don't Rain on My Parade (1964) - Jule Styne, Bob Merrill
13. Subway Train (1973) - The New York Dolls
14. New York City (1972) - John Lennon
15. Che Che Cole (1969) - Willie Colon
16. New York Ain't so Bad (1975) - Rashied Ali
17. Diamonds & Rust (1975) - Joan Baez
18. The Boxer (1969) - Paul Simon
19. Take a Walk on the Wild Side (1972) - Lou Reed
20. Visions of Johanna (1966) - Bob Dylan

New York - The Gritty Years (1976-1999)

1. New York State of Mind (1976) - Billy Joel
2. N.Y. State of Mind (1994) - Nas, DJ Premier
3. The Message (1982) - Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel
4. Le Freak (1978) - Chic
5. Fu-Gee-La (1996) - The Fugees, Salaam Remi
6. Jazzy Sensation (1981) - Afrika Bambaataa, Tom Silverman
7. Life During Wartime (1979) - Talking Heads
8. La Vie Boheme B (1996) - Jonathan Larson
9. No Sleep till Brooklyn (1987) - Beastie Boys, Rick Rubin
10. Rockaway Beach (1977) - The Ramones
11. C.R.E.A.M. (1994) - Wu-Tang Clan
12. Venus (1977) - Tom Verlaine
13. Teen Age Riot (1988) - Sonic Youth
14. Fight the Power (1989) - Public Enemy
15. Check the Rhime (1991) - A Tribe Called Quest
16. Juicy (1994) - Notorious B.I.G., Sean Combs, Pete Rock
17. In the Flesh (1976) - Debbie Harry, Chris Stein
18. Pedro Navaja (1978) - Ruben Blades
19. Respiration (1998) - Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common
20. Theme from 'New York, New York' (1977) - John Kander, Fred Ebb

New York - The Next Century (2000-Present)

1. Empire State of Mind (2009) - Jane't Sewell-Ulepic, Angela Hunte, Jay-Z
2. New York City Cops (2001) - Julian Casablancas
3. King Without a Crown (2005) - Matisyahu
4. Avenue B (2005) - Gogol Bordello
5. Golden Age (2008) - Kyp Malone, David Andrew Sitek,
6. Brooklyn & Jamaica (2006) - Morgan Heritage
7. Summer in the City (2006) - Regina Spektor
8. New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down (2007) - LCD Soundsystem
9. Summertime Clothes (2009) - Animal Collective
10. In the Heights (2007) - Lin-Manuel Miranda
11. Time to Pretend (2007) - MGMT
12. Mi Corazoncito (2007) - Romeo Santos
13. Paparazzi (2008) - Lady Gaga, Rob Fusari
14. If I Can't (2003) - 50 Cent, Mike Elizondo, Dr. Dre
15. A-Punk (2008) - Vampire Weekend
16. Daylight (2009) - Matt Johnson, Kim Schifino
17. NYC ( 2002) - Interpol
18. Our Time (2001) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
19. The Rising (2002) - Bruce Springsteen
20. Movement VII (Finale): The Emperor of Centrifuge (2007) - Sufjan Stevens