Songs You Hear All the Time but Dont Know

Ever take those moments where you hear a song on the radio, or blaring from a passing car, and wonder how you could have lived and then long without having heard it? Exercise yous relish the moments when a friend presses a 7" into your hand – or sends you a YouTube prune or Spotify link – urging you to go and listen to their latest new discovery? For dyed-in-the-wool music lovers, the globe is total of great songs you lot've never heard – and that list but seems to exist getting bigger every mean solar day.

Which is why we've put together a listing of merely a few of the all-time songs you've never heard. Nosotros hope to guide yous towards some of the finest music that you lot might not even be enlightened of. And there are some accented gems on this one.

Peggy Lee – A Brownish Bird Singing

Peggy Lee'southward voice can easily stand on its own, but it did and then even more than usual on Sea Shells, a unique anthology in her catalogue featuring little more than than Peggy's phonation and a harp. The chorus of this proto-New Age tune simply features Peggy wordlessly humming forth, and it'south admittedly gorgeous. – Sam Armstrong

The Saints – Swing For The Offense

Aussie punks The Saints fabricated waves with the buzzsaw punk of their debut, (I'm) Stranded, only their brave tertiary album, 1978 Prehistoric Sounds, fell on deaf ears. With hindsight it'southward a lost jewel, with highlight "Swing From The Crime" mixing up a lethal gumbo of Bo Diddley beats, Memphis soul, and cinematic popular. – Tim Peacock

Stan Ridgway – A Mission In Life

One of the 1980s great "most" men, Stan Ridgway well-nigh hit the big time with LA'due south Wall Of Voodoo and enjoyed a European hit with 1986's "Camouflage." Arguably his apogee was 1989'due south Mosquitos featuring "A Mission In Life": a beautifully wrought carol nearly a lonely barkeep that orders a big dash of flick noir as a attorney. – Tim Peacock

Vince Staples – Señorita

For all the hype that Odd Future superstars similar Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, The Creator, and Frank Body of water received during the height of the coiffure'due south powers, it was Vince Staples who emerged as maybe the all-time pure rapper in the grouping (Earl fans certainly take an argument here). "Señorita," from Vince'due south stunning debut, Summer '06, is propelled by an absolutely spooky piano line that sounds similar information technology's looking for enemies to stem. Vince'southward menses moves from patient and nuanced to rapid-fire in a moment's notice, standing out in a discography that grew big with bigger hits later on. – Will Schube

Sons of Kemet – The Book of Disquiet

Sons of Kemet have quickly become a household proper noun thank you to the vivid vision of bandleader and saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, but long before they dropped Black to the Futurity in 2021, they were approaching jazz with a radically unique POV on their debut LP, Fire. "The Book of Disquiet" begins with a cacophony of racket, similar a jazz orchestra tuning up, before Hutchings' smoothen horn helps tether radically disparate rhythm section performances, giving the melody an avant-garde border. – Volition Schube

Rotary Connection – Didn't Want To Have To Do It

An extremely psychedelic cover of The Lovin' Spoonful, Rotary Connection's version of "Didn't Want To Have To Do Information technology" dials things back to the blank minimum of strums and drums, with disembodied vocal and electronic flourishes throughout. – Sam Armstrong

Catalyst – Perception

Ecstatic jazz fusion from "the funkiest band you've never heard." Bassist Zuri Tyrone Brown sets the step alongside the percussion, with Patrick Gleason's synthesizer, which featured on so many of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi-era albums, offering clouds of temper. Definitely one of the best songs yous've never heard. – Sam Armstrong

Manchester Orchestra – The Mansion

Every Manchester Orchestra song that'southward not a hit deserves a spot on this list. The perennially underrated rock outfit alloy heavy, anthemic hooks with deceptively circuitous arrangements and a perfect cloud for which singer Andy Hull to bladder across. The vocal is a slow builder, but when the group hits the mountaintop, it's a cathartic release unmatched by other epically leaning groups. – Will Schube

Nilufer Yanya – Baby Blu

Nilufer Yanya'due south Miss Universe was ane of the virtually exciting releases of 2019, and though "Baby Blu" isn't one of the popular singles from the tape, it best illustrates Yanya's brilliance. Over a pulsing drum groove and deep, dark piano chords, Yanya's powerful, illusive vox gives the vocal a jazzy, R&B inspired feel. Information technology's effortlessly emotive, with Yanya's layers of vocals giving the song a number of angles from which these earworm melodies arrive on the scene. – Volition Schube

Mantronix – Don't Y'all Want More than

Overshadowed by "Got To Take Your Beloved" and "Take Your Fourth dimension," this heavy runway is a glorious fleck of hip-house, a short-lived genre that effortlessly brought together hip-hop and house music. Tracks with rhetorical titles similar this are always a unsafe game, of course, but the respond is most definitely in the affirmative here. Easily one of the best electronic songs you lot've never heard. – Sam Armstrong

Eddie Henderson – Movin' On

Derided at the fourth dimension as a crass pop motion, Eddie Henderson'southward Coming Through has aged extremely well. "Say You Will" is the undisputed highlight on this effortlessly funky album, simply "Movin' On" hits an ethereal groove that allows the group to sit in the pocket and merely enjoy each other's company for a while. – Sam Armstrong

Pharcyde – The Hustle

The Pharcyde has rightfully received their due in the decades since they dropped Labcabincalifornia, but much of their music is overshadowed by the overwhelming success of their big singles like "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin.'" The hustle, which is towards the stop of the 17 song Lab, is Pharcyde personified. The beat effortlessly swings while the group partakes in a classic back and forth chant. It's playful and deadly serious at the same fourth dimension, the sort of contradiction only a group similar Pharcyde could pull off. – Volition Schube

Asylum Choir – Medley: N.Y. Op./Land of Dog/Henri The Clown

It'due south hard to find at present, merely back when Asylum Choir, the duo of Leon Russell and Marc Benno, released their psych-pop masterpiece Look Inside the Asylum Choir, these three tracks were under i song title and operated equally a medley. Now they're separated, which removes some of the bear upon, but this run is ane of the most exciting groups on a nearly perfect anthology. It helped foreshadow Leon Russell's monumental career, blending playful melodies with world-course musicianship. – Will Schube

Jimmy Witherspoon & Brother Jack McDuff – Past Forty Dejection

This midlife crisis blues plods forth so slowly that you can hear guitarist Melvin Sparks enjoying the infinite to stretch out. (Listen for him mimicking a door's knock after Jimmy Witherspoon'south outset line.) – Sam Armstrong

CeCe Peniston – Crazy Love – Kenlou 12"

You may take heard CeCe Peniston's ballad "Crazy Love," simply unless yous were in a club in the 90s, you likely didn't become a chance to enjoy this Masters At Work strutting, funky house rework. The vaunted duo speed things up, but keep the drama intact. – Sam Armstrong

Mac (Mac Phipps) – Murda Murda, Kill Kill

Mac Phipps' story was finally given a wide audience when the excellent NPR podcast Louder Than A Riot covered his saga, but his music is nevertheless woefully underrated in modernistic rap circles. The Louisiana native was 1 of the most naturally gifted pure rappers on the planet, and his No Limit discography is legendary territory for anyone that knows his piece of work. But songs like the new Jack swing-influenced "Murda Murda, Impale Kill" were used in a trial that convicted Mac of crimes that lack definitive evidence of his guilt, for which he's still in jail. – Will Schube

Slatt Zy – Centre Right

Slatt Zy's is ane of the most exciting young MCs in my optics, out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and (for now) still a few years abroad from beingness able to legally beverage. Simply on tracks like "Heart Right," his melodically-inclined menses conveys the struggle and hustle Slatt went through to somewhen end up where he'due south at at present. – Will Schube

Alexander O'Neal – Fake '88 – House Mix

Alexander O'Neal'due south undeniable vocal talents, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' immaculate instrumentation, and a couple of fissure remixers (Keith Cohen and Steve Beltran): There simply isn't a weak link in this chain. And it'south likely one of the all-time remixes of a song you've never heard. – Sam Armstrong

The Stairs – Weed Jitney

One of Liverpool's hottest properties at the turn of the 1990s, The Stairs were formed by local legend, Edgar 'Summertyme' Jones and signed to Go! Discs. A no-holes-barred hymn to marijuana, their fantastic debut single "Weed Double-decker" gleefully lifted the main riff from The Rolling Stones' "The Final Time" then shot off into its own space. Also a classic, their lone album, Mexican R'n'B was released in glorious mono – in 1992! – Tim Peacock

Mystery Jets – History Has Its Optics On You lot

Despite building an impressively eclectic catalog over the past 15 years, maverick London indie-popsters Mystery Jets accept ofttimes flown nether the radar. Their almost recent album, A Billion Heartbeats, is arguably their best yet, but while it got lost in the wider scheme of the pandemic, its best runway, History Has Its Eyes On You, is a moving paean to the positivity we'll all need to draw upon in the post-COVID world. – Tim Peacock

Royal Trux – The Sewers of Mars

Royal Trux is a scuzz rawk ring of the highest order, plodding its way through its songs with growling riffs and sloppy (merely, somehow, extremely precise) rhythm sections. "The Sewers of Mars" might be among the all-time songs from its mid-90s major label foray. – Sam Armstrong

Roy Ayers – Rhythm

One of the funkiest songs you've never heard? Pare back the curtain on the lyrics to Roy Ayers' "Rhythm" and it's a chip desperate. ("I demand love/Love me now/Practice doo do/Really demand your love.") But the backing track is merely too funky to think of it as anything but endearing. – Sam Armstrong

Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug – Freestyle

Before Young Thug became a national icon thanks to his extra-terrestrial warbling and inimitable manipulation of the English linguistic communication, he was just some other fellow member of Rich Gang, the Cash Money subsidiary. Alongside Rich Homie Quan, the two stole the group'due south compilation, Tha Tour Role 1, on their duo tracks like "Freestyle." On the song, the ii exchange melody-drenched bars and spinous wired punchlines, firmly asserting themselves as adjacent up in Birdman's crew of hitmakers. – Will Schube

Lil Wayne & Curren$y – President

Some collaborations end up being then skilful, both artists desire the track for themselves. That'south what happened with Lil Wayne and Curren$y's "President," which finds both MCs spitting over Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents," which was initially the first unmarried for his debut album, Reasonable Doubtfulness, before appearing on the project in another grade. The runway is a special and disregarded moment in New Orleans rap history, with Curren$y merely first an unimpeachable run, and Wayne in the centre of ane of the hottest streaks in rap history. – Will Schube

Richard Thompson – Ringlet Over Vaughan Williams

Richard Thompson'southward career with Fairport Convention is highly respected and his subsequent albums in tandem with ex-wife Linda are equally revered. Sandwiched in between, his solo debut, 1972'due south Henry The Human Fly sold in meager quantities and is nonetheless barely recognized. Its all-time track, the brilliant "Whorl Over Vaughan Williams", mixes up droning chords, fuzzed-up riffs and Jig-like lead guitar breaks and pretty much invents psych-folk. – Tim Peacock

Think nosotros've missed some of the all-time songs y'all've never heard? Well, of course we accept. But feel free to put your picks in the comments beneath.

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Source: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/50-great-songs-youve-never-heard/