25

Nothing Compares 2 U
Chris Cornell
2015

Apologies to Sinead. I love the original, and it feels almost wrong to take her song and leave her out entirely from the Top 100 (and, as you know, this was Prince’s song that he gave to her). 

But…this version is just way too good to exclude, and I have to go with it. Chris Cornell was blessed with a voice from the gods, and it is on full display here. Has he not passed away, this song would not have been eligible for the Top 100 because it would likely have remained as an unreleased song. After his passing in 2018, his wife and daughter put it on his compilation album. And we are all the more fortunate for it. 

The vocal on this is just stunning. Again, this is the mark of true musicianship:  just a man (or a woman), with their instrument. Nothing more. (Well, in this case, the cello accompaniment is also great.)  No hiding behind Autotune or any other studio gimmicks. I could listen to this all day. He just hits you right from that great opening line:  “It’s been 7 hours and 15 days / Since you took your love away.”  Is this the greatest cover of all time?  Certainly in the conversation!

There’s a reason this video has 151M views. One of the YouTube commenters sums this up perfectly:  written by a genius, sung by an angel, and covered by a legend. 

Other Songs Considered:
Chris had a lot of great stuff, but this was his finest hour.