Always (1994 Original) – Bon Jovi

Angels – Jessica Simpson
Though Robbie Williams' original recording is perhaps more appropriately subtle, Simpson adds an element for which I'm always a sucker: a fantastic power-house of a conclusion. She has a crippling habit of subduing her vocals to such a degree that her talent is barely audible, swimming down among that of, for example, Hilary Duff. This tune would shatter that mindset in even her most stubborn naysayer.

Avalanche – Matthew Good

Away – Breaking Benjamin

Blind – Lifehouse

Born to Kill – Matthew Good Band

Everything – Lifehouse

Hello – Evanescence

Hold On to the Nights – Richard Marx

Karma Killer – Robbie Williams

Medicate – Flaw

My Immortal (Full Band Remix) – Evanescence

My Life as a Circus Clown – Matthew Good Band
A brilliant demonstration of Good's skill with transition, this song slips from almost whimsical in its murmured verses into a defiant chorus.

One Man – Richard Marx

Oracle – Kittie

Promises – Adema

Simon – Lifehouse

Slavery – Spineshank

Spit – Kittie

Staring at the Sun – J. Englishman

Take Me Under – Three Days Grace

The Fate ~ Cluster Amaryllis – Hirota Yoshitaka

The Last Song I'm Wasting on You – Evanescence

Who's Got My Back? – Creed

Always (1994 Original)
Artist:  Bon Jovi
It's been raining since you left me Now I'm drowning in the flood You see, I've always been a fighter But without you, I give up . . .	Though Robbie Williams' original recording is perhaps more appropriately subtle, Simpson adds an element for which I'm always a sucker: a fantastic power-house of a conclusion. She has a crippling habit of subduing her vocals to such a degree that her talent is barely audible, swimming down among that of, for example, Hilary Duff. This tune would shatter that mindset in even her most stubborn naysayer.
Angels
Artist:  Jessica Simpson
When I'm feeling weak And my pain walks down a one way street I look above And I know I'll always be blessed with love And as the feeling grows He breathes flesh to my bones . . .	Though Robbie Williams' original recording is perhaps more appropriately subtle, Simpson adds an element for which I'm always a sucker: a fantastic power-house of a conclusion. She has a crippling habit of subduing her vocals to such a degree that her talent is barely audible, swimming down among that of, for example, Hilary Duff. This tune would shatter that mindset in even her most stubborn naysayer.
Avalanche
Artist:  Matthew Good
I'm spinning and you're spinning The world's spinning, and we're laughing And I'm charming, the devil's charming . . .	In my opinion, this is the current absolute highest point of Good's solo career. His vocals soar on the chorus and the unconventional bridge, and just wash over me. I love the echo effects of that bridge, as well.
Away
Artist:  Breaking Benjamin
Don't cry Clear away this hate And we can start to make it alright So fly away and leave it behind Return someday with red in your eyes . . .	In my opinion, this is the current absolute highest point of Good's solo career. His vocals soar on the chorus and the unconventional bridge, and just wash over me. I love the echo effects of that bridge, as well.
Blind
Artist:  Lifehouse
I loved you more than you'll ever know And part of me died when I let you go . . .	A heartbroken song with an appropriate tinge of anger in its chorus.
Born to Kill
Artist:  Matthew Good Band
It's more than the shot that gets you through You're sleeping in my memory like Satan . . .	This song is literally reminiscent of an orgasm. It starts out slowly, softly, with just a few instruments and Good nearly murmuring choppy lyrics, spirals into a frantic burst of shrieking guitar over a full orchestra, and then... just... ends, when you least expect it. Though I've played this song so often that I can snap my fingers at that exact moment.
Everything
Artist:  Lifehouse
You calm the storms and you give me rest And you take my breath away . . .	A mere murmur of a song, until it explodes. This ballad's weight is heavily and perfectly borne by its lead vocalist, Jason Wade.
Hello
Artist:  Evanescence
If I smile and don't believe Soon I know I'll wake from this dream Don't try to fix me I'm not broken Hello, I'm the lie Living for you so you can hide Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping . . .	Nothing elevates this song above a formulaic piano ballad but Amy Lee's haunting lullaby. Its last three lines are particularly noteworthy because, without whatsoever altering the instrumental backdrop of the song, they create a simultaneous climax and anticlimax, due wholly to first the strains of angst, then the wavering failure, of the vocal.
Hold On to the Nights
Artist:  Richard Marx
Every time I look into your eyes, I'm helplessly aware That the someone I've been searching for is right there . . .	Nothing about this song, aside from the blips of solo electric guitar, gives away that it was born in 1987. This is a timeless, absolutely gorgeous ballad, by a man who writes, sings, and plays his own beautiful music. This song throttles anything any current pop collage has or will ever put out (including 'Nsync's recording of his 'This I Promise You'). If any of said crappy pop bands ever got it in their heads to remix this or any other Richard Marx song, I would want to flog them. It is a classic, perfect the way it is. Marx has such a beautiful, lulling voice.
Jonestown Tea
Artist:  Otep
I remember him fucking me And I remember liking it I didn't know any better And I remember the smell, the pain and the shame And thinking every single day that it was my fault . . .	There is no possible way mere words could convey the raw emotion in this song, especially evident when she first screams leave me alone. Listen closely to the lyrics. The subject matter, and Otep's growling, shrieking, sheer evident rage and pain in response to it, physically give me goose bumps.
Karma Killer
Artist:  Robbie Williams
Are you still around? Why haven't you managed to die yet? I hope you choke on your Bacardi and Coke . . .	This song features one of my all-time favourite lyrics (the last line to the left) and the single longest vocal note I have ever heard. For a pop number by a former member of a boy band, it smacks of bitter scorn.
Medicate
Artist:  Flaw
I cannot stop this ride I'm growing cold inside I've got to medicate myself Must cover up what I have felt It seems the only way You say I should get away Let me go just for one more day . . .	I love how the layering of the chorus gives voice to both this song's desperation and rage.
My Immortal (Full Band Remix)
Artist:  Evanescence
These wounds won't seem to heal This pain is just too real There's just too much that time cannot erase I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone But though you're still with me, I've been alone all along . . .	In the gorgeous black-and-white music video that accompanies this song, lead singer Amy Lee, appropriately, clutches her heart and screams at the song's climax. The haunting vocals, over a slow piano solo, begin softly, sadly, but gradually portray more and more of a woman's frustration at her inability to get over a past lover. This song is reminiscent of a temper tantrum, with the sudden burst of heavy guitar and drums expressing the heat of a moment of anger, and the subsequent return to subdued vocals and piano fading into silence representing the calm after the storm.
My Life as a Circus Clown
Artist:  Matthew Good Band
I wonder if you think of me While I wonder if you're not . . .	A brilliant demonstration of Good's skill with transition, this song slips from almost whimsical in its murmured verses into a defiant chorus.
One Man
Artist:  Richard Marx
One man stood tall And faced the devil with his back to the wall Right before my eyes He gave his life unselfishly So that all the father's children could be free . . .	A powerful, passionate song, though the victim of a fade-to-black conclusion. Marx goes for it with such gusto in the first chorus that one wonders what he could be saving for the end, but he still manages to finish with a bang due to a very effective key change.
Oracle
Artist:  Kittie
Caged in routine Brandishing a cold, loaded smile Everything has its purpose And you will suffer for what you've done . . .	I guarantee that you will not comprehend a single lyric of this song when you first hear it. This is pure, MTV-unfriendly metal, a tank of a track that will batter you, bruise you, and blow you away: two minutes of ear-splitting guitars and lead vocalist Morgan Lander's orgasmic guttural roar. Her voice is sex with a dominatrix, and if it were possible, you'd better believe I'd be drilling it. Kudos to these Canadian chicks.
Promises
Artist:  Adema
You do what you want to do You do what you want to me You've got your wish You've worn me down What did I do? Why do you lie? I see who you really are You're so played out . . .	Nowhere on this disc as in this cut is it so evident that, with the release of this lineup's last recording, Adema had finally perfected their sound with former singer Mark Chavez's unique voice, equal parts gritty and nasal. The emotion in his vocals is a perfect mix of despair and anger, especially evident in the last few chords. A similar contradictory blend is provided by the instruments: hard, heavy guitar and lilting keyboard strokes.
Slavery
Artist:  Spineshank
I will break away from you My regret is knowing you I reject the way you need This feels like slavery This ends it all . . .	When I hear this song, I feel the urge to scream, pull my hair, throw the devil horns up, run out and get everything pierced and mosh random people on the street. This song is hardcore, badass to the bone. Most impressive, in its mere two minutes and fifty-seven seconds, it does what few other songs can: makes me never want to date again.
Spit
Artist:  Kittie
Coward, may your death come quickly I feel the blood rush come right over me You will never be right in the eyes of the one who knew You trusted the devil and she will betray you . . .	When you hear lead singer Morgan Lander pause in the middle of this song to breathe loudly for several seconds, you truly believe that her body needs the break.
Staring at the Sun
Artist:  J. Englishman
I want to be the one Who is left here staring at the sun I want to be left behind I want to go blind But I can't close my eyes . . .	A perfect example of a rock ballad as ballads should be, carried by gorgeous, appropriately subtle vocals.
The Fate — Cluster Amaryllis
Instrumental, composed by Yoshitaka Hirota [Download Full Song]
A slice of the delicious pie that is the Shadow Hearts: Covenant soundtrack, but such a phenomenal stand-alone instrumental piece that it deserves to be listed here. It opens gently with bells, xylophones, acoustic guitars, and a cooing choir; builds upon itself with a single violin and an exotic vocal, both appropriately trembling; and bursts into a bridge that carries a surprising punch for preferring optimism to anger. A remarkable violin solo toward the end accurately emulates the shrieking guitar solos often found in modern rock anthems, and the song concludes with a waning, though strong, note—a haunting echo.
Who's Got My Back
Artist:  Creed
There's still time All that has been devastated can be recreated, realized We pick up the broken pieces of our lives Giving ourselves to each other When all we have left is deception, so disconnected What is the truth now? . . .	If you can ignore the sixty seconds of inexplicable Native American chanting at either end of this song, you might find that there's a good chunk of meat to it. The song is a bit pretentious in length, as though dawdling; it drags its melody right up to the point where I would ordinarily lose interest and stops just shy of it. Lead singer Scott Stapp's strong, gritty voice takes well to such power ballads.