Top 30 Muse Songs (30-26)

We are merely one week away from the latest release from my personal favorite band Muse. The astounding thing about this band is longevity and quality of new material over the years. They formed in 1994, their first album Showbiz was released in 1999 and has released a new album every 2-3 years since, steadily growing in popularity with each release. Also, it's common for a band to have some moving pieces during the years but not for Muse, they've had the same 3 original members the entire 21 years. They've been compared to the likes of Queen, Radiohead, AC/DC but none of those comparisons seem to properly fit because they have an evolving and constantly-changing identity with each album (which strikes a fervent debate amongst loyal fans every single time). Still, at the core of all this is 3 insanely talented musicians, led by Matt Bellamy who always seems like a musical mad scientist. They seem to genuinely enjoy their fans and their main purpose behind each album seems to be because it gives them a reason to tour and play in-front of the biggest crowds any musical group has ever seen around the world. If you haven't been to one of their shows, I couldn't recommend anything more than seeing Muse live. Say what you will about their studio recordings, love, hate or indifferent, I will always stand firm that Muse is THE BEST live act in the world and NEEDS to play a Super Bowl halftime show one of these years.

But with all that out of the way, to celebrate their forthcoming 7th album, Drones, I've put together the top 30 Muse songs and will release the list 5 song at a time. Let me know if you agree/disagree and if you know nothing about the band, consider this Muse 101. Enjoy!

Honorable Mention: The Exo-Genesis Symphony
It's hard to exactly place this piece. It's a symphony composed by band leader Matt Bellamy that was separated into 3 tracks at the end of their Resistance album. Does it count as one song or 3 separate songs and where would each rank among each other? The thought of all that made my head hurt but it does deserve a place somewhere because it's incredible and it's Muse doing what they do best and that's trying something they've never done before.


30. Sunburn
We start with the natural place, the beginning. When you popped in Muse's first album Showbiz, this is the first track on the album. Sunburn sets the tone as to what Muse is all about, amazing guitar work and the patented Bellamy falsetto.


29. Feeling Good
It's probably one of the most covered songs ever. Originally written and performed for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint in 1964, it's been performed by Nina Simone and Michael Buble but the general consensus seems to be that Muse did it best when the song was included in their Origin of Symmetry album in 2001. Extra tidbit: Muse's version of the song was included in the movie Seven Pounds.


28. United States of Eurasia
Here's the song that really kickstarted the Queen comparisons. This song from Resistance is probably best described as completely over the top and clearly inspired by Bohemian Rhapsody in some fashion while maintaining their Muse-ness. Also, as a huge Chopin fan, I greatly enjoyed Nocturno Op 9 no 2 being played at the end.


27. Cave
The original version of the song on their debut album is classic but it got shuffled out of mind as time went on. This song makes the list now because a few years ago, the song started to re-emerge into their live shows but with a few tweaking done with the piano part that I really dig. Unfortunately, they never performed this version at a concert that was professionally recorded so we have to settle for a fan-recording. Still incredibly enjoyable.

26. Bliss 
This song from Origin of Symmetry has also been experiencing a bit of a resurgence in Muse's live shows as of late. And as you'll notice, I have a hard time decided whether to post the studio or live version of the song. Almost always I want to post the live version but I get that some newcomers should hear the song as originally intended. What a paradox.



Be sure to check out Irrelevant But Awesome tomorrow to see which songs make the cut as we continue to rank Muse's best songs.