19. “Shadrach,” The Beastie Boys, 1989

You might think I would go with “Fight for Your Right” here (but that’s not really a very good song) or maybe “Sabotage” (which is a better video than song), but after a long two minutes of thought, I’ve determined that this is the best single in the Beastie Boys repertoire. The second single off of their first post-stardom album, the musicianship evidenced by this song was leaps and bounds beyond anything on License to Ill. On Paul’s Boutique, the Beasties were for all intents an purposes a different act. That cost them in sales at the time, but years later, Paul’s Boutique is considered a landmark hip-hop album, and “Shardrach” is my favorite song on it.

Favorite Lyric: “Got the girlies in the Coupe like the Colenel’s got the chickens.”

Favorite Musical Moment: Since every note on this album is sampled, it seems silly to praise any musical moments on here. But the mixcraft is phenomenal.

Would It Make Good Karaoke? Hell no.