There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting in a small club, having paid a dollar or two cover, sipping Jack Daniel's, and listening to a song writer doing the best version of his or her latest song. In honor of the many song writers whose music does wonderful things for my state of mind, I offer two very subjective listings of songs which have meant a lot to me. Both pages have many links to lyrics, writers, and artists, as well as sound clips.
Classic songs are important in some sense.
A classic song does not have to be a good song in the technical sense. That's a separate list. And remember that songs come from writers. My definition of a great song is simple. A great song, though written by a song writer, and possibly representing much time and effort, appears as if it were plucked whole from the cosmic ether.