Top 11 Cover Songs
- CJ Tiernan
- Nov 4, 2025
- 5 min read
By CJ Tiernan
Sometimes you hear a song and it just knocks your socks off. You attempt to consume the artist's entire oeuvre or just listen to the song over and over again. But then again, sometimes a song is a miss. It doesn't hit right. It doesn't stick in your mind. You absorb it and move on. That is, until another artist comes along, dusts off the old track, and finds something new in it. Whether it's a new spin or just done in the artist's typical style, a change of scenery can completely change everything. Below is a list of songs that blew me away only to find that it was a second (or third or fourth) crack at making it great. I give you my 11 favorite cover songs that were better than the original.
Original Artist: Leonard Cohen
In the show "How I Met Your Mother," Ted Mosby (architect) divulges the translation for the Japanese word "karaoke" is "empty orchestra." He follows this revelation up by asking, "isn't that hauntingly beautiful?" I believe "hauntingly beautiful" is the perfect phrase for describing Jeff Buckley's version of this song. It sounds distant and jarring while also tender and heartfelt. Malcolm Gladwell actually did an entire episode of his "Revisionist History" podcast about this song that is worthy of your time.
Original Artist: Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie
I could listen to the beginning of this of song on a loop for the rest of time. It is so great. While the original version is too nothing-burger for me, the Zeppelin cover is epic. Obviously, most everything that Led Zeppelin touched turned to gold. "You Shook Me" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" were also cover songs, but "When the Levee Breaks" stands alone in my book as their best cover (and possibly my favorite song of theirs period).
Original Artist: The Top Notes
The first time I heard this song was in the parade scene of the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Ferris hops up on a float and lip-syncs along to the song. It would be several years before I found out the version I heard was by The Beatles and longer still before I found out it was not originally performed by them. I remember seeing their name listed as the artist when trying to download it off of LimeWire (hopefully the statute of limitations is up on that crime) and I didn't believe it. I launched into research mode (a.k.a. Google) and it wasn't even for a class. The sound just feels so pure and raw, like The Kingsmen song "Louie Louie."
Original Artist: Dolly Parton
I have never seen the movie "The Bodyguard." I don't really believe in Kevin Costner. He just doesn't scratch that itch for me. My fear is that he could be replaced with a cardboard cutout of himself without any element of his performance being lost. However, this song (performed for the movie). Oh man, this song. "I Will Always Love You" is one of the most singular performances of a song in the history of songs. And, believe it or not, it's actually a pretty faithful cover of the original. Whitney Houston just un-country-ifies it and, you know, does her thing.
Original Artist: Michael English
To be fair to the world at large, creating a 5-part harmony of a song is usually gonna bring out the best. These guys are the bee's knees, especially around the Holiday season. The intensity and energy these guys bring to their songs is borderline untouchable. "Mary, Did You Know?" tends to stand out as the best among them. They also have a great cover of Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah."
Original Artist: Tears for Fears
I'd be curious to know if "Donnie Darko" is still a movie that everyone discovers in High School and has to talk about. That's certainly how I first found my way to it. It is a dark and melancholy movie and so they turned an '80s pop hit into a dark and melancholy song. They stripped this song down and played it with haunting piano and hushed vocals. It's tremendous.
Original Artist: Judy Garland
This is the only medley on my list. It is also the only song on the list that features the ukulele. It's tough to go up against the greatness of Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz." In Israel's defense, he waited like 60 or 70 years to try. This is another version of a song that is really stripped down from the original, replacing a full orchestra with a uke. Sick!
Original Artist: Stevie Wonder
Don't get me wrong, the Stevie Wonder version of this song is great. It is unquestionably my favorite original version of all the songs on this list. But that funky bass that Flea adds to the proceedings can't be dismissed. This song has an energy (as do most Red Hot Chili Peppers song) that you can't help but feed off, which feels fitting for a song off the album "Mother's Milk."
Original Artist: Patti Smith Group
There are a ton of great choices for best songs from MTV Unplugged. That was a show (I don't know if they still do it) where artists would come on and do a concert of a lot of stripped down versions of their songs (a.k.a. acoustic a.k.a. unplugged from the amp). Most of the iconic performances on the show over the years were of the artist's own material. However, in addition to this song, one could choose from any of a half-dozen Nirvana cover songs. I love "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" but I know that a lot of people love the cover of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World." "Because the Night" is my favorite. I love the roar of the crowd at the beginning. You can just feel the energy (am I using the word "energy" too much when talking about music? Should I start using something else? Vibes, maybe? How 'bout zeal?)
Original Artist: Anne Preven
The original version of this song sounds even more '90s than this cover version. That feels crazy to me because this song has a real chance to make the list if I did a Top 11 List of the most '90s songs of the '90s (I can't explain it, you just had to be there). This is a version that is more poppy and peppy than the original. It's nice to not just have the only way to make a great cover song be to "strip it down."
Original Artist: U2
Have you heard this Jack White guy? He's pretty good. This cover version is so cool. He adds an effervescence to the original that Bono and the boys just couldn't seem to find. Add in his vocal work and the way he seems to have his voice break at the peak of the screams. It is awesome. There's also no shortage of guitar-flavored shreddage going on. [Insert "rock on" emoji here]
Final Thoughts
Cover songs are not just a way to add tracks to a song or setlist. They can be a fresh approach or different take to further showcase the range or musical ability of an artist. I'm sure that you have a favorite cover song. If it didn't make my list, please let me know in the comments. It's possible I just haven't heard it yet. Thanks!
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