Counting Crows Songs Ranked

Counting Crows is an American rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1991. The band consists of Adam Duritz (lead vocals), David Bryson (rhythm guitar), Charlie Gillingham (keyboards), Dan Vickrey (lead guitar), David Immerglück (guitars), Jim Bogios (drums), and Millard Powers (bass).
Counting Crows gained popularity following the release of its debut album, August, and Everything After (1993). Featuring the breakthrough hit single “Mr. Jones” (1993), the album sold more than seven million copies in the United States. The band received two Grammy Awards nominations in 1994, one for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for “Round Here”) and one for Best New Artist. Other hit singles include “Rain King”, “A Long December”, “Hanginaround”, and a cover version of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”. Counting Crows received a 2004 Academy Award nomination for the single “Accidentally in Love”, which was included in the film Shrek 2. The band has sold more than 20 million albums and is known for its dynamic live performances. Here are all of the Counting Crows’ songs ranked.

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15. A Murder of One (August and Everything After, 1993)

“If I had to describe this song in one word it would be “desperation.” There is such desperation in Adam’s lyrics: he’s desperate to save his friend from this unhealthy relationship. Throughout the song, he’s pleading with her to leave this guy, to do something better with her life – to stop wasting it. I feel like the desperation builds throughout the song until finally at the end he can say only one word, repeated over and over again: Change.”

14. Washington Square (Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, 2008)

“It sounds like a man who became successful with a wife but love failed him and now he’s looking at the clock at the bar feeling alone looking for his friends and family that have apparently distanced from him.”

13. Good Time (Hard Candy, 2002)

“This song has to be about the days in between lovers. You just want to have a “good time”. It’s a very simple statement but yet it has so much depth. “Just wanna have a good time” been there. In there!! That’s why I’m reading lyrics to all these wonderful Crows songs. The best soundtrack for this part of my life. Oh- yeah and I really love those red haired girls….being from Texas and all.”

12. Colorblind (Cruel Intentions, 1999)

“To me, this song is not about giving yourself to someone, but coming to terms with yourself. You’re going through the motions, nothing being vivid to you specifically. When it comes to parts of the song like ‘I I am ready. I am fine.’ How do you ‘feel’ fine specifically? In ways I think it’s coming to terms with depression, or a form of sadness. ‘I am covered in skin’ kinda just blatantly saying there is nothing here but a body, what is inside is unknown or confusing. ‘No one gets to come in’ meaning no one would understand.”

See more: Counting Crows Albums Ranked

11. Rain King (August and Everything After, 1993)

“All that talk about how they suck poppycock, this is very good pop/rock music. Who cares if they do not have the most manly noise ever, this reminds me of Gordan Dano and some other acts from the 1990’s with the added dimension of original music. There songs were usually of melancholy and other general despair and that made it even more original. They sounded good live from what I remember too.”

10. Hanginaround (This Desert Life, 1999)

“This song is about feeling wasted and lost, and worrying about how your future is going to be… In the end he makes a conclusion, that he still has a lot of time to be “lost” before he makes a decision on how to go on with his life.”

9. Anna Begins (August and Everything After, 1993)

“I’ve always felt as though the guy in this song was in love with a girl who’s emotionally unstable, and who doesn’t trust herself to love anyone. I feel as though when he talks about her talking in her sleep and how he can’t sleep in a quiet room, he’s wrestling with her instability and trying to convince himself that he can get past it, but he’s having trouble coping with her demons and it leaves him in this awful sort of limbo… he loves her but can’t get close to her. He wants to be the one to break through her walls, because he believes he can heal her, that he loves her enough to overcome all of that… but instead he’s facing a less promising reality in which he realizes that there’s no one who will get through to her until she’s ready and can trust someone on her own.”

8. Big Yellow Taxi (Hard Candy, 2002)

“Originally a nice and simple (especially by her standards) tune by Joni Mitchell. First couple of times I heard the CC version, it was o.k., but extensive airplay on Dutch radio has really killed this song, and even made me like CC less than they deserve, based on their earlier great recordings and even greater concerts in 1997 and 1999.”

7. Omaha (August and Everything After, 1993)

“To me, it’s about how life turns people over just like leaves, just like the seasons change. I agree with you, infidel, the line is powerful. This song makes me feel… sort of sentimental.”

6. Goodnight Elisabeth (Recovering the Satellites, 1996)

“I think this song means wanting to love someone, and you actually get the chance to(love that one person that you always picture, maybe the person you know exists). You can only love this person for a short time though, and you eventually have to say goodbye to this person.”

See more: The Killers Albums Ranked

5. Holiday in Spain (Hard Candy, 2002)

“I immediately thought this was a depressing song, but it has transformed itself in my mind to a laid back, emotionless song. It reminds me of times when everything in your life is ok. Nothing exceptional, nothing heartbreaking, just fine. It is an ordinary day put to beautiful music”

4. A Long December (Recovering the Satellites, 1996)

“Pretty much every month for me is very long. The pains of heartbreak or always hard to get over. This has good melodies, nice hooks, and cool lyrics. Big fan of the Counting Crows always have been.”

3. Accidentally in Love (Shrek 2: Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2004)

“This song is so simple and so, so true. Falling in love is such an accident, well, a good one, but an accident no less. This song is just emphasizing that. The tune is adorable and upbeat, and Shrek 2 (this song was recorded for the soundtrack) was so. fucking. funny.”

2. Round Here (August and Everything After, 1993)

“This song is amazing. The chorus where he says “round here, she’s always on my mind” gives me the chills everytime i here it on the album version. There is so much feeling behind it, and i think everyone knows what it’s like to always have someone on their mind, especially when that is painful”

1. Mr. Jones (August and Everything After, 1993)

“It is a great alternative rock song. The singing is pretty unique and i enjoy it quite a lot, instrumentally it is also pretty above average. Lyrically it has mixed results, i can see what they are trying to achieve but i guess they simply lack the writing skills to achieve it. The song is very catchy, and fortunately for me it wasn’t overplayed on the radios. I still haven’t grown tired of it.”