# The best Leonard Cohen songs

Cohen's greatest songs as ranked by Paste, Newsweek, Gold Radio and Rolling Stone readers, from "Suzanne" to "You Want It Darker".

- 347 votes · 17 items
- Sep 24, 2024 · vinylhead_grumpy
- https://even.best/en/l/2654/the-best-leonard-cohen-songs

## Top 17

1. **Hallelujah** (28 · ▲30 ▼2) — 1984. Ignored at first, now one of the most covered songs ever.
2. **So Long, Marianne** (25 · ▲26 ▼1) — 1967. A farewell to his muse Marianne Ihlen.
3. **Suzanne** (23 · ▲28 ▼5) — 1967. His first great song, about Suzanne Verdal.
4. **Everybody Knows** (19 · ▲22 ▼3) — 1988. Sardonic and modern, from I'm Your Man.
5. **Chelsea Hotel \#2** (19 · ▲22 ▼3) — 1974. A memory of a famous hotel encounter.
6. **Bird on the Wire** (16 · ▲20 ▼4) — 1969. A plea for forgiveness.
7. **Famous Blue Raincoat** (13 · ▲17 ▼4) — 1971. A love triangle told in a letter.
8. **Anthem** (13 · ▲14 ▼1) — 1992. The song about the crack where the light gets in.
9. **Avalanche** (11 · ▲17 ▼6) — 1971. One of his bleakest songs.
10. **First We Take Manhattan** (11 · ▲13 ▼2) — 1988. Synths and dark humour.
11. **I'm Your Man** (11 · ▲13 ▼2) — 1988. A seductive title track.
12. **Sisters of Mercy** (8 · ▲11 ▼3) — 1967. A tender song about two women who sheltered him.
13. **Tower of Song** (8 · ▲10 ▼2) — 1988. A wry song about being a songwriter.
14. **Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye** (7 · ▲11 ▼4) — 1967. A gentle breakup song.
15. **You Want It Darker** (7 · ▲11 ▼4) — 2016. Released weeks before his death.
16. **The Partisan** (6 · ▲13 ▼7) — 1969. A French Resistance song.
17. **Dance Me to the End of Love** (2 · ▲9 ▼7) — 1984. A waltz with a dark origin.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.