Top 20 Cover Songs That Are Better Than The Original

A cover of a song is basically a new rendition of an already recorded song done by a different artist and often done in a totally different style. Now I know that most people will say that the original song is always better than the cover version, and in most situations I would be inclined to agree with them. But there are cases where the cover is better than the original, and these are those cases. To be fair though, this is only my opinion and I will say that for pretty much all of these songs I also love the original version as well. Hit the jump for the list and some honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:
Not quite better than the original, but still really good covers.

• "Boyz in the Hood" by Dynamite Hack
• "Guitar Man" by Cake
• "One Tin Soldier" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
• "Turn the Page" by Metallica
• "Something in the Air" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda
• "Secret Crush" by Jimmy Eat World

Top 20 Covers and artist (original recording artist)

20.) "I Believe I Can Fly" by Me First and The Gimme Gimmes (R.Kelly)

19.) "Help!" by Howie Day (The Beatles)

18.) "Wonderwall" by Ryan Adams (Oasis)

17.) "Maps" by The Arcade Fire (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

16.) "Desolation Row" by My Chemical Romance (Bob Dylan)

15.) "The Heart of the Matter" by India.Arie (Don Henly)

14.) "Creep" by Ingrid Michaelson (Radiohead)

13.) "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright (John Cale plus hundreds of others) 

12.) "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann (Bruce Springsteen)

11.) "One" by Aimee Mann (Three Dog Night)

10.) "Hotel California" by The Gypsy Kings (The Eagle)
-What sounds almost like a completely different song thanks to the amazing sound of the Gypsy Kings through this Spanish language version of The Eagles classic, also holds the distinction of being a key part in one of the funniest films of all time The Big Lebowski.

9.) "Let It Be" by Carol Woods (The Beatles)
-From the Across the Universe soundtrack, this gospel version of the Beatles classic is the most powerful moment of an otherwise completely flat film. More importantly, the song stands on its own as a beautiful redition of one of Paul McCartney's best works.

8.) "Heartless" by The Fray (Kanye West)
-Alternative rockers The Fray took a relatively upbeat and straightforward hip-hop song and without changing the lyrics turned it into a completely different song that is less about one man being defiant against a cheating woman and more about lashing out in pain after the end of a relationship.

7.) "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm (Michael Jackson)
-The guitar and instrumentals are so much better in the AAF version, plus speeding the song up really adds layers to it and makes it a better track all the way around.

6.) "It Ain't Me Babe" by Johnny Cash and June Carter (Bob Dylan)
-This cover is made all that more heartfelt considering it was recorded during the time period where Johnny Cash was still trying unsuccessfully to woo June Carter, plus the combination of vocals works better than Dylan on his own.

5.) "All the Young Dudes" by Mott The Hoople (David Bowie)
-Again, a change in tempo works wonders revitalizing an otherwise forgettable Bowie track and the end result is a wonderful 80's rock and roll song.

4.) "Me and Bobby Mcgee" by Janis Joplin (Kris Kristofferson)
-Almost goes without saying, but Janis turns in her quintessential work in this cover, bringing her unique vocals to the next level in the song that catapulted her in the public consciousness.

3.) "Hurt" by Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
- Making the list for the second time, Johnny Cash brings a completely different sound and easily surpasses the NIN original.

2.) "With A Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker (The Beatles)
-Honestly, I don't think this needs any explanation. Just flat out a brilliant version of the song that easily surpasses the original.

1.) "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan)
-Could anything else be number one?