List Criteria For Best Soul Songs

In order to make it onto our list of the 100 greatest soul songs the music had to satisfy a number of criteria. First of all they had to be soul or songs with a strong soul element. So funk songs are not included unless they are soul songs with some funk elements in them.

The other factors aremore varied. The songs are higher or lower than other songs based on a number of factors such as...

Hit Factor
Most of the songs here were big hits on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart (also called 'Hot Black Singles' or 'Best Selling Soul Songs' depending on the year). Many of the songs that feature near the top of the list were also hits on the main Billboard Hot 100 list that covered the whole of popular music.

Popularity
Some songs have stood the test of time and are as popular today than when they were first released. Some are even more popular today perhaps due to their inclusion in television adverts, film soundtracks and other popular mediums.

Not all songs were big hits at the time of release for whatever reason, but became more popular as the years went on. We bear this in mind when ranking songs.

How Recognizable They Are
Linked to popularity, some songs are easily recognizable whereas some songs that were big hits are only recognizable to the hardcore soul devotees today. While the songs do not need to be recognizable to metal-heads, songs that are easily recognizable tend to fare better on this list.

Influence
Certain songs were very influential or are considered seminal or groundbreaking works. These songs are also likely to feature highly in our list.

Every entry in the top 100 soul songs list has done well in a number of these factors to be included. A combination of these factors was used to determine the final ranking of each song.

Now that you know the maths behind it...