I knew I'd be in trouble if I got involved in this thread. Some good picks here, and I think I'll follow up on some of these and fill any holes that might exist in my collection.
I'm gonna add a list of my own -- tough to pick one, but if I had to, well...
I'll finish the list with my top, overall. Arguably not really a song, but it must be heard in it's entirety to have the proper effect.
A sampling of my faves:
Layla--Derek and the Dominoes
Roundabout--Yes
Battle of Evermore--Led Zeppelin
Ramble Tamble--Creedence Clearwater Revival
Mr. Tambourine Man--Bob Dylan
Machine Gun--Jimi Hendrix
Time--Pink Floyd
When the Music's Over--The Doors
2112--Rush
Comfortably Numb--Pink Floyd
House of the Rising Sun--The Animals
Can't Find My Way Home--Blind Faith
You Can't Always Get What You Want--The Rolling Stones (another good theme song for Madjack's)
Jumpin' Jack Flash--Stones
Gimme Some Shelter--Stones
Tales of Brave Ulysses--Cream
Baba O'Riley--The Who
American Pie--Don McLean
Opiated--The Tragically Hip
Warning--Black Sabbath
Jelly 292 (or virtually any other Hendrix instrumental)--Jimi
LA Woman--The Doors
Rock Bottom--UFO
Kashmir--Led Zeppelin
--too many other Zeppelin tunes to mention
Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen
Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley--Queen
...and the winner is...
Beatles medley from side 2 of Abbey Road:
...You Never Give Me Your Money/Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came in Through the Bathroom Window/Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End
This last piece takes it for me because listening to it always helps me to put any adversity in perspective, gets me in a good mood, it has some killer licks to get my blood flowing, and it has some sage bits of wisdom tossed in to help me remember who I am, where I am, and why reality ain't such a bad deal after all.
Happy Listening, one and all!
Extrapolater