The 20 greatest Velvet Underground songs, ranked

There is something achingly beautiful about this piece from Lou Reed--the song makes you feel like you're riding off into a cream and gelato sunset, windows down, birds silhouetted in the distance.

The first single from the smash hit Loaded, Who Loves the Sun is a contender for the band's cutest song. It sounds more like a Beach Boys record than a Velvet Underground single, though Reed does throw in a few snarky lines. 

Thanks to its sad, stormy vibe, this tune about love, loss, and fate is one juicy story. Based on Edie Sedgwick's affair with guitarist John Cale, Femme Fatale is a full-blown tragedy, and Nico delivers each verse with a cold, I knew this would happen smirk. 

Released in 1969, Beginning To See The Light is the definition of a banger. The melody is bright, the chorus catchy. And the lyrics ("there are problems in these times/ but wooo, none of them are mine!") are pure bliss. 

The Velvets proved they were still the most experimental band on the planet with Ocean in 1970. Backed by crashing cymbals, the song is more an experience than a BOP, more an art installation than a song. It's something to be felt, not heard. 

An unexpected hit for the Velvets featuring Cale on organ and guitar, What Goes On remains a favorite among Velvetheads and fans of rock and roll. 

Perhaps the most uplifting song in The Velvets discography, Rock and Roll is a love letter to the genre and an ode to the power of music. Putting on the right record can turn a bad day into a great one, which is what this song is all about. 

The Velvets were no stranger to head-bangers, and this is no exception. Cale's solos are some of the most vicious and visceral in rock history, often competing with Reed's vocals like a boxer exchanging blows in the 12th. 

A somewhat sour tale of a woman picking out a dress, All Tomorrow's Parties was Andy Warhol's favorite track on the album he produced. He couldn't get enough of the song's harmony, the fusion of Nico's voice, Cale's piano, and Moe Tucker's drums. Give it a listen and you'll see why. 

The title track of their second feature-length album, released in 1968, is a stunning showcase for Reed's vocals. He sings with such enthusiasm you have to wonder if there was any on-hand for recording. 

Sunday Morning is the dawn after a party, the coffee after a hangover, the mimosa after a snooze. It's a lovely, refreshing reminisce of yesterday's adventures. 

Yet another drug-fueled track, I'm Waiting For The Man was written by Reed before Velvet Underground even existed. That being said, it was Cale who brought it to life with his thrumming guitar. He took a regular story and turned it into a singular masterpiece. 

Offering his take on the Neil Young ballad, Reed wrote this one in '69, and it might be the band's most successful record. 

Sister Ray isn't so much a song as an eruption. It sounds like the universe splitting open, the shrapnel of planets and stars and moons bouncing off each other at light speed. For 17-minutes straight, Reed's lyrics clash with Cale's instrumentals in what might just be the most epic song ever made. 

Originally a minor hit for Nico in 1967, her version of These Days eventually became more popular than Jackson Browne's original, finding popularity 40-years-later with The Velvet Underground & Nico: Deluxe Edition. Better late than never, am I right?

The song mimics the narrator's high, starting off slowly, then picking up speed and building to a frenetic crescendo (highlighted by Cale's guitar) before coming back down in the end. It's a song only VU could have made. 

Originally intended for Reed, I'll Be Your Mirror was an immediate hit for Nico after its release in 1967. You won't find a better use of her vocals anywhere. 

A staple of FM radio, Sweet Jane is the quintessential rock song. As many have noted, it has a great riff and a great story. Somehow, they both come together in what many consider to be Reed's greatest achievement. 

Hushed, lyrical, and almost unbearably beautiful, Pale Blue Eyes depicts an affair between Reed and a married woman, who he also sees as his best friend. There are louder, more intense Velvets songs, but none more powerful. 

For a group that influenced more bands than The Beatles, The Velvet Underground's catalog is remarkably rich with songs that still sound like nothing else. Venus in Furs, for instance: there isn't a single song that sounds even remotely close to this dark, austere masterwork, with its chambers and concubines and whips and viola strings. It's utterly timeless--The Velvet Underground in a nutshell.