Song · Cat Power
“The Greatest” by Cat Power
From the album The Greatest (2006)
“The Greatest” by Cat Power appears on 13 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2009 and 2025. It was first released in 2006 on the album The Greatest. Its best result is #80 on the BBC 6 Music 100 Best Tracks Of The Last 10 Years. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #692 indie & aaa song of all time and #239 of the '00s.
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"The Greatest" is the title song of Cat Power's seventh album, released in 2006, and it finds Chan Marshall at the head of a full band, strings and horns included. Every track on that record was her own, the first Cat Power album with no covers at all, and she wrote this one top to bottom, singing it and playing guitar and piano.
Behind her is the Memphis Rhythm Band: Mabon Hodges on guitar, Leroy Hodges on bass, Steve Potts on drums, Rick Steff on piano, organ and keys, and Doug Easley on guitar and pedal steel. Roy Brewer's violin, Beth Luscone's viola and Jonathan Kirkscey's cello supply the strings, with Jim Spake on sax and Scott Thompson on trumpet. Stuart Sikes recorded it, and he and Marshall mixed it together. The result sounds late-night and gorgeous, all slow burn.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 173 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade | 913 |
| 2009 | 355 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Essential Songs | 913 |
| 2013 | 80 | BBC Radio 6 Music | BBC 6 Music 100 Best Tracks Of The Last 10 Years | 100 |
| 2016 | 692 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2019 | 460 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2019 | 368 | WYEP | WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 | 1017 |
| 2019 | 368 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2022 | 110 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2022 | 382 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 760 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 419 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 746 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 498 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
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