Song · Madonna
“Ray of Light” by Madonna
From the album Ray of Light (1998)
“Ray of Light” by Madonna appears on 5 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 1998 on the album Ray of Light. Its best result is #80 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,297 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Madonna). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Ray of Light" gave Madonna's seventh studio album its title and its second single in 1998, and it goes off like a flare over a warehouse dance floor. She produced it with William Orbit, Pat McCarthy engineered, and the song is built on "Sepheryn" by Curtiss Maldoon, with Dave Curtiss and Christine Leach sharing the writing credit alongside Madonna and Orbit. What they made is electronic dance music soaked in techno and trance, with Eurodance and disco in its blood: a synth pulsing on one note, an electric guitar riff slicing across it, and a lyric about breaking free.
It crashed in at number five on the Hot 100, her highest debut there, topped the dance club chart, and won Grammys for Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video. Jonas Åkerlund's video, Madonna singing against a parade of cities around the world, also took five MTV Video Music Awards.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 247 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 500 |
| 2021 | 795 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 749 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2023 | 332 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 80 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
Also listed as: Ray Of Light.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Ray of Light" by Madonna.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.