1. Hurrian Hymn To Nikkal

1400 BCE - Syria

The Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal is more than 3,400 years old .These ancient clay tablets are the oldest surviving work of notated music in the world. Discovered in Ugarit, Syria, in the early 1950's, specialists took decades to decipher the melody from the tablets. The cuneiform music notation shows heptatonic diatonic scales and the melody was played on a nine-stringed lyre, using a tuning method described on other Akkadian tablets and inherited from the old Babylonian period.

3. Summer (part 3), from The Four Seasons

1725 - Vivaldi

The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is a group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives musical expression to a season of the year. They were published in 1725 in Amsterdam and where a revolution in musical conception in the way the orchestra was expressing the sounds of nature.

5. Fifth Symphony

1808 - Ludwig Van Beethoven

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor is one of the most iconic compositions in classical music. Beethoven was in his mid-thirties when he composed the symphony during several years before he premiered in Vienna in 1808. The Fifth symphony is widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music, between the classic and the romantic era.

7. The Entertainer

1902 - Scott Joplin

The Entertainer is a famous Ragtime, a musical genre created by afro descendants during the 19th century, that introduced syncopated rhythms to the playing of popular music in America. The ragtime had a tremendous influence on the creation of jazz and was the first afro American music to have such an impact on the evolution of music.

9. Cambalache

1934 - Enrique Santos Discépolo

Cambalache is an argentine tango song from 1934 explicitly critical of 20th-century corruption. The song was banned by a succession of dictatorial governments before censorship was relaxed under General Juan Perón.

11. Night in Tunisia

1942 - Dizzy Gillespie

A Night in Tunisia is one of the most famous jazz standards, composed during the be-bop era by trumpetist and composer Dizzie Gillespie. The tune features an unusual bass line, without the standard walking bass pattern of straight quarter notes, using a complex and syncopated ostinato that definitely has some African flavour.

13. My Baby Just Cares For Me

1958 - Nina Simone

Written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn, Nina Simone recorded the song in late 1957 for her debut album, Little Girl Blue, released the following year. The track remained relatively obscure until 1987, when it was used in a UK television commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume.

15. Qongqothwane (The Click Song)

1960 - Miriam Makeba

Qongqothwane is a traditional song of the Xhosa people of South Africa. Usually sung at weddings to bring good fortune, it became a universal hit in the early sixties through the interpretation of Miriam Makeeba. The Click Song, a nickname given to the song by European colonials who could not pronounce its Xhosa title, which has many click consonants in it.

17. Mr.Tambourine Man

1964 - Bob Dylan

One Dylan’s most iconic songs, originally published in the album Bringing it all Back Home (1965). This song has been covered by many bands, including a very popular version by The Byrds. The video presented here was recorded live a year before the album release, at the Newport Folk Festival.

19. Chega de Saudade

1965 - Antonio Carlos Jobim - João Gilberto

Chega de Saudade (also known as No More Blues in English) is one of the most iconic Brazilian bossa nova songs. Composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim by 1957, the lyrics were written by poet Vinicius de Moraes and the version featured here was performed by genius guitarist and singer João Gilberto on his first album, named after the song.

21. Castles Made of Sand

1967 - Jimi Hendrix

Castles Made of Sand is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience for their 1967 second album, Axis: Bold as Love. Recorded at the Olympic studios in London, UK, the song features Mitch Mitchell on drums, Noel Redding on bass Jimi Hendrix on guitars and vocals.

23. Think

1968 - Aretha Franklin

Think was written and performed by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released as a single in 1968, from her Aretha Now album. The song reached No. 7 on Billboard Hot 100, becoming Franklin's seventh top 10 hit in the United States. Franklin re-recorded the song for the soundtrack of the 1980 film The Blues Brothers and in 1989 for the album Through the Storm.

25. Pressure Drop

1970 - Toots & The Maytals

Pressure Drop is a song recorded in 1969 by Toots and the Maytals on the album Monkey Man. The song helped launch the band's career outside Jamaica as the song was featured on the soundtrack to the film The Harder They Come, which introduced reggae music to much of the world.

27. Bohemian Rhapsody

1975 - Queen

A song by the British rock band Queen, written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera. It is a six-minute suite, consisting of several sections without a chorus: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a coda. The song the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and eventually became the UK's third best-selling single of all time.

29. Another Brick in the Wall (part.2)

1979 - Pink Floyd

Another Brick in the Wall is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera album The Wall, written by English bassist Roger Waters. Part 2 is a protest song against rigid and abusive schooling, featuring a children's choir and a legendEnglishary guitar solo.

31. Rapper’s Delight

1979 - Sugar Hill Gang

The song that took Hip Hop from an underground NYC movement to the top of the charts...

33. Ederlezi

1988 - Goran Bregovic

Ederlezi is a folk song of the Romani minority in the Balkans that became well known by the movie The Time of the Gypsies by Emir Kusturiça. The song was performed by Macedonian singer Vaska Jankovska and arranged by Goran Bregovic.

35. Take The Power Back

1992 - Rage Against The Machine

Take the Power Back is the track #3 on Rage Against the Machine’s debut album, from 1992. Playing mainly a fusion of metal and rap, the band was formed in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk. As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide.

37. Nas Is Like

1999 - Nas

Nas Is Like is the first single from Nas' third album I Am.... The song is the sixth collaboration between Nas and producer DJ Premier.

39. Rubi

2010 - Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté

First track on the album Ali and Toumani by Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré on the guitar and vocals and Toumani Diabaté on the kora. Rubi also features upright bass player from Buena Vista Social Club, Orlando "Cachaito" López.