This list, mes braves, is why I love the now-on-hiatus Popdose.

(Even if at least 78 of the 100 are wrong.)

How wonderful to see this particular gem finally recognised, too:

17. Nick Lowe, “Cruel to Be Kind”
Nick Lowe has become known for many things in his time: writing “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” one of Elvis Costello’s signature songs (see #88 below); earning a cool million in royalties when Curtis Stigers covered it for the soundtrack toThe Bodyguard in 1992; having his single “Heart of the City” be the first ever released on Stiff Records; producing the first British punk album ever released (the Damned’s Damned Damned Damned); being Johnny Cash’s son-in-law; and rhyming “Rick Astley” with “ghastly.” For the members of the general populace who aren’t card-carrying music geeks, however, Nick Lowe is just the guy who sings “Cruel to Be Kind,” but, really, that’s a pretty decent credit to have on your resumé in and of itself. Backed by fellow former Rockpile members Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams, “Cruel” — which he cowrote with another Brinsley-Schwarz alumni, Ian Gomm — possesses a hook that has been stuck in people’s heads since they first heard in 1978, but it also has lyrics that sneak up on you with their profundity about the cyclical nature of a love-hate relationship. “You say your love is bona fide, but that don’t coincide with the things that you do,” sings Lowe. “And when I ask you to be nice, you say you’ve gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure.” Although this is ostensibly “a very, very, very good sign,” our hero continues to pick himself back off the ground, only be knocked back down again and again until the song fades to a close. So does that make us romantic sadists for wanting to sing along? –Will Harris