New Songs, Top 10 Song Lists and more - AOL Radio Blog

The impact Billie Holiday songs had on the jazz and jazz-singing genre is impossible to over-estimate. Holiday made her recording debut in 1933 in a band led by Benny Goodman, and continued working up until her death in 1959. The 10 Billie Holiday songs included here are all classics, as are many others she recorded, providing a brief but vivid picture of jazz singing's greatest stylist.

John Coltrane songs pushed the boundaries of jazz and improvisation to its very limits, fusing both modal and free jazz techniques. While recording as a leader for Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse! -- and even working with Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis at one point -- saxophonist John Coltrane carved out an incredible legacy as a composer, arranger and player. Here's the best, by the best.

Miles Davis songs truly were miles ahead of the pack. Just think, in his 50-year career, Davis covered more ground than the likes of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and even John Coltrane. Starting with his bebop apprenticeship with Charlie Parker, Davis went on to record orchestral numbers with Gil Evans, worked with John Coltrane, formed a second great quintet, developed an electric fusion sound and even transcended into pop in the '80s and early '90s. One reason for his success was his unerring ability to find brilliant new sidemen to push the music new directions. But even more than that was the man's playing -- especially his sensuous work with a Harmon horn mute -- and how he could charge ahead with dark muscular tone that was never overshadowed, regardless of the setting. As rated by AOL Radio Listeners, here are the Top 10 Miles Davis Songs.

The blues, perhaps more than any other song form, focus on the politics of the male-female dynamic. "She Done Me Wrong" is just one of the scenarios bluesy players croon about, alongside the "going out and having a good time" variety, the "I can't be tied down" situation and the "please let me come back" synopsis. There are even the thinly or not so thinly veiled propositions of what you want to do once the deal is sealed. But bluesmen are never bluer than when their baby has done them wrong in one way or another. Here is AOL Radio's Top 10 "She Done Me Wrong" Blues Classics, by some of the greatest players, old and new.

The origin of Bossa Nova songs is a little hazy, but it's generally accepted that Antonio Carlos Jobim was at the center creating the genre in the late '50s for his work on the 'Black Orpheus' soundtrack, as well as other collaborations. The term generally means "a new way of doing things," and the genre took the classic samba sound of Brazil and mellowed it out with jazz and a pinch of pop balladry. The result is classic rhythm paired with some beautifully minimalist melodies. Outside of Brazil, the music became an international sensation thanks to jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and singer-guitarist Joao Gilberto's landmark 'Getz/Gilberto' album (which also featured Jobim and Gilberto's wife Astrud). Below are our Top 10 Bossa Nova Songs, as chosen by AOL Radio listeners.

The greatest jazz songs encompass character, beauty and innovation -- and produced some of America's greatest music legacies. Some critics will be quick to point out that there is not one song on this list recorded after 1960 -- however these jazz songs are time-tested landmarks that have created the language of jazz.

Smooth jazz songs don't generate a whole lot of respect from musicians and critics, but the music does boast a huge fan base. Playing up the pop side of jazz and mixing in the smooth side of funk, the music's great stars have produced many classic tunes over the years. Smooth jazz is a polished sound that favors clean production and repetitive rhythms over improvisation, often at its best when creating a mood that ranges from romantic to just chillin' (though the beats are moving enough for mid-tempo dancing). Here are our Top 10 Smooth Jazz Songs, as rated by AOL Radio Listeners.