Amy Lane's Top 5 Cover Versions of Already Awesome Songs

I admit-- I saw this on Twitter, and I shared it with my FaceBook Group and the response was amazing!  But everybody has their own preferences, and these are my favorite copies of already awesome songs!  

1.  Rufus Wainwright's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". While Cohen's has the darkness of irony, Wainwright's has a sort of wistfulness about it. He really does wish for an irony-free Hallelujah. 

2. Gary Jules version of Tears for Fears "Mad World".  Tears for Fears always sounds so joyous--even with this song in which joy is but a memory. Gary Jules makes us cry for the world without reason, without sanity, without peace. 

3. Van Halen's version of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman".  Roy Orbison's is wonderful, but I grew up on Van Halen's version, and to me their down and dirty guitar intro will always mean that woman is the most beautiful thing the singer has ever seen.

4. Johnny Cash's version of Nine Inch Nails's "Hurt".  Even NIN thought Cash's version was the ultimate in pain.

5. Sheryl Crow's version of Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine."  I think I like Sheryl's better because I used to sing this song at the top of my lungs for Mate (we were courting when it came out) and I changed the lyrics in exactly the same way.