BEST cover versions of songs?

[Jouster]

Califone's version of Psychic TV's "The Orchids."

[DoodleJump!]

i like Ryan Adam's cover of "Wonderwall".

[folksnake]

Long time favorite: Graham Parker and the Rumour's version of "I Want You Back", the Jackson 5 song.
That descending bass line kills me every time...

[emma]

today i heard the Be Good Tanyas' (whose website says that they "embrace the folk, country, and blues roots of American music with a little touch of the contemporary [...] performing music that transcends their birthdates and transports their listeners from the past to the present and vice-versa) cover of When Doves Cry and...I don't know what to think about anything anymore.

[Tim K in DC]

I am kind of partial to Johnny Cash covering, well, almost anything, but especially "In My Life". I think when he realized that he was close to the end, he really saw those recording sessions as opportunities to reflect on his life, and took full advantage of them. The Mercy Seat's great, Hurt's good, though I have heard it too many times.

I just think the fact that his recording set-up was so simple, just pick up a guitar and go, along with the fact that he was known for covering other writer's songs, gave him an opportunity to get so many great moments on tape that most artists could not pull off, because recording for them requires so much advance time to write and hone material, and get big arrangements right.

The Johnny Cash version of Gordon Lightfoot's "If I Could Read Your Mind" has put a lump in my throat on more than one occasion.

[buffcoat]

A lot of Radiohead covers...

Particularly Blondie's "Union City Blue," Can's "The Thief," and Magazine's "Shot By Both Sides."  And Thom Yorke/The Venus in Furs cover of Roxy Music's "2HB."

Shameful cover: I actually kind of like 10,000 Maniacs II's cover of "More Than This."

[Tim K in DC]

Random favorites of mine:

Doc Hopper - "867-5309 (Jenny)" by Tommy Tutone
Screaming Trees - "What Goes On" by VU
Neko Case - "Train From Kansas City" by (I think) The Shirelles
Tommy Keene - "Einstein's Day" by Mission Of Burma
Big Dipper - "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" by nem Husker Dudes
The Reigning Sound - "Brown Paper Sack" (composer was Larry Rogers, and I've heard an old version, but I'm not sure if it was Rogers performing the tune under his name or not; "last edit" coming up...)
Soul Asylum (screw you in advance, detractors) - "Barstool Blues" by Neil Young
The Queers - "It's Cold Outside" by The Choir
Lyres - "Seven" by The Sevens
Lyres - "No Reason To Complain" by The Alarm Clocks
(just a couple of examples of the great obscure covers that form the backbone of this band's recorded output)
The Rolling Stones - "That's How Strong My Love Is" by Otis Redding
Steel Pole Bathtub - "Surrender" by Cheap Trick
The Dogmatics - "King Size Cigarette" by The Law (a pre-Scruffy The Cat Charlie Chesterman outfit)

[bruce]

Neko Case - "Train From Kansas City" by (I think) The Shirelles

I believe its actually The Shangri-Las

[Denim Gremlin]

Neko Case - "Train From Kansas City" by (I think) The Shirelles

I believe its actually The Shangri-Las

it is

[Tim K in DC]

Neko Case - "Train From Kansas City" by (I think) The Shirelles

I believe its actually The Shangri-Las

it is

That's right. My bad.

[Rainer]

The Birthday Party's sloppy cover of "Loose" off "Drunk onThe Pope's Blood"

[Dorvid Barnas]

The Radioheads perform "Headmaster Ritual" by The Smiths.

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[Laurie]

Crooked Fingers does an incredible cover of "When U Were Mine." I love it as much as the original, I think.

Also, I love Blueboy's cover of "Favorite Things." It's one of my favorite things, like brown paper packages tied up in string and whiskers on kittens.

[Chris L]

Baby Huey's long, Curtis Mayfield-produced version of "A Change is Gonna Come," complete with weird/sad drug-fueled monologue. 

[PatrickChew]

I have 14 different covers of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" on my iTunes. Only Calexico's is any good (although the Tuvan throat singing version is pretty hot).