Who gave the best 'SNL' music performances? The Replacements and Prince rank near the top


Who gave the best 'SNL' music performances? The Replacements and Prince rank near the top

In honor of "Saturday Night Live" celebrating its 50th anniversary this fall, list-loving Rolling Stone has ranked the top 50 musical performances on "SNL."

The Replacements rated No. 2 with "Bastards of Young," and Prince posted No. 4 with "Partyup" -- relatively early career performances from two revered Minneapolis acts.

On Jan. 18, 1986, the 'Mats were "just the right amount of drunk," writes Gavin Edwards.

As for Prince, he was booked for just one selection on Feb. 21, 1981, when Todd Rundgren was also a musical guest. Edwards pointed out that "Partyup" was one of the few selections on Prince's then-current "Dirty Mind" album with lyrics suitable for television.

Rolling Stone evaluated more than 900 "SNL" shows and opted for only one song from each act.

David Bowie grabbed the top spot with his performance of "The Man Who Sold the World" in 1979.

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