Beyond Gold: Your Ultimate ABBA Playlist

There’s not shortage of reasons to love Abba, and these fun facts make Abba all the more delightful!

ABBA is pop on steroids, incorporating strands of disco, glam rock and musical theatre, making Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid the queens and kings of Swedish pop.

I’ve been an unapologetic ABBA fan my entire life, as they were a huge part of my childhood, and probably were for a lot of Australians (they’re big down under!). Dressing up as Anni-Frid Lyngstad for my eighth-grade school disco remains one of my favourite memories. And the “Waterloo” dance” I learnt for the law revue is permanently implanted in my kinaesthetic memory.

Deciding on a favourite ABBA song is an endless source of contemplation! In a recent conversation with my sister:

It is. Then my mum joined the conversation. After considering “The Name of The Game,” then “The Winner Takes It All,” we finally settled on “Chiquitita.” A hard-won fight.

There are so many fun facts and reasons to love ABBA:

You instinctively know the rhyme. Every. Bloody. Time. In an uncertain world, there’s nothing like a glib musical reprieve.

Abba appeals to so many nationalities!

Italy has “Mamma Mia!,” Spain has “Chiquitita,” “Fernando” and the entire Gracias Por La Música album. Unfortunately Australia got “Bang-A-Boomerang” but hey, we’ll take what we can get! Global marketing geniuses.

Abba has incredible album art!

Whether it’s their captivating photography, or my personal favourite, the illustrations of Hans Arnold.

One word: emotion. People complain the the latter ABBA albums are too bitter and twisted. And all I can say to that is: if you’re not prepared for pop with real emotion, then resign yourself to a lifetime of Creed and cynical studio-created boy bands. I tend to avoid melodrama in my own life, but I relish in the melancholy of ABBA. Their songs are much like the films of Almodóvar and Douglas Sirk. They all belong in the same category of heightened emotion meets kitsch.

Their interpersonal situation is…complicated

The women are singing songs that were written by their partners, about their own relationships. It’s deep, guys. Hella deep. You don’t understand a song? You will one day. Some songs held an anthology of adult possibility that gained clearer meaning as you grew. Everything from “Name of the Game,” to “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”

Benny’s smile

Cracks me up. Every time.

Although ABBA’s massive hits eclipse lesser-known songs on their albums, this playlist presents an array of songs that are all potential anthems. Here, we present Your Ultimate ABBA Playlist in chronological order. An ABBA playlist is nothing to mess around with: