Very common opinion, but "Hurt" originally by NIN covered by Johnny Cash. He really puts his mark on it, especially considering how old he was when he did the cover.

Jimi Hendrix's version of All Along The Watchtower by Bob Dylan. It's likely to be the only version of the song most people have ever heard.

My personal favorites that I like better than the originals and I LOVE the originals:

Whiskey in the Jar - Metallica

Take On Me - Reel Big Fish

99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger

Land of Confusion - Disturbed

La Isla Bonita - Twilight Guardians

Spaceballs - Majestica

Black Betty - Spiderbait

Thriller - Scandroid

Electric Avenue - Skindred

Nirvana did a bunch of great ones during their brief time together.

The Man Who Sold The World has already been mentioned, but their versions of Turnaround by Devo, Plateau and Lake of Fire by Meat Puppets, and Where Did you Sleep Last Night and They Hung Him On A Cross by Leadbelly are all beautiful renditions in their own ways.

Of those, I'd say that Where Did You Sleep Last Night and both of the Meat Puppets covers are just as distinctly re-stanked by that Nirvana magic as their Bowie cover was. I like their version of They Hung Him On A Cross more than the original too, but tbh it always made me feel a bit weird hearing a white man singing that one. I get that it came from a place of reverence and compassion, but....idk man. I am both mixed race and have mixed feelings on that one lol. At the same time though, if any white man was to cover that one, I'm glad it was him since the hurt inherent to Kurt's voice was a perfect match for the vibe and tone.

Nirvana's version of The Man Who Sold the World.

The Donnie Darko (slowed down version) of Tears for Fears, Mad World.

Crooked Fingers - Long Black Veil

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Whitney Houston's "I will always love you". I love Dolly Parton but Whitney slayed this song.

Goldfinger version of 99 red balloons absolutely nails it in my opinion

The Disturbed cover of Land of Confusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV4oYkIeGJc

Amish Paradise

Way better understanding of the holy mission, ×1699 times expansion on what the original did

faith no more’s easy

A weird one:

"Sludgefest", an old Alvin and the chipmunks pop record slowed back down to the speed the vocals were recorded.

The result is unironically good – a grimy, moody sound, with deep growling guitar.

Hurt (Nine Inch Nails) by covered Johnny Cash

Just a Friend (Freddie Scott) covered by Biz Markie

The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie) covered by Nirvana

Also, on a personal note, I am struggling to not post any remixes. ^Ah^ ^shit.^

Cardigans, Burning Down the House with Tom Jones. Of course the original is incredible, but this version slaps.

I will survive by cake.

My first high school dance freshman year they played the original and i belted out every word from memory because i spent all summer listening to Fashion Nugget.

Eric Clapton's unplugged version of Layla is an entirely different experience than the original.

A Perfect Circle's version of Imagine by John Lennon is my favorite cover song. They add so much groove, atmosphere and melancholy to the song. It's beautiful.

Obediah Parker – Hey Ya (Originally Outkast)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=c745E7T_Wvg

Aretha Franklin - Bridge Over Troubled Water (originally by Simon and Garfunkel)

Sly & The Family Stone - Que Sera, Sera (originally Doris Day)

The Isley Brothers - Love The One You're With (originally Steven Stills)

Two stick out for me.

Skye Edwards - Feel Good Inc

Lily Allen - Mad World

By no means do I think she did it better than Joplin. But Pink's AOL Sessions performance of Me and Bobby McGee has stuck in my head for decades now. (And for what it's worth, both are better than the original from Kristofferson)

https://youtu.be/wwmUMvhy-lY

Second choice, and another one that I legitimately think is better than the original, *Tweeter and the Monkey Man" by The Headstones.

https://youtu.be/eLEvl_uplUk

Edited: Honourable Mention, because no one ever actually tops The Clash. But Captain Tractor did a version of London Calling that is one of my favourites.

https://youtu.be/giJa-66OBNI

Edited: Okay...one last one. Specifically for the Saskies. Captain Tractor's version of the Arrogant Worm's "Last Saskatchewan Pirate".

https://youtu.be/8G_L9tXEwmc

For a bit of context, back in the 90s, my then girlfriend and I were decent friends with the band. Enough so that whenever they would come to Saskatoon they'd crash at our place and we'd go hang out backstage at their shows. Weird because the reason we knew them in the first place was because the drummer was my girlfriends ex....but hey...it was the 90s.

Just an all around bar-band all about drinking songs. Something young people don't do anymore. Was talking to a buddy of mine the other day about how every bar we used to go to in the 90s has been demolished.

Killswitch Engage - Holy Diver (Dio)

Leo Moracchioli - Thriller (Michael Jackson)

Nonpoint - In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins)

Tori Amos has an amazing cover album but her rendition of the Eminem song ’97 Bonnie & Clyde is honestly horrifying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4-bXS5LJGM

Also her cover of the Boom town rats I don’t like mondays is my favorite version of that song.

Last Resort by Falling in Reverse. This band has quickly become one of my favorites. Them and I Prevail can really throw down some emotions.

Muse did a great job of converting Feeling Good. It was a bold choice and they smashed it.

Erasure - Take A Chance On Me

A-ha's acoustic version of Take On Me is wonderful and very different from the original.

Eleanor Rigby by Pain

Devo - Head Like a Hole

Elbow's cover of Peter Gabriel's 'Mercy Street's MC 900 Ft Jesus' cover of Curtis Mayfield's 'Stare And Stare' Gypsy Kings' Spanish cover of Frank Sinatra's 'My Way'

Tool's cover of No Quarter by Led Zeppelin. Page was channeling future Adam Jones with those riffs. It's s a shame that the only official release of that song is on Tool's coveted "Salival" album which is notoriously hard to get ahold of for anything even resembling a decent price if you can even find a good copy. Damn, I wish they would re-release that album.