Our tears haven't dried: 7 track tribute to the late Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse died seven years ago last week. But music is a wonderfully strange thing, because it really does transcend borders, race, religion, sexuality, socioeconomic factors ... So while 99.9% of the Amy Winehouse fans who were crestfallen when she died never personally knew her, she was a part of their lives and through her pain (as depicted in her music) soothed theirs.

To commemorate Ms Winehouse, here is my list of what I believe to be her seven best songs (in no particular order - choosing just seven was tough enough!).

1. BACK TO BLACK (2006)

An obvious choice? Of course, but that's because this song is so darn good that to leave it off this list would be a travesty. The piano that anchors the track is so fantastic that the always original PJ Harvey copied it (listen to her 2007 song The Devil and tell me otherwise).

On the track, Winehouse mourns the loss of a relationship with as much sadness as vitriol. Even when she's hurting, she still has to swing her d**k around and salvage her ego by reminding her ex just how pathetic he is (even though it's clear she would run back to him in a heartbeat).

2. IN MY BED (2003)

Amy was a massive Nas fan, and on her first album she sampled one of his most famous beats (Made You Look) and made it her own. She dominated that beat better than the rapper himself (yeah, I said it).

This is another one where Amy disparages an ex, except she definitely doesn't want him back - even though she's still sleeping with him ("The only time I hold your hand is to get the angle right" is one of the best lyrics she ever wrote).

3. JUST FRIENDS (2006)

A song about desire. Amy sings about wanting more than just friendship from a friend. "When will we get the time to be just friends?" she asks over a catchy, reggae-influenced beat.

When the horn section kicks in later on, you just want to get up and dance with rollers in your hair, a glass of whisky in your hand.

4. LOVE IS A LOSING GAME (2006)

Vulnerable Amy is one of the best versions of Amy and this song is a perfect example of that.

She rips open her chest while keeping it poetic (rather than pathetic): "Love is a losing hand/ Self professed, profound/ 'Til the chips were down/ Know you're a gambling man/ Love is a losing hand." I mean, come on!

5. TEARS DRY (2011)

While famous as the Back to Black hit Tears Dry on Their Own, this version - which appeared on the shabby posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures - is the better one.

It's a big band ballad with a slower tempo and is less poppy than its famous sister, but it allows Amy's magnificent voice to shine through.

6. WAKE UP ALONE (2006)

The best heartbreak song from a woman who pretty much specialised in heartbreak songs. Amy sings about being afraid of the dark because it brings out the monster she successfully avoids during the day - memories of an ex she misses terribly.

"He is fierce in my dreams, seizing my guts" - she might as well be singing about night terrors rather than a former lover.

7. YOU SENT ME FLYING (2003)

This is Amy being fun and self-deprecating (she was pretty good at that - both in her interviews and in her music). She sings about being happily in love or maybe lust, completely unaware that her boyfriend is about to dump her.

She feels betrayed that he borrowed her Erykah Badu CD and stole her smokes when he knew he had no plans to stick around.

 "And although my pride is not easy to disturb, you sent me flying when you kicked me to the kerb," she sings, and you can't help but giggle at how incredulous she sounds.