LONDON, Sept 25 — Believe it or not, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is scientifically the most iconic song ever written.

According to the Daily Mail, the 1991 hit track was placed at the top of a list of 50 songs by researchers from the University of London — with John Lennon’s “Imagine” U2’s “One”, Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” completing the top five.

The study, commissioned by Fiat to come up with a song they could use to promote the FIAT 500, looked at 50 songs from best-ever lists and then used analytical software to figure out what makes them so special.

Dr Mick Grierson, who conducted the study after selecting songs from various lists of supposed best songs of all time. He “ran them through analytical software to compare their key, BPM, chord variety, lyrical content, timbral variety, and sonic variance.”

"We found the most significant thing these songs have in common is that most of them use sound in a very varied, dynamic way when compared to other records," explained Grierson.

“This makes the sound of the record exciting, holding the listeners attention. By the same token, the sounds these songs use and the way they are combined is highly unique in each case.”

“Ultimately,” Grieson added, “there is no ‘formula’ for this, other than to make your song sound as different, diverse and exciting as possible.”

Here is the full list of songs that Dr Grierson deemed to be the most iconic:

1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana

2. “Imagine”, John Lennon

3. “One”, U2

4. “Billie Jean”, Michael Jackson

5. “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Queen

6. “Hey Jude”, The Beatles

7. “Like A Rolling Stone”, Bob Dylan

8. “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”, Rolling Stones

9. “God Save The Queen”, Sex Pistols

10. “Sweet Child O’Mine”, Guns N’ Roses

11. “London Calling”, The Clash

12. “Waterloo Sunset”, The Kinks

13. “Hotel California”, The Eagles

14. “Your Song”, Elton John

15. “Stairway To Heaven”, Led Zeppelin

16. “The Twist”, Chubby Checker

17. “Live Forever”, Oasis

18. “I Will Always Love You”, Whitney Houston

19. “Life On Mars?”, David Bowie

20. “Heartbreak Hotel”, Elvis Presley

21. “Over The Rainbow”, Judy Garland

22. “What’s Goin’ On”, Marvin Gaye

23. “Born To Run”, Bruce Springsteen

24. “Be My Baby”, The Ronettes

25. “Creep”, Radiohead

26. “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Simon & Garfunkel

27. “Respect”, Aretha Franklin

28. “Family Affair”, Sky And The Family Stone

29. “Dancing Queen”, ABBA

30. “Good Vibrations”, The Beach Boys

31. “Purple Haze”, Jimi Hendrix

32. “Yesterday”, The Beatles

33. “Jonny B Good”, Chuck Berry

34. “No Woman No Cry”, Bob Marley

35. “Hallelujah”, Jeff Buckley

36. “Every Breath You Take”, The Police

37. “A Day In The Life”, The Beatles

38. “Stand By Me”, Ben E King

39. “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”, James Brown

40. “Gimme Shelter”, The Rolling Stones

41. “What’d I Say,” Ray Charles

42. “Sultans Of Swing,” Dire Straits

43. “God Only Knows”, The Beach Boys

44. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”, The Righteous Brothers

45. “My Generation”, The Who

46. “Dancing In The Street”, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

47. “When Doves Cry”, Prince

48. “A Change Is Gonna Come”, Sam Cooke

49. “River Deep Mountain High”, Ike and Tina Turner

50. “Best Of My Love”, The Emotions