World's Best National Anthems

[Hostrauser]

Judging solely by the music, and ignoring any political statements or propaganda made by lyrics, I came up with 15 favorites...

15. Brazil - Hino Nacional Brasileiro (Francisco Manuel da Silva)
14. Lebanon - Kulluna lil Watan (Wadih Sabra)
13. Colombia - Himno Nacional de la República de Colombia (Oreste Sindici)
12. Nepal - Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka (Amber Gurung)
11. Chile - Himno Nacional de Chile (Ramón Carnicer)
10. El Salvador - Himno Nacional de El Salvador (Juan Aberle)
9. Spain - La Marcha Real (unknown)
8. Monaco - Hymne Monégasque (Charles Albrecht)
7. Italy - Il Canto degli Italiani (Michele Novaro)
6. United Kingdom - God Save the Queen (unknown)
5. Azerbaijan - Azerbaycan marsi (Uzeyir Hajibeyov)
4. France - La Marseillaise (Claude J. Rouget de Lisle)
3. Uruguay - Orientales, la Patria o la Tumba (Francisco José Debali)
2. Canada - O Canada (Calixa Lavallée)
1. Russia - Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii (Alexander Alexandrov)

You can hear all but Russia here, including many performed by the U.S. Navy Band...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems

Russia's National Anthem

[Cardinal Regime]

My top 5 would be:

5. Netherlands
4. Russia
3. Germany
2. Canada
1. USA (played by a military band, not sung)

[Heyoo85]

Cool topic. I think I became a fan of National Anthems because of the Olympics. My favorite besides The Star Spangled Banner, O Canada and La Marseillaise is the Peruvian National Anthem. I know, random but it's really quite good. Take a listen:

http://youtu.be/Dv7NZV1DOoo

[PGOK]

What makes this scene so great is the background. It was filmed during the war and Nazi occupation. MANY of the actors were European refugees, most notably Madeleine LeBeau who plays Yvonne (1:09) and fled France with her Jewish husband. The emotions displayed were very real.

Casablanca