‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

For a band now in its fourth decade, The Cure has enjoyed a surprisingly big year in 2019. Most notably, after fifteen years of being eligible for but mostly ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Cure were finally inducted in April. Then May saw two big anniversaries: The band’s debut album Three Imaginary Boys turned 40 and their most-beloved album Disintegration turned 30. For a band firmly affixed in the classic-rock firmament at this point, they’ve suddenly found themselves back in the spotlight – even if, by all indications, they prefer the dark.

The Cure has never gone out of style in one area though: covers. Whether the band’s in the news or not, every year delivers dozens more versions of “Lovesong,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” and the rest. We whittled them down to the 30 best ever, dramatic reimaginings that veer from gorgeous orchestral ballads to dark post-rock drones. Listen below (and join our new Patreon for MP3 download and playlist versions of the full set).