I love cover songs. Great covers are memorable, terrible covers make me want to slap someone (Here I’m thinking specifically of the Black Eyed Peas’ cover of “Sweet Child o’ Mine” during the Superbowl). Some covers become more famous than the original like Jimi Hendrix’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower” or Sinead O’Connor’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U”. Other covers can be awe inspiring, breath taking renditions of the originals like Johnny Cash’s version of the NIN song “Hurt”.
YouTube has been a great forum for finding cover versions of songs. The ability for anyone to record a song and put it up on the YouTubes has made some really great covers accessible to anyone with an internet connection or a smartphone. Some years back I came across a cover of the Outkast song “Hey Ya” performed by Matt Weddle of Obadiah Parker. Honestly I love this version so much more than the original. Don’t get me wrong, the original is great, but what Obadiah Parker does with it is unbelievable.
I never really understood this song until I heard this version of it. Played as an acoustic ballad, Obadiah Parker delivers a powerful version of this song. It quickly became a favorite of mine, and hopefully of yours as well.
A More Positive Note 
Their cover of Radiohead’s Ideoteque is really good too