As a collector of Hindi film music I have the advantage of selecting from a greater pool of songs, especially from "dead numbers" - the technical term for songs from unreleased or flop movies .
Firstly I am not including duets as Alka has sung so many solos and a singer of her calibre should not share the limelight for a paltry 5 numbers which I also dispute as that is an insult to her stature
and the critics! Alka has formed her own niche as the worthy successor of Lata. Though she is versatile most songs assigned to her are based on traditional melody. Her biggest rivals for similar songs, Anuradha Podwal and Sadhana Sargam have been sidelined. The only talented competitor is Shreya Ghoshal which is healthy for both of them and the music industry.
A little known fact is that Alka sang an enchanting classical song " Thirkat ang" in Payal Ki Jhankar released in 1980 with music by Rajkamal which in my opinion was far better than the overrated "mere angne mein".
My list of Alka’s best will be in chronological order and portray her versility and may exclude some numbers already chosen by others and end abrubtly due to lack of space.
- Yahan Wahan(Kalyanji Anandji) (lyrics Indivar) 1984 koi nahin - a soft pathos filled song
portraying helplessness.
Lakhon Ki Baat(Manas Mukerjee) (lyrics Yogesh) 1984 jeevan ki - a dreamy romantic ditty.
Vaishali(Ravi) ( lyrics Yogesh) 1985 jheel jaisi - the veteran music director creates a
mesmerising classical melody for a dubbed movie and probably his first with Alka.
- Kab Tak Chup Rahungi(Bhappi Lahiri)( Anjaan) 1988 dil todke na - a raunchy come
hither rustic style!
Madam X(Anu Mallik)(Indivar) 1990 kaise dil jeeten - a romantic intense plea .
Path Brashta(Usha Khanna)(Laxman Dube) 1990 deewanji ki rah par - a meloncholy
introspective ghazal also sung solo by Roop K Rathod but Alka holds her own.
- Sapne Sajan Ke(Nadeem Shrawan)( Sameer) 1991- a breezy ditty which transponds you into
the splendor of Nature.
Geet(Bhappi Lahiri)(Anjaan) 1992 Jo dil se nikli - a heartrendering implore touching every core.
Jallad(Anand Millind)(Sameer) 1994 Bichua bole - a sweet rural based romantic song.