James's Taylors cover of "Handyman" and Earth Wind and Fire's cover of the Beatle's "Got to Get You into My Life" simply blow out the originals. Now, some other covers aren't any worse than the originals. Some covers are way worse.
“I Shot The Sheriff” by Eric Clapton is my favorite. Its a story-song sung from the perspective of an outlaw who claims that he'd killed a sheriff in self-defense.