Thanks for that link. The comments are interesting. It appears there is a connection with what you may be used to listening to and what you think is a good cover.
There is no way the Clash version of "I Fought the Law" is better than The Bobby Fuller Four. "I Fought the Law" is one of my most played songs. If I played it, I would play it from 3 to 10 times in a row. There are some songs I just can't get enough of when I hear them, and that is one of them.
I vaguely remember the Ramones "California Sun". I clicked on it to listen to it, especially since I really like the Riviera version, and I thought it sounded like something you might hear some group do to stick into a movie. Then I had to laugh as I read the write up and it said the Ramones used it in their movie "Rock and Roll High School."