Top 50 Classic Rock Songs of All Time!
Posted by: Rock You in Bands & Artists, Charts, Songs
Top 50 Classic Rock Songs of All Time!
Artist / Song / Year
1. Led Zeppelin / Stairway To Heaven / 1971
2. The Rolling Stones / (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction / 1965
3. Eagles / Hotel California / 1976
4. Queen / Bohemian Rhapsody / 1975
5. John Lennon / Imagine / 1971
6. The Doors / Light My Fire / 1967
7. Derek & The Dominos / Layla / 1970
8. Bob Dylan / Like A Rolling Stone / 1965
9. Steppenwolf / Born To Be Wild / 1968
10. Don McLean / American Pie / 1971
11. Police / Every Breath You Take / 1983
12. The Beatles / Hey Jude / 1968
13. Bruce Springsteen / Born To Run / 1975
14. The Rolling Stones / Brown Sugar / 1971
15. Aerosmith / Dream On / 1973
16. The Rolling Stones / Jumpin’ Jack Flash / 1968
17. Jimi Hendrix / Purple Haze / 1967
18. Jimi Hendrix / All Along The Watchtower / 1968
19. The Rolling Stones / Sympathy For The Devil / 1968
20. Van Morrison / Brown Eyed Girl / 1967
21. The Beatles / Yesterday / 1965
22. Creedence Clearwater Revival / Proud Mary / 1969
23. Lynyrd Skynyrd / Free Bird / 1973
24. The Who / My Generation / 1965
25. The Animals / House Of The Rising Sun / 1964
26. The Beatles / Day In The Life / 1967
27. Queen / We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions / 1977
28. The Rolling Stones / Honky Tonk Women / 1969
29. Buffalo Springfield / For What It’s Worth / 1967
30. Aerosmith / Walk This Way / 1975
31. The Beatles / Let It Be / 1970
32. The Who / Won’t Get Fooled Again / 1971
33. Boston / More Than A Feeling / 1976
34. Rod Stewart / Maggie May / 1971
35. The Beatles / I Want To Hold Your Hand / 1963
36. Fleetwood Mac / Go Your Own Way / 1977
37. The Beatles / Strawberry Fields Forever / 1967
38. Police / Roxanne / 1978
39. The Beatles / Come Together / 1969
40. Led Zeppelin / Whole Lotta Love / 1969
41. Lynyrd Skynyrd / Sweet Home Alabama / 1974
42. Elton John / Your Song / 1970
43. Pink Floyd / Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 / 1979
44. Aretha Franklin / Respect / 1967
45. Led Zeppelin / Rock & Roll / 1971
46. Beach Boys / Good Vibrations / 1966
47. Kinks / You Really Got Me / 1964
48. Moody Blues / Nights In White Satin / 1972
49. The Beatles / Revolution / 1968
50. Pink Floyd / Money / 1973
Entries (RSS)
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:49 am
Um…
Where’s Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35″?
and the Doors’ “Break on Through” couldn’t even break into the top 50?
what’s the deal?
“Good Vibrations”???
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:07 am
How is freebird all the way at 23… that song belongs at number 1 or maybe 2. I can understand stairway… but that list is nothing but a soup sandwich. whats it good for? not a freakin thing… blahhh… horrible
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:45 am
It`s just a proposal. So feel free to post your opinion.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:25 am
Metallica rockz
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
What about Santana? Black Magic Woman? Should at least be in the Top 10!
Dan
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I have to agree with “Stairway to Heaven” I was never a big Zep fan when I
was young(I have since changed my ways) but whenever that song came on the radio i just locked on to it and savored every note. Absolutely the most righteous
guiter solo ever!!!!
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I always thought rock began in the early 50′s – so where are
Bill Haley, Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison,
Gene Vincent, hell even Pat Boone or Ricky Nelson?
Or is it possible you never heared of them?
Some good songs in the list – but without the above rerpesented it basically sucks.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm
How can Artetha Franklin be on a classic rock countdown?
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
The Stones are duly represented. What about Zappa, or Allman Brothers? There is too much stuff for a top 50. This is cool though, a good conversation starter. Boston sucked.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Absolutely agree with Nick. Artists of the 50′s were the pioneers of R&R. It’s there that the all time classics truly exist!! You need to dig your well a bit deeper.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I couldn’t get the top 10 of all time off this list.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:04 pm
It`s a good list, but you need to improve it. people, let`s make a Top 10 proposal and after that we will see what will be the final result.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Even Keith Richards would tell you that Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode should be on the list.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:41 pm
There’s NO WAY that the Rolling Stone’s version of The House of the Rising Sun can be considered Rock ‘n Roll. It’s pure Blues—and always will be.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Nights in White satin is from 1967, not 1972.
Since orchestral rock was still quite rare then, this is an important difference.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Where’s Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love”/1968? I’d at least replace Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” with it.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:46 pm
KISS?
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Fleetwood Mac recorded atune called “Oh Well”; apparently someone forgot to include it in the top 50 all time rock greats. Someone please fix that.
Thanks,
Ray
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:36 pm
What about the Righteous Bros “Unchained Melody” or Bob Seger’s Night Moves. You need to rethink your list.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:41 pm
There were lots of singers before and after the Beatles. Give older singers a little thought when making a list.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:30 pm
How about “Secret Agent Man,” “Smoke on the Water,” “Montana,” “Ohio,” “L.A. Woman,” “La Bamba,” “Peggy Sue,” “Locomotive Breath,” “I’m Eighteen,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Rock Lobster,” etc. etc., etc.
These things are so subjective it’s hard to come up with a Top 50.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Where the hell is sabbath,acdc,foreigner, and some g ‘n’ r
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:17 pm
How about anything from The Joshua Tree?
The Rolling Stones and The Beatles are way overrepresented in this list and why is Boston even on there? And there’s nothing from CSN?
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Ok people let`s make things easier. Please make your proposals like this: Artist (band) / Song / Year
Thanks a lot
Army
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:59 pm
What were the voting criteria and who voted? What years do you consider to be Rock & Roll, Rock, New Age, etc I think Rock stopped in 1980 Rock & Roll stopped around 1963
May 24th, 2007 at 3:39 am
Everyone’s comments are right on the mark. Led Zeppelin Number 1 not likely–Lyrics –Bob Dylan hands down, Guitar–Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Drums–help me with this—most influential group–perhaps the Beatles—my personal favorite from Britain–Eric Burdon and the Animals.
This is a subject for debate with your favorite beverages and will likely never ever be resolved.
bman
June 6th, 2007 at 5:36 am
what happened to: Black Sabbath/Iron Man
June 6th, 2007 at 5:43 am
Any list of the top 50 of anything is bound to cause consternation for anyone who sees it because there will always be things left out. Using a conservative number there have been well over 1500 charted songs and who knows how many that were not charted. Look through the list of number one songs over the years and you see there could never be a consensus, nor should there be. I agree with the Stairway, but the real question was brought up before What was the criteria. As also mentioned earlier r&r was essentially over by the mid sixties. Rock pretty much died in the mid eighties. So what are the boundaries. Also are we talking about rock and rol, rock R&B, or a combination of all as the best songs os the last 50 years or so. Just saying it is a top 50 classic rock songs to means mostly the seventies and eighties with few sixties thrown in. Personally I usually do a list like this by calling the best 50 songs of the last fifty years. Most of the time people can even agree on what is rock, what is rock and roll. They grew up listening to all of these music types everyday, and all the various types were played right after one another. It is simpler to talk about the best song no matter the category. That would change the list siignifcantly.
One last thing – I find it hard to take someone seriously about the best of any kind music when they do bir even know what artist did what song – Rolling Stones – House of the Rising Sun. As much as I like Mick, not on his best day couple come close to the sound and quality of Eric Burdon as far as this particular song goes.
June 7th, 2007 at 12:08 am
On the Top 50 Classic Rock songs of all time number 32. The Who / Won’t Get Fooled Again / 1971…the title is actually “Teenage Wasteland”…I’m pretty sure of it.
June 7th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Sorry Kevin. Won’t Get Fooled Again IS the name of a song by The Who, and not one you are thinking of:
‘ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
The song you refer to as “Teenage Wasteland” is actually properly titled “Baba O’Riley”:
Out here in the fields
I farm for my meals
I get my back into my living.
I don’t need to fight
To prove I’m right
I don’t need to be forgiven.
Don’t cry
Don’t raise your eye
It’s only teenage wasteland
June 7th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Also depends on what your definition of “Top” is. Most influential? Most well-known? Best-selling?
June 7th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Thanks for the tips!
June 30th, 2007 at 2:45 am
Pink Floyd’s “Money” is definitely not their best song. I can’t believe that they barely made it on the list. This list is not very good
July 3rd, 2007 at 9:35 am
hotel california is classic rock??????
how dumb of u guys!!!!!!
January 6th, 2008 at 8:44 am
How about something by Cream!?
And as for #1..Kashmir & Moby Dick are better songs.
Pink Floyd has better tunes as well.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Army,
If you are even checking this blog at this time – I came across your list Bcuz I am putting together some CDs for all 7 of my boys of “greatest” rock songs of all time by each year of their (and me and my hubster’s) birth.
I just wanted to say that I applaud your effort for this daunting task, and admire the calm, positive way you handle much negativity! Kudos to you, bra’! Music seems to B like politics and religion – a very TOUCHY subject, and one that is highly subjective. Me, when I consider rock of ALL time (up until now that is), I would have to sit back and contemplate those songs that have A) I have learned life lessons from by the lyrics, B) have made me move my butt to the groove, C) Have opened my mind to new ideas/opinions, D) have stopped me in my tracks of whatever I was doing when the song comes/came on the radio because the listening is sweeter than anything I could B doing at the time – unless having totally sublime sex ocurred while it played…
I think Led Zeppelin still reserves the right to B #1 with Stairway…for me. Musically, I challenge any musician to give it a go & top their talent. Those who can, should B making their own albums. Lyrically, for me – a total Renaissance Freak – this is the biggest pull I feel toward this band. Cos’ the majority of their songs discuss/are set in that historical timeframe. The fantasy link to life as it is (or was in the 70′s) is just this side of genius (in my humble opinion).
As for others, will have to stew on it for a while.
Thanks, Army – I appreciate your efforts.
C.
February 11th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Bet I could name 50 more.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:34 pm
what about old time rock ‘n’ roll by bob seger
July 7th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
no ‘alright now’ by free…??? who ‘my generation’…??? blue oyster cult’s ‘dont fear the reaper’…??? hhhhmmm….no ‘smells like teen spirit’…???? ouch…!!! and er…’roxanne’ is a ‘rock’ tune…??? hhhmmm…
July 7th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
oops…’my generation’s in there…!!! apologies…!!!
August 6th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
How could Elvis not be on this list, he was rock. Without him none of these “classic rock” artists wouldn’t have excisted
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:13 am
i definintly agree stairway to heaven should be number 1. i dis agree about free bird. it is marked way way to low. in my eyes it should be 2. where is smoke on the water? how about doobie brothers? chicago? kansas, carry on wayward son? journey? phil collins “in the air tonight”?
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:43 am
how in the world did john lennon even make the top 50 with imagine he shouldn’t even be in the top 200
December 30th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Where the hell is RUSH??? Supertramp???
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
leave boston alno, there a good band. they just had the wrong song in there. it should have been Piece of Mind. And where is all the southern rock.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
hey come on now bohimien rhapsody should defo be no.1 i mean how could u write a song like that its class and sang by the best voice anyone has ever heard FREDDIE MERCURY
November 18th, 2009 at 5:07 am
you did good with zep at number one but i would definately add elvis, george thorogood, allman bros, doobie bros, steely dan, sabbath, and how about even ted nugent
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
heaps missing.cream-whiteroom. Bowie-ziggy stardust. Small faces-tin soldier. The band-the weight. Chuck berry-Johnny b goode. Easybeats-friday on my mind. Pink floyd-intersteller overdrive. acdc-long way to the top. the list goes on and on. this list is a collection of what you hear on the golden oldies radio station. not the greatest songs. and how can you put the Police in there not once but twice. sting doesnt deserve to be said in the same sentence as clapton or queen or floyd or dylan or the stones. the police should go in the category of the knack or europe or bros.
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:05 am
How is Kick Out The Jams by MC5 not on this list?
February 4th, 2010 at 5:48 am
Arnie I know you are trying to do a good job and a lot of these songs were great. Some of them suck. You do not have any of the 50′s songs on the list, & how about Credence clearwater revival. You only have songs on here you like not songs that are actually loved by the mass. You can do better.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
I think Free Bird should be in at least the top fifteen
February 19th, 2010 at 6:58 am
Agree just a little, the n1 was fine but where are pink floyd, the clash songs.
April 14th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Don’t Stop Believin’ by the best voice on the planet…EVER. EVER. EVER.
This song should be in the top 10. Period.
December 28th, 2010 at 9:43 am
Where is AC/DC in this list…its absolutely absurd not to put “Highway to Hell” on this list..
March 24th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
back in black? dirty deeds? highway to hell? Back in Black only sold more albums than either of the others on this list excepting the Eagles and Zeppelin.
April 24th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
What about yung lost scorpions david bowie the who
May 5th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
WERE B THE DAMN YANKEES!!!
June 3rd, 2011 at 1:39 pm
You forgot Copperhead Road, Jack and Diane, Rock You Like a Hurricanne, Jukebox Hero, I Love Rock and Roll, Bad Reputation, Hey You, Hey Jude, Thunderstruck, Welcome to the Jungle, Don’t Stop Believin’, Janie’s Got a Gun, Freewill, Tom Sawyer, The Joker, Behind Blue Eyes, Pinball Wizard, Seven Bridges Road, Fight For Your Right, Lola, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, A Horse With No Name, Wanted Dead or Alive, No One Like You, Good Times Roll, Shake It Up, My Best Friend’s Girl, Paradise City, Paranoid, Bark at the Moon, Sweet Child of Mine, Saturday Night Special, Gimme Three Steps, Hells Bells, Shooting Star, Bad Company, Crazy Train, Comfortably Numb, Killer Queen, You Give Love a Bad Name, Cheap Sunglasses, Call Me the Breeze, Come Sail Away, Legs, Mama I’m Coming Home, Money Talks, Mr. Roboto, Sharp Dressed Man, Tube Snake Boogie, Tush, Voodoo Lake, We Ain’t Much Different, You Shook Me All Night Long, La Grange, Another One Bites the Dust, and Back in Black.
July 8th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
where the hell is comfortably numb,, time,, echoes, hey you,, high hopes by pink floyd,, at least they should be in top 5………….
July 16th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Yeah there are multiple other pink floyd songs that should be before another brick in the wall, and Time should be top 5 minimum.
And the fact that there is no Rush makes me shit bricks.
July 20th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
where is metallica??
September 1st, 2011 at 5:05 am
one thing i dont understand is where is Styx, Rush, Steve Miller Band, all of these bands should have songs in the top 15
December 1st, 2011 at 5:39 pm
where is eric clapton? layla, cocaine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and many more…..
January 22nd, 2012 at 8:22 am
The Greatest Song Of All Time = STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN BY LED ZEPPELIN
02-Hotel California-Eagles
03-Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen
04-Like A Rolling Stone-Bob Dylan
05-Thunder Road-Bruce Springsteen
06-One-U2
07-Born To Run-Bruce springsteen
08-Brothers In Arms-Dire Straits
09-All Along The Watchtower-Jimi Hendrix
10-American Pie-Don McLean
11-Sympathy For The Devil-The Rolling Stones
10-American Pie-Don McLean
12-(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction-The Rolling Stones
13-Smells Like Teen Spirit-Nirvana
14-Imagine-John Lennon
15-Tangled Up In Blue-Bob Dylan
16-Comfortably Numb-Pink FLoyd
17-Cortez The Killer-Neil Young
18-Let It Be-The Beatles
19-Blowin’ In The Wind-Bob Dylan
20-Hey Jude-The Beatles
21-Hallelujah-Leonard Cohen
22-Layla-Derek And The Dominos
23-Won’t Get Fooled Again-The Who
24-Jungleland-Bruce Springsteen
25-Baba O’Riley-The Who
January 26th, 2012 at 5:40 am
Where is sweet emotion by Aerosmith, and back in black by ACDC?
February 2nd, 2012 at 4:07 am
What about ’25 or 6 to 4′, ‘I’m a Man’, ‘Make Me Smile’, and just about every other Chicago song?!?!?!
And how about Electric Light Orchestra??!!
February 22nd, 2012 at 10:53 pm
AC/DC & KISS?? TWO OF THE BIGGEST SELLING ROCK BANDS OF ALL TIME! AND STILL DOING IT!! BACK IN BLACK ALBUM 2ND BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM OF ALL TIME OR THERE ABOUTS.
ROLLING STONES.. GIMME A BREAK! MY GRANDADS GOT MORE ROCK AN ROLL THAN THEY EVER HAD OR WILL.
March 23rd, 2012 at 1:38 am
my personal fav are missing
pink floyd black sabbath AC/DC metallica
pantera nirvana megadeath audioslave………where are them
March 24th, 2012 at 12:48 am
why isn’t free bird #1
April 17th, 2012 at 12:40 am
While I may only be fifteen, I agree with stairway, but a lot of this is subjective to the bloggers taste. I agree that the Beatles and the Stones are overly represented here, but what about Clapton? There’s nothing unless you count Layla. Also, hotel California is classic rock but Nirvana is not. Classic rock is from 1950-1980. Also, no early metal influences like sabbath or AC/DC? Rush? And no freaking van halen? While I’m not saying I could neccesarily do a better job, I could sure as heck do a different list. By best, you should probably look at the artists influence on society and how that respective song of theirs impacted rock music. A few suggestions, add at least “Hot for Teacher” van halen, “Iron Man” black sabbath, “Back in black” AC/DC, “Tom sawyer” Rush, basically any song from appetite for destruction, “Schools out” Alice cooper, and some KISS. Just suggestions remember but also take a look at some modern video games like guitar hero and research why they chose the songs that they chose. Altogether not bad. Maybe rework some of the songs. Cause come on, Fres Bird at 23? Top ten.
April 17th, 2012 at 12:42 am
O and Metallica. Enter Sandman or One. And U2, stuff from Joshua Tree.
April 25th, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Personally I dont care too much for the list because I’m not to big on the beattles at all. Their style is more along the lines with the beach boys.bunch a hippies….sorry to offend anyone.how the heck can I unchained melody be on this list…..dont make no sense.that’s oldies but goodies. Anyway the whole list can be argued over but the fact is ladies and gents…. It all depends on the listener.for me what I dont see on the list is bon jovi.come on people! Bed of roses, wanted dead or alive, you give love a bad name! Or what about gnr paradice city, welcome to the jungle.poison every rose has its thorn, nothing but good time, talk dirty to me. Blue oyster cult don’t fear the reaper. journey don’t stop believing. Phil collins in the air tonighT. Danger zone by kenny loggins.
April 27th, 2012 at 3:21 am
How is AC/DC not in here
May 9th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
Nick is 100% right. Any top 50 or 100 or 1000 rock song list that does include the 50′s and 60′s pioneers who paved the way is not worth it’s ink.
May 12th, 2013 at 7:37 am
No Green Grass and High Tides? Disqualifies this list.