Ten all-time greatest rock songs

[prufrock21]

I've seen several lists with the above title. Always one or several of my favorites are not on the list. So here is my list, agree or not.

1. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis (Remember, before Elvis, there was nothing.)
2. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles (Amazing, the diverse elements it has.)
3. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones (When the Beatles wanted to marry your daughter, the Stones wanted to burn your town.)
4.Close to the Edge, Yes (Never tire of listening to this; at over 18 minutes, not for the squeamish.)
5.Black Magic Woman, Santana (I was in college when this came out. The Latin rhythms were overwhelming.)
6. Thriller, Michael Jackson (Not rock per se, but a watershed moment when it came out.)
7. Surfer Girl, The Beach Boys (Haunting, beautiful lyrics.)
8. Your Song, Elton John (Not bad for someone who plays the piano.)
9. Blue, Joni Mitchell (Underrated, but can she write and sing.)
10. Peace Train, Cat Stephens (Huge talent, great lyrics and rare singing voice.)

You've seen mine. What's yours?

 

[Blake the Bard]

I've seen several lists with the above title. Always one or several of my favorites are not on the list. So here is my list, agree or not.

1. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis (Remember, before Elvis, there was nothing.)
2. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles (Amazing, the diverse elements it has.)
3. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones (When the Beatles wanted to marry your daughter, the Stones wanted to burn your town.)
4.Close to the Edge, Yes (Never tire of listening to this; at over 18 minutes, not for the squeamish.)
5.Black Magic Woman, Santana (I was in college when this came out. The Latin rhythms were overwhelming.)
6. Thriller, Michael Jackson (Not rock per se, but a watershed moment when it came out.)
7. Surfer Girl, The Beach Boys (Haunting, beautiful lyrics.)
8. Your Song, Elton John (Not bad for someone who plays the piano.)
9. Blue, Joni Mitchell (Underrated, but can she write and sing.)
10. Peace Train, Cat Stephens (Huge talent, great lyrics and rare singing voice.)

You've seen mine. What's yours?

I'm surprised there is nothing by Queen on this list.

 

[prufrock21]

I'm surprised there is nothing by Queen on this list.

Not a Queen fan. On another list I've seen, Queen appears 163 out of 500.

 

[GNTLGNT]

-Back In Black-AC/DC
-Layla-Derek and the Dominoes
-Dream On-Aerosmith
-Hotel California-The Eagles
-Gimmee Some Lovin'-Spencer Davis Group
-Sharp Dressed Man-ZZ Top
-Comfortably Numb-Pink Floyd
-Travelin' Band-CCR
-Rock & Roll All Night-Kiss
-Fly By Night-Rush

 

[Neesy]

-Gimmee Some Lovin'-Spencer Davis Group

Love this one!

 

[GNTLGNT]

Love this one!

….had the honor of meeting and interviewing Spencer years ago....hell of a nice guy....

 

[swiftdog2.0]

These things are so subjective. Really no right or wrong answers. Everyone's tastes are different.

Here is SwiftDog's Ten Best Rock Songs Ever Picks.......

10. Not Fade Away- Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly was so influential he has to be on the list. Wrote and produced his own tunes before anyone else was doing it. Rave On!
9. You Shook Me All Night Long- AC/DC. The Back In Black album is the template for guitar driven hard rock. The whole album is great but this track is the iconic one everyone knows.
8. Blitzkrieg Bop- Ramones. Punk rock 101. Hugely influential band that never got the commercial success they deserved. There would be no thrash metal or 90's alternative without them.
7. Come Together- The Beatles. Shows how far the Liverpool lads progressed from their sugary pop beginnings.
6. Gimme Shelter- Stones at the height of their powers.
5. Johnny B. Goode- Chuck Berry. All rock guitar players kneel at the altar of Chuck Berry. Everyone steals licks / ideas from him. Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll!!
4. Purple Rain- Prince. I almost put When Doves Cry here because of the song not having a bass line and still being funky as all he!!, However, this song showcases Prince's range, songwriting skills, and guitar chops.
3. Rumble- Link Wray. That first distorted D chord just drips danger and menace, which is the foundation of great rock guitar.
2. Cult of Personality- The perfect rock song. Seriously. Studies have been done. Everyone should buy / download the song now. More relevant now than when it was written thirty years ago.
1. When The Levee Breaks- Led Zeppelin. Drums alone make this the best rock song ever. HEAVY as all get out and sampled by a bazillion rap artists.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

Since 10 is such a limiting number, here are a few honorable mentions

Voodoo Chide (Slight Return)- Jimi Hendrix. Jimi's tour de force. Best! Guitar Player! EVER!

Mean Street- Van Halen. Not VH's most well known song but their best song. That guitar intro is sick. Dave actually sings pretty well on this one.

Cold Shot- Stevie Ray Vaughn. SRV's best song, IMHO. The song that got me interested in his music. Heard it when I was a wee SwiftPup. Been a fan ever since.

 

[fljoe0]

No Particular order (and I exceeded my 10)

Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
A Day In The Life - The Beatles
Hoochie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters
White Light White Heat - The Velvet Underground
Powderfinger - Neil Young
White Riot - The Clash
Whipping Post - The Allman Brothers (Fillmore version)
Layla - Derek & The Dominoes
Into The Void - Black Sabbath
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Bob Dylan
When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin
Spoonman - Soundgarden
When Doves Cry - Prince

 

[fljoe0]

and Ice Baby Ice


NOT!!!

 

[Wayoftheredpanda]

It's very hard to choose, I definetly have a concrete top 2ish, but my top songs can change over time.

1:Rocky Racoon (The Beatles)
2: Beast of Burden/Midnight Rambler (The Rolling Stones)

 

[mal]

They change all the time but, here goes...

Smokin' In The Boys Room (Brownsville Station, not the hair band cover)
Ballroom Blitz (Sweet)
Radar Love (Golden Earing)
You Shook Me...(AC/DC)
The Whole Worlds' Goin' Crazy (April Wine)
Whistlin' Past The Graveyard (Tom Waits)
Veronica (McManus/McCartney)
Young American (David Bowie)
My Own Way to Rock (Burton Cummings)
After Midnight (JJ Cale)

 

[Scratch]

Crazy on you- Heart
Money- Pink Floyd
Only the Good Die Young- Billy Joel
Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
Amen- Halestorm
Mr. Blue Sky- ELO
Rebel Rebel- Bowie
Walk This Way- Areosmith
Back in Black- AC/DC
Let It Be- The Beatles

Just off the top of my head. There may be others I like more if they are mentioned and I wanted to spread it out among bands else I would have more of some bands.

 

[Sundrop]

Since 10 is such a limiting number, here are a few honorable mentions

Voodoo Chide (Slight Return)- Jimi Hendrix. Jimi's tour de force. Best! Guitar Player! EVER!

I heard Kenny Wayne Shepherd do a cover of this one live a few years ago when he opened for Van Halen.
While no one will be as good as Hendrix, I was impressed.

 

[Tery]

This list is constantly changing, this is today's list. I went by songs that - aside from me liking them - when you hear the first bar, you're nodding, tapping, singing, dancing and otherwise grooving along. You know all the words. You turn up the music and smile

Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Sympathy For the Devil - Rolling Stones
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
Working Man - Rush
Roundabout - Yes
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Turn It On Again - Genesis

 

[kelliblue]

1. Def Leppard – Photograph

2. Black Crows – Jealous Again

3. Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter

4. April Wine – Rock Myself to Sleep

5. Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers

6. Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song

7. Black Sabbath – Paranoid

8. Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley

9. Aerosmith - Angel

10. Van Halen – Ain't Talkin Bout Love

 

[doowopgirl]

Tumbling Dice Stones
Help Beatles
Bohemian Rhapsody Queen
Edge of 17 Fleetwood Mac
Hotel California Eagles
Whole Lotta Shakin Jerry Lee Lewis
Hound Dog Elvis
That's it for now.

 

[osnafrank]

it's a changing List but...

Shoot to Thrill---AC/DC
Whiplash---Metallica
I walk the Line---Johnny Cash
We will rock you----Queen
Stages---ZZ-Top
All we are---Warlock
Overkill---Motörhead
Paint it Black---The Rolling Stones
Rock and Roll---Led Zeppelin
Looking out my Back Door/Have u ever seen the Rain---CCR

 

[DiO'Bolic]

What comes to mind... But I would probably have a different list later if I thought more about it.

Beatles, Hard Day's Night
The Who, Baba O’Riley
Eric Clapton, She’s Waiting
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fortunate Son
Steppenwolf, Born to Be Wild
Buffalo Springfield, For What It's Worth
Yes, Roundabout
The Rolling Stones, Satisfaction
T. Rex, Bang a Gong
Neil Young, Old Man
Buddy Holly, Well....All Right
Joe Walsh, Rocky Mountain Way
Cream, Sunshine of Your Love

(So I can''t count... so just shoot me)

 

[DiO'Bolic]

Looking at the lists so far I realize I’ve been privileged to have seen a number of these groups in concert and heard some of the songs preformed… The Stones, Yes, Santana, Beach Boys, AC/DC, Clapton, Zeppelin, Neil Young, Black Sabbath, Dylan, Aerosmith, Jethro Tull, Harrison from the Beatles, and Phil Collins from Genesis.

Other groups I’ve seen in concert that have some great hits include Judas Priest, Billy Preston, Blue Oyster Cult, Herman’s Hermits, Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bryan Adams, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Doobie Brothers, Kansas, Madonna, Duran Duran, Edgar Winter, The Turtles, Foghat, George Thorogood, Johnny Maestro, J Giles Band, Ozzy, Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, Four Tops, Cars, Hooters, Pretenders, Tina Turner, Bo Diddley, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.