Hard Copy
Version
COMMENTARY
ET CETERA
DISPATCHES
LISTS
FEATURES
CORRECTIONS
MAILBAG
REVIEWS

NEUNER
OLEAR
RICHARDS
STERNE

MASTHEAD
CONTACT
SUBMIT
SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVES

YOU REALLY GOT ME
101 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time

VH1 recently listed the top 100 rock songs of all time. As they made so many mistakes, we felt the need to voice our opinion on the matter. Their second-ranked tune is Aretha Franklin’s "Respect" -– a great song, sure, but so is "Fur Elise" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Neither belongs on a list of great rock songs, and certainly not ahead of the Beatles.

Our first order of business is to define our terms. What constitutes Rock, as distinct from Pop, R&B or Soul? We came up with four requirements:

Manifest Destiny

The song must be big. Either it’s played to death on classic rock stations, constantly requested by classic rock stations, or, in the case of more recent material, will be played on classic rock stations 20 years from now. If you don’t know the song, it doesn’t belong on the list. Thus, many alternative rock favorites are eliminated, such as The Violent Femmes’ "Blister in the Sun" and pre-Document R.E.M. This also means a lot of great songs won’t make the cut.

Bang a Gong

Simply put, if it doesn’t have a rock beat, it isn’t a rock song. This eliminates not only slow songs and rock ballads, but death metal as well.

Power Chords Rule

Apologies to avatars of the keyboard and the bass, but the staple instrument of a rock band is the electric guitar. Any song that does not feature an electric guitar prominently is disqualified. This allows us to excise most of the songs that do not belong on VH1’s list. Out the door are the aforementioned Ms. Franklin, most Motown songs, half the Beatles catalogue, folk rockers like Paul Simon, most Bob Dylan, almost everything written in the 80s, and, annoyingly, every Pink Floyd offering. We did, however, make an exception here and there, especially with the older songs. "Great Balls of Fire" is not a guitar song, but it captures the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. We don’t know if Jerry Lee Lewis ever destroyed his piano after a set, but it’s not difficult to imagine.

The Velvet Rope

One-hit wonders have contributed mightily to the canon of rock ‘n’ roll. But to qualify for our list, the artist must have a significant body of work. Think this rule is unfair, that a great rock song can be made by an inferior band? Take the challenge: Write down five one-hit wonders that belong on this list. When you get to five, let us know. If you don’t find us at our current address, we’ll be in a retirement community in Fort Lauderdale.

Now that we know the parameters, a few words about how we ranked the songs. Much weight was given to the holy grail of rock composition, the Cool Guitar Riff. Tribute was paid as well to the Eight Minute Tour de Force, though not as much as the radio stations pay. Is "Stairway to Heaven" the most requested song because it’s the best, or because it’s as long as a rock block of Beatles hits?

Choosing the songs was not as difficult as we initially thought; the hardest part was ranking them, especially with the more recent songs. Where does Nirvana belong in relation to Chuck Berry, Guns ‘n’ Roses to the Rolling Stones? We honored our mothers and fathers (though not our Mammas and Papas, who are folk) but not so much. Just because it’s older doesn’t mean it’s better, necessarily.

Finally, while our own preferences and biases did factor somewhat in the process (yes, Elvis Costello made the cut), this is not a list of our favorite rock songs, but the ones we feel are the best.

Now then, without further ado, the 101 greatest rock songs ever:


  1. You Really Got Me, The Kinks
  2. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
  3. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
  4. Day Tripper, The Beatles
  5. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
  6. Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
  7. Sweet Child O’Mine, Guns ‘n’ Roses
  8. Lola, The Kinks
  9. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
  10. I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
  11. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
  12. (Oh) Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison
  13. Hotel California, The Eagles
  14. Layla, Derek and the Dominoes
  15. Born to be Wild, Steppenwolf
  16. Walk This Way, Aerosmith
  17. Won’t Get Fooled Again, The Who
  18. Let’s Go Crazy, Prince
  19. Superstition, Stevie Wonder
  20. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
  21. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
  22. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
  23. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
  24. Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
  25. House of the Rising Sun, The Animals
  26. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
  27. We Will Rock You, Queen
  28. Proud Mary, Ike & Tina Turner
  29. Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison
  30. A Day in the Life, The Beatles
  31. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
  32. That'll Be The Day, Buddy Holly
  33. 8 Miles High, The Byrds
  34. Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin
  35. I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley
  36. Whipping Post, The Allman Brothers
  37. Who Do You Love?, Bo Diddley
  38. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
  39. A Hard Day's Night, The Beatles
  40. My Generation, The Who
  41. Enter Sandman, Metallica
  42. 1999, Prince
  43. Rock Around the Clock, Billy Haley and the Comets
  44. Pump It Up, Elvis Costello
  45. London Calling, The Clash
  46. Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin
  47. Bad Moon Rising, CCR
  48. Revolution, The Beatles
  49. Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
  50. Rebel Rebel, David Bowie
  51. The One I Love, R.E.M.
  52. Message in a Bottle, The Police
  53. Barracuda, Heart
  54. Somebody to Love, Jefferson Airplane
  55. Runaway, Del Shannon
  56. Twist and Shout, The Beatles
  57. Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder
  58. Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
  59. White Room, Cream
  60. Black Magic Woman, Santana
  61. Iron Man, Black Sabbath
  62. La Bamba, Ritchie Valens
  63. Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Meat Loaf
  64. Under the Bridge, The Red Hot Chili Peppers
  65. I Can See For Miles, The Who
  66. Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2
  67. Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits
  68. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
  69. So Tired, The Kinks
  70. How Soon Is Now?, The Smiths
  71. Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple
  72. Tom Sawyer, Rush
  73. Jack & Diane, John Mellencamp
  74. Refugee, Tom Petty
  75. Cinnamon Girl, Neil Young
  76. Lithium, Nirvana
  77. Jackie Wilson Said, Van Morrison
  78. Helter Skelter, The Beatles
  79. I Wanna Be Sedated, The Ramones
  80. Don't Fear the Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult
  81. Roxanne, The Police
  82. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran
  83. I Get Around, The Beach Boys
  84. Aqualung, Jethro Tull
  85. Ramblin' Man, The Allman Brothers
  86. Welcome to the Jungle, Guns ‘n’ Roses
  87. Dream On, Aerosmith
  88. Gloria, Van Morrison
  89. Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
  90. Heroin, The Velvet Underground
  91. Instant Karma, John Lennon
  92. Lust For Life, Iggy Pop
  93. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
  94. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
  95. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins
  96. You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC
  97. Tutti Fruiti, Little Richard
  98. Bang a Gong, T. Rex
  99. Louie Louie, The Kingsmen
  100. Light My Fire, The Doors
  101. Freebird, Lynyrd Skynyrd








By Greg Olear
010901

LARGEREGO: Fighting the power since 1972.
©1997-2001, LARGEREGO. All rights reserved.