Top 100 classic rock songs

By Rolling Stone. Click here for the new, updated Greatest Songs list from

Artwork by Troy L. The number of essential recordings to choose from is seemingly endless. The subjective importance or quality of a song can shift from day to day, era to era. First, the rules. We also decided to limit it to ONE song per artist.

Top 100 classic rock songs

Green Day "Dookie" - Retrospective Review. Updated: Dec 20, Pictured - Black Sabbath, Billboard Magazine We at Melophobe have made the bold statement that rock music is perhaps the greatest artistic gift given to the world in the 20th century, and continue to stand by it wholeheartedly. Throughout the '50s, artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and more crafted the sound into a well-established, progressive style of creative music by the year For the purposes of our list of the top rock songs of all time, our criteria for eligible songs will begin on January 1, Although there were iconic rock tracks of the '50s like Johnny B. Goode , Rock Around the Clock , Bye Bye Love , and many more, the sonic differences before and after are simply apples and oranges, although those songs from the '50s are heavily influential and noteworthy in their own regard. Any offshoot subgenre of rock such as punk rock, hard rock, metal, alternative rock, country rock, southern rock, folk rock, psychedelic rock, surf rock, or grunge are eligible for this list, again as long as the song was released after Genres distinctively separate from rock such as blues, soul, country, or pop have been excluded to keep the list centered around rock.

Slash's Seventies-metal crunch and Axl 's hell-bound shriek brought brutal realism to the L. Their signature number "All Right Now," which deservedly grabs a slot on our Top Classic Rock Songs countdown, was created by a group who were just in their teens when they first got together.

Bored with Top Classic Rock Songs lists that are dominated by the same handful of artists? We put a twist on that: You'll still find all of the expected legends on the below list, from Aerosmith to ZZ Top, but each artist gets only one song each. We've already anticipated the questions: "Was the right song chosen to represent each artist or band? Of course, this means that all but one song from even the most legendary artists won't be represented here. Even after allowing different artists onto the list, there were still dozens of "How can so-and-so not be included? The below list of the Top Classic Rock Songs may start a lot of fights it did around here at the UCR office , but it's also the start of one hell of a playlist.

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Top 100 classic rock songs

Artwork by Troy L. The number of essential recordings to choose from is seemingly endless. The subjective importance or quality of a song can shift from day to day, era to era. First, the rules. We also decided to limit it to ONE song per artist. Without such a rule, The Beatles would dominate. That still left a lot of great artists and songs off the list. But none of them managed to top the original, which feels like the perfect girl-group song.

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Part of that is the amazing array of players, including Bill Evans, whose innovative piano playing was a game-changer, and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, who would put greater emphasis on modal jazz with his own future landmark recordings. Today, "The Joker" stands as a cornerstone of classic rock radio and part of the pop culture landscape. Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits. The first hit for an ex-Beatle, it features Harrison 's teardrop slide licks and a melody virtually identical to the Chiffons' "He's So Fine. By the mid-'70s, Pink Floyd had confidently established themselves as the top dogs in the world of progressive rock, especially after their release The Dark Side of the Moon , which we scored as the greatest rock album of all time. After Dylan's early efforts sunk into the consciousness of his contemporaries, the field was blown wide open. The resulting vocal, said producer Wexler, was "perfection. If the band had their way, the title of Nazareth 's entry on our Top Classic Rock Songs list might not be quite as subtle as it is now. Mazarati added a funk groove, and Prince was smart enough to take the song back. So when she belted out "I Will Survive," she brought extra attitude. If you've ever wondered why the group just didn't name their smash hit album and its cowbell-and-talk box happy title track "Son of a Bitch," after that famously threatening "Now you're messing with a When you think of Phil Collins , the climactic, dam-bursting drum beat of his hit "In the Air Tonight" is very likely one of the first things that comes to mind. In perhaps the most striking line of the lyrics, summing up an era when long hair on guys might not have been seen as acceptable in the truck stops of America, Seger sings: " Most times you can't hear 'em talk, other times you can. I had the chords, we worked backwards in rehearsal and it was a group effort, really a sort of an improv thing.

Bored with Top Classic Rock Songs lists that are dominated by the same handful of artists?

If the band had their way, the title of Nazareth 's entry on our Top Classic Rock Songs list might not be quite as subtle as it is now. Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd. James sings the song in a way that makes its ode to romance universal. America later scored a respectable number of hits after this, but they will be forever remembered as the band who observed "plants and birds and rocks and things" on their trip through the desert. Sholtz has continued forward with Boston despite member defections and Delp's death, however, ensuring that new generations of fans can enjoy the soaring wonders of "More Than a Feeling. In the end, it proves uplifting. Slowhand marked a resurgence of sorts for Clapton, arriving after a string of releases failed to live up to the promise heard on 's Ocean Boulevard. His truck-driver dad wasn't too happy about it. The song was later parodied on Saturday Night Live , with Christopher Walken playing a character who actually had nothing to do with the original recordings. What Isaac Haye did with it is a testament to his genius as a composer. Appears on: Chocolate Factory Jive. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison. Drummer Ginger Baker cuts slightly loose during the song's chorus, but otherwise keeps time as if he were in a military band. If you need another reason to justify placing "La Grange" on our Top Classic Rock Songs list, simply go to the movies, turn on your radio or watch television for a few hours. Released in , Queen 's "Bohemian Rhapsody" must be one of the oddest songs to ever become not just a hit, but practically a part of our daily lives.