<\/p>\n
At its core, rock & roll<\/a> represents a rejection of the status quo \u2014 a rebellion against the establishment that isn\u2019t afraid to get loud and cause a little chaos. As such, putting together a canon of the greatest rock songs of all time can feel a bit counterintuitive. If a mainstream consensus forms around the greatness of a rock song, is it still inherently rock?<\/p>\n To compile a list of the best rock songs of all time, we first established a few ground rules to ensure every entry captured the spirit of the genre:<\/p>\n These songs had to be desert-island quality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n They had to be boundary-breakers \u2014 their existence pushed the genre forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n They had to stand the test of time \u2014 as vital now<\/em> as the day they were born.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n As with any work of art, there\u2019s bound to be disagreement. But when it comes to the songs that truly pushed rock to new heights, these 25 tracks still speak to us today \u2014 and still inspire a little headbanging. Listed alphabetically, here are the 25 best rock songs of all time.<\/p>\n It seems almost impossible to believe that this song, the sound of teen lust pressed into vinyl, was released in 1964, <\/em>when Joey Ramone<\/a> was 13, and the words punk rock<\/em><\/a> wouldn\u2019t be uttered for another seven years. And yet the raw, modern sound conjured wouldn\u2019t be out of place on a current Sub Pop release. Yeah, the chords are jaggedy, deliberate, and perfectly paced. Yeah, Ray Davies is cool with a capital C. But the real key to the magic is that frenetic tone <\/em>\u2014 the dirty, grungy, previously unheard sludge created when guitarist\/Ray\u2019s brother Dave Davies slashed his amp\u2019s speaker with a razor. And just like that \u2014 with the flick of a wrist \u2014 punk was born.<\/p>\n Ronnie Spector<\/a> (n\u00e9e Bennett) was an 18-year-old singer from Spanish Harlem with an achingly emotional tough-girl voice (and perfectly winged eyeliner) when she recorded \u201cBe My Baby\u201d with producer Phil Spector<\/a>, her eventual husband. And though their lives together (and apart) would take many dark turns, this recording still shines as a stellar example of his \u201cwall of sound\u201d technique, capturing Ronnie\u2019s perfect expression of young love \u2014 and one of the most iconic drum intros in rock history. Though she died<\/a> at age 78 in January 2022, Ronnie\u2019s voice goes on forever.<\/p>\n The Ramones were the essence of simplicity and efficiency. Four members, four chords. Identical names, identical outfits. And you always knew when their hard and fast songs were about to start because Joey Ramone (a.k.a. the Punk Giant) used a helpful \u201c1, 2, 3, 4!\u201d countdown, or in the case of \u201cBlitzkrieg Bop,\u201d \u201cHey, ho, let\u2019s go!\u201d The Ramones stood on stage not as rock gods or unattainable heroes, but as oddballs, misfits, and fellow outcasts in torn jeans. Of course, they created catchy, bouncy, perfect pop-punk, but the democratic nature of the Ramones will be their true legacy \u2014 everyone <\/em>was invited to the party.<\/p>\n The story of how this song got made is legendary \u2014 from the 10-hour-a-day singing sessions to the three-week recording time to the 180 (what?) overdubs. But none of that really matters when you hit \u201cplay\u201d on Queen<\/a>\u2018s Frankenstein and settle in for nearly six minutes of head-banging fun. One of the keys to the everlasting success of this \u201cmock opera\u201d (as Freddie Mercury<\/a> called it) is how much fun<\/em> it is to sing with. Entertaining as a 2018 summer blockbuster<\/a>, satisfying as a six-course feast \u2014 intro, ballad, solo, opera, hard rock, outro \u2014 \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d was, is, and will forever be a monument to joyful creative excess.<\/p>\n If \u201cAt night, we ride through the mansions of glory\/In suicide machines\u201d doesn\u2019t sound like a typical rock lyric, it\u2019s because this ode to love, cars, and unfulfilled American dreams is anything but typical. \u201cBorn to Run\u201d \u2014 the title track of his career-defining third studio album<\/a> \u2014 is Bruce Springsteen<\/a>\u2018s magnum opus, a desperation epic about getting outta Jersey via Highway 9, the road passing through his hometown of Freehold. Springsteen\u2019s voice starts weary, nearly monotone, then slowly lifted by a wall of sound (guitars, organ, sax, drums, glockenspiel, bass, keyboards), culminating in the finest woo-oah<\/em>\u2018s known to rock. Driving relentlessly forward <\/em>like the chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected machines he sings about, as the song moves toward its conclusion, the miraculous happens: Hope beats defeat.<\/p>\n The final track on the Beatles<\/a>\u2018 Sgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band<\/em> is a surrealistic John Lennon<\/a>\u2013Paul McCartney<\/a> collaboration for the ages. After Lennon\u2019s dark start \u2014 \u201cI read the news today, oh boy\u201d \u2014 McCartney steps in from an alternate universe, chirping about his happy morning routine. The song famously finishes with a 40-piece orchestra going completely wild as McCartney guides the musicians to start at the lowest note and build up to the highest, creating a beautiful cacophony that ends with a single E chord bashed on three pianos at once. \u201cA Day in the Life\u201d is a mystery box of a song, a Beatles crown jewel that continues to demonstrate rock\u2019s creative potential, even today.<\/p>\n If you had to pick a song that sounds<\/em> like how falling in love feels<\/em>, this might be it. The White Stripes<\/a> know love isn\u2019t all hearts and rainbows \u2014 it\u2019s also snotty sing-alongs, slashing guitars, and wild energy that makes you wanna jump six feet in the air. Orson Welles once said, \u201cThe enemy of art is the absence of limitations,\u201d but this could\u2019ve easily come from the Stripes\u2019 playbook, too. Limitation has always <\/em>been their jam \u2014 from the three-color palette to the two-person format, from Meg White\u2019s satisfying-n\u2019-simple drumming to Jack White<\/a>\u2018s insistence on cheap plastic guitars. So if anyone\u2019s still puzzled over how something so <\/em>minimal could create a sound this<\/em> massive, just ask Welles.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for chaos, check out 1969: the Manson murders, the Vietnam War draft, and<\/em> the election of Nixon. The Rolling Stones<\/a>\u2018 \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d captured the end of the \u201cpeace and love\u201d era \u2014 perfectly summing up the desperation of the time via Keith Richards\u2019 echoing freight-train shuffle and the panic gospel of Mick Jagger<\/a> and Merry Clayton. Clayton\u2019s wrenching vocals, the core of this song\u2019s power, were the result of an impromptu midnight session when she performed the iconic \u201crape\/murder\u201d siren in her PJs. A final cursed touch: Richards\u2019 guitar fell apart in his hands on the last note<\/em>. But they left it \u2014 the sound of something breaking was a perfect coda.<\/p>\n \u201cJesus died for somebody\u2019s sins but not mine,\u201d Patti Smith<\/a> declares in the most self-assured, coolest rock intro of all time. Her song, \u201cGloria,\u201d is actually a mash-up of two<\/em> works \u2014 Smith\u2019s original poem \u201cOath\u201d and Van Morrison<\/a>\u2018s song \u201cGloria.\u201d No surprise, she absolutely slays<\/em> it, bending and twisting Morrison\u2019s innocent bop to fit her much darker, more complex vision. And when she asserts, \u201cMy sins belong to me, me,\u201d it\u2019s shiver-inducing, the sound of a woman staking her claim in a male-dominated rock & roll world, shoving the establishment aside and saying, \u201cMake room.\u201d And they did<\/a>.<\/p>\n So what<\/em> if it\u2019s a cover? Joan Jett<\/a> & the Blackhearts own <\/em>this song with every ounce of their being. With vinyl-black hair and Gibson-sculpted arms, Jett doesn\u2019t just love<\/em> rock, she is<\/em> rock. But her toughness was no act<\/a>: When the Runaways broke up, she recorded a solo album with her backing band, the Blackhearts, and got rejected by 23 labels, making the chart-topping success of \u201cI Love Rock \u2018N Roll\u201d that much sweeter. Spare as a schoolyard chant, stalwart producer Kenny Laguna created a perfect back-and-forth between crisp handclaps and dirty chords. And in the middle of it all, Jett\u2019s husky force of a voice \u2014 victory in every word.<\/p>\n There\u2019s not a lot of debate over who \u201cinvented\u201d rock & roll: Mr. Chuck Berry<\/a>. And though \u201cMaybelline\u201d was his first song (released in 1955), it was \u201cJohnny B. Goode\u201d a few years later that truly blew the roof off the joint, a wild, rollicking guitar ride that influenced…well…everyone. <\/em>And we really do mean everyone<\/em><\/a>!<\/p>\n To fully appreciate the radical nature of a monster like ZZ Top\u2019s \u201cLa Grange\u201d \u2014 a heavy, swinging, 10-truck-blues-rock-pileup \u2014 keep in mind it was released in 1973, when the top radio hit was \u201cTie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree\u201d by Tony Orlando and Dawn. Billy Gibbons (guitar), Frank Beard (drums), and Dusty Hill<\/a> (bass) mixed modern rock with boogie blues, topping the whole enchilada with some of the crunchiest, funkiest, most ridiculously fire guitar work ev-er<\/em>. The result was a whole new kinda groove. Later, they would adopt a slick commercial angle (with videos to match), but at this stage, they were just a trio of BBQ-soaked Texas eccentrics doin\u2019 their thang.<\/p>\n With its purple bananas, elevators, church organs, feverish guitar solos, and the best sermon\/eulogy in rock & roll history, Prince<\/a>\u2018s paean to partying (and religion \u2014 \u201cde-elevator\u201d refers to Satan) opened Purple Rain <\/em>\u2014 the album and the film alike. With its propulsive mix of synth, drums, guitar, amazing wordplay (\u201cDr. Everything\u2019ll-be-alright\/will make everything go wrong\u201d), and a howl that puts all others to shame, it stands the test of time. Now that he\u2019s gone, of course, the life-and-death lyrics take on new poignancy, but songs like this assure his legacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you were lucky enough to hear \u201cLondon Calling\u201d (the title track from the album) on the radio back in 1980 (when it finally invaded the U.S.), that first 20 seconds would\u2019ve stopped you in your tracks. What else sounded like Topper Headon\u2019s drum crunch as Joe Strummer<\/a> and Mick Jones<\/a> followed on their guitars? Boots pounding asphalt, maybe? By the time the bass swoops in, \u201cLondon Calling\u201d has set into motion a rain-soaked, three-minute film, presented by Strummer, a master storyteller. Clash songs are solid state instruments \u2014 low budget, low flourish, muscular \u2014 and this one\u2019s no different. Guitars provide brief, jagged slashes of color, but the spotlight stays trained on Strummer and his end-times tale. Apocalyptic, yeah, but never dour \u2014 more like a call to arms.<\/p>\n An ode to disassociation, the Talking Heads\u2019 signature song is carried by Tina Weymouth\u2019s hypnotic rubber-band bassline and (her husband) Chris Frantz\u2019s shuddery beats. But producer Brian Eno\u2019s studio wizardry was also responsible for much of the magic, taking the band\u2019s Fela Kuti-inspired jam sessions and looping them, an innovation ahead of its time. The result sounds like being trapped inside a telephone switchboard, full of repeating signals, samples, and scraps. Of course, David Byrne<\/a>\u2018s hauntingly existential lyrics (\u201cHow did I get here?\u201d) and delivery \u2014 part fortune teller, part street preacher<\/a> \u2014 really put this thing over the top.<\/p>\n In the \u201890s punk scene, mosh pits were macho, and feminism <\/em>was a dirty word. Cut to a Bikini Kill<\/a> show, led by the powerhouse Kathleen Hanna \u2014 roaring \u201cGirls up front!\u201d and \u201cRevolution girl style now!\u201d \u2014 \u201cRebel Girl\u201d is the band\u2019s OG ode to grrrl power, driven by crunchy guitars and a relentless beat. Of the three recordings, we like the \u201898 version<\/a> best, with Joan Jett\u2019s chords beefing up the mix, but the constant is Hanna\u2019s jackpot voice, capturing teen girlhood like no other (only Poly Styrene compares). Her Valley girl howl will stop you in your tracks, proclaiming friendship, revolution, and, yeah, lust. When she sang, we heard the revolution.<\/p>\n You might already know the role this hard-driving, sinister song played in the invention of punk<\/a>. But what you might NOT know is how much David Bowie (as producer) had to do with it. His decision to put Iggy Pop<\/a>\u2018s voice and James Williamson\u2019s wild guitar melodies up front<\/em> (while keeping the volume low on the rhythm section) inadvertently created a template used by bands from the Sex Pistols to the White Stripes and beyond. The result is an urgent, propulsive song with a raw spirit and some of Pop\u2019s most super-charged writing with deceptively simple lyrics about love and war, dripping with desperation.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the lights out, it\u2019s less dangerous\/Here we are now, entertain us.\u201d Kurt Cobain famously hated being famous. Emerging from the flannel-shirted Pacific Northwest punk\/grunge scene, the success of \u201cSmells Like Teen Spirit\u201d (platinum seller, widely praised by critics) seemed to surprise him. An ironic, pissed-off anthem for an ironic, pissed-off generation, the combo of rhythmic punk power chords (inspired by Pixies\u2019 \u201cDebaser\u201d<\/a>), angry, sarcastic lyrics, and a funk-inspired drumming choice by Dave Grohl<\/a> created once-in-a-lifetime rock alchemy.<\/p>\n David Bowie<\/a>\u2018s \u201cStarman\u201d is a soaring wonder, a sparkly tale about an alien communicating with Earth\u2019s children via radio (and phone!). Sci-fi as the lyrics are, it\u2019s also a tribute to good ol\u2019 American pop, from the \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow\u201d octave leap to the morse code \u201cYou Keep Me Hangin\u2019 On\u201d guitar to the intro\u2019s \u201coh-oh-oh\u2019s.\u201d Like an origami box, each fold reveals another treasure, from Mick Ronson\u2019s moonshot guitar to the feel-good chorus. Bowie\u2019s 1972 BBC TV performance of \u201cStarman\u201d<\/a> was incredibly influential \u2014 reaching so many future stars when they were kids<\/em> (from Bono to Boy George) \u2014 it was as if the lyrics had come true.<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren\u2019t much of a muse\/but then I weren\u2019t much of a poet\u201d might not sound<\/em> like a love song, but this being Nick Cave<\/a>, trust us, it is. His core driving philosophy is love<\/em> in all its variety \u2014 from darkest depths to goofiest heights, always delivered with desperation. On Abattoir Blues\/Lyre of Orpheus<\/em>, his 13th album with the Bad Seeds, we meet a new Nick \u2014 Cave 2.0, you could say \u2014 married, sober, and harnessing the power of gospel without ever abandoning his punk soul. \u201cThere She Goes, My Beautiful World\u201d presents him in black-suited power-preacher mode, backed by a band on fire, raging holy poetry and name-dropping Larkin, Nabokov, and Thunders in what might be the greatest (only?) rock song written about writer\u2019s block.<\/p>\n Little Richard<\/a>, a former teenage drag queen (performing as Princess Lavonne) from the deep south, catapulted himself onto the American pop music scene in the 1950s with a signature blend of gospel, blues, and a fearless attitude. Richard, who referred to himself as the \u201cKing and<\/em> Queen\u201d of rock, screamed and played piano as if his life depended on it. As an EW writer put it<\/a>, Richard was considered the \u201cfirst-ever mainstream popular entertainer of his era to openly explore his gender identity and sexuality on stage.\u201d To make \u201cTutti Frutti,\u201d his first hit, radio-friendly, a writer helped him swap the original NSFW lyrics but kept the vivacious spirit, turning \u201cA-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom\u201d into a national catchphrase.<\/p>\n \u201cVoodoo Child\u201d represents Jimi Hendrix<\/a> as Zeus, hurling Strat-shaped thunderbolts down to earth. Or Hendrix as a fire-breathing rock monster, Godzilla in tie-dye, or simply Guitar God, telling tales about his life, like…standing next to mountains, chopping them down with his hand, making islands with the pieces, you know, stuff like that. And then, as if to wink at the listener, Hendrix laughs. The wild thing is that the guitar work on this track is so incendiary he earns <\/em>those bragging rights \u2014 and then some.<\/p>\n The Pixies, a band that David Bowie himself deemed \u201ca psychotic Beatles\u201d and Kurt Cobain<\/a> credited as prime inspiration, were masters of the \u201cloud-quiet-loud\u201d formula. While it\u2019s nearly impossible to pick a single \u201cbest\u201d from this band\u2019s quirkily infectious, violently hummable output, this track comes mighty close. Distinguished by guitarist Joey Santiago\u2019s melodic waves, Black Francis\u2019 panic-dream storytelling, and Kim Deal<\/a>\u2018s ghostly \u201cooh-ooh\u2019s\u201d floating in from an underwater graveyard (in reality, the studio bathroom), this song, like all Pixies songs, finds magic in contrast: dreamy vs. screamy, darkness vs. light. The effect is like surf rock set on fire.<\/p>\n As an established part of the classic rock canon, it\u2019s easy to forget what a strange beast Led Zeppelin<\/a> actually is, in large part due to drummer John Bonham. Running against the standard rock formula (drummer follows bass), he instead followed guitarist Jimmy Page, creating a heavy, winding-road sound like no other. Even with its wicked guitar riffs, Robert Plant<\/a>\u2018s over-the-top \u201creinterpretation\u201d of classic Willie Dixon blues lyrics, and a trippy theremin break, \u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d still manages to stay anchored, thanks to Bonzo.<\/p>\n Spoiler alert: \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d is sung from the POV of a ghost named Cathy. Non-spoiler alert: This is not<\/em> the strangest thing about the song. \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d is a mood, <\/em>and though it might not sound <\/em>traditionally rebellious, it\u2019s possibly the most radical choice on this list. As bizarre now as the day it was born, this Bront\u00eb novel set to music captures greatness in a spinning chorus you won\u2019t be able to excise. Written by Kate Bush<\/a> when she was 18 and sung in what might be described as \u201cfull banshee mode,\u201d \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d was initially refused by her label to be the first single. But she insisted, filming a now-legendary video to match. In 2022, Bush\u2019s story continued as her music\u2019s role on Stranger Things<\/em><\/a> garnered renewed interest and a new generation of fans<\/a>. Long may she twirl.<\/p>\n Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.\n
\u201cAll Day and All of the Night\u201d (1964) \u2014 The Kinks<\/h2>\n
\u201cBe My Baby\u201d (1963) \u2014 The Ronettes<\/h2>\n
\u201cBlitzkrieg Bop\u201d (1976) \u2014 The Ramones<\/h2>\n
\u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d (1975) \u2014 Queen<\/h2>\n
\u201cBorn to Run\u201d (1975) \u2014 Bruce Springsteen<\/h2>\n
\u201cA Day in the Life\u201d (1967) \u2014 The Beatles<\/h2>\n
\u201cFell in Love With a Girl\u201d (2001) \u2014 The White Stripes<\/h2>\n
\u201cGimme Shelter\u201d (1969) \u2014 The Rolling Stones<\/h2>\n
\u201cGloria\u201d (1975) \u2014 Patti Smith<\/h2>\n
\u201cI Love Rock \u2018N Roll\u201d (1981) \u2014 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts<\/h2>\n
\u201cJohnny B. Goode\u201d (1958) \u2014 Chuck Berry<\/h2>\n
\u201cLa Grange\u201d (1973) \u2014 ZZ Top<\/h2>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s Go Crazy\u201d (1984) \u2014 Prince & the Revolution<\/h2>\n
\u201cLondon Calling\u201d (1979) \u2014 The Clash<\/h2>\n
\u201cOnce in a Lifetime\u201d (1980) \u2014 Talking Heads<\/h2>\n
\u201cRebel Girl\u201d (1993) \u2014 Bikini Kill<\/h2>\n
\u201cSearch and Destroy\u201d (1973) \u2014 The Stooges<\/h2>\n
\u201cSmells Like Teen Spirit\u201d (1991) \u2014 Nirvana<\/h2>\n
\u201cStarman\u201d (1972) \u2014 David Bowie<\/h2>\n
\u201cThere She Goes, My Beautiful World\u201d (2004) \u2014 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds<\/h2>\n
\u201cTutti Frutti\u201d (1955) \u2014 Little Richard<\/h2>\n
\u201cVoodoo Child (Slight Return)\u201d (1968) \u2014 The Jimi Hendrix Experience<\/h2>\n
\u201cWhere Is My Mind?\u201d (1988) \u2014 Pixies<\/h2>\n
\u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d (1969) \u2014 Led Zeppelin<\/h2>\n
\u201cWuthering Heights\u201d (1978) \u2014 Kate Bush<\/h2>\n
<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n