100 Best Rock Songs of All Time
The songs that define the genre. Argue amongst yourselves.
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Keith Richards dreamed the riff. The world hasn't stopped hearing it.
A Day in the Life
Lennon and McCartney's masterpiece. The orchestral crescendo is terrifying.
Gimme Shelter
The sound of the 1960s ending. Merry Clayton's vocal is hair-raising.
Helter Skelter
McCartney wanted to make the loudest thing ever recorded. He nearly did.
White Rabbit
Psychedelia meets Ravel's Bolero. Grace Slick commands the trip.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Opera, metal, balladry, and lunacy in six minutes. Shouldn't work. Does.
Comfortably Numb
Gilmour's solo is the greatest guitar solo ever recorded. Argue if you want.
Anarchy in the U.K.
Rotten's sneer over Steve Jones' buzzsaw guitar. Still dangerous.
The Number of the Beast
Dickinson's debut. That opening scream changed metal forever.
Master of Puppets
Thrash metal's anthem. The clean interlude before the final assault is genius.
Welcome to the Jungle
Axl's whistle-to-scream. Slash's riff. LA at its most dangerous.
Sweet Child O' Mine
Slash was warming up. The intro riff became immortal by accident.
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Post-punk's most devastating song. Curtis's voice is unbearable.
How Soon Is Now?
Johnny Marr's tremolo guitar is a sonic event. Morrissey's loneliness is total.
Under the Bridge
Kiedis writes about loneliness and LA. The bridge is transcendent.
You Really Got Me
The Kinks classic reborn through Eddie's fingers. Hard rock reintroduced.
Smells Like Teen Spirit
The four chords that killed hair metal and launched a generation.
Black Hole Sun
Cornell's voice floats over psychedelic heaviness. Unsettling and beautiful.
Rooster
Cantrell writes about his father in Vietnam. The harmonies are devastating.
Killing in the Name
Morello's riff and de la Rocha's fury. The ending is catharsis.
Everlong
Grohl's greatest love song. The quiet verse to roaring chorus is perfection.
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
'Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage.' Corgan's thesis.
Bulls on Parade
Morello makes a turntable sound with a guitar. Political fury weaponized.
Man in the Box
Staley's talk-box vocal over Cantrell's churning riff. Grunge before grunge.
Seven Nation Army
The riff that took over football stadiums worldwide. Jack White's greatest moment.
No One Knows
Grohl's drums, Homme's riff, and a chorus that won't leave your head.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Turner's motormouth over a riff that's all angles. Debut single. Number one.
Reptilia
Harder and faster than the debut. The interplay between the two guitars is electric.
Fell in Love with a Girl
Ninety seconds of furious, lo-fi punk-blues. Not a note wasted.
Du hast
Industrial metal in German that crossed over globally. The stomp is universal.
In the End
Nu-metal's biggest crossover. Shinoda's piano over Bennington's desperation.
Lonely Boy
Blues-rock distilled to a three-minute dance. Auerbach's fuzz is iconic.
Do I Wanna Know?
Turner's croon over the heaviest riff of their career. Midnight swagger.
Go with the Flow
Desert rock at highway speed. The chorus hits like sunstroke.
The Pretender
Grohl's most anthemic chorus. The build to the final explosion is perfect.
Zephyr Song
Frusciante's guitar is a warm breeze. Kiedis at his most melodic.
Run the Jewels (feat. Zack de la Rocha)
De la Rocha returns. 'Close Your Eyes (And Count to F**k)' is searing.
The Less I Know the Better
Psychedelic pop-rock that became a streaming phenomenon. The bass line is irresistible.
Heathens
Genre-defying. Rock, hip-hop, and electronic fused into a mainstream smash.
R U Mine?
Riff-heavy swagger. The bridge between indie Alex Turner and lounge Alex Turner.