100 Greatest Songs From 1970

Criteria: Songs listed are from Rock 'n' Roll and related sub-genres. Rankings are based on initial and lasting popularity and on acclaim received from critics and musicians.

Note: Yearly song lists go by earliest 'release date' (Single, Album, or Country of first release). Not necessarily the year a song peaked in the U.S. charts.

1. Layla
Derek And The Dominos
2. Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon and Garfunkel
3. Let It Be
Beatles
4. Your Song
Elton John
5. Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
James Brown
6. Lola
Kinks
7. Who'll Stop the Rain
Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. Fire and Rain
James Taylor
9. Paranoid
Black Sabbath
10. All Right Now
Free
11. Black Magic Woman
Santana
12. Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Creedence Clearwater Revival
13. My Sweet Lord
George Harrison
14. War
Edwin Starr
15. Maybe I'm Amazed
Paul McCartney
16. I'll Be There
Jackson 5
17. Oye Como Va
Santana
18. The Long and Winding Road
Beatles
19. Moondance
Van Morrison
20. Band Of Gold
Freda Payne
21. Ohio
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
22. American Woman
Guess Who
23. Instant Karma
John Lennon
24. Joy To the World
Three Dog Night
25. Child In Time
Deep Purple
26. 25 or 6 To 4
Chicago
27. Truckin'
Grateful Dead
28. O-o-h Child
Five Stairsteps
29. Ball Of Confusion
Temptations
30. Roadhouse Blues
Doors
31. Move On Up
Curtis Mayfield
32. Immigrant Song
Led Zeppelin
33. Iron Man
Black Sabbath
34. ABC
Jackson 5
35. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Stevie Wonder
36. Close To You
Carpenters
37. In the Summertime
Mungo Jerry
38. Up Around the Bend
Creedence Clearwater Revival
39. Proud Mary
Ike and Tuna Turner
40. We've Only Just Begun
Carpenters
41. Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Diana Ross
42. Lookin' Out My Back Door
Creedence Clearwater Revival
43. Across the Universe
Beatles
44. If You Could Read My Mind
Gordon Lightfoot
45. Woodstock
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
46. Wild World
Cat Stevens
47. Cecilia
Simon and Garfunkel
48. Cracklin' Rosie
Neil Diamond
49. The Love You Save
Jackson 5
50. Lucky Man
Emerson, Lake and Palmer

51. Mama Told Me (Not To Come)
Three Dog Night
52. Question
Moody Blues
53. Rose Garden
Lynn Anderson
54. Kentucky Rain
Elvis Presley
55. It's a Shame
Spinners
56. Teach Your Children
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
57. Big Yellow Taxi
Joni Mitchell
58. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
Edison Lighthouse
59. Into the Mystic
Van Morrison
60. Travelin' Band
Creedence Clearwater Revival
61. The Wonder Of You
Elvis Presley
62. Express Yourself
Charles Wright & Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band
63. Eighteen
Alice Cooper
64. Make It With You
Bread
65. Sweet Jane
Velvet Underground
66. Patches
Clarence Carter
67. No Matter What
Badfinger
68. Spill the Wine
Eric Burdon and War
69. Samba Pa Ti
Santana
70. Stoned Love
Supremes
71. Since I've Been Loving You
Led Zeppelin
72. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Creedence Clearwater Revival
73. El Condor Pasa
Simon and Garfunkel
74. I Think I Love You
Partridge Family
75. Call Me Super Bad
James Brown
76. Mississippi Queen
Mountain
77. Domino
Van Morrison
78. Colour My World
Chicago
79. Run Through the Jungle
Creedence Clearwater Revival
80. Don't Play That Song
Aretha Franklin
81. Midnight Rider
Allman Brothers Band
82. After Midnight
Eric Clapton
83. Knock Three Times
Dawn
84. If I Were Your Woman
Gladys Knight and the Pips
85. War Pigs
Black Sabbath
86. Southern Man
Neil Young
87. What Is Life
George Harrison
88. Love the One You're With
Stephen Stills
89. Groove Me
King Floyd
90. Make Me Smile
Chicago
91. Working Class Hero
John Lennon
92. Yellow River
Christie
93. Coal Miner's Daughter
Loretta Lynn
94. I'm Your Captain/Closer To Home
Grand Funk Railroad
95. Green-Eyed Lady
Sugarloaf
96. Turn Back the Hands Of Time
Tyrone Davis
97. I Hear You Knocking
Dave Edmunds
98. Draggin' the Line
Tommy James
99. Carry On
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
100. Rivers Of Babylon
Melodians
20 more worth mentioning.
101. Black Night
Deep Purple
102. Our House
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
103. Lonely Days
Bee Gees
104. Casey Jones
Grateful Dead
105. Still Water (Love)
Four Tops
106. Funk #49
James Gang
107. Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
108. After the Gold Rush
Neil Young
109. Uncle John's Band
Grateful Dead
110. Call Me
Aretha Franklin
111. Mr. Bojangles
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
112. Merry Christmas Darling
Carpenters
113. Ride Captain Ride
Blues Image
114. No Sugar Tonight
Guess Who
115. If There's a Hell Below We're All Going To Go
Curtis Mayfield
116. Vehicle
Ides Of March
117. Signs
Five Man Electrical Band
118. For the Good Times
Ray Price
119. One Bad Apple
Osmonds
120. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You
Wilson Pickett
DigitalDreamDoor Editor Picks for 1970
An unheralded great record from 1970
Brian's choice:
* I Can't Get Next to You
Al Green
Lew's choice:
* You Better Think Twice
Poco
Bruce's choice:
* Will There Be Another Love For Me
Winfield Parker
Adam's choice:
* Sleeping
The Band
Brett's choice:
* Gonna Get My Baby Back
Doris Troy
    1969   |   1971

Last Updated: 2020-04-27