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300 Greatest Rock Lyrical Performances

Criteria: These are the greatest songs lyrically in rock 'n' roll. With lyrics of originality, artistic expression, emotion, wit, social consciousness and great storytelling.

Last Updated: 2023-12-04
Greatest Rock Lyrical Performances
 Artist • Song
  1. Bob Dylan - Desolation Row
  2. Don McLean - American Pie
  3. Bob Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
  4. John Lennon - Imagine
  5. Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
  6. Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm
  7. Pete Townshend - Won't Get Fooled Again
  8. Roger Waters - Time
  9. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
10. Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now
11. Bob Marley - Redemption Song
12. Paul Simon - Patterns
13. Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows
14. Ray Davies - Waterloo Sunset
15. Neil Young - Broken Arrow
16. John Fogerty - Fortunate Son
17. Bob Dylan - Masters of War
18. Jackson Browne - Late For the Sky
19. Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower
20. John Lennon / Paul McCartney - A Day In The Life
21. Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna
22. Jim Morrison - When The Music's Over
23. Neil Young - Cortez the Killer
24. Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
25. Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue
26. Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park
27. Curtis Mayfield - This Is My Country
28. Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald
29. Bob Dylan - Blowin' In The Wind
30. Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money
31. Paul Simon - I am a Rock
32. Bob Dylan - Idiot Wind
33. Joe Strummer - Straight to Hell
34. John Lennon - Gimme Some Truth
35. Paul Simon - Sparrow
36. Jackson Browne - These Days
37. Trent Reznor - Hurt
38. Pete Townshend - 5:15
39. Neil Young - Rockin' In the Free World
40. Joe Strummer - Somebody Got Murdered
41. Bob Dylan - Forever Young
42. Paul Simon - The Cool, Cool River
43. Nick Cave - Into My Arms
44. Warren Zevon - Carmelita
45. Neil Young - Thrasher
46. Roger Waters - If
47. Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle
48. Jim Morrison - The End
49. Joe Strummer - Lost in a Supermarket
50. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone
51. Harry Chapin - Taxi
52. Maynard James Keenan - The Noose
53. Warren Zevon - Disorder in the House
54. Smokey Robinson - Tears Of A Clown
55. Bob Dylan - Not Dark Yet
56. Joe Strummer - Shaktar Donetsk
57. Lou Reed - Heroin
58. Eddie Vedder - Off He Goes
59. Van Morrison - Madame George
60. Paul Simon - Something So Right
61. Roger Waters - When The Tigers Broke Free
62. Robert Plant - Stairway to Heaven
63. Jackson Browne - Fountain of Sorrow
64. Paul McCartney - Eleanor Rigby
65. Elvis Costello - In The Darkest Place
66. Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
67. Warren Zevon - Mutineer
68. Stevie Wonder - Living for the City
69. Jim Morrison - The Crystal Ship
70. Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A Changin'
71. Elvis Costello - Man Out of Time
72. Bruce Springsteen - This Hard Land
73. Paul Simon - The Sounds of Silence
74. Jacques Levy / Bob Dylan - Hurricane
75. Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland
76. Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
77. Paul Simon - The Boxer
78. Paul McCartney - Yesterday
79. Brian Wilson - Til I Die
80. Jim Morrison - Orange County Suite
81. Roger Waters - Eclipse
82. Joe Strummer - Spanish Bombs
83. Bruce Springsteen - Racing In the Street
84. Tom Waits - Singapore
85. Paul McCartney - Hey Jude
86. Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile
87. Kurt Cobain - Dumb
88. Eddie Vedder - Better Man
89. Paul Simon - For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her
90. Nick Cave - Tupelo
91. Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City
92. Paul Simon - Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall
93. John Lennon - Working Class Hero
94. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
95. Paul Weller - That's Entertainment
96. Smokey Robinson - Tracks Of My Tears
97. Joe Strummer - The Magnificent Seven
98. Eddie Vedder - Black
99. Maynard James Keenan - Third Eye
100. Bob Dylan - Tombstone Blues

101. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
102. Roger Waters - Cymbaline
103. Robbie Robertson - Acadian Driftwood
104. Eric Clapton - Layla
105. Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi
106. Peter Tosh - Equal Rights
107. George Harrison - Something
108. Roger Waters - The Post War Dream
109. Peter Tosh / Bob Marley - Get Up, Stand Up
110. Neil Young - Crime in the City
111. Bob Dylan - It's All Over Now Baby Blue
112. Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
113. Leonard Cohen - A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes
114. Dan Fogelberg - Leader of the Band
115. Elvis Costello - Tramp the Dirt Down
116. Stephen Stills - We Are Not Helpless
117. Mick Jagger - Sympathy For The Devil
118. Kurt Cobain - All Apologies
119. Maynard James Keenan - Passive
120. Paul Simon - Bleeker Street
121. Maynard James Keenan - Reflection
122. Kris Kristofferson - Me and Bobby McGee
123. Layne Staley - Nutshell
124. Morrissey - Everyday is Like Sunday
125. Frank Zappa - Dumb All Over
126. Peter Tosh - Here Comes the Judge
127. Holland / Dozier / Holland - Standing In The Shadow Of Love
128. Roger Waters - Brain Damage
129. Ray Davies - Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy
130. Peter Tosh - Pick Myself Up
131. Neil Peart - 2112
132. Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning
133. Elvis Costello - Radio Radio
134. Jerry Cantrell - Hurt a Long Time
135. Roger Waters - Hey You
136. Joni Mitchell - Raised on Robbery
137. Ray Davies - Sunny Afternoon
138. Paul Simon - Train in the Distance
139. Bono - Bullet in the Blue Sky
140. John Lennon - Jealous Guy
141. Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier
142. Pete Townshend - My Generation
143. Eddie Vedder - Corduroy
144. Don Henley - Hotel California
145. Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
146. Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London
147. Jackson Browne - Before the Deluge
148. Morrissey - Suffer Little Children
149. Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army
150. Thom Yorke - Karma Police
151. Eddie Vedder - Immortality
152. Trent Reznor - Closer
153. George Harrison - Within You Without You
154. Bono - Where the Streets Have No Name
155. Joe Strummer - London Calling
156. Bernie Taupin - Your Song
157. Jerry Cantrell - Rooster
158. Jim Croce - Operator
159. Maynard James Keenan - Weak and Powerless
160. Neil Peart - Subdivisions
161. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
162. Ben Harper - Excuse Me Mr.
163. Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
164. Jerry Cantrell - Don't Follow
165. Beres Hammond - What a Life
166. Robbie Robertson - The Weight
167. Maynard James Keenan - The Grudge
168. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
169. John Lennon - In My Life
170. Cat Stevens - Father and Son
171. Roger Waters - Comfortably Numb
172. Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man
173. Lou Reed - The Black Angel's Death Song
174. Nick Drake - Parasite
175. Bob Marley - Babylon System
176. Joe Strummer / Mick Jones - The Prisoner
177. Maynard James Keenan - H.
178. Paul Simon - Bridge Over Troubled Water
179. Morrissey - I Know It's Over
180. Pete Townshend - Sally Simpson
181. Neil Young - Powderfinger
182. James Taylor - Fire and Rain
183. Brian Wilson / Tony Asher - God Only Knows
184. Pete Townshend - Behind Blue Eyes
185. Ray Davies - Days
186. Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Done
187. Roger Waters - Wish You Were Here
188. Otis Redding - Coffee and Cigarettes
189. Jim Morrison - The Movie
190. Eddie Vedder - I Am Mine
191. Frank Zappa - Muffin Man
192. Pete Townshend - Baba O'Riley
193. Van Morrison - Moondance
194. Bruce Springsteen - Lost in the Flood
195. Justin Hayward - Tuesday Afternoon
196. Chris Cornell - Say Hello 2 Heaven
197. Holland / Dozier / Holland - Bernadette
198. Paul Simon - The Dangling Conversation
199. Paul McCartney - The Long and Winding Road
200. Morrissey - There's A Light That Never Goes Out

201. Lou Reed - Andy's Chest
202. Bruce Springsteen - State Trooper
203. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
204. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
205. Pete Townshend - Pinball Wizard
206. Joe Strummer / Mick Jones - Gates of the West
207. Neil Young - Ohio
208. Bono - One
209. Joe Strummer - Washington Bullets
210. Justin Hayward - Question
211. Neil Young - Old Man
212. Joe Strummer - Something About England
213. Brian Wilson - Meet Me In My Dream Tonight
214. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
215. Kurt Cobain - Heart Shaped Box
216. Thom Yorke - Street Spirit
217. Don McLean - The Grave
218. Harry Chapin - Cats in the Cradle
219. John Lennon - Mind Games
220. Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat
221. Neil Peart - Something For Nothing
222. Roger Waters - Run Like Hell
223. Jerry Cantrell - Down In A Hole
224. Kurt Cobain - Lithium
225. Jim Morrison - Celebration of the Lizard
226. Mick Jagger - Dead Flowers
227. David Crosby - Wooden Ships
228. John Lennon - I am the Walrus
229. Bruce Springsteen - My Home Town
230. Pete Townshend - Substitute
231. Bob Dylan - Everything is Broken
232. Ray Davies - Celluloid Heroes
233. Kevin Moore - Space Dye Vest
234. Nick Lowe - Peace, Love, and Understanding
235. Bob Marley - I Shot the Sheriff
236. Keith Richards - Wild Horses
237. Bob Dylan - License to Kill
238. Otis Redding - Dreams To Remember
239. Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia
240. Roger Waters - Shine On You Crazy Diamond
241. Mick Jagger - Gimme Shelter
242. Jim Morrison - Peace Frog
243. Leonard Cohen - Bird on a Wire
244. Jimi Hendrix - Castles Made of Sand
245. Tom Waits - Blind Love
246. Eddie Vedder - Jeremy
247. Billy Corgan - Disarm
248. Ben Harper - Another Lonely Day
249. Mick Jagger - Paint It Black
250. Leonard Cohen - Avalanche
251. Jim Morrison - Rider's On the Storm
252. Ray Davies - Lola
253. Warren Zevon - Genius
254. Mick Jagger - Mother's Little Helper
255. Micheal Stipe - Everybody Hurts
256. Tom Petty - Free Fallin'
257. Paul McCartney - Fool on the Hill
258. Warren Zevon - Porcelain Monkey
259. Tom Waits - Downtown Train
260. David Bowie - Space Oddity
261. Thom Yorke - Subterranean Homesick Alien
262. Neil Young - Pocahontas
263. Tom Petty - A Woman In Love
264. Bruce Springsteen - The Promise
265. Eddie Vedder - Love Boat Captain
266. Ian Curtis - Passover
267. Nick Cave - Red Right Hand
268. Elvis Costello - Less Than Zero
269. Bob Dylan - Hard Rains Gonna Fall
270. Stephen Stills - Treetop Flier
271. David Gilmour - High Hopes
272. Elvis Costello - I Hope You're Happy Now
273. Bob Marley - Waiting In Vain
274. Warren Zevon / Hunter S. Thompson - You're a Whole Different Person When Your Scared
275. Nick Cave - Babe I'm the One On Fire
276. Tom Petty - It's Good To Be King
277. Tom Waits - Jesus Gonna Be Here
278. Wilson/Asher/Love - Wouldn't It Be Nice
279. Ben Harper - Give a Man a Home
280. Neil Young - Southern Man
281. John Ondrasik - Superman (It's Not Easy)
282. John Lennon - Strawberry Fields Forever
283. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
284. Eddie Vedder - Thumbing My Way
285. Neil Young - Hey Hey, My My
286. John Fogerty - A Hundred and Ten in the Shade
287. John Lodge - Evening: Time to Get Away
288. Paul McCartney - For No One
289. Trent Reznor - The Becoming
290. Elvis Costello - Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
291. Jerry Cantrell - Brother
292. Tom Waits - The Piano Has Been Drinking
293. Chris Cornell - Outshined
294. Robert Smith - Lullaby
295. Anthony Kiedis - Californication
296. David Bowie - Life on Mars
297. Neil Young - Sugar Mountain
298. Joe Strummer / Mick Jones - The Card Cheat
299. John Fogerty - Premonition
300. Ben Gibbard - We Looked Like Giants
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
Ray Davies
Ray Davies



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