Greatest Rock Songs 1970s (Revision Version)

[Lew]

Criteria: Songs listed are from Rock 'n' Roll and related sub-genres from the 1970s. Rankings are based on initial and lasting popularity and on acclaim received from critics and musicians.

Edited By: Brian
Last Updated: 2026-08-24

Link: https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_songs70s.html

1. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
2. Hotel California – Eagles
3. Superstition – Stevie Wonder
4. Imagine – John Lennon
5. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
6. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
7. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
8. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
9. Stayin’ Alive – The Bee Gees
10. Dancing Queen – ABBA
11. Layla – Derek and the Dominos
12. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
13. Let It Be – The Beatles
14. Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
15. American Pie – Don McLean
16. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
17. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
18. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits
19. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
20. Heart of Glass – Blondie
21. Maggie May – Rod Stewart
22. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 – Pink Floyd
23. More Than a Feeling – Boston
24. Your Song – Elton John
25. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
26. Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
27. Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers
28. Paranoid – Black Sabbath
29. Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd
30. Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine – James Brown
31. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
32. Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight and the Pips
33. Dream On – Aerosmith
34. We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions – Queen
35. Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
36. Have You Ever Seen the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
37. Roxanne – The Police
38. Le Freak – Chic
39. Baba O’Riley – The Who
40. Heroes – David Bowie
41. Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone – The Temptations
42. Rapper’s Delight – The Sugarhill Gang
43. Highway to Hell – AC/DC
44. Heart of Gold – Neil Young
45. London Calling – The Clash
46. Piano Man – Billy Joel
47. Good Times – Chic
48. Brown Sugar – The Rolling Stones
49. My Sweet Lord – George Harrison
50. Killing Me Softly with His Song – Roberta Flack
51. Rocket Man – Elton John
52. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
53. I Feel Love – Donna Summer
54. Rock with You – Michael Jackson
55. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads
56. No Woman, No Cry – Bob Marley and the Wailers
57. Walk This Way – Aerosmith
58. Family Affair – Sly and the Family Stone
59. Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed
60. Bang a Gong (Get It On) – T. Rex
61. Kashmir – Led Zeppelin
62. Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
63. Lean on Me – Bill Withers
64. I’m Not in Love – 10cc
65. Fire and Rain – James Taylor
66. Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones
67. Lola – The Kinks
68. Theme from “Shaft” – Isaac Hayes
69. Living for the City – Stevie Wonder
70. Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
71. Hot Stuff – Donna Summer
72. The Boys Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy
73. September – Earth, Wind and Fire
74. You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
75. Riders On the Storm – The Doors
76. Boys Don't Cry - The Cure **
77. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin **
78. Funkytown – Lipps, Inc.
79. Move on Up - Curtis Mayfield **
80. Anarchy in the UK – The Sex Pistols
81. Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
82. It’s Too Late – Carole King
83. All Right Now – Free
84. Tired of Being Alone – Al Green
85. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan
86. Tiny Dancer – Elton John
87. Message in a Bottle – The Police
88. Who’ll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
89. Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder **
90. Night Moves – Bob Seger
91. The Joker – The Steve Miller Band
92. We Are Family – Sister Sledge
93. Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra **
94. ABC – The Jackson 5 **
95. My Sharona – The Knack
96. Rock and Roll All Nite – KISS
97. Love Train – The O’Jays
98. Miss You – The Rolling Stones
99. Just My Imagination – The Temptations
100. How Deep Is Your Love – The Bee Gees **
101. Money – Pink Floyd
102. Bennie and the Jets – Elton John
103. Because the Night – Patti Smith
104. Changes – David Bowie
105. Low Rider – War
106. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
107. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen
108. War – Edwin Starr
109. Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder
110. Brass in Pocket – The Pretenders
111. Killer Queen – Queen
112. I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
113. Angie – The Rolling Stones
114. A Horse with No Name – America
115. Black Magic Woman – Santana
116. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
117. School’s Out – Alice Cooper
118. Rebel Rebel – David Bowie
119. Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire / The Emotions **
120. Band on the Run – Paul McCartney and Wings
121. La Grange - ZZ Top **
122. Black Dog – Led Zeppelin
123. Iron Man - Black Sabbath **
124. Mercy Mercy Me – Marvin Gaye
125. Y.M.C.A. – Village People
126. Moondance – Van Morrison
127. Waterloo – ABBA
128. You Are the Sunshine of My Life – Stevie Wonder
129. Take It Easy – Eagles
130. I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones
131. Stuck in the Middle with You – Stealers Wheel
132. One Love/People Get Ready - Bob Marley and the Wailers **
133. I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
134. Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles **
135. Rock Your Baby – George McCrae
136. What a Fool Believes – The Doobie Brothers
137. Disco Inferno – The Trammps
138. Rhiannon – Fleetwood Mac
139. Lady Marmalade – LaBelle
140. Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
141. American Girl – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers **
142. Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones
143. One of These Nights – Eagles
144. Easy – Commodores **
145. Reeling in the Years – Steely Dan
146. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry
147. Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel
148. Got to Give It Up – Marvin Gaye
149. Dust in the Wind – Kansas
150. I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5
151. Ramblin’ Man – The Allman Brothers
152. That’s the Way (I Like It) – KC & the Sunshine Band
153. Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll – Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
154. I’ll Be Around – The Spinners
155. Starman – David Bowie **
156. Rock and Roll – Led Zeppelin
157. Get Up, Stand Up – The Wailers
158. Surrender – Cheap Trick
159. Maybe I’m Amazed (studio version) – Paul McCartney
160. If You Don’t Know Me by Now – Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
161. Just What I Needed – The Cars
162. Is This Love – Bob Marley and the Wailers **
163. God Save the Queen – The Sex Pistols
164. Night Fever – The Bee Gees
165. Me and Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul
166. The Chain – Fleetwood Mac **
167. Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas
168. Burning Love – Elvis Presley
169. Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder **
170. Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty
171. Long Train Runnin’ – The Doobie Brothers
172. You’re the First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White **
173. Best of My Love – The Emotions
174. American Woman – The Guess Who
175. Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush **
176. Runnin’ with the Devil – Van Halen
177. Without You – Nilsson
178. Paradise by the Dashboard Light – Meat Loaf
179. Flash Light – Parliament
180. Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
181. Tangled Up in Blue – Bob Dylan
182. Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen **
183. Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
184. Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe – Barry White
185. I Was Made for Lovin’ You – KISS **
186. Cars – Gary Numan
187. Back Stabbers – The O’Jays
188. Drift Away – Dobie Gray
189. Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk) – Parliament
190. Listen to the Music – The Doobie Brothers
191. The Logical Song – Supertramp
192. Brick House – Commodores
193. LA Woman – The Doors
194. One Way or Another – Blondie
195. Barracuda – Heart **
196. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? – Rod Stewart **
197. Crocodile Rock – Elton John
198. Roundabout – Yes
199. That Lady – The Isley Brothers
200. Oh Girl – The Chi-Lites
201. The Passenger – Iggy Pop **
202. Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel **
203. Do It Again – Steely Dan **
204. Train in Vain – The Clash
205. Instant Karma – John Lennon
206. Time – Pink Floyd
207. O-o-h Child – The Five Stairsteps
208. Love and Happiness – Al Green **
209. Aqualung – Jethro Tull
210. Band of Gold – Freda Payne
211. Life in the Fast Lane – Eagles
212. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
213. Running on Empty – Jackson Browne
214. Cocaine – Eric Clapton
215. Oye Como Va – Santana
216. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon **
217. Behind Blue Eyes – The Who
218. Love to Love You Baby – Donna Summer
219. Shining Star – Earth Wind & Fire **
220. The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles
221. One Nation Under a Groove – Funkadelic
222. Autobahn – Kraftwerk
223. Who Are You – The Who
224. Mr. Big Stuff – Jean Knight
225. Wild World – Cat Stevens **
226. Have You Seen Her – The Chi-Lites
227. Radar Love – Golden Earring
228. Refugee – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
229. Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson
230. We’re an American Band – Grand Funk
231. Long Cool Woman – The Hollies
232. Fly Like an Eagle – The Steve Miller Band
233. Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
234. What I Like About You – The Romantics
235. December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) – The Four Seasons
236. Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) – ABBA **
237. Pick Up the Pieces – Average White Band
238. Kiss and Say Goodbye – The Manhattans
239. Joy to the World – Three Dog Night
240. The Payback – James Brown
241. Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell **
242. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett
243. Go All the Way – The Raspberries
244. When Will I See You Again – The Three Degrees
245. 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
246. You Make Me Feel Brand New – The Stylistics
247. Tell Me Something Good – Rufus
248. Oliver’s Army – Elvis Costello
249. Truckin’ – The Grateful Dead
250. Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin **

** indicates new entry.

[ManPerson]

Some songs that could probably be somewhere on here
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Somebody to Love - Queen
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
I Was Made for Lovin' You - KISS
One Love/People Get Ready - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Three Little Birds - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Hold the Line - Toto
Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) - ABBA
How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees
Lovely Day - Bill Withers
Rich Girl - Hall & Oates
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
T.N.T. - AC/DC
Wild World - Cat Stevens
Father and Son - Cat Stevens
La Grange - ZZ Top
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
Easy - Commodores
Life On Mars? - David Bowie
Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire / The Emotions
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Barracuda - Heart
If You Leave Me Now - Chicago
Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn'tve) - Buzzcocks
The Model - Kraftwerk
Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield
Superfly - Curtis Mayfield
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
I Can't Stand the Rain - Ann Peebles
Perfect Day - Lou Reed

[Brian]

Some songs that could probably be somewhere on here
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Somebody to Love - Queen
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
I Was Made for Lovin' You - KISS
One Love/People Get Ready - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Three Little Birds - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Hold the Line - Toto
Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) - ABBA
How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees
Lovely Day - Bill Withers
Rich Girl - Hall & Oates
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
T.N.T. - AC/DC
Wild World - Cat Stevens
Father and Son - Cat Stevens
La Grange - ZZ Top
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
Easy - Commodores
Life On Mars? - David Bowie
Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire / The Emotions
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Barracuda - Heart
If You Leave Me Now - Chicago
Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn'tve) - Buzzcocks
The Model - Kraftwerk
Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield
Superfly - Curtis Mayfield
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
I Can't Stand the Rain - Ann Peebles
Perfect Day - Lou Reed

The bolded all have a very good chance of making the list when I revise it. "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Superfly" are close, but at the moment I'm figuring they fall just a little bit short.

[ManPerson]

Don't Stop Me Now is the 2nd most streamed songs of the decade on Spotify (according to this https://chartmasters.org/most-streamed- ... n-spotify/), so I figure it should be somewhere on there.

[Brian]

I've completed my revision of this list, which appears below. New entries are followed by **. Let me know if you see any spelling errors or other errors of any kind. Whatever else you want to comment on is welcome. I will also update the yearly lists to make them consistent with this one, but for now, I'll just update the top 10 lists for each year. Shortly, you'll find my update for that in the appropriate thread.

1. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
2. Hotel California – Eagles
3. Superstition – Stevie Wonder
4. Imagine – John Lennon
5. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
6. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
7. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
8. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
9. Stayin’ Alive – The Bee Gees
10. Dancing Queen – ABBA
11. Layla – Derek and the Dominos
12. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
13. Let It Be – The Beatles
14. Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
15. American Pie – Don McLean
16. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
17. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
18. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits
19. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
20. Heart of Glass – Blondie
21. Maggie May – Rod Stewart
22. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 – Pink Floyd
23. More Than a Feeling – Boston
24. Your Song – Elton John
25. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
26. Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
27. Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers
28. Paranoid – Black Sabbath
29. Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd
30. Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine – James Brown
31. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
32. Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight and the Pips
33. Dream On – Aerosmith
34. We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions – Queen
35. Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
36. Have You Ever Seen the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
37. Roxanne – The Police
38. Le Freak – Chic
39. Baba O’Riley – The Who
40. Heroes – David Bowie
41. Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone – The Temptations
42. Rapper’s Delight – The Sugarhill Gang
43. Highway to Hell – AC/DC
44. Heart of Gold – Neil Young
45. London Calling – The Clash
46. Piano Man – Billy Joel
47. Good Times – Chic
48. Brown Sugar – The Rolling Stones
49. My Sweet Lord – George Harrison
50. Killing Me Softly with His Song – Roberta Flack
51. Rocket Man – Elton John
52. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
53. I Feel Love – Donna Summer
54. Rock with You – Michael Jackson
55. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads
56. No Woman, No Cry – Bob Marley and the Wailers
57. Walk This Way – Aerosmith
58. Family Affair – Sly and the Family Stone
59. Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed
60. Bang a Gong (Get It On) – T. Rex
61. Kashmir – Led Zeppelin
62. Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
63. Lean on Me – Bill Withers
64. I’m Not in Love – 10cc
65. Fire and Rain – James Taylor
66. Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones
67. Lola – The Kinks
68. Theme from “Shaft” – Isaac Hayes
69. Living for the City – Stevie Wonder
70. Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
71. Hot Stuff – Donna Summer
72. The Boys Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy
73. September – Earth, Wind and Fire
74. You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
75. Riders On the Storm – The Doors
76. Boys Don't Cry - The Cure **
77. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin **
78. Funkytown – Lipps, Inc.
79. Move on Up - Curtis Mayfield **
80. Anarchy in the UK – The Sex Pistols
81. Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
82. It’s Too Late – Carole King
83. All Right Now – Free
84. Tired of Being Alone – Al Green
85. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan
86. Tiny Dancer – Elton John
87. Message in a Bottle – The Police
88. Who’ll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
89. Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder **
90. Night Moves – Bob Seger
91. The Joker – The Steve Miller Band
92. We Are Family – Sister Sledge
93. Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra **
94. ABC – The Jackson 5 **
95. My Sharona – The Knack
96. Rock and Roll All Nite – KISS
97. Love Train – The O’Jays
98. Miss You – The Rolling Stones
99. Just My Imagination – The Temptations
100. How Deep Is Your Love – The Bee Gees **
101. Money – Pink Floyd
102. Bennie and the Jets – Elton John
103. Because the Night – Patti Smith
104. Changes – David Bowie
105. Low Rider – War
106. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
107. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen
108. War – Edwin Starr
109. Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder
110. Brass in Pocket – The Pretenders
111. Killer Queen – Queen
112. I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
113. Angie – The Rolling Stones
114. A Horse with No Name – America
115. Black Magic Woman – Santana
116. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
117. School’s Out – Alice Cooper
118. Rebel Rebel – David Bowie
119. Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire / The Emotions **
120. Band on the Run – Paul McCartney and Wings
121. La Grange - ZZ Top **
122. Black Dog – Led Zeppelin
123. Iron Man - Black Sabbath **
124. Mercy Mercy Me – Marvin Gaye
125. Y.M.C.A. – Village People
126. Moondance – Van Morrison
127. Waterloo – ABBA
128. You Are the Sunshine of My Life – Stevie Wonder
129. Take It Easy – Eagles
130. I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones
131. Stuck in the Middle with You – Stealers Wheel
132. One Love/People Get Ready - Bob Marley and the Wailers **
133. I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
134. Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles **
135. Rock Your Baby – George McCrae
136. What a Fool Believes – The Doobie Brothers
137. Disco Inferno – The Trammps
138. Rhiannon – Fleetwood Mac
139. Lady Marmalade – LaBelle
140. Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
141. American Girl – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers **
142. Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones
143. One of These Nights – Eagles
144. Easy – Commodores **
145. Reeling in the Years – Steely Dan
146. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry
147. Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel
148. Got to Give It Up – Marvin Gaye
149. Dust in the Wind – Kansas
150. I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5
151. Ramblin’ Man – The Allman Brothers
152. That’s the Way (I Like It) – KC & the Sunshine Band
153. Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll – Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
154. I’ll Be Around – The Spinners
155. Starman – David Bowie **
156. Rock and Roll – Led Zeppelin
157. Get Up, Stand Up – The Wailers
158. Surrender – Cheap Trick
159. Maybe I’m Amazed (studio version) – Paul McCartney
160. If You Don’t Know Me by Now – Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
161. Just What I Needed – The Cars
162. Is This Love – Bob Marley and the Wailers **
163. God Save the Queen – The Sex Pistols
164. Night Fever – The Bee Gees
165. Me and Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul
166. The Chain – Fleetwood Mac **
167. Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas
168. Burning Love – Elvis Presley
169. Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder **
170. Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty
171. Long Train Runnin’ – The Doobie Brothers
172. You’re the First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White **
173. Best of My Love – The Emotions
174. American Woman – The Guess Who
175. Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush **
176. Runnin’ with the Devil – Van Halen
177. Without You – Nilsson
178. Paradise by the Dashboard Light – Meat Loaf
179. Flash Light – Parliament
180. Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
181. Tangled Up in Blue – Bob Dylan
182. Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen **
183. Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
184. Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe – Barry White
185. I Was Made for Lovin’ You – KISS **
186. Cars – Gary Numan
187. Back Stabbers – The O’Jays
188. Drift Away – Dobie Gray
189. Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk) – Parliament
190. Listen to the Music – The Doobie Brothers
191. The Logical Song – Supertramp
192. Brick House – Commodores
193. LA Woman – The Doors
194. One Way or Another – Blondie
195. Barracuda – Heart **
196. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? – Rod Stewart **
197. Crocodile Rock – Elton John
198. Roundabout – Yes
199. That Lady – The Isley Brothers
200. Oh Girl – The Chi-Lites
201. The Passenger – Iggy Pop **
202. Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel **
203. Do It Again – Steely Dan **
204. Train in Vain – The Clash
205. Instant Karma – John Lennon
206. Time – Pink Floyd
207. O-o-h Child – The Five Stairsteps
208. Love and Happiness – Al Green **
209. Aqualung – Jethro Tull
210. Band of Gold – Freda Payne
211. Life in the Fast Lane – Eagles
212. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
213. Running on Empty – Jackson Browne
214. Cocaine – Eric Clapton
215. Oye Como Va – Santana
216. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon **
217. Behind Blue Eyes – The Who
218. Love to Love You Baby – Donna Summer
219. Shining Star – Earth Wind & Fire **
220. The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles
221. One Nation Under a Groove – Funkadelic
222. Autobahn – Kraftwerk
223. Who Are You – The Who
224. Mr. Big Stuff – Jean Knight
225. Wild World – Cat Stevens **
226. Have You Seen Her – The Chi-Lites
227. Radar Love – Golden Earring
228. Refugee – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
229. Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson
230. We’re an American Band – Grand Funk
231. Long Cool Woman – The Hollies
232. Fly Like an Eagle – The Steve Miller Band
233. Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
234. What I Like About You – The Romantics
235. December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) – The Four Seasons
236. Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) – ABBA **
237. Pick Up the Pieces – Average White Band
238. Kiss and Say Goodbye – The Manhattans
239. Joy to the World – Three Dog Night
240. The Payback – James Brown
241. Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell **
242. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett
243. Go All the Way – The Raspberries
244. When Will I See You Again – The Three Degrees
245. 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
246. You Make Me Feel Brand New – The Stylistics
247. Tell Me Something Good – Rufus
248. Oliver’s Army – Elvis Costello
249. Truckin’ – The Grateful Dead
250. Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin **

[Tim]

Nice update, Brian.

[ManPerson]

Before looking at this in depth, I just want to say I'm glad I was able to convince you to add Don't Stop Me Now.

[pauldrach]

Let me know if you see any spelling errors or other errors of any kind.

242. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet

*Buffett

Was suprised to see "Easy" above "Brick House" but it does look like there's very good reason for that. Good update!

[Brian]

Before looking at this in depth, I just want to say I'm glad I was able to convince you to add Don't Stop Me Now.

When I looked at the case for DSMN in more depth, I found that it was 4x platinum in the US and 5x platinum in the UK, which corroborates the high level of lasting popularity that the Spotify shows.

[Brian]

Let me know if you see any spelling errors or other errors of any kind.

242. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet

*Buffett

Was suprised to see "Easy" above "Brick House" but it does look like there's very good reason for that. Good update!

Thanks, I fixed it.

I meant to list the songs that I dropped from the list, but forgot, so I'll do that here. Several of the changes were substituting one song for an artist with a different song by that artist, so there are several cases that an artist on the list below will also have a song newly added to the list.

Alone Again (Naturally) – Gilbert O’Sullivan
Takin’ Care of Business – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Lust for Life – Iggy Pop
Jamming – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Fame – David Bowie
Fantasy – Earth, Wind and Fire
Respect Yourself – The Staple Singers
I Saw the Light – Todd Rundgren
Rock and Roll, Part 2 – Gary Glitter
Inner City Blues – Marvin Gaye
Love Is the Drug – Roxy Music
All the Young Dudes – Mott the Hoople
Can’t Get Enough – Bad Company
Black Water – The Doobie Brothers
Rock Lobster – The B-52’s
Tonight’s the Night – Rod Stewart
Turn the Page – Bob Seger
The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff
Ball of Confusion – The Temptations
Hey Hey My My (Into the Black) – Neil Young
Locomotive Breath – Jethro Tull
Until You Come Back to Me – Aretha Franklin
I’m Still in Love with You – Al Green
Child in Time – Deep Purple
Help Me – Joni Mitchell
Smiling Faces Sometimes – The Undisputed Truth
Always and Forever – Heatwave
I Wish – Stevie Wonder
Shame – Evelyn “Champagne” King
Natural High – Bloodstone
Over the Hills and Far Away – Led Zeppelin
Long Time – Boston
That’s the Way of the World – Earth, Wind and Fire
Question – The Moody Blues

Note: The first four on the above list weren't in this post originally, and I added them later as they were dropped from the list to make room for other songs.

[ManPerson]

I'm Not in Love seems like a pretty huge omission from the overall greatest rock songs list.

[Brian]

Maybe so. There's definitely a case to be made for it. It was a big hit at the time in both the US and UK, it's pretty highly acclaimed, and has very good lasting popularity. With this update, there would be quite a few songs below it on this list that are on the all-time list.

[Tim]

You plan on eventually making the all time list more consistent with this update, Brian?

[Brian]

Tim, tbh, there's a lot that could be done with the all-time list to make it more consistent with all, or at least many of, the decade lists. That there are 3 editors that have to agree to the changes, rather than one, makes the process of changing the list more difficult. Maybe at some point, I'll send a proposal for re-arranging the '70s and '90s songs (the 2 decade lists that I edit), and see what they'll agree to. I think we can at least get the all-time list closer to the '70s and '90s lists than it is now.

After I saw ManPerson's comment, I checked this update to see if there is any song ahead of "I'm Not in Love" that isn't on the all-time list, and found that all songs ahead of it are on the all-time list. The next 11 songs after it are also already on the all-time list. It should probably be added.

[ManPerson]

Maybe so. There's definitely a case to be made for it. It was a big hit at the time in both the US and UK, it's pretty highly acclaimed, and has very good lasting popularity. With this update, there would be quite a few songs below it on this list that are on the all-time list.

I think there's an argument to be made that its production was fairly influential too.

[ManPerson]

Some suggestions/questions that came to mind

- I'm still curious about Bohemian Rhapsody vs Born to Run. I still feel like Bo Rhap's win in lasting popularity is fairly definitive here, as it does really well in acclaim in its own right while its initial popularity may actually be stronger than Born to Run's.

- I'd have Highway to Hell higher. It's acclaim is strong, being top 250 on the latest AM update and top 300 on the one before that while it also has huge lasting popularity, as indicated by its 6x platinum certification, its status as, by far, the biggest song on an album that went 8x platinum while also being the 7th most streamed song of the 1970s on Spotify and its many uses in popular film and television throughout the years. It seems very comparable to Baba O'Riley and Roxanne, for example.

- I think Is This Love's lasting popularity combined with it's solid acclaim should warrant it a placement on the list.

I'll get to the rest of my suggestions later.

[Brian]

Bo Rhap ahead of Born to Run is definitely arguable. I don't think Bo Rhap will ever go ahead of Born to Run on the all-time list, but maybe with all the other inconsistencies between the all-time list and the decade lists, one more isn't that much of a problem.

There are already 4 Marley/Wailers songs on this list, and I think 5 would be too many, so if that's the case, then it comes down to whether replacing one of the songs that are now on the list would be a good move. "Jamming" is the lowest one on the list, and it's the only one of the four not on the all-time list, so if one were to be dropped, I lean toward that one. I don't see a big overall difference between "Jamming and "Is This Love", but "Is This Love" does appear to have a slight overall edge, with the only advantage that "Jamming" appears to have being a not very big advantage in acclaim.

With "Highway to Hell" at #51, moving it higher would mean that something would have to leave the top 50, so care should be taken that the best choice is made for that. As I don't think black artists are over-represented at all in the top 50, to keep a good balance, I'd want whatever drops to #51 to not be a soul/funk/disco/rap song. Some candidates:

Rocket Man: According to acclaimedmusic, this is the least acclaimed song in the top 50, but just barely, and it's still pretty highly acclaimed. A top 10 hit in both the US and UK, 5x platinum in the US and 4x in the UK, and a lot of listens at spotify.

London Calling: Very high acclaim is the main thing that it has. Platinum in the UK and good lasting popularity, but not as good as most of the top 50.

Brown Sugar: The main problem here is that its popularity seems to have fallen off in recent years. It was a big hit at the time in both the US and UK and is highly acclaimed, but I'm starting to think that even if it stays in the top 50, #37 is a bit high.

My Sweet Lord and Heart of Gold: Strong across the board, but are they strong enough to beat at least one of the other songs listed above?

[ManPerson]

Bo Rhap ahead of Born to Run is definitely arguable. I don't think Bo Rhap will ever go ahead of Born to Run on the all-time list, but maybe with all the other inconsistencies between the all-time list and the decade lists, one more isn't that much of a problem.

It's pretty hard to convince the three of you to make changes to that list, from my experience.