What’s a great song? It’s not necessarily something we can define, but we know a great song when we hear one. Great songs never get old. They endure throughout the years, enjoyed by listeners new and old — despite changing music tastes and trends.
The best songs become musical touchstones, embedded so deeply in our culture that it’s impossible to imagine a world without them. Not only did they prove hugely successful upon release — frequently shooting up the music charts — but they’ve also permeated society in the years since, featuring prominently on radio, in movies, and being covered by other artists.
24/7 Tempo has determined the 100 absolute best songs of all time based on numerous metrics, including Billboard performance, number of cover versions, and recognition among music fans and professional critics.
While all musical genres were considered for this list, rock and roll accounts for many of those listed. Rock music has proved tremendously popular since its inception. Furthermore, artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys helped push the boundaries of not just of rock and roll, but popular music, too. These bands are now considered to be among the best ever. These are the most popular rock bands of all time.
The 1960s seem to have been the peak of creativity in popular music. While the list features songs from every decade from the 1950s through the 2000s, more than half charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 popular music chart in the 1960s. The work of artists active during that decade is held in higher esteem than most other artists active in other decades. These are the most famous musicians born the year you were born.
Regardless of release date, these are the songs that have both commercial as well as critical appeal, captivating music fans, reviewers, and performers.
Click here to see the 100 absolute best songs in history.
To determine the 100 best songs in history, 24/7 Tempo generated an index based on rankings on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and performance on Ranker.com’s user-generated list of the best songs. The number of times the song has been covered by other artists, as well as whether or not it was included — and, if so, its rank — on “Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list were also considered.
To be considered for inclusion, a song must have both charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and be included on Ranker.com’s list of the best songs of all time. How well a song performed on the Billboard Hot 100 was determined by awarding points based on the number of weeks it charted and its rank for each week. Data on the estimated number of times a song has been covered was provided by SecondHandSongs. Performers were not permitted to have more than three songs included on the list so as to increase variety. Songs performed under multiple names were not counted for the same tally, however. For instance “The Beatles” and “John Lennon” were counted as separate artists.
100. Gimme Little Sign
> Artist: Brenton Wood
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 12, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
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99. Wild Thing
> Artist: The Troggs
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 25, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
98. Little Sister
> Artist: Elvis Presley
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 21, 1961
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
97. Red Rubber Ball
> Artist: The Cyrkle
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 21, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
96. Glad All Over
> Artist: The Dave Clark Five
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 15, 1964
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
95. The Old Man Down The Road
> Artist: John Fogerty
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 22, 1984
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
94. Ring of Fire
> Artist: Johnny Cash
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 1, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
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93. White Room
> Artist: Cream
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 5, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
92. Love Is All Around
> Artist: The Troggs
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 24, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
91. Poison Ivy
> Artist: The Coasters
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 24, 1959
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
90. King of the Road
> Artist: Roger Miller
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 30, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
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89. In the Year 2525
> Artist: Zager & Evans
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 21, 1969
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
88. My Boyfriend’s Back
> Artist: The Angels
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 3, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
87. Low Rider
> Artist: War
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 20, 1975
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
86. Eight Miles High
> Artist: The Byrds
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: April 9, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 9
85. Duke of Earl
> Artist: Gene Chandler
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 13, 1962
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
84. You Got It
> Artist: Roy Orbison
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 21, 1989
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
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83. Harlem Nocturne
> Artist: The Viscounts
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 28, 1959
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 29
82. Soldier Boy
> Artist: The Shirelles
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 24, 1962
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
81. Heart of Gold
> Artist: Neil Young
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 5, 1972
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
80. Carrie-Anne
> Artist: The Hollies
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 17, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
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79. La Bamba
> Artist: Ritchie Valens
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 29, 1958
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
78. You Don’t Own Me
> Artist: Lesley Gore
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 28, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
77. Summertime Blues
> Artist: Eddie Cochran
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 4, 1958
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
76. The Boys Are Back In Town
> Artist: Thin Lizzy
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 15, 1976
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 17
75. Bullet With Butterfly Wings
> Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Nov. 11, 1995
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 20
74. He’s So Fine
> Artist: The Chiffons
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 23, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
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73. Baby Blue
> Artist: Badfinger
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 25, 1972
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 10
72. The Letter
> Artist: The Box Tops
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 12, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
71. Incense and Peppermints
> Artist: Strawberry Alarm Clock
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 30, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
70. Apache
> Artist: Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 23, 1961
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 17
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69. Venus
> Artist: The Shocking Blue
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 13, 1969
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
68. Go All the Way
> Artist: Raspberries
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 1, 1972
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
67. Whole Lotta Love
> Artist: Led Zeppelin
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Nov. 22, 1969
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
66. Spill the Wine
> Artist: Eric Burdon And War
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 23, 1970
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 21
65. Magic Carpet Ride
> Artist: Steppenwolf
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 5, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
64. 96 Tears
> Artist: ? & The Mysterians
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 3, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
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63. Crying
> Artist: Roy Orbison
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 14, 1961
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 16
62. Stray Cat Strut
> Artist: Stray Cats
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 25, 1982
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 19
61. Mr. Tambourine Man
> Artist: The Byrds
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 15, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
60. War
> Artist: Edwin Starr
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 11, 1970
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
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59. The Wanderer
> Artist: Dion
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 4, 1961
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
58. Seven Nation Army
> Artist: The White Stripes
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 24, 2003
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 20
57. Rock Around the Clock
> Artist: Bill Haley And His Comets
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 16, 1974
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
56. Time Has Come Today
> Artist: The Chambers Brothers
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 10, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
55. Hello, I Love You
> Artist: The Doors
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 6, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 12
54. Purple Haze
> Artist: Jimi Hendrix
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 26, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 0
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53. I Can See for Miles
> Artist: The Who
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 14, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
52. Bird Dog
> Artist: The Everly Brothers
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 4, 1958
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
51. People Are Strange
> Artist: The Doors
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 23, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 9
50. Black Dog
> Artist: Led Zeppelin
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 25, 1971
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 12
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49. Suzie Q
> Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 7, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 12
48. Cathy’s Clown
> Artist: The Everly Brothers
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: April 18, 1960
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 17
47. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
> Artist: The Byrds
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 23, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
46. Rock The Casbah
> Artist: The Clash
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 2, 1982
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 24
45. Like A Rolling Stone
> Artist: Bob Dylan
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 24, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 12
44. Johnny B. Goode
> Artist: Chuck Berry
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 4, 1958
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 1
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43. Come as You Are
> Artist: Nirvana
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 21, 1992
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
42. Whip It
> Artist: Devo
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 30, 1980
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 25
41. Black Magic Woman
> Artist: Santana
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Nov. 14, 1970
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
40. Let’s Dance
> Artist: David Bowie
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 26, 1983
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 20
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39. You Were on My Mind
> Artist: We Five
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 24, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
38. All Day and All of the Night
> Artist: The Kinks
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 26, 1964
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 12
37. Loser
> Artist: Beck
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 29, 1994
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 24
36. Happy Together
> Artist: The Turtles
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 11, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
35. I Am a Rock
> Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 7, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
34. White Rabbit
> Artist: Jefferson Airplane
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 24, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 10
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33. School’s Out
> Artist: Alice Cooper
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 3, 1972
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
32. Proud Mary
> Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 25, 1969
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
31. Rockin’ Robin
> Artist: Bobby Day
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Aug. 4, 1958
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 21
30. Golden Years
> Artist: David Bowie
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 13, 1975
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 21
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29. Won’t Get Fooled Again
> Artist: The Who
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 17, 1971
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
28. Surfin’ U.S.A.
> Artist: The Beach Boys
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 23, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 25
27. For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)
> Artist: Buffalo Springfield
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 28, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
26. Space Oddity
> Artist: David Bowie
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Jan. 27, 1973
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
25. Bridge Over Troubled Water
> Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 7, 1970
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
24. You Really Got Me
> Artist: The Kinks
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 26, 1964
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
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23. Born to Be Wild
> Artist: Steppenwolf
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 13, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
22. All Along the Watchtower
> Artist: Jimi Hendrix
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 21, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 0
21. Wipe Out
> Artist: The Surfaris
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 22, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 30
20. I Get Around
> Artist: The Beach Boys
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 23, 1964
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
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19. Immigrant Song
> Artist: Led Zeppelin
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Nov. 21, 1970
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 13
18. Honky Tonk Women
> Artist: The Rolling Stones
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 19, 1969
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
17. Yesterday
> Artist: The Beatles
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 25, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
16. Louie Louie
> Artist: The Kingsmen
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Nov. 9, 1963
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 18
15. Let It Be
> Artist: The Beatles
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: March 21, 1970
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
14. What a Wonderful World
> Artist: Louis Armstrong
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Feb. 20, 1988
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
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13. Bad Moon Rising
> Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 3, 1969
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
12. Somebody to Love
> Artist: Jefferson Airplane
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: April 1, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 15
11. Walk, Don’t Run
> Artist: The Ventures
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: July 18, 1960
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 30
10. Paint It, Black
> Artist: The Rolling Stones
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: May 14, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 11
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9. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
> Artist: The Rolling Stones
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 12, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
8. Good Vibrations
> Artist: The Beach Boys
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 22, 1966
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
7. Light My Fire
> Artist: The Doors
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 3, 1967
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 23
6. Hey Ya!
> Artist: Outkast
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 18, 2003
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 32
5. Only The Lonely (Know How I Feel)
> Artist: Roy Orbison
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: June 6, 1960
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 30
4. The Sound of Silence
> Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Nov. 20, 1965
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 14
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3. Imagine
> Artist: John Lennon
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Oct. 23, 1971
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 9
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit
> Artist: Nirvana
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Dec. 7, 1991
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 20
1. Hey Jude
> Artist: The Beatles
> Billboard Hot 100 entry date: Sept. 14, 1968
> Total weeks on Billboard Hot 100: 19
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