While there is no general agreement upon the greatest song, many publications and organizations have tried to determine the songs considered the best. The songs mentioned in this article have all been mentioned in a notable survey, an poll or a critics' list.
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Several attempts have been made to identify the best songs across many genres and time periods.
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004,[1] a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The song list was chosen based on votes by 172 musicians, critics, and music-industry figures.
| # | Song | Artist | Country of origin | Release | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Like a Rolling Stone" | Bob Dylan | United States | 1965 | Rock |
| 2 | "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" | The Rolling Stones | United Kingdom | 1965 | Rock and roll |
| 3 | "Imagine" | John Lennon | United Kingdom | 1971 | Soft Rock |
| 4 | "What's Going On" | Marvin Gaye | United States | 1971 | Soul |
| 5 | "Respect" | Aretha Franklin | United States | 1967 | Soul |
| 6 | "Good Vibrations" | The Beach Boys | United States | 1966 | Psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop |
| 7 | "Johnny B. Goode" | Chuck Berry | United States | 1958 | Rock and roll |
| 8 | "Hey Jude" | The Beatles | United Kingdom | 1968 | Soft Rock |
| 9 | "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | Nirvana | United States | 1991 | Grunge |
| 10 | "What'd I Say" | Ray Charles | United States | 1959 | Soul, blues, gospel, rock and roll |
In 2003 VH1 compiled a list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years." The following comprise the top ten:[2]
A global 2005 poll conducted in 66 different countries and translated into 20 languages came up with the following results:[3]
A radio station in Britain conducted a poll to identify British armed forces' favourite song. Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" came in first.[4]
Five songs have received more than 7 million plays over the radio. The information was compiled by Broadcast Music Incorporated, which has collected data for artist royalty payment purposes since 1939.[5]
The following five songs have received more than 7 million individual plays, with one of them more than 8 million:[6]
Over 8 million plays
Over 7 million plays
Country Music Television composed a list of their 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music. Here is the top of the list:[7]
Folk Alley, an influential radio broadcast and website operated by WKSU-FM at Kent State University, conducted an audience poll that drew from their more than 100,000 listeners in order to create their list of the The 100 Most Essential Folk Songs.[8][9] The following top out the list:[10]
VH1 compiled a list of the greatest hard rock songs, with the following topping the list:[11]
In May 2011, Gibson.com released their list of the top 50 metal songs of all time.[12] The top ten are:
VH1 compiled a list of the greatest hip hop songs, with the following making the top ten:
Below are the top ten songs from DigitalDreamDoor's 100 Greatest "Classic" R&B/Soul Songs:[13]
The music ranking and list site DigitalDreamDoor has the following songs at the top of their greatest rock songs list:[14]
The following songs made the top of VH1's "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's":[15]
The following songs made the top of VH1's "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's":[16]
The following are the top ten from Rolling Stone magazine's top songs from the 2000s:[17]
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools. Hundreds of voters, which includes elected officials, people from the music industry and the media, teachers, and students, were asked in 2001 to choose the top 365 songs, by Americans, of the 20th century with historical significance in mind. The voters were selected by RIAA, although only about 15% (200) of the 1,300 selected voters responded.[18] The highest songs on the list are:
| Rank | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Over the Rainbow" | Judy Garland |
| 2 | "White Christmas" | Bing Crosby |
| 3 | "This Land Is Your Land" | Woody Guthrie |
| 4 | "Respect" | Aretha Franklin |
| 5 | "American Pie" | Don McLean |
| 6 | "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" | The Andrews Sisters |
| 7 | West Side Story (Album) | Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim |
| 8 | "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" | Billy Murray |
| 9 | "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" | The Righteous Brothers |
| 10 | "The Entertainer" | Scott Joplin |
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs is a list of the top 100 songs in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute June 22, 2004 in a CBS special hosted by John Travolta, who appeared in two films honored by the list, Saturday Night Fever and Grease. The top ten songs from the list are:[19]