Wednesday, July 22, 2015

My 100 Favorite Rock Songs of All-Time (at least as of today) -- Spotify Playlist Included

After posting My 100 All-time Favorite Artists of Popular Music on Sunday, I was asked if I could cite my 100 favorite songs in a rock or pop music vein.

So I quickly put this list together, and think it's pretty accurate even if almost every song could easily be swapped out for another one I love, even by the same artist.

Reflecting the flavor of my favorite artists list, you'll note a preponderance of guitar-driven hard rock tunes, mostly of a classic or alternative rock bent.

This is clearly what I enjoy most in a rock vein, but not only would an exhaustive list of songs I enjoy include a much wider swath in terms of pure pop, soul, blues and more, but would also represent my love of Broadway, several great jazz tunes, classical compositions and more.

For your listening pleasure, I compiled a Spotify Playlist to match the list below, albeit without a combined six songs by The Beatles and Bob Seger, whose songs aren't streaming. So I added 6 other songs to make a 100-tune Seth Saith favorites playlist and cite them at the end here.

1. Backstreets - Bruce Springsteen
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
3. Rock and Roll - Led Zeppelin
4. Baba O' Riley - The Who
5. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
6. Going Underground - The Jam
7. The Spirit of Radio - Rush
8. Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
9. Badlands - Bruce Springsteen
10. London Calling - The Clash

11. I Wanna Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
12. Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie
13. Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
14. A Day in the Life - The Beatles
15. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
16. So. Central Rain - R.E.M.
17. Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
18. Pride (in the Name of Love) - U2
19. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
20. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins

21. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix Experience
22. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
23. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
24. The Whole of the Moon - The Waterboys
25. Surrender - Cheap Trick
26. 29x the Pain - The Wildhearts
27. The Waiting - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
28. Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil
29. Hurt - Johnny Cash
30. After the Gold Rush - Neil Young



31. Local Boy in the Photograph - Stereophonics
32. Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
33. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) - Bruce Springsteen
34. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
35. Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
36. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns 'n Roses
37. Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
38. Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
39. A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
40. Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks

41. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding - Elvis Costello
42. Instant Karma - John Lennon
43. Once in A Lifetime - Talking Heads
44. Begin the Begin - R.E.M.
45. Jeremy - Pearl Jam
46. Street Fighting Man - The Rolling Stones
47. Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone
48. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - The Ramones
49. Lithium - Nirvana
50. Police on My Back - The Clash

51. Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin
52. The Ties That Bind - Bruce Springsteen
53. Rain - The Beatles
54. Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
55. Lola - The Kinks
56. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix Experience
57. Creep - Radiohead
58. And the Cradle Will Rock - Van Halen
59. I'll Stick Around - Foo Fighters
60. Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones

61. Life on Mars - David Bowie
62. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
63. Alive - Pearl Jam
64. Green Mind - Dinosaur Jr.
65. Layla - Derek and the Dominoes
66. Feel Like A Number - Bob Seger
67. Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen
68. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
69. Dream On - Aerosmith
70. So Lonely - The Police

71. She's Not There - The Zombies
72. To Be Someone - The Jam
73. Beyond Belief - Elvis Costello
74. Blow Up the Outside World - Soundgarden
75. When the Angels Cry - Jason and the Scorchers
76. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
77. Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
78. Whole World With You - Willie Nile
79. If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar
80. Ticket to Ride - The Beatles

81. Apply Some Pressure - Maximo Park
82. A Thousand Trees - Stereophonics
83. Refugee - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
84. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen
85. Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
86. American Idiot - Green Day
87. I'll Be You - The Replacements
88. Been a Son - Nirvana
89. Just What I Needed - The Cars
90. The Price You Pay - Bruce Springsteen

91. Pretty Persuasion - R.E.M.
92. Hey, Hey, My, My - Neil Young
93. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns 'n Roses
94. Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
95. Your Song - Elton John
96. Hells Bells - AC/DC
97. Redemption Song - Bob Marley
98. Rain on the Scarecrow - John Mellencamp
99. Ball and Chain - Social Distortion
100. Blasphemous Rumors - Depeche Mode

6 extra songs for the Spotify playlist since The Beatles (5) and Bob Seger (1) aren't there.

Get Over You - The Undertones
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Don't Look Back - Boston
Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
Train in Vain - The Clash
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys 

Plus two more songs I really like and wanted to include:

Buck Rogers - Feeder
Common People - Pulp

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great list Seth! Many of my favorites also. Thanks for the playlist!
KL :)