Welcome! Join me as I celebrate 70 years of music since the unofficial birth of Rock & Roll in the mid-1950s!
I’m counting down the 2000 greatest songs of the 70-year time period beginning in January 1955 and concluding in December 2024 (but extending beyond!). This is a celebration and collection for true music lovers, spanning many different genres and artists. All genres of popular music are on full display in this comprehensive list: Pop, Rock, R&B, Country, Dance, Alternative, Funk, Grunge, Hip-Hop/Rap, Indie, Hard Rock, Disco, Reggae, Punk, Electronic, Soul, New Jack Swing, Folk Pop, Jazz Pop, New Age, and everything in between!
I have a profound love of music, and I created this project out of a desire to give everyone a solid launch point from which to discover or rediscover the vast library of music that is available to us.
I compiled this ranked list by researching opinions from a great variety of professional music publications, including AllMusic, Beats Per Minute, Billboard Staff/Critics, Blender Magazine, Business Insider, Complex, Consequence (of Sound), DIY, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, The Fader, Gigwise, Glamour, The Guardian, NME (New Musical Express), NPR, Paste Magazine, Pitchfork Magazine, Popdose, Pop Matters, Rolling Stone, Slant Magazine, Slate, Spectrum Culture, SPIN magazine, Stereogum, ThisIsDig, Time Magazine, TimeOut, TrebleZine, Uproxx,
USA Today, Variety, VICE, The Village Voice, Vulture, and more!
This list is all about song quality, regardless of record sales or chart positions. And while you’ll see many famous chart-topping songs in this list, you’ll also find many high-quality songs that never charted well but are highly regarded by professionals working in music criticism and journalism. So, while many of these songs are certified hits and chart-toppers, many others may be entirely new to you, or it's a good chance to rediscover a forgotten gem. But, as ever, a collection like this one serves a major purpose: to share the music that is beloved by critics and industry insiders, in the hopes you might love it, too.
If the number 2000 sounds like an enormous amount of songs, it really isn’t, when you consider the sheer volume of music released in the 70 years encompassed here. In fact, it amounts to an average of about 28 songs per calendar year — merely the icing on a delicious cake. For instance, during the period of 1958–2024, more than 40,000 songs were charted on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, and that’s in addition to all the great songs that never charted but are highly regarded for their musical quality and innovation. Futhermore, the online music database AllMusic catalogs over 30 million tracks at the time of this writing. Then, these 2000 songs here truly represent the cream of the crop. One could easily add another 1000 songs to this list without much drop in quality.
Click on #2000 -- #1901 in the scrolling menu header above to begin exploring the list!
Please revisit this site periodically as updates will continue until the full list has been presented.
THE TOP ARTISTS:
The following is a list of the best artists, based on total points earned from songs ranked within The Top 2000 list.
(The song ranked #1 earns the respective artist 2,000 points; the #2 ranked song earns its artist 1,999 points; the #3 ranked song earns its artist 1,998 points; and so forth.)
[If an artist is “featured” on a song by another primary artist, the featured artist earns half of the point value for that song, and the primary artist receives the full point value.]
The number in parentheses appearing after each artist is the total number of songs by that artist that qualified for The Top 2000 songs list. {The current artist ranking below is based on songs through the end of 2024.}
1. The Beatles (21)
2. Madonna (19)
3. The Rolling Stones (13)
4. Taylor Swift (20)
5. Michael Jackson (16)
6. Janet Jackson (14)
7. Elvis Presley (12)
8. U2 (13)
9. Prince (12)
10. David Bowie (10)
11. Beyoncé (13)
12. Elton John (14)
13. Lady Gaga (13)
14. Bob Dylan (7)
15. Kanye West (12)
16. Rihanna (12)
17. Jay-Z (12)
18. Adele (10)
19. Marvin Gaye (7)
20. Bruce Springsteen (8)
21. The Beach Boys (7)
22. Whitney Houston (9)
23. Fleetwood Mac (8)
24. R.E.M. (7)
25. The Who (6)
26. Kendrick Lamar (7)
27. Nirvana (6)
28. The Supremes (7)
29. Drake (9)
30. George Michael / Wham! (8)
31. Led Zeppelin (5)
32. The Velvet Underground (6)
33. Eminem (6)
34. Stevie Wonder (8)
35. Justin Timberlake (7)
36. Ariana Grande (7)
37. Creedence Clearwater Revival (5)
38. Simon & Garfunkel (5)
39. Bruno Mars (7)
40. The Drifters (6)
41. James Brown (4)
42. Radiohead (4)
43. Johnny Cash (4)
44. Roy Orbison (6)
45. The Weeknd (9)
46. Mariah Carey (8)
47. Billie Eilish (6)
48. Lana Del Rey (5)
49. The Kinks (4)
50. Ray Charles (5)
51. Aretha Franklin (5)
52. Queen (5)
53. Joni Mitchell (5)
54. Olivia Rodrigo (5)
55. Sly & the Family Stone (4)
56. The Miracles (4)
57. The Clash (4)
58. Tom Petty (6)
59. Daft Punk (5)
60. Tina Turner / Ike & Tina (5)
61. Coldplay (5)
62. Peter Gabriel (5)
63. Outkast (3)
64. Chuck Berry (4)
65. TLC (4)
66. The Smiths (3)
67. Van Morrison (4)
68. The Police (4)
69. Depeche Mode (5)
70. Pink Floyd (4)
71. Lorde (4)
72. Dua Lipa (7)
73. Missy Elliott (4)
74. Blondie (4)
75. Green Day (6)
76. Elvis Costello (6)
77. Alicia Keys (5)
78. Harry Styles (5)
79. New Order (3)
80. Little Richard (3)
81. Pet Shop Boys (6)
82. AC/DC (3)
83. Oasis (3)
84. The Cure (4)
85. The White Stripes (3)
86. The Jackson 5 (4)
87. Lizzo (3)
88. Red Hot Chili Peppers (4)
89. LCD Soundsystem (4)
90. Britney Spears (4)
91. Arcade Fire (3)
92. Sam Cooke (3)
93. Justin Bieber (6)
94. The Everly Brothers (3)
95. Charli XCX (7)
96. The Temptations (5)
97. M.I.A. (3)
98. Neil Young (5)
99. The Isley Brothers (5)
100. Pearl Jam (4)
101. Cyndi Lauper (4)
102. Phil Collins (5)
103. Miley Cyrus (4)
104. Cardi B (3)
105. The Bangles (4)
106. Jefferson Airplane / Starship (3)
107. Buddy Holly (4)
108. Beastie Boys (3)
109. Guns N' Roses (3)
110. Destiny's Child (4)
111. Donna Summer (4)
112. Sade (4)
113. Aerosmith (3)
114. SZA (4)
115. Bee Gees (4)
116. Diana Ross (3)
117. The Crystals (3)
118. Sheryl Crow (4)
119. Talking Heads (4)
120. Katy Perry (6)
121. Jimi Hendrix Experience (2)
122. Kylie Minogue (4)
123. Jerry Lee Lewis (2)
124. Lil Nas X (2)
125. Frank Ocean (4)
126. Kate Bush (3)
127. Chic (2)
128. Bo Diddley (3)
129. John Lennon (3)
130. Beck (3)
131. Bob Marley (4)
132. Eric Clapton (4)
133. Blur (2)
134. ABBA (4)
135. Four Tops (4)
136. Eagles (4)
137. MGMT (2)
138. The Four Seasons (4)
139. Robyn (4)
140. Billy Joel (4)
141. Bill Withers (3)
142. Pat Benatar (4)
143. Patsy Cline (3)
144. The Righteous Brothers (2)
145. The Strokes (2)
146. Christina Aguilera (4)
147. Carly Rae Jepsen (3)
148. Alanis Morissette (4)
149. Leonard Cohen (3)
150. Dolly Parton (3)
151. Solange (2)
152. Martha and the Vandellas (3)
153. Usher (3)
154. Lynyrd Skynyrd (2)
155. Post Malone (3)
156. Dr. Dre (3)
157. Tears for Fears (4)
158. Lou Reed (2)
159. Paul McCartney (4)
160. Mary J. Blige (4)
161. The Doors (2)
162. Eurythmics (3)
163. Public Enemy (2)
164. Doja Cat (3)
165. Sabrina Carpenter (2)
166. Backstreet Boys (4)
167. Kacey Musgraves (5)
168. Ramones (2)
169. Fats Domino (2)
170. Dion (3)
171. Ben E. King (2)
172. Massive Attack (2)
173. Rod Stewart (3)
174. Tracy Chapman (3)
175. The Byrds (2)
176. Nicki Minaj (3)
177. Janelle Monáe (2)
178. The Smashing Pumpkins (3)
179. The Lovin' Spoonful (2)
180. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2)
181. Harry Nilsson (3)
182. Toto (3)
183. The Pretenders (3)
184. Cher (3)
185. Run-D.M.C. (2)
186. Portishead (2)
187. Nelly (3)
188. Snoop Dogg (3)
189. Dionne Warwick (3)
190. Nelly Furtado (4)
191. The 1975 (4)
192. The Monkees (3)
193. Amy Winehouse (2)
194. Camila Cabello (2)
195. The Notorious B.I.G. (3)
196. Pharrell Williams (3)
197. Bobby Darin (3)
198. The Zombies (2)
199. Big Star (2)
200. Janis Joplin (2)
201. Hall & Oates (4)
202. Childish Gambino (2)
203. The Stone Roses (2)
204. Jeff Buckley (2)
205. Megan Thee Stallion (2)
206. Roxy Music (2)
207. The Chicks (3)
208. The Shirelles (2)
209. INXS (3)
210. The Impressions (2)
211. Duran Duran (3)
212. Tame Impala (2)
213. Black Sabbath (2)
214. The Killers (3)
215. Foo Fighters (3)
216. The B-52s (2)
217. Weezer (2)
218. Sufjan Stevens (2)
219. Al Green (2)
220. Frank Sinatra (3)
221. Pixies (2)
222. Pink (3)
223. 'N Sync (3)
224. Don Henley (2)
225. Chappell Roan (3)
226. Vampire Weekend (3)
227. Dusty Springfield (3)
228. Santana (3)
229. BTS (3)
230. Paul Simon (3)
231. Aaliyah (2)
232. Steve Winwood (4)
233. Shania Twain (2)
234. The Cars (2)
235. Kelly Clarkson (2)
236. Fiona Apple (3)
237. Steely Dan (3)
238. Annie Lennox (3)
239. Björk (3)
240. The Jam (2)
241. Chaka Khan (3)
242. No Doubt (2)
243. Bon Jovi (2)
244. The Doobie Brothers (3)
245. Gwen Stefani (2)
246. The Cranberries (3)
247. Grateful Dead (3)
248. Sam Smith (4)
249. Bonnie Raitt (2)
250. Sia (4)
251. Phoebe Bridgers (3)
252. Ludacris (3)
253. The Pointer Sisters (4)
254. LL Cool J (3)
255. Céline Dion (3)
256. Boyz II Men (3)
257. The Replacements (2)
258. Gloria Estefan (2)
259. Toni Braxton (3)
260. Lil Wayne (3)
261. HAIM (3)
262. Maroon 5 (3)
263. John Mellencamp (3)
264. Zach Bryan (3)
265. Linda Ronstadt (3)
Hundreds of more song artists are featured on this Top 2000 list!
Why the Year 1955 as the Start of Rock & Roll?
In the U.S., 1955 hardly seemed like the year for a major musical revolution, with its straight-arrow Eisenhower culture. Nevertheless, it was essentially during that year that the Rock element overtook the Jazz element in American popular music. We can look to three significant influences to explain why Rock music emerged so abruptly at that time.
First, it is reasonable to point to specific individuals—such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Bill Haley and the Comets, Fats Domino, and other top-shelf talents—and claim that Rock emerged in the mid-1950s because they began their main creative work at that moment in time. But in any era, we observe a larger number of creative musicians than would ever attain proper notoriety. In actuality, by the later half of the 1950s, the limitations to musical innovation had slackened, allowing a chance for these musical pioneers to emerge.
One could argue that the true significance of 50s rock-and-roll lies beyond mere musical content, let alone artistic innovation. It’s true that once you dissect rock’n’roll (and its many offshoots) you discover a potpourri of elements from traditional Rhythm & Blues, Big-Band, Country & Western swing, Gospel, and early Pop standards.
This brings us to the second major import of Rock’s swift arrival: it was essentially the only format of popular music at that time that was targeted to pre-teens and teenagers—that burgeoning wave of the baby-boom population that was too old for “kiddie” records but a little too young to fully identify with “adult” Pop standards. Rapidly, the composition of the music-consuming public was changing.
Perhaps even more significantly, though, Rock & Roll enabled marginalized American musicians an opportunity to express themselves openly as a dominant influence in the popular music landscape, no longer relegated to earlier R&B and C&W that had limited audiences. Suddenly, the sky was the limit (and clearly, after all this time since, it didn’t even stop there)! Everyone could be in on the game: Southern rebel radio programmers, black musicians from swing bands, raving rural wild men, white tenant farmers, Jewish immigrant merchants, inner-city youths, dime-record-store operators, and more! Everyone who had previously been involved in recording and selling music to specialized audiences now had a chance to reach the wider public and throw open the doors to musical possibilities.
Thirdly, the mid-1950s saw a transformation of the commercial culture industry, including changes in radio programming, the phonograph record industry, and television broadcasting. The advent of rock’n’roll in the mid-Fifties wasn’t just a revolution in music but also a total disruption of social norms, technological advancements, and generational demands. Its scope was unpredictable, and as a result it transformed the business of popular music.
In retrospect, Rock music and its associated culture did more to alter social and political events of the times than vice-versa.
Despite the racial segregation of the 1950s in the U.S., the white and black music fans and performers were increasingly finding more common ground. The blossoming of post-WWII baby-boom teenagers, with change in their pockets, represented a previously untapped consumer group. But to succeed in the teen market, this new music needed a name. R&B disc jockey Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the term “rock and roll,” was as pivotal to the emergence of the genre as the opportune appearance of Elvis’ pelvic gyrations. It must have been quite amusing to “insiders” that the term Rock & Roll had already for decades been black slang for sex. It was a secret shared by the disc jockeys, the performers themselves, and the kids consuming the music. With rock music, teenagers of all cliques were developing their own codes of in-group rock complicity, expressed in their clothes, their accessories, and their vernacular. The medium that spread this underground teen culture (and eventually that of the adults, too) was rock-and-roll.
The music genre we call “rock and roll” (or rockabilly) only really lasted in its initial form for a few years, but during that brief time when high-energy rock’n’roll ruled unrestricted, the possibilities were wide-ranging. Viewed in retrospect, the sudden rise of the Rock aesthetic turns out to have been the frontrunner of a cultural movement toward more racial equality, social equality, and sexual equality—something that was then only starting to take political shape.
The rock-and-roll music of the 1950s tried aggressively (and sometimes even eloquently) to express certain social aspirations and creative targets, and even if that specific short-lived style failed to fully realize its ambitions, on a cultural level it succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Not only did rock’n’roll prove to be much more than a passing fad or an instance of youthful imprudence, but it also provided the templates and the launchpad for virtually every subsequent wave of pop-music invention in all of the decades since. So many of the music genres found in this collection of best songs have their roots in Rock & Roll. Through the lens of nostalgia, the best of early rock’n’roll may have dreamed up a utopia that’s almost impossible to achieve, but as long as the songs and all of their offspring songs survive, we will carry on the dream.
Charles Goodson
The 2000 Greatest Songs of 1955--2024 and Beyond