The 2000 Greatest Songs of All Time, 1955–2024
...and beyond!
#200 – #101
(Please revisit this site periodically as updates will continue until the full list has been presented.)
#200
"Smoke on the Water"
Deep Purple
1973
#199
"Don't You Want Me"
The Human League
1981
#198
"Sign o' the Times"
Prince
1987
#197
"Toxic"
Britney Spears
2004
%20The%20Reaper.jpg)
#196
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
Blue Öyster Cult
1976
.jpg)
#195
"Baba O'Riley (Teenage Wasteland)"
The Who
1971
#194
"People Get Ready"
The Impressions
1965
.png)
#193
"Blueberry Hill"
Fats Domino
1956
#192
"Brown Eyed Girl"
Van Morrison
1967
.jpg)
#191
"I Walk the Line"
Johnny Cash
1956
#190
"Blowin' in the Wind"
Bob Dylan
1963
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
![Taylor Swift Red (Taylor's Version) [album].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/07888e_6e58cc1843464545bc40c6727e52cc8b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_258,h_245,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Taylor%20Swift%20Red%20(Taylor's%20Version)%20%5Balbum%5D.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
%20(album).jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
![Daft Punk [stock photo].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/07888e_11d572b3756e4e22a6d7fd8bff579ac8~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_101,y_0,w_758,h_720/fill/w_258,h_245,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Daft%20Punk%20%5Bstock%20photo%5D.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
![Chuck Berry The Great Twenty Eight [compilation album].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/07888e_702ce2d4d2d84f60b4eaabf2d10830e8~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_0,y_8,w_300,h_285/fill/w_258,h_245,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Chuck%20Berry%20The%20Great%20Twenty%20Eight%20%5Bcompilation%20album%5D.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpeg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.png)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
.jpg)
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
#Ranking
"Song Title"
Artist
Year
It's near impossible to mention Deep Purple's classic "Smoke on the Water" and not immediately think of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's trademark guitar riff. In fact, Keyboardist Jon Lord claimed that the working title for this song was "Durh Durh Durh" — a transliteration of the world-famous chromatic riff that just about every guitarist in the world past and present has at some point tried out. The song's lyrics tell the true story of an overzealous fan shooting a flare gun during a 1971 Frank Zappa show at the Casino in Montreux, Switzerland, setting the venue ablaze and destroying the planned location for Deep Purple’s next recording session. --Rolling Stone & Greg Prato, AllMusic
The punkiest of the New Romantics, The Human League clunked their way onto the flash-drive of the ’80s with this Rashomonian boy/girl dust-up and the most recognizable synth intro in history. Inspired by a long-forgotten tabloid tale of the doomed love between a domineering man and a cocktail barmaid who inevitably outgrows him, the track almost didn’t become a single because writer and vocalist Phil Oakey declared it was a “nasty song about sexual power politics.” Regardless, it’s a sonic powerhouse, built on razor-sharp synthesizer lines and an electrifying rhythm part generated on a drum machine. --Anthony Strain (Treble), Chris Gerard (MetroWeekly), & GT (The Guardian)
In the throes of a decade soaked in mawkish, high-profile charity singles like “We Are the World” and “Hands Across America,” Prince’s “Sign o’ the Times” served as a reminder that social consciousness didn’t have to be completely anathema to art. This dark, sly, nervy, electrofunk classic is peak Prince—a political statement from a star so admired that it seemed like the world stopped to listen, and what they heard was a bravura update of Riot-era Sly Stone. Prince’s understated performance is genuinely empathetic to the social ills in his lyrics: drug addiction, HIV, gang violence, hurricanes, poverty, nuclear paranoia, and the damned space race. Hmm, we haven’t solved much. --Jonathan Keefe (Slant)
& GM (The Guardian)
One of the most disheartening aspects about Britney’s public breakdowns is that she really had great pop instincts and individualist zest. We sense her personality inhabiting her best record, “Toxic” — an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink tune that proves Britney could transform wacky techno pop into delicious bubblegum. Yes, it’s full of silly lyrics, but it’s elevated to art by its screeching violin, one of the most splendid isolated music moments of the noughties. Decked out in Bollywood strings, Euro-disco trappings, a squelchy breakdown, and that James Bond guitar riff, it’s a perfect pop song about a love that’s wrong but feels so right. Oh, my dear, we relate. --Charles Goodson, site author