What is the greatest rock n roll song of all time?

35 Comments

I was just wondering what people thought...I put down what I thought were obvious contenders, but left out the Beatles...f them... also I left out the whole metal and punk stuff because I mostly focused on Classic Rock and see them as derivatives of Zeppelin and Black Sabbath..I could have maybe added Sabbath " Paranoid " and maybe even Procol Harem" Whiter Shade of Pale" , maybe even Janis Joplin...nah, close but no cigar...

My vote is Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones although the others are real close.

Led Zeppelin- Stairway to Heaven	15
Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here	4
Rolling Stones- Gimme Shelter	4
The Who- Love Reign o'er me	0
Steppenwolf- Born to be Wild	6
Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run	1
The Doors- LA Woman	2
The Animals- House of the Rising Sun	5
Jimmy Hendrix- All Along the Watchtower	5

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Comments ( 35 )

linchpin

9 years ago

Out of your list, I had to vote for stairway but I was very tempted to go with house of the rising sun.

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LizardSkin

9 years ago

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
Alice In Chains - Would?
The Cranberries - Zombie

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- moonlightshield
  
  9 years ago
  
  Best musical taste ever! *applauses*
  
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motherlovebone69120

9 years ago

My favorites include:
Led Zeppelin-Stairway to Heaven
Lynyrd Skynyrd-Free Bird
Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here or Money
Deep Purple-Smoke on the Water
Black Sabbath-Paranoid or War Pigs
Metallica-Enter Sandman
Soundgarden-Black Hole Sun or anything sung by Chris Cornell
Take your pick of any Eric Clapton songs
Take your pick of Jimi Hendrix songs
Queen-Bohemian Rhapsody
Colorful-The Verve Pipe (sorry I like "Rock Star")
Procol Harum-Whiter Shade of Pale

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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  Finally somebody who knows what they are talking about....I did think about Freebird but forgot about Bohemian Rhapsody...I agree that probably could be added...but somehow I was thinking Ballads and Anthems....Rock Opera? is just so hard to place....
  
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anti-hero

9 years ago

Born to be wild made it but not paranoid or whiter shade of pale? Fuck you.

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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  Born to be Wild is an American Anthem....the other songs are great just not as great
  
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  - anti-hero
    
    9 years ago
    
    Geez kid how many accounts do you have?
    
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    - iEatZombies_
      
      9 years ago
      
      I don't think this was the work of OP.
      
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    - Lonely2
      
      9 years ago
      
      What do you mean? I only have one.
      
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      - iEatZombies_
        
        9 years ago
        
        He assumed such because every comment here just got thumbed down by trolls.
        
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        anti-hero
        
        9 years ago
        
        Who have we "cool kids" pissed off now?
        
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      - anti-hero
        
        9 years ago
        
        My apologies.
        
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TheTraumaWithin

9 years ago

Night Ranger: Sister Christian
Kings of Leon: Crawl
Flock of Seagulls: I Ran (So Far Away)
Haste the Day: Stitches
Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit

These are a few of my favorites. Honestly, I can't decide on any of the songs on your list.

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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  Seriusly...your listing Flock of Seagulls as one of the greatest Rock n Roll songs of all time...are you frealing nuts...GTFO.
  
  Maybe just maybe ...if you tried real hard might I consider Nirvanas Smells Like Teen spirit..its a great song just not one of THE greatest.
  
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  - TheTraumaWithin
    
    9 years ago
    
    I was thinking about Grand Theft Auto radio stations and thought that song would be good for kicking back and relaxing, so now I regret posting it. Don't be so mean.
    
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disthing

9 years ago

None of these, for me. I don't think I could pick just one.

On a purely subjective basis, I'm just going to list my favourite Rock songs:

Elvis Presley: Hound Dog
Nirvana: You Know You're Right
Foo Fighters: My Hero
The Black Keys: Thickfreakness
Radiohead: Just
The Kinks: You Really Got Me
Deftones: My Own Summer (Shove It)
Kings Of Leon: Closer
Muse: Plug In Baby
The Pixies: Where Is My Mind
The Stranglers: Golden Brown
The Strokes: Last Nite
NIN: Everyday Is Exactly The Same

A lot of modern songs - but I'm into 'Alternative Rock', and the 90s onwards were golden for it.

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- howaminotmyself
  
  9 years ago
  
  Elvis was the first to come to mind. Hound dog specifically. I think Queen deserves a place on that list too, and maybe the flaming lips. And perhaps with time the Black Keys will make it there. Too early to tell.
  
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  - disthing
    
    9 years ago
    
    For me, early stuff by The Black Keys was amazing - they took the blues rock that influenced them and made it contemporary.
    
    They started to go down hill from 2008 (Attack & Release) onwards. Their last couple of albums aren't for me - too poppy and they lost that blues edge. I expect they just got bored of the style, and actually they're far more successful now, having shifted their sound. So I don't begrudge them, but their early stuff was their peak imo.
    
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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  Some of these are legendary..especially Elvis...Nirvana is special as they captured Grunge...but none of thse can be considered Great...great is the Mona Lisa ...the Pieta...the Sistine chapel..not Andy Warhol 's Campbell soup can...
  
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  - disthing
    
    9 years ago
    
    They can be considered great, because greatness is subjective, and for me they are the pinnacle of Rock.
    
    I don't like 99% of what Rolling Stones put out, or The Doors, or Bruce Springsteen, or Steppen Wolf (Born To Be Wild is awful). I can appreciate songs by The Who, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, and I do love the House of The Rising Sun cover by The Animals (should have included that in my list).
    
    I mean, you asked us all, you should expect that not everybody is going to appreciate the same Rock you do.
    
    I'll also add to my list:
    Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
    Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
    Manic Street Preachers: A Design For Life
    The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony
    Oasis: Stop Crying Your Heart Out
    Van Morrison: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
    
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megadriver

9 years ago

Tough choice man... I love rock, hard rock, metal and heavy metal, but choosing a number one song for that genre is pretty tough.

But I'm gonna go with Pink Floyd - Wish you were here. I love Pink Floyd. But then again Sabbath are awesome, so are Deep Purple... Tough choice man. They all rock!

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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  I just love these discussions because it is so hard to choose....I mean what is it about Wish you were here that makes it so great...the lyrics, the composition, the music...I know everything...for me it is the composition but also its timeless....it somehow captures those deepest feelings and longings of humanity...with zep it is also the timelessness...andvthe lyrics and the music but dayum Page's guitar rifts were just so unbelieveable....but the Stones ...there is nothing by itself that was that incredible but somehow it grabbed that feeling that we all feel when the world is out of control and its gonna sweep us up in it and we just want shelter...and then that girls voice crackin...." Rape, Murder" ... man ...thats gotta be the greatest thing in rock and roll....I cant think of anything greater than that....Im crying now...somehow the human voice of anguish is still the greatest sound...so Floyd is awesome but too cerebral for the top spot...Zep is too fantastical...Stones is primal and that wins it in my opinion
  
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thegypsysailor

9 years ago

I'd have to go with Satisfaction, by the Stones. Not my favorite by any means, but probably the greatest song of the 60's. Let it Be, by the Beatles might be a close second.
Dylan will probably go down in history as one of America's greatest poets, but I doubt that his renditions of his music will fare well historically.

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- anti-hero
  
  9 years ago
  
  Otis Redding > The Stones
  
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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  If were talking the 60's you would be right but were talking all time and Gimme Shelter has just kept getting bigger each decade...It was written around the same time too.
  
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Fall_leaves

9 years ago

King crimson, 21st century schizoid man.

Bob dylan, the man should be represented on this list, all along the watchtower was originally wrote by him. Knockin on heavens door, you gotta respect the raspy wise voice and sick sounds coming from that harmonica.

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- Fall_leaves
  
  9 years ago
  
  And the beatles are iconic, without them most of these bands would not have a footing in the music world at all. They were part of a movement and with that fame came an era of rock that will never be replicated.
  
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  - Lonely2
    
    9 years ago
    
    In my opinion the greatest rock n roll bands came out of Britain because America was too racist to embrace the Black Delta Blues music and iit took British whiteboys to retool it and bring it back to America...
    
    Just like the newly pervasive tv created JFK so it createdvthe Beatles..who were able to sell a wholesome image on the tube...that at that time wouldnt accept the Stones...but there is no denying the power and popularity of The Beatles...I dont get it but they are the biggest band of all time so a lot of people disagree with me
    
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- Lonely2
  
  9 years ago
  
  I respect your opinion...I would say he is maybe one of the greatest personalities in Rock n Roll. maybe evn songwriters but I am looking for the greatest song and he doesnt quite make the cut
  
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  - Fall_leaves
    
    9 years ago
    
    I'm going with Floyd on this one
    
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moonlightshield

9 years ago

I was in between "House of the rising sun" and "stairway to heaven" but i choosed "house of the rising sun" because its the song that i listen the most from this list you wrote. I change my top 10 all the time(everyday really!) but now it's like this:

The Beatles - Helter skelter
Joy Division - love will tear us apart
Nirvana - smells like teen spirit
Pearl Jam - Even flow
Pixies - where is my mind?
The Smiths - Ask
Iggy Pop - Lust for life
Lyrnyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
Green Day - Basket Case
Elvis Presley - Jailhouse rock
Silverchair - Tomorrow

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Lonely2

9 years ago

Does anyone think Pearl Jam has reached " Great" status?

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iEatZombies_

9 years ago

I don't like anything up there except The Who and The Doors, so take your pick.

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Are You Normal?

What is the greatest rock n roll song of all time?