100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time

So I'm a few weeks late with this. Big deal. This is only about the umpteenth attempt by someone to chronicle this:



The full list, with occasional commentary:

1. "Johnny B. Goode," Chuck Berry -- Bang on. Fantastic song, changed music forever.

2. "Purple Haze," The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

3. "Crossroads" Cream (1968)

4. "You Really Got Me" The Kinks (1964)

5. "Brown Sugar" The Rolling Stones (1971)

6. "Eruption" Van Halen (1978)

7. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" The Beatles (1968) -- It is so hard to say which Beatles song should come first so I guess this will do.

8. "Stairway to Heaven" Led Zepplin (1971)

9. "Statesboro Blues" The Allman Brothers Band (1971)

10. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana (1991)

11. "Whole Lotta Love" Led Zeppelin (1969)

12. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)

13. "Layla" Derek and the Dominos (1970)

14. "Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen (1975)

15. "My Generation" The Who (1965)

16. "Cowgirl in the Sand" Neil Young with Crazy Horse (1969)

17. "Black Sabbath" Black Sabbath (1970)

18. "Blitzkrieg Bop" Ramones (1976)

19. "Purple Rain" Prince and the Revolution (1984) -- Would have put "Lets Go Crazy" before this.

20. "People Get Ready" The Impressions (1965)

21. "Seven Nation Army" The White Stripes (2003)

22. "A Hard Day's Night" The Beatles (1964)

23. "Over Under Sideways Down" The Yardbirds (1966)

24. "Killing In The Name Of" Rage Against The Machine (1992)

25. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" The Rolling Stones (1971)

26. "How Blue Can you Get" B.B. King (1965)

27. "Look Over Yonders Wall" The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965)

28. "Where the Streets Have No Name" U2 (1987) -- Personally would have put BAD ahead of this.

29. "Back in Black" AC/DC (1980)

30. "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" Bill Haley and His Comets (1954)

31. "Keep Yourself Alive" Queen (1973)

32. "Sultans of Swing" Dire Straits (1978)

33. "Master of Puppets" Metallica (1986)

34. "Walk This Way" Aerosmith (1975)

35. "1969" The Stooges (1969) -- What, no Search And Destroy?

36. "Interstellar Overdrive" Pink Floyd (1967) --Again, so many songs that belong hard to rank the top PF song

37. "That's All Right" Elvis Presley (1954)

38. "Stay With Me" The Faces (1971)

39. "Black Magic Woman" Santana (1970)

40. "I Can See for Miles" The Who (1967)

41. "Marquee Moon" Television (1977)

42. "Hideaway" John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers (1966)

43. "Holidays in the Sun" The Sex Pistols (1977) -- Just stupid. I don't care how "seminal" the SP were. The song is complete rot. If you're going for the quintissential SP song, it's Anarchy In the UK.

44. "Dig Me Out" Sleater-Kinne (1997)

45. "I Saw Her Standing There" The Beatles (1963)

46. "Miserlou" Dick Dale and the Del-Tones (1962)

47. "Panama" Van Halen (1984)

48. "London Calling" The Clash (1980) -- "Safe European Home" would have been a good choice instead of no. 43.

49. "Machine Gun" Jimi Hendrix (1970)

50. "Debaser" Pixies (1989)

51. "Crazy Train" Ozzy Osbourne (1981) -- Sweet.

52. "My Iron Lung" Radiohead (1995)

53. "Born on the Bayou" Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

54. "Little Wing" Stevie Ray Vaughan (1991)

55. "White Room" Cream (1968)

56. "Eight Miles High" The Byrds (1966)

57. "Dark Star" Grateful Dead (1969)

58. "Rumble" Link Wray (1958)

59. "Freeway Jam" Jeff Beck (1975)

60. "Maggot Brain" Funkadelic (1971)

61. "Soul Man" Sam and Dave (1967)

62. "Born Under a Bad Sign" Albert King (1967)

63. "Sweet Child O' Mine" Guns n' Roses (1987)

64. "Freebird" Lyrnyrd Skynyrd (1973) -- 64? This song is only worth 64?

65. "Message in a Bottle" The Police (1979)

66. "Texas Flood" Stevie Ray Vaughan (1983)

67. "Adam Raised a Cain" Bruce Springsteen (1978)

68. "The Thrill is Gone" B.B. King (1969)

69. "Money" Pink Floyd (1973)

70. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" Smashing Pumpkins (1995) -- Cherub Rock more influential...

71. "Take It or Leave It" The Strokes (2001)

72. "Say It Ain't So" Weezer (1994) -- I like Weezer, but this is a joke. They don't belong anywhere near this list.

73. "Summertime Blues" Blue Cheer (1968)

74. "La Grange" ZZ Top (1973) -- After Weezer. Sheesh.

75. "Willie the Pimp" Frank Zappa (1969)

76. "American Girl" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976)

77. "Even Flow" Pearl Jam (1991) -- After Weezer. Sheesh. Sheesh.

78. "Stone Crazy" Buddy Guy (1970)

79. "Silver Rocket" Sonic Youth (1988)

80. "Kid Charlemagne" Steely Dan (1976)

81. "Beat It" Michael Jackson (1982)

82. "Walk — Don't Run" The Ventures (1960)

83. "What I Got" Sublime (1996)

84. "Gravity" John Mayer (2006)

85. "You Enjoy Myself" Phish (1988)

86. "I Ain't Superstitious" Jeff Beck (1968)

87. "Red" King Crimson (1974)

88. "Mona" Quicksilver Messenger Service (1969)

89. "I Love Rock N Roll" Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (1981)

90. "How Soon Is Now?" The Smiths (1985) -- Excellent. Belongs, albeit down here. Bought a tremelo just so I could play this song.

91. "Drunkship of Lanterns" The Mars Volta (2003)

92. "Memo from Turner" Mick Jagger (1970)

93. "Only Shallow" My Bloody Valentine (1991)

94. "Money for Nothing" Dire Straits (1984) -- Should be higher. That opening riff will live forever.

95. "Omaha" Moby Grape (1967)

96. "New Day Rising" Husker Du (1985)

97. "No One Knows" Queens of the Stone Age (2002)

98. "Under the Bridge" Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)

99. "Run Thru" My Morning Jacket (2003)

100. "Vicarious" Tool (2006)


It seems that RS was attempting to be a wee bit eclectic in order to avoid the usual "old fart" label that haunts them. It's silly that My Morning Jacket (like them though I do) is on this list when, for example, Boston is not.