BBC Radio has operated in the UK since 1927 underneath the banner of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. They provide various radio stations. Over the years, they have presented a variety of best-of lists. This page aggregates 12 song-focused lists. Four of them are more general while the other eight are more specific, such as Motown, rap, or songs banned by the BBC. Because of that, the lists have been weighted so that the four more general lists have more impact. Links to the specific lists are at the bottom of the page.
Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.
1. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
2. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
3. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
4. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
5. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
6. The Beatles “Yesterday” (1965)
7. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
8. Procol Harum “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)
9. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976)
10. U2 “One” (1991)
11. U2 “With or Without You” (1987)
12. The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” (1966)
13. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
14. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
15. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
16. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
17. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
18. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
19. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
20. Robbie Williams “Angels” (1997)
21. Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” (1968)
22. R.E.M. “Everybody Hurts” (1992)
23. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
24. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
25. The Moody Blues “Nights in White Satin” (1967)
26. Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (1997)
27. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991)
28. Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (1991)
29. Gerry Rafferty “Baker Street” (1978)
30. The Beatles “Something” (1969)
31. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)
32. George Michael “Careless Whisper” (1984)
33. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
34. Fugees “Killing Me Softly” (1996)
35. Oasis” Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)
36. Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
37. Radiohead “Creep” (1992)
38. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967)
39. Billie Holiday “Summertime” (1936)
40. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (1997)
41. The Who “My Generation” (1965)
42. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (1983)
43. The Kinks “Lola” (1970)
44. N.W.A. “Fuck tha Police” (1988)
45. Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)
46. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
47. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
48. The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (1965)
49. The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1964)
50. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
51. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “White Christmas” (1942)
52. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
53. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
54. Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (1997)
55. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
56. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
57. Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (1956)
58. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
59. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
60. Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World” (1967)
61. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
62. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
63. The Beatles “In My Life” (1965)
64. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1971)
65. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
66. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
67. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939)
68. Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963)
69. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
70. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
71. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
72. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
73. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” (1997)
74. Frank Sinatra “My Way” (1969)
75. Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” (1969)
76. The Platters “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1958)
77. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
78. Ben E. King “Stand by Me” (1961)
79. Elton John “Your Song” (1970)
80. The Killers “Mr. Brightside” (2004)
81. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
82. Arthur Collins with Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
83. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
84. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (1974)
85. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
86. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” (1992)
87. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1984)
88. Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day” (1995)
89. Bruce Springsteen “Thunder Road” (1975)
90. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” (1978)
91. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
92. Coldplay “Clocks” (2002)
93. George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (1970)
94. Madonna “Like a Prayer” (1989)
95. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
96. Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra “Night and Day” (1932)
97. Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” (2005)
98. Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” (1975)
99. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
100. Van Morrison “Brown-Eyed Girl” (1967)
101. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
102. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
103. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out” (2004)
104. The Stone Roses “Fools Gold” (1989)
105. The La’s “There She Goes” by (1988)
106. The Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959)
107. Dionne Warwick “Walk on By” (1964)
108. Johnny Cash “Hurt” (2003)
109. The Miracles “The Tracks of My Tears” (1965)
110. Cher “Believe” (1998)
111. Spice Girls “Wannabe” (1996)
112. Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1969)
113. Petula Clark “Downtown” (1964)
114. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (1978)
115. Elvis Presley “That’s All Right, Mama” (1954)
116. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1995)
117. The Prodigy “Firestarter” (1996)
118. Puff Daddy with Faith Evans & 112 “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997)
119. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970)
120. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (1979)
121. Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925)
122. Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” (1960)
123. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps” (2003)
124. Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)
125. Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)
126. Stevie Wonder “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984)
127. David Bowie “Life on Mars?” (1973)
128. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
129. Green Day “Basket Case” (1994)
130. Blackstreet with Dr. Dre & Queen Pen “No Diggity” (1996)
131. Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell” (1979)
132. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)
133. Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973)
134. Electric Light Orchestra “Mr. Blue Sky” (1978)
135. Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine” (1938)
136. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
137. The Jam “That’s Entertainment” (1981)
138. Mariah Carey “Hero” (1993)
139. 10cc “I’m Not in Love” (1975)
140. U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)
141. Madonna “Ray of Light” (1998)
142. Ray Noble “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936)
143. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
144. Crowded House “Don’t Dream It’s Over” (1987)
145. Queens of the Stone Age “No One Knows” (2002)
146. Depeche Mode “Enjoy the Silence” (1990)
147. Peerless Quartet “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1911)
148. The Smiths “This Charming Man” (1983)
149. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)” (1972)
150. Glen Campbell “Wichita Lineman” (1968)
151. M.I.A. “Paper Planes” (2008)
152. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)
153. Glen Gray with Kenny Sargent “Blue Moon” (1935)
154. Fred Astaire “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936)
155. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
156. Alanis Morissette “Ironic” (1996)
157. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness” (1992)
158. Green Day “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1997)
159. Aretha Franklin “I Say a Little Prayer” (1968)
160. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992)
161. Bryan Adams “Summer of ‘69” (1984)
162. Meat Loaf “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (1993)
163. The Rapture “House of Jealous Lovers” (2002)
164. Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” (1977)
165. Kanye West “Jesus Walks” (2004)
166. The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl “Fairytale of New York” (1987)
167. Cornershop “Brimful of Asha” (1997)
168. Cliff Edwards “Singin’ in the Rain” (1929)
169. Judy Collins “Send in the Clowns” (1975)
170. Marni Nixon “Somewhere” (1961)
171. Madonna “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” (1997)
172. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
173. The Temptations “My Girl” (1964)
174. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
175. The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” (1969)
176. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
177. David Bowie “Space Oddity” (1969)
178. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
179. Public Enemy “Fight the Power” (1989)
180. Donna Summer “I Feel Love” (1977)
181. Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” (1973)
182. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
183. Chuck Berry “Maybellene” (1955)
184. Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” (1939)
185. Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (2009)
186. Olivia Newton-John “Physical” (1981)
187. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
188. The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (1979)
189. Marc Ronson & Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (2014)
190. Dr. Dre with Snoop Doggy Dogg “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” (1992)
191. Lionel Richie “All Night Long (All Night)” (1983)
192. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
193. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013)
194. Maroon 5 with Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” (2011)
195. The Shangri-La’s “Leader of the Pack” (1964)
196. Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” (2010)
197. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (1967)
198. Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (2011)
199. Adele “Someone Like You (2011)
200. Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (2013)
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First posted 4/10/2021; last updated 12/24/2023. | 
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