Top 100 Songs from 1960-1969

First posted on DMDB Facebook page on 4/2/11, updated 7/28/2018.

These are the top 100 songs from 1960-1969 according to Dave’s Music Database. When a title was recognized as the Song of the Year, it is noted with a code following the song. A key to the codes is at the bottom of the page.

1. Hey Jude…The Beatles (1968) AG, BB, CB, DM, VF, Q, JW
2. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction…The Rolling Stones (1965) AG, CB, DM, VF, JW
3. Good Vibrations…The Beach Boys (1966) DM, NME, Q, RS, SS
4. I Heard It Through the Grapevine…Marvin Gaye (1968) MJ, SS
5. Respect…Aretha Franklin (1967) DM, MJ, RS, SS
6. I Want to Hold Your Hand…The Beatles (1963) AG, BB, CB, DM, RS, JW
7. Yesterday…The Beatles (1965)
8. (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay…Otis Redding (1968) PCM, RS
9. Like a Rolling Stone…Bob Dylan (1965) NME, Q
10. (Oh) Pretty Woman…Roy Orbison (1964) DM, VF, RS

11. Stand by Me…Ben E. King (1961) AG, CB, DM, VF, Q, RS
12. A Whiter Shade of Pale…Procol Harum (1967) VF
13. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’…The Righteous Brothers (1964) MJ
14. The House of the Rising Sun…The Animals (1964)
15. Unchained Melody…The Righteous Brothers (1965) PCM
16. Brown-Eyed Girl…Van Morrison (1967)
17. Light My Fire…The Doors (1967)
18. Louie Louie…The Kingsmen (1963)
19. My Girl…The Temptations (1965)
20. Suspicious Minds…Elvis Presley (1969) DM

21. All Along the Watchtower…The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)
22. You Really Got Me…The Kinks (1964) NME, Q
23. Honky Tonk Women…The Rolling Stones (1969) NME
24. My Generation…The Who (1965)
25. When a Man Loves a Woman…Percy Sledge (1966)
26. Proud Mary…Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
27. She Loves You…The Beatles (1963) AG, NMEm Q
28. I’m a Believer…The Monkees (1966) CB, JW
29. What a Wonderful World…Louis Armstrong (1967)
30. The Twist…Chubby Checker (1960) AG, CB, DM, PCM

31. Strawberry Fields Forever…The Beatles (1967) NME
32. God Only Knows…The Beach Boys (1966)
33. A Day in the Life…The Beatles (1967)
34. Dancing in the Street…Martha & the Vandellas (1964)
35. Reach Out (I’ll Be There)…Four Tops (1966)
36. Georgia on My Mind…Ray Charles (1960) SS
37. Be My Baby…The Ronettes (1963) MJ
38. Crazy…Patsy Cline (1961)
39. I Can’t Stop Loving You…Ray Charles (1962) DM, JW
40. I Want You Back…The Jackson 5 (1969) MJ, RS

41. Born to Be Wild…Steppenwolf (1968)
42. Nights in White Satin…The Moody Blues (1967)
43. Mr. Tambourine Man…The Byrds (1965)
44. Whole Lotta Love…Led Zeppelin (1969)
45. Sympathy for the Devil…The Rolling Stones (1968)
46. California Dreamin’…The Mamas & the Papas (1966)
47. It’s Now or Never…Elvis Presley (1960)
48. Space Oddity…David Bowie (1969)
49. The Sound of Silence…Simon & Garfunkel (1965)
50. Runaway…Del Shannon (1961) MJ
51. The Tracks of My Tears…The Miracles (1965) MJ, RS
52. Something…The Beatles (1969)
53. Jumpin’ Jack Flash…The Rolling Stones (1968) NME
54. Sugar, Sugar…The Archies (1969) BB, CB
55. Purple Haze…The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
56. Mrs. Robinson…Simon & Garfunkel (1968) G-R
57. Paint It, Black…The Rolling Stones (1966)
58. It’s a Small World After All…The Disneyland Chorus (1964)
59. Get Back…The Beatles with Billy Preston (1969) VF
60. For What It’s Worth…Buffalo Springfield (1967)

61. Are You Lonesome Tonight?...Elvis Presley (1960) VF
62. Help!...The Beatles (1965)
63. Penny Lane…The Beatles (1967)
64. Waterloo Sunset…The Kinks (1967) Q
65. In My Life…The Beatles (1965)
66. Cathy’s Clown…The Everly Brothers (1960) RS
67. Moon River…Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn (1961) G-R, G-S, SS
68. White Rabbit…Jefferson Airplane (1967)
69. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In…The 5th Dimension (1969) G-R, JW
70. Stop! In the Name of Love…The Supremes (1965)

71. A Change Is Gonna Come…Sam Cooke (1965)
72. I Got You (I Feel Good)…James Brown (1965)
73. Gimme Shelter…The Rolling Stones (1969) AG, Q
74. Where Did Our Love Go…The Supremes (1964)
75. Green Onions…Booker T. & the MG’s (1962) MJ, NME
76. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag…James Brown (1965)
77. Strangers in the Night…Frank Sinatra (1966) AG, VF, G-R
78. River Deep, Mountain High…Ike & Tina Turner (1966) MJ
79. Can’t Buy Me Love…The Beatles (1964)
80. Eleanor Rigby…The Beatles (1966)

81. Baby Love…The Supremes (1964)
82. In the Midnight Hour…Wilson Pickett (1965)
83. Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher…Jackie Wilson (1967)
84. My Way…Frank Sinatra (1969) SS
85. California Girls…The Beach Boys (1965)
86. Will You Love Me Tomorrow…The Shirelles (1960) NME
87. All You Need Is Love…The Beatles (1967) AG
88. Save the Last Dance for Me…The Drifters (1960)
89. The Letter…The Box Tops (1967)
90. Blowin’ in the Wind…Bob Dylan (1963)

91. A Hard Day’s Night…The Beatles (1964)
92. You Can’t Hurry Love…The Supremes (1966)
93. Come Together…The Beatles (1969)
94. The Loco-Motion…Little Eva (1962) RS
95. Sunshine of Your Love…Cream (1968)
96. Crying…Roy Orbison (1961)
97. Theme from ‘A Summer Place’…Percy Faith (1960)
98. Hello, Dolly!...Louis Armstrong (1964) CB, G-S
99. Everyday People…Sly & the Family Stone (1968)
100. People Get Ready…The Impressions (1965)

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Songs Which Won Year-End Awards But Didn’t Make the Top 100:

• Ain’t No Mountain High Enough…Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967) PCM
• Apache…The Shadows (1960) MJ, Q
• At Last…Etta James (1961) PCM
• The Ballad of the Green Berets…SSgt. Barry Sadler (1966) BB
• Blowin’ in the Wind…Peter, Paul & Mary (1963) SS
• Build Me Up Buttercup…The Foundations (1968) PCM
• Days of Wine and Roses…Henry Mancini (1963) G-R, G-S
• Exodus (Theme from)…Ferrante & Teicher (1960) G-S
• Games People Play…Joe South (1968) G-S
• The Girl from Ipanema…Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto (1964) G-R, SS
• I Left My Heart in San Francisco…Tony Bennett (1962) G-S, SS
• It Was a Very Good Year…Frank Sinatra (1965) SS
• Let’s Twist Again…Chubby Checker (1962) VF
• Little Green Apples…Roger Miller (1968) G-S
• Love is Blue…Paul Mauriat (1967) CB
• Michelle…The Beatles (1965) G-S
• Misirlou…Dick Dale (1962) PCM
• Monster Mash…Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers (1962) CB
• Return to Sender…Elvis Presley (1962) AG
• Running Scared…Roy Orbison (1961) NME
• The Shadow of Your Smile (Theme from ‘The Sandpiper’)…Tony Bennett (1965) G-S
• Stranger on the Shore…Mr. Acker Bilk (1961) BB
• Sugar Shack…Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs (1963) BB, JW
• Summer Wind…Frank Sinatra (1966) PCM
• A Taste of Honey…Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (1965) G-R
• Telstar…The Tornadoes (1962) Q
• Theme from ‘A Summer Place’…Percy Faith (1960) BB, G-R, JW
• To Sir with Love…Lulu (1967) BB, JW
• Tossin’ and Turnin’…Bobby Lewis (1961) BB, JW
• Twist and Shout…The Beatles (1963) PCM
• Up, Up and Away…The Fifth Dimension (1967) G-R, G-S
• What Kind of Fool Am I?...Sammy Davis, Jr. (1962) G-S
• Wooly Bully…Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs (1965) BB
• Yakety Sax (Benny Hill Theme)…Boots Randolph (1963) PCM
• You’re the Devil in Disguise…Elvis Presley (1963) VF

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Key to the Codes: Click here for a full list of all year-end song awards.

• AG: American Greatest Hits by Year (1840-2013)
• BB: Billboard magazine
• CB: Cashbox (1950-1996)
• DM: Dave’s Music Database
• G-R: Grammy for Record of the Year
• G-S: Grammy for Song of the Year
• MJ: Mojo magazine (1955-2005). Based on aggregated Mojo lists.
• VF: MusicVF.com
• NME: NME magazine. Based on aggregation of NME lists and year-end lists.
• PCM: PopCultureMadness.com
• Q: Q magazine (1954-2013). Determined by year-end polls and highest-ranked song on aggregate of Q lists.
• RS: Rolling Stone magazine
• SS: Sullivan, Steve. Traditional Pop: The All-Time Top 200 + Classic Song Performances, (1900-2011)
• JW: Whitburn, Joel. A Century of Pop Music, 1900-1999 (book)

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