Rolling Stone magazine has published numerous best-of lists over the years. Below is an exclusive Dave’s Music Database list aggregating nine Rolling Stone lists from 1988 to 2021 into one overall list.
Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.
1. Aretha Franklin “Respect” (1967)
2. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976)
3. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
4. Prince “Little Red Corvette” (1983)
5. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
6. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
7. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
8. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
9. Prince “When Doves Cry” (1984)
10. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
11. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
12. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
13. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
14. The Miracles “The Tracks of My Tears” (1965)
15. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
16. The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” (1969)
17. Al Green “Let’s Stay Together” (1971)
18. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
19. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977)
20. Elton John “Your Song” (1970)
21. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
22. Creedence Clearwater Revival “Proud Mary” (1969)
23. Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990)
24. Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971)
25. Chic “Good Times” (1979)
26. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” (1977)
27. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
28. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
29. The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (1963)
30. Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” (1968)
31. Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Crazy in Love” (2003)
32. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
33. The Ronettes “Be My Baby” (1963)
34. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” (1975)
35. The Who “My Generation” (1966)
36. Jay-Z “99 Problems” (2004)
37. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
38. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
39. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
40. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
41. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
42. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
43. Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” (1969)
44. The Clash “London Calling” (1980)
45. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
46. U2 “With or Without You” (1987)
47. Ike & Tina Turner “River Deep, Mountain High” (1966)
48. The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967)
49. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
50. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988)
51. The Rolling Stones “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968)
52. David Bowie “Changes” (1972)
53. Wilson Pickett “In the Midnight Hour” (1965)
54. Four Tops “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” (1966)
55. Tom Petty “Free Fallin’” (1989)
56. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)
57. Eminem with Dido “Stan” (2000)
58. Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella” (2007)
59. Michael Jackson “Beat It” (1983)
60. Aretha Franklin “Chain of Fools” (1967)
61. 50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002)
62. The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” (1971)
63. Blue Öyster Cult “Don’t Fear the Reaper” (1976)
64. The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” (1968)
65. The Beatles “Yesterday” (1965)
66. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967)
67. U2 “One” (1992)
68. The Beatles “In My Life” (1965)
69. The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968)
70. The Band “The Weight” (1968)
71. Miss “Misdemeanor” Elliott “Work It” (2002)
72. Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come” (1964)
73. Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode” (1958)
74. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
75. The Temptations “My Girl” (1964)
76. James Brown “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965)
77. The Impressions “People Get Ready” (1965)
78. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
79. Van Halen “Jump” (1984)
80. The Kingsmen “Louie Louie” (1963)
81. M.I.A. “Paper Planes” (2008)
82. Van Morrison “Brown-Eyed Girl” (1967)
83. The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” (1969)
84. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964)
85. Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth” (1967)
86. Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” (1969)
87. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
88. Derek and the Dominos “Layla” (1970)
89. Tracy Chapman “Fast Car” (1988)
90. Creedence Clearwater Revival “Fortunate Son” (1969)
91. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out” (2004)
92. The Beatles “She Loves You” (1963)
93. U2 “Beautiful Day” (2000)
94. Procol Harum “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)
95. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)
96. Kanye West “Jesus Walks” (2004)
97. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
98. Bruce Springsteen “Thunder Road” (1975)
99. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps” (2003)
100. Sly & the Family Stone “Family Affair” (1971)
101. Roy Orbison “(Oh) Pretty Woman” (1964)
102. OutKast “Ms. Jackson” (2000)
103. Ben E. King “Stand by Me” (1961)
104. Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” (1963)
105. The Beatles “Help!” (1965)
106. Bob Dylan “Mississippi” (2001)
107. Sly & the Family Stone “Everyday People” (1968)
108. Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” (1966)
109. Kelly Clarkson “Since U Been Gone” (2004)
110. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
111. Prince & the Revolution “Purple Rain” (1984)
112. U2 “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)
113. Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” (1973)
114. The Mamas & the Papas “California Dreamin’” (1966)
115. The Strokes “Last Nite” (2001)
116. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
117. Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated” (1978)
118. The B-52’s “Love Shack” (1989)
119. The Crystals “Da Doo Ron Ron” (1963)
120. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side”
121. Public Enemy “Fight the Power” (1989)
122. Dusty Springfield “Son of a Preacher Man” (1968)
123. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970)
124. The Rolling Stones “Paint It Black” (1966)
125. Bill Withers “Lean on Me” (1972)
126. The Everly Brothers “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (1958)
127. The Animals “The House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
128. Marvin Gaye “Sexual Healing” (1964)
129. Stevie Wonder “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (1972)
130. Green Day “American Idiot” (2004)
131. Jefferson Airplane “Somebody to Love” (1967)
132. Them “Gloria” (1964)
133. Tina Turner “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” (1984)
134. The Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
135. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
136. Elton John “Tiny Dancer” (1972)
137. Beck “Loser” (1993)
138. Dr. Dre with Snoop Dogg “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” (1992)
139. Prince “1999” (1982)
140. U2 “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (1984)
141. Public Enemy “Bring the Noise” (1988)
142. The Rolling Stones “Miss You” (1978)
143. Muddy Waters “Mannish Boy” (1955)
144. Blackstreet with Dr. Dre “No Diggity” (1996)
145. Prince “Kiss” (1986)
146. R.E.M. “Radio Free Europe” (1983)
147. Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven” (1992)
148. Foreigner “I Want to Know What Love Is” (1984)
149. Al Green “Tired of Being Alone” (1971)
150. The Temptations “Just My Imagination Running Away with Me” (1971)
151. The Who “Baba O’Riley” (1971)
152. Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971)
153. Willie Nelson “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (1975)
154. Elvis Costello “Alison” (1977)
155. Joni Mitchell “Help Me” (1974)
156. Metallica “Enter Sandman” (1991)
157. Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” (1983)
158. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (1978)
159. Jimmy Cliff “The Harder They Come” (1972)
160. Cheap Trick “Surrender” (1978)
161. Beastie Boys “Sabotage” (1994)
162. The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” (1966)
163. Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” (1987)
164. OutKast “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)” (2000)
165. The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1964)
166. Ray Charles “What’d I Say” (1959)
167. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
168. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
169. Kanye West with Pusha T “Runaway” (2010)
170. Little Richard “Tutti Frutti” (1955)
171. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
172. Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963)
173. Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line” (1956)
174. Radiohead “Idioteque” (2000)
175. Chuck Berry “Maybellene” (1955)
176. Percy Sledge “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1966)
177. LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends” (2007)
178. Kanye West with Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” (2005)
179. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
180. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” (1995)
181. Britney Spears “Toxic” (2004)
182. Bob Marley & the Wailers “Redemption Song” (1980)
183. Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia” (1973)
184. Ramones “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” (1977)
185. Dionne Warwick “Walk on By” (1964)
186. Buddy Holly and The Crickets “That’ll Be the Day” (1957)
187. Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman, No Cry” (1975)
188. Madonna “Vogue” (1990)
189. U2 “Moment of Surrender” (2009)
190. Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976)
191. Little Richard “Good Golly Miss Molly” (1958)
192. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967)
193. Fats Domino “Blueberry Hill” (1956)
194. Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way” (1999)
195. Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) ” (2008)
196. Elvis Presley “Mystery Train” (1955)
197. The Five Satins “In the Still of the Nite (I’ll Remember)” (1956)
198. Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
199. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
200. Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” (1960)
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First posted 5/7/2013; last updated 9/16/2021. | 
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