These are the top 100 songs from the 1960s according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists.
Check out other “songs of the decade” lists here.
1. “Hey Jude” The Beatles (1968)
2. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” The Rolling Stones (1965)
3. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” The Beatles (1963)
4. “Respect” Aretha Franklin (1967)
5. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” Marvin Gaye (1968)
6. “Good Vibrations” The Beach Boys (1966)
7. “Like a Rolling Stone” Bob Dylan (1965)
8. “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” Otis Redding (1968)
9. “Yesterday” The Beatles (1965)
10. “The House of the Rising Sun” The Animals (1964)
11. “Stand by Me” Ben E. King (1961)
12. “(Oh) Pretty Woman” Roy Orbison (1964)
13. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” The Righteous Brothers (1964)
14. “Unchained Melody” The Righteous Brothers (1965)
15. “The Twist” Chubby Checker (1960)
16. “A Whiter Shade of Pale” Procol Harum (1967)
17. “Louie Louie” The Kingsmen (1963)
18. “Light My Fire” The Doors (1967)
19. “My Girl” The Temptations (1964)
20. “Brown-Eyed Girl” Van Morrison (1967)
21. “My Generation” The Who (1965)
22. “You Really Got Me” The Kinks (1964)
23. “Be My Baby” The Ronettes (1963)
24. “Suspicious Minds” Elvis Presley (1969)
25. “All Along the Watchtower” The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)
26. “She Loves You” The Beatles (1963)
27. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” Ray Charles (1962)
28. “When a Man Loves a Woman” Percy Sledge (1966)
29. “I’m a Believer” The Monkees (1966)
30. “What a Wonderful World” Louis Armstrong (1967)
31. “Georgia on My Mind” Ray Charles (1960)
32. “It’s Now or Never” Elvis Presley (1960)
33. “The Sounds of Silence” Simon & Garfunkel (1965)
34. “God Only Knows” The Beach Boys (1966)
35. “Proud Mary” Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
36. “Honky Tonk Women” The Rolling Stones (1969)
37. “Dancing in the Street” Martha & the Vandellas (1964)
38. “A Day in the Life” The Beatles (1967)
39. “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” Four Tops (1966)
40. “Strawberry Fields Forever” The Beatles (1967)
41. “Runaway” Del Shannon (1961)
42. “I Want You Back” The Jackson 5 (1969)
43. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Elvis Presley (1960)
44. “Crazy” Patsy Cline (1961)
45. “Nights in White Satin” The Moody Blues (1967)
46. “Mrs. Robinson” Simon & Garfunkel (1968)
47. “Mr. Tambourine Man” The Byrds (1965)
48. “Paint It Black” The Rolling Stones (1966)
49. “California Dreamin’” The Mamas & the Papas (1966)
50. “Sugar, Sugar” The Archies (1969)
51. “Born to Be Wild” Steppenwolf (1968)
52. “Purple Haze” The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
53. “Help!” The Beatles (1965)
54. “For What It’s Worth” Buffalo Springfield (1967)
55. “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” The 5th Dimension (1969)
56. “Space Oddity” David Bowie (1969)
57. “The Tracks of My Tears” The Miracles (1965)
58. “Whole Lotta Love” Led Zeppelin (1969)
59. “Get Back” The Beatles with Billy Preston (1969)
60. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” The Rolling Stones (1968)
61. “Something” The Beatles (1969)
62. “Sympathy for the Devil” The Rolling Stones (1968)
63. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” The Shirelles (1960)
64. “Penny Lane” The Beatles (1967)
65. “It’s a Small World After All” The Disneyland Chorus (1964)
66. “Stop! In the Name of Love” The Supremes (1965)
67. “Can’t Buy Me Love” The Beatles (1964)
68. “Baby Love” The Supremes (1964)
69. “Moon River” Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn (1961)
70. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” Elvis Presley (1961)
71. “Where Did Our Love Go” The Supremes (1964)
72. “A Change Is Gonna Come” Sam Cooke (1965)
73. “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” Tony Bennett (1962)
74. “Blowin’ in the Wind” Bob Dylan (1963)
75. “The Loco-Motion” Little Eva (1962)
76. “Cathy’s Clown” The Everly Brothers (1960)
77. “I Got You (I Feel Good) ” James Brown (1965)
78. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” B.J. Thomas (1969)
79. “At Last” Etta James (1961)
80. “The Letter” The Box Tops (1967)
81. “In My Life” The Beatles (1965)
82. “A Hard Day’s Night” The Beatles (1964)
83. “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” James Brown (1965)
84. “Save the Last Dance for Me” The Drifters (1960)
85. “Strangers in the Night” Frank Sinatra (1966)
86. “White Rabbit” Jefferson Airplane (1967)
87. “Twist and Shout” The Beatles (1963)
88. “River Deep, Mountain High” Ike & Tina Turner (1966)
89. “Green Onions” Booker T. & the MG’s (1962)
90. “My Way” Frank Sinatra (1969)
91. “All You Need Is Love” The Beatles (1967)
92. “You Can’t Hurry Love” The Supremes (1966)
93. “Waterloo Sunset” The Kinks (1967)
94. “Eleanor Rigby” The Beatles (1966)
95. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” The Tokens (1961)
96. “Theme from ‘A Summer Place’” Percy Faith (1960)
97. “In the Midnight Hour” Wilson Pickett (1965)
98. “Everyday People” Sly & the Family Stone (1968)
99. “Happy Together” The Turtles (1967)
100. “Daydream Believer” The Monkees (1967)
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How was this posted in 1970?
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to "It's My Life" of the ANIMALS which was #1 in L.A.
Delete#7 in Canada and up there in England and Australia? who did this lame survey?
It's unfortunate that you have to characterize the list as lame just because it doesn't agree with your personal opinion. As explained, this list is compiled by sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists. It's nothing personal against the song. "It's My Life" simply didn't make the cut.
DeleteGood question! Blogger allows for backdated posts, so even though (as noted on this page) this was first posted on April 2, 2011, I can backdate it to 1970. That has been incredibly useful as it allows me to post songs, albums, and other musical events to align with the actual dates.
ReplyDeletecool
ReplyDeleteAll in all a good list, but I do see two omissions (in my humble opinion): “I Fought the Law” by The Bobby Fuller Four and “Summertime Blues” by Eddie Cochran. Just my 2 cents. Thanks
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a lot of great music in the 1960s. FYI - "Summertime Blues" was released in 1958 and isn't eligible for this list. It is on the DMDB's list of the top songs of the 1950s, though: https://davesmusicdatabase.blogspot.com/2014/07/top-100-songs-from-1950-to-1959.html
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