This is in no way meant to be scholarly or professional. I'm no music critic, I'm not trying to list the most influential songs or the most popular songs. Most of this reflects my personal taste.
I tried to get a good mix of popular songs and deep cuts, but I erred more on the side of popular songs.
The songs are GENERALLY in chronological order.
In cases where the song is a cover, I've listed the artist that did the covering, not the original artist.
There are a few cases where I'll admit the argument can be made that the song isn't exactly "rock" or "rock and roll." I did, however, have internal debates with myself before including each song, and I can and will defend each one as a true rock and roll song if I have to.
Rock and roll is among the most important things in my life. It's so much more than a genre of music: it's a culture, an attitude, a way of life, a system of beliefs, and a million other cliches that are all true. Lately it's felt like rock's becoming less and less important, less vogue, less new and fresh (Fun is considered a rock band nowadays...and that's terrible). Rock's in a dark age right now, but it will never truly die. It's the best music there is, and (for me) this list exemplifies everything that I love about it.
(Final note: there is a good chance I will come back to this and edit it as I come up with new, better ideas).
Finally...THE LIST
Maybellene – 1955, Chuck Berry
Hound Dog – Elvis, 1956
Great Balls of Fire – Jerry Lee
Lewis, 1957
That'll Be the Day – Buddy Holly,
1957
La Bamba – Ritchie Valens, 1958
Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry, 1958
Shout! – The Isley Brothers, 1959
Walk, Don't Run – The Ventures, 1960 (I wanted a surf rock song, was originally going to do Misirlou; but I honestly couldn't find a good rock song for 1960. This killed 2 birds with one stone.)
Stand By Me – Ben E. King, 1961
The Kingsmen – Louie Louie, 1963
She Loves You – The Beatles, 1963
The Ronnettes – Be My Baby, 1963
I Want to Hold Your Hand – The
Beatles, 1964
You Really Got Me – The Kinks, 1964
Twist and Shout – The Beatles, 1964
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction – The
Rolling Stones, 1965
Help! – The Beatles, 1965
Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan,
1965
Unchained Melody – The Righteous
Brothers, 1965
The Sound of Silence – Simon and
Garfunkel, 1965
Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles, 1966
Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix, 1967
The First Cut is the Deepest – Cat
Stevens, 1967
Strawberry Fields Forever – The
Beatles, 1967
What A Wonderful World – Louis
Armstrong, 1968
Jumping Jack Flash – The Rolling
Stones, 1968
Hey Jude – The Beatles, 1968
Proud Mary – Creedence Clearwater
Revival, 1969
Space Oddity – David Bowie, 1969
Something – The Beatles, 1969
The End – The Beatles, 1969
Let it Be – The Beatles, 1970
Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin, 1970
Imagine – John Lennon, 1971 (Dedicated to my grandfather - this was always his favorite song, and still and always one of the greatest songs of all time).
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin,
1971 (I don't even like this song, but I wouldn't dream of making a list like this and not including it).
Iron Man – Black Sabbath, 1971
Levon – Elton John, 1971 (HEEEE SHAAAALLLL BEEEEEELIEEEEEEVEEEEE ONNNNNN)
What's Going On – Marvin Gaye, 1971
American Pie – Don McLean, 1972
Ballroom Blitz – Sweet, 1973
Dream On – Aerosmith, 1973
Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen, 1975
Stand By Me – John Lennon, 1975
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen, 1975
Walk This Way – Aerosmith, 1975
Fame – David Bowie, 1975
Crazy on You – Heart, 1976
Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones, 1976
Black Betty – Ram Jam, 1977
Miss You – The Rolling Stones, 1978 (This song has the best bass line ever. If you disagree, you're wrong).
I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones,
1978
Fool in the Rain – Led Zeppelin, 1979
Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) –
Pink Floyd, 1979
My Sharona – The Knack, 1979 (You like this song. Don't play that game.)
You Shook me All Night Long – AC/DC,
1980
Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio –
The Ramones, 1980
I Will Follow – U2, 1980 (Watching that video, it makes total sense that U2 was huge in the gay scene around this time).
Dancing with Myself – Billy Idol/GenX,
1980 (The GenX version of this song is better.)
The Tide is High – Blondie, 1981
Under Pressure – Queen and David
Bowie, 1981
The KKK Took my Baby Away – The
Ramones, 1981
I Love Rock and Roll – Joan Jett,
1982
Beat It – Michael Jackson, 1982
No one Like You – Scorpions, 1982
Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2, 1983
Wrapped Around Your Finger – The
Police, 1983 (I admit, there should be more Police on this list. Hard decisions had to be made.)
Seek and Destroy – Metallica, 1983
The Unforgettable Fire – U2, 1984
Howling at the Moon – The Ramones,
1984
Once in a Lifetime – Talking Heads,
1984 (It's a live version because it's nearly impossible to get a good version of this song on youtube. The live version is amazing anyways).
Take on Me – Aha, 1985
Bonzo goes to Bitburg – The Ramones,
1985
Inbetween Days – The Cure, 1985 (Brace yourselves...The Cure songs are coming...)
Raspberry Beret – Prince, 1985 (This needs no explanation, right? I dunno, buy the song or something. It's good.)
Bizarre Love Triangle – New Order,
1986
Walk This Way – Run DMC, 1986 (The greatest musical team-up since Queen and Bowie).
Smooth Criminal – Michael Jackson,
1987 (We still don't know if Annie's okay.)
With or Without You – U2, 1987 (That guitar outro is pretty much why The Edge is my favorite guitarist ever).
Just Like Heaven – The Cure, 1987 (I warned you.)
It's the End of the World As We Know it
– REM, 1987
Angel of Harlem – U2, 1988
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman, 1988
Janie's Got A Gun – Aerosmith, 1989
Lovesong – The Cure, 1989 (They're still coming...)
Stand – REM, 1989
Unchained Melody -- U2, 1989
Pictures of You – The Cure, 1990 (Make it stop)
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana,
1991 (Did you know that Curt Cobain of pop group Nirvana died after injecting an entire marijuana?)
The Fly – U2, 1991 (Look up a live version of this song. I'm partial to the Boston version, but Bono thinks the Chicago version is the best. They're very different, and both are ridiculous. You'll thank me).
Enter Sandman – Metallica, 1991
Jeremy – Pearl Jam, 1992
Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms, 1992 (I really wanted to do Found Out About You, but I guess this song was more popular, so...)
Friday I'm in Love - The Cure, 1992 (Night of the Living Cure Songs)
Friday I'm in Love - The Cure, 1992 (Night of the Living Cure Songs)
Two Princes – Spin Doctors, 1993
What's Up? – 4 Non Blondes, 1993
Today – Smashing Pumpkins, 1993
Pennyroyal Tea – Nirvana, 1993 (Okay, it's the unplugged version. Seriously, though, listen to that.)
Stay (Faraway, so Close!) – U2, 1993 (If you don't like U2, you've never heard this song. Listen to the live version from Boston, too. This is literally the greatest song ever written.)
Better Man – Pearl Jam, 1994
Zombie – The Cranberries, 1994
She – Green Day, 1994
High and Dry – Radiohead, 1995 (I don't like Radiohead, but The Bends is undeniable.)
Spiderwebs – No Doubt, 1995
Torn – Ednaswap, 1995 (There are two versions of this song, very different, both great. Ednaswap are the original artists. The other version is here.)
Free As A Bird – The Beatles, 1995
Ironic – Alanis Morissette, 1996 (Yes, yes, I know, none of that shit's actually ironic...pretty ironic, right?)
Big Me – Foo Fighters, 1996
Bullet With Butterfly Wings –
Smashing Pumpkins, 1996
If it Makes You Happy – Sheryl Crow,
1996
Superman's Dead – Our Lady Peace,
1997
Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve,
1997
Song 2 – Blur, 1997 (Woo-Hoo!)
Everlong – Foo Fighters, 1997
Closing Time – Semisonic, 1998
Iris – Goo Goo Dolls, 1998
Jumper – Third Eye Blind, 1998
Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer,
1999
Bye Bye Baby – Ronnie Spector and
Joey Ramone, 1999
Higher – Creed, 1999 (I will support Creed to the bitter end, but I cannot in good conscience support the music video for that song.)
Beautiful Day – U2, 2000
Californication – Red Hot Chili
Peppers, 2000
Everything You Want – Vertical
Horizon, 2000
Kryptonite – 3 Dooors Down, 2000
In Repair – Our Lady Peace, 2000 (Do yourself a favor and buy this entire album.)
Jaded – Aerosmith, 2001
Drops of Jupiter – Train, 2001
Hanging By A Moment – Lifehouse, 2001
Walk On – U2, 2001
Sweetness – Jimmy Eat World, 2002
Chop Suey! – System of a Down, 2002
mOBSCENE – Marilyn Manson, 2003
Bring Me To Life – Evanescence, 2003
Growing On Me – The Darkness, 2003 (That song has an amazing music video, FYI.)
Believe – Yellowcard, 2003
Times Like These – Foo Fighters, 2003
Mr. Brightside – The Killers, 2004 (I have a theory that if you take a random sampling of 100 people between the ages of 18 an 35, 98 of them will know all the words to Mr. Brightside.)
My Immortal – Evanescence, 2004
The Ghost of You – My Chemical
Romance, 2004
Run – Snow Patrol, 2004
City of Blinding Lights – U2, 2004
Because of You – Kelly Clarkson, 2005
Little House – The Fray, 2005
Dance Inside – All American Rejects,
2005
This River Is Wild – The Killers,
2006
Welcome to the Black Parade – My
Chemical Romance, 2006
Radio Nowhere – Bruce Springsteen,
2007
Hot – Avril Lavigne, 2007
Kreuzberg – Bloc Party, 2007
The Pretender – Foo Fighters, 2007
Here it Goes – Jimmy Eat World, 2007
Human – The Killers, 2008
Violet Hill – Coldplay, 2008
Another Heart Calls – All American
Rejects, 2008
Please Don't Leave Me – Pink, 2009
Littlething – Jimmy Eat World, 2009
Party Poison – My Chemical Romance,
2010 ("Ain't no DJ gonna save my soul. I sold it long ago to rock and roll.")
Hide – Yellowcard, 2010
Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People,
2010
Walk – Foo Fighters, 2011
Fast and Slow – All American Rejects,
2012
Runaways – The Killers, 2012
Harlem – New Politics, 2013 (This might be the catchiest song ever.)
Still Into You – Paramore, 2013
Welp, that's my list. I dunno...I hope at least you'll find a few songs you enjoy.
