Like a Rolling Stone
1965 · From Highway 61 Revisited
A snare crack, a sneer, and Kooper's uninvited organ swirling through the song that split rock open.
★ 10.0
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1960s
1960 – 1969
Showing 329 songs from the 1960s
Respect
1967 · From I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You
Aretha takes Otis Redding's song away from him for good, spells out the demand, and never gives it back.
★ 9.9
A Day in the Life
1967 · From Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Two unfinished songs bolted together, an orchestra climbing to nothing, and the last piano chord in pop.
★ 9.9
(I Can't Get No) SatisfactionThe Rolling Stones
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
1965 · From Out of Our Heads
Keith dreamt the fuzz riff, taped it half-asleep, and woke up holding the sound of teenage frustration.
★ 9.8
Good Vibrations
1966 · From Smiley Smile
Brian Wilson's pocket symphony, months and a fortune spent chasing one shimmering theremin line into the sunlight.
★ 9.8
Strawberry Fields Forever
1966 · From Magical Mystery Tour
Two takes in different keys and tempos spliced into one, a Mellotron haze over Lennon's Liverpool childhood.
★ 9.7
A Change is Gonna ComeSam Cooke
A Change is Gonna Come
1964 · From Portrait of a Legend
Cooke wrote it after a motel turned him away, and sang it like a hymn he already knew by heart.
★ 9.7
God Only KnowsThe Beach Boys
God Only Knows
1966 · From Pet Sounds
It opens by admitting doubt and spends the next two minutes refuting it; McCartney still calls it the greatest.
★ 9.7
Whole Lotta Love
1969 · From Led Zeppelin II
Page's riff, Plant's howl, and a theremin freakout in the middle that still sounds like the roof coming off.
★ 9.7
I Want to Hold Your Hand
1963 · From Meet the Beatles!
Handclaps, that leaping chord under "I can't hide," and five weeks later America belonged to them.
★ 9.6
Here Comes the Sun
1969 · From Abbey Road
Harrison wrote it in Clapton's garden while skipping a business meeting, and it sounds exactly like that relief.
★ 9.6
Hey JudeThe Beatles
Hey Jude
1968
Seven minutes, four of them just na-na-na, and somehow nobody has ever wanted it to end sooner.
★ 9.5
Yesterday
1965 · From Help!
McCartney dreamt the melody, called it "Scrambled Eggs" for weeks, then let a string quartet make it immortal.
★ 9.5
Gimme ShelterThe Rolling Stones
Gimme Shelter
1969 · From Let It Bleed
Merry Clayton's voice cracking on "murder" is the sound of the sixties ending, mid-take, in one syllable.
★ 9.4
The Sound of Silence
1965
A folk flop until a producer secretly overdubbed electric guitars, and the duo heard their number one on the radio.
★ 9.4
Stand By Me
1960
That four-note bassline, a gospel hymn turned into a promise, and one of the warmest vocals ever recorded.
★ 9.4
Be My Baby
1963 · From Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
Hal Blaine's four-beat drum intro is the most imitated in pop, and Ronnie Spector owns everything after it.
★ 9.3
I Heard it Through the Grapevine
1968 · From In the Groove
Motown shelved Gaye's version for over a year; it came out sounding like paranoia set to a Funk Brothers groove.
★ 9.3
All Along the Watchtower
1968
Hendrix took Dylan's parable and lit it, and Dylan has played it Hendrix's way ever since.
★ 9.2
Blowin' in the Wind
1963 · From The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Nine questions, no answers, and the song the civil rights movement adopted whole and never gave back.
★ 9.2
I Want You Back
1969
A child singing about regret over the springiest bassline Motown ever cut, and selling it completely.
★ 9.1
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
1965 · From Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
The record where the beat moved to the one and funk quietly began. James Brown never looked back.
★ 9.1
In My Life
1965 · From Rubber Soul
Lennon's first draft listed bus stops in Liverpool; Martin's piano solo, taped at half speed, sounds baroque.
★ 9.0
My GirlThe Temptations
My Girl
1964
Smokey Robinson wrote it for his wife Claudette, then handed David Ruffin his first Temptations lead vocal.
★ 9.0
Eleanor Rigby
1966 · From Revolver
No Beatle plays an instrument on it; George Martin's string octet does everything, sawing away at two solitary lives.
★ 8.9
Purple Haze
1967
The intro is a tritone, medieval music's forbidden interval, and Roger Mayer's new Octavia pedal makes the solo scream.
★ 8.9
Sympathy for the DevilThe Rolling Stones
Sympathy for the Devil
1968 · From Beggars Banquet
Faithfull handed Jagger Bulgakov, Richards turned the folk sketch into samba and played both bass and the solo.
★ 8.9
(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay
1968 · From The Dock of the Bay
Redding cut the vocal three days before the plane crash, and Cropper finished it into the first posthumous American number one.
★ 8.8
Crazy (Patsy Cline)Patsy Cline
Crazy (Patsy Cline)
1962 · From Patsy Cline Showcase
Willie Nelson wrote it; Cline, back after a car wreck bruised her ribs, nailed the vocal in one take.
★ 8.8
You've Lost That Lovin' FeelinThe Righteous Brothers
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin
1964
Spector printed 3:05 on the label of a 3:45 record, and it became the century's most-played song on American radio.
★ 8.8
The Weight
1968 · From Music From Big Pink
Robertson saw Nazareth stamped inside his 1951 Martin, and Helm sang the burden every verse hands over.
★ 8.8
She Loves YouThe Beatles
She Loves You
1963 · From The Beatles' Second Album
Lennon and McCartney started it on a tour bus after a Newcastle show; Martin thought the sixth-chord ending corny.
★ 8.8
I Got You (I Feel Good)
1965 · From I Got You (I Feel Good)
Brown recycled a flop he'd cut on Yvonne Fair, added Maceo Parker's alto, and landed his highest-charting single.
★ 8.8
Come Together
1969 · From Abbey Road
Lennon started it as a campaign song for Timothy Leary, then Ringo muffled his drums with tea towels.
★ 8.7
My GenerationThe Who
My Generation
1965 · From My Generation
Entwistle's bass solo needed a Fender after his Danelectro strings snapped, and Daltrey stuttered his way into history.
★ 8.7
Fortunate Son
1969 · From Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits
Twenty minutes of writing, and Fogerty had the sound of every draft board sending someone else's son.
★ 8.6
Try a Little Tenderness
1966 · From Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul
A 1932 Tin Pan Alley ballad, rearranged by Isaac Hayes, until Redding and Al Jackson tear the roof off.
★ 8.6
A Love Supreme, Part 1: Acknowledgement
1965 · From A Love Supreme
Garrison's four notes, then Coltrane overdubbing the chant nineteen times, one December day at Van Gelder's.
★ 8.6
Ring of Fire
1963 · From Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash
Anita Carter cut it first, her sister June wrote it with Merle Kilgore, and Cash added the mariachi trumpets.
★ 8.6
Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan)
1964 · From Bringing It All Back Home
Bruce Langhorne's giant Turkish frame drum gave Dylan the image, and the Byrds' cover turned it into folk rock.
★ 8.4
Dancing in the Street
1964
Gaye co-wrote it and cut an early version; Reeves heard block parties in it and needed two takes.
★ 8.4
House of the Rising SunThe Animals
House of the Rising Sun
1964
Hilton Valentine's arpeggio, one take at De Lane Lea, and four and a half minutes when singles ran two.
★ 8.4
You Really Got MeThe Kinks
You Really Got Me
1964 · From Kinks
Dave Davies took a razor blade to his little Elpico amp's speaker cone, and distortion arrived on British radio.
★ 8.3
Mr. Tambourine Man (The Byrds)
1965 · From Mr. Tambourine Man
Session men cut the track and McGuinn's twelve-string Rickenbacker rang over one Dylan verse; folk rock started there.
★ 8.3
Waterloo SunsetThe Kinks
Waterloo Sunset
1967 · From Something Else by The Kinks
Davies started it as "Liverpool Sunset," moved it to the Thames, and Dave's tape-delay guitar did the rest.
★ 8.3
My WayFrank Sinatra
My Way
1969 · From My Way
Anka typed the lyric overnight in New York asking what Sinatra would say, then handed him a life's summing-up.
★ 8.3
Oh, Pretty Woman
1964
Claudette said she was going out, Dees answered that a pretty woman never needs money, and the riff followed.
★ 8.2
Suspicious MindsElvis Presley
Suspicious Minds
1969
Mark James flopped with it first, in the same Memphis studio; Moman then handed Presley his last American number one.
★ 8.2
Georgia on My Mind
1960 · From The Genius Hits the Road
Hoagy Carmichael's 1930 tune, remade as Charles's first Billboard number one and adopted as Georgia's state song in 1979.
★ 8.2
Paint It, BlackThe Rolling Stones
Paint It, Black
1966 · From Aftermath
Jones's sitar made it the first number one to feature the instrument, and Decca added the comma by mistake.
★ 8.2
SomethingThe Beatles
Something
1969 · From Abbey Road
Harrison lifted the opening line from James Taylor and wrote the first Beatles A-side that wasn't Lennon or McCartney.
★ 8.2
Space OddityDavid Bowie
Space Oddity
1969 · From David Bowie (Space Oddity)
Released five days before Apollo 11 launched, with a children's Stylophone buzzing under an astronaut who never comes home.
★ 8.2
Wouldn't It Be NiceThe Beach Boys
Wouldn't It Be Nice
1966 · From Pet Sounds
Two accordions, a key change eight beats in, and 21 takes at Gold Star before Wilson sang about growing up.
★ 8.2
My Favorite Things
1961 · From My Favorite Things
Coltrane picked up the soprano saxophone Miles gave him and stretched a Rodgers and Hammerstein waltz past thirteen minutes.
★ 8.1
Jumpin' Jack FlashThe Rolling Stones
Jumpin' Jack Flash
1968
Named for the gardener who woke them up, and cut with an acoustic guitar recorded into a Philips cassette recorder.
★ 8.1
The Times They Are A-Changin'
1964 · From The Times They Are A-Changin'
Dylan set out to write an anthem on purpose, borrowing the cadence of Irish and Scottish ballads, and got one.
★ 8.1
The Tracks of My Tears
1965
Tarplin brought the guitar figure first, Robinson and Moore wrote words to it, and Motown got its saddest smile.
★ 8.1
Light My FireThe Doors
Light My Fire
1967 · From The Doors
Krieger wrote most of it, Manzarek built a Bach-shaped organ intro, and Morrison sang the banned lyric on Sullivan anyway.
★ 8.1
You Can't Always Get What You Want
1969 · From Let It Bleed
A choral intro from the London Bach Choir, Al Kooper on French horn, and producer Jimmy Miller on drums.
★ 8.1
Penny Lane
1967 · From Magical Mystery Tour
McCartney heard a piccolo trumpet on a Bach broadcast, called David Mason in, and pop had never sounded brighter.
★ 8.1
Will You Love Me Tomorrow (The Shirelles)
1960
King wrote the melody and the string arrangement, and a girl group topped the Hot 100 for the first time.
★ 8.0
People Get ReadyThe Impressions
People Get Ready
1965
Mayfield turned the gospel train of the spirituals into a civil rights hymn, and King used it to steady marchers.
★ 8.0
While My Guitar Gently WeepsThe Beatles
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
1968 · From The White Album
Harrison opened a book at random, saw "gently weeps", and Clapton came in uncredited to play the solo.
★ 8.0
A Hard Day's Night
1964 · From A Hard Day's Night
Starr's slip of the tongue supplied the title, and the opening chord is still argued over by musicologists.
★ 7.9
Mrs. Robinson
1968
Simon had it as Mrs. Roosevelt with nonsense syllables for a verse, and it won Record of the Year.
★ 7.9
Wichita Lineman
1968
Webb sent it over unfinished, one verse short, and Campbell cut the loneliest three minutes in country music.
★ 7.9
Proud Mary
1969 · From Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits
Fogerty came out of the National Guard and wrote it in two days, Beethoven's Fifth hiding in the intro.
★ 7.9
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
1965 · From Rubber Soul
Harrison's sitar, widely reckoned the first on a rock record, and Lennon smuggling an affair past everyone.
★ 7.9
When a Man Loves a WomanPercy Sledge
When a Man Loves a Woman
1966
Sledge gave the writing credits away to two bandmates, and Atlantic pressed the take with the out-of-tune horns.
★ 7.9
At Last
1960 · From At Last!
Riley Hampton's strings behind a 1941 film tune James took over, and the Library of Congress preserved it.
★ 7.8
Giant Steps
1960 · From Giant Steps
Recorded May 5, 1959, with the band reading it cold, and those third-related key changes remain jazz's hardest exam.
★ 7.8
The Girl From IpanemaAstrud Gilberto
The Girl From Ipanema
1964
Never a professional singer, Gilberto sang at the 1963 session because she spoke English; Record of the Year followed.
★ 7.8
For What It's Worth
1967 · From Buffalo Springfield
Stills wrote it about the Sunset Strip curfew riots, not Vietnam, and Young's harmonics ring like a warning bell.
★ 7.8
What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong
What a Wonderful World
1967 · From What a Wonderful World
Armstrong took union scale so the orchestra could collect overtime; ABC's president hated it and buried the record.
★ 7.8
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)Jimi Hendrix
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
1968
Cut May 3, 1968 with an ABC film crew rolling, and it became Hendrix's only British number one, posthumously.
★ 7.8
Thank You
1969 · From Greatest Hits
Larry Graham slapping and popping the bass line credited with inventing the technique, and a verse quoting their own hits.
★ 7.8
The Thrill Is Gone
1969 · From Completely Well
Bert de Coteaux's twelve-piece string section, overdubbed a week later, carried King's minor-key blues onto pop radio.
★ 7.8
Louie Louie
1963
Ely shouted on tiptoe at a mic hung overhead, and the FBI spent thirty-one months failing to decode him.
★ 7.8
Reach Out, I'll Be There
1965
Holland-Dozier-Holland pitched Stubbs at the very top of his range, and Paul Riser opened it with piccolo and flute.
★ 7.8
Honky Tonk WomenThe Rolling Stones
Honky Tonk Women
1969
Producer Jimmy Miller opens it on cowbell, and the single arrived in Britain the day after Brian Jones died.
★ 7.8