*According to science.
Science has the definitive word on quite a lot of things, but given that it is so open to interpretation and taste, music is certainly not one of them.
Despite that, a computer scientist at the University of London has sought to apply a formula to what determines the greatest songs of all time and, in his highly scientific experiment, he’s come up with a definitive list of the top 50.
According to the Daily Mail, Dr Mick Grierson examined a whole host of songs that appeared in ‘greatest songs of all-time’ lists in newspapers, on music stations like VH1 and in iconic music publications such as Q, NME and Rolling Stone. Indie, Disco, Anthems and Rock, they’re all in there.
Commissioned by car manufacturer Fiat, who wanted to identify a song they could use to promote the FIAT 500, he also used analytical software in an attempt to put a finger on what exactly made those tunes iconic.
That involved taking into account factors such as beats per minute, chord variety, lyrical content and eh, timbral variety and sonic variance before arriving at the list you can see below.
We’re certainly not going to argue with number one.
Turns out science doesn’t have a bad taste in music after all.
The Top 50 most iconic songs of all time
- Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
- Imagine – John Lennon
- One – U2
- Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
- Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
- Hey Jude – The Beatles
- Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
- I Can’t Get No Satisfaction – Rolling Stones
- God Save The Queen – Sex Pistols
- Sweet Child O’Mine – Guns N’ Roses
- London Calling – The Clash
- Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks
- Hotel California – The Eagles
- Your Song – Elton John
- Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin
- The Twist – Chubby Checker
- Live Forever – Oasis
- I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
- Life On Mars? – David Bowie
- Heartbreak Hotel – Elvis Presley
- Over The Rainbow – Judy Garland
- What’s Goin’ On – Marvin Gaye
- Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
- Be My Baby – The Ronettes
- Creep – Radiohead
- Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
- Respect – Aretha Franklin
- Family Affair – Sly And The Family Stone
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
- Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix
- Yesterday – The Beatles
- Jonny B Good – Chuck Berry
- No Woman No Cry – Bob Marley
- Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
- Every Breath You Take – The Police
- A Day In The Life – The Beatles
- Stand By Me – Ben E King
- Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag – James Brown
- Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones
- What’d I Say – Ray Charles
- Sultans Of Swing – Dire Straits
- God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
- You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling – The Righteous Brothers
- My Generation – The Who
- Dancing In The Street – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
- When Doves Cry – Prince
- A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
- River Deep Mountain High – Ike and Tina Turner
- Best Of My Love – The Emotions
FAQs
Rolling Stone updated its list of the 500 greatest songs of all-time – its first update in 17 years. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, took home the top spot for her version of "Respect," which was originally recorded by Otis Redding. Snagging second place was Public Enemy's "Fight the Power."
What are the top 10 most famous songs? ›
Top 10 songs
| Rank | Artist | Song |
|---|
| 1 | Bob Dylan | "Like a Rolling Stone" |
| 2 | The Rolling Stones | "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" |
| 3 | John Lennon | "Imagine" |
| 4 | Marvin Gaye | "What's Going On" |
6 more rowsRolling Stone updated its list of the 500 greatest songs of all-time – its first update in 17 years. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, took home the top spot for her version of "Respect," which was originally recorded by Otis Redding. Snagging second place was Public Enemy's "Fight the Power."
What's the most played song of all time? ›
There's even a dispute over the exact title. Yet “It's a Small World,” also known as “It's a Small, Small World” and “It's a Small World (After All),” is very likely the most played song in music history — nearly 50 million times.
What are the top 5 songs of all time? ›
Best Songs of All Time
- U2 - "One" (1991) [album: Achtung Baby] ...
- Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb" (1979) [The Wall] ...
- John Lennon - "Imagine" (1971) [Imagine] ...
- Beach Boys - "God Only Knows" (1966) [Pet Sounds] ...
- The Police - "Every Breath You Take" (1983) [Synchronicity]
Top 40
- Beautiful Things. BENSON BOONE. Night Street/Warner.
- Lose Control. TEDDY SWIMS. Warner.
- Lovin On Me. JACK HARLOW. Generation Now/Atlantic.
- Feather. SABRINA CARPENTER. Island/Republic.
- Agora Hills. DOJA CAT. Kemosabe/RCA.
- Greedy. TATE MCRAE. RCA.
- we can't be friends (wait...) ARIANA GRANDE. Republic.
- Texas Hold 'Em. BEYONCE.
"Old Town Road" holds the record for the longest stretch at No. 1 with 19 weeks. It also became the fastest song in history to be certified diamond.
What is the longest #1 songs in history? ›
The current record holder is “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X at 19 weeks, and the longest record held is “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men with 8,554 days. Ref. Note: "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton tied the record for 6 weeks at number one on July 6, 1959.
What is top 40 pop music? ›
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the United States.
Who is the top 1 singer in the world? ›
In January 2023, Rolling Stone announced American singer, songwriter, and pianist Aretha Franklin as the greatest singer of all time.
The top 10 greatest singers, according to Rolling Stone, are: Al Green, Otis Redding, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Mariah Carey, Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Whitney Houston and, at No. 1, Aretha Franklin.
What was the first #1 song? ›
The first number-one song of the Billboard Hot 100 was "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson, on August 4, 1958. As of the issue for the week ending on April 27, 2024, the Billboard Hot 100 has had 1,169 different number-one entries.
What is the top 10 songs right now? ›
Today's Hits
- Fortnight (feat. Post Malone) Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift. ...
- Push Ups. Drake. Drake. Push Ups - Single. ...
- Lose Control. Teddy Swims. Teddy Swims. ...
- Down Bad. Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift. ...
- Austin. Dasha. Dasha. ...
- TEXAS HOLD 'EM. Beyoncé Beyoncé ...
- Espresso. Sabrina Carpenter. Sabrina Carpenter. ...
- Beautiful Things. Benson Boone. Benson Boone.
Taylor Swift has once again made music history by claiming every single top 10 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart at once. No other artist has ever held all 10 spots at the same time, according to Billboard.
Who has the most top 100 hits of all time? ›
Drake now leads all artists with a whopping 329 total entries on the chart in his career (through the Hot 100 dated April 27, 2024).
What is the #1 rock song of all time? ›
1) LED ZEPPELIN - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
From its original birth in the fabled Bron-Yr-Aur cottage, to accusations of backwards Satanic messages, to copyright lawsuits, to the famous Gibson doubleneck guitar, it's rightly gone down in legend as the greatest rock song ever.
