The DMDB Top 100 Songs of All Time

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I have compiled more than 100 lists in a database of well over 10,000 songs. Sources include the Rock and Roll, Country, and Blues Hall of Fames and every song to hit number one on Billboard magazine's pop, country, R&B, adult contemporary, album rock, and modern rock charts. Every song that hit the top of the U.K. charts or made Your Hit Parade is in the database. Also included is each Grammy Award-winning song and every tune that has sold over a million copies. There are lists from magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin and music video channels MTV and VH1. By assigning points to songs for appearing on different lists, I ranked every song in the database. Based on those rankings, these are the top 100 songs of the 20th Century.

Note: underlined acts link to web pages with more information about that act.


The DMDB Top 100 Songs of All Time


  1. White Christmas - Bing Crosby (1942)
  2. Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets (1954)
  3. Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland (1939)
  4. Hey Jude - The Beatles (1968)
  5. I Can't Get No Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones (1965)
  6. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (1965)
  7. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (1971)
  8. Imagine - John Lennon (1971)
  9. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye (1968)
  10. Yesterday - The Beatles (1965)

  11. I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston (1992)
  12. Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley (1956)
  13. I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles (1963)
  14. Crazy - Patsy Cline (1961)
  15. Candle in the Wind 1997 - Elton John (1997)
  16. Every Breath You Take - The Police (1983)
  17. Hotel California - Eagles (1977)
  18. Respect - Aretha Franklin (1967)
  19. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (1975)
  20. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley (1956)

  21. Silent Night - Bing Crosby (1935)
  22. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry (1949)
  23. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (1983)
  24. Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry (1958)
  25. Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding (1968)
  26. Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley (1956)
  27. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (1991)
  28. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys (1966)
  29. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - Righteous Brothers (1964)
  30. Light My Fire - The Doors (1967)

  31. My Girl - The Temptations (1965)
  32. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)
  33. Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin (1959)
  34. Louie Louie - The Kingsmen (1963)
  35. You Really Got Me - The Kinks (1964)
  36. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel (1970)
  37. Layla - Derek and the Dominos (1971)
  38. American Pie - Don McLean (1971)
  39. Stand by Me - Ben E. King (1961)
  40. Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

  41. The Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page (1950)
  42. My Generation - The Who (1966)
  43. Star Dust - Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals (1929)
  44. As Time Goes By - Rudy Vallee (1931)
  45. Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis (1957)
  46. That'll Be the Day - Buddy Holly and the Crickets (1957)
  47. Staying Alive - Bee Gees (1977)
  48. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (1975)
  49. Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison (1964)
  50. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (1971)

  51. Mona Lisa - Nat “King” Cole (1950)
  52. Night and Day - Fred Astaire (1932)
  53. My Blue Heaven - Gene Austin (1927)
  54. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins (1956)
  55. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino (1956)
  56. The Twist - Chubby Checker (1960)
  57. Your Cheatin' Heart - Hank Williams (1953)
  58. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
  59. Superstition - Stevie Wonder (1972)
  60. Jump - Van Halen (1984)

  61. Reach Out, I'll Be There - Four Tops (1966)
  62. Maggie May - Rod Stewart (1971)
  63. Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison (1967)
  64. Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynrd (1974)
  65. Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers (1965)
  66. Dancing in the Street - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (1964)
  67. In the Mood - Glenn Miller Orchestra (1939)
  68. The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals (1964)
  69. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley (1957)
  70. Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin (1969)

  71. Mr. Tamborine Man - The Byrds (1965)
  72. Let It Be - The Beatles (1970)
  73. A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum (1967)
  74. I Want You Back - The Jackson 5 (1969)
  75. When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge (1966)
  76. My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion (1997)
  77. Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf (1968)
  78. Everything I Do I Do It for You - Bryan Adams (1991)
  79. Another Brick in the Wall Part II - Pink Floyd (1979)
  80. Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles (1967)

  81. When Doves Cry - Prince (1984)
  82. Tea for Two - Art Tatum (1939)
  83. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses (1988)
  84. Begin the Beguine - Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (1938)
  85. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield (1967)
  86. We Are the World - U.S.A. for Africa (1985)
  87. What'd I Say - Ray Charles (1959)
  88. Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford (1955)
  89. Moon River - Henry Mancini (1961)
  90. Walk This Way - Aerosmith (1976)

  91. The Prisoner's Song - Vernon Dalhart (1925)
  92. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor (1990)
  93. Smooth - Santana with Rob Thomas (1999)
  94. Space Oddity - David Bowie (1969)
  95. Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan (1963)
  96. Be My Baby - The Ronettes (1963)
  97. Let's Stay Together - Al Green (1971)
  98. All I Have to Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers (1958)
  99. I Only Have Eyes for You - The Flamingos (1959)
  100. King of the Road - Roger Miller (1965)
This page last updated August 14, 2006.