The 16 Most Overrated Rock Songs of All Time

Great songs played so often they stopped being heard: Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, Bohemian Rhapsody, Wonderwall and the rest of the radio's permanent rotation.

1. 1
   Stairway to Heaven

   Eight minutes that guitar shops famously banned, and the song most often named when people say a classic has been played into the ground.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Imagine

   Lennon's hymn, quoted at every occasion until the words stopped registering.
   669pts
3. 3
   Hotel California

   The Eagles' checkout-desk allegory, inescapable on classic rock radio for fifty years.
   669pts
4. 4
   Smells Like Teen Spirit

   Nirvana's breakthrough, which Cobain grew to resent playing.
   542pts
5. 5
   November Rain

   Nine minutes, an orchestra and a video in a church — ambition that not everyone thinks landed.
   478pts
6. 6
   Satisfaction

   The Rolling Stones' fuzz riff, a genuine turning point that has been used as shorthand ever since.
   478pts
7. 7
   Layla

   Clapton's seven-minute plea, with a piano coda longer than most singles.
   478pts
8. 8
   Smoke on the Water

   Four notes that every beginner learns first, which is exactly the complaint.
   404pts
9. 9
   Sweet Child o' Mine

   A warm-up exercise Slash was playing as a joke, now the band's signature.
   404pts
10. 10
    Wonderwall

    Oasis's acoustic staple and the reason some pubs ban guitars.
    404pts
11. 11
    Bohemian Rhapsody

    Queen's six-minute suite, revived by a film and karaoke until the seams show.
    404pts
12. 12
    Free Bird

    Lynyrd Skynyrd's nine-minute finale, now mostly a heckle shouted at other bands.
    319pts
13. 13
    Born to Run

    Springsteen's wall-of-sound single, carrying more critical weight than any three minutes can.
    319pts
14. 14
    American Pie

    Eight and a half minutes of coded references people have been decoding for fifty years.
    217pts
15. 15
    Losing My Religion

    R.E.M.'s mandolin hit, the band's biggest song and rarely their fans' favourite.
    0pts
16. 16
    Don't Stop Believin'

    Journey's bar anthem, resurrected by a TV finale and never allowed to rest since.
    0pts

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