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The 18 Greatest Rock Songs of the 1960s

By YPB Team

Fuzz-box riffs, orchestral crescendos and singles that broke every radio rule of their decade. Cast your vote.

  1. Like a Rolling Stone — ranked #11
    Like a Rolling Stone
    Bob Dylan's six-minute 1965 single that broke the three-minute radio rule and his own folk contract at once.
    1000pts
  2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction — ranked #22
    (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
    The 1965 Rolling Stones single built on Keith Richards' fuzz-box riff, written half-asleep in a hotel room.
    771pts
  3. Hey Jude — ranked #33
    Hey Jude
    The Beatles' 1968 single, seven minutes long with a four-minute singalong coda, and their biggest-selling US hit.
    679pts
  4. Strawberry Fields Forever — ranked #44
    Strawberry Fields Forever
    The Beatles' 1967 single, two takes in different keys and tempos spliced into one recording.
    647pts
  5. Purple Haze — ranked #55
    Purple Haze
    Jimi Hendrix's 1967 breakthrough single and the sound of the electric guitar being rewired in public.
    560pts
  6. Gimme Shelter — ranked #66
    Gimme Shelter
    The Rolling Stones' 1969 opener to Let It Bleed, with Merry Clayton's vocal cracking on the second chorus.
    485pts
  7. Fortunate Son — ranked #77
    Fortunate Son
    Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 two-minute broadside against inherited privilege.
    485pts
  8. For What It's Worth — ranked #88
    For What It's Worth
    Buffalo Springfield's 1966 single, two harmonics and a warning that outlived its own decade.
    485pts
  9. You Really Got Me — ranked #99
    You Really Got Me
    The Kinks' 1964 single, whose slashed speaker cone gave rock its first distorted power chord.
    397pts
  10. All Along the Watchtower — ranked #1010
    All Along the Watchtower
    Hendrix's 1968 reading of a Dylan song, so definitive that Dylan started playing it Hendrix's way.
    397pts
  11. A Day in the Life — ranked #1111
    A Day in the Life
    The closing track of Sgt. Pepper, two unfinished songs joined by a 40-piece orchestral crescendo.
    397pts
  12. Sunshine of Your Love — ranked #1212
    Sunshine of Your Love
    Cream's 1967 riff, Eric Clapton's answer to hearing Hendrix play live for the first time.
    291pts
  13. White Rabbit — ranked #1313
    White Rabbit
    Jefferson Airplane's 1967 bolero that turns Alice in Wonderland into a psychedelic manifesto.
    291pts
  14. Waterloo Sunset — ranked #1414
    Waterloo Sunset
    Ray Davies' 1967 Kinks single, the most English three minutes of the decade.
    291pts
  15. My Generation — ranked #1515
    My Generation
    The Who's 1965 statement of intent, complete with a stutter and John Entwistle's bass solo.
    291pts
  16. Whole Lotta Love — ranked #1616
    Whole Lotta Love
    Led Zeppelin's 1969 calling card, with a theremin breakdown dropped into the middle of a blues riff.
    0pts
  17. Light My Fire — ranked #1717
    Light My Fire
    The Doors' 1967 number one, carried by Ray Manzarek's organ and a two-minute instrumental centre.
    0pts
  18. Good Vibrations — ranked #1818
    Good Vibrations
    Brian Wilson's 1966 pocket symphony for the Beach Boys, assembled from sessions at four studios.
    0pts

#music827#rock204#60s62#classics476

Comments

Keith Richards taped the Satisfaction riff half-asleep and expected to throw it away, and Dylan broke the three-minute rule before either band tried: https://youpick.best/articles/beatles-vs-rolling-stones-ranked

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
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