# What is the best Pretenders song of all time?

> Chart-toppers sit beside deep album cuts and late-career returns here. Chrissie Hynde fans will argue over every single pairing.

*By YPB Team · Published October 27, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-pretenders-song-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Hymn to Her** — score 1000/1000
   A stately 1986 ballad from Get Close that became a major UK hit.
2. **Brass in Pocket** — score 706/1000
   The 1979 UK number one that launched the band, with Chrissie Hynde's swaggering vocal.
3. **Don't Get Me Wrong** — score 706/1000
   A bright 1986 pop single from Get Close with a playful, jangly melody.
4. **Back on the Chain Gang** — score 680/1000
   A 1982 single written as a tribute to James Honeyman-Scott that became the band's biggest US hit.
5. **Tattooed Love Boys** — score 611/1000
   A frantic, time-shifting rocker from the 1980 debut album.
6. **Mystery Achievement** — score 611/1000
   The debut album's closing track, driven by Pete Farndon's propulsive bass.
7. **Talk of the Town** — score 529/1000
   A shimmering 1980 single about unspoken longing, later included on Pretenders II.
8. **Message of Love** — score 529/1000
   A driving 1981 single from Pretenders II built on a Honeyman-Scott guitar riff.
9. **2000 Miles** — score 529/1000
   A wistful 1983 Christmas single that became a perennial UK holiday favourite.
10. **Stop Your Sobbing** — score 529/1000
   The band's 1979 debut single, a Ray Davies cover produced by Nick Lowe.
11. **Love's a Mystery** — score 529/1000
   A 2016 track from Alone, the Dan Auerbach-produced album that revived the band's sound.
12. **Thin Line Between Love and Hate** — score 529/1000
   The band's 1984 cover of the Persuaders' soul classic from Learning to Crawl.
13. **Boots of Chinese Plastic** — score 433/1000
   The rollicking 2008 title track of Break Up the Concrete.
14. **Middle of the Road** — score 433/1000
   A raucous 1983 rocker from Learning to Crawl with a famous harmonica outro.
15. **Night in My Veins** — score 317/1000
   A gritty 1994 rock single from Last of the Independents.
16. **Precious** — score 317/1000
   The snarling opening track of the 1980 debut album, set in Hynde's hometown of Cleveland.
17. **I'll Stand by You** — score 317/1000
   A 1994 power ballad from Last of the Independents and one of the band's most covered songs.
18. **My City Was Gone** — score 317/1000
   Hynde's 1982 lament for a changing Ohio, famous for its bassline.
19. **Kid** — score 0/1000
   A tender 1979 single from the debut album with one of Honeyman-Scott's finest guitar parts.
20. **Show Me** — score 0/1000
   A warm 1984 single from Learning to Crawl, Hynde's love song to her daughter.

Tags: music, 80s, rock, bands, new wave, the pretenders