My 30 Favorite Songs by The Rolling Stones

While reviewing all music, year by year, I was curious about certain groups and artists and how I feel about their music today. I decided to rank the songs of some of the greats and after kicking things off with the Beatles, Zeppelin,  and Nirvana, I have decided to do The Rolling Stones next. The band with the most longevity.

Fifteen songs on this list were from the 1960s, another 12 from the 1970s before things petered out with just two from the 1980s (both from 1981). So, from my opinion only (and I wasn’t even alive yet during their peak), the ‘real’ Stones churned out great music between 1964 and 1981.

From my own yearly classifications, nine of The Rolling Stones’ songs ranked as “awesome” (that’s more than I had for the Beatles, at eight) with an additional eight garnering the “great” moniker. That’s 17 songs at “great” or “awesome”. In all, The Stones ended up with 35 songs on my year-by-year lists.

In putting this together, I decided to do away with the classifications and give my own hard ranking. With the understanding that, depending on mood, any of these songs can slide up or down 10 spots pretty easily. I had a real hard time with the “this one” or “that one” questions in a lot of cases below. And I know that a year from now a few of these songs would slide up or down a few spots. Hell, a week from now that would probably happen. Mood really impacts enjoyment of songs.

And of course, I shouldn’t have to explain that the 30th song ranked here is not their worst song – remember they have hundreds of songs recorded, so the 30th song actually tops hundreds of others.

The four songs that made my year-by-year list but did not crack the Top 30 are: Shattered (1978), Almost Hear You Sigh (1989), Let’s Spend the Night Together (1967) and Emotional Rescue (1980).

Bonus – upped the list to 31, thanks to a newfound appreciation for Can’t You Hear Me Knocking

31. Fool To Cry (1976)

30. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) (1973)

29. Tumbling Dice (1972)

28. Miss You (1978)

27. She’s So Cold (1980)

26. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking

25. Midnight Rambler (1970)

24. Waiting On A Friend (1981)

23. Mother’s Little Helper (1966)

22. Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1968)

21. It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (1974)

20. Beast Of Burden (1978)

19. It’s All Over Now (1964)

18. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg (1974)

17. Gimme Shelter (1970)

16. Wild Horses (1971)

15. Get off Of My Cloud (1965)

14. 19th Nervous Breakdown (1966)

13. Time Is On My Side (1964)

12. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965)

11. Street Fighting Man (1968)

10. Sympathy For The Devil (1968)

9. Under My Thumb (1966)

8. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (1969)

7. As Tears Go By (1965)

6. Ruby Tuesday (1967)

5. Brown Sugar (1971)

4. Start Me Up (1981)

3. Angie (1973)

2. Paint It, Black (1966)

1. Honky Tonk Woman (1969)

Listen to my playlist of my favorite Rolling Stones songs on YouTube here

Here is the full Top 35 list:

1	Honky Tonk Women	–	1969
2	Paint It, Black	–	1966
3	Angie	–	1973
4	Start Me Up	–	1981
5	Brown Sugar	–	1971
6	Ruby Tuesday	–	1967
7	As Tears Go By	–	1965
8	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	–	1969
9	Under My Thumb	–	1966
10	Sympathy for the Devil	–	1968
11	Street Fighting Man	–	1968
12	(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction	–	1965
13	Time Is On My Side	–	1964
14	19th Nervous Breakdown	–	1966
15	Get Off of My Cloud	–	1965
16	Wild Horses	–	1971
17	Gimmie Shelter	–	1970
18	Ain’t Too Proud To Beg	–	1974
19	It’s All Over Now	–	1964
20	Beast Of Burden	–	1978
21	It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll	–	1974
22	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	–	1968
23	Mother’s Little Helper	–	1966
24	Waiting On A Friend	–	1981
25	Midnight Rambler	–	1970
26	Can’t You Hear Me Knocking	–	1971
27	She’s So Cold	–	1980
28	Miss You	–	1978
29	Tumbling Dice	–	1972
30	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	–	1973
31	Fool To Cry	–	1976
32	Shattered	–	1978
33	Almost Hear You Sigh	–	1989
34	Let’s Spend the Night Together	–	1967
35	Emotional Rescue	–	1980