The 10 Greatest Songs of All Time

In 2009, Rolling Stone assembled a list of the top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. For the list, they conducted two polls—one that asked a panel of 162 artists, producers, industry executives, and journalists to pick the greatest songs of all time. The second was conducted in 2009 with a similar panel, asking that they pick the best songs from the 2000s. By compiling the two lists, Rolling Stone was able to create a top 500 list of all time. Here are the top 10 songs, along with a selection of their lyrics:

1.    Bob Dylan—Like a Rolling Stone

a.     How does it feel, how does it feel? / To be without a home / With no direction home, like a complete unknown / Just like a rolling stone?

2.    Rolling Stones—Satisfaction

a.     I can’t get no satisfaction / ‘Cause I try and I try and I try / I can’t get no, I can’t get no

3.    John Lennon—Imagine

a.     Imagine all the people/ Living life in peace / You, you may say I’m a dreamer / But I’m not the only one

4.    Marvin Gaye—What’s Going On

a.     You see, war is not the answer / For only love can conquer hate / You know we’ve got to find a way / To bring some lovin’ here today

5.    Aretha Franklin—Respect

a.     R-E-S-P-E-C-T / Find out what it means to me / R-E-S-P-E-C-T / Take care, TCB

6.    Beach Boys—Good Vibrations

a.     I, I love the colorful clothes she wears / And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair / I hear the sound of a gentle word / On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air

7.    Chuck Berry—Johnny B. Goode

a.     His mother told him, “Someday you will be a man / And you will be the leader of a big old band / Many people coming from miles around / To hear you play your music when the sun go down / Maybe someday your name will be in lights / Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.”

8.    Beatles—Hey Jude

a.     And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain / Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders / For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool / By making his world a little colder

9.    Nirvana—Smells Like Teen Spirit

a.     With the lights out, it’s less dangerous / Here we are now, entertain us / I feel stupid and contagious / Here we are now, entertain us

10. Ray Charles—What’d I Say (Live Berlin) 1962

a.     Ooh mama, don’t you treat me wrong / Come and love your daddy all night long / All right darlin’, yeah… / When ya see me in misery / Come over baby se about me / Dar-dar-darlin’, alright, yeah / Well, alright baby, alright