title: Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
text: "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in a special issue of the magazine, issue number 963, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2010, Rolling Stone published a revised edition, drawing on the original and a later survey of songs released up until the early 2000s.
  
  Another updated edition of the list was published in 2021, with more than half the entries not having appeared on either of the two previous editions; it was based on a new survey and does not factor in the surveys that were conducted for the previous lists. The 2021 list was based on a poll of more than 250 artists, musicians, producers, critics, journalists, and industry figures. They each sent in a ranked list of their top 50 songs, and Rolling Stone tabulated the results.
  
  Top 10 songs 
  2004
  
  2021
  
  Statistics
  
  2004 list
   Of the 500 songs, 351 are from the United States and 120 from the United Kingdom; they are followed by Canada, with 13; Ireland, with 12 entries (of which 8 were composed by U2); Jamaica, with 7; Australia, with two (AC/DC); Sweden (ABBA) and France (Daft Punk), each with one.
   The list includes only songs written in English, with the sole exception of "La Bamba" (number 345), sung in Spanish by the American singer-songwriter Ritchie Valens.
   Although the list is "of all time", few songs written prior to the 1950s are included; some that are listed are Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" (1936), in the version recorded by Cream, and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (1949). "The House of the Rising Sun", listed in the version by English rock band the Animals, was recorded at least as early as 1934. Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone" (1950) is based on an earlier song, dating to the 1920s.
   There is one instrumental on the list: "Green Onions" by the American band Booker T. and the M.G.'s (number 181).
   The number of songs from each of the decades represented in the 2004 version is as follows:
  
   
   The Beatles are the most represented musical act, with 23 songs on the list. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison are also represented as solo artists. Lennon is the only artist to appear twice in the top 10, as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist. The Beatles are followed by the Rolling Stones (14); Bob Dylan (13); Elvis Presley (11); U2 (8); the Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix (7); Led Zeppelin, Prince, Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, Chuck Berry (6); Elton John, Ray Charles, the Clash, the Drifters, Buddy Holly, and the Who (5).
   The artists not included on the list of the top 100 artists but having the most songs featured in the list are the Animals, Blondie, and the Isley Brothers, each with three songs.
   The album with the most entries on the list (excluding compilation albums) is "Are You Experienced" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience with four songs on the list: "Purple Haze" (number 17), "Foxy Lady" (number 152), "Hey Joe" (number 198) and "The Wind Cries Mary" (number 370).
   Three songs appear on the list twice, performed by different artists: "Mr. Tambourine Man", performed by Bob Dylan (number 107) and by the Byrds (number 79); "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley (number 430) and by Carl Perkins (number 95), and "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (number 346) and by Run-DMC (number 293).
   The shortest tracks are "Rave On!" by Buddy Holly running 1:47, "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis (1:52), and Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" (1:53).
   The longest tracks are "The End" (11:41) by the Doors; "Desolation Row" (11:21) by Bob Dylan, and "Marquee Moon" (9:58) by Television.
   Love is the most frequent word used in the songs' lyrics, with 1,057 occurrences, followed by I'm (1,000), oh (847), know (779), baby (746), got (702), and yeah (656).
  
  2010 list
  In May 2010, Rolling Stone compiled an update, published in a special issue and in digital form for the iPod and iPad. The list differs from the 2004 version, with 26 songs added, all of which are songs from the 2000s except "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G., released in 1994. The top 25 remained unchanged, but many songs down the list were given different rankings as a result of the inclusion of new songs, causing consecutive shifts among the songs listed in 2004. The highest-ranked new entry was Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" (number 100).
  
  The number of songs from each decade in the updated version is as follows:
  
   
   Two songs by U2 and two by Jay-Z were added to the list. Jay-Z is featured in two other new songs on the list: "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé, and "Umbrella" by Rihanna.
   The only artist to have two songs dropped from the list is the Crystals; their "Da Doo Ron Ron" (previously number 114) was the highest-ranked song to have been dropped.
  
  2021 list
  
   The most represented musical act is once again the Beatles (12), followed by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones (7), Prince (6) and Bruce Springsteen (5).
   The album with the most entries on the list (excluding compilation albums) is Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen with three songs on the list: "Born to Run" (number 27), "Thunder Road" (number 111) and "Jungleland" (number 298).
   The most represented year is 1971 with 21 songs from that year in the Top 500, including 6 in the Top 100.
   Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" was listed as released in 2010 by mistake, when it was released in 2004.
   "Da Doo Ron Ron" by the Crystals was added back to the list after being removed. The song's new position is at 366.
   The highest entry for a newly added song is "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac at number 9.
   The highest entry not in the English language is "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee at number 50.
   30 songs from the 2010s were added, with the highest entry being "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn at number 20.
   The highest entry for a song from 2020 is "Safaera" by Bad Bunny at number 329.
   The highest entry from the previous lists to be excluded is "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley, originally placed at number 19. The original version by Big Mama Thornton is, however, present at number 318 after being absent from the earlier iterations of the list.
   The longest song on the list is "Walk On By" by Isaac Hayes (12:00) (number 312) and the shortest is "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X (1:53) (number 490). The live version of "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brothers Band (number 410) is specifically referenced in the article and is 22:40, almost twice as long as any other song on the list if counted.
   Four songs are featured twice on the list, performed by different artists: "Walk On By" by Dionne Warwick (number 51) and Isaac Hayes (number 312), "Gloria" by Them (number 413) and Patti Smith (number 97), "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan (number 164) and the Byrds (number 230) and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack (number 273) and Fugees (number 359).
  
  Artists with multiple songs (2021 edition) 
  12 songs
   The Beatles
  
  7 songs
  
   David Bowie
   Bob Dylan
   The Rolling Stones
  
  6 songs
   Prince
  
  5 songs
   Bruce Springsteen
   Beyoncé
  
  4 songs
  
   Aretha Franklin
   Marvin Gaye
   Elton John
   Joni Mitchell
   Outkast
   Stevie Wonder
  
  3 songs
  
   The Beach Boys
   Chuck Berry
   James Brown
   Drake
   Missy Elliott
   Fleetwood Mac
   Jimi Hendrix
   Michael Jackson
   Jay-Z
   The Kinks
   Led Zeppelin
   Madonna
   Bob Marley and the Wailers
   The Notorious B.I.G.
   Dolly Parton
   Elvis Presley
   Radiohead
   R.E.M.
   The Supremes
   U2
   The Who
   Bill Withers
   Neil Young
  
  2 songs
  
   Fiona Apple
   Bad Bunny
   Black Sabbath
   Blondie
   The Byrds
   Johnny Cash
   Ray Charles
   The Clash
   Leonard Cohen
   Creedence Clearwater Revival
   The Cure
   Dr. Dre
   Eminem
   The Four Tops
   Grateful Dead
   Al Green
   Guns N' Roses
   Buddy Holly
   Whitney Houston
   Lil Wayne
   Little Richard
   Martha and the Vandellas
   Curtis Mayfield
   Metallica
   The Miracles
   New Order
   Nirvana
   N.W.A
   Pink Floyd
   Public Enemy
   Queen
   Ramones
   Otis Redding
   The Revolution
   Rihanna
   Sex Pistols
   Simon & Garfunkel
   Sly and the Family Stone
   Patti Smith
   The Smiths
   Britney Spears
   Taylor Swift
   Talking Heads
   The Temptations
   TLC
   The Velvet Underground
   Kanye West
   Hank Williams
  
  See also
   The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's selection of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
   Rockism and poptimism
  
  References
  
  External links
   "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine (updated version of the list)
   
  
  21st century in music
  20th century in music
  Lists of rated songs
  Rolling Stone articles