The ranking of the 100 best songs of the '70s according to Paste Magazine

Paste Magazine has kicked off a massive project set to unfold over several months: picking the greatest songs of all time. The plan is to go decade by decade, selecting favorite singles and album tracks, before putting together one big definitive ranking come autumn. After the top 100 of the '60s, here now is the ranking of the 100 best songs of the '70s. "We're not claiming our list is better than everyone else's — the magazine notes — we've simply tried to offer an interesting take on what may have been the greatest decade in music history. Some of our picks will inevitably overlap with choices made over the years by other publications, because certain songs are simply too good to leave out. At the same time, we didn't want to limit ourselves to tracks from albums you'd find in any record store. The selection therefore includes both undeniable hits and personal picks, all released between 1970 and 1979. We've included only one song per artist."

So here is the ranking of the 100 best songs of the '70s, according to Paste Magazine (full feature here). On OndaRock, meanwhile, you can find our Ranking of the best albums of the '70s.

100. Elvis Costello: “(The Angels Wanna Hear My) Red Shoes”
99. Rita Lee & Tutti Frutti: “Agora Só Falta Você”
98. Bob Marley & The Wailers: “Waiting In Vain”
97. Leonard Cohen: “Chelsea Hotel #2”
96. Todd Rundgren: “I Saw the Light”
95. The Staple Singers: “I’ll Take You There”
94. Big Star: “Kanga Roo”
93. The Slits: “Typical Girls”
92. Guy Clark: “L.A. Freeway”
91. Yellow Magic Orchestra: “Rydeen”
90. Nick Drake: “Northern Sky”
89. This Heat: “The Fall of Saigon”
88. Roberta Flack: “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
87. Joy Division: “Disorder”
86. Bill Withers: “Ain’t No Sunshine”
85. Karen Dalton: “Something On Your Mind”
84. The Temptations: “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”
83. Ramones: “Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World”
82. Jorge Ben: “Ponta de lança africano (Umbabarauma)”
81. Warren Zevon: “Werewolves of London”
80. Al Green: “Love and Happiness”
79. Kraftwerk: “Trans Europe Express”
78. Jim Croce: “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)”
77. Agustus Pablo: “King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown”
76. Elton John: “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”
75. Judee Sill: “Jesus Was a Cross Maker”
74. Thin Lizzy: “The Boys Are Back In Town”
73. Taeko Onuki: “4:00 A.M.”
72. Bob Dylan: “Idiot Wind”
71. Neu!: “Hallogallo”
70. James Brown: “The Payback”
69. Yes: “Close to the Edge”
68. The Roches: “Hammond Song”
67. Alice Coltrane / Pharoah Sanders: “Shiva-Loka”
66. Blondie: “Hanging On the Telephone”
65. Aretha Franklin: “Rock Steady”
64. Waylon Jennings: “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)”
63. Devo: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
62. Barbra Streisand: “One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not a Home”
61. William Onyeabor: “Atomic Bomb”
60. Led Zeppelin: “When the Levee Breaks”
59. Gladys Knight & The Pips: “Midnight Train to Georgia”
58. Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns: “Beautiful Woman”
57. Curtis Mayfield: “So In Love”
56. Novos Baianos: “Preta Pretinha”
55. Roxy Music: “Mother of Pearl”
54. Townes Van Zandt: “Pancho & Lefty”
53. Evans Pyramid: “Never Gonna Leave You”
52. Carole King: “It’s Too Late”
51. Talking Heads: “Life During Wartime”
50. Ann Peebles: “I Can’t Stand the Rain”
49. Lou Reed: “Street Hassle”
48. Kate Bush: “Wuthering Heights”
47. Labi Siffre: “Cannock Chase”
46. Chic: “Good Times”
45. CAN: “Vitamin C”
44. Prince: “I Wanna Be Your Lover”
43. Ryuichi Sakamoto: “Thousand Knives”
42. Gang of Four: “Damaged Goods”
41. Donna Summer: “I Feel Love”
40. Gary Stewart: “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Double)”
39. The Congos: “Fisherman”
38. The Rolling Stones: “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
37. Charles Mingus: “The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers”
36. Television: “Marquee Moon”
35. Patti Smith: “Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer(de)”
34. Black Sabbath: “Supernaut”
33. Gil Scott-Heron: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
32. Dolly Parton: “I Will Always Love You”
31. Mulatu Astatke: “Tezeta (Nostalgia)”
30. X-Ray Spex: “Oh Bondage! Up Yours!”
29. Neil Young: “Powderfinger”
28. Betty Davis: “F.U.N.K.”
27. Fleetwood Mac: “The Chain”
26. Miles Davis: “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down”
25. Kris Kristofferson: “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”
24. Buzzcocks: “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)”
23. Willie Nelson: “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”
22. The Walker Brothers: “The Electrician”
21. ABBA: “SOS”
20. Blaze Foley: “If I Could Only Fly”
19. The Clash: “Lost in the Supermarket”
18. Chico Buarque: “Construção”
17. Marvin Gaye: “Got to Give It Up”
16. Tom Waits: “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis”
15. Sly & The Family Stone: “Family Affair”
14. Paul & Linda McCartney: “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”
13. Herbie Hancock: “Chameleon”
12. Dinosaur: “Kiss Me Again”
11. David Bowie: “Station to Station”
10. Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges: “Tudo Que Você Podia Ser”
9. Bruce Springsteen: “Thunder Road”
8. Fela Kuti / Africa ’70: “Zombie”
7. Suicide: “Frankie Teardrop”
6. Joni Mitchell: “A Case of You”
5. The Meters: “It Ain’t No Use”
4. Nina Simone: “Stars”
3. Stevie Wonder: “As”
2. Carly Simon: “You’re So Vain”
1. Funkadelic: “Maggot Brain”

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google