2004 list • Of the 500 songs, 351 are from the United States and 120 from the United Kingdom; 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 and
Jimi Hendrix (7);
Led Zeppelin,
Prince,
Sly and the Family Stone,
James Brown, and
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 (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" by
the Doors (11:41), "
Desolation Row" by
Bob Dylan (11:21), and "
Marquee Moon" by
Television (9:58). •
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,
Beyoncé (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. • Six songs were added back to the list after being removed: "
Lose Yourself" by
Eminem (number 167), "
One Nation Under a Groove" by
Funkadelic (number 210), "
More Than A Feeling" by
Boston (number 212), "
The Boys are Back in Town" by
Thin Lizzy (number 272), "
Da Doo Ron Ron" by
the Crystals (number 366), and "
Lola" by
the Kinks (number 386). • 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. • Thirty 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).
2024 list Artists with multiple songs (2024 edition) 11 songs •
The Beatles 7 songs •
Beyoncé •
Bob Dylan •
The Rolling Stones 6 songs •
David Bowie •
Prince 5 songs •
Bruce Springsteen 4 songs •
Aretha Franklin •
Marvin Gaye •
Elton John •
Joni Mitchell •
Outkast •
Stevie Wonder 3 songs •
The Beach Boys •
Chuck Berry •
James Brown •
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. •
Taylor Swift •
U2 •
The Who •
Neil Young 2 songs •
Fiona Apple •
Bad Bunny •
Black Sabbath •
The Byrds •
Johnny Cash •
Ray Charles •
The Clash •
Leonard Cohen •
Creedence Clearwater Revival •
Drake •
Dr. Dre •
Eminem •
The Four Tops •
Grateful Dead •
Al Green •
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 •
The Supremes •
Talking Heads •
The Temptations •
TLC •
The Velvet Underground •
Kanye West •
Hank Williams •
Bill Withers ==See also==