top 100 most recognizable songs of all-time (2023 version)

Unlike most of my top 100 videos, I did try to put this in order. I’ll probably change my mind about the order in a week from now, though. I only put songs from the past 100 years and I excluded Christmas songs and children’s songs because otherwise this video would be 90% classical music, Christmas songs and Baby Shark.

I expected the list be very different but it mostly ended up being the same in a different order and a few new songs.

I don’t really like making “recognizable” videos anymore because some people take them way too seriously when it just started as some random list I thought would be fun to make one day.

I’ll put some honorable mentions here when I’m less lazy.

Top 100 Most Recognizable Songs of All-Time

#music #songs #top100

[rosverlegaspo]

Nothing beats Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as the most recognizable song of all time.

[Mel_arth]

Michael Jackson, Queen and The Beatles all have the most (4) songs in this list. Absolute legends

[nerissaayers]

Can we just appreciate how "Another One Bites The Dust" comes right after the titanic song...

[johngardiakos]

I wonder how many copyright strikes this video got



Thanks for all the likes❤

[zachbarlow]

The singer from Smash Mouth, Steve Harwell, (0:31) Just died yesterday. Rest in Peace Steve!

[alex.weath]

MJ and Queen literally dominate this list

[lazyswampert]

timestamps

0:00 Shake it Off - Taylor Swift
0:10 Old Town Road - Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
0:18 Mr. Brightside - The Killers
0:25 Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyoncé
0:32 All Star - Smash Mouth
0:40 Yeah! - Usher, Lil Jon & Ludacris
0:46 Oops!... I Did it Again - Britney Spears
0:56 Let's Get it On - Marvin Gaye
1:05 I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry
1:14 In The End - Linkin Park
1:22 Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
1:30 The Real Slim Shady - Eminem
1:39 See You Again - Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth
1:47 Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) - Shakira
1:56 Hello - Adele
2:05 Poker Face - Lady Gaga
2:12 Dream On - Aerosmith
2:21 The Final Countdown - Europe
2:28 Hotel California - Eagles
2:38 Vouge - Madonna
2:47 Three Little Birds - Bob Marley & The Wailers
2:57 I Got You (I Feel Good) - James Brown
3:05 My Name Is - Eminem
3:14 Steven Nation Army - The White Stripes
3:21 Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
3:31 Viva La Vida - Coldplay
3:38 Hips Don't Lie - Shakira & Wyclef Jean
3:47 Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
3:54 Call Me - Blondie
4:01 Like A Virgin - Madonna
4:12 Somebody That I Used To Know - GOTYE & Kimbra
4:22 Purple Rain - Prince & The Revolution
4:32 Zombie - The Cranberries
4:43 Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
4:48 Welcome To The Jungle - Gun N' Roses
4:57 Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
5:04 House Of The Rising Sun - The Animals
5:14 Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. II - Pink Floyd
5:22 Umbrella - Rihanna & Jay Z
5:32 We Are The Champions - Queen
5:42 Back In Black - AC/DC
5:49 I Want You Back - Jackson 5
5:56 Despacito - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee
6:06 Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
6:14 Macarena - Los Del Rio
6:20 Still D.R.E - Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre
6:30 The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
6:37 Gangnam Style - PSY
6:46 Wonderwall - Oasis
6:55 Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
7:05 September - Earth, Wind & Fire
7:10 Take On Me - A-Ha
7:16 California Love - 2Pac & Dr. Dre
7:27 Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
7:36 I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
7:42 Carless Whisper - George Michael
7:51 I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
7:58 Y.M.C.A. - Village People
8:05 Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
8:12 U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
8:21 Imagine - John Lennon
8:31 I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
8:38 I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys
8:44 I'm A Believer - The Monkees
8:54 Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
9:04 Every Breath You Take - The Police
9:13 In Da Club - 50 Cent
9:22 Call Me Maybe - Carley Rae Jepsen
9:32 Let It Be - The Beatles
9:39 Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
9:47 Rolling In The Deep - Adele
9:56 Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
10:01 Hey Ya! - OutKast (Muted)
10:09 Thriller - Michael Jackson
10:16 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
10:25 Wannabe - Spice Girls
10:33 Crazy In Love - Beyoncé
10:42 Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
10:49 Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
10:58 Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin
11:10 Respect - Aretha Franklin
11:17 Lose Yourself - Eminem
11:28 Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
11:34 We Will Rock You - Queen
11:44 Beat It - Michael Jackson
11:51 Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor
12:01 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
12:12 Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
12:20 Dancing Queen - ABBA
12:31 Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
12:44 ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
12:53 Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
13:05: Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley
13:15 Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
13:26 What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
13:34 Hey Jude - The Beatles
13:44 I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
13:53 Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
14:04 Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
14:13 Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

[BLCKSMTHApparel]

MJ, Queen and ABBA definitely have the most recognisable songs

[nothingimageworks]

This list is really amazing, I couldn’t have done it better myself. This is so much better then the lists “Rolling Stone” does. MJ, Beatles, Queen and ABBA are the top legends (even though I missed some Elton John on the list, he is one of my favorite artists and would definitely deserve some spots).

[ShornSteinfeher]

Great compilation! Only three songs came to my mind that could have made it to the list aswell:
Blur - Song 2
Backstreet Boys - Everybody
Tracy Chapman - Talkin about a revolution

Besides, it could be interesting to do a similar list with overall most recognizable musical pieces/melodies etc. There would be children's songs, classical pieces and so on that are extremely familiar to many people.

[imsomewhatcertain]

In 2013, Imagine Dragons emerged with their first major hit “Radioactive.” At the same time, Frozen (2013) brought forth the immensely popular “Let it Go.” No one could escape these two songs for most of 2013, as they were played and memed over and over again. Amongst the roster of songs that are unliked because of how frequently they were/are played, these two songs are the most notable.

[goldbrickstudios]

I've said it once and I'll say it again.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Under Pressure
We Will Rock You
Another One Bites The Dust
We Are The Champions
Don't Stop Me Now

Nobody can contest to that line up of iconic songs. All are recognizable, from all audiences, in the first 4 seconds. Queen rules.

[Blk]

Billie Jean, the song that started a new era, the #1 song in the most sold album of all time, the song that changed the way to the see the World like in the Motown 25, where racism got destroyed, the song of the most famous and iconic artist ever, Michael Jackson.

[EthanMuggers]

This is a great list but I have a few more to suggest and possibly add to this list:
Without Me (Eminem), Bad (Michael Jackson), Toxic, Gangsta's Paradise, Africa, Only You, Time After Time, Sweet Dreams, Material Girl, Gimme Gimme Gimme, All Night Long, Buffalo Soldier. I posted a comment ages ago but there were so many songs with 90% not deserving to be on the list

[ScooterBootsFunny]

Where all my 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s rock n roll fans at
👇🏼

[elfman]

Blue Oyster Cult
Don’t Fear The Reaper
The guitar riff is unforgettable

[pikespice]

Thanks for putting together this video. I haven't gone through the comments but I'm sure there are plenty of people pointing out what songs are missing and how certain songs shouldn't be as high as they are. These are the most recognizable songs, not necessarily the absolute BEST songs ever.

[EnormousPurpleGarden]

I remember a news story a few years ago that some researchers had concluded with scientific accuracy that the most recognisable song of all time is Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and the second-most recognisable is the Batman theme song.

[riofest]

1) Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
2) A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
3) Who Can It Be Now? - Men at Work
4) Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners
5) Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits

[mikayyyyyyyyyyy]

Some Christmas and Soundtrack songs definitely deserve to be on here!