365 Songs of the Century

Source: RIAA and NEA

Year: 2001

351 songs

200 voters

Weight: 38%

How much this list influences our overall rankings. Higher weight means more reliable data.

Penalties Applied:

Voters: are mostly from a single country/location: 10%

Voters: Unknown Names: 10%

List: only covers 1 specific location: 40%

List: number of years covered: 2.4%

Published in 2001, Songs of the Century is the RIAA/NEA project aimed at celebrating and teaching the history of recorded music in America. Roughly 200 ballots helped shape the results, producing a Top 365 that spans pop, rock, jazz, country, folk, and more, emphasizing cultural impact and lasting influence.

View Original List

Rank	Song	Artists	Year
#101	Tisket A Tasket	Ella Fitzgerald	1946
#102	When Irish Eyes Are Smiling	Chauncey Olcott	1913
#103	The Times They Are A‐Changin'	Bob Dylan	1964
#104	I Fall to Pieces	Patsy Cline	1961
#105	I Will Always Love You	Whitney Houston	1992
#106	Mona Lisa	Nat King Cole	1987
#107	Blowin' in the Wind	Peter, Paul and Mary	1963
#108	Peggy Sue	Buddy Holly	1957
#109	Lean on Me	Bill Withers	1972
#110	I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry	Hank Williams, Drifting Cowboys	1949
#111	Proud Mary	Creedence Clearwater Revival	1969
#112	Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye)	The Carter Family	1935
#113	Puttin' On the Ritz	Harry Richman	1930
#114	Layla	Derek and the Dominos	1970
#115	Jump	Van Halen	1983
#116	I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For	U2	1987
#117	We Are the World	USA for Africa	1985
#118	Girls Just Want to Have Fun	Cyndi Lauper	1983
#119	Swanee	Al Jolson	1920
#120	Let Me Call You Sweetheart	Peerless Quartet	1911
#121	Whoopee: Makin' Whoopee	Eddie Cantor	1978
#122	The Tracks of My Tears	The Miracles	1965
#123	I Wanna Be Loved by You	Helen Kane	1928
#124	Pennies From Heaven	Bing Crosby, Georgie Stoll and His Orchestra	1936
#125	Tutti Frutti	Little Richard	1955
#126	Brown Eyed Girl	Van Morrison	1967
#127	I Only Have Eyes for You	The Flamingos	1959
#128	Born to Be Wild	Steppenwolf	1968
#129	Superstition	Stevie Wonder	1972
#130	Born to Run	Bruce Springsteen	1975
#131	On the Good Ship Lollipop	Shirley Temple	1979
#132	Wabash Cannonball	Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys	1949
#133	Unchained Melody	Al Hibbler	1955
#134	Dancing in the Streets	Martha Reeves and the Vandellas	1965
#135	Ain't No Mountain High Enough	Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell	1967
#136	Piano Man	Billy Joel	1973
#137	Joy to the World	Three Dog Night	1970
#138	Losing My Religion	R.E.M.	1991
#139	My Way	Frank Sinatra	1969
#140	Let's Stay Together	Al Green	1971
#141	We Are the Champions	Queen	1977
#142	We Will Rock You	Queen	1977
#143	Purple Rain	Prince, The Revolution	1984
#144	Dancing Queen	ABBA	1976
#145	Wake Up Little Susie	The Everly Brothers	1957
#146	Shout	The Isley Brothers	1979
#147	I Got You (I Feel Good)	James Brown	1967
#148	Thrill Is Gone	B.B. King	1983
#149	Alexanders Ragtime Band	The Ubbo Emmius Big Band	2001
#150	Bo Diddley	Bo Diddley	1955
#151	Banana Boat (Day‐O)	Harry Belafonte	1956
#152	Ring of Fire	Johnny Cash	1963
#153	Donna	Ritchie Valens	1959
#154	La bamba	Ritchie Valens	1958
#155	The Lion Sleeps Tonight	The Tokens	1961
#156	Take Me Home, Country Roads	John Denver	1971
#157	Material Girl	Madonna	1984
#158	Rapper's Delight	The Sugarhill Gang	1980
#159	Goodnight Irene	Lead Belly	1943
#160	Tequila	The Champs	1958
#161	Que Sera Sera	Doris Day	1956
#162	Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)	The Byrds	1965
#163	Soul Man	Sam & Dave	1967
#164	You Are the Sunshine of My Life	Stevie Wonder	1972
#165	Thanks for the Memory	Bob Hope, Shirley Ross	1984
#166	Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head	B.J. Thomas	1987
#167	Main Title (Moon River)	Henry Mancini	2011
#168	Free Bird	Lynyrd Skynyrd	1973
#169	Misty	Erroll Garner Trio	1987
#170	Chances Are	Johnny Mathis	1981
#171	Love Letters	Ketty Lester	1962
#172	I Love Rock 'n' Roll	Joan Jett & The Blackhearts	1981
#173	Fast Car	Tracy Chapman	1988
#174	Will You Love Me Tomorrow	The Shirelles	1960
#175	Leader of the Pack	The Shangri‐Las	1964
#176	In the Midnight Hour	Wilson Pickett	1965
#177	Why Do Fools Fall in Love	Frankie Lymon	1994
#178	I Can See Clearly Now	Johnny Nash	1972
#179	Oye como va	Santana	1970
#180	Coal Miner's Daughter	Loretta Lynn	1970
#181	Cat's in the Cradle	Harry Chapin	1974
#182	Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys	Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings	1978
#183	The Gambler	Kenny Rogers	1978
#184	Bye Bye Blackbird	Gene Austin	1926
#185	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	The Platters	1980
#186	Fight for Your Right (to Party)	Beastie Boys	1986
#187	We Are Family	Sister Sledge	1979
#188	Close to You	Carpenters	1970
#189	Maggie May	Rod Stewart	1971
#190	Night and Day	Fred Astaire	1933
#191	Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?	Rudy Vallée	1993
#192	Tom Dooley	The Kingston Trio	1958
#193	The Tennessee Waltz	Patti Page	1950
#194	If You Don't Know Me by Now	Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes	1972
#195	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	Elton John	1973
#196	U Can't Touch This	MC Hammer	1990
#197	Smooth	Santana, Rob Thomas	1999
#198	Livin' la Vida Loca	Ricky Martin	1999
#199	How Great Thou Art	George Beverly Shea	1994
#200	Sing, Sing, Sing	Benny Goodman and His Orchestra	1956