“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

"Thunderstruck" kicked off The Razors Edge in 1990, the lead single from AC/DC's twelfth studio album and about the loudest possible way of announcing that the band still had plenty of volts left. Angus and Malcolm Young wrote it, Bruce Fairbairn produced, and Mike Fraser engineered and mixed, giving the Atco release a big, glossy punch without muffling the crunch.

The whole thing hangs on a jittery guitar figure that circles and circles like a live wire whipping around on wet pavement, while the Youngs, Cliff Williams on bass and Chris Slade on drums wind the tension tighter and tighter until it finally blows. Brian Johnson rides in on top, all gravel and glee. It's less a song than a slow-building electrical storm, and it works every single time.

It went to number one in Finland and landed in the top five in Australia and on the US Album Rock Tracks chart, and in 2010 it topped Triple M Melbourne's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown. With more than 15 million units sold, it counts among the best-selling singles ever made.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.