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Virgin Radio · All-time countdown series

Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time

RockLists has 4 editions of the Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time, from 2001 to 2006. Across all of them, the most successful song is “One” by U2, which appears in 4 editions. John Lennon’s “Imagine” finished first two times.

4editions
2001–2006years
3different #1s

Every edition and its number one

YearCountdownNumber oneSize
2001 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) ImagineJohn Lennon 500
2004 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) Stairway to HeavenLed Zeppelin 500
2005 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) ImagineJohn Lennon 500
2006 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) Chasing CarsSnow Patrol 500

How the top songs moved between editions

Each song’s position in every edition. A dash means it did not appear.

#Song'01'04'05'06
1 OneU2 10 2 4 3
2 ImagineJohn Lennon 1 6 1 18
3 Bohemian RhapsodyQueen 2 7 6 11
4 Hey JudeThe Beatles 3 22 2 12
5 WonderwallOasis 22 19 18 4
6 Every Breath You TakeThe Police 12 16 8 37
7 Stairway to HeavenLed Zeppelin 20 1 7 47
8 Losing My ReligionR.E.M. 30 25 13 15
9 Let It BeThe Beatles 11 11 3 74
10 Hotel CaliforniaThe Eagles 44 9 9 39
11 Everybody HurtsR.E.M. 7 4 52 41
12 I Can't Get No SatisfactionThe Rolling Stones 6 40 11 52
13 Space OddityDavid Bowie 15 14 57 35
14 Don't Look Back in AngerOasis 8 45 44 29
15 YesterdayThe Beatles 33 58 12 30
16 YellowColdplay 74 41 25 13
17 Sweet Child o' MineGuns N Roses 119 3 14 20
18 It Must Be LoveMadness 61 38 60 9
19 Brown Eyed GirlVan Morrison 86 12 28 42
20 Golden BrownThe Stranglers 26 21 109 16
21 LaylaDerek and the Dominos 9 33 58 82
22 We Will Rock YouQueen 63 37 53 32
23 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking ForU2 40 28 48 76
24 Should I Stay or Should I Go?The Clash 37 27 101 28
25 Don't You Want MeThe Human League 46 18 50 86
26 Heart of GlassBlondie 29 17 22 140
27 No Woman, No CryBob Marley 100 59 17 43
28 Paint It BlackThe Rolling Stones 149 23 34 17
29 Bat Out of HellMeat Loaf 32 57 51 85
30 Going UndergroundThe Jam 13 49 99 66
31 Under the BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers 155 13 36 24
32 Light My FireThe Doors 71 32 24 102
33 TroubleColdplay 14 10 150 58
34 RoxanneThe Police 38 68 30 98
35 All Right NowFree 54 73 54 57
36 LolaThe Kinks 110 24 38 67
37 Maggie MayRod Stewart 53 29 16 144
38 Fast CarTracy Chapman 36 63 59 84
39 BabylonDavid Gray 43 83 32 88
40 Romeo and JulietDire Straits 66 42 107 33
41 Live ForeverOasis 62 99 55 45
42 Don't Dream It's OverCrowded House 28 51 106 78
43 That's EntertainmentThe Jam 127 60 63 25
44 Ashes to AshesDavid Bowie 56 26 196 23
45 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)Eurythmics 130 87 39 51
46 Where the Streets Have No NameU2 68 43 105 94
47 With or Without YouU2 188 56 15 55
48 Killer QueenQueen 115 64 94 50
49 Ghost TownThe Specials 117 30 96 99
50 Strawberry Fields ForeverThe Beatles 200 77 26 49
51 Message in a BottleThe Police 24 44 152 151
52 Come On EileenDexy's Midnight Runners 85 113 130 46
53 Born to RunBruce Springsteen 79 124 23 162
54 Brown SugarThe Rolling Stones 21 53 65 251
55 November RainGuns N Roses 183 35 81 91
56 My Sweet LordGeorge Harrison 5 34 29 323
57 Sympathy For The DevilThe Rolling Stones 98 93 102 104
58 SubstituteThe Who 92 48 68 197
59 Stuck in the Middle With YouStealers Wheel 17 36 283 75
60 Champagne SupernovaOasis 94 162 69 95