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Decade consensus · All Rock Formats · 1 year-end countdowns

The best rock songs of the 1970s

This ranking of the 1970s combines 1 year-end countdowns from 1970 through 1979. The top song of the '70s is “Dancing the Night Away” by Motors, which charted on 1 countdowns and reached number one one times. The decade’s most-charted artists are Motors, The Clash, Lurkers, The Sex Pistols and Althea & Donna.

61songs charted
1year-end countdowns
0decade countdowns

Top 100 songs of the '70s

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s Year
1 Dancing the Night Away Motors
100		 1 #1 1 1977
2 Uptown Top Ranking Althea & Donna
98		 1 #2 – 1977
3 You Beat The Hell Out of Me Motors
97		 1 #3 – 1977
4 I Can't Stand My Baby Rezillos
95		 1 #4 – 1977
5 Suspended Sentence John Cooper Clarke
93		 1 #5 – 1977
6 Smokescreen Desperate Bicycles
92		 1 #6 – 1977
7 Right Track Marlene Webber
90		 1 #7 – 1977
8 Like a Hurricane Neil Young
89		 1 #8 – 1977
9 Complete Control The Clash
87		 1 #9 – 1977
10 Be Good To Yourself Frankie Miller
85		 1 #10 – 1977
11 Holidays In The Sun The Sex Pistols
84		 1 #11 – 1977
12 Shadow Lurkers
82		 1 #12 – 1977
13 Truly Jays & Ranking Trevor*
80		 1 #13 – 1977
14 Pigs Pink Floyd
79		 1 #14 – 1977
15 Incendiary Device Johnny Moped
77		 1 #15 – 1977
16 New Religion Some Chicken
75		 1 #16 – 1977
17 See Them Come Culture
74		 1 #17 – 1977
18 Emergency Motors
72		 1 #18 – 1977
19 The Worm Song Yobs
70		 1 #19 – 1977
20 Box Number Boys
69		 1 #20 – 1977
21 London Lady The Stranglers
67		 1 #21 – 1977
22 I Don't Wanna Sham 69
66		 1 #22 – 1977
23 Pinhead The Ramones
64		 1 #23 – 1977
24 Freedom Connection Jah Woosh
62		 1 #24 – 1977
25 Can't Give You More Status Quo
61		 1 #25 – 1977
26 Blue Wind Jeff Beck
59		 1 #26 – 1977
27 White Riot The Clash
57		 1 #27 – 1977
28 Success Iggy Pop
56		 1 #28 – 1977
29 Your Generation Generation X
54		 1 #29 – 1977
30 Nobody Go Run Me King Short Shirt
52		 1 #30 – 1977
31 Love Story Lurkers
51		 1 #31 – 1977
32 Waiting In Vain Bob Marley
49		 1 #32 – 1977
33 Paradise Dr Feelgood
48		 1 #33 – 1977
34 Cruel Brother Five Hand Reel
46		 1 #34 – 1977
35 (I'm) Stranded The Saints
44		 1 #35 – 1977
36 Heroes David Bowie
43		 1 #36 – 1977
37 Sick of You Users
41		 1 #37 – 1977
38 Oh Bondage Up Yours! X-Ray Spex
39		 1 #38 – 1977
39 Lookin' After No. 1 Boomtown Rats
38		 1 #39 – 1977
40 No Man's Land June Tabor
36		 1 #40 – 1977
41 Neat Neat Neat The Damned
34		 1 #41 – 1977
42 The Dark End Of The Street Ry Cooder
33		 1 #42 – 1977
43 Questions Suburban Studs
31		 1 #43 – 1977
44 Feel Like Making Love Elizabeth Archer And The Equators
30		 1 #44 – 1977
45 I Knew The Bride Dave Edmunds
28		 1 #45 – 1977
46 Away From The Numbers The Jam
26		 1 #46 – 1977
47 Whole Wide World Wreckless Eric
25		 1 #47 – 1977
48 Green Onions Roy Buchanan
23		 1 #48 – 1977
49 Wild Dub Generation X
21		 1 #49 – 1977
50 I.R.T. Snatch
20		 1 #50 – 1977
51 Pretty Vacant The Sex Pistols
18		 1 #51 – 1977
52 John Willie's Ferret Oldham Tinkers
16		 1 #52 – 1977
53 Stepping Razor Peter Tosh
15		 1 #53 – 1977
54 Capital Radio The Clash
13		 1 #54 – 1977
55 Watching the Detectives Elvis Costello & the Attractions
11		 1 #55 – 1977
56 Bringing In The Morning Light Motors
10		 1 #56 – 1977
57 Beginning of The End Eddie and the Hot Rods
8		 1 #57 – 1977
58 Jocko Homo Devo
7		 1 #58 – 1977
59 Whatever Happened To The Buzzcocks
5		 1 #59 – 1977
60 Rocket In My Pocket Little Feat
3		 1 #60 – 1977
61 God Save the Queen The Sex Pistols
2		 1 #61 – 1977

About this ranking

The 1970s ranking adds together two kinds of evidence: the year-end countdowns from each year of the decade, and the retrospective “songs of the decade” countdowns that stations aired afterwards. Year-end lists capture what listeners loved at the time; decade countdowns capture what lasted. Every appearance earns percentile-based points, and the totals are ranked. See the methodology for details.