The 40 Best 70s Rock Songs, from Stairway to Heaven to Hotel California

What is the best rock song of the 70s?

"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and "Hotel California" by the Eagles are the three songs most often named the greatest rock songs of the 1970s. "Free Bird", "Born to Run", "Baba O'Riley" and "Layla" are close behind.

The greatest 70s rock songs

1. "Stairway to Heaven", Led Zeppelin, 1971: the slow-building epic that ends in a blaze of guitar.
2. "Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen, 1975: ballad, opera and hard rock in six minutes.
3. "Hotel California", the Eagles, 1977: a haunting story with a famous twin-guitar solo.
4. "Free Bird", Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1974: the Southern rock anthem with an epic guitar finale.
5. "Born to Run", Bruce Springsteen, 1975: a wall-of-sound anthem of escape.
6. "Baba O'Riley", the Who, 1971: synthesizers and power chords.
7. "Layla", Derek and the Dominos, 1970: Eric Clapton's riff and a famous piano coda.
8. "Dream On", Aerosmith, 1973: the power ballad that launched the band.
9. "More Than a Feeling", Boston, 1976: soaring vocals and layered guitars.
10. "Sweet Home Alabama", Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1974: the ultimate Southern rock singalong.

Hard rock and heavy metal of the 70s

11. "Paranoid", Black Sabbath, 1970: a fast, heavy riff that defined metal.
12. "Iron Man", Black Sabbath, 1970: one of rock's most famous riffs.
13. "Smoke on the Water", Deep Purple, 1972: the riff every guitar student learns.
14. "Black Dog", Led Zeppelin, 1971: call-and-response hard rock.
15. "Immigrant Song", Led Zeppelin, 1970: a thundering Viking battle cry.
16. "Highway to Hell", AC/DC, 1979: Bon Scott's swaggering anthem.
17. "Rock and Roll All Nite", Kiss, 1975: the party anthem of the decade.
18. "Barracuda", Heart, 1977: a galloping riff and a ferocious vocal.
19. "Runnin' with the Devil", Van Halen, 1978: the debut that introduced Eddie Van Halen.
20. "Walk This Way", Aerosmith, 1975: a funky riff later remade with Run-DMC.

Classic rock radio favorites

21. "Carry On Wayward Son", Kansas, 1976: progressive rock harmonies and riffs.
22. "Don't Fear the Reaper", Blue Öyster Cult, 1976: a dreamy, haunting hit.
23. "Takin' Care of Business", Bachman-Turner Overdrive, 1973: a working man's anthem.
24. "Go Your Own Way", Fleetwood Mac, 1977: a breakup song with a driving beat.
25. "Life in the Fast Lane", the Eagles, 1977: a sharp, rocking riff.
26. "Cold as Ice", Foreigner, 1977: piano-driven arena rock.
27. "Hot Blooded", Foreigner, 1978: a strutting rocker.
28. "The Joker", Steve Miller Band, 1973: a laid-back number one.
29. "Jessica", the Allman Brothers Band, 1973: an instrumental that became a TV theme.
30. "La Grange", ZZ Top, 1973: a boogie riff from Texas.

Glam, punk and new sounds

31. "Ziggy Stardust", David Bowie, 1972: the story of a rock star from space.
32. "Rebel Rebel", David Bowie, 1974: a glam rock riff for the ages.
33. "School's Out", Alice Cooper, 1972: the end-of-year anthem.
34. "Blitzkrieg Bop", the Ramones, 1976: punk rock in two minutes.
35. "My Sharona", the Knack, 1979: one of the biggest hits of 1979.
36. "Comfortably Numb", Pink Floyd, 1979: two of rock's greatest guitar solos (more in our David Gilmour songs).
37. "Money", Pink Floyd, 1973: cash registers and a famous sax solo.
38. "We Will Rock You", Queen, 1977: stomp, stomp, clap.
39. "American Girl", Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1977: a jangling, driving debut.
40. "Sultans of Swing", Dire Straits, 1978: a story song with a legendary guitar solo.

What made 70s rock so big?

In the 70s, rock moved from clubs and festivals into arenas and stadiums. FM radio played long album tracks, so bands could write eight-minute epics like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Free Bird", and albums like Led Zeppelin IV, Rumours, Hotel California and The Dark Side of the Moon sold tens of millions of copies. Guitar heroes, huge light shows and larger-than-life singers turned concerts into events, and the decade split rock into many styles: hard rock, heavy metal, Southern rock, progressive rock, glam and, by 1976, punk.

The guitar heroes of the 70s

Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Walsh, Brian May, David Gilmour, Duane Allman and, at the end of the decade, Eddie Van Halen made the guitar solo the centerpiece of rock. Their riffs, from "Smoke on the Water" to "Iron Man", are still the first ones beginners learn. For songs to start with, see our easy guitar songs.

Southern rock

From Florida and Georgia came a bluesier, twangier rock sound. Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers Band, the Marshall Tucker Band and ZZ Top from Texas mixed rock with blues and country, and songs like "Free Bird", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Jessica" and "La Grange" are still staples of classic rock radio.

70s rock songs for a road trip or a party

For a road trip, start with "Born to Run", "Life in the Fast Lane", "Takin' Care of Business" and "Highway to Hell", and save "Free Bird" for the open highway. For a party, "Rock and Roll All Nite", "We Will Rock You", "My Sharona" and "Walk This Way" get everyone singing. For more, see our road trip songs.

70s rock songs for karaoke

At karaoke, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the ultimate group number, "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Hotel California" fill the room, and "Dream On" is a challenge for confident singers. For more, see our best karaoke songs.

More 70s music

For deeper dives, see our Fleetwood Mac songs, Bruce Springsteen songs, Steve Miller Band songs and 70s disco songs.

A rock song about them

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