Decade Defining Rock Songs?

[Galway Eagle]

Trying to make a great playlist for each decade, figured rather than using existing lists I'd crowdsource recommendations.

Key word is rock. Can be grunge, metal, punk, classic rock, or whatever just trying to put together one for each decade.

Suggestions please!

As they get put together I'll post the Spotify links if anyone wants to listen to them as well.

[The Sultan]

60s:

Whatever Beatles crap you want
"House of the Rising Sun" - Animals
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - Stones
"My Generation" - Who
"Wouldn't it be Nice" - Beach Boys
"Light My Fire" - Doors
"Purple Haze" - Hendrix


70s

"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin
"Gimmie Shelter" - Stones
"Let It Be" - Beatles
"Layla" - Derek and the Dominoes
"Maggie May" - Rod Stewart
"Won't Get Fooled Again" - Who
"Born to Run" - Bruce
"Hotel California" - Eagles
"Another Brick in the Wall" - Pink Floyd
"London Calling" - The Clash

[The Sultan]

80s

"Born in the USA" - Bruce
"Back in Black" - AC/DC
"Money for Nothing" - Dire Straits
"In the Air Tonight" - Phil Collins
"Every Breath You Take" - Police
"Jump" - Van Halen
"Where the Streets Have No Name" - U2 (Only due to MU connection)
Some Journey song of your choice
"Paradise City" - Guns & Roses

[MUBurrow]

I'm looking forward to what people smarter than me put together for everything mid 90's and beyond.  Rock has been a real hard genre to pin down post-grunge.

[4everwarriors]

"In da year 2525," hey?

[Galway Eagle]

I'm looking forward to what people smarter than me put together for everything mid 90's and beyond.  Rock has been a real hard genre to pin down post-grunge.

I expect a lot of Pop punk, Red Hot Chili Peppers and White Stripes suggestions. Plus there is the whole post grunge genre of Nickleback, 3 doors down etc. 

[CTWarrior]

I expect a lot of Pop punk, Red Hot Chili Peppers and White Stripes suggestions. Plus there is the whole post grunge genre of Nickleback, 3 doors down etc.

I try to pick songs you couldn't escape because of their popularity, with a few others thrown in for their importance.  I don't like a few of these songs, but they were big)

60s
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
Born to be Wild - Steppenwolf
Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix (a few others you may prefer, Hey Joe is my favorite)
The Times They are a'Changin' - Bob Dylan
California Dreamin' - The Mamas and the Papas
Can't Buy Me Love (Impossible to pick one) - Beatles
Light My Fire - The Doors

70s
Do You Feel Like I Do (or some other track from Frampton Comes Alive)-Peter Frampton
I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones (Blitzkreig Bop more popular, probably a better choice but I like this one)
Baba O'Riley - The Who
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed (Maybe because my oldest sister loved it and played it until it was seared into my brain but for that type of person this was hugely important song)
Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppilin
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Black Magic Woman - Santana
American Girl - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers  (Personal favorite, probably doesn't belong here and I need to put in something from Tom Petty)
One Way or Another - Blondie
American Pie - Don McLean
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Walk this Way - Aerosmith
Something by the Bee Gees, it's all nails on the chalkboard to me

80s
Rock the Casbah-The Clash
Whip It - Devo
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Panama - Van Halen (again, many to choose from, I'd have picked Runnin' with the Devil)
Livin' on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard (Has to be most popular strip club song ever, so extra points for that)
Sweet Child O'Mine - Guns and Roses
Rio - Duran Duran (I suppose Hungry Like the Wolf was bigger)
Brass in Pocket - The Pretenders (I like a dozen of their songs better, but I think this was their most popular)
When Doves Cry - Prince
Karma Chameleon - Boy George
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

[Jockey]

I expect a lot of Pop punk, Red Hot Chili Peppers and White Stripes suggestions. Plus there is the whole post grunge genre of Nickleback, 3 doors down etc.

Jack White and RHCP absolutely belong.

Let's save Nickleback and 3 Doors down for a CD of the worst songs.

[reinko]

I expect a lot of Pop punk, Red Hot Chili Peppers and White Stripes suggestions. Plus there is the whole post grunge genre of Nickleback, 3 doors down etc.

90s

Just choose the hits of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Alice In Chains, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Radiohead, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins

[buckchuckler]

Here are my top 3 by decade... Kind of a blend of my favorites and iconicness.  This is fun!  Great topic. 

50's: Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry; Everyday Buddy Holly; Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis
60's: Dazed and Confused, Led Zeppelin; Gimme Shelter, Rolling Stones; EDIT**** Taking out Pinball Wizard, to Substitute (see what I did there) Tales of Brave Ulysses, Cream
70's: Stairway to Heaven (Really all of Zeppelin IV), Led Zeppelin; Paranoid, Black Sabbath; Time, Pink Floyd (easily substitute anything from Dark Side, The Wall (79!  So close to being the best album of the 80s hahaha!) or Wish you Were Here.)
80's: Paradise City' G'n'R (again, Appetite, to me defines 80's rock and roll); Pride (In the Name of Love), U2 (Easily sub anything from War, Boy, or Unforgettable Fire); One, Metallica
90's: Learing to Fly, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; Enter Sandman, Metallica; Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
00's: Times Like These, Foo Fighters, Schism; Tool; No One Knows, Queens of the Stone Age

So some were really tough to limit to 3.  The 2000's and beyond suck, everything that is good is probably beyond "rock" and into the "Metal" category (so obviously I included Metallica as rock, as I think they covered both pretty handily.).  Hard to not at least mention some other bands like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and RHCP that killed it in the 90s.  Also just want to throw out there that 70s-80s Aerosmith is fantastic, and that Dire Straits was great in the 80s. 

[Galway Eagle]

Jack White and RHCP absolutely belong.

Let's save Nickleback and 3 Doors down for a CD of the worst songs.

Hahaha Kryptonite's my guilty pleasure song.

[Jockey]

Hahaha Kryptonite's my guilty pleasure song.

We all got a couple songs like that.

[Billy Hoyle]

'80's - Born in the USA, Purple Rain, Jump, Where the Streets Have No Name, I Won't Back Down, Welcome to the Jungle, Livin' On A Prayer, Don't Stop Belivin' (begrudgingly)

'90s - Smells Like Teen Spirit (I feel this is THE defining song of the 90's), One, Evenflow, Wonderwall (or Don't Look Back in Anger), Enter Sandman, Keep 'Em Separated, Santa Monica.

[buckchuckler]

'80's - Born in the USA, Purple Rain, Jump, Where the Streets Have No Name, I Won't Back Down, Welcome to the Jungle, Livin' On A Prayer, Don't Stop Belivin' (begrudgingly)

'90s - Smells Like Teen Spirit (I feel this is THE defining song of the 90's), One, Evenflow, Enter Sandman, Keep 'Em Separated, Santa Monica.

Come out and play.

Smash was a freaking great album.  Lots of fun songs on there.

[Galway Eagle]

Weird that people suggest Green Day and foo fighters for the 90s I might argue they've seen more success in the 2000s.

Also realize we've had two decades in the 2000s now so I have a ton for 2000-2009 but not so much for 2010-2019

[Billy Hoyle]

Weird that people suggest Green Day and foo fighters for the 90s I might argue they've seen more success in the 2000s.

Also realize we've had two decades in the 2000s now so I have a ton for 2000-2009 but not so much for 2010-2019

Dookie was an awesome album that came out of nowhere in 1994, ushering in mainstream punk.  Basket Case would be a great addition to a "defining" songs list.

[Galway Eagle]

Dookie was an awesome album that came out of nowhere in 1994, ushering in mainstream punk.  Basket Case would be a great addition to a "defining" songs list.

100% I remember being a kid and trying to sing along to it when my high school sister would put it on.

[Celtic Truth]

2000's in no particular order

Mr Brightside - the killers (this is #1)
Seven nation army - white stripes
Stacy's mom - fountains of Wayne
kryptonite - 3 doors down
Numb/encore - linkin Park and Jay Z
Drops of Jupiter - train
Beverly Hills - weezer
Dirty little secret - all American rejects
Scars - papa roach
Ocean Avenue - yellowcard
In the end - linkin Park
Dani California- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Boulevard of broken dreams & American Idiot - Green Day 

[Celtic Truth]

1990's in no particular order

Enter sandman - Metallica
Smells like teen spirit - Nirvana
Wonderwall - oasis
Californiacation - RHCP
Zombie - the cranberries
Mary Janes last dance - Tom petty
All the small things - blink 182
Semi charmed life - 3rd eye blind
Under the bridge - RHCP
Everlong - foo fighters
Dammit - blink 182
Closing time - semisonic
Everlong - foo fighters
Come as you are - Nirvana
Alive - Pearl Jam
Iris - the goo goo dolls
Dust on the bottle - David lee Murphy
What's my age again - blink 182
Learning to fly - Tom petty
Just a girl - no doubt
One - U2
All star - smash mouth
Good riddance (time of your life) - Green Day

[Dish]

AC/DC, just tell Alexa to play a mix.

[Billy Hoyle]

1990's in no particular order

Enter sandman - Metallica
Smells like teen spirit - Nirvana
Wonderwall - oasis
Californiacation - RHCP
Zombie - the cranberries
Mary Janes last dance - Tom petty
All the small things - blink 182
Semi charmed life - 3rd eye blind
Under the bridge - RHCP
Everlong - foo fighters
Dammit - blink 182
Closing time - semisonic
Everlong - foo fighters
Come as you are - Nirvana
Alive - Pearl Jam
Iris - the goo goo dolls
Dust on the bottle - David lee Murphy
What's my age again - blink 182
Learning to fly - Tom petty
Just a girl - no doubt
One - U2
All star - smash mouth
Good riddance (time of your life) - Green Day

Closing Time, Good Riddance, Iris, Semi-Charmed Life. Those were defining songs of my final semester at MU (add in Tubthumping too).

[Galway Eagle]

2000's in no particular order

Mr Brightside - the killers (this is #1)
Seven nation army - white stripes
Stacy's mom - fountains of Wayne
kryptonite - 3 doors down
Numb/encore - linkin Park and Jay Z
Drops of Jupiter - train
Beverly Hills - weezer
Dirty little secret - all American rejects
Scars - papa roach
Ocean Avenue - yellowcard
In the end - linkin Park
Dani California- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Boulevard of broken dreams & American Idiot - Green Day

solid lists got anything for the 2010s? Thats the one im really struggling with.

[MU82]

Is disco "rock"?

If so, pretty much gotta throw a couple BeeGees numbers into 70s. If not, never mind.

[buckchuckler]

Is disco "rock"?

If so, pretty much gotta throw a couple BeeGees numbers into 70s. If not, never mind.

You should leave! 

[StillAWarrior]

Drops of Jupiter - train

My daughter and I are going to see Train (and the Goo Goo Dolls) tomorrow night.  We're really looking forward to it.