10 best The Rolling Stones songs

The Rolling Stones is an English rock band formed in London in 1962. For seven decades, they have been one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pioneered a hard, rhythmic sound that eventually evolved into hard rock.

Singer's Room writes, "The band's first stable lineup consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, who played all instruments, guitarist Keith Richards, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. And in the early years of its existence, Jones was its main leader.

After Andrew Loog Oldham became the band's manager in 1963, he began to encourage them to write their own songs. Jagger and Richards became the authors and main creative forces of the group, pushing Jones into the background. In addition, the latter had serious drug problems, which prevented him from making a significant contribution to the development of the Rolling Stones.

With roots in blues and early rock 'n' roll, the Rolling Stones began by performing cover versions and were at the forefront of the "British Invasion" in 1964, becoming part of the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They then achieved greater success with their own material like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Get Off of My Cloud" (1965) and "Paint It Black" (1966), which became worldwide hits.

Aftermath (1966), their first fully original album, is often considered the most important of their early works.

In 1969, shortly before his death, Jones left the band and was replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor. In the same year, they were first introduced on stage as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". The album Sticky Fingers (1971), which featured the songs "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses" and the first use of the tongue and lips logo, was the first of eight consecutive studio albums to reach the top spot in the United States.

Here are the 10 greatest hits of the Rolling Stones according to Singer's Room.

"Gimme Shelter"

The song "Gimme Shelter" opens the 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song tells about the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape, and fear. It also features the vocals of American singer Merry Clayton.

American writer, music journalist, and cultural critic Graeme Marcus, who once wrote for Rolling Stone magazine, praised the song, saying that the band "has never done anything better."

In 2021, "Gimme Shelter" was ranked 13th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Paint It Black"

"Paint It Black", written and recorded in 1969 by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is a rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences and lyrics about grief and loss.

London Records released the song as a single on May 7, 1966 in the United States, and Decca Records released it on May 13 in the United Kingdom. Two months later, London Records included it as the opening track on the American version of the band's 1966 studio album Aftermath, although it was not on the original British release.

The song originated from a series of improvisational melodies played by Brian Jones on sitar. All five members of the band took part in its final arrangement, although only Jagger and Richards were credited as authors.

"Paint It Black" had a major impact on the nascent psychedelic genre, becoming the first single with a sitar to enter the charts, expanding the audience for this instrument.

"Sympathy for the Devil"

"Sympathy for the Devil" was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and is the title track of the 1968 album Beggars Banquet. The song received critical acclaim and was included in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. According to Acclaimed Music, it ranks 22nd on the critics' lists of all time.

Jagger sings in the first person as the Devil, bragging about his role in each of several historical crimes and repeatedly asking the listener to "guess my name." The singer demands the listener to be polite to him, implicitly condemning them for their collective guilt in the murders and crimes listed.

In the 2012 documentary Crossfire Hurricane, Jagger stated that the song was inspired by Baudelaire's poems and Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, which was published in English translation in 1967.

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is another masterpiece by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, featuring Richards' guitar riff that opens and leads the song. This riff is still considered one of the greatest hooks of all time. The lyrics refer to sexual frustration and commercialism.

The song was first released as a single in the United States in June 1965, and was included in the American version of the Rolling Stones' fourth studio album Out of Our Heads (1965).

"Satisfaction" became a hit and earned the Stones their first number one in the United States. In the UK, the song was initially played only on pirate radio stations as its lyrics were considered too obscene.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

Jagger commented on the creation of this composition,

"'You Can't Always Get What You Want" was something I just played on my acoustic guitar, one of those songs in the bedroom. It turned out to be quite difficult to record because Charlie couldn't play the groove, so Jimmy Miller had to play the drums. I also had an idea to invite a choir, maybe a gospel choir, but at that time there was none.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" exists in two versions: 4:51 on the single and 7:28 on the album.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" was recorded on November 16 and 17, 1968 at Olympic Sound Studios in London. The track is opened by the London Bach Choir (only on the album version), which stands out throughout the song and brings it to the end.

"Tumbling Dice"

"Tumbling Dice", the result of a collaboration between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is written in the rhythm of blues and boogie-woogie, which critics and musicians note for its unusual tempo and groove. The lyrics tell the story of a gambler who cannot remain faithful to any woman.

The song was the lead single from the band's 1972 double album Exile on Main St., released worldwide on April 14, 1972 by Rolling Stones Records.

The song "Tumbling Dice" spent eight weeks on the British singles chart, peaking at number five. In the United States, the single peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. In the Netherlands, Norway and Spain, the song reached the top ten.

"Tumbling Dice" has been recognized by contemporary music critics who have praised her musicality and lyrical skill and has been included in many "best of" lists, including Vulture and Rolling Stone.

"Jumpin' Jack Flash"

"Jumpin' Jack Flash" was released in 1968 as a single and was called by Rolling Stone magazine "supernatural Delta blues in swinging London". This composition was perceived by some as a return to the band's blues roots after the baroque pop and psychedelic music heard on their previous albums Aftermath (1966), Between the Buttons (1967) and especially Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967).

One of the band's most popular and well-known songs, it has been featured in movies and performed by many artists, including Thelma Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Tina Turner. It is currently the band's most popular song, having been performed at concerts over 1,100 times.

It is also included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and is ranked 77th in Acclaimed Music's all-time critics' lists.

"Honky Tonk Women"

"Honky Tonk Women" was released as a standalone single on July 4, 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US (although a country version called "Country Honk" was later included on the album Let It Bleed). It topped the charts in both countries. The song was included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

"Start Me Up"

"Start Me Up" is a song by the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's lead single, it peaked at number one on Australia's Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the Billboard Hot 100, number seven on the UK Singles Chart and in the top ten in many European countries.

Richards commented on the process of its creation as follows,

"It was one of those things that we cut a lot of times; one of those things that you can play around with in the studio endlessly. It's essentially a trial and a process. Like I said, this song was pretty much fixated on the reggae rhythm for a couple of weeks. We were cutting it for Emotional Rescue, but it just wasn't working, so we put it aside and pretty much forgot about it."

"Brown Sugar"

"Brown Sugar" was the opening track and lead single from the album Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it reached number two. In the United States, according to Billboard magazine, it was in the top twenty.

In 2010, Rolling Stone included it in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 495, and "Brown Sugar" was ranked fifth in the list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.