Top 10 Rolling Stones Singles

Sympathy for the Devil: The Rolling Stones

'Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name...' six minutes of brilliance

Get Off Of My Cloud

An anthem for mid-60s rebellion

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

I can never tell if the choral opening is supposed to be ironic, but in any case, it sets an appropriately dramatic tone for this emotional song about disappointment and resignation. The lyrics to the verses are a bit obtuse and mysterious, but the song nevertheless manages to sound like the end of an era, which is appropriate considering that it came out right at the end of the 60s.

Gimme Shelter

It first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling. They first played "Gimme Shelter" live in 1969 at Pop Go the Sixties. "Gimme Shelter" was placed at #38 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

After rising to fame as a covers band with a powerful sound, the Rolling Stones had only been writing their own material for a year or two when they came up with 1965’s Satisfaction, now widely regarded as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever. The song instantly distinguished the Stones from all the warm and fluffy British bands of the era. Not to denigrate the Beatles or any other great 60s bands, but the Rolling Stones did more than any other band to define their era through music, and Satisfaction was their first big statement.

Wild Horses

This is one of those songs where the chorus is so great that it’s hard to even remember how the verse goes. But it’s not the Stones’ fault that they had pure gold for a chorus. And if you listen closely, there’s actually a lot of beautiful guitar playing throughout this song, and Jagger’s vocal delivery is unusually sweet and vulnerable.

Brown Sugar

With the Sticky Fingers album, the Stones started to come out of their dark, apocalyptic period. To me, this isn’t such a great thing, as their apocalyptic stuff is their best, but I can understand why they wouldn’t want to stay in that state of mind for more than a couple of albums. Of course, the lyrics to Brown Sugar are on the depraved side, but they’re clearly having fun with it.

Paint It Black

While the Beatles were dropping joyful little ditties like Yellow Submarine, Michelle, and Good Day Sunshine, the Stones were exploring the dark depths of the human psyche and writing disturbing songs about, well, whatever Paint It, Black is about—seemingly a guy morning a dead girlfriend, although other interpretations are possible.

Ruby Tuesday

The Stones liked to portray a tough exterior when it came to love and sex, but deep down they were just a bunch of softies prone to doting over the women in their lives. This wistful song, about a free-spirited young woman who doesn’t want to be chained down, defined a whole generation of young people who just wanted to chase after a better world, no matter what the cost.

Angie

Heartbreaking tale of the end of a romance.