Top Ten Best Tom Petty Songs

The Top Ten
1 Free Fallin'

Breaking news: Tom Petty is dead on October 2, 2017. Unfortunate times indeed that people are facing when it comes to losing famous rock stars that put their hearts and souls into making music. Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell are gone too.

Nowadays we are stuck with untalented Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift. Their artificial "music" can't top Tom Petty's masterpiece music. Poker Face can't outsmart Running Down A Dream. Anaconda couldn't beat Won't Back Down. Wrecking Ball never clobbered Refugee. Bad Blood was told "Don't Come Around Here No More". Even Baby and Sorry couldn't be Free Fallin'.

This is it. Free Fallin' withstood the tests of time and it's still an instant classic. Oldies but goodies.

2 Runnin' Down a Dream

Every time I hear this song I have to tap my feet to the drum beat and of course play air guitar! I like a lot of Tom Petty but this is a fave.

Class tune, keeps you captivated all the war through. Never get bored of it!

Oooh yea I love it I love it! Umm.. And I just love it and love it.. Yea I do love this song laugh out loud.. because it felt so good.. Like everthing is possible.

3 Mary Jane's Last Dance

Incredible song! It has so many beautiful elements and the lyrics are so thought provoking it could be interpreted in many ways. Everything about it adds up to perfection. Every layer of the song AHHHMAZING!

This song is simply the best song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The harmonica, the Bob Dylan-esque vocals, the lyrics (which possibly has two meanings), and the guitar just sound amazing.

This is my favorite song by him. It's got a really nice melancholic feel to it. I would love to drive down a lonely highway in the evening while listening to this song.

4 I Won't Back Down

Such a great song and it suits Petty perfectly. Not many people know it has ex-Beatle George Harrison and ELO frontman Jeff Lynne playing guitar and singing backing vocals.

Great guitar song! Trying to get my husband to play this one. He does last dance for Mary Jane and stop draggin my heart around.

Great song but I think it was actually written by Johny Cash. Still awesome and very inspiring!

5 American Girl

Great song, but you know, all his songs are! I 3 the Heartbreakers so much! Other songs off this album that are awesome are like "rocking' Around with You" or "The Wild One, Forever" or even the strange "Strangered in the Night"... Highly respected and recommended rock band!

This is, without a doubt, the quintessential Tom Petty song. This one laid the blueprint for everything that followed. Free Fallin', I Won't Back Down, Mary Jane's Last Dance mean nothing without this one...

Amazing song and it was well enough known to make an appearance on guitar hero. It is probably Toms favorite song too because it is always the song he plays last.

6 Refugee

I'm listening to a drum cover of this song right now... Love love love it! The reason behind this is that I had a strange dream my friend was playing this song. I was amazed... Love this song a lot. Beautiful. Anyone that doesn't vote for this is a refugee! Whatever that means.

My father used to play this song a lot when I was growing up. Just rediscovered it about twenty years on. Fantastic song.

Generally, I find his vocal so annoying. This song is the exception. It is wonderful!

7 Learning to Fly

Tom Petty proved more than any other artist that you don't have to be a great guitarist to write great songs. This and Wildflowers are two of his easiest songs to play yet they're also two of his best. Free Fallin' isn't that hard to play either.

The genius of the song is that he makes it all sound so easy. A beautiful lyric driven by a masterful band and a lesson to all aspiring songwriters.

This is Tom Petty's best masterpiece, Just the words and music wanna make you sing with him. This is classic Tom Petty, "So I've started out, from god knows where. I guess I'll know, when I get there. I'm learning to fly, around the clouds, but what goes up must come down. " 1# song.

8 The Waiting

I began listening to Tom in November 2017. My school was practicing "Free Fallin'" for our choir so I asked my Dad to play a song by him, so he went to our Alexa and played my now-favorite Tom song. It's lyrics tell a story of a man in true pain. "Free Fallin'" is a beautiful song but "The Waiting" truly got me hooked

This deserves the top spot, it's been covered by so many great musicians, check out the one with Eddie Vedder, even tom petty was impressed.

Crazy under rated song. This song is one of the best songs I have ever heard!

9 You Don't Know How It Feels

"So let's get to the point, let's roll another joint, lets head on down the road, there's somewhere I gotta go, you don't know how it feels" Love it!

Great direct delivery and perfect drum sound in a room.

Historic technology brought main stream. Brilliant.

10 Don't Come Around Here No More

Classic tune for the ages. Is it his best song. I think so. Should it be in his top ten? Everyone else should most definitely think so.

If this song needs to work it's way into a top ten, you know you are dealing with a great musician.

This song is so awesome. Also, has anyone seen the music video? It's an Alice in Wonderland thing where Alice turns into a big cake that everybody eats at the end. Talk about a way to make a song memorable.

From its opening drums followed by guitar twang this song paints a surreal picture, made ever more dream-like with its music video (watch the video! ). This song is a keeper on my top ten Tom Petty list.

The Newcomers

? Straight Into Darkness
The Contenders
11 Breakdown

Ever since I got the greatest hits album, I have been in love with all the songs on it. But since you can only chose 1, Breakdown is a classic.

This song is the definition of cool, smooth, soft rock at its best! And tom 's vocals are awesome in this!

12 Into the Great Wide Open

The music video was awesome, with Johnny Depp as the aspiring musician Eddie and Lauren Hutton as the cougar with connections who makes him a star.

The only Tom Petty song that truly approaches something beyond standard classic rock fare. Definitely deserves to be far higher up on the list.

Has got to be the most underrated Tom Petty song. Chorus is amazing and reminds me of the free wilderness.

13 Don't Do Me Like That

This is a great Tom Petty Pop Song. Feel good and upbeat.

Shocked at the low position of this one.

14 Listen to Her Heart

You're Gonna Get It! is not exactly Petty's magnum opus, however, no song on this record even compares to the legacy of "Listen To Her Heart," except for maybe the exuberant rocker "I Need To Know."

This song should be number 2 not 10 its really its in guitar hero 6 love the singing and guitar solo

Love this song should be number 2 vote this one up good guitar bass drum and singing

15 I Need to Know

Classic rock song by Tom Petty. I need to Know is his best songs.

16 You Got Lucky

The most underrated Tom Petty song by far. Should be in top 3.

The only song I like by Tom Petty.

17 Here Comes My Girl

A love song that is unapologetically from a man's perspective. In a life filled with struggle, all he needs is her with him to carry on. Plus, he likes her "walk" and wants others to know she belongs to him. Beautiful in it's simplicity. Musically dynamic, vocally expressive, and great to sing along to as well. This, my friends, is a great song!

18 You Wreck Me

Definitely one of his top 10; I'd think #5 myself.

19 Even the Losers

Really? The only way this isn't in the top three is if most of the voters here were born after 1985. Listen to it once for the musicality; a second time for the lyric; a third time for the "Wow, this is my life's anthem! " epiphany to hit you.

"It was nearly last summer we sat on your roof we smoked cigarettes and we stared at the moon" Just the regulars guy anthem excellent song.

Underdog anthem... my life story

20 Change of Heart

Best. Petty song. Ever. So underplayed, so underrated. Classic Tom Petty sound, his unique whiny phrasing, and bittersweet lyrics. If you don't like this song, there's something wrong with you.

Incredible song. I could play this song over and over again. Great vocals, soft but hard and classic Petty vocals. It's fun, intelligent and just rocks!

This song is fantastic. Catchy, with great guitar sound. Way underrated.

21 It's Good to Be King
22 I Should Have Known It
23 The Last DJ

How is this not on the list!? It is a great poppy song that has to be at least in the top 15!

24 A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)

Really under appreciated Tom Petty song. One of my favorites.

How can this not be on the list? Definitely one of his top ten!

25 Yer So Bad
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