Top 10 Best Chuck Berry Songs

When you drop a needle on a classic rock record, you are almost always hearing the direct lineage of one man from St. Louis. Chuck Berry did not just play the guitar. He completely redefined what the instrument could do. As you trace the roots of modern music back to the 1950s, you will find him at the very center. He took the driving beats of rhythm and blues and fused them with the twang and storytelling traditions of country music. You cannot fully understand the evolution of rock music without first acknowledging the foundational blueprint he created during his time at Chess Records.

If you pay close attention to his lyrics, you quickly realize he was the first true poet of the American teenage experience. He wrote directly to your youthful sensibilities about the realities of high school crushes, fast cars, and the overwhelming desire to break free from parental authority. Instead of singing traditional adult blues themes, he directed your attention toward youth culture. He delivered every clever rhyme with a sly wink and a rapid-fire rhythm. His signature double-stop guitar licks became the essential vocabulary for every aspiring musician who ever plugged an electric guitar into an amplifier.

Deciding on the absolute greatest tracks from his extensive catalog is a difficult but rewarding challenge for you to take on. You have to weigh his massive radio hits against incredible B-sides and deeper album cuts that showcase his raw, unfiltered energy. As you explore this collection of his finest work, you are essentially taking a guided tour through the birth of a musical revolution.

The Top Ten

  1. Johnny B. Goode

    We all know this is it. The song is timeless. It's as popular now as it was when it first came out. The first five seconds alone are legendary.

    Johnny B. Goode is one of my favorite songs ever, and I was born 43 years after it was written!

    Back to the Future kind of brought me to love this song. But nonetheless, it is great.

  2. Maybellene

    The start of rock, a gem. But Chuck had so many gems. One fab man of the '50s.

    This should be number one. This song started rock 'n' roll.

  3. Roll Over Beethoven

    I could listen to the guitar intro on this song 1,000 times. I think it is as good as, or better than, Johnny B. Goode.

    Better than Johnny.

  4. Sweet Little Sixteen

  5. Rock and Roll Music

    Best Beatles song, best Berry song.

  6. School Days

    I love this song.

  7. You Never Can Tell

    I love the story, the guitars, and the energetic barroom piano. God bless Pulp Fiction for bringing attention to this classic, the obvious highlight on St. Louis to Liverpool and one of the best rock and roll songs of all time, in my opinion.

    Always liked it more than Johnny B. Goode.

  8. No Particular Place to Go

  9. Too Much Monkey Business

  10. Brown Eyed Handsome Man

    Could be about me.

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Rockin' at the Fillmore

  12. ?

    Our Little Rendezvous

    13. The Contenders

  13. Promised Land

    This is much, much too low on this list. I can't help but smile all the way through. I love it.

  14. Carol

  15. Route 66

    Awesome cover by Chuck Berry. Can't believe it's not on here! I knew this one before most of his others.

    This is my favorite song by Chuck Berry. Getcha kicks on Route 66.

  16. Around and Around

  17. Havana Moon

  18. Down Bound Train

  19. Back In the U.S.A.

  20. You Can't Catch Me

  21. Reelin' and Rockin'

  22. My Ding-A-ling

  23. Wee Wee Hours

  24. House of Blue Lights

  25. Memphis, Tennessee

  26. I've Changed

  27. I'm Talking About You

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