Top Ten Styx Songs

Awesome, man. I mean, the piano is just amazing to begin with, and the song strengthens when the guitar enters. It just freaks me out how people created awesome songs like those bands in the 80s. However, I wouldn't say that Styx doesn't have better songs like Boat on a River (surprisingly still about water and sailing) and Renegade with an awesome riff, but this one speaks to me the most. After all, you decide what's best depending on your opinion (I'd be okay with anything on the first ten list).

For the most part, history has shown that Dennis DeYoung was the creative leader, best songwriter, and the reason for the band's success.

I do like Tommy Shaw and JY songs. However, Dennis DeYoung is Styx.

"Renegade" is Styx's greatest song. How could it not be #1? "Renegade" is my favorite song ever. I love how it starts out kind of on the slow side, and then Tommy Shaw yells out, "Yeah!" and the song just keeps getting better at that point. It just keeps getting better and better. I hope Styx keeps making more songs like this.

No way! How is this not #1? Come Sail Away just repeats itself, although it still is an instant classic. Renegade is just better in every way.

Okay, I'm kinda pissed that this is so close to being 1st place. This is the ultimate Styx song. Mr. Roboto is a close second.

This is the very first song I remember hearing as a child, so it has always had a special meaning to me. I just love it!

This song is awesome. Maybe it's the best song about a robot.

Styx had Come Sail Away, Renegade, and Blue Collar Man, but they're not as conceptual and operatic as this one.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. P.S. Best vocals from Dennis.

I remember it when it first came out, and even today, I play it relentlessly. It resonates with raw energy, and our country relies on its blue-collar workforce's energy to be a country.

Blue Collar Man is a song whose message still applies today. Also, its introduction is outstanding.

If I had to pick a personal theme song for myself, this would be it!

The Wooden Nickel era marked an early creative slump for the band as they were just getting started. However, there were some standout gems from those albums. "Lady" was the song that introduced the world to Styx. As a millennial, the first time I heard it was through that one Simpsons scene where Homer, as Odysseus, is forced to go down the River Styx while this song played in the background.

For some reason, I also liked "The Serpent Is Rising," which combines early arena rock and American prog, despite the joke/filler tracks. "Winner Takes All" and "Jonas Psalter" have some great harmonies. Early Styx, much like early Kansas, had some good deep cuts, but both bands didn't reach their peak status until later in the decade.

Nothing against hard rock and progressive songs. I love Zeppelin, for example. But for me, this is the most melodic, emotionally tugging, and memorable of all their songs. As an analogy, "Ten Years Gone," "Thank You," and "Going to California" were some of Zep's best stuff, even though their harder stuff got more airplay.

Babe captures my emotion. It's the greatest love song. It takes me back to the time I spent with someone I loved.

It still makes me cry sometimes at night when I'm listening to it.

I was sixteen when I first fell in love with their music. It always brings back wonderful nostalgic memories. This is an awesome album. I used to listen to their music on an eight-track tape player in my car until it had worn out. Such a wonderful combination of sounds and words. This is a magically musical album.

The first album I ever bought, the first song I ever listened to in headphones as a little kid sitting cross-legged in front of an old Sylvania Hi-Fi. Not only does this song bring back great memories, but it is also a structural masterpiece.

I really like this one! I can't believe it's not in the top ten. It is more outside the box for these guys. They get away from the ballads with this one.

It's got a strong groove and a great beat!

This should be in the top 5, in my opinion.

Should be one of their top 3 songs.

This song is basically everything good about the band packed into one epic song. It's even better with Prelude 12 added to it.

Second best is Babe. Sorry.

Suite Madame Blue is the best Styx song ever. The real question is, which is #2? Come Sail Away, Lady, Lorelei, Crystal Ball, or Renegade? Or Light Up...

Honestly, I love all of Styx's songs, but I feel that this one is especially underappreciated.

Light up, everybody! Join us in this celebration! Light up and be happy! Sweet, sweet sounds will fill the air.

This definitely deserves top 10. Come on!

Come on, you are "fooling yourself" if you do not totally dig this tune! Seriously, you have to be an "angry young man" to not like this song.

Okay, enough of the cheesy puns. Tommy Shaw at his best surely signals Styx at theirs!

This song is probably their most progressive rock-like. As a prog rock fan, it's natural that this one is my favorite. Throughout the song, it shows off vocals, instrumentation, quick tempo, and slow tempo. What's not to like?

"Why must you be such an angry young man when your future looks quite bright to me."

This line has stuck with me and taught me to stay optimistic and thankful, not taking anything for granted.

I am a Styx junkie from the late 70s and 80s, and notwithstanding all their great songs from my era, "A Day," which features the late John Curulewski (Tommy Shaw's predecessor), tops my list. It's a psychedelic "Come Sail Away" from an earlier era of Styx music. Give yourself a treat and get on over to YouTube and listen to it now!

This song is so proggy!

It sounds like it could be by King Crimson.

This has to be the most beautiful Styx song. I love how it starts out with a soft, classical piano intro, but then the singing starts, and the song changes completely. At that point, it gets more and more awesome. It's such a sentimental song, with poignant lyrics, and the song builds and builds, with Dennis DeYoung continuing to wail the lyrics alongside the screaming guitars. It's the perfect power ballad.

When it goes into the string part, it's on! "Dance for me, I beg you" sends chills up the spine. Then the solos and harmonies hit you like a ton of bricks and keep on going.

I agree that this song should be in the top five. Driving guitar is what rock is all about, and this song has it. Roll the windows down, crank it up, and rock on.

I love the upbeat tempo of this song!

Definitely deserves to be higher up, possibly top 5!

Just rediscovered this song after many years. Probably my favorite Styx song of all time.

This should be a bar anthem right next to Don't Stop Believin'!

Class of '89 here. This was our class song!

I still cannot believe they did not release this as a single. It was poppy yet edgy, with Dennis DeYoung and James Young, and would have hit the charts. It has a little of everything Styx: this time, JY on lead vocals with the signature backup vocals of Tommy Shaw, Dennis DeYoung, et al., hypnotic keyboards (and horns?), and haunting guitar.

I have peeked at this list off and on over the years. While this tune is a diamond surely embedded deep in the clay of the embankment of Styx, I am in total disbelief that it has taken this long to make this list. The 75th song! No way. It would be at least at the back end of this late 70s/80s Styx aficionado's top 10.

For me, this is the Styx song that reminds me of Queen the most. In fact, the whole song is a power ballad that's very reminiscent of Queen or Genesis's songs, and it's not hard to see why. The acoustic guitar buildup to the chorus, the way the band screams out the harmonies throughout (though not literally), and the synth/electric guitar/harmony solo on the bridge. This song is an example of pure musicianship coming from the band, and it rings clear that the mid-to-late 70s were breeding grounds for songs like this.

I love this song. The words are powerful and have so much meaning to me. I consider it hymn-like. Roseanne.

Awesome song with amazing lyrics!

One of the most versatile bands ever!

While not the best Styx song, this is perhaps the most underrated. I love how the tension builds during the instrumental part, and the guitar right after the chorus.

This has always been my favorite. Their building melodies reach a brilliant finish. They tell a great tale. This was a great song in concert.

Brilliant, underrated song! Builds to a triumphant Pink Floyd/Ozzy-like symphony before launching you to the album's epic finale. Awesome track!

Come on, how is this not yet in the top 5? Or top 10? The lyrics are very peaceful, telling a story about a man's journey, and the instruments used were perfectly chosen. Renegade is another awesome song but by far overrated compared to Boat on the River.

Tommy Shaw was awesome! This song became a legend to me and my friends. It was our anthem of sorts. Since 4 out of 5 of us went into the Navy at the same time, I remember playing this song while stationed in Australia. It became a song that was requested more than any other.

This song is such a rock anthem. When I saw them in April 2013 in Springfield, Mass, they opened with this song, and it was so powerful.

This song is a mighty rock and roll classic in my book.

Terrific song, but it really has to be played right after AD 1928 for the best appreciation.

I really think they should have just made them one song.

While probably (definitely) not in the top ten, it's a great song to just listen to or give to your friends who aren't into music like Styx.

An iconic guitar opening. How is this not higher?

And though the legend was pure fantasy, we still need the hope it brings, so let's sing.

Just a fun tune from their best-of live concert, Caught in the Act. It was the one studio recording they did for the "album."

Indeed, the album opens with "Music Time." It has a fun, quirky video that goes with it as well. A forgotten Styx tune, for sure, but a pleasant surprise when you give it a listen.

Way catchier than it is given credit for - it even made the Top 40 back in '84. It just barely made it (#40)!