Top 10 Best Rage Against the Machine Songs

The Top Ten
1 Killing in the Name

The song build-up gives the listener loads of suspense, and the style and tone of the song really show the way this band likes to play. In addition, the song really shows what Rage Against the Machine is capable of.

Amazing song. My bandmates and I are doing this song in the Battle of the Bands. I can't believe Bombtrack is so far down, though. Oh well. This song still is legendary. Stick it to the man!

This song is the best Rap Metal song I've heard. Not even Limp Bizkit is real competition to a much better Rap Metal band with much better songs, like Rage Against the Machine.

2 Bulls on Parade

This song is so good! When I was young, I used to hear it. I liked it a lot. It was loud and fast. I thought all music was like that. Now, I love Rage Against the Machine, and this song is very special.

Bulls on Parade is by far the best song of RATM. Killing in the Name of is... eh, okay I suppose, but I wouldn't say it's their number 1 because it doesn't even have many lines. As for Bulls on Parade, that song is what makes them also earn the title of the best rap metal band ever!

Killing in the Name of is alright, but it just doesn't seem to get the hard-hitting argument across to me. Besides, this is the first RATM song I have heard, so it has a special place in my heart.

3 Guerilla Radio

Listen to the lyrics... It's deserving of a top 2 spot. It's just awesome. Whether you like or dislike the band, you have to agree that this song is a masterpiece.

I love that guitar intro. It sounds so unique, just like all of their song intros.

Simply because it made Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 a legendary skate game.

4 Know Your Enemy

Everything in this song is perfect from head to toe. The cool effect-ridden intro followed by one of the best Rage riffs. Melody and lyrics are fantastic. The backing vocal bridge is just great, and the groovy solo is easily one of Morello's best.

It all comes together in this song: excellent bass, tight drums, outrageous vocals, and Tom Morello's incredible guitar skills. It has a devilish rhythm, incredible energy, and the lyrics exemplify what RATM is all about. In short: it rocks.

This song is raw, heavy, and ridden with powerful lyrics. I even heard a version of the song that featured MJK, and that made it all the better. I think any song by them off this album is good, but this one is awesome.

5 Wake Up

Not only is this an explosively political song that attacks the entire system, but the lyrics are of superior quality even for Rage Against the Machine's standards. Not to mention the rhymes throughout the entirety of the track are some of the highest quality of any Rage song. Put simply, this is sick.

The very epitome of Rage Against the Machine - passionate, energetic, loud, and one hell of a riff. This song has several different parts and finishes, leaving you wanting to punch through a wall and start a revolution, though the song itself is only about propaganda. Oh, and the Matrix.

6 Sleep Now In the Fire

No idea how people think this song is underrated compared to Know Your Enemy or Wake Up. This was always one of their top 6 biggest songs. Oh well.

This song is always forgotten. People tend to listen to the first album and extract from that. Much better than most of their other tunes.

I love this song. Definitely my favorite. The riff is catchy as hell, the bass and drums are dope, and the vocals kick ass!

7 Bombtrack

Legendary song for this band and rock in general. It should be number 4 or 5 at least! When this song kicked off the releases for their self-titled album, there was NOTHING remotely like it on the radio waves. We need to pay tribute to this band and this particular song for bringing heavy music to the mainstream.

This song is godly! Definitely #1 to me. Tom's pure metal, fused with Timmy C's heavy bass, accompanied by Zack's badass lyrics, pulled together by Brad's half rock/half hip-hop beats, make this song undeniably awesome!

8 Freedom

It's the climactic end to what's, in my opinion, their best studio album. There's such a powerful message in this song, from the lyrics themselves to the raw emotion heard in Zach's voice, especially towards the end of the song. This deserves to be in the top 3 for sure.

Freedom?

Yeah, right.

Why is this song so low? It should be much higher in rating.

I wanted to put this track higher on the list but already used my vote for Maria, which is far better than the ratings appear to reflect.

In my humble opinion, this should probably be number 1.

9 Testify

Testify and Renegades of Funk should both be higher up. Killing in the Name of and Gorilla Radio should be 1 and 2.

This song is so good that it makes you want to punch a politician in the face.

Awesome song, should certainly be at least third (preferably higher).

10 Bullet in the Head

Great song. Sums up Rage for me. Great lyrics, great rhythm, strange weird driven lead guitar. The one lyric, 'They say jump, you say how high,' is so effective and memorable. Awesome song.

Has always been and will always be my favorite song. I used to make my boyfriend play this on his bass.

Genius, simple as that. The guitar sounds like nothing I've heard before or since.

The Contenders
11 Calm Like a Bomb

This song is really good. It's loud with the siren and quick with the words. If you had an alarm clock, make it with the first part of the song starting with "feel the funk blast," or whatever it says!

I'd have to say that Killing in the Name is probably the best, but I voted for this song because a No. 7 ranking is far too low for one of the best RATM songs.

Feel the funk blast!

Look, it's an incredible song. Amazing lyrics and a boss bassline. Other songs are just as good but I'm sorry, this one is my personal favorite.

12 Renegades of Funk

This song is slower than the others, but that means if you aren't a Rage Against the Machine fan, you will have more of a chance of liking this song!

This song should be considered in so many teachings of music because of its range from one genre to the next.

This makes people want to be, or wish they were, musical.

This is the song that got me into RAGE and made me want to hear more of their music. The bass, the drums, the singing, and Tom Morello on the guitar are spectacular.

13 Born of a Broken Man

Very tough choice, especially since every single Rage Against The Machine song, in my opinion, is absolutely incredible. Although there's something about this song I just prefer over others, I can't quite put my finger on it though. It's just an amazing song!

The calm lead-up, the explosion of thundering riffs, and the stomping of Tom and Zach's feet when the riffs are played just make this song cool. Above cool.

I love Rage Against the Machine, and if I had to pick my favorite, it would be this by far. The guitar riffs and lyrics are amazing. One of the best.

14 Take the Power Back

How is this song not higher on the list? It is one of their better songs, focusing on a very important issue: the Eurocentric schools in the USA. It can also relate to schools around the world. Zack's lyrics are very emotional and passionate, while Tom's guitar solo is a classic.

It is their best song. I think Tom Morello's guitar solo is the best he's done, even if he didn't use the wacky effects for it like he normally would. It's also on their best album.

The teacher stands in front of the class. The lesson plan he can't recall. The students' eyes don't perceive the lies notched on every wall.

15 Down Rodeo

The sliding on the neck of the guitar is amazing! The drum and bass solo at the end really sets this song apart from others!

By far one of their top 10 songs! How the hell was this not listed up there?

16 Fistful of Steel

Are you kidding me? This is definitely my favorite Rage song. It should be top 5. It has great vocals by Rocha, and the beginning of the song is just sick. The solo is awesome. This is such an underrated song. And if the vibe was suicide, then you would push the button. But if ya bowin' down, then let me do the cuttin'. Yeah! Come on!

Morello's sound effects are insane in this track, the "siren" effect during the verses goes so hard with the bass/drum groove. I can understand how the chorus is a little anti-climactic, but the guitar solo and the end of the song are so good.

17 No Shelter

This is the national anthem of the USA. Not officially, obviously, but factually. It explains the evil, the distortion, and the cause of confusion. It doesn't hate on the USA, it hates what the nation has done with its power - what we have let it do.

How is it at 40? Seems like this is their most underrated song, seeing as how it's not featured on most top 10 lists for RATM songs. Definitely my favorite.

How is this number 36?! This is an awesome song with lyrics that are, in my opinion, 100% true!

18 People of the Sun

One of my absolute favourite head-banging tracks ever!

19 Maria

One of the most underrated RATM songs. The slow funky verses building to the hard-hitting riff crescendo, along with the excellent lyrical storytelling, makes this song a standout track on the Battle of Los Angeles, and my personal favorite RATM song.

20 Pistol Grip Pump

This is one of the greatest RATM songs! Why is it so low down in the poll?

21 Township Rebellion

The main riff makes this such a powerful song! Morello's guitar playing in this song is just impossible to get out of your head.

This is the most unique song ever written. The sound effects are so unusually pleasurable!

Wicked song. Great main riff. One of the best Rage Against the Machine songs ever made.

22 Vietnow

This should be in the top five, and of all their songs, this one, for me, is the catchiest. I believe it is about the media and whoever is controlling it. So, shut down the devil's sound!

How is this not in the top 10?! Hell, this might be their number 1! The lyrics are phenomenal, Tom Morello's guitar playing is fantastic, and the whole song itself is a masterpiece!

This song talks about war, politics, and the world. It's one of the songs that changed history.

It's the greatest song from Evil Empire! - The greatest song after their first album!

23 The Ghost of Tom Joad
24 Wind Below

Wow! This should be at least top 5. The way the guitar in the background goes doo doo doo is awesome!

25 How I Could Just Kill a Man

One of Rage's lesser-known songs, it still stands as an epic in my books. It's from the great Renegades cover album.

This is one good song, people. Yeah!

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