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Rock has such a long and diverse history, it's difficult to give a single list, since early rock is utterly different than contemporary rock. The closest you can probably come to a canonical list is something like this one from Rolling Stone magazine, the most famous and influential rock-oriented magazine: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rolling-stone-top-songs-pictures-photogallery.html

If I was going to give my own, highly-subjective list --of iconic rock songs, not necessarily personal favorites -- it would probably include:

PRE-ROCK
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Tutti Frutti" - Little Richard
"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino
EARLY
"Johnny B Goode" - Chuck Berry
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis
CLASSIC
"Be My Baby" - Ronettes
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
PROGRESSIVE
"Time Has Come" - Chambers Brothers
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zepplin
"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
NEW ORLEANS
"Tipitina" - Professor Longhair
METAL
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Ironman" - Black Sabbath
80s ROCK REVIVAL
"I Love Rock and Roll" - Joan Jett
"Walk This Way" - Aerosmith / Run DMC
"Rock and Roll, Hootchie Koo" - Rick Derringer
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" - Tina Turner
"Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
"Old Time Rock n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Purple Rain" - Prince
"One" - U2 (really 90s, but pre-grunge)
90s GRUNGE & ALTERNATIVE
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"Creep" - Radiohead
2000s
"Hey Ya!" - Outkast
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"Tribute" - Tenacious D
Contemporary
"Tighten Up" - The Black Keys
"Sail" - AWOLNation
"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

I've left off some of my own favorite rock songs and groups --such as the immortal Beatles --because, while they were rock musicians, and their songs are iconic, their best songs are not iconic as rock, but as their own individual thing. I've also included some not-so-favorites because they are iconic as rock.

At any rate, although I'm sure there could be a ton of arguments over any particular song on this list, together, they'll give you a good, roughly chronological sense of the shape of rock over the years from the 50s to the early 2000s.

Immortalized as a playlist here for your convenience and listening pleasure:

Rock has such a long and diverse history, it's difficult to give a single list, since early rock is utterly different than contemporary rock. The closest you can probably come to a canonical list is something like this one from Rolling Stone magazine, the most famous and influential rock-oriented magazine: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rolling-stone-top-songs-pictures-photogallery.html

If I was going to give my own, highly-subjective list --of iconic rock songs, not necessarily personal favorites -- it would probably include:

PRE-ROCK
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Tutti Frutti" - Little Richard
"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino
EARLY
"Johnny B Goode" - Chuck Berry
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis
CLASSIC
"Be My Baby" - Ronettes
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan (named #1 by Rolling Stone)
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
PROGRESSIVE
"Time Has Come" - Chambers Brothers
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zepplin
"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
NEW ORLEANS
"Tipitina" - Professor Longhair
METAL
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Ironman" - Black Sabbath
80s ROCK REVIVAL
"I Love Rock and Roll" - Joan Jett
"Walk This Way" - Aerosmith / Run DMC
"Rock and Roll, Hootchie Koo" - Rick Derringer
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" - Tina Turner
"Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
"Old Time Rock n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Purple Rain" - Prince
"One" - U2 (really 90s, but pre-grunge)
90s GRUNGE & ALTERNATIVE
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"Creep" - Radiohead
2000s
"Hey Ya!" - Outkast
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"Tribute" - Tenacious D
Contemporary
"Tighten Up" - The Black Keys
"Sail" - AWOLNation
"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

I've left off some of my own favorite rock songs and groups --such as the immortal Beatles --because, while they were rock musicians, and their songs are iconic, their best songs are not iconic as rock, but as their own individual thing. I've also included some not-so-favorites because they are iconic as rock.

At any rate, although I'm sure there could be a ton of arguments over any particular song on this list, together, they'll give you a good, roughly chronological sense of the shape of rock over the years from the 50s to the early 2000s.

Immortalized as a playlist here for your convenience and listening pleasure:

Rock has such a long and diverse history, it's difficult to give a single list, since early rock is utterly different than contemporary rock. The closest you can probably come to a canonical list is something like this one from Rolling Stone magazine, the most famous and influential rock-oriented magazine: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rolling-stone-top-songs-pictures-photogallery.html

If I was going to give my own, highly-subjective list --of iconic rock songs, not necessarily personal favorites -- it would probably include:

"Strange Things Happening Every Day" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Johnny B Goode" - Chuck Berry
"Tutti Frutti" - Little Richard
"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis
"Be My Baby" - Ronettes
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
"Time Has Come" - Chambers Brothers
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zepplin
"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Ironman" - Black Sabbath
"Tipitina" - Professor Longhair
"I Love Rock and Roll" - Joan Jett
"Walk This Way" - Aerosmith / Run DMC
"Rock and Roll, Hootchie Koo" - Rick Derringer
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" - Tina Turner
"Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
"Old Time Rock n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Purple Rain" - Prince
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"Creep" - Radiohead
"One" - U2
"Hey Ya!" - Outkast
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"Tribute" - Tenacious D
"Tighten Up" - The Black Keys
"Sail" - AWOLNation
"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

I've left off some of my own favorite rock songs and groups --such as the immortal Beatles --because, while they were rock musicians, and their songs are iconic, their best songs are not iconic as rock, but as their own individual thing. I've also included some not-so-favorites because they are iconic as rock.

At any rate, although I'm sure there could be a ton of arguments over any particular song on this list, together, they'll give you a good, roughly chronological sense of the shape of rock over the years from the 50s to the early 2000s.

Immortalized as a playlist here for your convenience and listening pleasure:

Rock has such a long and diverse history, it's difficult to give a single list, since early rock is utterly different than contemporary rock. The closest you can probably come to a canonical list is something like this one from Rolling Stone magazine, the most famous and influential rock-oriented magazine: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rolling-stone-top-songs-pictures-photogallery.html

If I was going to give my own, highly-subjective list --of iconic rock songs, not necessarily personal favorites -- it would probably include:

PRE-ROCK
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Tutti Frutti" - Little Richard
"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino
EARLY
"Johnny B Goode" - Chuck Berry
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis
CLASSIC
"Be My Baby" - Ronettes
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
PROGRESSIVE
"Time Has Come" - Chambers Brothers
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zepplin
"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
NEW ORLEANS
"Tipitina" - Professor Longhair
METAL
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Ironman" - Black Sabbath
80s ROCK REVIVAL
"I Love Rock and Roll" - Joan Jett
"Walk This Way" - Aerosmith / Run DMC
"Rock and Roll, Hootchie Koo" - Rick Derringer
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" - Tina Turner
"Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
"Old Time Rock n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Purple Rain" - Prince
"One" - U2 (really 90s, but pre-grunge)
90s GRUNGE & ALTERNATIVE
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"Creep" - Radiohead
2000s
"Hey Ya!" - Outkast
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"Tribute" - Tenacious D
Contemporary
"Tighten Up" - The Black Keys
"Sail" - AWOLNation
"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

I've left off some of my own favorite rock songs and groups --such as the immortal Beatles --because, while they were rock musicians, and their songs are iconic, their best songs are not iconic as rock, but as their own individual thing. I've also included some not-so-favorites because they are iconic as rock.

At any rate, although I'm sure there could be a ton of arguments over any particular song on this list, together, they'll give you a good, roughly chronological sense of the shape of rock over the years from the 50s to the early 2000s.

Immortalized as a playlist here for your convenience and listening pleasure:

Rock has such a long and diverse history, it's difficult to give a single list, since early rock is utterly different than contemporary rock. The closest you can probably come to a canonical list is something like this one from Rolling Stone magazine, the most famous and influential rock-oriented magazine: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rolling-stone-top-songs-pictures-photogallery.html

If I was going to give my own, highly-subjective list --of iconic rock songs, not necessarily personal favorites -- it would probably include:

"Johnny B Goode" - Chuck Berry
"Tutti Frutti" - Little Richard
"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zepplin
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Ironman" - Black Sabbath
"Tipitina" - Professor Longhair
"I Love Rock and Roll" - Joan Jett
"Walk This Way" - Aerosmith / Run DMC
"Rock and Roll, Hootchie Koo" - Rick Derringer
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" - Tina Turner
"Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
"Old Time Rock n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Purple Rain" - Prince
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"Creep" - Radiohead
"One" - U2
"Hey Ya!" - Outkast
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"Tribute" - Tenacious D
"Tighten Up" - The Black Keys

I've left off some of my own favorite rock songs and groups --such as the immortal Beatles --because, while they were rock musicians, and their songs are iconic, their best songs are not iconic as rock, but as their own individual thing. At least in my humble opinion. At any rate, although I'm sure there could be a ton of arguments over any particular song on this list, together, they'll give you a good, roughly chronological sense of the shape of rock over the years from the 50s to the early 2000s.

I'll try to put this into a playlist later.

Rock has such a long and diverse history, it's difficult to give a single list, since early rock is utterly different than contemporary rock. The closest you can probably come to a canonical list is something like this one from Rolling Stone magazine, the most famous and influential rock-oriented magazine: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rolling-stone-top-songs-pictures-photogallery.html

If I was going to give my own, highly-subjective list --of iconic rock songs, not necessarily personal favorites -- it would probably include:

"Strange Things Happening Every Day" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Johnny B Goode" - Chuck Berry
"Tutti Frutti" - Little Richard
"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis
"Be My Baby" - Ronettes
"Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
"Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
"Time Has Come" - Chambers Brothers
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zepplin
"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Ironman" - Black Sabbath
"Tipitina" - Professor Longhair
"I Love Rock and Roll" - Joan Jett
"Walk This Way" - Aerosmith / Run DMC
"Rock and Roll, Hootchie Koo" - Rick Derringer
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" - Tina Turner
"Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
"Old Time Rock n Roll" - Bob Seger
"Purple Rain" - Prince
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
"Creep" - Radiohead
"One" - U2
"Hey Ya!" - Outkast
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"Tribute" - Tenacious D
"Tighten Up" - The Black Keys
"Sail" - AWOLNation
"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

I've left off some of my own favorite rock songs and groups --such as the immortal Beatles --because, while they were rock musicians, and their songs are iconic, their best songs are not iconic as rock, but as their own individual thing. I've also included some not-so-favorites because they are iconic as rock.

At any rate, although I'm sure there could be a ton of arguments over any particular song on this list, together, they'll give you a good, roughly chronological sense of the shape of rock over the years from the 50s to the early 2000s.

Immortalized as a playlist here for your convenience and listening pleasure: