The 10 Most Powerful Rock Songs Ever Recorded

I know powerful is a subjective word. So let me explain: these are songs that give me goosebumps, give me energy, make me want to run at full speed - I think that sums it up.

Obviously, I view two of the bands on this list as the two most powerful recording artists of all time...thus the multiple mentions.

10. Stigmata Ministry I know this probably sounds pretty mild by some of today's insane standards, but when this song came out I thought it was one of the wildest things I'd ever heard. To this day it fires me up. This was from the same time period as the Nine Inch Nails debut and Tones On Tail's "OK, This Is The Pops"...just a golden era of crazed energy.

9. Lucretia My Reflection The Sisters of Mercy "This Corrosion" is the better-known song from this album, but I love the slow burn of "Lucretia". That bass and snare at the beginning are a song all by themselves, but when Andrew Eldritch starts his baritone rumble and the distorted guitar kicks in, I'm ready to lift some weights.

8. Achilles Last Stand Led Zeppelin "Presence" is probably Led Zeppelin's most unknown album, and frankly, it's kind of a mixed bag to me. But "Achilles Last Stand" is practically an album in itself. Jimmy Page constructs the music from a classical composer's 'variations on a theme' mentality, and the song contains those incredible changing time signatures that make Led Zeppelin music so ageless. Epic, epic song.

7. Sabotage Beastie Boys Hilarious video, awesome song, perfect structure. When all three Boys start yelling at the end of the middle break, the hair on my neck stands up. As Sir Stewart Wallace might say, "Well done, chaps...well done."

6. Tame Pixies Most of this album could be on this list, so I'll pick the wildest and most visceral song. "Tame" is the song that made me love Pixies. To this day, I can't say that I fully understand it, but whatever is going on in Black Francis' head is 100% sincere. fell on your face in those bad shoes...

5. Immigrant Song Led Zeppelin What a crazy, crazy work of art. Page's lunging guitar is like a runaway locomotive, Bonham sounds like he's playing his drums with baseball bats, Plant riffing "Bali Ha'i", and those Thor lyrics...could have been a mess, instead it's pure awesome.

4. The Light Before We Land The Delgados Not a lot of people know this band, but this song is worth checking out. It was used in the anime "Gunslinger Girl", but is worthy of a 70mm film masterpiece. Emma Pollock's solo stuff is pretty good too, but this song is in a class by itself. Imagine if Wagner were alive today writing indie rock.

3. Never Let Me Down Again Depeche Mode An indicator of how much I love this song: even after 25 years, if it comes on the radio I blast the volume. When those massive bass notes come in at the beginning, it's like the sun exploded. It reminds me a lot of The Cure's "Plainsong", but I give the edge to this one because Dave Gahan's singing is just as powerful as the music.

2. Planet of Sound Pixies The first time I heard this song, I didn't know what to make of it. I was at Hogwild Records in San Antonio with my friend Brian Nasseri and the owner played the newly-arrived single. It sounded like noise (and I was the biggest Pixies fan on earth.) But when it finally, finally sunk in...wow. That insane crescendo at the end where Black Francis' scream blends perfectly with Joey Santiago's guitar and it sounds like wrenches in a blender...and then....BAM! Silence. A fraction of a second, then "Alec Eiffel"....what an album.

1. Kashmir Led Zeppelin Not only the most powerful rock sound ever written, it's the greatest rock song ever recorded period. If you happen to see the documentary It Might Get Loud, make it a point to watch the extras. Jimmy Page explains the chord progressions of "Kashmir" and Jack White and The Edge are looking on as if watching Einstein explain how he came up with the Theory of Relativity. No rock song will ever touch this one, ever.

Well, that's my list.

Just missed: "Heart-Shaped Box", "We Will Rock You", "Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)"

Please feel free to share your thoughts!

---

Jeffrey Dale Starr is a beer enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.