The 40 Most-Played Songs on Classic Rock Radio in 2025

Do you miss the ’80s? Well, just tune into your local classic rock station, problem solved!

According to Mediabase, a music industry service that monitors airplay in over 180 markets, 26 of the 40 most-played songs on classic rock radio in 2025 were released in the ’80s, compared to 13 from the ’70s and just one from the ’90s.

You can see the 40 most-played songs on classic rock radio in 2025 below, and find out where other songs from these artists appear on the full 500-song list.

(We’ve updated this list since its initial publication in August 2025, and noted which songs moved up and down for the final year-end rankings.)

40. Steve Miller Band, “The Joker”
From: The Joker (1973)
(Down from No. 39 in August)

Steve Miller’s first-ever chart-topping single still has a strong hold on rock radio 52 years after its release – which may because people are still trying to figure out what “the pompatus of love” means.

Miller has seven other songs in the Top 500 of this list: “Rock’n Me” at No. 127, “Take the Money and Run” at 194, “Fly Like an Eagle” at 250, “Jet Airliner” at 287, “Jungle Love” at 423, “Swingtown” at 478 and “Threshold” (known as the instrumental intro to “Jet Airliner”) at 489.

39. Phil Collins, “In the Air Tonight”
From: Face Value (1981)
(New)

45 years after its release, Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” remains a pop culture wonder, serving as the theme song for Monday Night Football, providing a soundtrack to countless hysterical videos and of course, remaining the king of the “start this song at this time to hit this part at midnight on New Year’s Eve…” trend.

Collins also appears as part of Genesis twice on this list, at No. 160 with “That’s All” and 415 with “Land of Confusion.”

38. The Black Crowes, “Hard to Handle”
From: Shake Your Money Maker (1990)
(Up from No. 40 in August)

The Black Crowes are the youngest band on this list in terms of recording careers, having released their debut album in 1990. This Otis Redding cover was the second single and became their first and only Top 20 U.S. chart hit. You have to go all the way down to No. 205 on this list to get to their next (and final) song in the Top 500, “She Talks to Angels.”

37. Eagles, “Hotel California”
From: Hotel California (1976)
(Down from No. 35) 

The Eagles have seven songs on the year-end 2025 chart, with the epic title track to their 1976 masterpiece Hotel California scoring the most airplay. “Life in the Fast Lane” is next at No. 176, followed by “Take It Easy” at 190, “Already Gone” at 308, “Heartache Tonight” at 351, “The Long Run” at 361 and “Take It to the Limit” at 486.  Joe Walsh is also represented by “Rocky Mountain Way” at 392 and “Life’s Been Good” at 418, while Don Henley turns up with “The Boys of Summer” at 62 and “Dirty Laundry” at 428, giving the Eagles family 11 songs altogether.

36. Tom Petty, “I Won’t Back Down”
From: Full Moon Fever (1989)
(Unchanged)

The record label folks who told Tom Petty they didn’t hear any hits on his first solo album must be feeling rather silly right about now. Solo or with the Heartbreakers, Petty’s got 15 songs in the Top 500 for 2025 radio airplay. The three highest – “I Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin'” (No. 42) and “Runnin’ Down a Dream” (48) –  all come from Full Moon Fever.

“Mary Jane’s Last Dance” comes in at No. 85, followed by “Don’t Do Me Like That” at 142, “Refugee” at 156, “Don’t Come Around Here No More” at 157, “American Girl” at 179, “You Don’t Know How it Feels” at 230, “Learning to Fly” at 297, “You Got Lucky” at 345, “The Waiting” at 355, “You Wreck Me” at 364, “Into the Great Wide Open” at 367 and “Breakdown” at 395.

35. Blue Oyster Cult, “Burnin’ For You”
From: Fire of Unknown Origin (1981)
(Down from No. 37)

Blue Oyster Cult have two songs in the Top 500, and they’re both in the Top 50. Although Eric Bloom sang most of the band’s songs, guitarist Buck Dharma took lead vocals on both “Burnin’ For You” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” which landed at No. 46.

34. Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
From: Frontiers (1983)
(Unchanged)

Neal Schon and company have eight songs in the Top 500, including one higher up, which we’ll discuss in a minute. Their tally also includes “Any Way You Want It” at No. 47, “Wheel in the Sky” at 110, “Lights” at 168, “Faithfully” at 314, “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” at 384 and “Stone in Love” at 446. Sadly, there’s Bad English or “Oh Sherrie” to be found.

33. AC/DC, ‘Back in Black”
From: Back in Black (1980)
(Down from No. 32)

This is the first of three times you’ll find AC/DC on this chart, with the title track to their 1980 masterpiece Back in Black, which was dedicated to their recently departed singer Bon Scott. Looking backwards, “T.N.T.” placed at No. 59, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” right behind that at No. 60, “Thunderstruck” at No. 82, “Shoot to Thrill” at 143, “Hells Bells” at 144, “Moneytalks” at 169, “For Those About to Rock” at 261, “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)” at 420 and “Have a Drink on Me” at 451.

32. ZZ Top, “Sharp Dressed Man”
From: Eliminator (1983)
(Down from No. 29 in August) 

ZZ Top’s got six songs in the Top 500, and it won’t shock you to learn that half of them are from 1983’s 11-million selling Eliminator. In addition to “Sharp Dressed Man” here at No. 32, that album is also represented by “Gimme All Your Lovin'” at 57 and “Legs” at 97. The band’s more organic earlier works turns up later, with “La Grange” at 178, “Tush” at 265 and “Cheap Sunglasses” at 429.

31. Rush, “Tom Sawyer”
From: Moving Pictures (1981)
(Up from No. 33)

“Tom Sawyer” plants its mean, mean stride high on this year’s list of radio’s most played classic rock songs, coming in at No. 33, ahead of fellow Rush favorites such as “Limelight” at No. 84, “The Spirit of Radio” at 285, “Freewill” at 330, “Fly By Night” at 461 and “Closer to the Heart” at 466.

30. Def Leppard, “Photograph”
From: Pyromania (1983)
(Unchanged)

Def Leppard are the proud authors of 10 songs in the Top 500, and two in the Top 40. The band’s first-ever U.S. chart-topping hit “Photograph” comes in at No. 30, ahead of “Animal” at No. 83, “Rock of Ages” at 113, “Love Bites” at 175, “Rocket” at 188, “Armageddon It” at 226, “Foolin'” at 232, “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” at 243 and “Hysteria” at 311.

29. Led Zeppelin, “Black Dog”
From: Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
(Up from No. 31 in August) 

Led Zeppelin have 15 songs in the Top 500, but rather surprisingly just one in the Top 40. And no, “Stairway to Heaven” isn’t their second most popular song. It comes in at No. 173, behind “Immigrant Song” at No. 67, “Rock and Roll” at No. 78, “Over the Hills and Far Away” at 112, “Ramble On” at 154, “Whole Lotta Love” at 165. Further down the list we have “Kashmir” at 197, “The Ocean” at 304, “D’Yer Mak’er” at 335, “Fool in the Rain” at 374, “All My Love” at 391, “Heartbreaker” at 404, its partner “Living Loving Maid” at 405 and “Hey Hey What Can I Do” at 449.

28. AC/DC, “Highway to Hell”
From: Highway to Hell (1979)
(Unchanged)

Just four of the 12 songs AC/DC placed on this chart come from the Bon Scott era, with the title track to the singer’s final album with the band coming in at No. 28. He’s also got “T.N.T” at 59, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” at 60 and “It’s a Long Way to the Top…” at 420

27. Bryan Adams, “Summer of ’69”
From: Reckless (1984)
(Down from No. 24 in August)

Nobody asked us, but it would seem classic rock radio could stand to play a bit more Bryan Adams. He’s only got two songs on the Top 500, both from 1984’s Reckless. In addition to “Summer of ’69” at 27, “Run to You” reached 273. But where’s “Cuts Like a Knife” or “Somebody?”

26. Scorpions, “No One Like You”
From: Blackout (1982)
(Up from No. 27 in August)

German rock legends the Scorpions, currently celebrating their 60th anniversary, make their first (but not last) arrival in the Top 40 with the lead single from 1982’s Blackout. Their epic 1991 ballad “Wind of Change” also whistled its way into the Top 200, landing at 182.

25. Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
From: A Night at the Opera (1975)
(Down from No. 23 in August)

Queen’s daring, groundbreaking and eternally relevant “Bohemian Rhapsody” lights up the charts at No. 25. We’ll be seeing more of Freddie Mercury and his bandmates higher up on the charts, but here’s a quick look backwards: “You’re My Best Friend” hit 386, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” follows at 331, with “Killer Queen” at 183, “Somebody to Love” at 95, “Fat Bottomed Girls” at 93,  and their David Bowie collaboration “Under Pressure” at 45.

24. Guns N’ Roses, “Paradise City”
From: Appetite for Destruction (1987)
(Up from No. 25 in August)

Axl Rose and company have eight songs in the Top 500, half of them from their genre-shaking 1987 debut album. “Mr. Brownstone” checks in at 385, “November Rain” at 208, “Patience” at 170, their covers of “Live and Let Die” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” at 98 and 64 respectively. Spoiler alert: There’s still two more on the way.

(If you’re curious: Paul McCartney’s version of “Live and Let Die” only hit 306, and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is nowhere to be found on the chart.)

23. Billy Idol, “Rebel Yell”
From: Rebel Yell (1983)
(Up from No. 26 in August)

Four of the songs Billy Idol’s currently playing at his It’s a Nice Day to… Tour Again! shows will be very familiar to classic rock radio listeners. The title track to his best-selling Rebel Yell album turns up here, ahead of “Mony Mony” at 135 and “Dancing With Myself” at 272. And there’s still more (more more) to come…

22. Bon Jovi, “Wanted Dead or Alive”
From: Slippery When Wet (1986)
(Unchanged)

Bon Jovi ride their steel horses into the Top 500 six times. First up at 288 was Jon Bon Jovi’s solo hit “Blaze of Glory,” followed by the band’s “Runaway” at 231, “Bad Medicine” at 107 and “Wanted Dead or Alive” right here at 22. Stay tuned, we’re just about halfway there….

21. Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin'”
From: Escape (1981)
(Down from No. 19 in August)

Although it was “only” the third-highest charting single from their 1981 album Escape, behind “Who’s Crying Now” and “Open Arms,” “Don’t Stop Believin'” has become Journey’s unquestioned signature song, with over two and a half billion streams on Spotify as of August 2025.

20. Billy Idol, “White Wedding”
From: Billy Idol (1982)
(Unchanged)

Billy Idol turns up on our chart for the fourth and final time – not bad for a song that took him just 20 minutes to write!

19. Pink Floyd, “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)”
From: The Wall (1979)
(Down from No. 15 in August)

Despite being about a disinterested in singles as any band in rock history, Pink Floyd place 13 songs in the 2025 classic rock radio Top 500 airplay charts. Here we go (deep breath): “Have a Cigar” at 390, “Learning to Fly” at 341, “Run Like Hell” at 332, “Eclipse” at 296, “Brain Damage” at 291, “Time’ at 269, “Young Lust” at 253, “Money” at 124, “Hey You” at 106, “Comfortably Numb” at 86, “Wish You Were Here” at 68, “The Happiest Days of Our Loves” at 49 and “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” at 19, with the last two songs often being paired together.

18. Scorpions, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”
From: Love at First Sting (1984)
(Unchanged)

You know, it’s very doubtful this song would have charted this high if the band had stuck with their original “Fuck You Like a Hurricane” title. “The record company looked at me and said, ‘You’re completely out of your mind!,” recalled drummer Herman Rarebell. “Which I was.”

17. Aerosmith, “Dream On”
From: Aerosmith (1973)
(Down from No. 14 in August)

Aerosmith are tied with Led Zeppelin and Tom Petty for the most songs on this chart, with 15 apiece. Let’s get this train a rollin’: “Back in the Saddle” starts us off at No. 431, followed by “Livin’ on the Edge” at 324, “Crazy” at 319, “The Other Side” at 302, “Angel” at 289, “Cryin'” at 222, “What it Takes” at 199, “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” at 145, “Janie’s Got a Gun” at 118, “Love in An Elevator” at 114, their cover of “Come Together” at 87, “Rag Doll” at 56, “Walk This Way” at 55 and “Dream On” at 17. Still got one to go, get your talk boxes ready…

16. Kansas, “Carry On Wayward Son”
From: Leftoverture (1976)
(Down from No. 12 in August)

The rest of Kansas wasn’t exactly thrilled when Kerry Livgren brought in a new song just before they headed into the studio to record Leftoverture.

“[We went] ‘Oh, crap!’ We really didn’t want to learn anything else,” guitarist Rich Williams told UCR. “So he starts playing. ‘Whoa! This has got some promise to it!’ So we learned – just barely learned – it and then we went on to the studio.” It was a smart move, as the song gave the band their second biggest chart hit and their most enduring radio staple. (“Dust in the Wind” came in at No. 439.)

15. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, “I Love Rock ‘n Roll”
From: I Love Rock ‘n Roll (1981)
(Up from No. 16 in August)

Three Joan Jett ’80s classics hit the Top 500: “Bad Reputation” at 185, “I Hate Myself for Loving You” at 128 and her cover of the Arrows’ “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which spent seven weeks at the top of the pop charts in 1982.

14. Queen, “Another One Bites the Dust”
From: The Game (1980)
(Up from No. 21 in August)

Here’s Queen again – and not for the last time, with their disco-inspired “Another One Bites the Dust.” Despite the song’s morbid title, it turns out “Dust” is one of the best songs to follow in order to hit the right rate of chest compressions when performing CPR.

13. Aerosmith, “Sweet Emotion”
From: Toys in the Attic (1975)
(Down from No. 11 in August)

After years of working intermittently on the track, Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton brought “Sweet Emotion” to his bandmates when the band suddenly had a free moment. “We had gotten to the point where we finished all of our basic tracks,” he told UCR. “We had an extra day left over, and our producer Jack Douglas asked if anybody had any extra riffs lying around. I started to show it to everybody, and by the end of the afternoon, I kinda showed everybody the parts, we were jamming on it, and refined it into the arrangement that became ‘Sweet Emotion.'”

12. AC/DC, “You Shook Me All Night Long”
From: Back in Black (1980)
(Up from No. 17 in August)

If you need another measure of just how massively successful Back in Black is, here’s one: This is the fifth song song from the album to turn up on this chart, following “Have a Drink on Me,” the title track, “Hells Bells” and “Have a Drink on Me.”

11. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama”
From: Second Helping (1974)
(Down from No. 10 in August)

Lynyrd Skynyrd opened up a six-pack on our chart, starting with “Call Me the Breeze” at No. 438, “Gimme Three Steps” at 262, “What’s Your Name” at 209, “Free Bird” at 131 (seems kind of low, right?), “Simple Man” at 89 and “Sweet Home Alabama” at No. 11.

The latter song famously name-checks Neil Young, who had recently written a pair of songs about racism in the South. “Ronnie just took offense at that, so he just said that as kind of a fun little thing,” Gary Rossington later explained. “But we loved [Neil], always have and still do, a lot.”

10. Boston, “More Than a Feeling”
From: Boston (1976)
(Down from No. 9 in August)

Boston’s debut album one-ups Back in Black by placing six songs on our chart. Admittedly, “Foreplay” and “Long Time” are listed separately but even if you count them as one that’s a tie. “Smokin'” starts us off at No. 424, followed by “Foreplay” at 372, “Long Time” at 366, “Rock & Roll Band” at 347 and “Peace of Mind” at 167. The title track to their follow-up album, Don’t Look Back, also turns up at No. 381.

9. Queen, “We Are the Champions”
8. Queen, “We Will Rock You”
From: News of the World (1977)
(Down from No. 8 and 7 in August)

Rock’s most famously paired songs give Queen two entries in our top 10. Interestingly, according to this chart “We Will Rock You” has been played 66 more times than “We Are the Champions,” suggesting that one or more DJs out there like to leave their listeners hanging.

7. Def Leppard, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”
From: Hysteria (1987)
(Up from No. 13 in August)

It’s hard to remember it as anything but a smashing success now, but Def Leppard’s Hysteria didn’t really catch on in the United States until seven months after its initial release, thanks to this single and some very unlikely saviors.

“The song became a hit because strippers in Florida started requesting it on the local radio station,” guitarist Phil Collen explained in 2016. “It had a second lease of life. Hysteria was all over bar the shouting, and then all of a sudden this song just got popular, and then the album went to Number One. It’s really funny how it suddenly became cool because it was a stripping song.”

6. Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”
From: Whitesnake (1987)
(Down from No. 4 in August)

Five years after releasing the original “Here I Go Again” on Whitesnake’s 1982 Saints and Sinners album, David Coverdale re-recorded a more polished version for the band’s self-titled album. Funny enough, he agreed to do it so the label would let him take another shot at a different song from that same album, “Crying in the Rain.”

Thanks in no small part to a video featuring his future wife Tawny Kitaen, the new “Here I Go Again” became the band’s biggest hit. “Still of the Night” is also on this chart, at No. 459, with “Is This Love” clocking in at 301.

5. Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”
From: Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
(Up from No. 6 in August)

It’s surprising that “Crazy Train” didn’t move up more than one spot after the July death of Ozzy Osbourne, but six of the other seven songs he had on the chart made big gains: “Bark at the Moon” went from No. 390 to 353, “Over the Mountain” to 315 from 347, “Mr. Crowley” to 334 from 341, “Shot in the Dark” to 292 from 315, “No More Tears” to 212 from 236 and “Flying High Again” to 216 from 233. “Mama, I’m Coming Home” remained steady at 79.

Black Sabbath also turns up three times, with “War Pigs” at 244, up from 251, “Iron Man” at 165, up from 172 and “Paranoid” at 61, up from 70.

4. Bon Jovi, “You Give Love a Bad Name”
From: Slippery When Wet (1986)
(Up from No. 5 in August)

Bon Jovi aimed for superstardom with their third album, hiring hit songwriter Desmond Child and market-testing 30 songs for young fans before deciding on Slippery When Wet‘s running order. With 15 million copies sold and three top 10 hits, it’s safe to say the strategy worked, ushering in the hair metal era and making Bon Jovi a household name.

Interestingly, Child re-wrote the chorus of a song he had previously given to Bonnie Tyler, “If You Were A Woman (And I Was a Man),” for the album’s first single, “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

3. Guns N’ Roses, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
From: Appetite for Destruction (1987)

Guns N’ Roses first and so far only No. 1 hit came from humble beginnings. “I was fucking around with this stupid little riff,” Slash recalled in a 2005 Q interview. “Axl [Rose] said ‘hold the fucking phones! That’s amazing.” The other band members began filling in their parts. “Within an hour, my guitar exercise had become something else,” the guitarist recalled in his 2007 autobiography.

That’s an understatement. Released as a single nearly a year after Appetite for Destruction began its long slow climb to the top of the charts, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” made Guns N’ Roses the biggest band in the world.

2. Guns N’ Roses, “Welcome to the Jungle”
From: Appetite for Destruction (1987)

As impossible as this is to believe now, “Welcome to the Jungle” was met with a rather tepid response when it was first released in September of 1987. It wasn’t until after the chart-topping success of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” that a re-released “Jungle” roared into the Top 10 and became one of the most popular and ubiquitous hard rock songs of all time.

Once again, Slash said there’s no big back story to the song’s creation. “[It was] just a riff I made sitting in my bedroom on an acoustic guitar, and Axl just happened to be there,” he told Spin in 1999. “Where he got the lyrics I really have no idea, but when we actually put the song together, it took maybe an hour.”

1. Bon Jovi, “Livin’ On a Prayer”
From: Slippery When Wet (1986)

Ready for a shocker? Bon Jovi almost didn’t include “Livin’ On a Prayer,” the most popular song on classic rock radio so far in 2025, on Slippery When Wet. “The song was so unique,” Jon Bon Jovi told fans during a 2019 Q&A session. “[It] didn’t sound like anything, so I was kind of indifferent. I thought, ‘Well, it’s different, but is it a rock song? Is it us?”

Luckily, he or somebody in his camp thought it would be wise to keep the song on the album. To date, “Livin’ On a Prayer” has earned over two billion streams on Spotify and has sold over 10,000,000 copies in the United States alone.