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Buckle up folks because we are ranking the greatest album openers in music history. A legendary opener on an album can set the tone for the entire album and send that band into the stratosphere with success, but setting the album’s best song as the opener requires walking a fine line. The album cannot peak with the first song and then leave every listener thirsting for more with each subsequent dud.
These album openers on the list range from Classic Rock to Hip-Hop, and Grunge to Punk Rock. They cover the array of music genres with the only criteria being ‘is it one of the best album openers of all time?’ If the answer is ‘yes’ then it is on this list.
Ranking The 33 Best Album Openers In Music History
One thing became extremely apparent when compiling these rankings: Led Zeppelin loves kicking off albums with absolute bangers. While they don’t have the #1 spot in these rankings, they are the only band that appears on here twice and I could have easily added them a third time. As for the rest, they speak for themselves.
33. What’s Going On
Released on on January 21, 1971 on Marvin Gaye’s album of the same name, ‘What’s Going On’ signaled his departure from the typical Motown Sound of the era to a sound all his own. This would become his second-most successful track of all time, and it was written as a protest song that was inspired by an incident witnessed by fellow R&B singer Renaldo “Obie” Benson.
32. Everything In Its Right Place
The opening track on Radiohead’s Kid A, the band’s fourth studio album, it was inspired by the stress endured by Radiohead front man Thom Yorke during his promotion of the band’s OK Computer album in 1997. Yorke originally wrote ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ on the piano before moving it over to the synthesizer, a groundbreaking move at the time. This remains one of Radiohead’s signature songs, one that encapsulates the sound and energy of the band.
31. Them Bones
‘Them Bones’ from Alice In Chains was the opening song on the band’s second album, Dirt (1992), and was later included on the band’s Greatest Hits album and their 2000 ‘Live’ album. It was written and composed by Jerry Cantrell.
Cantrell was later asked about the song and it’s unique timing, saying “off-time stuff is just more exciting — it takes people by surprise when you shift gears like that before they even know what the hell hit ’em. It’s also effective when you slow something down and then slam ’em into the dash. A lot of Alice stuff is written that way — ‘Them Bones’ is a great off-time song.”
30. Straight Outta Compton
‘Straight Outta Compton’ is the lead track on NWA’s debut album of the same name. It was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince and included lyrics written by Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren. To say that this album changed the Hip-Hop game would be the understatement of the century, but you already know that. How many songs on this list have entire biopics named after it?
This would hard launch the careers of Dr. Dre and Easy-E, two of the most influential voices and styles in the business. Dr. Dre would, of course, go on to be arguably the biggest producer in the industry and it all started right here, with this song, on NWA’s debut album.
29. War Pigs
‘War Pigs’ by Black Sabbath is the opening track on the 1970 album Paranoid. Initially, the name was actually ‘Walpurgis’ and not ‘War Pigs’ as it related to the Witches’ Sabbath but the anti-war protest song from Ozzy and Black Sabbath settled on ‘War Pigs’ as the final name.
The backstory behind it is fairly interesting. Lyricist/bassist Geezer Butler told Noisecreep in 2010 “the song was written as ‘Walpurgis,’ which sounds a little like ‘War Pigs.’ But ‘Walpurgis’ is sort of like Christmas for Satanists. And to me, war was the big Satan. It wasn’t about politics or government or anything. It was evil. So I was saying “generals gathered in the masses/just like witches at black masses” to make an analogy. But when we brought it to the record company, they thought ‘Walpurgis’ sounded too Satanic. And that’s when we turned it into ‘War Pigs.’ But we didn’t change the lyrics, because they were already finished.”
And there you have it, the true origin of ‘War Pigs’ from Black Sabbath, the 29th greatest album opener of all time.
28. Grace, Too
‘Grace, Too’ from Canadian Rock band The Tragically Hip was the opener on their 1994 album Day For Night. In true opener fashion, it is also the song that The Tragically Hip opened their Woodstock 1999 performance with.
While it didn’t get nearly as much radio play in the US as it did in Canada, this song remains a classic and one of the greatest album openers of its era. Lorne Michaels personally lobbied The Tragically Hip to come on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest where they opened with this song. The lead singer, Gord Downie, mixed up the lyrics and later blamed it on pre-show weed.
27. People of the Sun
‘People of the Sun’ is the opener on Rage Against The Machine’s 1996 album Evil Empire, one of those albums that changed the lives of millions in that era, myself included. RATM lead singer Zack de la Rocha wrote this song about the Zapatista revolution after visiting Chiapas, Mexico.
Rage Against The Machine were playing this song as early as 1992 but it didn’t make its album debut until 1996 and then exploded in popularity henceforth.
26. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ was the album opener on her second studio album, Whitney (1987), and still catches an incredible amount of play nearly 40 years later on TV, film, and on the radio. Especially at weddings too. Sometimes it feels like this song never went out of style.
When it was released, ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ became the best-selling single by any female artist of the 1980s. Not just the year it was released, the entire decade. Whitney Houston also won the Grammy Award for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’ for this album opener.
25. 1999
Prince’s ‘1999’ was the opener on the album of the same name. It marked Prince’s first time charting an album on the Billboard 200.
Some how, some way, a song titled ‘1999’ that was released 17 years before the year 1999 was relevant than, through 1999, and still to this day is a true classic. For ‘1999,’ Prince received a nomination for ‘Best Male R&B Vocal Performance’ at the 26th Grammy Awards, his first Grammy nomination. After Prince passed away in 2016 this song surged back up the charts and reached #7.
24. Highway To Hell
AC/DC knew what they were doing when they put ‘Highway to Hell’ as the lead track on their sixth studio album, also titled Highway to Hell (1979). This was the last of AC/DC’s albums to feature lead singer Bon Scott who passed away in February 1980, a year after this song was released.
This song was, is, and will forever remain a true rock anthem. It was named in honor of the Canning Highway in Australia, a road that connects the Perth Kwinana freeway to Fremantle. AC/DC member Bon Scott favorite pubs and hotels were along this stretch of road.
23. Blitzkrieg Bop
‘The Blitzkrieg Bop!!’ is the debut single by The Ramones and the opening track on their first album, Ramones (1976). What can I really say about this song that hasn’t been said before. It was a foundational moment in Punk Rock history. It changed everything. The change ‘Hey! Ho! Let’s go!’ has since made its way to sporting events worldwide and that style of chant has since been used on countless other songs throughout the years.
That chant, ‘Hey! Ho! Let’s go!’ has a winding road of an origin, according to Greg Prato at Louder. The Ramones were inspired by the 1973 Bay City Rollers hit song ‘Saturday Night.’
They’d also been frequently mocking Mick Jagger’s accent and pronunciation as a band. The Rolling Stones at the time had covered the 1963 song “Walking the Dog” by Rufus Thomas and they thought Mick Jagger’s pronunciation of ‘High, low, tipsy toe’ sounded more like ‘hey, ho’ and that’s where it all came together… Probably way more information that you need on this but that’s what we’re here for, right??
22. Refugee
Released in January of 1980, ‘Refugee’ was the opener on Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s album Damn The Torpedoes. I don’t know what drew me to this song in particular after Tom Petty passed away in 2017 but this was the first song I fired up from his catalog.
21. Don’t Stop Believin’
From Journey’s 1981 album Escape, ‘Don’t Stop Believin” is #21 on our rankings of the all-time greatest album openers in music history. If we are being honest, this track could be just about anywhere on this list. It has an argument as a top 10 opener for sure but here we are and it is no knock on the song as it is iconic.
Of all the iconic album openers on this list, this one might be the most ‘karaoke song’ of them all. It’s a true jukebox song. A proper rock ballad. Born out of a real-life story from Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain’s father telling Cain about life as a struggling musician on Sunset Boulevard.
How many montages has ‘Don’t Stop Believin” made it into throughout the years? Truly! It has to be up there among the most popular montage songs of all time.
20. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
I was torn between ‘Help!’ and ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ for The Beatles, ultimately deciding on the latter as it’s the opener of the eponymous album and the psychedelic art and composition left an indelible impact on the music scene both of that era and still today. This Lennon-McCartney song, primarily written by Paul McCartney, really stands alone on this list of best album openers in how unique it was compared to any and all other music of its day.
19. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)
Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here opens up with Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V), a nine-part composition. It was written about Pink Floyd band member Syd Barrett’s mental health struggles in 1968 and if you’ve ever listened to this album opener, and I assume that you have, that message and tone is clear. It was written by guitarist David Gilmour then developed by Gilmour along with Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters and keyboardist Richard Wright as a tribute to Barrett.
From start to finish, this is an absolute tour de force, an emotional roller coaster. I vividly remember hearing it for the first time in my dad’s car riding home from dinner one night as a kid and it rewired my brain and the way I thought abut music forever.
18. Cherub Rock
Coming in at #18 on the list of the greatest album openers of all time is ‘Cherub Rock’ by the Smashing Pumpkins from their 1993 album Siamese Dream. It was later nominated for ‘Best Hard Rock Performance’ at the Grammy Awards after its release.
What sets ‘Cherub Rock’ apart from so many others is the peculiar composition, which Billy Corgan once remarked they “basically stole that from Jimi Hendrix. But Jimi Hendrix probably stole it from Wes Montgomery.” The song is played with an E octave standard tuning but played on the 7th fret.
17. Dancing on My Own
For as long as Spotify has been releasing year-end stats, ‘Dancing On My Own’ by Robyn has made it onto my playlist of my most-played songs every single year. It is the lead track on her album Body Talk Pt. 1 and the opener on what was her 5th studio album (2010).
SNL‘s Lorne Michaels gets it. He brought her on for SNL 50 to perform. Robyn is an iconic voice and this song defined an era for elder millennials. It bridged that gap from college into the early workforce days at a time when responsibilities were still thin and a ‘late night’ meant watching the sun rise.
‘Dancing On My Own’ tells the story of a girl in a club at last-call watching her ex going home with another woman. Sure, it’s a breakup song but the beat and vibes transcend that at portions. It really is whatever you want it to be.
16. Five Years
I have said it before and I will surely say it again, but The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (Ziggy Stardust) is my single favorite album of all time. In the sense that if I were ever stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one album with me, it would be this. And ‘Five Years’ as the opener on Ziggy Stardust is one of the greatest of all time.
Ziggy Stardust, is a Rock Opera concept album and ‘Five Years’ sets the tone for all the tracks ahead. It tells the story of an impending apocalyptic space disaster and how only Ziggy Stardust can save it. Smash ‘play’ on that video above and be reminded that this is truly one of the greatest David Bowie songs of all time.
15. Baba O’Riley
‘Baba O’Riley’ is the opener on The Who’s fifth studio album, Who’s Next, which if we’re being honest should have been the name of their second album and not the fifth but really who am I to judge? They’re The Who and I’m well, me.
The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ has been ranked in Rolling Stone‘s ‘500 Greatest Songs‘ of all time as well as TIME’s Top 100 songs. Its accolades speak for itself. Whomever’s decision it was to slap ‘Baba O’Riley’ at the start of this album knew they were cooking with gas. Pete Townshend is on another planet with this track.
14. Respect
At No. 14 on the list of the greatest album openers of all time is ‘Respect’ which was written by Otis Redding and performed by Aretha Franklin, and it is the opener on her album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. This was Aretha’s ninth studio album and she still brought the FIRE with the opening track.
Though it was written and originally performed by Otis Redding, ‘Respect’ was reconfigured for Aretha Franklin to be a song from the woman’s perspective and somehow that made the entire song work in a way that Otis could never see initially. ‘Respect’ won two Grammy Awards, reached #1 on the Billboard charts, and has been an anthem worldwide for decades.
13. Tom Sawyer
Our third Canadian band on the list, Rush, featured ‘Tom Sawyer’ as the opener on their 1981 album Moving Pictures. Given how impactful of a track this is it’s hard to imagine a world where they didn’t know what htey were doing when they slotted this in the lead-off spot.
Rush singer, bassist, and keyboardist Geddy Lee once referred to ‘Tom Sawyer’ as a “defining piece of the 1980s.‘ It has also been ranked as “the world’s greatest air-drumming song” by Drumeo which I’d say has to go to ‘In The Air Tonight’ but that’s their rankings, not mine.
12. We Will Rock You
Freddie Mercury and Queen knew they had captured lightning in a bottle with ‘We Will Rock You,’ the opener on the band’s 1977 album News of the World. It was ranked 300 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time and the song itself was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Did you even know the Grammys had a Hall of Fame???
‘We Will Rock You’ is a stadium anthem. Sports fans worldwide chant it against the opposition, getting in their heads, which is interesting because according to Rolling Stone, Queen wrote the song after a performance at Bingley Hall in Stafford where the crowd sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ to the band after the show. So it was borne out of that emotionally-charged crowd atmosphere.
11. Purple Haze
‘Purple Haze’ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience isn’t just one of the best album openers of all time, it is one of the best Rock songs of the past 100 years. It was the opening track on the North American release of Are You Experienced (1967) and hearing Jimi’s guitar cut through the air like butter sets the tone for the entire album.
‘Purple Haze’ has always been one of Jimi’s most popular songs. It embodies everything special about how he could manipulate the guitar in ways others can only ever dream of. It is also the only song on this list synonymous with one of the most popular strands of cannabis ever created. So there’s that.
10. Enter Sandman
‘Enter Sandman’ is the opener on Metallica’s fifth studio album which is also titled Metallica. Why did they wait until studio album number five to name the album after themselves? I guess we’ll never know. But they could have easily named it after the album opener which might be their most iconic song to date. It’s a toss up between ‘Enter Sandman,’ ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ and ‘Master of Puppets.’
When this song dropped in 1991 it sent seismic shifts throughout the music industry. Every artist, regardless of genre, gave ‘Enter Sandman’ its flowers. It sold over 9 million copies in the United States alone (9x Platinum) making it one of it not THE best-selling album opener of all time.
9. Black Dog
‘Black Dog’ by Led Zeppelin was the album opener on the band’s fourth album. They just rolled out Led Zeppelin as the name of what is officially an ‘untitled’ album but c’mon, we know the name is just the band’s name.
I said at the onset that Led Zeppelin could easily have more songs on this list because they had no reservations whatsoever about starting albums off with a bang, and they did exactly that with ‘Black Dog.’ The name of the song is an homage to a black Labrador Retriever they used to see wandering the grounds of Headley Grange studios. That somehow makes it even better for me knowing ‘Black Dog’ is actually named after a lovely black dog.
This really is Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones at their best. It was released in 1971 and has, of course, been ranked among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The inspiration between starting and stopping the song throughout came from Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’ but this song stands among the greatest of all time.
8. Gimme Shelter
‘Gimme Shelter’ by The Rolling Stones ranks 8th among the greatest album openers ever. It came from The Rolling Stones’ 1969 album Let It Bleed and touches on the brutal realities of warfare, the murder and fear among other things.
‘Gimme Shelter’ has been a Martin Scorcese favorite throughout the years, appearing in Goodfellas, The Departed, and Casino. Many Stones fans agree that this is the band’s best song though that opinion is far from unanimous.
7. London Calling
The Clash opened up their third studio album, London Calling, with the track by the same name. It perfectly encapsulates the musical departure from traditional Punk Rock into a more electric sound, pushing the boundaries of ‘Punk’ at the time.
Released in December 1979, Joe Strummer once remarked the lyrics ‘a nuclear error’ referred to the Three Mile Island incident which had happened earlier that year, a partial nuclear meltdown that nearly led to catastrophe in Pennsylvania.
The opening riffs to ‘London Calling’ combined with Joe Strummer’s vocals make this an album opener that gets immediately tattooed on your brain from the first note.
6. Seven Nation Army
One of the most contemporary songs on this list, ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes ranks as the 6th greatest album opener of all-time. It was the opening track on The White Stripes’ fourth studio album, Elephant, and will forever be remembered as their most impactful track as this song will outlive the band by centuries because it is played inside of every stadium across the earth in nearly every game that gets played, particularly in European soccer.
What’s wild is ‘Seven Nation Army’ only ever made it to #76 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song is fueled along by one of the most iconic guitar riffs ever written, a truly life-changing bass line, and it only peaked at #76. But like all great works of art it found its audience years later and remains one of the most popular songs on planet earth on any given day. Jack White‘s legendary skills shine through on this track like no other in his repertoire.
5. Mississippi Queen
‘Mississippi Queen’ by Mountain is the opener on the band’s 1970 album Climbing!. It was far and away Mountain’s biggest hit and got a second life 15 or so years ago when it was released on Guitar Hero 3 and reached a new generation but that’s neither here nor there.
‘Mississippi Queen’ is an axe-forward song and features one of the most iconic guitar works of that era. From start to finish, straight flames are emitting from the guitar. It is a masterpiece.
4. Smells Like Teen Spirit
Nirvana‘s Nevermind (1991) opens up with ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ which is one of the greatest Grunge anthems ever written. Kurt Cobain once said this song was his attempt at writing “the ultimate pop song” and if the goal was commercial success then he absolutely succeeded in that endeavor as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ on its list of ‘Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.’ It was truly a genre defining song.
The music video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ had a budget reportedly as low as $30,000 but MTV still named it at #2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Music Videos back in 1993. Obviously, the music did the work with that ranking but the dark and dusty gym was the perfect setting for that video.
3. Good Times, Bad Times
‘Good Times, Bad Times’ was the opener on Led Zeppelin‘s self-titled debut album. This was literally their ‘hello world’ song to the harsh critics of the Rock and Roll World and they could not have come out any stronger.
‘Good Times, Bad Times’ was written by John Paul Jones on a Hammond organ who would later remark that it was the most difficult riff he ever wrote which is incredible for their debut album opener. Literally starting atop Mt. Everest.
2. Psycho Killer
‘Psycho Killer’ by the Talking Heads was the opener on their debut studio album Talking Heads: 77. From the very first note you know you are in for something transcendent. And it is hard to pin down what makes this song so special… Is it David Byrne’s vocals? The peculiar lyrics about the inner thoughts of a serial killer? The pioneering New Wave sound? All of the above?
This song has been recorded and performed by countless other bands throughout the years from Miley Cyrus to Velver Revolver but nobody does it quite like the original. It went 2x Platinum in the US and remains a rock anthem today.
1. Welcome To The Jungle
At No. 1 on the list of the greatest album openers of all-time we have ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns N’ Roses. It was the album opener on Guns N’ Roses’ debut album Appetite For Destruction. In hindsight, it’s pretty wild that the top three album openers of all-time (in these rankings) were all debut albums for the bands.
The lyrics to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ were written by Axl Rose while he was visiting a friend in Seattle but guitarist Izzy Stradlin says the song also perfectly encapsulates life on the streets of Hollywood. It is considered one of the top 25 greatest Rock and Roll songs ever written by just about every critic in the industry.
From the very first note, listeners know they need to buckle up and lock in for a life-changing composition. I wish I could go back in time and hear this song for the first time once again.
Well friends, we have made it to the end. That’s the full rankings of the greatest album openers in music history. Which one would you rank higher or lower? What did I miss? You can email me anytime at cass@brobible.com, my inbox is always open.