100 Best Dance Rock Songs
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Every occasion that calls for a party needs music. While rock music may no longer be the preferred choice on the dance floor, in some cases, it really can get a party bumping. Rock music has an electrifying affect that gets guests moving and grooving. Playing a funky mix of danceable rock songs ensures that guests at your party will have fun.
The list below showcases an epic number of rock songs you can dance to. You can use songs from the list below to make your own personalized playlists for parties. If you love grooving to rock songs, then you'll definitely have something to say. Feel free to share your views and opinions in the comments section.
Top 10 Best Rock Songs to Dance To
- “Dancing in the Dark”—Bruce Springsteen
- “You Shook Me All Night Long”—AC/DC
- “Proud Mary”—Creedence Clearwater Revival
- "Brown Eyed Girl”—Van Morrison
- “I Got My Mind Set on You”—George Harrison
- “Sweet Child O’ Mine”—Guns N’ Roses
- “Listen to the Music”—The Doobie Brothers
- “Rebellion”—Arcade Fire
- “Club Foot”—Kasabian
- “Mony Mony”—Billy Idol
What Are Dance-Rock Songs?
While not all rock songs are fun to dance to, certain songs have catchy riffs, beats, and lyrics that are perfect for the dance floor. These are groove-oriented songs that often have a slick rhythmic structure coupled with an infectious beat. The electrifying vibe these songs create enables you to unleash your innovative dance moves at parties.
Best Dance Rock Songs #11—20
11. “Walk of Life”—Dire Straits
12. “Another One Bites the Dust”—Queen
13. “Shut Up and Dance”—Walk the Moon
14. “Twist and Shout”—The Beatles
15. “This Love”—Maroon 5
16. “Summer of 69”—Bryan Adams
17. “You Give Love a Bad Name”—Bon Jovi
18. “Play That Funky Music”—Wild Cherry
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19. “When You Were Young”—The Killers
20. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”—Nirvana
Dance Party Music
The type of music you play dictates the vibe of a party. It could be a wedding reception party, an anniversary party, a birthday party, a farewell party, a reunion party, or just a good old house party, but without the right music, your guests will get bored. If you want your guests to have fun on the dance floor, you need to create an environment with the right type of music. You need to realize that not every guest at a party is a good dancer. Certain individuals want to dance, but feel shy or reluctant to head to the dance floor. Upbeat rock songs bring about an adrenaline rush that induces the most unlikely dance moves. When you start off the dance session with catchy rock songs, the energy reaches a new level.
Best Dance Rock Songs #21—40
21. “Last Resort”—Papa Roach
22. “I Want to Hold Your Hand”—The Beatles
23. “Tubthumping”—Chumbawamba
24. “Sweet Home Alabama”—Lynyrd Skynyrd
25. “Hard to Handle”—The Black Crowes
26. “Rock the Casbah”—The Clash
27. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”—Eurythmics
28. “Walk This Way”—Aerosmith
29. “Blue Monday”—New Order
30. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”—Aerosmith
31. “The Look”—Roxette
32. “Good Lovin’”—The Rascals
33. “Rock and Roll Girls”—John Fogerty
34. “Uptown Girl”—Billy Joel
35. “Footloose”—Kenny Loggins
36. “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”—Joan Jett
37. “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”—Meatloaf
38. “Love Shack”—The B-52’s
39. “Thank You”—Led Zeppelin
40. “She Drives Me Crazy”—Fine Young Cannibals
Why Should You Play Rock Songs at Parties?
Rock music, especially songs with anthemic choruses and catchy verses, make party guests feel excited to dance. Rock songs with a dance-friendly vibe are crowd-pleasers and often get people excited and animated on the dance floor. Non-dancers at parties are more likely to shake a leg and groove to a song when you have danceable rock songs playing. Funky rock songs allow everybody at the party to have fun coming up with their own unique dance moves. These songs will bring out everyone's inner party animal, making them feel comfortable to show off their weirdest dance moves.
Best Dance Rock Songs #41—60
41. “Rock This Town”—Stray Cats
42. “Hold on Loosely”—38 Special
43. “Old Time Rock and Roll”—Bob Seger
44. “Banquet”—Bloc Party
45. “Super Freak”—Rick James
46. “I Want to Break Free”—Queen
47. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”—Cyndi Lauper
48. “Faithfully”—Journey
49. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”—Georgia Satellites
50. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”—Queen
51. “Heaven”—Bryan Adams
52. “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)”—Daryl Hall and John Oates
53. “Modern Love”—David Bowie
54. “Long Train Runnin’”—The Doobie Brothers
55. “All I Want Is You”—U2
56. “Iris”—Goo Goo Dolls
57. “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House”—LCD Soundsystem
58. “Rock and Roll All Nite”—Kiss
59. “Jessie’s Girl”—Rick Springfield
60. “Girls & Boys”—Blur
Rock Dance Songs at Nightclubs
The club scene has evolved a great deal in recent years. DJ’s at popular nightclubs are including a diverse mix of dance-rock tracks in their setlists. At nightclubs, "rock rights" have become exceedingly popular with younger audiences. At these events, DJ’s dish out an eclectic mix of radio-friendly dance rock from different decades. Modern DJs are coming up with unique remixes of popular rock songs.
Best Dance Rock Songs #61—80
61. “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”—Red Hot Chili Peppers
62. “I Wanna Be Sedated”—The Ramones
63. “Need You Tonight”—INXS
64. “Different Colors”—Walk the Moon
65. “Take Me Out”—Franz Ferdinand
66. “End of the Line”—Traveling Wilburys
67. “Cool for the Summer”—Demi Lovato
68. “I Saw Her Standing There”—The Beatles
69. “Love Will Keep Us Alive”—Eagles
70. “Pour Some Sugar on Me”—Def Leppard
71. “The Bomb”—NYPC
72. “Don’t Fight It”—Kenny Loggins and Steve Perry
73. “Addicted to Love”—Robert Palmer
74. “No Matter What”—Papa Roach
75. “Lonely Boy”—The Black Keys
76. “Bulls on Parade”—Rage Against the Machine
77. “Magick”—Klaxons
78. “Hard Times”—Paramore
79. “Call Me”—Blondie
80. “(I Just) Died in Your Arms”—Cutting Crew
What Rock Songs Should I Pick for a Party?
Your choice of songs depends on the type of party you are throwing. Make sure you include a lot of uptempo rock songs in your playlist. These songs bring about an energetic vibe. You can also opt for rock ballads to encourage slow dancing. The most important thing to remember is that the rock songs you pick should have a dance-friendly vibe.
Best Dance Rock Songs #81—100
81. “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”—Wang Chung
82. “Heads Will Roll”—Yeah Yeah Yeahs
83. “Honky Tonk Woman”—Rolling Stones
84. “Is This Love”—Whitesnake
85. “Hot Legs”—Rod Stewart
86. “Sweet Home Alabama”—Lynyrd Skynyrd
87. “Paradise City”—Guns N Roses
88. “All Sumer Long”—Kid Rock
89. “New Sensation”—INXS
90. “One Foot”—Walk the Moon
91. “All Star”—Smash Mouth
92. “Shake It Out”—Florence and the Machine
93. “Dance Macabre”—Ghost
94. “Sultans of Swing”—Dire Straits
95. “Give It Away Now”—Red Hot Chili Peppers
96. “Robot Rock”—Daft Punk
97. “Everything I Do (I Do It for You)”—Bryan Adams
98. “When You Love a Woman”—Journey
99. “All These Thing That I’ve Done”—The Killers
100. “What I Like About You”—The Romantics
Other Notable Dance Rock Songs
- “Runnaway”—Bon Jovi
- “Simple Man”—Lynyrd Skynyrd
- “Blister in the Sun”—Violent Femmes
- “Takin’ Care of Business”—Bachman Turner Overdrive
- “Danger Zone”—Kenny Loggins
- “Some Kind of Wonderful”—Grand Funk Railroad
- “Pump It Up”—Elvis Costello
- “Dirty Harry”—Gorillaz
- “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You”—Black Kids
- “Blitzkrieg Bop”—The Ramones
- “Hate to Say I Told You So”—The Hives
- “Bad Case of Loving You”—Robert Palmer
- “You’re My Best Friend”—Queen
- “Song 2”—Blur
- “White Wedding”—Billy Idol
- “Kamikaze”—Walk the Moon
- “Sad but True”—Metallica
- “American Girl”—Tom Petty
- “Hot Blooded”—Foreigner
- “Romantic Rights”—Death From Above 1979
- “The Stroke”—Billy Squire
- “B.Y.O.B.”—System of a Down
- “Down”—311
- “50 Ways to Say Goodbye”—Train
- “Gathering Stories”—Jonsi
- “My Sharona”—The Knack
- “Best Song Ever”—One Direction
- “Spaceship”—Puddle of Mudd
- “What You Waiting For”—Gwen Stefani
- “High Hopes”—Panic! At the Disco
- “Once in a Lifetime”—Talking Heads
- “Epic Last Song”—Does it Offend You, Yeah?
- “Drag Me Down”—One Direction
- “Killing in the Name”—Rage Against The Machine
- “Dance Hall Days”—Wang Chung
- “Generator”—Turnstile
- “Take Me Home Tonight”—Eddie Money
- “Domino”—Jessie J
- “The Rock Show”—Blink 182
- “Miss Lucifer”—Primal Scream
- “House Jam”—Gang Gang Dance
- “Fireflies”—Owl City
- “Last Nite”—The Strokes
- “You and Me”—Lifehouse
- “Here It Goes Again”—OK Go
- “Locomotive”—Grand Funk Railroad
- “Born in the USA”—Bruce Springsteen
- “Dare”—Gorillaz
- “Space and the Woods”—Late of the Pier
- “The Safety Dance”—Men Without Hats
- “Are You Gonna Go My Way”—Lenny Kravitz
- “Movement”—Hozier
- “An Ugly Death”—Jay Reatard
- “So What”—Pink
- “Just What I Needed”—The Cars
- “Rapture”—Blondie
- “Pork and Beans”—Weezer
- “Hey Baby”—No Doubt
- “Don't Stop Believin’”—Journey
- “Shake It”—Metro Station
- “Freedom Fighters”—The Music
- “We Are Rockstars”—Does It Offend You, Yeah?
- “Black Betty”—Ram Jam
- “Invincible”—Adelitas Way
- “You! Me! Dancing!”—Los Campesinos!
- “Don’t Change”—INXS
- “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”—Arcade Fire
- “Tonite”—LCD Soundsystem
- “Rebel Yell”—Billy Idol
- “Dance Dance”—Fall Out Boy
- “Lapdance”—N.E.R.D.
- “Dancing With Myself”—Billy Idol
- “Golden Skans”—Klaxons
- “Smooth”—Santana featuring Rob Thomas
- “Heavy Metal Drummer”—Wilco
- “I’m a Believer”—The Monkees
- “Livin’ on a Prayer”—Bon Jovi
- “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor”—Arctic Monkeys
- “Work This Body”—Walk the Moon
- “Maps”—Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- “Just Can’t Get Enough”—Depeche Mode
- “Smooth Criminal”—Alien Ant Farm
- “Nine in the Afternoon”—Panic! at the Disco
- “Farewell Ride”—Beck
- “7 Things”—Miley Cyrus
- “I Kissed a Girl”—Kate Perry
- “House of Jealous Lovers”—The Rapture
- “Bizzare Love Triangle”—New Order
- “Sharp Dressed Man”—ZZ Top
- “Chelsea Dagger”—The Fratellis
- “Never Tear Us Apart”—INXS
- “Fireworks”—Animal Collective
- “Walk”—Foo Fighters
- “Hella Good”—No Doubt
- “We Will Rock You”—Queen
- “Dance Floor Anthem (I Don’t Want to Be in Love)”—Good Charlotte
- “British Mode”—Goose
- “Human”—The Killers
- “Feel Good Inc”—Gorillaz
- “Dance to the Underground”—Radio 4
© 2019 Ansel Pereira