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 Dance Rock Songs

1. “Dancing in the Dark”—Bruce Springsteen

2. “You Shook Me All Night Long”—AC/DC

3. “Proud Mary”—Creedence Clearwater Revival

4. “Brown Eyed Girl”—Van Morrison

5. “I Got My Mind Set on You”—George Harrison

6. “Sweet Child O’ Mine”—Guns N’ Roses

7. “Listen to the Music”—The Doobie Brothers

8. “Rebellion”—Arcade Fire

9. “Club Foot”—Kasabian

10. “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

19. “When You Were Young”—The Killers

20. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”—Nirvana

Create an Environment With the Right Type of 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