Top 25 Radiohead Songs
25. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (In Rainbows)
Other worldly with Thom delivering some bizarre and depressing lyrics… Just how we like em. I preferred the live version to the studio but I won’t complain, both are solid.
24. Bloom (King of Limbs)
Bloom opens Radiohead’s most recent album, The King of Limbs with a bit of a jarring, offbeat drum loop that is characteristic of Radiohead before Thom starts singing about God knows what. Makes sense that he is friends with Flying Lotus.
23. Airbag (OK Computer)
In many ways, Airbag is quite similar to Planet Telex, which opened The Bends, but it documents why OK Computer was such a massive step forward for Radiohead in its assimilation of electronic and jazz influences.
22. I Might Be Wrong (Amnesiac)
In my opinion, this is the closest thing in all of the Kid A sessions to a standout single. It just has a groove to it that is catchy and immediate (by Radiohead standards)… even friends that don’t like Radiohead love this song.
21. Street Spirit Fade Out (The Bends)
Thom Yorke said this song frightened him every time he played it in concert, and it stands as one of Radiohead’s most terrifying songs if you take the time to pay attention to it. The guitar and voice draw you in as the lyrics paint some paranoid nightmare that you can’t stop listening to.
20. 2+2=5 (Hail to the Thief)
The opener of Hail to Theif, 2+2=5 marks a sound that blends Radiohead’s previous albums with the eerie production of the Kid A sessions and the rock n’ roll of the Bends era.
19. Lucky (OK Computer)
This was the first track released from OK Computer as it went on a compilation album for charity. The band says they had no idea how well received OK Computer would be received, but I do not know how you can listen to this song and not expect OK to be as revolutionary as it turned out to be.
18. Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
Jigsaw has become a recent favorite of mine as it and 15 Step take In Rainbows from a great Radiohead album to one of their best.
17. Talk Show Host (B-Side)
I actually first heard this song when I put in the Romeo and Juliet movie and it was on the menu. I kept it on for a little while and then went and downloaded. Needless to say, I would probably rather listen to that song for two hours then watch that movie again.
16. Everything In Its Right Place (Kid A)
The creepy opener that marked a shift of styles for Radiohead with its opening synthesizer and Yorke’s computerized vocals. Not that this mimicked Fitter Happier or anything, but it certainly was a distorted, and indifferent voice. It does not have the warmth of something like Fake Plastic Trees or No Surprises, but rather the eeriness of Climbing Up the Walls. The voice mixed with the short, surreal phrases and pulsing music creates a scary world, but one that is entirely captivating.
15. Knives Out (Amnesiac)
This song gets some flack from hardcore Radiohead fans and I don’t for the life of me know why. Yea, it does rehash some of the guitar work from Paranoid Android, but it is such an incredible listen.
14. Videotape (In Rainbows)
It does rehash a lot of what Radiohead have been known for, but it is one of the more intimate and personal songs that Radiohead have done. One of the few undetached songs where Yorke might actually be wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Maybe.
13. Fake Plastic Trees (The Bends)
I mean everyone loves this song. Even those who would be angry when they found out it was Radiohead that sang it.
12. There There (Hail to the Thief)
“Just cause you feel it, doesn’t mean its there”. There There is conventional by Radiohead’s standards but solid all the way through.
11. Idioteque (Kid A)
This song came in 1st of Pitchfork’s great songs of the 2000’s. And while I am not ready to say that, I will admit this may be the definitive song of the Kid A sessions. Not the best (that has to go to another song on Kid A), but one that represents the remarkable shift that Radiohead went to and the eeriness and innovation that made Kid A such a remarkable album.
10. Let Down (OK Computer)
Only Radiohead could make a song with lyrics like “let down, crushed like a bug in the ground” sound like a positively spiritual and life affirming anthem. There is hardly a better moment in music when the song builds up to the bridge and Yorke sings “one day I am gonna grow wings, a chemical reaction, hysterical and useless”.
9. Lotus Flower (King of Limbs)
The highest placement from Radiohead’s most recent release (The King of Limbs), Lotus Flower is the best track on that album. The video of this song is the first thing that I heard from King of Limbs, and needless to say, I felt it put my expectations way to high because in my opinion it outshines everything on the album. Even Thom Yorke’s awkward dancing can’t take away from how good this song actually is.
8. Paranoid Android (OK Computer)
There is not much I need to say about this, one of Radiohead’s more well known songs and easily its most acclaimed. Happiness is a Warm Gun for robots, paranoid robots. Wait.
7. Life in a Glass House (Amnesiac)
The claustrophobic closer to Amnesiac. Like many songs on that album it has an extremely paranoid feeling, but it’s also one of the most original songs Radiohead has done. Gotta love that brass.
6. 15 Step (In Rainbows)
Best song from In Rainbows and one of the coolest songs I’ve ever seen live.
5. Karma Police (OK Computer)
The first song I ever heard from Radiohead and the only song of theirs that I liked for a while. Even when I got more into Radiohead this has always remained as one of their perfect songs and that bridge is one of the best moments in music.
4. Pyramid Song (Amnesiac)
Johnny Greenwood’s arraingment and Yorke’s surreal phrases gives this song a classic Radiohead vibe and it stands as one of the highlights of the Kid A era.
3. No Surprises (OK Computer)
This has been a favorite of mine for a long time and it was difficult not to make it #1. It has everything I love about Radiohead and is more warm and inviting then most of their songs. If it can make Michael Stipe cry then it has to be top 5, come on.
2. Wolf at the Door (Hail to the Thief)
This has to be in the conversation of greatest Radiohead songs because it is probably the creepiest and darkest that Radiohead have been (and that’s saying a lot), but in a blink of an eye it turns into a touching and heartbreaking song. It goes back and forth for the whole song and by the end you wonder how so many feelings and amazing moments could be packed into a 3 minute song.
1. How to Disappear Completely (Kid A)
It is hard to describe this song like the rest of them. It is really a wide open song that does not rely a bunch of innovations or tricks. It is all about mood and atmosphere and it slowly unfolds itself. With that said, if you give the song more than two minutes of your time it completely sucks you in. It is eerie and beautiful and entirely original. Despite how many quality songs Radiohead has, this stands as their greatest in my opinion.
