Billy Joel Songs Ranked
William Martin Joel aka Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the “Piano Man” after his first major hit and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released twelve studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 150 million records sold worldwide. His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, is one of the best-selling albums in the US.
Across the 20 years of his solo career, Joel produced 33 Top 40 hits in the U.S., all of which he wrote himself, and three of which (“It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”, “Tell Her About It”, and “We Didn’t Start the Fire”) managed to peak at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Joel has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, winning five of them, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street. Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors, for influencing American culture through the arts. Since the advent of his solo career, Joel has held a successful touring career, holding live performances across the globe in which he sings several of his written songs. In 1987, he became one of the first artists to hold a rock and roll tour in the Soviet Union following the country’s alleviation of the ban on rock and roll music. Despite largely retiring from writing and releasing pop music following the release of River of Dreams, he continues to tour; he frequently performs at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Here are all of the Billy Joel songs ranked.
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20. Summer, Highland Falls (Turnstiles, 2002)
“Billy’s personal favorite and just a great, beautiful song. His piano work in this song exceeds anything else he has created.”
19. And So It Goes (Storm Front, 1989)
“Great song. Indeed under rated. When you truly love someone you’ll understand these words. Even after I’ve heard it dozens of times, it still makes me cry.”
18. She’s Always a Woman (The Stranger, 1977)
“A great all-around track with Billy showing off both his class on the piano and also his great voice. My favourite Billy Joel song…and obviously this song is the perfect definition of a woman.”
17. Tell Her About It (An Innocent Man, 1983)
“It’s simply amazing, telling a young man love advice. It is overall a great song, and my personal favorite of his.”
See more: Billy Joel Albums Ranked
16. The Downeaster Alexa (Storm Front, 1989)
“Listen to it brothers. Its such a great song with legendary music, and awesome lyrics and drum beats that gives me the chills. Reminds me of the hardship of fishermen out there in the coast”
15. You May Be Right (Glass Houses, 1980)
“I like his punk rock and roll album, “Glass Houses”. But his top 2nd or 3rd best on Glass Houses is You May Be Right.”
14. Captain Jack (Live In The Studio – Sigma Studios 1972, 1972)
“This song, especially the live version, is incredible. One of my favorite songs of all time and even a bit better than Piano man, in my opinion”
13. It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me (Glass Houses, 1980)
“The first Billy Joel song I ever heard, and also my favorite. Best Billy Joel song ever. Makes me wanna get my groove on.”
12. Miami 2017 (I’ve Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (Turnstiles, 1976)
“For a song that is about the final night of New York City’s existence, Billy Joel does a marvelous job at telling the story through the intro and outro, as well as the events being mentioned. Power is turned off, the Empire State Building is demolished, churches are burned, the skyline comes down, and Manhattan is sunk into the sea. Therefore, a concert is thrown that is trying to be stopped, yet the people just don’t care.”
11. My Life (52nd Street, 1978)
“By far best song on 52nd street, which is an amazing album. Doesn’t beat some stuff on the stranger, but deserves top five at least”
10. The Longest Time (An Innocent Man, 1983)
“Theme song of many peoples’ lives, including mine! I am only 13 years old and I absolutely adore all of Billy Joel’s songs! My favorite happens to be Vienna, I am truly surprised that this amazing tune was not included on the list. Only the good Die young is a beautiful song also.”
9. Only the Good Die Young (The Stranger, 1977)
“So sad and true but uplifting at the same time. The song really makes me wonder what life is all about”
8. New York State of Mind (Turnstiles, 1976)
“It’s a song that isn’t fast but will get stuck in your head. Billy Joel’s best work. I love the message in this song and it’s practically my anthem. It’s my favorite Billy Joel song.”
7. Vienna (The Stranger, 1977)
“This is my favorite Billy Joel song. It should be higher up on the list because it is very simple and it has a strong message and the song itself is really beautiful.”
See more: Gavin DeGraw Albums Ranked
6. Movin’ Out (The Stranger, 1977)
“There’s no reason for Movin’ Out to be so low on this list. The song is so accurate and easy to relate to; its among his best. No excuse for this being outside the top ten.”
5. Uptown Girl (An Innocent Man, 1983)
“Amazing song, pure Billy Joel. I love it since the first time I heard it. No matter how many times you listen to it, you like it more and more!”
4. Just the Way You Are (The Stranger, 1977)
“I love this song. I never tire of it. The music is so smooth, and the lyrics are so simple, yet so honest, and reflect what everyone wants when it comes to love: “I love you just the way you are”.
3. We Didn’t Start the Fire (Storm Front, 1989)
“Piano Man is absolutely and undoubtedly brilliant. We Didn’t Start the Fire is much lighter and not nearly as deep in meaning. That said, it is a magnificent tune and a song I so much like, I would put even before Piano Man in my personal list of top Billy Joel songs.”
2. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (The Stranger, 1977)
“Piano Man is great and will be my favourite in my heart, but this is easily, from a critical point of view, his best song. At least in my opinion”
1. Piano Man (Piano Man, 1973)
“I’m listening to this for the second time right now. Now, I haven’t many of Billy’s magnificent songs, but after hearing this, I definitely want to. It’s such a beautifully crafted piece.”
