Coldplay Songs Ranked

Coldplay is a British rock band formed in London in 1996. The four members – comprising lead vocalist/pianist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion – were at University College London and came together from 1996 to 1998. During these two years, the band changed names from Pectoralz to Starfish, and finally, to Coldplay. Creative director and former manager Phil Harvey are often referred to as the fifth member by the band.  Coldplay has won numerous awards throughout their career, including nine Brit Awards, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven MTV Europe Music Awards, and seven Grammy Awards from 29 nominations. They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Here are all of Coldplay’s songs ranked.

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20. Life in Technicolor II (Prospekt’s March 2008)

“Along with “Don’t Panic” and “Strawberry Swing”, I feel as if this song has been overlooked in the making of this list. “Life In Technicolor II” holds some of the greatest sounds ever produced by this band, and gives off a feeling of the excitement and anticipation of waiting for something huge to come. With the rest of this album, it takes us back to a time of glory, grandeur, and ultimately, downfall.”

19. Don’t Panic (The Blue Room, 1999)

“Easy and fun to play on acoustic guitar. Truly original and stands on it’s own. Electric guitars riffs during “we live in a beautiful world” makes this such an enjoyable listen. Not to take anything away from the title but Coldplay could have easily titled this Beautiful World. Yeah. Beautiful World would be a really nice title in my opinion.”

18. Shiver (Parachutes, 2000)

“This song is so peaceful and is one of those songs that make me feel relaxed. Aside from the harmony of it, if you look into the lyrics, it is actually a beautiful song about unrequited love. Chris Martin’s voice is also yearning in this song and it will make you feel so emotional”

17. Strawberry Swing (Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, 2008)

“With due respect to all the songs, this song is one of the most melodious song I’ve heard. The lyrics are damn awesome. Man, this songs lifts me to a whole different world. It’s a pleasure to hear this song and you want to hear this song over and over again. The lyrics and the music are so beautiful that its human impossible to describe how good a song it is. #1 material in my opinion.”

See more; Coldplay Albums Ranked

16. Amsterdam (A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002)

“Really, really underrated. Amsterdam, like most of Coldplay songs, is emotional, but this is a cut above their other stuff like ‘Fix You’. Chris Martin’s piano steals the show, and is the highlight of their strongest album ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ which is saying something when you think this album contains classics like ‘In My Place’ and ‘The Scientist. ‘ This song deals with loss remarkably and it really represents the band at it’s best”

15. Trouble (Parachutes, 2000)

“For me it’s the best. If Jeff Buckley was still alive he would have covered it because he would’ve loved it so much.I would swap it with viva la vida and you’d have a top 5 that is on par. If you’re looking for the best combination of lyrics, music and feeling trouble is it. Personally I also like Charlie Brown, in my place and Violet Hill, but actually they are all damn good :D. But Viva la Vida is not top 10. It’s in the same category as teardrop/waterfall (uplifting party song)”

14. Swallowed in the Sea (X&Y, 2005)

“This HAS to be the BEST song ever written by Coldplay, it is absolutely deep, touching and beautiful. The sad part is that it is also their most underrated song… I can’t believe that PARADISE could top the magic atmosphere that SITS has… it’s brilliant and a real all time masterpiece… is a shame that so many people can’t see this… I feel this is the true Coldplay spirit (of course, not leaving aside all the beautiful songs that follow this one), and it’s beautifully disposed in this marvellous song… (for the record, I’m part of of that group that believes that the first three albums are the best). No matter what, they will always surprise and amaze me, even though their new style is quite different that what it used to be… Thanks Coldplay for giving us magic like this, you guys are the best band and the reason I can’t stop listening to music”

13. Charlie Brown (Mylo Xyloto, 2011)

“Again, Coldplay has the musical talent but we also have to give them credit for their song titles. Wow. That said, this songs intro which comes up again and again in between Chris’s lyrics is what makes this song as good as it is and enjoyable to listen to.”

12. Talk (X&Y, 2005)

“The guitar riff is what makes this song so original not to mention catchy, at that’s really an understatement. The the drumming more than compliments, it is almost its own. Chris makes a great lyrical choice and wisely uses the same melody progression as the guitar riffs. Finishing, the base line, can easily be heard and has another element, different than the rest. You could basically listen to each individual separately and hear the same song 4 different ways since it has 4 different layers, each original. And finally listen to them all together, so I was wrong, 5 ways.”

11. In My Place (A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002)

“After some thought, I really thing this song is Coldplay’s best. It’s so perfect. The guitar lines, the drums, the vocals, and everything else about this song is smooth and well done. For awhile I thought Viva la Vida was my favorite song but after listening to it for a few months, I got bored with it. Whenever I think about Coldplay, I think about A Rush of Blood to the Head, and whenever I think about A Rush of Blood to the Head, I think about In My Place. So perfect, so emotional, so good. Best Coldplay right here, folks.”

10. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (Mylo Xyloto, 2011)

“I feel like this happens a lot; people come here and vote for the songs by artists they don’t know particularly well. The mainstream numbers end up high on these lists just because the people voting don’t actually have any experience with the variety of the artists’ work. Meanwhile, stellar pieces like Every Teardrop is a Waterfall only get 3%.”

9. A Sky Full of Stars (Ghost Stories, 2014)

“I’m never the one to call out people voting who don’t really know Coldplay’s music but honestly what. This song is so popular in the mainstream because it’s basic and upbeat. While it’s a great song because Coldplay can even rock a standard pop melody, it does little to showcase their talent or abilities, to be quite frank. People seeing this, go down the list–you would not believe what songs are below this: Till Kingdom Come, Atlas, Hurts Like Heaven, Lost!, X & Y, We Never Change, Up With the Birds, to name a FEW that should be above A Sky Full of Stars. The fact that this song is above, from the same album, Magic or Always in My Head is a travesty.”

8. Violet Hill (Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, 2008)

“This song is absolutely amazing, to me, it’s a melt of violence, bitterness, love, regret, with a powerful melody, powerful lyrics about a world quite hostile, and to me, it’s a kind of prayer, to tell people you care about not to “let you go”, to face that world with you. It creates a beautiful (violet) and dark picture in my head.”

7. Speed of Sound (X&Y, 2005)

“This song is just pure… Just… Wow. Pure heaven and bliss. The piano beginning just blows you away into some kind of heaven then yanks you back into the song with the soothing, flowing vocals by Chris and the incredible beat of the drums and takes you for a breathtaking ride through the music of Coldplay”

See more: Foals Albums Ranked

6. Paradise (Mylo Xyloto, 2011)

“Another really amazing song from Coldplay, musically (with the classical and alternative merge – amazing! ) and lyrically. It tells the tale of a little girl whose perception of the world is really quite different from reality. Every time I play this song it just has to be more than once… Or twice… Okay more like five times.”

5. Yellow (Yellow, 2000)

“There’s a reason Coldplay is famous. There’s a reason why Chris Martin said in 2000 before they played it at Glastonbury “hopefully this time next year you’ll sing along with it because it’ll be a HIT.” It was a hit. It affected people in a way that no other Coldplay song has done. Not Paradise, Clocks, Viva la Vida, The Scientist, none of those, not even Fix You can have changed anything like this song has. Had any of these been Coldplay’s second single, the band wouldn’t be anywhere as famous as it is today. It starts with Jonny Buckland’s electrifying guitar riff. You can hear the drums and Guy Berryman’s bass. Buckland’s riff provides the whole thing with the base it needs; I honestly think that the best thing about Coldplay is how they use the guitar. They make unique tunes that really sound so simple. “

4. Clocks (A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002)

“Clocks go out and a something, something… I have literally no idea what he is saying in this song, other than the opening lyric and a few other lines throughout the song. But the music is enchanting. The opening just hooks you right from the beginning, leading to a beautiful piece of soft rock gold. As well as the prominent bass guitar heard among the repetitive piano riff and the soft percussion, the instrumentation is impeccable, and Chris Martin’s tender vocals complement the song’s soft nature perfectly. It is certain to be stuck in your head for hours!”

3. The Scientist (A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002)

“It’s a ballad song, my most favorite song for a long time. This is highly subjective but I think many will agree with me that this is their best song at least in the 2000 era. It’s calming, full of mystery(the way I see it), heart-touching, and it’s one of those songs that can make your body hair stand on its own. And they kept the song simple, not overproduced. The guitar solo itself is just simply fantastic and calming( to me). Fix you, viva la vida, paradise sure they’re great but if I have to pick one, I’ll pick this just because it’s simply amazing.”

2. Viva la Vida (Viva la Vida, 2008)

“Coldplay is wonderful, and I love many of their songs, but for me Viva la Vida is the best. You can really connect with it, like others said, you feel like you are the king. It has some of the best lyrics to a Coldplay song, and Coldplay is lyrically brilliant. I love the strings in a rock song, and Martin’s voice is amazing in this song.”

1. Fix You (X&Y, 2005)

“”When you try your best, but you don’t succeed When you get what you want, but not what you need… ” Look up ‘Fix You live at Glastonbury’ on YouTube. It’s so incredible and beyond explanation. “… And the tears come streaming down your face, when you loose something you can’t replace, when you love someone but it goes to waste.. ” Even the most unemotional rock of a person can be reduced to tears by this saddening, yet beautiful song. Chris Martin puts certain emotions into words and music that us other people of the world cannot. Thanks for your music, Chris Martin.”