Foreigner Songs Ranked
Foreigner is a British–American rock band, originally formed in New York City and London in 1976 by veteran English musician and ex–Spooky Tooth member Mick Jones, and fellow Briton and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm.
Jones came up with the band’s name as he, McDonald, and Dennis Elliott were British, while Gramm, Al Greenwood, and Ed Gagliardi were American. Their biggest hit single, “I Want to Know What Love Is”, topped the United Kingdom and the United States charts among others. Another one of their hit singles, “Waiting for a Girl Like You”, peaked at number two on the US chart for a record-setting 10 weeks. They are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records, including 37.5 million records in the US.
Current band members are Kelly Hansen (lead vocals and percussion); Mick Jones (lead and rhythm guitar, keyboard, backing, and lead vocals); Thom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, saxophone, and flute); Jeff Pilson (bass and backing vocals); Michael Bluestein (keyboard and backing vocals); Bruce Watson (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals); and Chris Frazier (drums and percussion). Here are all Foreigner songs ranked.
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20. Starrider (Foreigner, 1977)
“This is such an amazing song. One of their best and one of my favorites without a doubt. So great and so underrated. This song is not that well known, but it showcases a guitar solo that rivals that of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb. Mick is the best!”
19. Girl On the Moon (4, 1981)
“So beautiful and mesmerizing. Their most beautiful song with cool vocals and solo. This song needs more recognition..”
18. Night Life (4, 1981)
“Foreigner at their commercial peak. Almost every track was or could have been a hit single, which demonstrates the band’s knack at writing memorable tunes, whatever their many detractors may have said.”
17. Until the End of Time (Mr. Moonlight, 1994)
“The quality was there, but the timing wrong—by about 10 years. If this power ballad had been released in the mid-’80s, it would most likely have been a huge hit. The song has everything that Foreigner had to offer—Gramm’s power vocals, a huge hook, urgency and intensity, and poignant lyrics. “
See more: Foreigners Albums Ranked
16. Say You Will (Inside Information, 1987)
“This song is extremely cheesy like Wisconsin dairy products, and said bearded Dutch farmers of those dairy products, however this was the 1980’s when cheese and big hair were in. This song is such utter crap that is fantastic from time to time, not quite as awesome as Waiting for a girl like you though.”
15. Heart Turns to Stone (Inside Information, 1987)
“Another great Foreigner song-though honestly, I find almost anything by Foreigner to be good. Amazing song, should be in the top 10. The chorus is great.”
14. I Don’t Want to Live Without You (Inside Information, 1987)
“Very emotional and beautiful song by Foreigner. Despite the band’s inner turmoil, they managed to put out a strong record, full of the well-crafted, singable rock fare we’ve come to expect from Mick and Lou, proving once again that neither one could capture alone the magic of the Foreigner sound. “Heart Turns to Stone” continues to be one of my favorite Foreigner songs.”
13. Head Games (Head Games, 1979)
“A very catchy mid-tempo AOR/Arena Rock classic that is one of my favorite songs by this group. You can hear the synthesizers really begin to foreshadow the sound of 80’s AOR on this track, yet there is a rough edge to the production (especially the drum sound) that gives the song an interesting contrast, which I find especially appealing. This song used to get stuck in my head often, and for good reason.”
12. Long, Long Way from Home (Foreigner, 1977)
“Foreigner has cleverly used saxophone in many of their best songs and avoided being labelled as a “saxophone” band. This is a very well-written song, and it holds up well over time.”
11. Blue Morning, Blue Day (Double Vision, 1978)
“This isn’t the first song most people think of when they think of Foreigner, but it’s about as quintessential a Foreigner song as any if ever a quintessential Foreigner song there were. One of my favorites – in fact, it might just be my favorite with the exception of “Break It Up”, another ‘as quintessential as any’ song by Foreigner that nobody ever thinks of.”
10. Dirty White Boy (Head Games, 1979)
“Dirty White Boy” single, pins the needle, and is a piston-pounding summertime driving classic from Foreigner. The big chorus and cool song content fires from the off with a quick drum roll and hot guitar lick. Lou Gramm’s simple, yet effective, street drag racin’ lyrics tell the story of a stout 400 horse hot rod that blows by the competition. In addition, Gramm’s golden voice accents the drag racing’ rocker.”
9. Double Vision (Double Vision, 1978)
“This is how to blend distorted, banging power chords with saxophone. Straight forward rhythms, classic hard-rock hammering on that axe until you sneak up on that chorus with that sax, and the ethereal picking of that third guitar drifts through chorus. Skip the bridge for an extended outro, and you have classic arena rock. Well done, Foreigner.”
8. That Was Yesterday (Agent Provocateur, 1984)
“Despite being a synth-heavy Foreigner song, this one has a good amount of backbone to it. Lou Gramm manages to make his vocals sound alternately wistful, bitter and defiant. No, it doesn’t “rock” but it’s a very solid and catchy single.”
7. Hot Blooded (Double Vision, 1978)
“Lou Gramm just never passed muster as a macho poser. He strikes me as a guy who would routinely get laughed at by anybody to whom he asked “I wanna know what you’re doing after the show”…except perhaps the most indiscriminate groupie. (Maybe the rest of the band had already hooked up, and it was either Lou or the merch guy.) The guitar work almost lets him get away with it, though. Almost.”
6. Feels Like the First Time (Foreigner, 1977)
“This was the song that introduced most of us to them. I remember the first time I heard this song,we were on our way up a slope and heard I was climbing a moutain,we all laughed so hard until we got to the top. The song became a regular thing after that as still today we sing the song going up that slope.”
5. Urgent (4, 1981)
“Such a great song, relatable to all age groups, regardless of whether you were alive and well when it came out or not even born then, it is a truly timeless classic that everyone can groove to.”
4. Cold as Ice (Foreigner, 1977)
“Amazing piano riff, great vocals, and incredible guitar solo. I love this song. It was great lyrics, music beat. Great everything.”
3. Waiting for a Girl Like You (4, 1981)
“Foreigner is a great rock and roll band, first and foremost, but this ballad is one of Lou Gramm’s finest vocals! A beautiful and haunting song and, to my mind, vastly superior to “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
2. Juke Box Hero (4, 1981)
“What an awesome song. I think Mick was telling his story on this one adding his searing guitar to Lou’s soaring vocals. Excellent arrangement as well. Don’t be deceived by the slow, mellow intro, it slowly develops into a rhythmic, upbeat outro that is not to be missed, quality song.”
1. I Want to Know What Love Is (Agent Provocateur, 1984)
“I first heard this song sung by Jamar Rogers and Jamie Lono on the Voice 2 and I thought ‘Hey, the lyrics are kinda cool’. And I felt the song was good. So I went on YouTube and searched the original song, which was even better. Phenomenal.”
