Hall & Oates Songs Ranked

Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly referred to as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in 1970 in Philadelphia. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s with a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues.
Hall and Oates have sold an estimated 40 million records. They are best known for their six No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100: “Rich Girl”, “Kiss on My List”, “Private Eyes”, “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”, “Maneater”, and “Out of Touch”, as well as many other songs which charted in the Top 40 including the singles “You Make My Dreams”, “She’s Gone”, “Say It Isn’t So” and “Sara Smile”. In total, they had 34 chart hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, seven RIAA platinum albums, and six RIAA gold albums. Billboard magazine named them the most successful duo of the rock era, surpassing Simon & Garfunkel and The Everly Brothers. They have achieved moderate success in the United Kingdom with two UK top ten albums, spending a total of 117 weeks in the UK top 75 album charts and 84 weeks in the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart. Here are all of Hall & Oats songs ranked.

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20. I Don’t Wanna Lose You (Along the Red Ledge, 1978)

“Daryl’s voice is very smooth and maturing slowly but surely into the fantastic voice that was realized fully in the ’80s. A great purchase if you enjoy Hall & Oates music.”

19. One on One (H2O, 1982)

“One on One” kicks off with a baldly artificial drum track, a goofy lyrical conceit, and an indelibly Coral Gables sunset-pink-and-coral-blue sax solo, the kind everyone my age remembers piping amiably through their orthodontist’s sound “system”.

18. You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling (Voices, 1980)

“The opening single from Voices had John Oates singing lead, and this one had him singing co-lead. Had I been more attuned to such things back then, I might have thought that John was going to be singing a lot more leads on the singles in the future. Instead, John was reduced to “ooo-wah”-ing for quite a while, at least on Hall & Oates singles.”

17. Las Vegas Turnaround (Abandoned Luncheonette, 1973)

“Las Vegas Turnaround”, in praise of an air-stewardess, showcases their way with a pretty, gently soaring tune and matching high harmonies, sweetly produced by Arif Mardin. You can hear that Hall likely wrote the more commercial verse and chorus with Oates contributing the more grounded middle eight, a neat summation of their partnership at this time, before Hall took up the majority of the writing chores.”

See more: Hall & Oates Albums Ranked

16. Possession Obsession (Big Bam Boom, 1984)

“Nice to hear John sing again, but this one is far more clever than engaging. John should sing more often, too bad he became secondary after the Voices album.”

15. Did It In a Minute (Private Eyes, 1981)

“After the genre-defying success of “I Can’t Go For That” it was back to the mundane for Hall and Oates with this follow-up track lifted from the same “Private Eyes” album. Fairly routine, shiny-clean but ultimately empty new-wave tinged pop, it makes a mild impression, nothing more.”

14. Adult Education (Rock ‘n Soul Part 1, 1984)

“The song fascinated when I was a teenager. It was something like an anthropological look at teenage life, and I for one took comfort from the line “Believe it or not, there’s life after high school”. Plus it was set to some pretty slick new-wave-infused soulful rock. The single edit went a bit nuts with the synthetic percussion, but I still greatly enjoyed it.”

13. Method of Modern Love (Big Bam Boom, 1984)

“Cool song, a quirky but decent chorus(a chorus in which Method Man’s moniker and wu tang clan song by the same name is derived) and decent and sometimes funny lyrics(with a small sorta rap at the end) laced over an echoing guitar sound and Daryl’s smooth vocal delivery putting it all together. They’ve done better songs for sure, but this is a nice number from 1984’s Big Bang Boom”

12. Alone Too Long (Daryl Hall & John Oates, 1975)

“Yes, I was one of those who got in to their 80’s pop singles back then. In 1984 I thought “Rock N Soul Part 1” was as good as it gets. But then I started to listen to many of their 70’s albums. This was one of those songs that jumped off the record at me! It quickly became a favorite because it showed the heart and soul of these two guys. It was not plastic or “hey, let’s wright a big pop smash”. This song is one of many examples of why these guys should and are in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame!”

11. Family Man (H2O, 1982)

“One of the few covers in the Hall & Oates catalog. I’ve now heard the original, and it’s fine for what it is, but I think this one definitely trumps it. Lots going on here: Daryl Hall sounding measured in the verses and full-out rocking in the choruses, the double-guitar interplay, the backing “ha, ha-ha”s, the keyboard washes, the blistering G E Smith solo. The lyrics tell the not-oft-told tale of a guy who sticks to his guns and turns down a chance for a roll in the hay.”

10. Sara Smile (Daryl Hall & John Oates, 1975)

“Hall and Oates first big hit on RCA was a typically dreamy Daryl Hall ballad. A nice combination of electronic keyboard and guitar, it’s simply constructed crisply produced and nicely sung. Any slight over-singing  by Hall is well compensated by the “”Ooo’s” in the background to reinforce the overall soothing aspect of the song.”

9. Rich Girl (Bigger Than Both of Us, 1976)

“This is the one that put Hall and Oates on the map. A great funk rant against the uppity girl relying on Daddy’s cash. Not even a Rock song but stills a cool one from Daryl Hall and John Oates at their live performances!”

8. Maneater (H₂O, 1982)

“One of the best tracks ever, You Make My Dreams and this one are the most iconic Daryl & John tracks they had in its favorite time! he Hook is one of the better one’s of the 80’s, the lyrics or completely simple but or yet very poignant, and the music fits in perfectly for the time period. This is one of those songs that defies limitations and remains on play from time to time.”

7. You Make My Dreams (Voices, 1981)

“This is Hall and Oates’ best song. As great as their other songs were, including 6 number one hits, this song is so amazing. It instantly makes you happy and want to sing it loud. It is so timeless you can’t believe it’s not a remake of some great old standard. It is Daryl’s finest vocal performance and that is saying a lot given his unbelievable talent.”

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6. Private Eyes (Private Eyes, 1981)

“This is the best Hall & Oates song of all time in my opinion. It has everything. Great lyrics, a rare story, a catchy bass good vocals, and yes, is iconic.”

5. Kiss on My List (Voices, 1980)

“Impossibly good 80’s pop song, everything about it hits with so much satisfaction – the piano, Daryl Hall’s ever impeccable vocals, the guitar solo – it’s simply a perfect piece of songcraft, a well oiled machine in the best sense possible. And it wasn’t even a one-off – it’s merely kind’ve better when compared with the rest of their peak. Truly godsends.”

4. Out of Touch (Big Bam Boom, 1984)

“Their last number 1 in America and a big, booming belter of a tune it is too, buffed up by Bob Clearmountain’s stadium-rock production. It didn’t work well for much else on the parent “Big Bam Boom” album, but for this out-there track, it works a treat.”

3. Say It Isn’t So (Rock ‘n Soul Part 1, 1983)

“This is 80’s Hall and Oates at their best. A snappy, modern piece of percussive synth-pop, sung predictably by Hall whose dominance of the duo’s A-sides had now reached George Michael proportions, it was one of two stand-alone new tracks released on their first (of many) hits compilations “Rock And Soul Part 1”.

2. She’s Gone (Abandoned Luncheonette, 1973)

“A tour-de-force from master producer Arif Mardin, soon afterwards to revive the fortunes of another group of tight-harmonising would-be soul boys, the Bee Gees. The intro in particular is a slow-building beauty, but the whole song is a high-class weepie, occasionally overdoing the drama, but on the whole delivering a memorable soul single that was the highlight of their excellent “Abandoned Luncheonette” album.”

1. I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Private Eyes, 1981)

“Daryl Hall sketched out the basic song one evening at a music studio in New York City, in 1981, after a recording session for the Private Eyes album. Hall started the Rock 1 setting on Roland CompuRhythm then began playing a bass line on a Korg organ, and sound engineer Neil Kernon recorded the result. Hall then came up with a guitar riff, which he and Oates worked on together. The next day, Hall, Oates and Sara Allen worked on the lyrics.”