The Stone Roses Songs Ranked

The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band’s classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Mani, and drummer Reni. Following much-intensified media speculation, The Stone Roses called a press conference on 18 October 2011 to announce that the band had reunited and would perform a reunion world tour in 2012, including three homecoming shows in Heaton Park, Manchester. Plans to record the third album in the future were also floated but only two singles were released. In June 2012, Chris Coghill, the writer of a new film which is set during the Stone Roses 1990 Spike Island show, revealed that the band “have at least three or four new tracks recorded”. In June 2013, a documentary about the band’s reformation directed by Shane Meadows and titled The Stone Roses: Made of Stone was released. In 2016, they released their first new material in two decades. The band members continued to tour until June 2017, at which point cryptic remarks by Brown indicated the band had split again, later confirmed in a 2019 interview with Squire. Here are all of The Stone Roses’ songs ranked.

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15. Good Times (Second Coming, 1994)

“Awesome rock album, one of the most underrated albums ever. Every bit as good as the first. The lyrics and guitar are amazing. Its a shame these guys broke up.”

14. Mersey Paradise (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“The Mersey is a river in England that runs near Manchester (the Roses home town) among other places. This song sounds slightly suicidal, possibly because of a girl (“she doesn’t care about my despair”) but then again it could be for any number of reasons. Maybe its a reflection of times as a kid when the world seemed to want to drag you down.”

13. Breaking Into Heaven (Second Coming, 1994)

“Great song especially the version on the very best of the stone roses compilation as the version on the second coming is far too long at the beginning. I think the lyrics portray the devil in which he or she is trying to break into heaven and completely dominate it. The line ‘Heaven’s gates won’t hold me I’ll saw those suckers down’ indicates this.”

12. Don’t Stop (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“Yeah, I played it backwards and it seems like they basically reversed the guitar, bass, and vocal parts of “Waterfall”, did a different percussion track, and then came up with new lyrics based on the words the backwards syllables kind of sounded like. It’s pretty trippy both backwards and forwards.”

See more: The Stone Roses Albums Ranked

11. Ten Storey Love Song (Second Coming, 1994)

“This is simply excellent pop/rock. Great chorus, uplifting song, and nice, understated guitar break. One of the highlights of Second Coming..which wasn’t as bad as some people claim.”

10. Elephant Stone (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“Too much 90’s for the 80’s. Except for the vocals, every element of this song is sooooo 90s. The psychedelic guitars, the complex druming, the song getting so busier and exhilarating near the end. It’s fresh. An avalanche from start to finish (and that’s what makes the long version… not so good. It takes too much time, listen to those drums coming in so fiercely in this one). I still don’t understand why this tune was never included in their debut LP. It would have been a highlight.”

9. Love Spreads (Second Coming, 1994)

“A fantastic song even is the guitar playing is too self-indulgent & far too influenced by both Jimmy Page & Jimi Hendrix. The religious imagery of the lyrics though is its main strength, with its opening line of “Love spreads her arms, waits there for the nails” & the hook line of “The Messiah is my sister” it’s obviously challenging the usual Christian concept of Jesus as a white male.”

8. This Is the One (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“Best song ever by the roses, quintessential roses song in my opinion as it represent everything they are which is a beautiful and melodic guitar player who can create darker undertones if he wants (breaking into heaven, love spreads etc). Reni is the pounding heartbeat of the roses sound which pulses throughout the song. Great singer who is perfect for the song effortless and arrogant at the same time, The bass lines are simple and beautiful however in simplicity there is truth. Ian browns lyrics are a work of art and that is an understatement, for those who insult Ian Brown for his singing for not being technically great, that is like insulting an amazing author for his handwriting and if you say he is a singer you are not grasping on what the roses are as a band and their beauty and message.”

7. Sally Cinnamon (The Complete Stone Roses, 1995)

“I am a HUGE stone roses fan. The debut album is one of the best I’ve ever heard, a good follow up album and excellent B-sides. It is so tough to decide, I love every song on their debut album, the second coming also has some great songs and other excellent B-sides but this is the best. Such fantastic lyrics, rhythm, so easily to sing along to, a fantastic song.”

6. Made of Stone (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“As soon as you reach the chorus of the song, you will realize you are listening to an anthem. It’s one of the best songs of that generation. The best stone roses song, chilling lyrics, unforgettable guitar riff, and fantastic instrumental.”

See more: Guns N’ Roses Songs Ranked

5. Fools Gold (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“They stretched this out for about fifteen minutes at Benicassim and it was amazing – Squire doing the funkiest guitar work you will hear, along with the impossibly grooved out rhythm section. Really turned me on to what a tight band they were. Even Brown sounded great, probably because he was just shaking away on the maracas for all except a couple of minutes.”

4. She Bangs the Drums (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“The amount of amazing Britpop singles that came out of Stone Roses s/t is simply amazing. This one features a happy jangly melody, a catchy joyful hook, and some psychedelic moments in it as well. The guitars have some cool riffs.”

3. Waterfall (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“Waterfalls is a pretty great brit pop song. It has a great jangly guitar and an incredibly catchy hook. It simply exhales joy and happiness, yet it is so well done that it never becomes annoying. great single.”

2. I Wanna Be Adored (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“Everything about The Stone Roses’ self-titled is wonderful, but this achieves a dreamy atmosphere that ought to impress anyone who loves rock ‘n’ roll. It gradually picks up throughout the song, but maintains very calm and soothing.”

1. I Am the Resurrection (The Stone Roses, 1989)

“Best Stone Roses song by far. One of the best in the world in fact. The lyrics are unbelievable as well as the instruments. Ian Browns vocals are strong and empowering. Those last lines just make you feel so powerful and euphoric. And no other band could pull off a 5 minute ending like that! Overall just an amazing and powerful song- non other like it in the world.”