10 Most Rocking Heart Songs

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Our “10 Most Rocking Heart Songs” list is a showcase of the most intense, high-energy rock and roll tracks that Heart has ever released. Naturally, with only ten songs to choose from, some fan favorites will be left out, but we wanted to put together a selection of tracks that truly capture Heart’s harder, edgier side. Ever since their debut album, Ann and Nancy Wilson have been rocking relentlessly. While the band has released its share of ballads, it’s safe to say that a large portion of their music is unapologetically rock-driven, making a list like this challenging since most of their catalog is indeed heavy-hitting.

One reason we create these lists is to introduce listeners to songs they may not be familiar with—unless, of course, you’re a dedicated Heart fan, in which case you’ll know every track here. Heart achieved tremendous success in the ’70s and ’80s with hits like “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” and “What About Love,” but in the 2000s, they released a series of hard-rocking albums that may have flown under the mainstream radar. We’ve made sure to include selections from these albums, such as Red Velvet Car and Fanatic, which stand among the best work the band has ever done.

# 10 – How Can I Refuse – Passionworks

Opening our list of Heart’s most rocking songs is one of our all-time favorites, “How Can I Refuse.” This track opens Heart’s seventh album, Passionworks, which was released in the early ’80s. It’s an interesting album, sounding unlike any other in their catalog. Passionworks stands almost in a unique space, coming between two of the band’s most commercially successful periods. It doesn’t have the big hits or high production values of their mid-career work when they signed with a new record label and found immense success with albums like Heart, Bad Animals, and Brigade.

This album also marks a shift away from the Zeppelin-inspired acoustic rock of their ’70s records like Dreamboat Annie and Little Queen. There’s something distinctly different about Passionworks, and though it’s hard to put a finger on it, the sound is uniquely captivating. The album opener, “How Can I Refuse,” is a powerful, hard-rocking track featuring great chord changes, strong lyrics, and an unforgettable melody.

Starting off this list of Heart’s most electrifying songs, “How Can I Refuse” epitomizes the high-energy rock style that Heart showcased in the early 1980s. Released as the lead single from Passionworks, the band’s seventh studio album, this track reflects a period of transition as Heart moved from their signature folk-rock sound to a more polished, radio-ready approach. Produced by Keith Olsen, Passionworks brought the Wilson sisters together with new band members, including Mark Andes on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums. The song achieved notable success on the Billboard charts, reaching number one on the Top Rock Tracks chart—the band’s only song to achieve this—and peaking at number forty-four on the Hot 100.

# 9 – Fanatic – Fanatic

As noted in our introduction, Heart released some great rock records in the 2000s and 2010s. One of them was the great album Fanatic, released in 2012. It was produced by Grammy-winning Ben Mink, who previously worked with the band on Red Velvet Car. The album Fanatic was recorded across various hotel rooms and studios along the West Coast, a choice that infuses the track with a sense of restless energy fitting for a band constantly on the move and evolving.

“Fanatic” opens with a dark dirty guitar riff that is quickly met by Ann Wilson’s golden vocal chops. The song is then fueled by a pulsating very modern 21st century rock and roll groove proving that Heart has always been a band that never stopped growing musically. The song “Fanatic” peaked at number twenty-four on Billboard’s Heritage Rock chart.

# 8 – Oldest Story In the World – Jupiters Darling

“Oldest Story in the World” kicks off Jupiters Darling, Heart’s 2004 album. Old time heart fans are blown away by this album. It was a return to their 70 Style sound but it was surrounded by production values that said hello 21st century. This was killer stuff. The track “Oldest Story in the World” was placed as the second song on the album after the sensational opening track “Make Me.”

Ann’s vocals deliver the song’s narrative with both passion and grit, exploring the enduring human experience of heartbreak and moving forward, as suggested by lines like “Caught in the crossfire / But I came alive.” Jupiters Darling did not chart as highly as their earlier albums, yet it remains a critical favorite among Heart fans for its authenticity and raw sound. If you missed this album and you’re an old school Heart fan, I highly recommend you picking it up.

# 7 – WTF – Red Velvet Car

“WTF,” marks three in a row from Heart’s three stand out rock and roll albums from the 21st century. “WTF,” was released in Red Velvet Car in 2010. Produced by Ben Mink and released on Legacy Recordings, Red Velvet Car was Heart’s first top-10 album on the US Billboard 200 since Brigade in 1990, debuting at number ten with 27,000 copies sold in its opening week. The song “WTF” quickly made an impact, hitting number nineteen on the Hot Singles Sales chart. It made complete sense that this one had a fast impact because just by listening to the song’s intro you’re knocked out by the opening drum fill that then is kicked aside by a smoking guitar riff that’s dark and heavy. This is rock and roll baby!

Ann’s powerhouse vocals seem to grow more intense as the song unfolds. The lyrics tap into themes of frustration, disillusionment, and anger through lines like, “You say you love me, well, I don’t care.” The song’s tension-filled arrangement, supported by Ben Smith’s dynamic percussion and Ric Markmann’s steady bass, reinforces the track’s aggressive tone. Compared to other tracks on this list, such as “Fanatic” from the 2012 album of the same name, “WTF” maintains a similar intensity but with a rawer, more abrasive edge.

# 6 – Bebe Le Strange – Bebe Le Strange

Heart’s fifth studio album Bébé le Strange stands as one of our favorite Heart albums of all time. The album contains so many great tunes, like the hit single “Even It Up” and, of course, the Nancy Wilson song “Raised on You.” We almost went with “Rockin’ Heaven Down” from this album, but after going back and forth between “Rockin’ Heaven Down” and “Bébé le Strange,” we chose the title track, simply because the vocal harmonies in the chorus are just so addictive to listen to. Produced by Mike Flicker, this album marks the first without founding member Roger Fisher.

# 5 – Heartless – Magazine

“Heartless” marks one of Heart’s most intense rock songs, capturing the fury and disillusionment of a lover wronged. Originally recorded in 1976 for Magazine, the song’s release was delayed until 1978 due to a legal dispute with the band’s former label, Mushroom Records. This hard rock anthem opens with a haunting, synthesizer-driven intro that quickly escalates into a powerful guitar-driven melody. The song showcases Ann Wilson’s electrifying vocals as she embodies the anguish of betrayal, backed by her sister Nancy Wilson’s fierce guitar work. Musically, “Heartless” serves as a dark, relentless narrative that merges rock intensity with thematic drama.

The lyrics of “Heartless” paint a vivid story of a scorned lover trapped in a toxic relationship with a manipulative, uncaring partner. Lines like, “The doctor said come back again next week / I think that you need me,” reveal the depth of emotional damage inflicted by this heartless figure. The lyrics reflect a harsh reality of betrayal, as the protagonist struggles with the impact of the partner’s cold actions: “He never realizes the way love dies / When you crucify its soul.” This exploration of emotional manipulation highlights the song’s powerful themes, blending the personal with a broader statement on heartbreak and resilience.

Despite the behind-the-scenes struggles over the album’s release, “Heartless” performed well, reaching number twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100 and eighteen on both the Canadian RPM Top Singles and US Cash Box Top 100. This track serves as a unique counterpart to other songs on the list, especially “How Can I Refuse,” which, while intense, offers a more uplifting tone. By contrast, “Heartless” reveals Heart’s ability to dig deep into the darker facets of love and heartbreak, making it a quintessential example of the band’s raw, emotional storytelling within the rock genre.

# 4 – The Wolf – Heart

I am well aware that Heart’s 1985 album wasn’t well received by hardcore fans due to the band’s image change and the shift toward more commercial appeal pushed by their new record company. However, looking back nearly 30 years since its release, the album stands as a great rock and roll record. Despite the heavy production, if you strip away the reverb, sound effects, and hairspray, you’ll find some truly great songs on this record. One of the best is the album’s closing number, “The Wolf.” This is pure rock and roll, Heart-style—give it a chance and take a listen.

The album, Heart, marked the band’s debut with Capitol Records and achieved monumental success, eventually reaching quintuple platinum status. Co-written by Ann and Nancy Wilson with contributions from band members Howard Leese, Mark Andes, Denny Carmassi, and longtime collaborator Sue Ennis, “The Wolf” captured an intense, aggressive sound for this track, echoing the raw passion that fueled the band’s early work.

Read More: 10 Most Underrated Heart Songs

# 3 – City’s Burning – Private Audition

For so many years this album Private Audition was impossible to find on CD and went for big bucks on sites like eBay. Eventually, it was re-released, and you could get it for pretty cheap. However, now that nobody makes CDs anymore, it’s gone back to being really tough to find and expensive. So let that be a lesson to you folks—hold on to your CDs; don’t throw them out just like you did your baseball cards because you’re not going to find them anymore. Anyway, back to the song.

“City’s Burning” was written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Sue Ennis, and produced by the Wilson sisters along with Howard Leese. This track was inspired by the turbulent news of John Lennon’s murder in 1980. Ann Wilson described the song’s storyline as depicting a couple’s contrasting reactions to this shocking event, illustrating how tragic news can stir drastically different emotional responses. The song’s release saw moderate chart success, reaching number fifteen on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart. In our opinion, it is one of Heart’s most underrated gems and definitely a scorching rocker.

Read More: Top 10 Heart Albums

# 2 – Barracuda – Little Queen

Released in 1977 on Heart’s Little Queen, “Barracuda” stands as one of the band’s most iconic tracks, capturing a fiery blend of anger, empowerment, and unrelenting energy. Written by Ann and Nancy Wilson, along with band members Roger Fisher, Michael DeRosier, and Howard Leese, this song emerged from Heart’s frustration with Mushroom Records, whose dubious marketing tactics had led to a fabricated story about an incestuous relationship between the Wilson sisters. The song’s lyrics reflect Ann Wilson’s anger at a promoter’s crude remark, which inspired her to craft the song’s confrontational verses. The fiery lyrics and powerful riffs led “Barracuda” to peak at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually become VH1’s 34th-best hard rock song of all time. If you ever played in a garage band in the 1970s chances are that this was one of the tunes you tried to impress your friends with.

# 1 – Crazy On You – Dreamboat Annie

Closing out this list is “Crazy on You,” a Heart classic that stands as one of their most iconic tracks, showcasing both their fierce rock energy and poetic depth. Released in March 1976 as the first U.S. single from their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, “Crazy on You” introduced Heart’s unique sound, merging folk-inspired acoustic guitar with electric rock intensity. Nancy Wilson’s rapid acoustic intro—reminiscent of The Moody Blues’ “Question”—sets a dynamic pace before the song launches into a full-throttle rock anthem, where Ann Wilson’s soaring vocals captivate listeners with raw, expressive emotion. This single climbed to number 35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and found even greater success internationally, reaching number 2 in the Netherlands, solidifying its place as a staple in Heart’s repertoire and on classic rock radio stations. Heart’s lineup for this track includes Ann on lead vocals and Nancy on acoustic guitar, backed by Roger Fisher’s electric guitar and Steve Fossen’s bass, with Kat Hendrikse on drums. I love this song….. and I know you do too. That’s why it’s number one here!