10 Most Underrated Rolling Stones Songs

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The Rolling Stones have released so many classic songs across more than six decades that even some of their finest recordings have been overshadowed by the band’s legendary hits. This list highlights ten outstanding tracks that deserve far more attention, spanning nearly every era of the Stones’ remarkable career.

Our “10 Most Underrated Rolling Stones Songs” presents a showcase of fabulous songs from one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. Putting together a list of 10 underrated Rolling Stones songs is no easy task, given the band’s massive body of work over the past 60 years. How do you pick 10 underrated songs out of a 60-year period of work? The short answer is, you really can’t, but you can try. And that’s exactly what we did. Instead of focusing on just one era, we pulled from all their albums to provide a nice little cross-reference of the band’s different styles and sounds over seven decades of releasing music. We included something from their most recent album in 2023, then went all the way back to their second album in 1963. It’s a pretty wide range, but that’s what I think makes this list fun to look through.

For true blue, hardcore Rolling Stones fans, there are no underrated songs, as we love pretty much everything they put out. But for others, or the casual fan who just knows the hits, we hope this list turns you on not just to these songs but to the albums they were released on.

# 10 – “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” – Hackney Diamonds

We open our “10 Most Underrated Rolling Stones Songs” list with a brand-new Rolling Stones song, “The Sweet Sound of Heaven.” If you have not yet purchased this brand-new Rolling Stones album that came out last year, we highly recommend you get a copy. This is by far the best Stones album they have released since Some Girls. We were not expecting this.

To close out the album was this rock-and-roll gospel tune featuring Lady Gaga in a duet with Mick Jagger. They pushed each other to deliver a spectacular vocal performance that is one for the ages. I saw the Stones perform this song live a few months ago, and it brought the house down. This is a must-watch video, especially the last two minutes.

# 9 – “Summer Romance” – Emotional Rescue

The Rolling Stones’ Emotional Rescue album served as the follow-up to their worldwide smash Some Girls, released in 1978. Coming two years after that album, Emotional Rescue was released in the spring of 1980. This is, I think, one of the band’s most underrated albums because it was cast in the shadow of Some Girls. It was often compared to that record, which really wasn’t fair because Some Girls was one of the best albums ever released. It also served as the band’s decade-closing record to a phenomenal ten years of music they had released in the ’70s.

However, Emotional Rescue features some of the best Rolling Stones songs ever released, including the title track and “She’s So Cold.” The track that always stood out to us on the album was the second song on side one, called “Summer Romance.” The band at the time was Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood. The piano part on this track was played by Ian Stewart. Only two singles were released from this album: “Emotional Rescue” and “She’s So Cold.”

Besides being a follow-up to Some Girls, Emotional Rescue was also sandwiched between the Some Girls album and Tattoo You, which came out in 1981. This also makes it one of the forgotten Stones albums that we think deserves a little bit more love than it has gotten.

# 8 – “Off the Hook” – The Rolling Stones, Now!

I wonder how many people remember this one. Chances are, there aren’t that many, unless you’re an old Stones fan who had the first couple of albums. Like many British rock bands, they often had their record companies release different versions of their albums in the US than in the UK. In the United States, the song was released on the album The Rolling Stones, Now!. In the UK, it was released on The Rolling Stones No. 2. And, of course, the song was placed in different spots on both albums, as even the track listings were different.

Over the years, this song has kind of gotten lost. It’s a simple tune, but that’s what rock and roll is all about, especially in the ’50s and early ’60s. Just a few chord changes and a simple melody, but that’s all you needed if you had a passionate performance and great playing. This song was also one of the few originals that the Stones had composed on those first couple of albums, which were mainly covers of blues songs.

# 7 – “Stupid Girl” – Aftermath

Aftermath (UK) - Remastered- Made In USA

In the number seven position on our “10 Most Underrated Rolling Stones Songs” list is another ’60s Rolling Stones song that was released on both the United States and United Kingdom versions of the grand Aftermath album. It was interesting that these different editions of the same album even had different covers and, of course, different track listings. However, in this case, “Stupid Girl” was placed as the second track on both the US and UK editions of the album. This song was also covered by the rock band Garbage about forty years later. The album Aftermath was released in 1966. “Stupid Girl” was the B-side to the album’s single “Paint It, Black.”

# 6 – “The Worst” – Voodoo Lounge

We couldn’t put together this underrated list of Rolling Stones songs without adding at least one Keith Richards song. There are probably a lot more we could add to this list, but there’s so much ground to cover with the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards’ ballad “The Worst” is definitely one of his most heartbreaking songs, and it just sounds so genuine in every single lyric. Richard bleeds so tenderly, with incredible regret, throughout the entire song.

There’s a bit of a country vibe, a bit of a Celtic vibe; it’s a whole lot of influence going on in this song, which makes a lot of sense because this is a man who has traveled the world many times, laid his guitar down, and just hung out with just about everybody and anybody who wanted to engage in conversation with the man who is one of the most loved rock stars of all time. The song was released on the Voodoo Lounge album, which came out in 1993.

# 5 – “Dance Little Sister” – It’s Only Rock ’n Roll

At the halfway point on our “10 Most Underrated Rolling Stones Songs” list is one of those B-sides that we always thought was better than the A-side. The Rolling Stones song “Dance Little Sister” was the B-side to the second single released from the album It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll. The A-side of this single was a cover of the classic Motown song “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” The initial single from the album was the title track “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll.”

The It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll album was released in 1974 and followed Goats Head Soup, which came out in 1973. This was kind of a slower period for the Rolling Stones as these two albums are not always met with great critical acclaim and are considered by some as maybe the weakest of the band’s 1970s output. However, that was usually the opinion back in the mid-’70s when this was going on. Looking back, of course, these are great rock and roll albums.

Of course, if you look at the Rolling Stones’ output in the ’70s, they had Sticky Fingers in 1971 and Exile on Main St. in 1972, which are pretty hard to follow up. Then, after It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll came out in 1974, the Stones released Black and Blue in 1976, which was a transitional album for the group as they had just added Ronnie Wood, who replaced Mick Taylor. And then, of course, there is the album Some Girls, which closed out the decade in an incredible fashion.

# 4 – “Torn and Frayed” – Exile on Main St.

It’s hard to pick a song that can be presented as underrated when it was released on an album that everybody feels was the Rolling Stones’ masterpiece. The Stones released many great albums, but Exile on Main St. stands as probably the most highly acclaimed album of their career. It wasn’t an album filled with big-time hits, though there were songs like “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice” that were massive hits. But for a two-album set, it wasn’t loaded with many hit singles. But that didn’t matter; this was the Rolling Stones.

So, how do you pick one that’s underrated? Well, I’m not really sure we could argue that this is that underrated, given how loved this album was. We almost went with “Sweet Virginia,” but we think that one’s got a lot of love over the years, and of course, “Shine a Light,” which Scorsese titled his documentary after. So, we went with the classic song “Torn and Frayed,” which once again showcased a wide range of musical styles. This song was so representative of the influence that both Jagger and Richards have had, not just on music fans, but as music fans themselves.

# 3 – “Terrifying” – Steel Wheels

Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman made for one of the greatest bass-drummer combinations in rock and roll history. Listen to the groove these two guys laid down on this smoking groove-oriented song, “Terrifying.” This sensational song was released as the fourth single from the Steel Wheels album, following the lead single “Mixed Emotions,” the follow-up “Rock and a Hard Place,” and then the third single “Almost Hear You Sigh.” The Steel Wheels album closed out the 1980s for the Rolling Stones in a big way; the band launched a massive world tour when they released it.

This is definitely one of the band’s best albums of their later era and probably the most underrated. Every track on this record is great. It’s a lost Rolling Stones album. If you haven’t listened to it in a long time or haven’t purchased it, we’d highly recommend Steel Wheels.

# 2 – “Moonlight Mile” – Sticky Fingers

Putting the Rolling Stones song “Moonlight Mile” in the second spot on our list is an interesting choice for various reasons. One reason is that it is one of the most popular Rolling Stones songs in the catalog among die-hard fans. All Stone fans love this song, and that’s just one of the reasons why it’s ranked so high. Another reason is that it never became a hit; it was never released as a single, and as far as mass culture goes, it’s not a well-known song. It’s primarily known among dedicated fans, which, of course, includes a lot of people.

“Moonlight Mile” was originally released on what possibly may be considered the greatest Rolling Stones album, Sticky Fingers. That album was released in 1971. “Moonlight Mile” was the closing track on the album. The song was composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and featured Charlie Watts on drums, Bill Wyman on bass, Mick Taylor on guitar, Keith Richards on guitar, and Mick Jagger on vocals. Jim Price played piano on the track.

# 1 – “Memory Motel” – Black and Blue

We close out our “10 Most Underrated Rolling Stones Songs” list with one of our favorite Rolling Stones songs of all time, “Memory Motel.” When Black and Blue was released in 1976, it marked a significant moment for the band, featuring their brand new guitarist, Ron Wood, who had replaced Mick Taylor. The album cover was striking, and I remember everyone in high school talking about the reggae influence on the new Rolling Stones album. Although there were a few songs with a reggae feel, the track that struck me the most was “Memory Motel,” the closing track on side one.

“Memory Motel” is a stunning ballad and one of the most emotional songs I had ever heard. At the time, it became a big hit and received extensive airplay on the radio. However, since then, it has sort of faded, which is sad because this is such a breathtaking piece of music. The song was written about an actual hotel in Montauk, New York, which is the furthest point east on the southern tip of Long Island. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards penned the song while staying at Andy Warhol’s house in Montauk. There are many rumors about the identity of the woman mentioned in the song, with many pointing to Carly Simon. But of course, these are only rumors, and who really knows if it was about anyone specific.