20 Most Nostalgic Songs Of All Time

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If there’s one thing music does, it brings you back to another time. There’s a word for that. It’s called nostalgia. Now, of course, a song doesn’t have to have anything to do with nostalgia to bring you back to your high school days. It’s the songs you remember hearing in high school, like the KISS song “Rock and Roll All Night”; that has nothing to do with nostalgia, but it brings you back. However, this article is not about songs that bring you back in time, although many of these will definitely do that; it’s about songs that are actually about remembering certain times in one’s life or others’. These songs are actually about nostalgia. There are plenty of them. Here are 20 that we think are some of the best

# 20 – “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” – The Four Seasons

I probably could not have thought of a better one to open this list with than this great 1970s Four Seasons song. It’s really the last big hit Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons ever had. Almost all their hits were released in the ’60s; this one seems to come out of nowhere and rode the disco wave. The song title pretty much tells you what it’s all about.

# 19 – Main Street – Bob Seger

This is sort of a rock and roll companion piece to our opening track. Bob Seger paints a picture of one evening quite vividly. The use of the word Main Street makes this one universal, and it’s just so perfect for nostalgia because everybody had a main street in their life. A lot of people would have probably picked “Night Moves” instead, and you really can’t argue against that, because that one’s also full of nostalgia; there’s something about “Main Street” that I always liked.

# 18 – If You Know What I Mean – Neil Diamond

Next to Elton John and Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond was probably the biggest single male rock singer of the 60s and 70s. Even into the ’80s, he still maintained his popularity. And even now in the 2020s, people still love him. There’s just something very special about Neil Diamond; that voice is just so earnest. Beautiful Noise will always be my favorite Neil Diamond album. Produced by Robbie Robertson of the Band, this one was really special. It painted a picture so clear and yet so nostalgic, and it was this song that made it all work perfectly.

# 17 – Cherry Bomb – John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp had so many different musical periods in his career where his sound changed. This was probably his third shift in sound, which I think was heavily inspired by Springsteen’s success with Born in the U.S.A. This is where Mellencamp went Americana with a great pop-rock feel. He was getting there, probably before Born In The U.S.A.came out so that wasn’t one hundred percent of what shifted his direction but it definitely inspired it. This is my favorite John Mellencamp period.

# 16 – It Was A Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra

It’s time to bring old blue eyes into the mix here. Frank Sinatra probably recorded more songs about nostalgia than anybody else. He may have recorded more songs about anything than anybody else. His catalog is vast. My first choice was “September Of My Years,” but I thought about it a little, and I think this one works better. Additionally, the way it was used in season 2 of The Sopranos was brilliant.

# 15 – I’ve Loved These Days – Billy Joel

What I love about this Billy Joel song is that it’s not just about going back to the past, it’s about realizing how wonderful life can be in the present, and holding on to it in the moment. That is probably the most joyous use of nostalgia that one can ever be a part of.

# 14 – I Wish – Stevie Wonder

When Stevie Wonder sings about how, when he was younger, his only concern was what is next toy would be, you can’t help but be pulled back to that time, when you had no worries, no car payments, no mortgage, no rent, none of the aggravation that we deal with on a daily basis as adults, parents, grandparents, and of course work. I don’t think I’m exaggerating; when I say at least once in a while, we all think, ” Wow, it would be nice to go back to being a kid, when life was much simpler. Well, maybe not for everyone.

# 13 – Superstar – The Carpenters

Just the sound of Karen Carpenter’s voice brings up feelings of nostalgia. It’s hard to believe that we lost her over 40 years ago. The song opens with the line “long ago and oh so far away,” but it’s not just the lyrics; it’s the melody, the voice, and the pain you can hear everywhere.

# 12 – Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio? – The Ramones

Well, after that last sad song, I thought we needed something to lift up our spirits. When Phil Spector met the Ramones, this was the result. And who in their right mind would have ever thought that Phil Spector would have produced a Ramones album?

# 11 – 65 Love Affair

Paul Davis seemed to come out of nowhere in the late seventies, and had a couple of really big hits. They weren’t just hits; they were songs that people fell in love with. Songs like “Cool Night” and the very much loved “I Go Crazy.” Yet this one’s all about nostalgia and somehow feels like the forgotten hit. Not today.

# 10 – Backstreets – Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen opens this one talking about that one summer in his life, when he and Terry became friends. The summer they shared their love of movies, while growing up on the streets just trying to somehow make sense of it all. He paints a vivid picture of growing up in the city and I related to this dearly in the 1970s the first time I heard it.

# 9 – Boys Of Summer – Don Henley

Some songs drip nostalgia from the lyrics, others from the melody. This one does both. Although as strong as the title is filled with nostalgia, it’s the music that really drives the feeling behind this one.

# 8 – I Will Remember You – Sarah McLachlan

The first time I ever heard this song was at the end of the great independent movie The Brothers McMullen. I was instantly smitten by it. Some songs just had that magic touch. They make you feel deeper about a lost love, the one that got away, or that one person where you both knew it wasn’t going to work out but never wanted to forget each other. I hear all of that in this song, and is there no stronger feeling of nostalgia than remembering that special someone?

# 7 – Old Days – Chicago

The title of this one screams nostalgia probably more than any other song on this list. I remember being in eighth grade when this song came out. I loved it instantly. Chicago was so huge in the 70s. I’ll never forget those Chicago / Beach Boys concerts. It’s funny how this song came out when I was 12 years old so I wasn’t really thinking about nostalgia at the time, but now when I hear it………

# 6 – Suddenly Last Summer – The Motels

Is there another season that brings back nostalgia more than Summer? Well, maybe Fall, but I think a lot of people will argue for Summer because it’s when a lot of people go away and spend maybe an entire two months in a place and time they may never go back to again. And of course there’s the whole thing about summer romance. Martha Davis makes that one seem very real in her extraordinary performance on this inescapable song that just captivates you in so many ways.

# 5 – Summer Of 69 – Bryan Adams

I can only imagine the emails I would have gotten, or the comments, if I hadn’t put this song on the list. Of course, there are going to be plenty of songs that are missing that I’m going to get comments about; but this one, I think, might have been the biggest if it was not included. The song speaks for itself. This is a great song written by Jim Valance and Bryan Adams.

# 4 – MacArthur Park – Richard Harris

I still have no idea what this song is about or what that cake had anything to do with. But I do know it really sounds nostalgic.

# 3 – The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand

Do you remember how big Barbra Streisand was in the 1970s? I mean, of course, she’s still quite popular and still is popular among many of us my age (60s); she just kept getting more brilliant at everything she did. But in the 1970s she was one of the biggest. It seemed like every girl in high school who was in theater wanted to sing a Barbra Streisand song at the talent shows. I don’t know how many times I heard “Evergreen.” Nonetheless, you don’t get much more nostalgic than the title of this one, “The Way We Were.”

# 2 – American Pie – Don McLean

This was one of those songs in which everybody kind of knew what it was about but couldn’t always just pinpoint exactly what he was talking about, except for a few key moments like the passing of Buddy Holly and a few others. But it’s in Don McLean’s words “bye bye” that it rings most nostalgic. Because in the end, nostalgia comes from saying goodbye, and exactly what he was saying goodbye to, well, although we may not be 100 percent sure, we do know he was saying goodbye.

# 1 – As Time Goes By – Dooley Wilson

When a song opens up with the words “you must remember this,” it’s a song that just bleeds nostalgia. For a very long time, this was one of the most covered songs in musical history. Composed for one of the most beloved movies ever, that we all know as Casablanca, this is a golden standard. And in the 21st century, it has kind of disappeared a bit, which is sad. But I guess that’s all part of nostalgia. What we remember, and what others forget or never knew. It’s also kind of the point of this article.