10 Best Songs With The Word 'Want' In The Title

Feature Photo: Joost Evers / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons

The word “want” conveys longing, ambition, and vulnerability, making it a compelling centerpiece for songwriting. From timeless classics to genre-defining hits, these songs showcase how the idea of wanting can take many forms, from romantic yearning to introspective questioning to societal commentary. Here are ten of the best songs with the word “want” in their titles, each offering its own perspective on human desire.

# 10 – So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star – The Byrds

Released in January 1967 as the lead single from Younger Than Yesterday, “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” offers a sharp commentary on the machinery of the music business. Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman wrote the song, and Gary Usher produced the recording. Recorded in late 1966 at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, the track features McGuinn’s jangling Rickenbacker guitar and Hillman’s propulsive bass. South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela adds the brass part that gives the record another distinctive edge. The single reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Read More: 10 Best Byrds Songs

# 9 – Do You Want To Know A Secret – Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas

Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas gave “Do You Want to Know a Secret” a second life almost immediately after The Beatles introduced the Lennon-McCartney song on Please Please Me. George Martin produced Kramer’s recording, which was released as a single in April 1963. The performance keeps the melody direct and gives Kramer one of the defining records of his early career. On the official UK Singles Chart, the single peaked at number two, although some contemporary British charts placed it at number one. Its success helped establish Kramer as one of the major artists associated with the early Merseybeat boom.

# 8 – Want Ads – Honey Cone

Honey Cone’s “Want Ads” is a spirited anthem of independence built around one of the most memorable concepts in early 1970s soul. Greg Perry, General Norman Johnson, and Barney Perkins wrote the song, and Perry produced the recording. Recorded in Detroit and released on the Hot Wax label in 1971, it features Edna Wright on lead vocals with Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark. The song first appeared on the album Sweet Replies and was also included in an extended version on Soulful Tapestry. “Want Ads” reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart.

# 7 – Don’t You Want Me – The Human League

Released in November 1981 as the fourth single from Dare, “Don’t You Want Me” became The Human League’s signature song. Philip Oakey, Jo Callis, and Philip Adrian Wright wrote the track, and Martin Rushent produced it at Genetic Sound in Berkshire. The duet between Oakey and Susan Ann Sulley turns a deteriorating relationship into a perfect piece of synth-pop drama. The single spent five weeks at number one on the official UK chart and became the country’s biggest-selling single of 1981. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1982.

Read More: Top 10 Human League Songs

# 6 – I Want You – Elvis Costello

“I Want You,” from Elvis Costello’s 1986 album Blood & Chocolate, is one of his most haunting and emotionally raw compositions. Costello recorded the album at Olympic Studios in London with The Attractions, including Steve Nieve on keyboards, Bruce Thomas on bass, and Pete Thomas on drums. Nick Lowe produced the album, while Colin Fairley served as engineer. The slow, tense arrangement gives Costello room to turn obsession, jealousy, and betrayal into something increasingly uncomfortable. Few songs in his catalog push emotional fixation this far without losing the control of the performance.

# 5 – Give The People What They Want – The Kinks

Released on the 1981 album Give the People What They Want, the title track captures The Kinks at their hardest-edged early-1980s moment. Ray Davies wrote and produced the song, which was recorded at Konk Studios in North London. The track turns the demand for entertainment into another example of Davies’ ability to mix social criticism with a memorable rock arrangement. Dave Davies’ guitar helps give the recording the tougher sound that characterized much of the album. It remains a strong example of The Kinks adapting their songwriting voice to a new decade without losing their bite.

# 4 – The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me – Tom Waits

Few artists could conjure an atmosphere as haunting and introspective as Tom Waits does in “The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me,” a track from his 1992 album Bone Machine. The album was recorded at Prairie Sun Recording Studios in Cotati, California, with Waits producing and Kathleen Brennan serving as associate producer. The sparse recording places Waits’ voice inside the strange, percussion-heavy world that defines much of Bone Machine. The song’s dark imagery turns a dangerous encounter with the ocean into something both surreal and grimly funny. Its unusual mood fits an album built around mortality, decay, fear, and the stubborn instinct to keep going.

Read More: Top 10 Tom Waits Songs 1980s

# 3 – I Want It All – Queen

Queen’s “I Want It All,” released as the lead single from the 1989 album The Miracle, is one of the band’s great late-career hard-rock anthems. Although the song carries the collective Queen writing credit used on the album, Brian May originated it and built it around a phrase associated with Anita Dobson. The recording was made during the The Miracle sessions and was produced by Queen and David Richards. Freddie Mercury’s forceful lead vocal and May’s guitar work turn the song into a statement of ambition and urgency. Released in May 1989, it became a major international hit and later took on an additional life as an anthem for determination and protest.

# 2 – I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You – The Alan Parsons Project

“I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You,” from the 1977 album I Robot, captures the polished precision that made The Alan Parsons Project so distinctive. Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson wrote the song, with Parsons producing the recording at Abbey Road Studios. Lenny Zakatek delivers the lead vocal, beginning a long association with the project. The track combines a tight, funky groove with lyrics about rejection, identity, and refusing to follow someone else’s path. Released as a single in 1977, “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You” reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Read More: Top 10 Alan Parsons Project Songs

# 1 – I Want To Hold Your Hand – The Beatles

“I Want to Hold Your Hand,” released in 1963, remains one of The Beatles’ defining early singles. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the song, and George Martin produced the recording at EMI Studios in London on October 17, 1963. It was the first Beatles recording made using four-track equipment and became a crucial record in the group’s international breakthrough. In the United States, it became their first number-one single and spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The record’s enormous success helped ignite Beatlemania in America and turned the British Invasion into a full-scale cultural event.