Photo By Enrico Frangi
Our Top 10 Rush Songs list looks at one of the greatest rock bands ever. The Canadian power trio was one of many practitioners of the Progressive Rock genre, putting forth every component one would expect from that particular form of rock. Rush Songs presented fans with mythological storytelling inspired by fantasy and Greek literature, similar to Robert Plant’s lyricism in Led Zeppelin. Rush songs ran the gamut from short three-minute rock pieces to extremely long music suites of complex instrumentation.
Rush were the true masters of the craft, adapting to the environment quite well while keeping to their primary homeland inspired by Led Zeppelin and Cream’s blazing problematic rock tendencies. Of course, Rush was one of those bands that many music critics greatly underrated. However, that sort of biased opinion didn’t matter; it was all about making music for the fans, and that’s precisely why their cult status is so widespread.
The band’s influence extends far and wide across the landscape of rock. Everybody from Anthrax, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Primus, Pixies, Metallica, No Doubt, all the way to Elliott Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Tool, and Trent Reznor. The cauldron of euphonious confection is stirred fastidiously by the inimitable triple threat of vocalist and bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and the late Neil Peart. And it wouldn’t do them enough justice as a band to say that they’re all some of the most highly skilled in their respective fields; seriously, though, Peart is probably in the top ten greatest rock drummers ever.
And even though sales have nothing to do with a band’s technical capacity and consistency, Rush is third behind The Beatles and the Rolling Stones for having the most consecutive gold and platinum records. But all of that aside. Rush needs none of those accolades to reassure themselves that they’re a band of grand importance. Rush is a band still selling out stadiums and producing albums. It’s tough in this case to pick out ten Rush songs from their vast discography, so we have lifted songs from each of their albums that punctuate their range of compositions. This list won’t focus entirely on their big hits (as monumental as “Tom Sawyer” is, it won’t be on here), but there will be enough variety to get you turned on to them if you’re new to Rush.
# 10 – Subdivisions
This was the lead single that kicked off their 1982 record, Signals. The album was a stylistic shift for the band, focusing less on electric guitars and more on synthesizers. This song properly displays what a hard rock band can achieve outside their comfort zone. It’s also a very identifiable song in that it deals with peer pressure, alienation, and trying to fit in; it’s definitely one of their best to start off this list.
Read More: Alex Lifeson: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
# 9 – By-Tor and the Snow Dog
Fly By Night was the band’s second studio album, and they were already delving into the prog rock currents that would soon mold them; this song perfectly demonstrates such. Like all of their elongated suites, this one’s broken into several little sections that tell individual, fantasy-based stories. The song’s first half is fast-paced, with wonderful drum fills by Peart and raging guitar riffs and solos courtesy of Lifeson. At the same time, the mid-section goes into more melodic, minor key changes before closing out the epilogue with one final turnaround. The inspiration behind the song involved Anthem Records manager Ray Daniels’ German Shepherd dog and tiny, white dog; Rush’s road manager nicknamed the two dogs By-Tor and Snow Dog.
# 8 – Before and After
Rush hit the scene in 1975 with their self-titled debut, and boy, was it a way to grab everybody’s attention. Rush were channeling their inner Zeppelin here, especially in “Before and After.” With its soft and delicate commencement of phaser-driven chords and the additive of acoustic, it kicks into an “Over the Hills and Far Away”–like explosion as it cranks up the amplification; Lifeson mops up the joint with his guitar licks on one of the earliest Rush songs on this list,
# 7 – The Necromancer
Here’s an excellent progressive rock composition from their third album, Caress of Steel. This was the album that not only just about killed their career because it was such a commercial failure (thanks to this song), but it was also the album that set the band on the right path: the path of a newly constructed band who found their sound. “The Necromancer” was their first epic that contained storytelling and imagery inspired by Tolkien, with a collage of instrumentation that echoed the band Wishbone Ash, a very underrated band.
# 6 – The Spirit of Radio
This is one of the more fun-loving tracks from their 1980 album, Permanent Waves. The album was a departure from their previous progressive rock, and this was the hit single that captured the band’s wider audience. It’s such a cool song because of its distinguishable opening riff and its reggae break halfway through; this arena rock staple brings a smile to one’s face as they proudly bounce about.
# 5 – Xanadu
With their 1977 record, A Farewell to Kings, Rush was zeroing in on their ability to orchestrate beautifully made concept songs; the multi-textured arrangements were so mind-bending. And what would a list of the best Rush songs be without this underrated piece of Herculean proportions? “Xanadu,” inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, Kubla Khan, has every electrifying element to make this eleven-minute song a bonafide epic; its five-minute instrumental that segues into mystical harmonies is too good not to absorb patiently.
# 4 – La Villa Strangiato
(An exercise in Self-Indulgence): And with A Farewell to Kings comes the 1978 follow-up record, Hemispheres
. This lovely instrumental signified the band as an unstoppable force that could manufacture the most complicated rock compositions blended with intellectual fundamental changes, progressions, guitar solos, bass riffs, and alien percussion that could never be emulated. The second half of the song, with that James Bond-esque riff, really seasons the instrumental with that much-needed zest. It’s one of our favorite Rush Songs of all time.
Read More: Our 10 Favorite Rush Album Covers
# 3 – Closer to the Heart
If there’s one thing that can be said about this Rush song, it’s pretty incendiary for being as short as it is; it leaves an impression on you. With its intricate acoustic guitar work, inspirational lyrics, and Geddy Lee’s always-powerful howls, “Closer to the Heart” is one of the band’s shining moments, and it modifies A Farewell to Kings into the classic that it is.
# 2 – Limelight
When Moving Pictures hit the scene in 1981, Rush had become an international superstar band; with Rush songs like “Tom Sawyer” and this one, how could they not be? “Limelight” is an incredible rock song because it’s radio-friendly and has a message that can resonate with the listener. Yes, it’s about the pressures of fame, but it deals with the alienation and false pretenses of what stardom truly is and turns into something quite sad.
In our 2024 interview with Alex Lifeson, we asked the legendary guitarist if he had any favorite solos that he was most proud of. He replied that “Limelight” was one that was special to him. Alex replied that he thought he had captured something special with “Limelight.” He goes further into his feelings about the solo and song, which you can read on our site by using the link below.
Read More: Alex Lifeson: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
# 1 – 2112
If you have yet to listen to their 1976 magnum opus, 2112, please go out and do so because it is a life-changing experience; a record like that opens your eyes to an entirely new world of music. The album is nothing short of amazing, but if there’s one song that sums up Rush as a band, it’s the self-titled, twenty-minute suite that takes up side one of the record. It’s worth noting that Neil Peart wrote most of the lyrics throughout the band’s career, and here he’s at his most adventurous, philosophical, reflective, and dream-like, adopting influence from Ayn Rand’s book, Anthem.
The song is divided into seven sections: Overture, The Temples of Syrinx, Discovery, Presentation, Oracle: The Dream, Soliloquy, and Grand Finale. Each musical vignette has a distinct style that sews the prodigious suite together with the finest thread. It is, bar none, one of the finest examples of a prog rock pièce de ré·sis·tance, easily Rush’s greatest song and our No. 1 choice on our Top 10 Rush Songs list.
Read More: Complete List Of Rush Albums And Discography
Photo By Enrico Frangi (Uploaded by User:Jonasz) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Updated January 8, 2025
Top 10 Rush Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2025
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