Audio
The 30 greatest Oasis songs of all time
According to us here at Audio North, anyway.
Danny Jones -
8th November 2024 
We still keep having to pinch ourselves every time we realise Oasis are actually back but it’s not some ‘Idler’s Dream’: they really are and it’s also left us wondering what their very best songs are.
Of course, we’re not going to pretend we’re the first to write up a list of the best Oasis songs of all time – there’s probably more of them online than there are actual tracks to choose from – but that doesn’t mean we won’t join in.
So, in what we’re calling a very rough order because it was very hard to play favourites, here is Audio North‘s definitive list of the greatest songs Oasis ever put out and, hopefully, we’ll get to hear all of them on the reunion tour.
Let’s split some opinions, shall we?
The 30 best Oasis songs of all time
Come on, cutting it down to even 20 is simply impossible…
30. The Hindu Times
Perhaps it’s for that incredible intro alone but we felt compelled to start this big list of our Oasis favourites with the criminally underappreciated 2002 track, ‘The Hindu Times’. That still riff pops into our heads every couple of days even all these years later and if it’s one you’ve never heard before, fix it now.
29. Wonderwall
Yes, get angry all you like, ‘Wonderwall’ is going in super early because we all know what we think of this incredibly ubiquitous, unquestionably successful, popular and catchy worldwide smash hit. The only reason it’s low on the list is because it’s so overplayed that we kind of hate it sometimes. You get it.
28. Married With Children
This stripped-back little number always felt like Liam’s answer to ‘Half The World Away’, at least in spirit, and like it could have just as easily become the Royle Family theme. We’re not sure whether it was the short run-time or lack of demand live that ultimately held it back, but we’ve still got a soft spot for it.
@oasis_reels Liam playing “Married With Children” for the first time since the 90s 😮💨 (Cardiff 03/06/2024) – 📹Kev Lew' (YOUTUBE) – #oasis #liamgallagher #noelgallagher #marriedwithchildren #definitelymaybe #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ sonido original – Oasis Reels
27. I’m Outta Time
From some of the oldest to their most recent (well, 2008, but still) and the first of just two picks off their seventh and final album before breaking up, Dig Out Your Soul. It still feels like a really mature and introspective release that stands out just as much now as it did then. Deserved to be on a better record.
26. Whatever
The first time the Burnage boys got close to channelling those Beatles influences they made so apparent when breaking onto the scene, only with the cockiness of the younger Gallagher brother making the whole thing feel more modern. An orchestral pop-rock banger perfect for turning crowds into choirs.
25. Let There Be Love
Our first of a few picks from the admittedly middling Don’t Believe The Truth but, again, a moment in which we got to hear a softer side from both of them. Hearing Liam and Noel going back on forth on this one still warms our hearts, just as the song title hoped it would and those repetitions at the end are great.
Only live version of Let There Be Love pic.twitter.com/Ypar7CVqkx
— Oasis Archives🍋 (@OasisArchives) October 14, 2024
24. All Around The World
Secretly one of the best “shyyyyiiiine” moments ever and also one of the first examples of the legendary Britpop band indulging themselves in a truly extended play, multiple breakouts and solos as well as some classic crowd participation “na na nas”, ‘All Around The World’ is just such a well-rounded track.
23. Acquiesce
Next up is one that the older we got the less it feels like a cult classic – instead, it’s just a really good song that transcended it’s B-side origins to represent Oasis swagger in a nutshell. Noel was still clearly learning how to sing at this point and maybe it should have been Liam but we still enjoy it nonetheless.
How much do we reckon Oasis playing at Maine Road would cost nowadays?
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) April 29, 2024
Iconic.pic.twitter.com/lqr5LpktMo
22. Lyla
For some reason, this is still one of our earliest memories of Oasis – downloading it onto a very early generation iPod and listening to it on repeat until the earphones practically gave out – and it’s also just a rammer. Maybe it’s the simplicity of the pounding guitar and chorus but we’ve always rated ‘Lyla’.
“The stars about to fall
— iconsillustrated (@iconsillustrate) March 21, 2023
So what you say Lyla”
Oasis – Lyla (Manchester 2005) pic.twitter.com/QNBnCUdVWT
21. Cast No Shadow
One of the most memorable choruses they ever produced even if it was never their biggest tune, we’re still eternally grateful that Oasis made ‘Cast No Shadow’, and not just because it gave its name to the likes of canal boats and one of our favourite spots in Ancoats.
20. The Importance of Being Idle
Ok, now we’re getting into the nitty gritty: in a number 20 is ‘The Importance of Being Idle’, which still feels like one of the most dramatic and generally theatrical pieces of music they ever put out. The literary references are there to see in the title, the video and so on, it also feels a little bit like something out of a Western at times.
19. Talk Tonight
Back to the more gentle stuff and arguably Noel‘s best singing even to this day, not to mention a love letter to how stunning and emotional simply letting to blokes strum acoustic guitars can sound. We always felt the claps were a bit unnecessary but songwriting really is the star of the show here.
Oasis – Talk Tonight (Southend 1995)
— AllThingsOasis (@_AllThingsOasis) April 17, 2022
27 years ago today since this superb gig. What a performance here from Noel! pic.twitter.com/hUCUOhhX0o
18. Supersonic
It’s one of the songs most synonymous with Oasis simply, not least because of the hit 2016 documentary of the same name and the associations with the infamous Knebworth weekend and it really is a great tune, it’s just always felt formulaic to be up there with the big boys. A truly iconic guitar solo though.
17. The Shock of The Lightning
On this list not only as it was a proper rager that they still managed to put together when relationships were souring but because we still remember the first time we heard it: sat watching a highlight reel of the weekend’s footy on Soccer AM with this as the soundtrack. The best song on the whole Dig Out Your Soul album.
16. Songbird
In at sweet 16 was Liam’s first foray into songwriting long before his solo career started and short and sweet is very much the operative prhase here. Created as a tribute to his fiancée at the time, it did feel like something different for band, and as straightforward as it may be it’s still a beautiful little number.
15. She’s Electric
Halfway mark and possibly one of the happiest tracks not only off their sensational sophomore album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? but maybe of their entire catalogue. Upbeat, strutty and bluesy, She’s Electric is a rare but surviving indie athem from the otherwise usually in your face rockers.
14. Stand By Me
in a very similar vein to ‘All Around The World’ in some respects, this was another time that they did a pretty decent Beatles impression, at least tonally, and where the heavy use of strings on Be Here Now was well placed. Nowadays it’s on Halifax adverts but for us it will always be a drunken pub song with your mates.
13. Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Might as well rename it Ronseal because it does what is says on the tin: a quintessential Oasis track which simply has to be considered one of their best songs ever purely because it sums up everything they were about it from the beginning to the end. There’s no intellectualising this one, it’s just a rammer – even as a cover.
12. Some Might Say
Yet another major Morning Glory moment that typifies a lot of what still makes Oasis the best thing since sliced bread. You can practically hear Liam leaning in and out from the microphone and the layered vocals make it feel like a stadium song; plus, “standing at the station” will forever be a satisfying earworm/vocal stim.
Oasis – Some Might Say (Live at Knebworth Park)
— Mainly Oasis (@mainlyoasis) October 18, 2021
pic.twitter.com/MPHC3Xfjno
11. Half The World Away
The simple but heartwarming B-side that became one of the nation’s most beloved singalongs, as well being made even more famous after becoming the intro and outro to one of our greatest sitcoms of all time. If you don’t want to wrap your arms round a mate and sway side to side when this comes on, there’s something wrong with you. Just beautiful.
@blazesblaze The Royal family #tv #series #best #tiktokindia #greatest #music ♬ Half The World Away – Oasis
10. Little By Little
Ok, serious business and we’re about to start p***ing people off but just know that we don’t mean to. Breaking into the top 10 is ‘Little By Little’, a.k.a. one of Noel’s finest moments and not least because of how that music video (also one of the greatest of all time) makes you feel when you watch it. Sublime.
9. Live Forever
It’s voted the best British song in history pretty much every year at this point and it’s not hard to see why. ‘Live Forever’ makes us feels things, no matter whether it’s big or little brother singing it and it pretty much changed the game for what music coming out of the UK could sound like. Iconic.
8. Cigarettes & Alcohol
Very much like ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ but dialled up to 11, this is just one of the coolest songs ever written in our books and as close to pure punk as they ever came. Liam Gallagher’s snarling vocal style at it’s very best and one of the greatest moments of our lives. We can’t wait to do it all over again at Heaton Park.
7. Don’t Look Back in Anger
l mean, the epitome of Manchester music had to be in the top 10, didn’t it? See, this is where songs sit on the very edge of being overplayed but never teeter too far onto the wrong side of the fence. There are very few British anthems that get every single person belting back every word and we will always love it.
6. Morning Glory
Oasis attitude once encapsulated in just over five minutes of what we can only describe as a rock and roll masterclass. One of the greatest intros to a song of all time and also some of the most fun a field full of people can ever physically have jumping up and down to a song. Roll on summer 2025.
5. The Masterplan
We can’t lie, the last few picks have been hard enough as it is put top five territory is night on impossible. That being said, for now, we feel like one of the greatest B-sides ever written has to be in there. The lyrics, the moments of quiet before the swelling brass sections; the big band feel of it all – it’s just a complex, spellbinding song as die-hard Oasis fans know all too well.
4. Champagne Supernova
We will never get over the first time we heard those waves slowly washing us up on the shore and the feeling of that softly psychedelic, sun-soaked and yet somehow late-night-sounding guitar coming in. Makes you want to lay your head back and let go all of your problems – and learn to play the harmonica.
3. Slide Away
Definitely Maybe is full of belters (in other news, water is still wet), but we don’t know if there’s a moment on it with more effortless style than ‘Slide Away’. It makes us want to put on a climb on a mate’s shoulders, swing our wide arms up, forget the world’s still turning and sing our hearts out. Speaking of…
2. Stop Crying Your Heart Out
Taking the silver medal is the single greatest song on all of Heathen Chemistry and that’s ‘Stop Crying Your Heart’. We don’t know about you, but we get always more moved seeing a bunch of Mancs in a group singing this than any of the usual suspects. A punchy ballad that we wish they made more of.
1. Don’t Go Away
That’s right, we’ve come to the end of the road and reached our controversial choice for the greatest Oasis of all time and, in our humble opinion, is the utterly gorgeous and eternally heartbreaking ‘Don’t Go Away’. For our money, it’s the best Liam’s vocals ever sounded, the simultaneously soft and sticky guitar is as vulnerable and full of ache and longing as LG’s voice and the strings add that uplifting overtone.
In fact, for all that has been said about the mastering of Be Here Now, this is the one moment in which they definitely nailed it. Don’t like it? Then in this instance, you can go away.
Read more:
- Indie band Middle Kids record stunning contemporary Oasis cover of ‘Champagne Supernova’
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- More than 50,000 Oasis reunion tour tickets set to be cancelled and re-listed for sale
You may notice some notable exemptions like ‘Roll With It’, ‘Shakermaker’, ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ or maybe even ‘Gas Panic’ for that small enclave of fans that are still weirdly stan-ing on the shoulder of giants (it’s ok, you can admit it wasn’t their best), but feel free to skewer us in the comments.
As mentioned, we’ve struggled to put this in any real order and we really could have been here forever and ranked their complete discography, but you’ve given us enough of your time and still very much look forward to hearing how wrong we were.
However, not as much as look forward to hearing these songs live on the long awaited reunion tour and, who knows? Maybe we’ll hear some surprises too…
Us when we saw those LG tweets:
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) November 7, 2024
Seriously now, @liamgallagher – is new Oasis music REALLY on the horizon?… 👀
Find out more here. 👉 https://t.co/A5htPqvYYM pic.twitter.com/FgxnsXR5wa
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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Oasis (via YouTube screenshot)
