Red Hot Chili Peppers – Their 42 Best Songs Ranked
Funk jams, ballads, old songs, newer songs. What’s your favorite and what did we miss?
For more than three decades, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have twisted rock, funk, punk and soul into new, surprising, usually fun and sometimes sad jams.
Singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea have kept the band together and have stayed relevant far longer than most of their peers or their idols. We took a deep dive into the hits and some album tracks to come up with this list of their 42 greatest songs.
We included every era, not to be fair, but because every lineup had at least a few classics. The early lineup of Anthony, Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons is some people's favorite. Anthony, Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusicante created their most successful albums and songs. But credit is also due to former guitarists Jack Sherman, Dave Navarro and Josh Klinghoffer, and ex-drummer Cliff Martinez.
When Johm Frusciante rejoined the band, they showed that the most successful lineup still had something to say (and a lot of it: they released two double albums in a year). Take a look through our countdown of their 42 best songs (and yes, the list surely could have been much longer).
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42. "Afterlife" from 'Return of the Dream Canteen' (2022)
Warner Brothers41. “Naked In The Rain” - ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
Warner Bros.40.“No Chump Love Sucker” - ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ (1987)
EMI39.“Road Trippin’” - ‘Californication' (1999)
Warner Bros.38. “Coffee Shop” - ‘One Hot Minute’ (1995)
Warner Bros.37. “Freaky Styley” - ‘Freaky Styley’ (1985)
EMI36. “Out In L.A.” - ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ (1984)
EMI35. “Jungle Man” - ‘Freaky Styley’ (1985)
EMI34.“Breaking The Girl” - ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
Warner Bros.33. “Desecration Smile” - ‘Stadium Arcadium’ (2006)
32. “Dosed” - ‘By The Way’ (2002
Warner Bros.31. “Brendan’s Death Song” - ‘I’m With You’ (2011)
Warner Bros.30.“The Longest Wave” - ‘The Getaway’ (2016)
Warner Bros.29. “Skinny Sweaty Man” - ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ (1987)
EMI28. "Black Summer" from 'Unlimited Love' (2022)
Warner Brothers27. “If You Want Me To Stay” - ‘Freaky Styley’ (1985)
EMI26. “True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes” - ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ (1984)
EMI25. “Dani California” - ‘Stadium Arcadium’ (2006)
Warner Bros.24. “Parallel Universe” - ‘Californiation’ (1999)
Warner Bros.23. “Go Robot” - ‘The Getaway’ (2016)
Warner Bros.22. “Backwoods” - ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ (1987)
EMI21.“I Could Have Lied” - ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
Warner Bros.20. “My Friends” - ‘One Hot Minute’ (1995)
Warner Bros.19. “Dark Necessities” - ‘The Getaway’ (2016)
Warner Bros.18. ”Californication” - ‘Californication’ (1999)
Warner Bros.17. “Midnight” - ‘By The Way’ (2002)
Warner Bros.16.“Nobody Weird Like Me” - ‘Mother’s Milk’ (1989)
EMI15. “Fight Like A Brave” - ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ (1987)
EMI14. “Scar Tissue” - ‘Californication’ (1999)
Warner Bros.13. “Higher Ground” - ‘Mother’s Milk’ (1989)
EMI12. “Tell Me Baby” - ‘Stadium Arcadium’ (2006)
Warner Bros.11. “Good Time Boys” - ’Mother’s Milk’ (1989)
EMI10. “Otherside” - ‘Californication’ (1999)
Warner Bros.9. “Knock Me Down” - ‘Mother’s Milk’ (1989)
EMI8. “Around The World” - ‘Californication’ (1999)
Warner Bros.7. “Behind The Sun” - ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ (1987)
EMI6.“Under The Bridge” - ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
Warner Bros.5. “The Power Of Equality”/”If You Have To Ask” - ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
Warner Bros.4. “By The Way” - ‘By The Way’ (2002)
Warner Bros.3. “Me and My Friends” - ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ (1987)
EMI2. “Can’t Stop” - ‘By The Way’ (2002)
Warner Bros.1.“Give It Away” - ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
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