Ranking Every Billy Joel Song Worst to First

Billy Joel is arguably one the greatest songwriting pianists of all time.  He has a catalogue of music that spans decades and has influenced multiple generations. If you’re reading this, then you probably know that I love 80s rock bands such as Styx and Journey. However, over the years I have become a big fan of Billy Joel.

My first exposure to Billy Joel was in 7th grade. My middle school teacher, Ms. Jill Sikora played We Didn’t Start the Fire as a part of a history lesson. I would listen to the Piano Man on and off until I hit my 30s. Then I really started to listen to Billy Joel. A lot of it had to with SiriusXM having the Billy Joel Channel for two months out of the year. They played everything from his hits, to deep cuts to band member interviews.

In April of 2022, I was finally able to see Billy Joel live. It was an energetic experience. I knew Billy was a showman but seeing his interactions, jokes and wit live added to the songs and concert experience.

The first thing to do for a list like this was set out criteria. I determined the critical things that make up a song. I determined the critical things that make up a song are: song structure, melodies, lyrics, and pop culture/influence. If you think that’s subjective and there are other factors that make up a song, then you are probably correct. Or as Billy would say, “You May Be Right”. But when creating a worst to first list, most of it will be subjective.

To try and keep this as objective as possible, I did assign weights to each of the criteria, they are as follows.

Song Structure - 17%, Melodies - 22%, Lyrics - 24%, Pop Culture and Influence - 37%.

How did I arrive at these weights? Simple, I picked them based on my musical experience. Lyrics and pop culture/influence accounted for 61% of the weights. I understand that’s high but that’s also what drive a song. We associate with songs that we can sing and are popular. Each song was ranked based on the weights and then assigned a score. Songs were compared to each other for consistency.

Now for the list.

Rank	Song	Total Score	Notes
120	You Were the One	4.18	This was off the Glass Houses album. That's a very good album, this song was not.
119	All you Wanna do is Dance	4.32	Lyrics a bit repetitive. Has a bit of a reggae feel
118	Nocturne	4.34	No lyrics but melodies weren't bad.
117	You Looked so good to me	4.49	The last song was off Billy's first album Cold Spring Harbor. This song was also off that album.
116	Root Beer Rag	4.69	An upbeat instrumental, sure give me that rag time.
115	Mexican Connection	4.71	The style of music fits the title, it just wasn't that good.
114	Roberta	4.76	cheesy poppy song. Steve Perry did write a song about Sherrie. So maybe this is fitting.
113	Falling of the Rain	4.77	Lyrics feel rushed, it also sounds a lot like the Beatles. Melodies weren't bad.
112	State of Grace	4.84	Interesting chord progression, that's all about all I can say for this song.
111	Careless Talk	4.88	I participate in careless talk a lot. Loose lips sink ships. A Doo-Wop goodie.
110	Turn Around	5.03	I hear a lof the Beatles in this one but I can also hear where Captain Jack got some inspiration.
109	Tomorrow is Today	5.06	It's a catchy title, I almost wrote a song called this. Overall an average song.
108	Christie Lee	5.07	Song about his then wife. I can't fault Billy for writing a song about his wife.
107	Two Thousand Years	5.10	Billy wrote about prophets and angels. But I know Billy is an atheist.
106	Getting Closer	5.11	Song features Steve Winwood. It's not a bad combination
105	Shades of Grey	5.18	Melodies are good, lyrics are a bit cliché.
104	You Picked a Real Bad Time	5.19	Not a bad song but it also sounds a lot like Firm Radioactive. Listen to that song if you're interested.
103	Last of the Big Time Spenders	5.20	A slow moving song about money. Interesting choice.
102	This Night	5.20	A slow song about the night can last forever. Just a basic song.
101	Code of Silence	5.22	Song featured Cyndi Lauper. So like Getting Closer it wasn't a bad combination.
100	That's Not Her Style	5.24	Not exactly a style in particular. Obviously this was inspired by a woman. Go figure who it is.
99	This is the Time	5.26	Lyrics are good about remembering the good times and looking back too much.
98	Souvenir	5.28	This song is off Streetlife Serenader. That album hasn't done too well on this list and this song didn't exactly help.
97	Temptation	5.31	interesting rhymes but Billy has always been a great master of rhymes. That will be shown in more songs below.
96	Sleeping with the Television On	5.39	I could relate to the lyrics. The rest of the song was average.
95	If Only I had the Words	5.41	Another song where I hear the Beatles.
94	Travelin Prayer	5.44	Second consecutive song off the Piano Man album. It's upbeat, that's about it
93	Half Mile Away	5.45	Not a lot to this song but it fits the album well
92	Got To Begin Again	5.46	A classic melody off his first album
91	Easy Money	5.50	Upbeat moving kind of like the rest of the album An Innocent Man
90	Nobody knows but Me	5.52	It's a song about having a friend that nobody knows. Perhaps this could have made Supernatural.
89	Everybody Has a Dream	5.56	Off The Stranger album. A fitting song for the title. Billy was a master of that.
88	The Night is Still Young	5.57	The melodies and structure weren't the best. But still not a bad song.
87	You Can Make me Free	5.59	I've said this before but it bears repeating because Billy had a long songs on his first album that sounded like the Beatles. No knock on the Beatles.
86	Where's The Orchestra	5.60	Off the Nylon Curtain album. A bit of a sad song.
85	The Great Wall of China	5.62	Lyrics are really good. A nice use of the song title.
84	Stop in Nevada	5.64	Structure is average but the melodies and lyrics are good
83	Laura	5.68	Love the curse word in this. Songs that did back then were censored. Billy challenged that.
82	Through The Long Night	5.69	Melodies were superior. Lyrics not so much.
81	Elvis Presley Boulevard	5.70	This song for whatever reason received some negative press. It's not that bad.
80	Scandinavian Skies	5.71	It's a bit out there. So there's something to say about that.
79	James	5.72	I tried to against to ranking this song high because I had a good friend named James who fit this song. Was Billy in my living room in high school?
78	52nd Street	5.74	The title track of a great album. It fit the theme of the album
77	Blonde over Blue	5.75	Melodies repeat but the lyrics change. It's not a bad song.
76	Great Suburban Showdown	5.76	Flying on a plane drinking champagne. A nice opening lyric. Song goes a bit flat after that.
75	A minor variation	5.76	I like the play on words. Chord progressions fit the song.
74	Famous Last Words	5.77	Second consecutive song off the River of Dreams album. That happened before on this list but a lot of songs sound the same,
73	The Ballad of Billy Kid	5.78	A western song and it has that western feel. Nicely done.
72	Everybody Loves You Now	5.79	Perhaps this song inspired Angry Young Man
71	Worse Comes To Worst	5.80	A good rhythm talking about inheriting money and how you can lose it the next day.
70	Honesty	5.81	Lyrics took a hit because I know what word used Billy used to remember the lyrics for this song. I won't say it but if you can Google it you may not like me.
69	Don't Ask Me Why	5.86	Off the Glass Houses album. I'm not a fan off this song. Don’t ask me Why.
68	Close to the Borderline	5.87	Song structure was good. Riff repeats a bit too much.
67	Why Judy Why	5.89	It's a really good song composed song. It's just nobody heard of it.
66	Running On Ice	5.92	The song is exactly what you would expect given the title.
65	Somewhere along the Line	5.93	Another story telling song of Billy. Tells a great story.
64	Get It Right The First Time	5.93	The use of la la la's are fitting. It really adds to the song and creates a nice contrast.
63	Weekend Song	5.94	I had never heard of this song, if you hadn't before this give this one a listen.
62	House of Blue Light	6.00	A nice blues song. Lyrics fit the melodies
61	All My Life	6.05	A good song to dance to. I hear Clair De Lune in this one as well as Sinatra.
60	No Man's Land	6.06	Billy really got screwed financially before he wrote this album. I hear that coming out in this song.
59	Summer of Highland Falls	6.06	This song really takes you back. These are not the best of times. Styx also said that. But Billy probably did it better than Styx.
58	Surprises	6.07	Melodies were excellent. The doubling of vocals was well done.
57	Leave a Tender Moment Alone	6.08	The more I listen to  this song the more it grows on me. Perhaps in a future list it will rank higher.
56	You're My Home	6.10	This is a beautiful song took a hit because it wasn't a bigger song. That's surprising.
55	I Don't Want to be Alone	6.11	A blend of the non-rockers and rockers off the Glass Houses album
54	Lullabye	6.13	If you have kids, play this song for your kids. The song will hit home
53	A Room of Our Own	6.15	It took me a while to figure out this song. I finally get it. Google it because I don’t' want to.
52	Goodnight Saigon	6.17	A song about the Vietnam War. Great melodies. But Billy didn't take a stance one way or another on this one. As a result lyrics were low.
51	She's Right On Time	6.20	Song takes a good left turn early on with the chord progression. It adds to the dynamic of the song.
50	Rosalinda's eyes	6.36	A song about his mother. Well done Billy.
49	All About Soul	6.38	Another song that Billy really puts his heart into. This was a dark time in his life
48	You're Only Human	6.42	The music video really added to this song. I didn't include that in this ranking. But that doesn't mean you can't watch it.
47	And So It Goes	6.44	Wonderful melodies, this song should have been a bigger song.
46	Modern Woman	6.45	It souned a lot like Huey Lewis and the News. But that's not a bad thing.
45	Ain't No Crime	6.48	Ain't no crime to rank this inspiring song higher on the list.
44	Los Angelos	6.56	Billy impresses with this one of an album that didn't do that much impressing. But there's always a give and take with music production.
43	Storm Front	6.66	There's definitely a storm coming. This was a powerful song off the title track Storm Front.
42	Vienna	6.72	Vienna waits for you. The melodies were spot on but it wasn't great.
41	Captain Jack	6.72	Very good lyrics about life in the 70s for kids hanging out in Long Island. Doing drugs can do wonders. However the song goes through the same 2 chords over and over.
40	Streetlife Serenader	6.85	Every now and then this appears on Andy's Cohen radio station on SiriusXM. It's a nice treat because it's a good song.
39	All For Leyna	6.85	My wife hates this song because I play it over and over in the house. It's because I first heard this song when I was 30 and I should have heard it when I was 15. Not a popular song but a good one.
38	Sometimes a Fantasy	6.90	Billy challenged radio stations to play this one. It's a about phone sex. It's a real rocker. A good driving rock beat.
37	The Downeaster Alexa	6.90	Billy named his daughter after Alexa. I'm sure this holds a special place in his heart. Listen to drums. The beat it is backwards from most rock/pop songs.
36	Turn the Lights Back On	6.92	The latest song from Billy. It came out this year. Billy said for a long time he would never do another song. I'm glad he did this one. A lot is explained. Specifically where he says"I was wrong."
35	Allentown	6.95	A very good song but lyrics took a hit. The song isn't actually about Allentown. It's a bout Bethlehem a nearby town to Allentown. It's just Billy couldn't get Bethlehem to rhyme with something.
34	Tell Her About It	7.03	An upbeat song, tell her about it and tell Billy I ranked this song high.
33	Say Goodbye to Hollywood	7.05	Billy saying goodbye to the Hollywood lifestyle and telling the world he's going to back to his roots in NYC.
32	The Entertainer	7.06	Lyrics are impressive. Billy really goes after recording industry. "If you want a hit you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05" Rhyming patterns are like Piano Man.
31	I go To Extremes	7.07	Billy didn't exactly go too extreme on this song. But watch the music video and you can tell his music adpated to the changes.
30	Lenningrad	7.10	Another song about war and Billy. He took more of a stance on this one unlike Goodnight Saigon. A lot of references to dad makes this special.
29	famous Last Words	7.16	A song that's inspired by the Righteous Brothers. You can hear the back and forth on vocals with the high/low and melodies. It creates a unique sound.
28	Big Man on Mulberry Street	7.22	Melodies really drive this song. A big song that draws you in early.
27	Stiletto	7.36	The intro melodies really get you hooked. Not to mention the saxophone and bass melodies.
26	An Innocent Man	7.37	The contrast in lyrics really helps this song. The song structure creating tension and release helps this song.
25	She's Got a Way	7.40	A really good pianist played this song at my wedding. That did not influence this ranking. I just had to throw that out there. It's a simple song which fits the lyrics.
24	A Matter of Trust	7.45	Another one of Billy's lyric masterpieces. "I've lived long to have learned. The closer the to the fire the more you get burned." Perhaps a foreshadowing of his life.
23	Pressure	7.47	Apparently Billy was really struggling for a song for the Nylon Curtain album. He was under pressure without a song. He didn't have a song idea and someone said you "You look under pressure." A song was born.
22	My Life	7.53	Bass melody is really good so are the rhyming schemes. A bit similar to Piano Man.
21	Prelude/Angry Young Man	7.56	Very upbeat with interesting melodies and chord progressions. Song reverts a bit in Angry Young Man. So Prelude really carries the weight here. But it's a good one.
20	I've Loved These Days	7.61	A consecutive one off the Turnstiles album. Billy writing about how days were set to change. Boy was he right, he absolutely did after this album. "We're going wrong we're gaining weight, we're sleeping long and far too late." Can you relate to that?
19	Zanzibar	7.69	I don't do TikTok but this inspired a lot of TikTok videos with hand jiving. Some of those videos were far out there. But this relatively unknown song registered with young people thanks to TikTok
18	It's Still Rock And Roll To Me	7.76	Fun fact Weird Al recorded but never released a parody called Still Billy Joel Bill to me. It's a good song. But it highlights Billy's influence. Overall a good song.
17	We Didn’t Start the fire	7.77	I saw a list like this one that said this was Billy's second worst song. That's crap. Yes We Didn't Start the Fire perhaps had references like Bernie Goetz which may not have applied. But it was a history lesson. Billy has admitted the melodies were awful. So from a melody perspective this was Billy's worst song. But far from his worst overall
16	Just the Way You Are	7.86	A great song off The Stranger album. Don't go changing who you are. If your man loves you he will. Billy captures that.
15	Baby Grand	8.03	A nice song with Ray Charles. This was a wonderful duet. Two great legends coming together.
14	She's Always a Woman	8.21	This song is misunderstood. This song got a lot of hate. Billy was labeled as hating women for this song. But I don't those people actually really understood the meaning of this song. I do so it ranked well.
13	River of Dreams	8.40	If you have a chance watch the 1994 Grammy's on this song. Billy calls out the producers for their disrespect of Frank Sinatra. Lyrics were good. "It can only be seen by the eyes of the blind." However Billy contradicts his atheist views. "Not sure about life after this God knows I've never been a spiritual man." So does Billy believe in God?
12	Miami 2017	8.45	A science fiction song about New York defaulting and going under. This song may have predicted two NY events. 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy. Billy wrote this in the mid 70s imagining he was an old retired man in Florida telling his grandkids about the NYC. It's 2024 and Billy is still not retired and going strong.
11	New York State of Mind	8.48	If you're not a Billy fan and you made it this far. You probably figured out Billy is a NY guy and loves NY. Billy captures that all in this song. A lot of NY references taking Billy back and making his first album come full circle.
10	Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)	8.50	Billy wanted to write a song about someone named Anthony. He did a very good job with this one. The use of Hackensack ack-ack-ack really adds to the song.
9	Keeping the Faith	8.52	Billy Joel becoming saved keeping the faith alive. A nice balance of structure and melody on this one. Lyrics definitely a bonus. "The good ole days weren't always good. Tomorrow aint as bad as it seems." Perfect.
8	The Stranger	8.57	The title track of a another great album. Whistling is hard to do on a track. Try whistling and recording yourself and see how it turns out. The whistle sets the tone. But overall the song is great. A song about how your true self can come out in a relationship and you may not who you you are but you keep on.
7	The Longest Time	8.66	Structure was perfect. Bass, snapping figures, and Billy singing all the melodies and harmonies. Billy took a risk with this one by not having guitars, piano or drums and it paid off.
6	Big Shot	8.74	A night out. You had to be a big shot. Who hasn't gotten drunk and woke up the next morning and didn't want to hear the stories. If you haven't, then you either go to the Church of Christ or you're in jail.
5	Piano Man	8.85	Arguably his most famous song. The song that put Billy on the map. So why isn't this number one? Easy. Lyrics have some cheap rhymes. Davy was not in the navy and nor was he for life. Also the song should go "play us the song you're the piano man." Piano men sing not play. But that's nitpicking.
4	Uptown Girl	8.99	There's a been a lot of songs about rich guys getting with the poor girl. Billy flips the script. He's the poor guy and gets the rich girl. Family guy does a couple of good references to this song. Both are worth the watch.
3	Scenes From an Italian Restaurant	9.16	Led Zeppelin had 'Stairway to Heaven.' Deep Purple had 'Smoke on the Water.' I don't think I need to elaborate on this song. The thing I will add that Billy used his inspiration of the Beatles' correctly on this song. He took the structure of the second side of Abbey Road of combining smaller songs together and making symphonic. That's how you use your influencers.
2	Only the Good Die Young	9.34	Another song that is misunderstood. People look at this being anti-Catholic. I'm Catholic and it's not. Because in the end the girl (Virginia) never gives in to Billy's advances. This song was originally going to be a Reggae song. But Billy's drummer told Billy the closest Billy got to Jamaica was a hospital in Queens. There's that New York City influence again.
1	You May Be Right	9.38	This is the top ranked song. Song is absolute hit and it should be. The Glass Houses album was intended to be  a rocking album. (Billy's words not mine.) Several songs did not fit that bill but 'You May Be Right' was a true rock and roll song. Driving bass, hard vocals, and drums up in the mix. Pop culture/influence was big on this one. There's a reason why this is typically the second to last song Billy plays in concerts.

Billy Joel Rocks. THE END.