Posted in: Rock by Chambo on September 16th, 2008 | 24 Comments
New Zealand’s The Rock Radio Station’s Rock 1000 finished Friday last with an impressive array of tunes for their top 10 as voted by the listeners.
Now if you have been keeping up with the countdown then you will have viewed my last article, The Rock 1000:Top 10, in which I listed what I believed to be a worthy top 10. As you will see the actual list differs somewhat from my predictions and only one song, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, managed to make the actual top 10.
Metallica’s Enter Sandman took out the top spot and the second placed song, One. The Foo Fighters also managed two songs, All My Life at number 5 and Everlong at number 9. Nirvana’s rock anthem Smells Like Teen Spirit could only manage number 7 on the list and Led Zep’s legendry song Stairway to Heaven only just cracked the top 10. Surprises for me were the lack of Smashing Pumpkins songs and no Under The Bridge from the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the top 10. All in all a fantastic list of songs most of which have ultimately shaped the culture of rock.
To cure your curiosity here is the actual list for The Rock Radio Station’s Rock 1000 top 10. Please add to the list in the comments section if you think there are songs that should have been in the top 10 that did not make the cut.



Rask Balavoine September 16th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Good to see Metallica in there!
Anne Lyken-Garner September 16th, 2008 at 6:08 am
I’m thrilled that Queen got in there!
Speed Limit September 16th, 2008 at 8:50 am
What is your contribution here? Copying from The Rock 1000? No, I did not like this article at all.
RJ Evans September 16th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Yeah, go Freddie!
RJ Chamberlain September 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Yeh to be honest with you free-ride, I saw them live also and didn’t think much of them. However I think that they deserve their place as they have been proven record sellers for a number of years. Thanks for your comment everyone.
jo oliver September 17th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Speed limit- if you bothered to read…he already listed his list and this is the follow up with the radio picks.
Anyway, is it bad that I only agree with 4, 8, & 10?
eddiego65 September 17th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Great pick.
B Nelson September 17th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I am not a Metalica fan, to see them take spot 1 and 2 was surprizing.
NZ where is your contribution?? I hope to see a local band on this next year! Start supporting your own musicians!
RJ Chamberlain September 17th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Yeh B Nelson I agree. The top New Zealand song came in at number 11 and was Home Again by Shihad.
CHAN LEE PENG September 18th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Great list!
Brian Ovenokieth-Ihera September 21st, 2008 at 11:44 pm
The Rock 1000 is a joke. The first problem with the top ten is that Metallica were number one and number two. Don’t get the wrong idea, I like Metallica as much as the next person but NO band should own two spots in the top five no matter how popular they are. The only realistic way to suggest why Metallica did so well was becuase they had a concert coming up and a new album being released just after the final countdown. And also becuase people are too narrow minded to realise that there is better music out there. The only decent songs in the top ten are #4, #6, #7, #8 and #10. This top ten just cannot be taken seriously because there is no sign of REAL music such as Alice In Chains or Soundgarden (hello?). Even Radiohead is better than some of the artists that achieved higher rankings. Overseas music industries would mock this countdown and talented musicians across the globe would laugh at this failed attempt to name the best ten (or even one thousand) rock songs of all time.
tracy sardelli September 22nd, 2008 at 5:34 pm
interesting combination, you have listed some of my own fav’s, thank you.
Brian Ovenokieth-Ihera September 23rd, 2008 at 12:45 am
Added on to my previous comment I’ll also state that some of the band’s up there in the top ten have not been recognized for their best songs.
One and Enter Sandman are not even close to being the best by Metallica and in a real list would be beaten out by Battery, Devils Dance, Fade To Black, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Master Of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, Of Wolf And Man, Sad But True, The god that Failed, The Struggle Within, Through The Never, Wherever I May Roam and most of all The Unforgiven. Sorry New Zealand but as far as Metallica goes you have absolutley no idea what in the hell you are going on about. If your knowledge of Metallica wasn’t bad enough it gets worse.
Everlong and All My Life? What about Learn To Fly, Generator or perhaps Monkey Wrench and The Pretender or the countless other songs that are better than those.
These countdowns are a complete waste of time due to the excessive ignorance of people who voted inot the rock 1000. They are all idiots and don’t know anything about what Metallica’s music is all about.
I laugh at countdown’s like these becuase they are so stupid. Smells Like Teen Spirit? My god, whatever happened to Come As You Are? Polly, Breed and Lithium are also slightly underrated Nirvana songs.
RJ Chamberlain September 24th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Hi Brian,
In this article I have just discussed which songs actually made the cut, not whether they are fit to have made the list or not. My picks for the top 10 were in a previous article. Everybody has their own taste in music and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The Rock does this countdown every year and so the list changes depending on peoples tastes for that time and who is listening and voting. You are right in that it probably doesn’t have all of the best songs but then… who determines what a great song is? Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
idolangelx13 October 2nd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
7 out of the 10 songs i voted for made it into the top 10 – Enter Sandman,One,Back In Black,November Rain,Smells Like Teen Spirit,Bohemian Rhapsody and Stairway To Heaven (Which should have gotten a higher rank with Queen).Very happy that Queen and Led Zepp made the cut in the top 10.Some people voted for terrible songs like What About Now by Daughtry and others but i would say that most people chose was quite good from listening to the countdown.
Auckland In Wonderland October 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
idolangelx13 you sadly have bad taste in music. If you want rock you should listen to better music than Metallica or whatever meaningless rubbish you listen to. I echo Brian on September 21st. Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. I’d also throw in Faith No More. It is upsetting that people like you have bad taste in music.
(¬-¬) October 21st, 2008 at 9:53 pm
If you insult Metallica, you insult the music. If you don’t like Metallica, You don’t like music. Think about it, today there are only death metal groups or that kind of garbage. that’s not music, thats noise. the rock era is gone, there are no new groups of 80s rock. there is no choise. its heavy metal or nothing. if anyone likes death metal, theyre insulting the music. and enter sandman shouldnt even appear on this list. one is the best metallica song ever and should not be secon, but first
Can Of L&P October 30th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I agree with Auckland in Wonderland.
Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden should ALWAYS be numbee one.
clap clap November 12th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
WOOHOO!
buzz buzz November 20th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
hey everybody. i know the rock 1000 is long gone you hear? but i am told your mum still wants to do the same thing a gain next year yo? yall hearing me ow? i just gotta pack up my guns and rattle up my brown wooden wagon and collect upmy sheep that are farming on my farm, you hear? yeah i got some more of them pigs and fish and crocodiles a couple of two of them alligators too and a got a cat a dog and yeehah i got ot gow now so you know take care hee hee hah!
( * ) ( * ) January 25th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Foo Fighters rock at #5 and the best part you got it right =D
Fish Robots!!!! April 2nd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
fish robots. something in disguise.
idolangelx13 April 18th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Auckland In Wonderland, actually I listen to most of the bands that had songs in the Rock 1000 and I dont play Metallica all the time so I have better taste than most of the people my age who listen to worser stuff than Metallica so I have exceptional taste for my age
Ron August 29th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Seriously no Kiwi bands in the 10?????