All Coldplay Songs Ranked
I've listened to Coldplay for a long time and decided to rank their songs. I actually really don't like a few of Coldplay's biggest hits and think that a lot of their deep cuts (insofar as a band like Coldplay has deep cuts) are unfairly overlooked. I removed a couple transitional instrumentals and early demos and included every unique album/EP/B-side track that I know about and actually ended up with exactly 100 songs. |
| 100 | Coldplay
Swallowed in the Sea
Painfully soppy X&Y track with embarassing lyrics |
| 99 | A Message
Same as above, but slightly less embarassing |
| 98 | Fix You
This was always a terrible song. There's nothing wrong with a crowd-pleaser, but how this became a mainstay and one of the band's biggest hits is beyond me. Bad lyrics, slow pace, predictable climax. The closest Coldplay ever came to self-parody. |
| 97 | Another's Arms
Martin can be romantic, but here the feebly-delivered sexual references ("your body on my body" etc) are just kind of uncomfortable to hear |
| 96 | Pour Me
Weak b-side to "Fix You" |
| 95 | Cemeteries of London
2spooky4me, poor opening for the otherwise good Viva La Vida |
| 94 | Ink
Silly and overblown |
| 93 | Murder
A misguided b-side to "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" |
| 92 | Thing's I Don't Understand
As bland as it's title implies - "Things don't always turn out as you plan/These are things that I don't understand" - you probably haven't heard this "Speed of Sound" b-side and aren't missing much. |
| 91 | Ode To Deodorant
This song is basically to Coldplay what "Pop Is Dead" is to Radiohead: the unequivocally bad early single that diehard fans somehow feel obligated to defend. |
| 90 | Atlas
A forgettable, piano-driven track for the “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” soundtrack. |
| 89 | Midnight
Another by-the-numbers Ghost Stories track with awkward auto-tune and electronics. |
| 88 | True Love
Bad xx song, unfortunately par for the course for Ghost Stories. |
| 87 | O
You have to really buy into Ghost Stories to enjoy this, as the album doesn't really earn the dumb bird metaphors or the solemn coda. |
| 86 | We Never Change
Not bad at all to have playing in the background, just the least memorable track from "Parachutes" |
| 85 | The Hardest Part
Another banal X&Y love song |
| 84 | Twisted Logic
Forgettable X&Y album closer with a Radiohead sound that even lifts lyrics (to poor effect) from "Electioneering" |
| 83 | Animals
Like a lot of early B-sides (this one is for "Clocks"), the instrumentation and production aren't fully-formed enough to make up for the undercooked lyrics. |
| 82 | Life in Technicolor |
| 81 | No More Keeping My Feet On The Ground
Mediocre song, the first instance of Coldplay's obsession with feet not being on the ground |
| 80 | Crests Of Waves
A not-terrible b-side to "Clocks", featuring awful lyrics but a pretty solid guitar line. |
| 79 | Oceans
Gentle, inoffensive Ghost Stories track |
| 78 | Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground
I've never gotten into this Prospekti's march track, but it has a nice sound |
| 77 | I Bloom Baum
Murky, quiet b-side to "In My Place". I'd consider everything from here down at least average. |
| 76 | Postcards from Far Away
Short, pretty piano instrumental |
| 75 | Life Is For Living
A minor song that works quite well as a hidden track at the end of Parachutes |
| 74 | Prospekt's March/Poppyfields |
| 73 | Rainy Day |
| 72 | You Only Live Twice
Chris Martin is no Nancy Sinatra, but the Bond-theme cover is well-realized and has value as an oddity. |
| 71 | Square One
Extraordinarily average opening to X&Y |
| 70 | Parachutes
A nice short love tune |
| 69 | Green Eyes
An earnest and pleasant love song, though probably the weakest track from A Rush of Blood to the Head. |
| 68 | Only Superstition
Early rock tune from the Brothers & Sisters EP |
| 67 | U.F.O. |
| 66 | Reign of Love
A cute ballad with shimmering piano attached to "Lovers in Japan" |
| 65 | Princess of China
This song annoys me on its own, but it actually works quite well in context on Mylo Xyloto. |
| 64 | Yellow
I don't hate this song. It's decent but also bland and overrated. It fit the mood quite well in the opening scene of "Boyhood", but that's probably because the scene was capturing the perspective of a six-year-old. |
| 63 | Speed of Sound
Martin is particulary great here. Comfortable, easy listening, but also a soppy "Clocks" ripoff. |
| 62 | X & Y
Plagued by the same problems as most X&Y tracks, but also very very pretty. |
| 61 | Everything's Not Lost |
| 60 | Careful Where You Stand
Meandering "Shiver" B-side. Very much a Parachutes-era song. |
| 59 | Always In My Head |
| 58 | One I Love
"In My Place" b-side, not an R.E.M. cover, has a good rock feel and some nifty guitar riffs but a tired vocal performance |
| 57 | Christmas Lights
Not a bad track to have on a holiday-themed playlist |
| 56 | Help Is Round The Corner
Decent "Parachutes"-era cut from the "Yellow" single. Reminiscent of "Everything's Not Lost" with its loosely inspiring lyrics. |
| 55 | Warning Side
Everything from here on down I'd definitely consider at least "good". |
| 54 | Up With the Birds |
| 53 | Moses
Solid obscurity most notable for its appearance on the Live 2003 album from a performance in Sydney |
| 52 | Magic
Despite Ghost Stories being a bit misguided as an album, everything more-or-less falls into place here. |
| 51 | What If
Martin sings the chorus here beautifully enough to almost make up for hammy X&Y-era sentimentalism and straight-from-Hallmark lyrics |
| 50 | In My Place
I've never really understood why this was a big hit, although Chamberlain's drumming is pretty great (probably his best performance outside of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey's wedding). |
| 49 | Death And All His Friends |
| 48 | Spies |
| 47 | Miracles
Gorgeous song from the "Unbroken" soundtrack. Would have been one of the best tracks on Ghost Stories. |
| 46 | Charlie Brown |
| 45 | Up in Flames |
| 44 | See You Soon
The most popular track from The Blue Room EP |
| 43 | For You
Calm, quiet, a bit romantic. B-side to "Shiver". A good song to fall asleep to. |
| 42 | A Whisper
The heaviest Coldplay song, which of course isn't all that heavy. Still a solid tune. |
| 41 | Easy to Please
Dreamy early track with a lot of atmosphere. Would have fit in great on Parachutes. |
| 40 | Lost!
The original song the album is my favorite, but the piano version and the version with Jay-Z are worth listening to as well. |
| 39 | Us Against the World
A heartfelt segment of Mylo Xyloto's narrative |
| 38 | A Sky Full of Stars
By miles the best track on Ghost Stories, mostly because the anthemic sound and fast pace make the cringy lyrics less impactful than on the tracks around it. |
| 37 | Major Minus
One of many terrific Mylo Xyloto-era rock songs |
| 36 | I Ran Away
Gorgeous b-side to "The Scientist" with confessional lyrics |
| 35 | 42
The first half of this song has always bored me, but "You thought you might be a ghost/You didn't get to heaven but you made it close" part is one of Coldplay's greatest moments |
| 34 | Don't Let It Break Your Heart |
| 33 | Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall |
| 32 | The World Turned Upside Down
Pretty fully-developed for a B-side (to "Fix You"). The lyrics foreshadow "Viva La Vida" and the song references the album title X&Y. |
| 31 | Lovers in Japan |
| 30 | Brothers & Sisters
One of Coldplay's first singles. It holds up and is a lot of fun. |
| 29 | God Put a Smile Upon Your Face |
| 28 | White Shadows |
| 27 | Til Kingdom Come |
| 26 | Viva La Vida
A showcase of Brian Eno's influence in reinventing Coldplay's sound. This song was overplayed so quickly that it's easy to forgot how fantastic is sounds when played after the mostly insufferable X&Y. |
| 25 | Talk
Sure, the catchy riff from Kraftwerk overstays its welcome a bit, but this song still rocks |
| 24 | The Scientist |
| 23 | 1.36
Cool little song with a garage-rock feel, raw, b-side to "The Scientist" |
| 22 | The Goldrush
A perfect b-side to "Life In Technicolor ii" - delightful and fast-paced, featuring lead vocals by drummer Will Champion. |
| 21 | Bigger Stronger
Awesome rock song from The Blue Room EP |
| 20 | Yes |
| 19 | Glass of Water |
| 18 | High Speed |
| 17 | Paradise
The video with the elephant costumes certainly doesn't hurt |
| 16 | Such a Rush
Haunting closer to the superb The Blue Room EP |
| 15 | Life In Technicolor ii
Coldplay's best non-album track |
| 14 | Trouble
This song is just lovely. |
| 13 | Sparks
Such a serene song, and it feels like there's a lot of emotion beneath the surface. |
| 12 | Hurts Like Heaven
The stylistic shift here feels like a genuine risk that completely paid off. |
| 11 | Violet Hill
Unnecessary 30-second intro aside, "Violet Hill" is the most striking and direct rock song in Coldplay's catalogue. |
| 10 | Politik
Coldplay wanted to announce the expansive scope of their post-Parachutes sound. "Politik" thundering first few minutes accomplish that and more. Even more impressive (and beautiful) is the coda, where Martin sings "Give me love over life/over life/over this". |
| 9 | Amsterdam
A perfect album closer, with a pretty buildup leading to a terrific climax when Martin sings "Stood on the edge tied to a noose/And you came along and you cut me loose". |
| 8 | Clocks
A truly iconic song that also feels very unique to Coldplay's signature sound. |
| 7 | Low
The only track from X&Y to really earn its oversized production, with several sweeping peaks. |
| 6 | Shiver
This should have been Coldplay's breakthrough single instead of "Yellow". Martin's vocals and the lyrics are a lot stronger here. A great romantic rock song all-around. |
| 5 | Don't Panic
Masterful and often overlooked opening track to "Parachutes", concisely written without a wasted moment. The ghostly version on The Blue Room EP is fantastic as well. |
| 4 | A Rush of Blood to the Head
The most cathartic and powerful song in Coldplay's discography and a perfect release of tension as the penultimate track on A Rush of Blood to the Head. |
| 3 | Chinese Sleep Chant
Shoegazey gem tucked away as a hidden track after "Yes" on Viva La Vida. |
| 2 | Strawberry Swing
The gorgeous highlight from Viva La Vida. Short on gimmicks, with a joyous sound (which no doubt benefitted from Jon Hopkins' and Brian Eno's production) that earns the "such a perfect day" refrain. |
| 1 | Daylight
This song was the first time that I felt that Coldplay was capable of being a great band, instead of merely a nice one. Guy Berryman has an interesting bass part for once. A poll I saw recently had "Daylight" ranked last by fans of all the tracks on A Rush of Blood to the Head, and it (and only it) was cut from the CD version of Live 2003. Clearly, the edgy, atmospheric path "Daylight" promised was not where the fans or the band wanted to go. Although Coldplay went on to make plenty of great music, that's a real pity. |
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