The Kinks was made of Pete Quaife, brothers Dave and Ray Davies and Mick Avory (Image: Getty)
They were the band that shaped British rock through distortion, wit, and no small amount of sibling tension. The Kinks stood apart from their 1960s contemporaries by being both aggressively raw and weirdly poetic. With Ray Davies’ lyrics often chronicling everyday English life and Dave’s guitar snarls fuelling some of the earliest proto-punk sounds, the band carved out a discography that remains untouchable in both quality and eccentricity.
In 2023, Gold Radio magzine ranked The Kinks’ ultimate best songs of all time, analysing their production, lyrics, musical context and impact. Here, according to the list, are the 10 best they ever released:
10- Celluloid Heroes
The 1972 song name-drops several famous actors of the 20th century film industry – including Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Rudolph Valentino, Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Rooney. Described as “one of the Kinks finest post-1960s moments”, ‘Celluloid Heroes’ was praised by Dave as “One of my favourite songs ever, by anybody”, as he told Guitar World.
He lauded his brother’s idea for the song, saying: “I remember when we were just starting out down the road with tidying up the lyrics. That really filled me with a lot of emotion because it is quite an incredible idea anyway, all those stars, names and handprints being on those stars”.
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9- Till The End of the Day
‘Till the End of the Day’ is a power chord-led single released as part of the Kink Kontroversy 1965 album. It admittedly features themes of freedom, and the crave for escaping something.
Ray Davies later admitted: “I didn’t know it was about my state of mind”. The song reached number 8 in the UK charts, and peaked at 50 in the United States.
8- A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy
Branded “not only The Kinks’ greatest single outside the 1960s, but one of their very best songs full stop”, ‘A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy’, off the 1978 album Misfits narrated the journey of a band going through hard times, alongside the story of a man named Dan, who is a fan of the Kinks themselves – surrounding himself with their music when he’s unhappy.
The track was the band’s most famous single in the U.S. since ‘Lola’ (1970), and was heavily critically acclaimed.
7- Days
A soft, wistful tune originally released as a standalone single in 1968, ‘Days’ mixes simplicity with emotional resonance, in “a beautiful, tender song about love and loss”.
Though it only reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart, the song has endured for decades. It saw renewed popularity after Kirsty MacColl’s 1989 cover and remains a sentimental fan favourite.
6- Lola
The band’s most internationally famous track, ‘Lola’ tells the story of a romantic encounter in a Soho bar, cloaked in ambiguity and clever lyrical twists. Despite the credit going solely to Ray, Dave Davies has insisted he wrote the music for the song. Released in 1970, it reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 9 in the U.S., reviving the Kinks’ commercial fortunes after a difficult spell.
Over the years, it’s become one of their most enduring classics, largely thanks to its controversial subject matter – the gender identity of Lola was never confirmed – and catchy chorus.
5- This Time Tomorrow
The opening notes of this 1970 track instantly conjure a feeling of melancholy and escape, and constitute “one of Ray Davies’s most lovely melodies and contemplative lyrics”. It appeared on Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, an album criticising the commercialisation of the music industry.
The song’s themes of yearning have since made it a cult favourite, and it featured prominently in Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited, helping introduce it to a new audience.
4- You Really Got Me
The 1964 single that was “where it really all began” with its iconic distorted guitar riff – ‘You Really Got Me’ laid the groundwork for hard rock, punk, and metal to come. Famously, Dave Davies slashed his amp’s speaker cone to get the song’s signature fuzzy sound.
It went to No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the U.S., turning the Kinks into global stars and defining their rough-edged early sound.
3- Sunny Afternoon
In ‘Sunny Afternoon’, Ray Davies turned his frustrations with the UK tax system into a character sketch of a crumbling aristocrat, lounging in the summer heat with nothing left but time and gin. “[The song] referenced the high top rate of tax levied by Harold Wilson’s Labour government of the time, though from a quirkier angle of drunken aristocrat”.
The result was a song that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1966 and further cemented the Kinks’ shift into more theatrical and narrative-driven songwriting.
2- All Day and All of the Night
Released just a few months after ‘You Really Got Me’, this 1964 single pushed the same formula – raw power chords and lustful lyrics – even further.
According to the ranking, “despite stalling one place below at number two, it’s every bit the equal of its predecessor and has endured as a Kinks klassic”.
The track reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 7 in the U.S., confirming the Kinks as more than a one-hit wonder. The snarling urgency of the song would inspire bands from The Who to The Stooges.
1- Waterloo Sunset
Crowning the list is The Kinks’ 1967 masterpiece. Haunting, cinematic and quietly moving, it tells the story of a lonely narrator watching lovers Terry and Julie from a distance as they cross Waterloo Bridge.
The cinematic ‘Waterloo Sunset’ peaked at No. 2 in the UK and never charted in the U.S., but its legacy has far outstripped its initial performance. Both Ray and Dave Davies have cited it as their favourite Kinks song, and it remains a shining example of British pop at its most poetic.