Top Ten Instrumental Songs

There is likely no type of song harder to write than an instrumental song. When a song has words, has a voice, tells a story, it is much easier to keep a person hooked, to keep them entertained. To do so without words is a much greater challenge.

A great instrumental song must draw you in, must make you feel something. Whether it makes you feel sad, or soothes you, or pumps you up, it must ignite some spirit within you. A truly fantastic instrumental can draw a tear to your eye, or it can get you out of your seat and light a fire under your ass. It can make time disappear, a two minute song seemingly lasting an eternity. It can be as simple as a single piano, or as complex as a full orchestra. Regardless, it always puts the musicianship at the forefront of the song. When written well, an instrumental song can move you just as well, if not better, than a song with words.

The Top Ten Instrumental Songs:

10. Doug Martsch - Instrumental
On his largely acoustic solo album, Built To Spill's frontman paid great homage to legends like Mississippi Fred McDowell. One of the few grungier, upbeat songs, this instrumental finds Martsch trying his hand at the dirty Mississippi Delta blues. His slide work is fantastic, and will have you grooving along in no time.

9. Pixies - Cecilia Ann
The opening track off Bossanova, and a cover of The Surftones, Cecilia Ann is two minutes of pure surf rock, smeared with Joey Santiago's drilling blend of punk rock and pure noise. The addition of the almost gothic synths, a change to Pixies sound from their previous efforts, make it a haunting, yet powerful, song.

8. Caustic Resin - Longdrive Jam
This reverb washed blend of druggy psychedelia and blues, starts slow, then quickly builds up to chaos. It crashes all around you, and then, right as it seems destined to careen off the tracks, it screeches to a halt, leaving you wanting more, leaving you wondering where it could have gone, and thinking how fun the wreckage may have been.

7. Booker T. & The MGs - Green Onions
One of the godfathers of instrumental rock, Green Onions opened the door to a world of new possibilities. Built around Booker T's rumbling Hammond organ, punctuated by Steve Cropper's stabbing telecaster, this dirty groove set the world ablaze, and put the band, who, until this point, had simply been the Stax Records house band, on the map. It may not have been the first rock instrumental released, but it remains one of the all time greatest, and its inspiration can be heard worldwide.

6. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Perhaps one of the broadest, most ambitious albums ever recorded, Smashing Pumpkins manage to jump from throat shredding metal to tear stained balladry without batting an eye, and it all begins with this gorgeous melody. Backed by strings, Billy Corgan single handedly raises the sun on this record, with beautiful piano and humming synthesizers. Ever the master composer, Corgan never lets the song build too high, or repeat too long, just enough to hook you in, and have you clinging on for more.

5. Fugazi - Arpeggiator
The closest thing to punk jazz, this powerful blast from End Hits is a furious lesson in musicianship. The two guitars weave in and out of one another battling their way up and down the scales. Every time they seem destined to careen into total chaos, they are steered back into place, held together by the strength of bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty.

4. Pink Floyd - One Of These Days
Standing alone, on an ancient mountaintop, winds swirl around you. Suddenly an echoey bass pulses through you, picking up speed and intensity, accompanied by backwards rushing cymbals and keyboards. Eventually David Gilmour rips his way into the song with furious slide guitar. Right as it seems prepared to take off, it all drops away, save a buzzing bass line, and a single, uttered threat, meant for a BBC radio DJ. Then the full band swings in, pounding bass, playful piano, piercing organ, and buzz saw slide guitar.

3. Sigur Ros - Untitled No. 3 (Samskeyti)
The Icelandic explorers start this ethereal wonder with the softest whispering of a humming organ. Then the most simple and beautiful piano melody floats in, lifting the song from the softest depths, slowly raising it up to great heights. As the song rises a droning buzz fades in and helps the song soar. Right as it reaches its apex, it all melts away suddenly, and whispers of that same piano line carry you sweetly away, as it fades into the distance.

2. Patrick Street - Music For A Found Harmonium
Performed by the Irish folk group, this song was originally composed by Simon Jeffes of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. This wonderfully uplifting version starts off with foot tapping guitar, pleasantly picking and strumming the main melody. Slowly other instruments join the party, led by a fantastic fiddle, and the whole band swings through the melody a few times before dropping off at just the right moment.

1. John Frusciante - Ramparts
Recorded after rehabbing from heroin addiction, between the largely popular Californication and By The Way, this track can be found on the former Chili Peppers' solo album To Record Only Water For Ten Days. Layers of guitars bubble over one another like beautiful water fountains, as two more guitars trade bluesy solos, starting softly and building up to a powerf finish. This gorgeous song clocks in at just 1:11, yet it feels like an eternity of bliss.

- Jack