Top 10 Adele Songs, Ranked

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Who doesn’t love Adele? She’s one of the top-selling artists of all time, and her iconic blue-eyed soul ballads have healed the broken hearts of listeners around the world. It’s only natural that the multi-Grammy-winning artist would make her way over to Josh Ranks Things.

Adele has recorded 64 songs across 4 albums (19, 21, 25, and 30), most of which she wrote herself. But in taking songwriting, production, and vocals into account, Josh has whittled it down to his 10 favorites.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

“Easy on Me”

“Love is a Game”

“Water Under the Bridge”

10. SOMEONE LIKE YOU

Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.

When you think of the archetypal Adele song, this song from 21 is it. A ballad set to only piano is a staple of the Adele catalogue, and as long as heartbreak exists, so will the resonance of this song.

9. I DRINK WINE

But the higher we climb, feels like we’re both none the wiser.

While “Someone Like You” makes the case for pop simplicity, the lyrics to “I Drink Wine” on 30 are a saga. What is this song even about? The lyrics attempt to connect the many, many areas of Adele’s life through large questions, and it’s hard not to fall in love with the sheer ambition of this one.

8. ALL I ASK

It matters how this ends… ‘cause what if I never love again?

Cowritten by Bruno Mars, “All I Ask” is an exemplary showcase of Adele’s vocal range. While not as plaintive as other songs in the Adele canon, this tune, much like others on 25, shows a hopeful rekindling of warm emotions.

7. CHASING PAVEMENTS

Should I give up, or should I just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere?

The only song on this list from 19, and it’s frankly shocking that she wrote something this introspective and sophisticated as a teenager. This was her first big hit in the US— such a debut is remarkable on its own, but it was just a taste of the heartbreak that we’d hear on 21.

6. SET FIRE TO THE RAIN

Well, it burned, while I cried ‘cause I heard it screaming out your name.

I won’t lie, I don’t fully understand the lyrics to this one. But “Set Fire To The Rain” is both catchy and poetic, bolstered in part by deliciously arranged strings. On a scale of “Someone Like You” to “Rolling in the Deep,” this takes the hurt and turns it into an angry, self-affirming power.

5. SKYFALL

You may have my number, you can take my name… but you’ll never have my heart.

My hypothesis is that you can’t go wrong with the classic James Bond chords. But aside from “Goldfinger,” no 007 theme goes quite as hard as this stylish Oscar winner. The lyrics may be on the simple side, but the melodic writing and the orchestral arrangement are so earth-shatteringly gorgeous— that they might actually make the sky fall.

4. HELLO

But it don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore.

This big-hearted ballad was Adele’s first song in three years… and to say it was “hotly anticipated” is an understatement. The first single from 25 reminded the world just how much they missed Adele’s majesty and vulnerability, providing ample moments for her signature belting and vocal finesse.

3. ROLLING IN THE DEEP

You’re gonna wish you never had met me.

One of the most popular songs of all time, and arguably Adele’s biggest hit, “Rolling in the Deep” is also Adele at her spunkiest: sure, she could sit at home and be sad over a breakup, but in this earworm, she gets mad. She had our hearts inside her hands, and she played it to an instantly iconic thumping beat.

2. TO BE LOVED

Let it be known that I will choose to lose.

This raw torch song from 30 is somewhat of a culmination of everything she’s written about so far. “To Be Loved” is the piano ballad to end all piano ballads, thanks to Adele’s soaring vocals and stunning vulnerability. Co-written by pop powerhouse Tobias Jesso Jr., let it be known: this is high art at the highest count.

1. WHEN WE WERE YOUNG

It was just like a movie… it was just like a song…

When it came time to make this list, putting the standout song of 25 as #1 was a no-brainer. “When We Were Young,” also co-written by Tobias Jesso Jr., is a dose of bittersweet nostalgia delivered via a warm hug. Its incredibly catchy melody and build-up can only be described as transcendent.

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