We Rank The Top 10 Best Billy Joel Songs Of All Time

10. Uptown Girl (1983)

In the ‘80s, Billy Joel hung out with supermodels on the reg, dated Elle Macpherson and even married Christie Brinkley (who stars in Uptown Girl’s film clip)! Don’t worry, the Piano Man is well aware he’s a poster boy for physical-attractiveness-disparity couples and is in on the joke, once telling an interviewer, “The fact that I can attract such a beautiful woman as Christie should give hope to every ugly guy in the world!" Joel’s only single to top the UK charts, Uptown Girl is a soul-uplifting aural delight that was stylistically inspired by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man). 

Fun fact: Westlife also topped the UK charts with their version of Uptown Girl (2001). Released with an accompanying music video that parodied Joel’s OG clip, Westlife cast another supermodel, Claudia Schiffer, in Brinkley’s role.

9. New York State Of Mind (1976)

Joel has said he never really felt at home during the years he lived in LA during the mid-‘70s. And the inspo for this song came to Joel while he was returning to New York via bus, as these lyrics confirm: “I'm taking a Greyhound/ On the Hudson River line/ I'm in a New York state of mind…”  

New York State Of Mind was famously performed at The Concert For New York City – a benefit for the New York City Fire and Police Departments and the families of loved ones lost during the 9/11 attacks – in October, 2001. But this song’s superb sax solo alone earns its inclusion on this list.

8. It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me (1980)

After writing It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me, Joel admits he noticed this song shared the same chords as Bob Dylan’s Lay, Lady, Lay. “What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing?/ Can't you tell that your tie's too wide?" – the call-and-response verses of this chart-topping smash hit are really fun to sing along with, especially if you and your mate take alternate lines (kinda like Summer Nights from Grease).

Fun fact: Weird Al Yankovic recorded a spoof of this song, titled It’s Still Billy Joel To Me.

7. Pressure (1982)

Have you ever heard a synth part that more closely captures the physiological effects of incoming Pressure and anxiety? We also reckon hyperactive toddlers might go a bit troppo when this song drops – it’s a banger!

Responding to an audience member’s question during an episode of Night School, which aired on MTV, Joel said of Pressure: “The pressure I was writing about in this song wasn't necessarily music business pressure, it was writing pressure... At the time, I was saying, ‘Well, I gotta write some more stuff for the album’; I was about halfway through, and I said, ‘Well, what am I gonna do? I don't have any ideas, it's gone, it's dead, I have nothing, nothing, nothing. There's nothing.’ And then the woman who is my secretary came into the house at that point and said, ‘Wow, you look like you're under a lot of pressure. I bet you that'd be a good idea for a song.’ And I went, ‘Thank you!’”

6. The Longest Time (1984) 

Don’t knock it! Did you know that Joel contributed every single vocal part, crisp finger-snap and handclap on this one? The Longest Time pays tribute to Joel’s love for ‘50s doo-wop and it’s impossible to stay mad while song’s playing. During a 2016 radio interview, Joel admitted he used the method-acting technique while recording The Longest Time’s various vocal parts: “I imagined myself as a skinny kid from Newark, then I did another voice and thought of myself as a big Black football player with a real deep bass voice. And then I thought of myself as a Pat Boone kind of singer.” 

Upon The Longest Time’s release, we’re tipping acappella groups the world over noticed a considerable increase in enrolments. 

5. Allentown (1982)

A blue-collar American anthem for the late-20th Century, Allentown’s opening beat replicates the sounds of a steel plant in operation. Those repeated, “Ssssshhhh-Ooh-Aaaaah!” noises are surely vocal percussion though, right? 

“Every child had a pretty good shot/ To get at least as far as their old man got…” – how bloody great is Allentown’s bridge, as well!?

4. Only The Good Die Young (1977) 

"Come out, Virginia, don't let me wait/ You Catholic girls start much too late…” – say whaaaaaaaaat!? Yep, Only The Good Die Young’s opening line saw this boppy lil number banned by some radio stations upon its release, the controversy around which helped shift even more units. Joel recalled of this phenomenon: “The minute they banned it, it starting shooting up the charts, because nothing sells a record like a ban or a boycott… As soon as the kids found out there was some authority that didn’t want them to hear it, they bought it in droves and it became this big hit.”

In 1978, Joel even received death threats warning him against performing Only The Good Die Young at his St Louis concert. Unfazed, Joel instead played the song twice and got the whole audience involved in a singalong! 

With its ebullient brass injections, Only The Good Die Young captures a fiery rock’n’roll spirit, serving live-band energy. And there’s no prizes for guessing this song was inspired by yet another of Joel’s endless list of real-life unrequited crushes: a Catholic girl named Virginia Callahan – quelle surprise!  

3. Just The Way You Are (1977) 

This stunning ballad – the lead single from Joel’s fifth LP The Stranger – became his first big hit and even led to a spike in the sales of his earlier albums. Initially, Joel had wanted to leave Just The Way You Are off the record. But when Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow happened to drop by the studio one day, they wisely convinced him otherwise. 

Just The Way You Are is one of the several songs Joel wrote about his first wife Elizabeth Weber, who also managed his finances for a stint. The story goes that when Joel told Weber, “This song is for you,” Donna Summer, who happened to be standing nearby at the time, cheekily enquired, “Does that come with the publishing?”

2. She’s Always A Woman (1978)

Another of Joel’s odes to Weber, She’s Always A Woman was written after Joel noticed a lot of crusty, old-school music industry bros shared the opinion that women in power “were somehow not feminine because of their business acumen”. Said to be influenced by the mellow acoustic guitar ballads of Gordon Lightfoot, She’s Always A Woman describes Joel’s love and appreciation for this formidable woman who was fiercely intelligent and unafraid to speak her mind at a time when women were typically encouraged to look pretty and be subservient. This song’s 6/8 time signature and soothing melodies score extra bonus points. 

1. Piano Man (1973)

Come on now, Joel’s debut single and signature song was always gonna take pole position. Back when he still went by the name Bill Martin, Joel literally was the Piano Man, performing at the Executive Room bar in LA. Within this song’s lyrics, Joel wonderfully illustrates the regulars he saw there, including an old man, John the bartender, Paul the “real estate novelist” and in-the-navy Davy. As soon as Joel dons the harmonica rig during live shows, you’d better brace yourself for the majestic Piano Man, resplendent with that euphoric key change: “SING US THE SONG, YOU’RE THE PIANO MAN…” Goosebumps every single time. 

Billy Joel’s ‘Greatest Hits Volume 1 and Volume 2’ is available now as part of the ‘Icons & Superstars’ collection. For more details click here.