50 Best Rock Songs About Crime
Rock Tracks Telling Tales of Crime and Chaos
There’s a certain thrill that comes with songs tied to crime. Not the cartoon version with neon lights and clean endings, but the kind that lives in back alleys, late-night dives, and bad decisions that don’t untangle by morning. Some of these tracks go straight into the grit, spinning stories of outlaws, bank jobs, and running from flashing lights. Others circle the edge, using crime as a metaphor for obsession, rebellion, or the kind of love that wrecks everything. They don’t all deal in literal stickups and sirens, but they still hit that pulse of tension, danger, and fallout that crime carries.
The best ones feel like overheard confessions. A verse slips out like it was meant to stay secret, the guitar riff hits sharp, and suddenly you’re in the middle of something you probably shouldn’t be witnessing. They can be slick and swaggering, or they can stumble like someone running on adrenaline. Even pop, rock, country, and R&B songs have taken stabs at this territory, each bringing their own edge to the theme. There’s something messy and thrilling about hearing a polished melody clash with lyrics soaked in bad choices, like a crime scene wrapped in velvet.
These aren’t tracks that stand at a safe distance and analyze. They wade into the chaos, muddy and unsteady, and dare you to follow along. Some might not be literal depictions of crime, but they carry the spirit of it, the restless energy of rules being broken and lives tilting sideways. Here are the best rock songs that capture the reckless world of crime.
Top 10 Crime Rock Songs
1. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen
2. 'I Fought the Law' by The Clash
3. 'Psycho Killer' by Talking Heads
4. 'Hurricane' by Bob Dylan
5. 'Janie's Got a Gun' by Aerosmith
6. 'I Don't Like Mondays' by The Boomtown Rats
7. 'Midnight Rambler' by The Rolling Stones
8. 'Breaking the Law' by Judas Priest
9. 'Nebraska' by Bruce Springsteen
10. 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine' by The Killers
Best Rock Songs With a Criminal Theme #11 to 20
11. 'Folsom Prison Blues' by Johnny Cash
12. 'Hey Joe' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
13. 'The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde' by Georgie Fame
14. 'Wanted Dead or Alive' by Bon Jovi
15. 'Smuggler's Blues' by Glenn Frey
16. 'Riders on the Storm' by The Doors
17. 'Lawyers, Guns and Money' by Warren Zevon
18. 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' by AC/DC
19. 'The Mercy Seat' by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
20. 'Been Caught Stealing' by Jane's Addiction
Top Outlaw Rock Songs #21 to 30
21. 'Bloodbath in Paradise' by Ozzy Osbourne
22. 'Stagger Lee' by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
23. 'The Ripper' by Judas Priest
24. 'Delilah' by Tom Jones
25. 'Suffer Little Children' by The Smiths
26. 'John Wayne Gacy, Jr.' by Sufjan Stevens
27. 'Ted, Just Admit It...' by Jane's Addiction
28. 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' by Bob Dylan
29. 'Polly' by Nirvana
30. 'The Killing of Georgie' by Rod Stewart
Famous Rock Songs About Crimes #31 to 40
31. 'The Road Goes On Forever' by Robert Earl Keen
32. 'The Ballad of Thunder Road' by Robert Mitchum
33. 'Billy the Kid' by Billy Joel
34. 'The Long Black Veil' by The Band
35. 'The Curse of Millhaven' by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
36. 'One More Murder' by The Doobie Brothers
37. 'The Man Comes Around' by Johnny Cash
38. 'Runnin' Down a Dream' by Tom Petty
39. 'Watching the Detectives' by Elvis Costello
40. 'Jailbreak' by AC/DC
Must-Listen Rock Songs About Criminals #41 to 50
41. 'Angel of Death' by Slayer
42. 'The Trooper' by Iron Maiden
43. '213' by Slayer
44. 'Cold as Ice' by Foreigner
45. 'Hotel California' by Eagles
46. 'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns N' Roses
47. 'Gimme Shelter' by The Rolling Stones
48. 'The Unforgiven' by Metallica
49. 'Criminal' by Fiona Apple
50. 'Smooth Criminal' by Michael Jackson
© 2025 Carson McQueen
