50 Best Rock Songs About Economics
Best Rock Songs on Money and Economic Struggles
There’s a strange electricity that runs through songs that deal with money and power. Sometimes it feels like a protest, sometimes it feels like resignation, and sometimes it’s just a laugh at the absurd grind. Rock bands have always known how to channel that restless hum, turning lectures no one paid attention to in class into riffs that stick in your head. A few tracks might never mention the stock market or wage gaps directly, but they still carry the pulse of an economy pressing on people’s lives.
It isn’t sleek or clean when musicians lean into this territory. The guitars get dirtier, the voices crack, and the choruses start sounding like they were written in the middle of a paycheck stretch. These songs don’t try to explain the system so much as they spit it back out, raw and a little uneven. That’s part of what makes them work. You don’t need a lecture on inflation when a singer can put it in a line that feels like a punch. The playlist here bends the idea wide, pulling in tracks that flirt with finance on the surface and others that capture the grind without spelling it out.
There are plenty of pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that live in this space, but rock has a way of giving the subject teeth. You get anger, humor, paranoia, sometimes even hope, all tangled in three minutes of noise. Some of the picks may not be literally tied to economics, but they still echo the theme loud enough to belong here. Here are the best rock songs on economics that deserve a spot in your queue.
Top 10 Economic Rock Songs
1. 'Money' by Pink Floyd
2. 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits
3. 'Moneytalks' by AC/DC
4. 'Taxman' by The Beatles
5. 'You Never Give Me Your Money' by The Beatles
6. 'Working Class Hero' by John Lennon
7. 'Take the Money and Run' by Steve Miller Band
8. 'Easy Money' by Billy Joel
9. 'Billion Dollar Babies' by Alice Cooper
10. 'Fortunate Son' by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Rock Songs on Wealth and Finances #11 to 20
11. 'Material Girl' by Madonna
12. 'Free Money' by Patti Smith
13. 'Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)' by Pet Shop Boys
14. 'Rich Girl' by Hall & Oates
15. 'Money Changes Everything' by Cyndi Lauper
16. 'She Works Hard for the Money' by Donna Summer
17. 'Living in the Plastic Age' by The Buggles
18. 'I Want It All' by Queen
19. 'Money (That's What I Want)' by The Flying Lizards
20. 'Capitalism' by Oingo Boingo
Rock Songs About Money and Power #21 to 30
21. 'Easy Street' by The Dells
22. 'Wall Street Shuffle' by 10cc
23. 'The Big Money' by Rush
24. 'Poundcake' by Van Halen
25. 'Financial Ruin' by Black Flag
26. 'Bust a Move' by Young MC
27. 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' by Bing Crosby
28. 'Get Up, Stand Up' by Bob Marley and The Wailers
29. 'Sleep Now in the Fire' by Rage Against the Machine
30. 'Career Opportunities' by The Clash
Rock Songs About Commerce #31 to 40
31. 'Paper Planes' by M.I.A.
32. 'Bills, Bills, Bills' by Destiny's Child
33. 'We Didn't Start the Fire' by Billy Joel
34. 'Working for the Man' by The Rolling Stones
35. 'God Bless the Child' by Billie Holiday
36. 'The Man' by The Killers
37. 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by Tears for Fears
38. 'Don't Get Fooled Again' by The Who
39. 'Money Machine' by 100 gecs
40. 'Price Tag' by Jessie J
Rock Songs on Financial Systems #41 to 50
41. 'Money on My Mind' by Sam Smith
42. 'C.R.E.A.M.' by Wu-Tang Clan
43. 'The Times They Are a-Changin'' by Bob Dylan
44. 'I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger' by Johnny Cash
45. 'Broke' by The Strokes
46. 'Broke and Busted' by Bob Dylan
47. 'No Money Down' by Chuck Berry
48. 'Just Got Paid' by ZZ Top
49. 'Get Money' by The Notorious B.I.G.
50. 'I've Got Money' by James Brown
© 2025 Carson McQueen
