50 Best Rock Songs About Summer Time

Best Rock Tracks That Sound Like Summer

There’s a certain kind of air that hits when summer kicks in. Not the picture-perfect kind, but the one that feels half-sweet, half-sticky. You’re half-drenched in sweat, watching the sky shift colors through your windshield, and some guitar riff leaks from a speaker that’s seen better days. The days stretch long, the nights don’t quite cool down, and everything hums with the sense that something could happen. These songs don’t chase nostalgia, they live in that blur between freedom and boredom that summer always brings.

Not every track here talks about beaches or sunshine, but they still carry that pulse. The fuzz of feedback in the background, the lazy tempo that turns heavy when the air gets too thick. Some of these tunes were born from road trips that didn’t end the way they should have, others sound like cheap beer and fireworks behind a strip mall. They hang in the same space as pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that stretch summer into something you can almost taste. Even if the lyrics are miles away from the season, the feeling lines up.

Summer never hits clean. It burns, it drags, it leaves everyone chasing something half-finished. These tracks hold that heat without pretending it’s all good times. They spill over, a little loud, a little messy, perfect for late nights and open windows. Here are the best rock songs for summer playlists.

1. 'Summer of '69' by Bryan Adams

2. 'School's Out' by Alice Cooper

3. 'Summer in the City' by The Lovin' Spoonful

4. 'The Boys of Summer' by Don Henley

5. 'In the Summertime' by Mungo Jerry

6. 'Summertime Blues' by Eddie Cochran

7. 'Rockaway Beach' by The Ramones

8. 'Hot Fun in the Summertime' by Sly & the Family Stone

9. 'Dancing Days' by Led Zeppelin

10. 'Island in the Sun' by Weezer

11. 'Surfin' U.S.A.' by The Beach Boys

12. 'Sunny Afternoon' by The Kinks

13. 'Vacation' by The Go-Go's

14. 'Summer Breeze' by Seals and Crofts

15. 'Here Comes the Sun' by The Beatles

16. 'California Girls' by The Beach Boys

17. 'Paradise City' by Guns N' Roses

18. 'Walkin' on the Sun' by Smash Mouth

19. 'Sweet Home Alabama' by Lynyrd Skynyrd

20. 'Night Moves' by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

21. 'Scar Tissue' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

22. 'Summertime Clothes' by Animal Collective

23. 'Born to Be Wild' by Steppenwolf

24. 'Saturday in the Park' by Chicago

25. 'All Summer Long' by The Beach Boys

26. 'Steal My Sunshine' by Len

27. 'Mr. Blue Sky' by Electric Light Orchestra

28. 'Blister in the Sun' by Violent Femmes

29. 'Hot in the City' by Billy Idol

30. 'Any Way You Want It' by Journey

31. 'Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)' by Incubus

32. 'Rock Lobster' by The B-52's

33. 'Feel Good Hit of the Summer' by Queens of the Stone Age

34. 'Surfer Girl' by The Beach Boys

35. 'Cruel Summer' by Bananarama

36. 'Ice Cream Man' by Van Halen

37. 'Suddenly Last Summer' by The Motels

38. 'King of the Beach' by Wavves

39. 'My Own Summer (Shove It)' by Deftones

40. 'Summertime Girls' by Y&T

41. 'Summertime' by Big Brother & the Holding Company

42. 'Ventura Highway' by America

43. 'Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me In It's Spotlight)' by Thin Lizzy

44. 'Soak Up the Sun' by Sheryl Crow

45. 'The Ocean' by Led Zeppelin

46. 'Summer Song' by Joe Satriani

47. 'Holiday Road' by Lindsey Buckingham

48. 'Take It Easy' by Eagles

49. 'You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)' by Meat Loaf

50. '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding