100 Best Songs With Retro Style
Throwback tracks that still hit hard now
There’s a certain mood that kicks in when something sounds old on purpose but still feels right now. Not nostalgic in the soft-focus kind of way—more like something gritty dragged out of a thrift store speaker and made to work with a Bluetooth setup. You hear the snap of a snare that doesn’t care about sounding perfect. The synths come in sideways. The vocals carry that blurry energy like they’ve lived through analog. These songs wear their throwback gear loud and cracked around the edges. You don’t even have to squint too hard to picture roller rinks, velvet furniture, or neon signs flickering halfway dead.
What hits is how these tracks lean into retro without getting cute about it. A bassline walks like it’s from a '78 disco floor, but there’s fuzz in the mix that no one back then would've let slide. Or the guitar tone screams Motown but the lyrics break the format and stop pretending everything’s polished. This stuff feels lived-in, scuffed up, and pieced together in someone’s bedroom studio between impulse and accident. The hooks stick anyway. The artists pulling it off aren’t trying to replicate—they're reanimating. It’s pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that get dragged through some kind of temporal blender until they land crooked and interesting.
It’s that sideways energy that makes these songs work. Like they belong to no era but still somehow all of them. You put them on during a night drive or while rearranging furniture or trying on an outfit that might be too much, and suddenly you’re in it. You can smell vinyl and static. Things slow down or speed up weirdly. Here’s the batch that gets that feeling right without overexplaining it—the best songs with retro style that still hit now.
Top 10 Retro Songs
1. 'Blinding Lights'—The Weeknd
2. 'Uptown Funk'—Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
3. 'Get Lucky'—Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
4. 'Rehab'—Amy Winehouse
5. 'Smooth Sailin''—Leon Bridges
6. 'The Less I Know The Better'—Tame Impala
7. 'Coming Home'—Leon Bridges
8. 'Happy'—Pharrell Williams
9. 'Treasure'—Bruno Mars
10. 'Rolling in the Deep'—Adele
Retro Music Vibes #11—30
11. 'I Need a Dollar'—Aloe Blacc
12. 'Love On Top'—Beyoncé
13. 'Take Back the Night'—Justin Timberlake
14. 'Honey'—Erykah Badu
15. 'Q.U.E.E.N.'—Janelle Monáe featuring Erykah Badu
16. 'How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?'—Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
17. 'I Decided, Pt. 1'—Solange
18. 'I Can't Describe (The Way I Feel)'—Jennifer Hudson featuring T.I.
19. 'Stayin' Alive'—Bee Gees
20. 'I Will Survive'—Gloria Gaynor
21. 'Le Freak'—Chic
22. 'September'—Earth, Wind & Fire
23. 'Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough'—Michael Jackson
24. 'Dancing Queen'—ABBA
25. 'Boogie Wonderland'—Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions
26. 'YMCA'—Village People
27. 'Disco Inferno'—The Trammps
28. 'Funky Town'—Lipps Inc.
29. 'We Are Family'—Sister Sledge
30. 'Hot Stuff'—Donna Summer
Timeless Sound Selection #31—50
31. 'Ring My Bell'—Anita Ward
32. 'Get Down Tonight'—KC and the Sunshine Band
33. 'You Should Be Dancing'—Bee Gees
34. 'Last Dance'—Donna Summer
35. 'Boogie Oogie Oogie'—A Taste of Honey
36. 'Shake Your Groove Thing'—Peaches & Herb
37. 'I Feel Love'—Donna Summer
38. 'Heart of Glass'—Blondie
39. 'Rock the Boat'—Hues Corporation
40. 'Love's Theme'—Love Unlimited Orchestra
41. 'Ladies Night'—Kool & the Gang
42. 'Super Freak'—Rick James
43. 'More, More, More'—Andrea True Connection
44. 'Never Can Say Goodbye'—Gloria Gaynor
45. 'That's the Way (I Like It)'—KC and the Sunshine Band
46. 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'—McFadden & Whitehead
47. 'Boogie Nights'—Heatwave
48. 'I Love the Nightlife'—Alicia Bridges
49. 'Take On Me'—a-ha
50. 'Don't You Want Me'—The Human League
Classic Hits Revival #51—75
51. 'Blue Monday'—New Order
52. 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'—Simple Minds
53. 'Sounds Like a Melody'—Alphaville
54. 'Living on the Ceiling'—Blancmange
55. 'Oh L'Amour'—Erasure
56. 'I.O.U.'—Freeze Frame
57. '19'—Paul Hardcastle
58. 'The Promise'—When In Rome
59. 'Moment in Love'—Art of Noise
60. 'West End Girls'—Pet Shop Boys
61. 'Wishful Thinking'—China Crisis
62. 'Only You'—Yazoo
63. 'Fade to Grey'—Visage
64. 'I Ran'—A Flock of Seagulls
65. 'She Blinded Me With Science'—Thomas Dolby
66. 'Love Action (I Believe in Love)'—The Human League
67. 'Steppin' Out'—Joe Jackson
68. 'Don't Go'—Yazoo
69. 'AEIOU Sometimes Y'—E.G. Daily
70. 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)'—Eurythmics
71. 'It's My Life'—Talk Talk
72. 'Shout'—Tears for Fears
73. 'Talk Talk'—Talk Talk
74. 'Dancing With Tears in My Eyes'—Ultravox
75. 'Wouldn't It Be Good'—Nik Kershaw
Retro Pop and Soul Selection #76—100
76. 'Just Can't Get Enough'—Depeche Mode
77. 'You're My Heart, You're My Soul'—Modern Talking
78. 'Axel F'—Harold Faltermeyer
79. 'What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)'—Information Society
80. 'Vienna'—Ultravox
81. 'The Perfect Kiss'—New Order
82. 'Promised You A Miracle'—Simple Minds
83. 'Lessons in Love'—Level 42
84. 'Life's What You Make It'—Talk Talk
85. 'Maniac'—Michael Sembello
86. 'Video Killed the Radio Star'—The Buggles
87. 'Color My Love'—Fun Fun
88. 'Victim of Love'—Erasure
89. 'Never Let Me Down Again'—Depeche Mode
90. 'Whip It'—Devo
91. 'Oh Yeah'—Yello
92. 'Relax'—Frankie Goes to Hollywood
93. 'Get the Balance Right'—Depeche Mode
94. 'Things Can Only Get Better'—Howard Jones
95. 'Fascinated'—Company B
96. 'Who Needs Love (Like That)'—Erasure
97. 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love'—Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
98. 'I Only Have Eyes for You'—The Flamingos
99. 'Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)'—The Penguins
100. 'In the Still of the Night'—The Five Satins
© 2025 Carson McQueen
