When you think of rock royalty, Heart stands in a category of their own. Ann and Nancy Wilson built something rare in rock history — a band powered by searing vocal performances, intricate acoustic guitar work, and hard rock firepower that never apologized for being emotional. From the folk-tinged forests of Dreamboat Annie to the arena-ready polish of Bad Animals, their catalog spans decades of genuinely stunning music. Whether you’re listening on headphones late at night or blasting them on a road trip, these songs hit differently every single time. Here are the 20 best songs of Heart that every fan — new or lifelong — needs in their rotation.
Alone
Released on Bad Animals in 1987, “Alone” was originally written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly — the same duo behind “Like a Virgin” and “True Colors.” But Heart made it completely and utterly their own. Ann Wilson’s vocal on this track is nothing short of devastating. She builds from a hushed, almost confessional opening into one of the most powerful climaxes in rock balladry, her voice cracking with genuine emotion on the final chorus in a way that no amount of studio processing could manufacture.
The production by Ron Nevison is immaculately layered — the synth beds add an ’80s texture that somehow hasn’t aged the way so many contemporaries have. The bridge hits like a gut punch every single time, and Nancy’s understated guitar work gives the track a warmth that pure synth-pop could never replicate. “Alone” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains arguably the band’s most recognizable song to a mainstream audience. It’s one of those tracks that demands headphones to catch every detail in the mix.
Crazy on You
This is the track that announced Heart to the world. Opening with Nancy Wilson’s fingerpicked acoustic guitar — a deceptively gentle intro that explodes into hard rock — “Crazy on You” from Dreamboat Annie (1975) remains one of rock’s most thrilling first impressions. The contrast between that pastoral acoustic opening and the distortion-soaked riff that follows is a masterclass in dynamic arrangement.
Ann’s vocal delivery here is ferocious and free. There’s a looseness and urgency in the performance that feels captured in real time rather than constructed in the studio. Lyrically, the song operates on multiple levels — on the surface a love song, but written during a deeply turbulent political period, with Ann describing it as a way of escaping the darkness of the Vietnam War era. For a debut single, the production depth is astonishing. If you want to understand what makes Heart special, start here.
What About Love
“What About Love” from the self-titled Heart album (1985) was actually a song the band initially passed on — it was brought to them by producer Ron Nevison after they didn’t make the final cut for another artist. That bit of serendipity gave the world one of Heart’s most enduring anthems. The riff is massive, Nancy’s guitar tone is punchy and direct, and Ann’s vocal sits perfectly in that register where power and tenderness coexist.
The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a cornerstone of ’80s rock radio. What keeps it fresh decades later is the genuine longing in the performance — this isn’t a detached, polished rock song. It has real emotional stakes. The chorus opens up beautifully in the mix, and the guitar solo hits with just enough restraint to not overstay its welcome. Pure, concentrated rock craft.
Magic Man
Perhaps the most narratively rich song in Heart’s catalog, “Magic Man” from Dreamboat Annie (1975) is genuinely one of the great debut album tracks in rock history. The song tells the story of a young woman drawn into a relationship that her mother warns her away from — and it does so with remarkable musical sophistication. The arrangement shifts moods constantly, incorporating jazzy piano, layered electric guitars, and hypnotic time signature changes that give the track an almost cinematic scope.
Ann’s mother reportedly called radio stations to demand they stop playing it, believing it was about drug use. That kind of cultural friction only adds to the song’s mystique. The extended instrumental breakdown in the middle section is worth the price of admission alone — it’s sprawling, unpredictable, and shows a band already operating well beyond their years. “Magic Man” peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. At over five minutes, it never drags for a single second.
These Dreams
“These Dreams,” performed live and captured on Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2016), gains an extraordinary weight in concert. Originally from the Heart album (1985), this is the song that gave Nancy Wilson her moment as lead vocalist — and what a moment it is. Bernie Taupin and Martin Page wrote the track, and it carries a dreamlike surrealism in its lyrics that stands apart from almost everything else in Heart’s catalog.
Nancy’s voice has an ethereal, slightly detached quality that suits the material perfectly. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the band’s second chart-topper — and hearing it live confirms it was no fluke. The Royal Albert Hall performance strips away some of the studio gloss and lets the emotion breathe even more freely. For headphone listeners, the live version’s spatial mix is genuinely impressive.
Dreamboat Annie
The title track from their landmark debut, “Dreamboat Annie” (1975) is a two-part suite that showcases Heart’s folk sensibility in its purest form. The acoustic textures here are delicate and beautifully recorded — Nancy’s guitar playing has a classical fingerstyle precision that few rock guitarists can match. Ann’s voice moves between tenderness and yearning throughout, making the song feel like a journey rather than a performance.
It’s a song that rewards close listening on good headphones — there are harmonic layers and subtle percussion elements that disappear on a speaker at distance. The track established Heart’s ability to operate in quiet, intimate spaces just as convincingly as they could in arena-rock mode. As an album closer and thematic anchor, it’s a stunning piece of work from a band who hadn’t even fully found their audience yet.
Barracuda
No list of Heart’s greatest tracks would be complete without “Barracuda” (from Little Queen, 1977), the song born from genuine anger. When a record label reportedly spread a false romantic rumor to promote Dreamboat Annie, Ann and Nancy responded by writing one of the most aggressive, technically demanding rock songs of the 1970s. That fury is audible in every note.
The opening riff — that descending, menacing guitar figure — remains one of the most recognizable in classic rock. Roger Fisher’s guitar work is relentless, and Ann’s vocal performance is full of controlled rage rather than melodrama. The rhythm section drives hard underneath, giving the track a physical, almost combative energy. “Barracuda” has been used in everything from presidential campaign ads to sports broadcasts — a testament to its enduring visceral power. If you’re building a playlist of the best songs across all genres, this one earns its place without question.
Who Will You Run To
From Bad Animals (1987), “Who Will You Run To” is a perfect example of Heart at their most commercially accessible without sacrificing musical integrity. The chorus is enormous — a melodic hook that lodges itself deep in your memory after a single listen — and the production balances the band’s rock instincts with the polish required for mainstream radio. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Ann’s vocal here has a brightness and directness that suits the lighter emotional tone of the song. It’s not the most complicated piece in their catalog, but great pop-rock songwriting isn’t about complexity — it’s about precision and feeling, and this track delivers both with ease. The arrangement features a particularly satisfying guitar interplay between the rhythm track and the lead fills that reveals itself most clearly on a quality audio setup. Speaking of which, if you want to get the most out of these tracks, checking out a headphone comparison guide will genuinely elevate your listening experience.
Never
“Never” from Heart (1985) deserves far more recognition than it typically receives. It’s a moody, atmospheric track that demonstrates Ann Wilson’s ability to convey restraint and simmering intensity rather than always reaching for the dramatic vocal peak. The production here is darker than much of their ’80s output, with a slower burn that rewards patient listening.
The guitar tones are particularly interesting — Nancy creates a textural bed that feels more like an orchestral wash than a conventional rock arrangement. The song builds slowly and deliberately, and when the release finally comes, it feels genuinely earned. This is Heart operating in their more introspective mode, and it’s a side of their artistry that doesn’t always get the spotlight it deserves.
Little Queen
The title track of their 1977 album, “Little Queen” is a compact, riff-heavy rocker that shows Heart’s Zeppelin-influenced hard rock instincts at full force. The song moves with incredible momentum — tight, punchy, and built around a guitar figure that burrows into your memory immediately. Ann’s vocal is assertive and confident, matching the track’s energy perfectly.
At under three minutes, “Little Queen” operates with an economy of expression that contrasts beautifully with the epic sprawl of tracks like “Magic Man.” It’s a reminder that Heart could be bracingly direct when they chose to be. The rhythm section on this album was particularly well-recorded, and that bass and drum interplay forms the muscular backbone the track needs.
There’s the Girl
“There’s the Girl” from Bad Animals (1987) is a fascinating psychological portrait — written from the perspective of someone observing another person’s love and longing from the outside. It’s a less common lyrical angle in pop-rock, and Ann delivers it with the complexity the subject matter demands. The production has that signature late-’80s sheen, but the song’s emotional intelligence elevates it above genre-typical material.
The chord progression has an interesting restlessness to it, never quite settling where you expect, which mirrors the narrative uncertainty of the lyrics. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and deserves to be remembered as more than just an album cut. Fans who dig deep into the Bad Animals record consistently identify this as one of its strongest moments.
All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You
Few Heart songs generated as much conversation as this Brigade (1990) deep cut turned hit. Written by Mutt Lange, the song tells an unconventional story with remarkable narrative clarity — and Ann Wilson sings it without flinching. The production is polished to a high gloss, with a piano-led intro that sets a brooding, cinematic atmosphere before the rock elements arrive.
Ann’s performance walks a careful line between vulnerability and determination that makes the story feel real rather than sensational. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of their most commercially successful singles of the ’90s era. It’s a genuinely unusual piece of mainstream rock songwriting — brave in its subject matter and executed with real craft.
Stranded
“Stranded” from Brigade (1990) is a slower-burning track that showcases Ann Wilson’s gift for conveying emotional isolation. The production here is spacious, with guitar and synth elements given room to breathe rather than being stacked to maximum density. There’s a loneliness in the arrangement that matches the lyrical theme perfectly.
This is the kind of Heart track that resonates most deeply on headphones at night — the kind of song that becomes a companion during difficult emotional moments. The vocal dynamics Ann employs, moving between near-whisper and full-throated expression, are a lesson in how to use dynamic range as an emotional tool. Stranded rarely makes “best of” lists, but for a certain kind of listener, it’s essential.
Heartless
From Magazine (1977), “Heartless” was actually a cover of a song originally recorded by Kansas, but Heart’s version is the definitive one. The arrangement is darker and heavier than the original, with a guitar tone that has a genuinely ominous quality. Ann’s vocal strips away any ’70s soft-rock gentleness and replaces it with something far more commanding.
The organ and guitar interplay creates a thick, layered sound that was ahead of its time for FM rock. The song became a significant FM radio staple and introduced a harder, more aggressive sonic identity for the band. Compared to the folk influences of Dreamboat Annie, “Heartless” feels like a deliberate statement of range — Heart could go dark, and go there convincingly.
Kick It Out
“Kick It Out” from Little Queen (1977) is Heart at their most unrestrained. The tempo is relentless, the guitar work is ferocious, and Ann’s vocal has a raw, almost punk-adjacent energy that the studio manages to capture without sanitizing. This is a band playing at maximum effort with no concessions to radio-friendliness.
The track demonstrates how effectively Heart could channel the hard rock energy of Zeppelin and Deep Purple through their own musical personality. Roger Fisher’s guitar solo here is particularly fiery, and the rhythm section locks in with an almost mechanical tightness that gives the song its muscular drive. For anyone who primarily knows Heart from their ’80s power ballads, “Kick It Out” offers a very different and equally thrilling perspective.
Will You Be There
From Desire Walks On (1993), “Will You Be There” finds Heart navigating the quieter, more reflective territory that characterized their early ’90s output. The production is warmer and less reliant on period-specific sound design than the Bad Animals era, and the song benefits enormously from that sonic space.
Ann’s vocal here has a maturity and lived-in quality that adds weight to the lyrics — this is a singer who has been through enough to mean every word. The acoustic elements blend naturally with electric guitar textures, creating an arrangement that feels cohesive rather than constructed. It’s a song that grows with repeated listens and reveals new harmonic detail each time through. Discovering tracks like this is precisely why building a thoughtful earbud setup for your listening sessions is worth the investment.
Bad Animals
The title track from the 1987 album, “Bad Animals” is an underappreciated hard rock gem. The riff is built for maximum impact — heavy, syncopated, and immediately memorable — and the production gives it a physical weight that demands volume. Ann’s delivery is assertive and slightly menacing in the best possible way.
The song’s lyrical theme of embracing a wilder, less restrained nature gave the album its identity, and hearing the track in context with the rest of the record reinforces how intentional that thematic choice was. The rhythm section performance here is one of the tightest in their catalog, creating a foundation that lets the guitar and vocal work shine without the bottom end ever feeling thin.
Back to Avalon
“Back to Avalon” from Desire Walks On (1993) is one of Heart’s most ambitious and underappreciated compositions. The Arthurian reference in the title signals the lyrical territory — this is a song concerned with loss, longing, and the search for something transcendent. The arrangement incorporates orchestral elements alongside the rock instrumentation, giving it an epic sweep that suits the subject matter beautifully.
Ann’s vocal here is among her finest performances on record in the post-’80s era. The melodic lines are complex, the emotional terrain is rich, and the song unfolds over its full running time with genuine patience and craft. It’s a reminder that Heart’s artistic ambitions never diminished even as commercial circumstances changed around them.
Nada One
The Dog & Butterfly album (1978) represents one of Heart’s most sonically adventurous periods, and “Nada One” captures that experimental spirit beautifully. It is a gentle, flowing acoustic piece that demonstrates Nancy Wilson’s ability to create complete emotional worlds with minimal instrumentation.
The contrast between acoustic folk intimacy and the harder rock material throughout their catalog shows a band genuinely committed to musical range. The production on the acoustic tracks from this era is particularly warm and natural-sounding, capturing the resonance of the instruments with a fidelity that holds up remarkably well in modern playback.
Stairway to Heaven
Heart’s version of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” performed live and documented in various recordings including the Little Queen era, became one of the most celebrated cover performances in rock history. At the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors, Heart performed the song in tribute to Led Zeppelin with a full orchestra and choir — and Jimmy Page himself was visibly moved to tears.
The performance showcased everything that makes Heart extraordinary: Ann’s vocal range and emotional depth, Nancy’s guitar mastery, and the band’s ability to honor a source material while bringing their own identity to it. Choosing to include this in any Heart retrospective isn’t just justified — it’s essential. It stands as proof that great songs transcend the artists who originally recorded them, and that great performers can find entirely new emotional dimensions in familiar material.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Heart’s most successful song of all time?
“Alone” from the 1987 album Bad Animals is widely considered Heart’s biggest commercial hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains their most-streamed track on major platforms and has become a defining example of ’80s power ballad artistry. The song’s combination of Ann Wilson’s extraordinary vocal performance and its emotionally direct lyrics have given it remarkable longevity across generations of listeners.
Who are the core members of Heart?
Heart’s core and founding members are sisters Ann Wilson (lead vocals) and Nancy Wilson (guitar, vocals). The band formed in Seattle in the early 1970s, though their lineup has shifted significantly over the decades. Ann’s voice and Nancy’s guitar work have remained the constant creative center of the band throughout all lineup changes and stylistic evolutions.
What genre does Heart play?
Heart operates across multiple genres simultaneously, which is part of what makes their catalog so distinctive. Their work spans hard rock, soft rock, folk rock, arena rock, and power ballads. Earlier albums like Dreamboat Annie and Little Queen lean heavily into folk-influenced rock with Led Zeppelin-inspired hard rock elements, while their ’80s output on Capitol Records embraced a more polished, synth-assisted rock sound.
What are Heart’s best albums to start with?
For new listeners, Dreamboat Annie (1975) and Bad Animals (1987) represent the two ends of Heart’s musical spectrum beautifully. Dreamboat Annie showcases their folk rock roots and raw energy, while Bad Animals represents their commercially polished peak. Together, the two albums give you a comprehensive sense of their range and evolution across twelve years of recording.
Did Ann Wilson write Heart’s songs?
Ann and Nancy Wilson wrote or co-wrote a significant portion of Heart’s catalog, particularly in their early years. “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” and “Dreamboat Annie” are among the songs they wrote themselves. In their ’80s Capitol Records era, they increasingly recorded songs written by outside songwriters — “Alone,” “These Dreams,” and “All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You” were all written by external collaborators, though the Wilson sisters’ performances transformed them into distinctly Heart recordings.
How many #1 hits does Heart have?
Heart achieved two #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100: “These Dreams” in 1986 and “Alone” in 1987. Both songs demonstrated different aspects of their artistry — “These Dreams” featuring Nancy Wilson on lead vocals, and “Alone” showcasing Ann Wilson’s extraordinary range. They also placed numerous singles in the top 20 throughout the 1980s, making them one of the most consistently charting rock acts of that decade.