"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published in December 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
- - "Like a Rolling Stone", by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, was chosen as number 1. The single was released on 20 July 1965.
- - The list is mostly composed of songs recorded by male North American and British artists and mostly from the second half of the 20th century. Of the 500 songs, 352 are from the United States and 119 from the United Kingdom; they are followed by Ireland, with 12 entries (of which 8 were composed by U2); Canada, with 10 (a majority of them by Neil Young); Jamaica, with 7 (most of them by Bob Marley & the Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, and Toots & the Maytals); Australia, with two (AC/DC); and Sweden (ABBA) and France (Daft Punk), each with one.
- - The list includes only songs written in English, with the sole exception of "La Bamba" (number 345), sung in Spanish by the American singer-songwriter Ritchie Valens.
- - Few songs written prior to the 1950s are included; some that are listed are Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" (1936), in the version recorded by Cream, and Hank Williams's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (1949). "The House of the Rising Sun", listed in the version by English rock band the Animals, was recorded at least as early as 1934. Muddy Waters's "Rollin' Stone" (1950) is based on an earlier song, dating to the 1920s.
- - The longest tracks are "Whipping Post (Live)" (22:40), by the Allman Brothers Band; "Rapper's Delight" (14:35), by the Sugarhill Gang ; "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (12:02), by the Temptations; "The End" (11:41), by the Doors; "Desolation Row" (11:21), by Bob Dylan; "Marquee Moon" (10:47), by Television; and "Free Bird" (9:08), by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
- - Love is the most frequent word used in the songs' lyrics, with 1057 occurrences, followed by I'm (1000 uses), oh (847 uses), know (779 uses), baby (746 uses), got (702 uses), and yeah (656 uses).
- - The Beatles are the most heavily represented musical act, with 23 songs on the list. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison are also represented as solo artists. However, Lennon is the only artist to appear twice in the top 10, as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist.
