Radiohead Popular Song Rankings [2026]

True Love WaitsRadiohead8rank/position

True Love Waits

It’s a single-minded love song by the British rock band Radiohead that, after more than 20 years, finally came to fruition as a studio recording.

The track portrays a love that is painfully pure and devoted—waiting endlessly for the one you love.

The lyrics sing of self-sacrifice and wholehearted devotion, and of a desperate prayer like that of a child refusing to grow up—an intensity that really hits you.

Originally performed acoustically, it ultimately took shape as a ballad marked by tranquil, haunting piano.

Legendary among fans since its first performance in 1995, it was finally released in 2016 as the closing track on the masterpiece A Moon Shaped Pool.

It’s perfect for nights when ordinary love songs won’t suffice and you want to sink deep into the weight and ache of love.

Karma PoliceRadiohead9rank/position

Radiohead – Karma Police

A track from Radiohead’s landmark album OK Computer.

Betrayal, laziness, setting people up… It’s a song with a very deep theme that sings about the sinfulness that inevitably resides in the human heart.

As artists from the U.K., where a bourgeois mindset still lingers, it also conveys their anger toward the upper classes.

When you can’t shake off loneliness, why not lose yourself in a song like this?

Morning BellRadiohead10rank/position

Morning Bell

Known as a song that employs the irregular 5/4 time signature, this track is a classic from Radiohead’s album Kid A.

Released in October 2000, its distinctive rhythm and a title that evokes a morning scene leave a strong impression.

Coupled with Thom Yorke’s soaring vocals, it evokes the start of a new day while carrying a certain wistfulness.

The lyrics are said to touch on themes of divorce and separation, and the repeated phrase “Release me” expresses a desire for liberation from something.

It remains a beloved, memorable song for many music fans—one that feels especially fitting for a quiet morning.

All I NeedRadiohead11rank/position

Radiohead – All I Need

If someone chose this selection for a wedding, music lovers might end up liking the person who picked it.

For those who aren’t into club-scene tracks, it could be a good idea to throw a curveball and play something like this instead.

The balance of intellectual lyrics with a love song vibe is spot-on, so why not use it as wedding BGM?

House of CardsRadiohead12rank/position

Radiohead – House of Cards

A song by the British rock band Radiohead, whose experimental sound—rooted in post-rock and blended with electronic music, jazz, classical, and contemporary influences—draws attention with every new release.

It’s the third single from their seventh album, In Rainbows, and the unique, floating sensation of the opening immediately builds anticipation.

Despite its simple song structure, the arrangement introduces a variety of timbres, creating a resonance only Radiohead could achieve.

It’s a track that stands out even within the increasingly diverse rock scene of the 2000s and beyond, evoking a complex background that embodies the album’s theme.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

Hoshino Takashi

Report a problem

DaydreamingRadiohead13rank/position

Radiohead – Daydreaming

For music fans who, like me, spent their teens in the ’90s and were baptized by alternative rock, I suspect many first discovered the genre of electronica through Radiohead.

Their 2000 album Kid A, which boldly foregrounded electronica influences, was truly shocking.

In recent years, Radiohead have reached a point where they can seamlessly incorporate electronica as one facet of their own sound, and their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool is a masterpiece that only a band fluent in all genres could create.

Since this article’s theme is electronica, the track featured here, Daydreaming, is a minimal, piano-ambient-style song whose electronica-like weightlessness and Thom Yorke’s hushed vocals linger in the ear.

True to its title, it’s a dreamlike, beautiful number, yet the lyrics are far removed from mere ethereal beauty; drawing on events in Thom Yorke’s personal life at the time, they depict a world that is quintessentially Radiohead.

Be sure to check it out, including the suggestive music video.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

Exit Music (For A Film)Radiohead14rank/position

Radiohead – Exit Music (For A Film) lyrics

The track used in the film “Romeo + Juliet” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

It was released in 1997 by the British rock band Radiohead and is included on the album OK Computer.

It was also used in TV shows such as Person of Interest.