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For many people, Oasis are cultural icons of British music, and the recent news that they’ve buried the hatchet after splitting up 15 years ago will be music to the ears of many fans worldwide.
With their full UK and Ireland stadium tour selling out within hours, they’ve exploded back into relevance again. Fans and analysts are arguing about their cultural impact, whether they’re overrated, whether the tour is just for Noel’s divorce, and whether they’ve still got that X factor that made them the most successful Britpop band back in the 1990s.
Well, we’ve decided to embark on the thankless task of ranking the top 5 Oasis songs. Since they have a catalog of seven albums and 31 singles, whittling it down to five has been challenging, so here goes nothing.
#5 – Lyla
One of the better songs from their 21st-century output, Lyla, was their penultimate UK
number-one. The popularity of Lyla surprised Noel Gallagher, who often downplayed its quality. Still, with Don’t Believe The Truth becoming one of the top albums from the summer of 2005, Lyla spearheaded an Indian summer for the Mancunian outfit.
If you’re a fan of your sports video games, and you’re a bit longer in the tooth, you might also recognize the track from FIFA 2006. As one of the most popular sports games of all time, Lyla helped introduce Oasis to a new sports gaming audience and a new demographic that may have otherwise not heard their music before.
This was before Spotify, YouTube, and the golden age of music videos, so FIFA was an excellent avenue for hearing new music, although they’ve had a few stinkers over the years, too.
#4 – Supersonic
The song that started it all off, Supersonic, was released in 1993 to little fanfare. Although it charted in both the UK and Ireland, it was only after the release of Definitely Maybe that the song started to gain traction.
Nowadays, it’s one of the seminal songs, and it will no doubt be a staple of their updated set list as part of their mammoth 2025 reunion tour. The crashing riff, drums, and Liam’s distinctive vocals meant that the Manchester lads were putting themselves forward as the spokespeople of a new generation of working-class music fans.
Although Noel claims the song was written in 10 minutes, it was with a serious bit of help from Liverpool band The Real People, which is something the ex-drummer Tony McCarroll recounts in his 2010 book.
#3 – Wonderwall
We know that Wonderwall isn’t a top 5 Oasis song if we base it on pure songwriting prowess. In fact, there’ll be Oasis fans out there who are seething at this suggestion, given how popular and commercialized the song has become. It’s still an anthem that continues to define the band; it is their most-played song on Spotify by far, with over 2 billion streams and counting.
If we’re talking about cultural impact, Wonderwall would be alongside Don’t Look Back In Anger. The iconic black-and-white music video for Wonderwall is another reason it makes our list today; it’s not just one of the top Oasis singalong tracks; the music video defined their look and style and explains why, for many, they’re the seminal act of the 1990s.
#2 – Champagne Supernova
Undeniably the sound of a band at the true height of their powers, Champagne Supernova was a lavish musical finale to their most commercially successful record. What’s The Story Morning Glory spent ten weeks at the top of the UK singles chart.
Champagne Supernova was a notable deviation from the quick, reasonably basic music that defined much of their song structure. It was seven minutes of a musical firework display, a kaleidoscope of their musical prowess at their peak.
#1 – Live Forever
Some Oasis fans will disagree with Live Forever at the top of our list today. However, given that it’s Liam’s favorite Oasis song, we’re in pretty good company, sticking this one at the top of the pile.
The single cover features John Lennon’s home, another artist from the North West corner of England whose library of hits has stood the test of time. Also, famously one of the main artists who inspired the Gallagher brothers to try and turn their passion into a career, the song consistently ranks as the best Oasis song and one of the best British rock songs ever.
The track’s lyrics, such as “We see things they’ll never see,” have been immortalized by fans, turned into banners at gigs and football grounds, and influenced tattoos from the hardcore Oasis fandom.
Final Thoughts
Oasis has so many notable hits that we’ve probably done them a disservice by narrowing it down to five. Some of their bigger hits like Some Might Say, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Whatever, and The Masterplan all narrowly missed out. Some of their B-sides, like Listen Up and Sad Song, deserve a mention too. Don’t worry; we haven’t just glossed over their main songs; it was a carefully constructed top five, honestly!
