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The best Coldplay songs

The top 3 according to 1,241 votes from people: Clocks · Viva la Vida · Yellow. (Updated Jul 9, 2025.)

From Yellow to Viva la Vida: the Coldplay songs that critics' and fans' rankings put at the top.

the_riff · · 17 items · 1241 votes · 13 comments

Top 17

  1. 1

    Clocks

    2002. That piano riff; number one on Billboard's ranking.

    ▲ 136 ▼ 9

    127
  2. 2

    Viva la Vida

    2008. Strings, bells and their first US number one.

    ▲ 109 ▼ 9

    100
  3. 3

    Yellow

    2000. The song that made them famous.

    ▲ 78 ▼ 9

    69
  4. 4

    The Scientist

    2002. The piano ballad with the backwards video.

    ▲ 75 ▼ 9

    66
  5. 5

    Fix You

    2005. Written for Gwyneth Paltrow after her father died.

    ▲ 76 ▼ 12

    64
  6. 6

    Politik

    2002. The urgent opener of A Rush of Blood to the Head.

    ▲ 67 ▼ 7

    60
  7. 7

    Paradise

    2011. The elephant video and stadium choruses.

    ▲ 66 ▼ 9

    57
  8. 8

    Speed of Sound

    2005. Their first US top ten hit.

    ▲ 59 ▼ 3

    56
  9. 9

    Trouble

    2000. The quiet piano heart of Parachutes.

    ▲ 61 ▼ 13

    48
  10. 10

    Shiver

    2000. Jeff Buckley-style falsetto.

    ▲ 45 ▼ 6

    39
  11. 11

    Strawberry Swing

    2008. Often called their prettiest song.

    ▲ 50 ▼ 12

    38
  12. 12

    In My Place

    2002. The comeback single after Parachutes.

    ▲ 50 ▼ 14

    36
  13. 13

    Lovers in Japan

    2008. Butterfly confetti at every concert.

    ▲ 43 ▼ 10

    33
  14. 14

    Violet Hill

    2008. Their most political guitar song.

    ▲ 45 ▼ 16

    29
  15. 15

    Adventure of a Lifetime

    2015. Funk guitars and dancing chimpanzees.

    ▲ 39 ▼ 12

    27
  16. 16

    A Sky Full of Stars

    2014. Dance music with Avicii.

    ▲ 34 ▼ 12

    22
  17. 17

    Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall

    2011. The euphoric lead single from Mylo Xyloto.

    ▲ 34 ▼ 12

    22

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.

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Comments (13)

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Leo Marshall

Strawberry Swing being here makes me so happy, totally underrated

Clodagh

Trouble is the one I always come back to, so simple and so good

Jerome Cruz

Saw them on the Music of the Spheres tour, Viva la Vida with the whole stadium singing was unreal

Brittany Stewart

Everything after Viva la Vida is a bit too pop for me but A Sky Full of Stars is undeniable

Shane Kelly

agree, the first four albums are on another level

allison_tripnerd

honestly Paradise should be higher, it's the one my kids know

Joe S.

no Lovers in Japan in the top 10?? the confetti alone

Michelle Le Roux

The Scientist is the best breakup song of the 2000s and I won't hear otherwise

Mia Stewart

Shiver is the forgotten gem of Parachutes

Cole A.

Clocks above Yellow? fair enough, that piano riff is timeless

Terrell Adams

Coldplay is my comfort band, any list with Fix You is a good list

encore_salty

Fix You at the Glastonbury set made the whole field cry, should be top 3

Trevor Harper

Politik as an opener is so underrated, those first chords

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