Last Updated on 6 July 2025

I searched the Internet for lists of best “surf” songs of all time. Criteria included the songs being ranked, not just listed alphabetically, and covering all time, not just a decade. The lists were generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 18 lists. I took the 18 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every song. I averaged the rankings of each song I found and divided that average by the number of lists that song was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The songs that were on the most lists (out of 18) were:

  • Wipe Out – The Surfaris – 15 lists
  • Surfin’ U.S.A. – The Beach Boys – 14 lists
  • Surf City – Jan & Dean – 13 lists
  • Misirlou – Dick Dale and His Del-Tones – 12 lists
  • Pipeline – The Chantays – 11 lists
  • Surfin’ Bird – The Trashmen – 10 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

Best Surf Songs of All TimeDownload

Loading