There’s a special kind of magic in a song that dares to take its time. Across rock, pop, hip-hop, funk, and beyond, artists have used long songs not just to jam, but to tell stories, build worlds, and test the limits of sound. Over the last 50 years, these epic tracks have made us dance, cry, zone out, or rock out—and reminded us that patience often pays off in music.
1. “Achilles Last Stand” – Led Zeppelin (10:26)
Driven by relentless drums and soaring guitar lines, this epic opener from Presence showcases Zeppelin at full gallop. It’s thunderous, mystical, and proof that the band could still conquer mountains—even without the hobbits.
2. “Supper’s Ready” – Genesis (22:52)
Peter Gabriel leads us on a surreal, theatrical prog-rock pilgrimage through love, apocalypse, and cosmic rebirth. One of the genre’s finest hours.
3. “Telegraph Road” – Dire Straits (14:18)
Mark Knopfler’s storytelling hits its peak in this sprawling journey of economic decay and personal despair. It’s part song, part short story — and all vibe.
4. “Jesus of Suburbia” – Green Day (9:08)
Punk meets prog in this 5-part suite off American Idiot. It’s teenage angst, small-town frustration, and epic ambition all rolled into one eyeliner-smudged anthem.
5. “Bustin’ Out (On Funk)” – Rick James (9:19)
Nine minutes of slapping bass, cosmic synths, and pure Rick James energy. If funk had a thesis statement, this track might be it.
6. “Marquee Moon” – Television (10:40)
Post-punk precision meets jazz-like improvisation in this angular, hypnotic jam. It’s not just long — it’s a clinic in guitar interplay.
7. “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” – Taylor Swift (10:13)
The scarf, the maple lattes, the lyrical devastation — all wrapped in a slow burn that had fans screaming, crying, throwing up (emotionally, of course). A rare pop ballad that earns every second.
8. “Maggot Brain” – Funkadelic (10:20)
Eddie Hazel’s guitar solo is so raw and mournful, George Clinton allegedly told him to play “like your mom just died.” What followed was a psychedelic eulogy for the ages.
9. “Echoes” – Pink Floyd (23:31)
A sonic journey to the bottom of the sea and the edge of the mind. Floyd at their most expansive and exploratory.
10. “Impossible Soul” – Sufjan Stevens (25:35)
Nearly half an hour long, this five-part suite from The Age of Adz goes from existential crisis to auto-tuned dance party and back again. Wild, weird, and wonderful.
11. “Blackstar” – David Bowie (9:57)
Released just before his death, Bowie’s final act is a shape-shifting jazz-rock funeral dirge. Mysterious, beautiful, and chilling.
12. “Do You Feel Like We Do” (Live) – Peter Frampton (13:46)
The ultimate talk box flex. This live cut turned Frampton into a guitar god and proved solos didn’t need to end. Ever.
13. “Mortal Man” – Kendrick Lamar (12:07)
A closing statement that morphs into an interview with Tupac. Bold, beautiful, and brutally honest.
14. “Free Bird” – Lynyrd Skynyrd (9:08)
Yes, people yell it at every concert, but the guitar solo still shreds. Whether you’re on the open highway or just vibing in your living room, it still flies.
15. “Pyramids” – Frank Ocean (9:53)
A two-part fever dream of Cleopatra and strip clubs, love and loss, synths and soul. It’s Frank Ocean at his most ambitious and cinematic.
16.“Rosetta Stoned” – Tool (11:11)
Part alien abduction, part existential crisis, part percussive mind warp. Trust Tool to go full cosmic chaos.
17. “Cowgirl in the Sand” – Neil Young (10:06)
Guitars bleed and howl while Young unspools abstract heartbreak. A barn-burning classic.
18.“The End” – The Doors (11:41)
Dark, hypnotic, and unsettling, this psychedelic journey begins as a breakup song and spirals into something mythic and existential. Jim Morrison’s spoken-word descent into Oedipal territory is still one of the boldest moves in rock history.
19. “Movement 6 (Six Degrees)” – The Roots (10:16)
Jazz, soul, hip-hop, and spoken word collide in this late-night existential suite. Questlove and company at their most ambitious.
20. “One” – Metallica (7:27)
An anti-war metal masterpiece with one of the greatest buildups in rock history. It starts as a slow dirge and ends as a machine-gun assault of riffs and double-kicks.
Long songs are the musical equivalent of a road trip: a little more time-consuming, sure — but the views along the way? Unforgettable.