Blondie was, in an era where bands were either hard rocking or pure pop confections, the cleverly designed cross between the two. Emerging out of New York’s punk boom and equipped with some of the best hooks any group ever possessed, Blondie is one of the most important bands in alternative music.

Few bands ever had more highly impressive singles. Few bands ever scored more hits in a single period of time. Let’s zero in on the best of the best. These are the 10 greatest songs by Blondie.

Greatest 10 Songs by Blondie

10. “Rip Her To Shreds”

Everyone was playing a part. The soon-to-be legendary CBGB was one of the only clubs that allowed original songs to be played on stage. Enthusiastic, inexperienced kids jumped at the opportunity.

If Ramones designed their group as tough guys from the streets, and The Talking Heads were nerds, Blondie were the preppy, well-dressed kids.

“Rip Her To Shreds” is one of the band’s first great songs. It’s a sleazy tune as well. Debbie Harry, the highly photogenic singer, might have written this about herself and the gossip from jealous concert goers.

9. “Tide is High”

Ramones criticised Blondie for not sticking to the punk sound they all helped create. But the truth is that Chris Stein and Debbie Harry never even considered it.

Blondie had musical freedom. Punk credentials be damned. They could even hinge their hopes on a reggae song. “Tide is High” is fun, a little kitschy, and a cover of a song by The Paragons. Blondie wanted hits and knew how to get them.

8. “X Offender”

Blondie made an immediate impression on audiences. Two essential ingredients were required. One was the song’s catchy garage-rock lyrics, which got audiences moving right away.

The other, more obvious, was the stage presence of Debbie Harry. Unfounded rumours abounded about how Harry was a not-too-distant relative of Marilyn Monroe.

Imagine what a thrill it must’ve been for the band’s kids fans to hear a song about Harry being a sex offender caught in a love affair with a police officer.

This was Blondie’s debut single and one of the band’s best songs.

7. “Atomic”

Most punk bands played house parties early on. But Blondie ended up playing gigantic dance parties because of their disco affiliations.

Of all of their songs, none was more dance-oriented or better than the bass-driven “Atomic.”

Just as they’d done with disco or rap, Blondie dips its toes, and ends up swimming the Channel. “Atomic” is one of the first tunes of its kind – all groove and very few vocal interventions.

6. “Heart of Glass”

There are plenty of fantastic punk bands that existed around the mid-1970s. Some of the very best barely got to record a handful of tracks. Most are confined to cult-hero status. All they get is articles written about them on this site.

Blondie wanted success. Adding a disco beat to a pop song felt like the easiest way to do it. The group was right. “Heart of Glass” was the song that catapulted the band to fame. It’s not a bad song, although hearing it gets old after a while.

5. “Dreaming”

Blondie produced perfect pop songs with loud guitars. In fact, other than The Cars, I can’t think of a band that came close.

When other groups were either unable to rely on the singles or on their fashion sense, Blondie had both.

With “Dreaming,” Blondie transitioned smoothly into new wave territory. It turned the group into one of the most successful of the late 70s. And, predictably, it earned them a few jealous enemies among punk-rock contemporaries.

4. “Picture This”

Debbie Harry wasn’t just a pretty face. And it wasn’t just her manic stage presence that made her noteworthy.

On “Picture This,” Harry’s singing falls somewhere between the tunefulness of a soul singer and the grit of a punk vocalist. It’s her best performance.

It’s also a song where no second is wasted. Bands looking to write a perfect single might as well try to copy this first. If they manage to rhyme “solid” with “wallet”, they’ll know that they’re going places.

3. “Hanging on the Telephone”

Chris Stein may well be the man most responsible for giving Blondie its identity. What he envisioned early on was a bubblegum garage-rock band with an edge.

He knew a good song when he heard it. The Nerves preceded Blondie and had a similar idea about what rock music should be. Jack Lee of The Nerves wrote “Hanging on the Telephone,” a song for the ages.

The impossibly cool new-wavers, Blondie, give this tune about unsanctioned love affairs a kick and a makeover. It helped make “Parallel Lines” into a hit album. And this one is one song that never gets dull.

2. “Maria”

It had to happen to this band. Blondie was, after all, nearly universally beloved still. And all of those great songs hadn’t simply fallen out of the sky.

“Maria” was one of the greatest comeback stories. It gave the band a hit nearly two decades after its initial run.

But this was not a pity party. “Maria” is one of the hookiest, catchiest, most fun songs by a rock band that always knew the secret to producing a three-minute single.

1. “One Way or Another”

Blondie’s ultimate goal was always to combine pretty melodies with the power of punk-rock. They never got closer to their goal than with “One Way or Another.”

The song works on multiple levels. It’s a tune about stalking sung by a very beautiful woman. It contains simple, excellent guitar work. And, Clem Burke delivers a groove that makes this appropriate for your weekly fitness session.

“One Way or Another” is Blondie’s shining hour and one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded.