Pretenders was a delayed effect of the initial punk-rock boom in England. The group, led by talented frontwoman and songwriter Chrissie Hynde, however, outlived and outsold most of the original punk groups. Pretenders is one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

The band’s also been consistent over the years. It stuck around regardless of trends and commercial opportunities, or lack thereof. Hynde has become, in recent times, an advocate for independent rock music. It’s not easy narrowing down the group’s entire activity to just 10 songs, but I’ll do it anyway.

These are the 10 best songs by Pretenders.

The Greatest 10 Songs by Pretenders

10. “Tattooed Love Boys”

Chrissie Hynde’s story is one of true passion for rock music and nearly missed opportunities. Quite famously, Hynde, an Ohio native, moved to London just prior to the rise of bands like Sex Pistols.

In fact, Hynde was an employee of the Pistols’ manager, Malcolm McLaren. She was well-liked by the group of early punks. And many thought that she possessed talent of her own.

But the debut album Pretenders came out in 1980. By that stage, some of the public’s obsession had shifted from punk rock and onto new wave. The first album by Pretenders offered something to both sets of fans.

“Tattooed Love Boys” described a traumatic assault on Hynde as a teenager. But the production showed a willingness to work with modern recording standards, and the songwriting displayed already well-developed songwriting chops.

9. “977”

Everyone romanticises punk rock and the glorious year of 1977. I know that I do, hence the “Alt77 moniker.”

But all those folks in and around all of those great English and American bands had their own weight and demons they had to ferry around.

Hynde recalls 1977 through the memory of a passionate love affair with the era’s greatest music critic, Nick Kent. It’s a song of heartbreak, not one of triumph. But wasn’t that the story of the punk movement, really?

8. “Kid”

It’s hard to believe that Hynde had, probably, only ever written a few dozen songs by the time of Pretenders’ debut. With so much hanging in the balance, however, she came up with the goods. The record delivers a snapshot of her many musical obsessions.

The sound of “Kid” recalls 1960s jangle-pop. The strong melodies bring to mind groups like The Searchers.

It’s a self-assured display and a pleasant sound. No wonder that pop audiences immediately embraced Pretenders.

7. “Boots of Chinese Plastic”

I’d like to think that Mrs. Hynde no longer has to work. This, certainly, would make her decision to keep pursuing music and adding to the legacy of Pretenders more satisfying.

Pretenders had many hits. But the group’s not just vying for nostalgia-soaked sympathy. Crowds are encouraged to hear new songs. Hynde pushes fans to start their own independent rock bands.

“Boots of Chinese Plastic” is the most immediate, memorable of Pretenders songs recorded in the post-MTV era. It’s fast, hooky and shows just what a hell of a songwriter Hynde continues to be.

6. “2000 Miles”

There are plenty of modern Christmas songs. And most of them aren’t any good.

Hynde knows enough rock n’ roll history to avoid falling back on too many cliches for “2000 Miles.” And while the song is rather saccharine, and the songwriter can’t stand it, there’s a real warmth to it. The band has other, better songs. But few Pretenders tunes are as instantly likeable.

5. “I’ll Stand By You”

The band and Hynde had earned it. Normally, listeners would be suspicious about one of the original London punks delivering a power ballad. There’d be those crying “Sell-outs!”

Still, very little over the years had given the fans reason to call the group out. Furthermore, “I’ll Stand By You,” while unapologetically sentimental, was a gorgeous-sounding record.

“I’ll Stand By You” helped to prolong the band’s chart career. And, certainly, it remains one of the best songs of its type.

4. “Middle of the Road”

She’d asked for it! In fact, all of them had. The life of a professional musician was all that they’d asked for. It felt almost miraculous that the band received such instant success. But it wasn’t an easy life. The touring quickly took its toll.

“Middle of the Road” is about the hunger to get onto a rock tour and the difficulty of surviving it. This is one of the most rocking and aggressive songs from 1984’s “Learning to Crawl,” a generally pleasant pop-rock record. It’s also one of the best songs by Pretenders.

3. “Don’t Get Me Wrong”

Chrissie Hynde is one of the great, albeit underrated, songwriters of her generation. Her vocabulary of song tricks is as vast as any of the classics.

“Don’t Get Me Wrong” is a beautiful jangle-pop guitar song about being misunderstood. It was written for the perpetually furious tennis champ John McEnroe.

It was a hook-filled love song. And it made good use of Hynde’s singing, who was by now an Anglo-American sweetheart. There was little that could stop this from becoming a 1986 hit.

2. “Brass in Pocket”

The real greats make it all look so easy. “Pretenders” really is a debut album filled with deep cuts and fiery playing. But that record also had the tone single able to break the band commercially across the world.

Using clever wordplay, fantastic hooks and a five-string bass guitar, a rarity in pop at the time, “Brass in Pocket” didn’t feel like the work of a new band. No, it sounded like the polished single by a band that learned through years of practice what worked and what didn’t. All these years later, “Brass in Pocket” remains a real gem.

1. “Back on the Chain Gang”

“Back on the Chain Gang” is a song about triumphing against the odds. It’s a tune about having your fate choose you. And it’s the shining hour for The Pretenders.

The song was released as a single shortly after their second album. A top 10 hit in the U.S., “Back on the Chain Gang” was then included on the “Learning to Crawl” record.

It’s the song that best showcases Hynde and the band’s qualities. It does best to explain why Pretenders were a band that appealed to punks and pop audiences alike. And, considering how effortlessly catchy it is, it makes Hynde’s obsession with artistic integrity all the more precious.

“Back on the Chain Gang” is one of the greatest songs ever written.