The Animals were one of the leading exports of the British Invasion era and, in many ways, an even better band than their hit singles suggested. With an interest in the blues and in the hippie culture, as well as a string of memorable recordings, The Animals is one of the most important bands in rock history.

Led by highly talented singer Eric Burdon, and never quite built to last, the group didn’t make as many records as most of their more famous contemporaries. What they did manage to record deserves, however, to be celebrated.

These are the 10 best songs by The Animals.

Greatest 10 Songs by The Animals

10. “For Miss Caulker”

Like The Rolling Stones, The Animals were initially billed as a British blues band. Truthfully, I think this description suited them well and better than most. The band did possess arguably the best British blues singer of the period.

But it was pop singles and original songwriting that made The Beatles, The Kinks, or The Rolling Stones themselves hugely successful in the U.S.A. and in the rest of the world. Writing your own tunes became a requirement.

“For Miss Caulker” is one of the first instances where The Animals prove that they can do more than perform convincing covers of American songs.

Yes, this was still, for all intents and purposes, a classic blues number displaying the singer of the band’s talents. But Eric Burdon did get his name on this, and it showed that the band was going places far beyond the tour circuit.

9. “Sky Pilot”

Eric Burdon was on the right side of history. That much is clear!

But his anti-war, pro-hippie stance didn’t earn him many new fans in the late 1960s.

That’s quite a shame, as both songs like “Sky Pilot” and his work with the funk group War, sounded sensational. “Sky Pilot” is the best of those anti-conflict songs.

8. “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”

By the end of the 1970s, bands that had been popular a decade earlier were being re-evaluated. There was renewed interest in the British Invasion. And, The Animals seemed to be one of the groups best positioned to profit.

The classic line-up returned for 1977’s “Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted.” And the cover of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” proved to anyone listening closely that this was, indeed, one of the more talented bands of their era.

7. “Don’t Bring Me Down”

Everything came together for the band with the album “Animalisms.” Not only had they met up with their British counterparts at the top of the charts, but The Animals matched them for poppiness and musical skills.

While the group had matured since its debut, the success of “Don’t Bring Me Down” is, principally, due to the dynamism of Burdon’s performance and the quality of this Gerry Goffin/Carole King composition.

6. “Good Times”

“Good Times” is one of the very best songs which Eric Burdon’s ever sung. It also feels like one of the most earnest performances by the singer.

But this terrific song arrived, typically, at the wrong time. Burdon had re-made the group by 1967 as a solo vehicle, had started dropping acid and had befriended Jimi Hendrix.

The public was a little confused by this change of direction. But listen to the sound of “Good Times,” and tell me if you can spot any faults?

5. “As the Crow Flies”

In some ways, The Animals was the British Invasion band least willing to give up its early blues obsession. But that’s because they were among the best at playing that kind of music.

By the time they reunited, blues-rock jams had been in vogue for more than half a decade, but were also on the way out.

It means that “As the Crow Flies” is greatly appreciated by longtime fans, and will be a joy to the Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple who haven’t yet encountered it.

4. “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”

“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” is one of the 1960s tunes that has aged best. Much of that is due to the fact that The Animals possessed excellent musicians and, above all, a magnetic, confident lead singer.

Another key aspect is that the lyrics of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” would’ve fit in any classic blues number, and still speak to millions of people.

3. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”

For a short while, The Animals did manage to tap into the energy and dreams of their teenage fans. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” could’ve been a tour story, or, just as well, a song about wanting to find freedom and peace. It was a hit for the band in the mid-1960s and, as it would turn out, one of the highlights of the group’s career.

2. “San Franciscan Nights”

It’s a truly gorgeous song! Arguably, nobody produced a better tune about late 1960s hippies and their ideals.

It works because in 1967, Eric Burdon was still a terrific singer, and one of the early supporters of San Franciscan hippies.

And while this is billed as “Eric Burdon & The Animals” and is featured on a semi-disastrous album, “San Franciscan Nights” deserves recognition as one of the most beautiful songs of the era. I’ll stand by it and resist any Eric Burdon fans if it comes to a fistfight!

1. “House of the Rising Sun”

A lot of bands and performers, including Bob Dylan, covered “House of the Rising Sun.” But to say that any of them could have enjoyed the same success as The Animals is to miss the point.

At the heart of it, out of all the British Invasion groups, The Animals were the best at performing the American standards with which all of their contemporaries were so obsessed.

This is one of the all-time great songs because it is one of the truly great rock recordings. The band builds up in dramatic fashion, allowing singer Eric Burdon to add his trademark baritone vocals and to take most of the glory.

“House of the Rising Sun” is the shining moment of The Animals’ recording career and a real classic.