Looking Back at the 20 Best Aerosmith Songs of All Time Ahead of Their Farewell Tour

• Our Favorite Lyric - "You see me crying. I'm back to the lost and found."

Oh you thought we were going to start with "Dream On?" No, we're gonna mix it up a bit. Aerosmith's 1975 album Toys in the Attic is considered to be their breakthrough smash—the album that helped catapult them into superstardom, and one of the tracks on that album was "You See Me Crying," a powerful ballad that takes you to whatever your personal lost and found is. 5:13 seconds of beautiful music that may or may not make you cry too.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Speak easy on the grapevine. Keep shufflin' in a shoeshine."

If you haven't already figured it out, 1987's "Rag Doll" is a slightly subliminal but not totally subliminal song about sex. Written primarily by Steven Tyler and Jim Vallance, "Rag Doll" is classified as being one of Aerosmith's funkiest joints, with the riff and bass line being the main thing that hooks you in. The 80s were a good decade for Aerosmith.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "I know it's everybody's sin. You got to lose to know how to win."

Okay fine. We'll relent. What makes "Dream On" so impressive is that it was a track on Aerosmith's debut album. How many people can say they came out the gate swinging with one of the most iconic songs of all time on their very first record? Not many. Even cooler is the fact that the single "only" peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. Proof that just because a song isn't number one on the charts, doesn't mean it isn't great.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Well, my daddy was hard. His face was pretty scarred. From kickin' ass to playin' poker to win."

In rounding out our favorite Aerosmith songs, we thought “S.O.S. (Too Bad)” deserved to make the list simply because that guitar lick is absolutely captivating. "S.O.S" is an aggressive rock song that talks about the typical rock star life with its punk lyrical prowess and dark themes. Despite not being one of the band's most commercially successful songs, "S.O.S." has been a widely-requested fan favorite over the decades.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Hair case, shotgun, rock on, chewing gum, take it to the dance tonight..."

Released on 1985's Done With Mirrors, "Gypsy Boots" is a fun and in our opinion underrated track from the boys that makes for a great introduction to Aerosmith if you're just getting into their catalog. "Gypsy Boots" is everything we love about the band—fun, wild, sexy, and free, representing mid-1980s rock to the fullest.

• Our Favorite Lyric- "School girl sleazy. With a classy kind of sassy. Little skirt hangin' way up her knee."

There's a good percentage of people that are probably more familiar with the Run-D.M.C cover of the "Walk This Way" off their 1986 album Raising Hell, but the origins of the song date back to 1975. Released as the second single from Toys in the Attic, "Walk This Way" was another early hit for the band in the 1970s, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Eleven years later, the song got a twist when Run-D.M.C. put their spin on it, which blended the world's of rock and hip hop together (something we would see a lot more of later).

Rock and rap collaborations were one of the defining musical trends of the 2000s, and it needs to come back. Hopefully history repeats itself at some point.

• Our Favorite Lyric- "Lovin' you has go to be. Like the devil and the deep blue sea."

A classic rock jam, "The Other Side" was released in June 1990 as the fourth single from 1989's Pump. There was a bit of controversy surrounding the song as songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland threatened to sue Aerosmith due to similarities for their 1966 song "Standing in the Shadows of Love" written for The Four Tops, but the artists were able to work it out with a songwriting credit for Holland-Dozier-Holland.

While the song is super cool, it's the video that really amplifies this track, which is why it won the award for "Best Rock Video" at the 1991 MTV VMAS.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "I kept the right ones out. And let the wrong ones in. Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins."

An all time great rock ballad, "Amazing" was written by Steven Tyler and longtime collaborator Richie Supa, and touches on addiction struggles and the process of battling back when there's nowhere to go but up. Peaking at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks Chart, "Amazing" is without doubt one of Aerosmith's most poignant tunes.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "He roller coaster. He got early warning. He got muddy water. He one mojo filter."

You know you did a good job covering "Come Together" when people are asking if it was you or The Beatles that created the song. Aerosmith released their epic cover in 1974 leaving many people to have the conversation on which band did it better. Some say The Beatles, some say Aerosmith. Definitely don't ask us because we can't choose.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Sneer at death, fear only loss of pride. Living other centuries. Deja vu or what you please."

Released as the second single from their 1977 album Draw the Line, the best way to describe "Kings and Queens" is what the medieval era would have sounded like if you had dropped 70s Aerosmith right smack dab in the middle of The Middle Ages. If you listen to the track you'll automatically understand exactly what we're talking about.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Girl, you been givin' me that line so many times. It kinda gets like feeling bad looks good, yeah."

What's music without a good "we broke up and now I want you back" anthem? The final single from the bands 1993 masterpiece Get a Grip, "Crazy" is about a guy going crazy because his girlfriend has packed her things up to leave. "Crazy" earned Aerosmith a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, leaving us with only one question. Would you take Aerosmith back?

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Janie's got a gun. Her whole world's come undone. From looking straight at the sun."

According to a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Steven Tyler was inspired to write "Janie's Got a Gun" after reading an issue of TIME Magazine that addressed gun violence and child abuse. What followed was quite possibly Aerosmith's darkest song though while brilliant, is a most certainly a tough listen. Despite the challenging lyrical content, "Janie's Got a Gun" was a major radio hit, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Without your love I'm nothing but a beggar. Without your love a dog without a bone."

At the time of its release in 1987, "Angel" was the highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 for Aerosmith, and for good reason. "Angel" was (and still is) a song that just about everyone can relate to as it's about heartbreak and missing somebody. This can refer to a breakup, the loss of a loved one, the end of a friendship, etc. Anybody can be the "Angel" you want back, and that's why this song is so beautiful.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Love in an elevator. Livin' it up when I'm goin' down."

What do you do when you have a smash hit comeback album that spawns a bunch of individual singles that are collectively considered some of your best? You top it. Aerosmith came back swinging with "Love in an Elevator," which was the first single off their 1989 album Pump. The playful sexy nature of the song combined with the catchy chorus helped to propel this track to No 5. on the Billboard Hot 100.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "Her picture graced the grime on the door. She's a long lost love at first bite."

According to Steven Tyler himself in the autobiography Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith, "Dude (Looks Like a Lady) has multiple inspirations including Aerosmith's meeting with Mötley Crüe where they discovered the group had an affinity for using the word "dude," and both Tyler and Mötley Crüe have stated that the song was inspired by Vince Neil's appearance. Guess it's safe to say that without that meeting we don't get "Dude (Looks Like a Lady), which is another Aerosmith fan favorite.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "I'm back. I'm back in the saddle again."

The subject nature of this song are very much self-explanatory. That said, "Back in the Saddle" was released as the leading track on the band's 1976 album Rocks and is a jam that has gone on to be more appreciated with time as it wasn't a huge hit at the time of its release. The production on this single is beyond incredible—especially the guitar lick as the song transitions to the chorus.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "She, got the poppy-eyed desire. Tease, till the boys put out the fire."

While not the most recognizable Aerosmith song as far as commercial success, Chiquita was a fun infectious tune from the group as the 1970s were coming to a close, and the live performances really help elevate it to another level. Not to mention—that intro is a killer.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever."

Aerosmith proved they still had it in the ballad department in 1998 when they released "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," a sweet love song about not wanting to miss a minute with the person you're in love with, and appreciating the small details of life with them. A single from Armageddon soundtrack, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" landed Aerosmith their first (yes their first) No. 1 Billboard Hot 100. Crazy that it took them so long to get there.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "You're calling my name but I gotta make clear. I can't say, baby, where I'll be in a year."

A rock classic, "Sweet Emotion" is a song that's kind of all over the place. You can't tell if it's about love, wanting a no-strings attached type of relationship, or just downright wanting to be single, but that what makes the song a standout. Relationships don't always go down a straight path, things aren't always easy, and not every relationship is the same. And of course—that chorus. It's been heard everywhere—on commercials, television shows, movies—everywhere.

• Our Favorite Lyric - "It's so hard to find peace of mind, yes, it is. The way I see it, you've got to say shit. But don't forget to drop me a line."

What do we love most about "Mama Kin?" Is it that instantly recognizable guitar riff? The? guitar solo in the beginning? The way Steven Tyler comes in blazing? All of the above? We'll go with all of the above as this is song that will instantly have a crowd singing and dancing along. Perhaps that's why it's been one of their heavy hitters.