Top 20 Best German Songs of All Time

The only German-language number 1 hit on the American Billboard charts and also an absolute icon in the Netherlands. Falco combines rap, classical influences and pop in a way no one else could. It's extravagant, brutal and the crown jewel of German pop music.

Pop music meets technology. "Das Model" is one of the few Kraftwerk songs that really feels like a 'radio hit'. It's cool, stylish and the synthesizer lines are now legendary. A timeless tribute to the fashion world.

The ultimate closer: warm, nostalgic and full of friendship. Reinhard Mey is a master storyteller who can get a whole room quiet with just a guitar. This is the ultimate goodbye song.

The most controversial song on this list. Austrian Falco created a thriller in the form of a pop song. Despite boycotts over suggestive kidnapping lyrics, it became a huge hit. It's mysterious, dramatic and vocally unparalleled.

The song that finally brought industrial metal to the masses. The play on words with "Du hast" (you have) and "Du hasst" (you hate) is brilliantly simple. A sledgehammer of a track that makes every festival ground and concert hall shake.

Originally written as an entrance song for a boxer, "Sonne" grew into one of the band's most popular tracks. It's grand, epic and visually overwhelming. Rammstein at their best: heavy, melodious and unforgettable.

The track that shows Rammstein's theatrical and emotional side. The lyrics about a child without a mother, combined with Till Lindemann's heavy guitars, seep under your skin.

Grönemeyer wrote this song after the loss of both his wife and brother in the same week. It's a heart-wrenching but also comforting ballad about saying goodbye. His raw voice gives the lyrics a power you understand even without perfect command of the language.

Perhaps the most beautiful German love declaration ever recorded. Grönemeyer simply asks to be held in a world that keeps spinning. The build-up of the song is phenomenal and live this consistently delivers goosebumps in every stadium.

The ultimate protest song disguised as a cheerful pop song. In the Cold War era of 1983, this became a worldwide hit. Nena became an instant icon. The clip and the song breathe the spirit of the era: colorful, but with a serious undertone.

A rare modern German success in the Benelux. The singer of Seeed mixes reggae, hip-hop and orchestral pop into a dreamy whole about the ideal future. It's both soothing and incredibly danceable.

The schlager of schlagers. Although Maffay is technically Romanian, he gave Germany their most iconic love song. The spoken intro and dramatic high notes make this a song that will remain in memory for generations.

Sung in Kölsch (the dialect of Cologne), this is one of the most impressive protest songs in German history. It warns against rising extremism by referring to the past. A heavy but beautifully composed track.

Without Kraftwerk, modern dance music wouldn't exist. "Autobahn" is a hypnotic journey on the German highway. It's clinical, innovative and completely unique. A groundbreaking piece of music that laid the foundation for the electronic revolution.

In the 1990s, this all-girl trio brought German hip-hop and R&B to the Dutch charts. It was brutal, honest and quite controversial for the time. "Verpiss' dich" was an anthem of self-confidence that also made a hard impact beyond the border.

Punk rock with a literary slant, based on A Clockwork Orange. Die Toten Hosen are institutions in Germany and with this song they showed that punk could also be melodious and content-wise strong.

Pure cheerfulness from 1983. "Und ich düse, düse, düse, düse im Sauseschritt" is lyrics that every Dutch person of a certain generation can recite in their sleep. It's unpretentious pop that shows exactly why German music was so dominant on the radio at that time.

A cheerful rock 'n' roll track with lyrics that caused quite a stir in conservative Bavaria at the time. It's about 'Rosie' offering her services outside the red-light district. In the Netherlands it became one of the most beloved German sing-alongs.

No German songs list is complete without the woman who single-handedly brought schlager into the 21st century. "Atemlos durch die Nacht" has grown into a national anthem in Germany and far beyond. It's the perfect cross between an infectious sing-along and modern dance music.

In the early 1980s, Trio conquered the world with a Casio keyboard and three simple words. It's the pinnacle of Neue Deutsche Welle: dry, funny and so catchy that you still can't get it out of your head forty years later.