10 Greatest Rock Anthems Of All Time

10. Dream On - Aerosmith

There's not one band in the entirety of the rock scene who is unfamiliar with the power ballad. As opposed to just hitting you over the skull again with another heavy riff, this is the moment when you take things down a notch and show your more sensitive side. In Aerosmith's case though, Dream On is firmly on the POWER side of the power ballad.

Long before Aerosmith was even an idea, Steven Tyler originally wrote this song at the end of summer when he was feeling lonely. Taking a few cues from his father background in classical music, Dream On became Janis Joplin by way of Bach, with strange cascading chords going over a tale of what happens when you waste away your life. As if to pull himself out of his depression, Tyler's lyrics are incredibly optimistic, vowing to punch through any hardship until you become the person you want to be.

As far as the construction was concerned, the song was destined to be a hit, only to fall off the charts once Aerosmith's debut bottomed out. After they eventually picked up steam though, the re-release of the song became one of the biggest songs of all time, going on to be the template for other epic ballads from the likes of Motley Crue and Def Leppard. While this may be a tough singalong, you're sure as hell going to be feeling it every step of the way.