10 Greatest Feel Good Rock Songs

Rock and roll has always been a genre for the outsiders. While it may have had encounters with the mainstream from time to time, the real sound of rock and roll was originally about rebelling against the straight and narrow of society. There may have been some dark undercurrents, but that doesn't mean that everything was all that bad.

For as many songs are about restless teenage life, plenty of songs have come out of the rock canon that deal with the more positive aspects. Be it love, be it freedom, or even just your rebellious attitude, each of these songs has been able to capture unbridled joy in a way few artists have done since. Some may follow a certain formula, but no matter what kind of good feeling you're dealing with, each of these songs will inject that extra sonic spice into your life.

Sure, the electric guitars may be a bit much for some people, but a little edge to a song never hurt anyone. And let's face it, most rock songs talk about the world being on fire, so it's only natural that there be a few that douse those flames every now and again.

The term power pop has been beaten to death nowadays. No matter what subgenre you find it in, countless acts have tried to get by through writing pop songs that just just so happen to feature an electric guitar to give it some level of artistic credibility. On the other hand, when it comes to combining pop hooks with the edge of rock and roll, there's no better band than Cheap Trick.

Ever since they broke out of their native Chicago in the '70s, these guys were some of the most infectious rockers to ever grace a stage. Though many have sung the praises of songs like "Dream Police" and "I Want You To Want Me," "Surrender" might be the band's true masterpiece. Granted, most of the song deals with rebelling against your parents, but this is not the kind of anarchy-driven thing you would find in something like punk.

The booming power chords and melodic tunefulness coming from Rick Nielsen gives the song an edge, but the lighthearted melody of the chorus brings everything back down to Earth. This isn't so much a call to arms as it is a celebration of youth, when you were free to go against what your parents had to say. We all have to get old sometime, but the charm behind "Surrender" might be immortal.