Top 50 Train Songs Of All Time

Train is a Pop/Rock band fronted by singer-songwriter Pat Monahan. They were formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993, and other than for a short hiatus, they are happily still together and performing and recording great music.

They are best known for their huge hit, “Hey, Soul Sister,” which I will be looking at shortly. However, over the 30 years they have been together, they have made plenty more fantastic music. I have picked my favorites and put together what I think are the Top 50 Train songs of all time. I hope you enjoy them. So, let’s get straight to it and take a look at the best Train songs, starting with…

Top 50 Train Songs Of All Time

1

Hey, Soul Sister

This was released in 2009 and was phenomenally successful by any measure. It was released as the lead single of the equally successful album, Save Me, San Francisco.

“Hey, Soul Sister” went multi-platinum and sold a staggering six million copies worldwide. It got to #3 on the US Billboard charts and #1 in Australia and The Netherlands. Additionally, it was also widely downloaded and became the second best-selling song in the US in 2010.

Plus, it became the most widely played song of all time on Australian radio. Save Me, San Francisco also went platinum and sold over a million copies in the US alone. Impressive!

The song is all Pop with very little Rock…

It is a very catchy song with a great melody line and chorus. No wonder it was so popular. As far as the lyrics are concerned, there was nothing too taxing. Essentially, it is just a simple feel-good love song. And there is nothing wrong with that.

2

Drops of Jupiter

Moving on from Train’s most popular song to what I think is their best song. Although “Drops of Jupiter” didn’t sell in the same numbers as “Hey, Soul Sister,” it was still very successful. It went multi-platinum and got to #5 on the US Billboard charts. That is the second-highest charting position of any of their songs.

“Drops of Jupiter” was the first single to be released from the album, also titled, Drops of Jupiter. The album came out in 2001. It also went multi-platinum and reached #6 on the Billboard Album charts.

So, why do I like “Drops of Jupiter” so much?

It’s a beautiful song that is full of emotion, even if you don’t take the time to focus on the lyrics. However, if you do listen and understand the meaning of the song, it is all the more powerful for it. 

“Drops of Jupiter” is about being left by someone as they run off to find themselves. The pain in that situation is awful, but when you know that the song was written as a tribute to lead singer Pat Monahan’s mother, who died of cancer, the true deeper meaning hits home hard.

It’s a highly emotional song that is more than deserving of its five Grammy nominations. It is equally deserving of the two Grammys that it got to take home on the night.

3

Marry Me

This was the third single to be released from the amazing album, Save Me, San Francisco. At the time of its release, the band could seem to do no wrong, and they quickly had another hit on their hands. It became another multi-platinum selling record and peaked in the US Billboard charts at #34. Although, it got to #3 on the US Adult Pop Airplay charts.

“Marry Me” is a touching love song that is much more stripped back than most of their other songs. The acoustic guitar does most of the work with occasional help from the piano and strings. It works beautifully, and the less-produced result fits perfectly with the mood and subject of the song.

4

Meet Virginia

This was Train’s debut single and very much set the tone for their future music. It was instantly liked and peaked at #20 on the Billboard charts. It also went double-platinum in the US. I’m sure just about every band on the planet would take these figures for their first-ever single release.

This track was taken off the self-titled album Train. That went platinum in the US and got to #76 on the US Billboard Album charts. Again, a great result for a debut album.

“Meet Virginia” is Soft Rock with plenty of energy and features a nice Rock guitar solo toward the end. The song is about the singer’s involvement with a romantic love interest. But, the lyrics are ambiguous and not necessarily associated with just one person. Maybe he played around a lot.

5

Drive By

“Drive By” came out in 2012 as the first single from California 37, and it was huge. It made it to #30 on the US Billboard Charts and went seven times platinum. Additionally, it was very successful overseas and went platinum in the UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and New Zealand. California 37 went platinum in the US and made #4 on the Billboard Album charts.

This is mostly a Pop song, and like many of their other tracks, it deals with the dynamics of relationships. In this instance, it is about a guy proclaiming his love for his girl and telling her that he is in it for the long haul. As he says in the song, “This is not a drive-by.”

6

Play That Song

This was released in 2016 as the lead single off the album, A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat. It had been four years and eight attempts since they had previously gone platinum, but this song did it for them. Reaching #42 on the Billboard Charts, it was also one of Train’s most successful songs over the same period.

“Play That Song” is about a guy who requests a DJ to play his girlfriend’s favorite song. Interestingly, the song is built around the melody from “Heart and Soul” by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser. Equally interestingly, this seems to be a fusion of Pop and Hip-Hop. However, most of the song is Pop, and Hip-Hop is more like “Hip-Hop lite,” quite frankly.

7

Bruises

I like this song a lot. And that is in no small part due to the excellent contribution of Ashley Monroe, who shares vocal duties with lead singer Pat Monahan. Since Ashley Monroe is a well-known Country singer, it is no surprise that the song is just about as Country as it gets.

I love that the band changes things up for the musical arrangement, and it is all the stronger for it. The buying public also seemed to like it. When it was released in 2012, off California 37 album, it went platinum in the US and got to #79 on the Billboard charts.

So, what’s it about?

The song is about a pair of classmates (male and female) meeting after a decade and comparing stories. During those ten years, they have plenty of experiences and, of course, have had several tricky problems, or “bruises” along the way, as they are referred to in the song. 

After I first heard this, I couldn’t help wondering why Train hadn’t made more of a foray into Country Music. It is undoubtedly a style that fits their music and message well. Maybe something for the future?

8

Mermaid

“Mermaid” was also released in the 2012 album California 37. It failed to chart in the US and was not commercially well-received in most other countries. Its only Top 100 entries were in The Netherlands, where it got to #19, and in the UK, where it got to #93. 

This was very much a Pop song with a Latin twist and fits in well with the style of most other Train songs. Frankly, I don’t get why it wasn’t more popular. It was a well-put-together and well-produced track with a catchy melody. It should have done better, in my opinion.

9

Calling All Angels

“Calling All Angels” was released as their first single from the album, My Private Nation. The single achieved one of their highest charts position of the time. It reached #19 on the US Billboard charts and went platinum. The album also went platinum and got to #6 on the US Billboard Album charts. 

This was another of their songs to be nominated for a Grammy. In this case, it received two nominations. But, sadly, unlike “Drops of Jupiter,” it did not win any of the nominations. It is a great Rock/Pop song that deals with the subject of looking for divine guidance in our lives.

10

50 Ways to Say Goodbye

This seems like a fitting song to fit #10 in my top 50 Train songs of all time playlist. It might be my last pick, but I can assure you all that is very much the case of being last but most certainly not least.

So, why did it make the top ten?

I like it because it has more of a Rock feel than many of their other songs, and I think this is a genre they do very well. Additionally, the band clearly had a lot of fun making “50 Ways to Say Goodbye,” and that came across massively in the official video. If you haven’t watched it, then you should. It even has ‘The Hoff’ (David Hasselhoff) in it, and that makes it worth watching on its own.

Released as the second single off the 2012 album California 37, it is no wonder it went 3x platinum in the US and platinum in Australia and Canada. A great song and a great way to wrap up this list of the greatest Train songs ever.

11

Mississippi

12

Shake up Christmas

13

When I Look to the Sky

14

You Can Finally Meet My Mom

15

Wonder What You’re Doing for the Rest of Your Life

16

All American Girl

17

Angel in Blue Jeans

18

The Finish Line

19

Brick by Brick

20

Bulletproof Picasso

21

Cadillac, Cadillac

22

Can’t Drink You Away

23

Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)

24

Drive By Christmas

25

Every Word I Say

26

Fallen Angel

27

Get to Me

28

Half Moon Bay

29

Hopeless

30

I Got You

31

I Will Remember

32

Just a Memory

33

Let It Roll

34

Lincoln Avenue

35

Lottery

36

Meet Virginia (Acoustic)

37

Sing Together

38

Sounds of Silence

39

This’ll Be My Year

40

To Be Loved

41

When the Fog Rolls In

42

Working Girl

43

Your Every Color

44

You’re Not Alone

45

All I Ever Wanted

46

Always Midnight

47

California 37

48

Days

49

Don’t Grow Up So Fast

50

Dream On

Need More Great Pop and Rock Music?

Well, check out our thoughts on the Top 10 Staind Songs of All Time, the Top 10 Third Eye Blind Songs, the Best Goo Goo Dolls Songs of All Time, the Best Uncle Kracker Songs of All Time, the Best Pop Songs of the 2000s, and the Best Songs of The 2000s for more amazing song selections.

Top 50 Train Songs Of All Time – Final Thoughts

That was such a lot of fun, and I’ve very much enjoyed looking back at their music. It has been a while since I heard some of these songs, but I’ve now put a couple of my favorites back onto my drive-time playlists.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my choices for Train’s Top 50 songs. Do you agree with my selections, and would you have chosen different songs? Let me know in the comments below. And let me know if you have any interesting personal experiences watching the band.

Until next time, happy listening.