Key Takeaways

• Song Count: The Rolling Stones have recorded over 400 songs throughout their career.
• No. 1 Hits: They achieved eight No. 1 singles in both the U.S. and U.K.
• Album Success: The band has nine No. 1 albums on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
• Deep Cuts: The Stones’ catalog includes many lesser-known tracks that showcase their musical range.

The Rolling Stones have recorded over 400 songs in their long and storied career – an absolute mountain of music.

Out of all of those, the Stones have secured an equal number of No. 1 single hits (eight of them) in America and their native U.K. Zooming out further, they’ve had nine No. 1 albums on the U.S. Billboard 200 and over a dozen in the U.K.

“When we first made a record and it got in the charts,” Mick Jagger once said, “we thought well, it’s good, we’ll probably be around for a year, maybe a year and a half, then it’s all going to be over.” Clearly, that has not been the case.

Not every single song can be a chart success, but that doesn’t mean their quality is any less. The Rolling Stones’ catalog is riddled with lesser-known gems — deep cuts, as they say — that are just as impressive as the hits.

We’re taking a look at 20 of those songs in the list below, organized in no particular order aside from chronological. To be clear, we recognize that the term “deep cut” has some flexibility in its interpretation, since many avid fans are sure to know these tracks. What they all have in common is that none of them were chart hits.

1. “Mercy Mercy”
From: Out of Our Heads (1965)

We realize we might be bending the rules here a little bit since “Mercy, Mercy” is a cover, not a Rolling Stones original, but it’s an awfully good one as far as the band’s earlier years go. This appeared on both the U.K. and U.S. versions of 1965’s Out of Our Heads, and it’s a great example of Jagger both honoring the original recording and taking his first steps into his own brand of rock ‘n’ roll singing.

2. "She Said Yeah"
From: December’s Children (And Everybody’s) (1965)

Another 1965 cover we feel worthy is “She Said Yeah” from December’s Children (And Everybody’s). Written by Sonny Bono and Roddy Jackson, the Stones recorded their version at RCA Studios in Hollywood.

3. "Connection"
From: Between the Buttons (1967)

With “Connection” we enter into the territory of Rolling Stones originals. It’s a particularly unique track in the sense that it features both Jagger and Keith Richards sharing vocal duties — that’s Richards singing the higher harmony. Though never released as a single, “Connection” made a fair amount of appearances at the Stones’ live shows, even as recently as 2022.

4. “Stray Cat Blues”
From: Beggars Banquet (1968)

We’ve skipped ahead several years to 1968 when Beggars Banquet was released. By this point, the Stones had undergone a marked shift toward something more…sinister, more provocative. “Stray Cat Blues” embodies this in every way — musically, lyrically and otherwise — and while we most definitely don’t condone the idea of underage encounters, it really doesn’t get more Rolling Stones than this.

5. “No Expectations”
From: Beggars Banquet (1968)

Another excellent cut from Beggars Banquet came in the form of “No Expectations.” Yes, this was technically a single — it was the b-side to “Street Fighting Man” — but the Stones have rarely played it live and it doesn’t come up often on playlists. The steel guitar bit by Brian Jones is especially worth hearing.

“We were sitting around in a circle on the floor, singing and playing, recording with open mikes,” Jagger recalled to Rolling Stone in 1995. “That was the last time I remember Brian really being totally involved in something that was really worth doing. He was there with everyone else. It’s funny how you remember — but that was the last moment I remember him doing that because he had just lost interest in everything.”

6. “Monkey Man”
From: Let It Bleed (1969)

In 1969, the Rolling Stones delved even further into a blues-infused sound with Let It Bleed, an album that truly deserves to be played start to finish. We feel that “Monkey Man,” the album’s second to last track, is overlooked – the sly piano intro (played by Nicky Hopkins) over top a beguiling bass line that eventually gives way to a huge refrain — it’s like if the Stones had made a James Bond theme.

7. "Sister Morphine"
From: Sticky Fingers (1971)

Sticky Fingers is chock full of great songs, most of which wouldn’t be considered deep cuts to the most dedicated of Stones fans. Everybody knows “Wild Horses,” “Brown Sugar” and maybe even “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” but we’re highlighting “Sister Morphine” here, a slow burn of a song that Marianne Faithfull helped to write.

8. “Moonlight Mile”
From: Sticky Fingers (1971)

Frankly we couldn’t pick just one track from Sticky Fingers, we had to get in two. “Moonlight Mile” serves as the last track on the album, but it’s not to be overlooked. It’s a calming conclusion to a fierce collection of songs. Interestingly, Richards doesn’t play on this track at all — the lead guitar part is the work of Mick Taylor.

9. “Loving Cup”
From: Exile on Main St. (1972)

Moving on to another iconic Stones record, 1972’s Exile on Main St., we must first present “Loving Cup,” which ends side two of the double album. Hopkins’ piano work here sells it, coupled with Bobby Keys on saxophone and Jim Price on the other horn parts. Unfortunately, the Stones haven’t played this one live since 2014.

10. “Ventilator Blues”
From: Exile on Main St. (1972)

If you’re looking for something a little dirtier, look no further than “Ventilator Blues,” which features a rare Taylor co-writing credit. Once again, there’s Hopkins, Keys and Price, and yet it’s an entirely different vibe.

READ MORE: The ‘Big 4’ of Rolling Stones Albums

11. “Winter”
From: Goats Head Soup (1973)

You’d never know it from the title of the song or from the general feeling of lonesomeness it gives off, but the Stones wrote “Winter” while on holiday in Jamaica, a decidedly non-wintry place. Weirdly enough, Richards doesn’t play on this track either and it’s Taylor who gets the main guitar part.

12. “If You Really Want to Be My Friend”
From: It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (1974)

The tremendously successful album from 1974’s If You Really Want to Be My Friend, notable for its inclusion of Blue Magic — a popular ’70s soul group from Philadelphia — whose smooth backing vocals juxtapose nicely against Jagger’s rougher tone.