1977 Rock Classic, Ranked One of the Best Songs of All Time, Never Hit No. 1

It wasn’t a major commercial success when it first came out, but this signature David Bowie track is now regarded as one of the best tracks of his career.

“Heroes” is often considered a masterpiece by Bowie fans, but it underperformed on the charts at the time of its initial release in 1977. It was the first single from Bowie’s album of the same name, but the song ultimately failed to break through on the Billboard Hot 100.

The experimental, art-rock track had slightly more success across the pond, peaking at No. 24 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart — but some would argue that the “Heroes” should have been a chart-topper right from the start.

Instead, it took decades for the song to reach its highest chart position, rising in popularity over 40 years later following Bowie’s death in 2016. That year, “Heroes” peaked at No. 9 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart, and hit No. 11 on the Hot Rock Songs chart.

It had a similar resurgence another decade later, in January 2026, after “Heroes” was featured in the closing credits of the Stranger Things series finale. That month, the song hit the Hot Alternative Songs chart for the first time, landing at No. 9.

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But regardless of its performance on the charts, “Heroes” has gone down in history as one of the most revered songs from Bowie’s catalog. A fan-favorite track, “Heroes” was even named the Best Classic Rock Song of All Time by Collider in 2025.

It’s ranked at No. 23 on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and it holds the No. 6 spot on Pitchfork‘s 200 Best Songs of the ’70s.

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