Best Yacht Rock Songs

Choosing the best songs in the Yacht Rock genre isn’t easy. As with any list it depends on your mood. Yacht Rock, while mostly mellow music, has a variety of sounds- jazzy, upbeat, chill, inspiring, corny. I could fill this list with all Michael McDonald songs, he is the titan of Yacht Rock, but let’s leave some praise for some others, shall we?

#1 “Sailing” by Christopher Cross

I wrote about how this song cuts deep. It takes me back. You can just smell the ocean with this one.

#2 “How Much I Feel” by Ambrosia

If we’re going to talk about Yacht Rock as mellow tunes with catchy lyrics than you get all that and more with “How Much I Feel,” dare ya not to singing along with the chorus.

#3 “This Is It” by Kenny Loggins (featuring my guy M McDonald)

Not sure what happened to Messina, but Loggins does just fine without him (wow, I can state the obvious, Footloose anyone?)

This song is new to me and once I paid attention to the lyrics I was pumped up.

Are you gonna wait for a sign, your miracle?

Stand up and fight.

#4 “Right Down the Line” Gerry Rafferty

I can’t even explain this one, it must be triggering some childhood memory of good.

#5 “Takin’ it to the Streets” by the Doobie Brothers

I did my best to not include a Michael McDonald song in the Top 5 but this Doobie Brothers tune is great in so many ways.

First, don’t you wish you were there when DB was takin’ it to the streets? What did that involve? In what way were they takin’ it to the street?

Second, the opening line: “You don’t know me but I’m your brother.” Insert bawling emoji here.

Third, a 40 year old song is as current as the day it was written, which speaks to many positive and negative aspects, actually.

And while I associate this song more with Nixon-era protest anthems than sipping margaritas on a fancy boat, I’m still counting it as Yacht Rock.