The Best Rihanna Songs

From “Diamonds” to “Rude Boy,” Rihanna has a long list of hits. Singles, deep cuts, and everything in between: Here are her 30 best songs.

rihanna getty kevin mazur
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Image via Getty/Kevin Mazur

rihanna getty kevin mazur

Rihanna is now a household name, but it’s been a journey to get here. She began her foray into the music biz at just 15-years-old, when she formed a girl group with two of her friends in her native Barbados and was soon discovered by producer extraordinaire Evan Rogers. He saw the potential in Ri, and opted to leave her bandmates behind. She eventually made her way stateside, recorded “Pon de Replay,” and grabbed the attention of one Jay-Z. The rest is history.

Now, Rihanna has eight studio albums to her name, spanning all kinds of genres and feelings and texturesFrom her sweet, youthful Caribbean sounds to the sultry explicitness of her later work, Rihanna is fearless in broadening her horizons. There's a lot of ground to cover. Rihanna is often painted as a singles artist, but there are many album cuts that warrant your time, too. We've dug through the best of the best. These are the 30 best Rihanna songs.

“Break It Off” f/ Sean Paul (2006)

best rihanna songs break it off

“Cold Case Love” (2009)

best rihanna songs cold case love

“Needed Me” (2016)

best rihanna songs needed me

“Jump” (2012)

best rihanna songs jump

“Hard” f/ Jeezy (2009)

best rihanna songs hard

“Cockiness (Love It)” (2011)

best rihanna songs cockiness

AlbumTalk That Talk

Rihanna was definitely talking that talk: On a humpy bass line that meant business, the concept of "cockiness" wasn't even a metaphor, but a conceptual portmanteau of her spiritual cojones and her actual clit. Say what you want about other people writing this song—Bangladesh on the beat (built off a freaking Greg Kinnear sample), Candice Pillay on lyrics—it takes an unflappable strength and confidence to turn the powerfully direct chorus "I love it when you eat it" into a pop mantra. It's a glimpse into the 50-foot Rihanna that would give us "Pour It Up" a year later.

A good part of it was her patois rap bridge, which delved into dancehall territory and invoked Shabba ("Hold me tight, mister lover"), but underscored that this love is purely procedural: You don't address a dude as "homie" unless you're tryna keep it caj'. But the song's sexuality lies mostly in its pure minimalism, Rihanna nimbly weaving through the beat thump, doubling down on the hard consonants, especially those in the word "dominatrix."

Live, she accompanied this song with one of maybe four dance moves in her repertoire. Just her staple butterfly wine with a little chop-chop motion on her crotch, the CEO of her own rampin shop. —Julianne Escobedo Shepherd

“Diamonds” (2012)

best rihanna songs diamonds

“Watch n’ Learn” (2011)

best rihanna songs watch n learn

“FourFiveSeconds” f/ Kanye West & Paul McCartney (2015)

best rihanna songs four five seconds

“Wild Thoughts” DJ Khaled f/ Rihanna & Bryson Tiller (2017)

best rihanna songs wild thoughts

“Pon de Replay” (2005)

best rihanna songs pon de replay

“Don’t Stop the Music” (2007)

best rihanna songs dont stop the music

“Disturbia” (2007)

best rihanna songs disturbia

“Man Down” (2010)

best rihanna songs man down

“Pour It Up” (2012)

best rihanna songs pour it up

“Loveeeeeee Song” f/ Future (2012)

best rihanna songs love song

“Take Care” Drake f/ Rihanna (2011)

best rihanna songs take care

“Love the Way You Lie” Eminem f/ Rihanna (2010)

best rihanna songs love the way you lie

“You Da One” (2011)

best rihanna songs you da one

“Stay” f/ Mikky Ekko (2012)

best rihanna songs stay

“Same Ol’ Mistakes” (2016)

best rihanna songs same ol mistakes

“What’s My Name?” f/ Drake (2010)

best rihanna songs whats my name

“Where Have You Been” (2011)

best rihanna songs where have you been

“Birthday Cake” (2011)

best rihanna songs birthday cake

“We Found Love” f/ Calvin Harris (2011)

best rihanna songs we found love

“Umbrella” (2007)

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“Kiss It Better” (2006)

best rihanna songs kiss it better

“Rude Boy” (2010)

best rihanna songs rude boy

“Bitch Better Have My Money” (2016)

best rihanna songs bitch better have my money

“Only Girl (in the World)” (2010)

best rihanna songs only girl in the world

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