Greed, broke nights, the love of it and the lack of it. Money is one of pop music's oldest subjects, and these are the songs that say the most about it.
Updated 2026
Money (That's What I Want) by Barrett Strong 1959
The blunt original, later covered by half of rock.
Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious B.I.G. 1997
Success and all the trouble it drags along.
Can't Buy Me Love by The Beatles 1964
Money has limits, and love is the limit.
Bills, Bills, Bills by Destiny's Child 1999
Done paying for a partner who will not.
If I Had $1,000,000 by Barenaked Ladies 1992
A sweet, silly list of what we would buy.
She Works Hard for the Money by Donna Summer 1983
Respect for the grind, and the people doing it.
Money for Nothing by Dire Straits 1985
Envy of the easy life, watched from a delivery dock.
Where money turns into the whole point.
For the Love of Money by The O'Jays 1973
The bassline that warns where greed leads.
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) by Pet Shop Boys 1985
Ambition, delivered half as a joke.
7 Rings by Ariana Grande 2019
Buying happiness, completely unapologetic about it.