The ubiquitous success of Coldplay often belies their artistry. Sure, the band have produced any number of slow-dance wedding classics, but peer beneath the chassis and their catalogue is littered with some profoundly odd, curiously ground-breaking material.

The band initially formed as Big Fat Noises, a bunch of students with a dream, and a hankering for ambition; switching to Coldplay – perhaps a wise decision – they released an independently financed EP in 1998 and, in truth, never looked back.

The most successful British group of their generation, Coldplay prompt devotion and ire, but few can doubt the emotional pull of the band’s finest moments.

With memories of their show-stopping Glastonbury headline set ringing in our ears, we’ve pieced together the definitive list of Coldplay’s best songs.

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‘Yellow’ 

Taken from the band’s stunning debut ‘Parachutes’ Coldplay’s breakthrough hit ‘Yellow’ was literally written in the stars, with bassist Guy Berryman came up with the opening line ‘Look at the stars’ after the band took a break from recording at the renowned Rockfield Studios.

The track manages to be both epic and pared back at the same time and the moving music video has recently reached 1 billion views on YouTube. Certainly, ‘Yellow’ was a pivotal moment in the band’s career, with its tender lyrics and emotive melody with its rousing chorus, a stark contrast from the bubblegum pop and angry American rock songs dominating the charts.

‘It was all yellow’ might veer on the side of nebulous and there may be some truth that the yellow element of the song might have been inspired by the Yellow Pages according to a previous comment from Chris Martin, but one thing that is crystal-clear is the utter brilliance of the track.

From the impassioned vocals from Chris to the distorted guitar riffs from Jonny Buckland, this sweeping ballad is uplifting, heartfelt and is an infinite masterpiece. (Emma Harrison)

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‘Speed Of Sound’ 

It may not be Chris Martin or indeed any of Coldplay’s favourite songs, but ‘Speed of Sound’ is a fine example of the width and breadth of the band’s catalogue. Martin’s musings on the track were revealed on the Howard Stern show in 2011 where he revealed that “We never got it right” and even stopped performing the track live for a period of six years.

‘Speed of Sound’ polarised both critics and fans, but the piano hook and synths make it something of an ear worm and you can’t deny the emotion of the track.

Despite ‘All that noise, and all that sound’ from the quartet, ‘Speed of Sound’ was beaten to the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart by the truly horrendous novelty song ‘Axel F’ by the ‘Crazy Frog’, but the band had the last laugh, by making history with ‘Speed of Sound’ being the billionth download from the iTunes Store. (Emma Harrison)

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‘Politik’

As far as opening mission statements go, few come as crushingly effective as ‘Politik’ – the propulsive introduction to Coldplay’s colossal 2002 record ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’. Void of the excessive, cluttered arrangements that would come to plague ‘X&Y’ a few years later, its simple but jarring verse chords and haunting chorus refrain are juxtaposed beautifully against an epic, hopeful coda. It’s where Chris Martin and co. shrugged off the “Radiohead clones” tag and broke free into the stratosphere. The fact it was seemingly written in response to the 9/11 attacks only adds to its emotional heft. (Luke Winstanley)

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‘Don’t Panic’  

The opener from the band’s debut album ‘Parachutes’, ‘Don’t Panic’ offers a powerful glimpse into who Coldplay are at their core, something that has, in the sum of it all, not wavered since the early days. Distilling quiet optimism within delicate melodies and understated instrumentation, the track is built on simple guitar riffs and a gentle rhythm. Warm and introspective, Chris Martin softly sings “We live in a beautiful world,” and despite this beauty feeling marred by the song’s melancholic undertones, there still lies reassurance, hope — themes intrinsic to the Coldplay of today. (Sahar Ghadirian)

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‘Trouble’ 

Now passing the midpoint of ‘Parachutes’, Coldplay’s ‘Trouble’ reveals a haunting piano-driven ballad anchored by regret and self-reproach. The song’s minimal instrumentation, centred on a plaintive piano line and gentle percussion, draws listeners into Chris Martin’s remorseful confession. Lyrics like “I never meant to do you harm” linger on guilt, heightening its emotional vulnerability. In its tenderness, ‘Trouble’ is a slow burn, evoking the fragile beauty of introspection and unresolved apologies. (Sahar Ghadirian)

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‘The Scientist’ 

‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’ was Coldplay’s great leap forward, expanding their sound outwards in every direction from the soft, dreamy sound of their first album. At its emotional heart sits ‘The Scientist’, a simple but devastatingly effective ballad built around a few piano chords. God only knows what it’s about (the conflict between scientific objectivity and emotional subjectivity, if we’re being generous), but that falsetto howl at the end is enough to make even Super Hans cry. Oh – and it’s got a cracking video too, showing the end of a relationship in reverse à la Pinter’s Betrayal. (Tom Kingsley)

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‘Death And All His Friends’ 

Enlisting Brian Eno to produce Coldplay’s fourth album, ‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’, was a spark of genius. That cumbersome moniker splits into two title tracks, and while ‘Viva la Vida’ is Chris Martin’s hedonic masterpiece, it’s ‘Death and All His Friends’ that shows Eno’s studio wizardry at its finest. Starting gently with nothing more than an echoey piano and Martin’s voice, the song gradually builds to a thrilling wall of sound, topped by one of Martin’s more coherent lyrics. It’s also in a 7/8 time signature – proof that Coldplay can actually be experimental when they want to. (Tom Kingsley)

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‘Everything’s Not Lost’ 

Now here’s a niche choice for you. ‘Everything’s Not Lost’ closes Coldplay’s debut ‘Parachutes’ – a hopeful ballad featuring Chris Martin’s vulnerable lyricism, gentle pianos and a simple yet uplifting riff from Johnny Buckland.

While the first three minutes plod along nicely, it’s really the change of tone in the song’s outro that sticks this one out from the rest. Chris Martin’s heartfelt refrain: “Come on, yeah / Oh, oh, yeah / Come on, yeah / And everything’s not lost” encourages a lighter in the air singalong and packs in the emotion. Surrounded by infectious warmth, this track captures their early day appeal very nicely, indeed. (Matthew McLister)

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‘Violet Hill’

There’s a case to be made that ‘Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends’ is Coldplay’s most adventurous and varied studio effort. Any such notion was perhaps overridden by the inescapable-ness of its saccharine, overplayed title track but as an appetiser, ‘Violet Hill’ was something slightly different for the band. From Johnny Buckland’s uncharacteristically jagged, writhing guitar to Chris Martin’s vocal – sang in a much lower register than previous singles – and digs at politicians (“When the future’s architectured / By a carnival of idiots on show / You’d better lie low”), the track still demonstrates a thrilling synergy. (Luke Winstanley)

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‘Lost!’

With Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida’ era becoming a transitional gateway to their future cross-genre exploration, ‘Lost!’ was one of their biggest departures in sound at the time.

Helped by Brian Eno producing their music for the first time, he allegedly sought a hypnotist to get the band to forget their old habits, and it proved useful in two ways. 

The booming organ chords chiming with handclaps and the driving drum groove are a welcome change, yet still capturing that epic feeling Coldplay pursue in their music.

And despite the album’s references to revolution, the single marked an evolutionary change for the band. With Jay-Z adding bars on the b-side ‘Lost+’, it became one of the first times Coldplay introduced big collaborators onto their records, introducing a new way for the band to stay relevant beyond their early success. (Ben Lee)

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‘Strawberry Swing’

Almost an outlier compared to the experimentation on the rest of ‘Viva la Vida’, the beautifully arranged ‘Strawberry Swing’ harks back to their early years as it serenades into a sweet lullaby.

Chris Martin’s pining lyrics along with Brian Eno’s soundscapes and strings from Goldfrapp collaborator Davide Rossi seep delicately into Jonny Buckland’s looping, sliding guitar hook that tingles with a summery afterglow.

There’s a simplicity to ‘Strawberry Swing’, but it holds its own amid the chaotic changes in sound across ‘Viva la Vida’, cutting through so much it even encouraged Frank Ocean to cover it on his ‘Nostalgia, Ultra’ mixtape. (Ben Lee)

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‘See You Soon’ 

For all their contemporary glitter and colour, there was a time when Coldplay made stark vulnerability and intimacy their strongest asset. Tucked away on their second EP in 1999, the finger-picked guitar on ‘See You Soon’ works well against a young Chris Martin, still finding his voice but unafraid to record the tremor in it. Though unpolished, this simple message of encouragement to a disenchanted friend is demonstrably the band putting in their ten thousand hours, and much better is the (slightly slower) iteration from ‘Live 2003’, with an audience of 5000 people, clearly unfamiliar with the song, deferential in pin-drop silence. (Richard Bowes)

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‘Warning Sign’  

For their second album, Coldplay spurned the timidity of ‘Parachutes’ while doubling down on everything else: more intricate guitar, sharper falsettos and harder drums. They also expanded their sound; ‘Warning Sign’ invokes certain elements of country rock and – although the unintended consequence would be Mumford & Sons – is perhaps the most heartfelt track on the album. Chris Martin had spent years trying to write a lyric as simple effective as ‘When the truth is, I miss you,’ with a delicious musical execution to go with it. Slow, intimate but loud, as Will Champion offsets the mood with some seriously powerful drumming. (Richard Bowes)

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‘Hypnotised’

Lulling you in with tinkling bells, ‘Hypnotised’ is a heart wrenching track hidden within Coldplay’s ‘Kaleidoscope’ EP. Martin’s falsetto vocals tear at your heart strings as he reflects on past mistakes and the new state of fascination he’s now in, thanks to a new lover. Powerful piano chords and yearning guitar complement the equally emotional lyrics. Like much of Coldplay’s discography, they hit the balance of deep melancholy with euphoria. Hope can be found again even when you have to pick up the pieces of yourself. A piece of devastating pop that highlights how the non-album releases are definitely worth your time. (Sophia McDonald)

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‘X&Y’

A gut-wrenching track that shows off Martin’s lyrical prowess, ‘X&Y’ may well be another unrequited love song but Coldplay add their own unique twist. Opening with “trying hard to speak and fighting with my weak hand” captures the torment of a developing crush. The building tension that breaks before each chorus echoes the ups and downs of any love interest – one minute your heart is full and then next slowly breaking. A title track can be the key for an album and this solidifies Coldplay’s ability to compact big deep feelings into only a few minutes. (Sophia McDonald)

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