Top 10 Nickelback Songs

10. “How You Remind Me” - The band’s first big hit. Chad Kroeger croons about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, who he seems to still love but was vindictive and emotionally unavailable as Kroeger sings the line, “It’s not like you to say sorry.” Though it seems Chad wasn’t Mr. Nice Guy in the relationship evidenced by the line, “Cause livin’ with me must have damn near killed you.” The video has Kroeger seeing said girlfriend everywhere he looks but then he pushes away then him and then the band is playing to a revved up crowd with the girlfriend in the audience. It’s the perfect song to describe the push and pull of a toxic relationship.

9. “Someday” - The song talks about trying to save a relationship that’s seemingly doomed. “I’d wish you’d unclench your fists and unpack that suitcase…But don’t think it’s too late.” My favorite part of the song is “Now the story's played out like this/Just like a paperback novel/Let's rewrite an ending that fits/Instead of a Hollywood horror.” How many relationships have you had that that line totally characterizes it? The video is heartbreaking as the band sings in an abandoned building and we see a girl seemingly crying over a breakup only to learn she’s crying because her boyfriend died. One hopes your romantic situation isn’t as tragic but the song still has unforgettable lyrics and a relatable message.

8. “Far Away” - The quintessential song about telling him or her how you really feel before it’s too late. “On my knees, I’ll ask, last chance for one last dance.” Kroeger’s voice has such aching emotion behind it and the video has the story of a fireman and his girlfriend, the perfect example of grabbing love before it’s felled by unforeseen circumstances. The red lighting as the backdrop for the band in the video was a stroke of genius. Can’t you just picture your guy holding up a stereo with this song blaring outside your window like John Cusack did in Say Anything?

7. “Gotta Be Somebody” - This is a song for anyone who longs to find their soul mate. Everyone at one time or another has wondered when the person they’re meant to be with will come into their lives. “So, I’ll be waiting for the real thing/I’ll know it by the feeling…So, I’ll be holding my breath right up ‘til the end. Until that moment when I find the one that I’ll spend forever with…Cause nobody wants to do it on their own/And everyone wants to know they’re not alone/Somebody else that feels the same somewhere/There’s gotta be somebody for me out there.” It’s like the band reached into the minds of everyone on the planet and extracted this rock ballad about searching and yearning for their other half.

6. “Trying Not to Love You” - A song about fighting not to love someone but knowing you’re doomed to lose the battle. Anyone who’s ever been in love with someone and for whatever reason can’t be with them and tries to forget them can relate to this song. The video has the incomparable funnyman and Seinfeld alum Jason Alexander pining away for beauty Brooke Burns. The lyrics say it all…”Cause tryin’ not to love you, only goes so far/Trying not to need you is tearing me apart. Can’t see the silver lining from down here on the floor/But, I keep on trying…but I don’t know what for.” Alexander gets the girl in the end and isn’t what we all want in the end, to get the one we so desperately love?

5. “Never Gonna Be Alone” - Kroeger’s deep soulful vocals come across so forcefully in this ballad about not taking anyone you love for granted because they might not always be around. Regret is a potent emotion and one the band coveys masterfully with lines like “I’m starting to regret not spending all of it with you…so I’m starting to regret not telling all of it to you/So, if I haven’t yet, I’ve gotta let you know/You’re never gonna be alone/From this moment on…/If you ever feel like letting go/I won’t let you fall/You’re never gonna be alone.” This song could apply to any loved one who’s always been there for you but you haven’t told them how much you appreciate them. The time to tell them is NOW, which Nickelback articulates beautifully with this song.

4. “Rockstar” - This is one of Nickelback’s lighter songs about the perils of Hollywood. Not getting into that exclusive club and dreams of having private jets with hot tubs, mansions big enough to be featured on MTV’s Cribs and every other luxury afforded a celebrity. But, Nickelback doesn’t forget the vices of celebrity too with the line, “The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap/We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat.” Plus, the video is a who’s who of Hollywood mixed in with regular fans lip synching the song. Who didn’t love seeing Kid Rock lip sync the line, “They’ll get you anything with that evil smile” and rocker Ted Nugent lip syncing the line, “Everybody’s got s drug dealer on speed dial.”

3. “Photograph” - The classic flashback song for those who want to think back to their younger years. The video was set in Kroeger’s hometown of Hanna Alberta, Canada and the lyrics talk about Kroeger’s childhood. Everyone has looked back on old photos and reminisced and that’s what this song is about with lyrics like, “Look at this photograph/Every time I do it makes me laugh/How did our eyes get so red?/And what the hell is on Joey’s head.” That old high school picture of you and your “gang” all with “red eye” or that picture with you and your best college friend mixed up in all kinds of hijinks. It’s a song about remembering about times gone by and this song is right on the money.

2. “Lullaby” - This song is about feeling alone, knowing someone else has the same feelings and that you’re not alone really touched me. The video is incredibly sad as a young man loses his wife in childbirth and is left alone to raise their baby boy. That feeling of helplessness and uncertainty is something everyone has felt in their lives at one time or another. But, Nickelback tells us they we aren’t alone with lines such as, “I’m telling you that/It’s never that bad/Take it from someone who’s been where you’re at/Laid out on the floor/And you’re not sure/You can take this anymore… If you can hear me now/I'm reaching out/To let you know that you're not alone… There's no need to go and blow the candle out/Because you're not done/You're far too young/And the best is yet to come.” It’s an inspirational song and one you can listen to whenever they’re down and need to be lifted up.

1. “This Afternoon” - This is the ultimate party song! It’s about hanging out with your friends drinking beer and partying well into the night. The video is a party in itself as the band is kidnapped and “forced” to play while nerds commandeer beer and get truckloads of hot women in bikinis to party with them. After all the love ballads and themed songs, it was refreshing to see the guys let their hair down and have a good time. I know whenever I party with my friends, this song is blaring in the background!