The Most and Least-Played Song Live Off Every Styx Album

Styx has been around since 1972, meaning they know a thing or two about crafting a set list.

“We’re fans ourselves,” Tommy Shaw explained to AXS TV in 2024. “It’s like, what would we want to hear? Or what would we be okay with?”

But on the other hand, Shaw and his bandmates are always looking for ways to include deeper cuts at Styx concerts, as well as whatever newer material the band wants to highlight.

“For one thing, it shows you that you’re not just stuck in the past,” Shaw said, “that you’re still alive and, you know, a prescient human being who’s still got more music in them.”

Styx, at the time of this writing in April 2025, is still very much alive with lots of touring plans lined up for the year. But we were curious to see how the numbers have broken down over the years. Using data from setlist.fm, below are the most and least-played songs live off every Styx album. Of course, some songs have never been played live — not even once — so for the purposes of this list, we’re sticking to songs that have, at one point or another, seen a set list. We’re also not counting the times these songs have been played by Styx members at their respective solo shows, only when the official Styx band has played them.

Album: Styx (1972)
Most-played: “Best Thing”
Least-played: “Right Away”

To be fair, Styx’s debut album, released in 1972, isn’t exactly their most cohesive LP. It’s got a bunch of eclectic covers on it, many of which had been suggested to the band by their label. So it makes sense that this isn’t an album they revisit all that often. “Best Thing” is the most-played with 11 performances, most of them in the early ’70s, while “Right Away” managed to squeeze in one performance in 1972.

Album: Styx II (1973)
Most-played: “Lady”
Least-played: “Little Fugue in G”

With their second album, Styx wandered further into the realm of original songwriting, such that only one cover appeared on it, an instrumental titled “Little Fugue in G” which was technically written by Johann Sebastian Bach. It makes sense then that this is the least-played song with one performance at a high school in Wheeling, Illinois in 1973. Meanwhile, the sleeper hit “Lady” has amassed 1,473 plays, and is still consistently included in set lists today.

Album: The Serpent Is Rising (1973)
Most-played: “22 Years”
Least-played: Four-way tie between “Krakatoa,” “Plexiglas Toilet,” “The Grove of Eglantine” and “Winner Take All”

Three months after Styx II came The Serpent Is Rising, which was, commercially, a spectacular flop. Its songs have not made very many set lists — in fact, there’s a four-way tie at the bottom end between  “Krakatoa,” “Plexiglas Toilet,” “The Grove of Eglantine” and “Winner Take All,” all of which have been performed exactly once. Even the most-played song, “22 Years,” only has 14 plays to its name, all of which took place in the ’70s. Some things are better left behind.

Album: Man of Miracles (1974)
Most-played: Tie between “Man of Miracles” and “Rock & Roll Feeling”
Least-played: Three-way tie between “A Man Like Me,” “A Song for Suzanne” and “Golden Lark”

The only studio album whose songs have gotten less overall plays than The Serpent Is Rising is 1974’s Man of Miracles — clearly, Styx was still in search of their sound. Once again, there’s a tie at the bottom between “A Man Like Me,” “A Song for Suzanne” and “Golden Lark” with one performance each. However, there’s also a tie at the top — both the title track and “Rock & Roll Feeling” have been played five times, all of them in 1975 and 1976.

Album: Equinox (1975)
Most-played: “Lorelei”
Least-played: “Prelude 12”

Equinox, released in 1975, is where Styx started to hit a smoother stride. For one thing, it marked the departure of guitarist John Curulewski. Additionally, it contained their second Top 40 American hit, “Lorelei,” which wound up becoming the most-played song live from the album. On the lower end is “Prelude 12,” which has gotten two plays, but has also sometimes been combined with the album’s closing track, “Suite Madame Blue.”

Album: Crystal Ball (1976)
Most-played: “Crystal Ball”
Least-played: “Jennifer”

Not only did Tommy Shaw enter the picture here on 1976’s Crystal Ball, he also sang lead on another Top 40 Hit,  “Mademoiselle.” That’s the second most-played song from the album, but it’s totally eclipsed by the number one song, which Shaw also sang lead on: “Crystal Ship” with 1,087 plays. At the bottom is a Dennis DeYoung-penned song called “Jennifer,” which got one play in Madison, Wisconsin in 1976.

Album: The Grand Illusion (1977)
Most-played: “Come Sail Away”
Least-played: “The Grand Finale”

Out of all of Styx’s albums, The Grand Illusion is the one whose songs have been played the most. Collectively, they add up to 6,957 performances. At the top of that is, of course, “Come Sail Away” with 1,657 plays, which also makes it the single most-played song of Styx’s entire catalog. “The Grand Illusion was the album where the business and music came together for us,” DeYoung said to songwriteruniverse.com in 2017. “But I will add to it, that The Grand Illusion was our best album [Laughs]. So I would say, we had to make our very best album to actually break through.” Even the album’s least-played song, “The Grand Finale,” has gotten 54 plays.

Album: Pieces of Eight (1978)
Most-played: “Renegade”
Least-played: “The Message”

Styx kept the momentum going with Pieces of Eight, which, like The Grand Illusion, went to No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Every single song from this album has been played live at some point, some more than others. “The Message” is the least-played, but has still earned a respectable 19 plays considering it’s an instrumental track, while “Renegade” is the clear top dog with 1,584 plays, a song that Shaw has said “kinda wrote itself.”

Album: Cornerstone (1979)
Most-played: “Lights”
Least-played: “Love in the Midnight”

The only thing better than landing a Top 10 album is landing a Top 5 one. Cornerstone made it to No. 2 in the U.S. and also earned Styx their very first Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. The only song from this album never to have been played live is “First Time,” while “Love in the Midnight” got one performance in 2014, decades after Cornerstone was released. “Lights” takes the top spot with 225 plays and has been played as recently as 2019.

Album: Paradise Theatre (1981)
Most-played: “Too Much Time on My Hands”
Least-played: “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned”

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more successful for Styx, they did with Paradise Theatre, which went to No. 1. And somehow, Shaw has a knack for grasping hit songs out of thin air. The most-played song from this album, “Too Much Time on My Hands,” came together in essentially “five minutes,” as he recalled to the New York Post in 2024. (It’s been played 1,543 times.) On the low end, “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned” has gotten 10 chances on the set list, all of them in 1981.

Album: Kilroy Was Here (1983)
Most-played: “Mr. Roboto”
Least-played: “Don’t Let It End (Reprise)”

Kilroy Was Here was not as successful as Paradise Theatre — and by that we mean it went to No. 3 instead of No. 1, so not too bad. It still contained two hit singles, “Mr. Roboto” and “Don’t Let It End,” which also happen to be the first and second most-played songs from the album with 530 and 89 plays respectively. And actually, “Don’t Let It End” (Reprise) is the least-played song with 65 plays, which isn’t all that far behind the first “Don’t Let It End.”

Album: Edge of the Century (1990)
Most-played: “Love Is the Ritual”
Least-played: “Love at First Sight”

Enter Glen Burtnik, who partook in Styx on and off in the ’90s. He wrote/co-wrote a number of the songs on 1990’s Edge of the Century, including both the album’s most-played song (“Love Is the Ritual,” 76 plays) and least-played (“Love at First Sight,” one play). “There were a lot of things [about touring with Styx] that were great about it,” Burtnik admitted in a 2007 interview with MelodicRock.com. “It’s a great band and I had a lot of fun. They were great gigs and Styx has a great following and a very professional crew.”

Album: Brave New World (1999)
Most-played: “Everything Is Cool”
Least-played: “Number One”

Sadly, drummer John Panozzo passed away in 1996 and in his place came Todd Sucherman. Only five of Brave New World‘s 14 songs have ever been played live. “Number One” is actually number five on that list with just six performances, all in 1999. “Everything Is Cool” holds the top spot with 41 plays, another track penned and sang by Shaw. Unfortunately, Brave New World is notable for being the lowest-charting Styx album since 1973’s The Serpent Is Rising.

Album: Cyclorama (2003)
Most-played: “One With Everything”
Least-played: “Captain America”

Styx’s lineup continued to change as the new millennium began. DeYoung departed the group in 1999, the same year Lawrence Gowan joined. In 2003, Cyclorama arrived, an album that Shaw once said reflected “success” and “rebirth.” Only half of the album’s songs have been played live — so far at least. “Captain America” got one play in Milwaukee and hasn’t been heard since, while “One With Everything” has managed to rack up 122 plays.

Album: Big Bang Theory (2005)
Most-played: “I Am the Walrus” by the Beatles
Least-played: Tie between “I Can See for Miles” by the Who and “Wishing Well” by Free

In 2005, Styx decided to switch things up a bit and record a covers album called Big Bang Theory, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t incorporated these songs in their live shows. The most-played is “I Am the Walrus” by the Beatles, on which Gowan sings lead vocals (268 plays). Like many other artists of his generation, his whole reason for being in the music industry at all could be traced back to the Fab Four. “I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and that’s it, I wanted to be a musician,” he recalled in a 2022 interview. Once again there’s a tie on the lower end, this time between “I Can See for Miles” by the Who and “Wishing Well” by Free with two plays a piece.

Album: The Mission (2017)
Most-played: “Khedive”
Least-played: Three-way tie between “Mission to Mars,” “Ten Thousand Ways” and “Time May Bend”

Together, Shaw and co-producer/engineer Will Evankovich came up with a story for a concept album about a mission to Mars that takes place in the year 2033, aptly titled The Mission. You might think that such a lofty project would be difficult to translate to a live setting but gosh darn it Styx has done it — they’ve played every single song from the album live at least half a dozen times. There’s a three-way tie at the bottom between “Mission to Mars,” “Ten Thousand Ways” and “Time May Bend,” all of which have been played seven times. At the top is “Khedive” with 430 plays.

Album: Crash of the Crown (2021)
Most-played: “Crash of the Crown”
Least-played: “A Monster”

So far, only nine of Crash of the Crown‘s 15 songs have been played live, but we’re willing to forgive that since the album has only been out in the world since 2021. Still, the title track has already gathered up 296 plays, making it the most-played from the album, while the least-played, “A Monster,” has managed to log 10 performances.