Dave and Chuck the Freak

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 05: (L-R) Musicians Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins and Tony Banks pose before talking about their band Genesis during a press conference before the dress rehearsal of the 20 city North American leg of their "Turn It On Again" tour at the Air Canada Centre on September 5, 2007 in Toronto, Canada.

Genesis helped to invent progressive rock. Unlike their peers, they were able to transition to a more streamlined rock sound, dominating rock radio in the early ’80s. And they went on to become pop superstars, while never totally ditching their prog roots.

The members of the most popular lineup: Collins, along with founding members Mike Rutherford (guitar and bass) and Tony Banks (keyboards) wrapped their farewell tour in March 2022. Their final show took place before a sold-out crowd at London’s O2 Arena. As we previously reported, Collins honored the historic moment in dry fashion.

It’s difficult for us to believe that, uh, you still came out to see us!” said Collins. “Yes, after tonight we’ve all got to get real jobs.”

Peter Gabriel was famously in the audience during their final show. Gabriel, of course, was the band’s singer from 1967-1975. So, why did he want to attend the band’s final show?

He explained his decision to Mojo bluntly saying, “Me going was a rite of passage, really. I’d been part of the creation of Genesis, so I wanted to be there at the end.”

To put a capper on the end of the band, Collins and Genesis sold the music rights to their catalogs in September 2022 to Concord Music Group Inc. The sale, which included some of the music of Mike + the Mechanics, was reportedly worth $300 million.

In honor of the band’s incredible legacy, we are ranking their greatest songs, spanning the entire Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins eras. (Yeah, we know about their final album, 1997’s Calling All Stations featuring singer Ray Wilson, and with all due respect, none of those songs make the Genesis top 40). As you’ll see, we love the prog-rock Genesis, but we also love their hits as well. What did we miss? We’re sure you’ll let us know on social media.

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