Best Eminem Songs: The Tracks That Made [the Former] Slim Shady

Image: Eminem at the Concert for Valor in Washington D.C.; DoD News, Flickr

Eminem revolutionised the rap genre and is widely known as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His catalogue of work boasts many top hits that are beloved to this day, but what are the very best Eminem songs? We list our favourites here.

No one can deny the impact Eminem has had on the rap genre and the importance of the rapper to the music industry in general. There are not many artists who can say they completely changed the landscape of a whole genre as much as Marshall Mathers did.

As one of the best-selling artists of all time with estimated worldwide sales of over 220 million records, it's fair to say that the man once known as Slim Shady has a plethora of top songs that brought about his high level of success and fame.

And that is where the problem lies, as trying to figure out his top 5 songs of all time is an almost impossible feat.

So we’re not doing a top 5, instead, we're doing a top 10 as that is slightly easier, although there are still many great songs that have been left out.

Nevertheless, here are our picks for the 10 best Eminem songs.

My Name Is

An obvious start and an absolute classic, ‘My Name Is’ is the song that essentially kicked everything off for Eminem.

After signing with Dr Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment record label, Mathers brought out ‘The Slim Shady LP’ that featured ‘My Name Is’, as well as other top songs such as ‘Guilty Conscience’ and ‘Role Model’.

It's safe to say that without the album, and in particular ‘My Name Is’, we might not even be writing and reading this list.

Lose Yourself

Going to another obvious pick, ‘Lose Yourself’ seems to be that song that is engraved on every single person's mind from birth.

Coming from the movie ‘8 Mile’ starring Eminem and inspired by his real-life struggles to make it in the music industry, ‘Lose Yourself’ was an instant hit and even won ‘M’ an Academy Award for Best Original Song, becoming the first hip-hop artist to ever win the award.

Even over 20 years on from the film’s release, ‘Lose Yourself’ is as popular as the day it was released.

The Real Slim Shady

While ‘The Slim Shady LP’ introduced the world to the Slim Shady character, it was the 2000s ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ that essentially brought him to the forefront, with ‘The Real Slim Shady’ acting as the anthem for every Eminem stan at the time.

The song’s instantly recognisable beat is a true head-bopper, and the lyrics epitomise everything that Slim Shady was in his full outrageous glory.

‘The Real Slim Shady’ is arguably the song where the character is at his best. Although the next entry may have something to say about that.

Without Me

2002 brought ‘The Eminem Show’ and provided another example of why Marshall Mathers was one of the best in the business at the time.

With multiple hit songs such as ‘Superman’ and ‘Sing For The Moment’, it was ‘Without Me’ that stole a lot of the attention (one entry later on this list may dispute that, however).

‘Without Me’ brought the welcome return of Slim Shady, and once again the scandalous nature of Marshall’s alter ego was on full display, this time creating a sensation that the people needed a little bit of Slim Shady in their life.

Stan

Going back to ‘The Marshall Mather LP’, ‘Stan’ is something of a change of pace from almost everything else Eminem had done.

The lyrics tell a sad story of an obsessed fan writing to the rapper to no response, leading to the fan taking drastic actions. While many believed it to be a true story, Mathers ensured that it wasn’t, but did stress that he did in fact have fans who wrote to him in such a way that was concerning to him.

The chorus is beautifully sung by Dido, but what really brought beauty to the song was when Eminem performed it at the Grammy Awards in 2001 with Elton John.

Till I Collapse

As mentioned before, there was one song that rivalled ‘Without Me’ for the top spot on ‘The Eminem Show’, and that song is ‘Till I Collapse’.

If you find yourself needing a song to pump you up, ‘Till I Collapse’ should be your go-to. The ‘Will We Rock You’ style foot-stomp beat brings the power to the tune, while the bellowing voice of the late Nate Dogg brings the gravitas to produce this hard-hitting tune.

The power of this song is unmatched and should have a solid place in everyone’s gym playlist.

Mockingbird

Slowing down the pace once again, ‘Mockingbird’ is a more emotional song, with no character-playing. It feels like Marshall Mathers at his most vulnerable as he pens a note to his daughter, Hailie.

The lyrics are more heartfelt and describe the struggles he had as an up-and-coming artist trying to juggle his career with his family.

‘Mockingbird’ is a glimpse into the human side of Marshall Mathers, something that he often hid away behind his music and gimmicks.

Not Afraid

2010’s ‘Recovery’ album was the symbol of a new Eminem, one who was now healthy and free from the evils he had experienced from the turn of the millennium till then.

‘Not Afraid’ was the lead single for the album and signified his return, now better mentally and physically than before and ‘Not Afraid’ to move forward as a new artist, one without Slim Shady in particular.

The significance of the song is what makes it so important, with it displaying a different Eminem, and also introduces the album.

Love The Way You Lie

Another hit from ‘Recovery’ is ‘Love The Way You Lie’, Eminem’s first collaboration with Rihanna. The mid-tempo ballad tells a story of a couple’s struggles together as their relationship becomes dangerous.

The collaboration between Eminem and Rihanna seems influenced by their past experiences in difficult relationships, and as such creates a song with passion from both.

The accompanying music video perfectly encompasses what the song is about. Starring actors Megan Fox and Dominic Monoghan, the visuals bring more life to the lyrics and adds another level of dramatics to the song that it benefitted from.

Godzilla

Last but not least, we come to one of Eminem’s more recent track’s. ‘Godzilla’ is nothing more than a display that Marshall Mathers is still very much on top of the rap genre.

The track features the late Juice WRLD and is an absurdly impressive display of M’s unique wordplay and skills on the mic.

‘Godzilla’ was the far-out smash hit from Eminem’s most recent studio album, ‘Music To Be Murdered By’. The album was well received, but was mostly upheld by ‘Godzilla’ and it’s a strong showing that the Detroit-based rapper is number one in the game.

Picking the best songs from Eminem’s career was a difficult task, and there are plenty of others to choose from that could have made the list. It must have been just as tricky for Eminem himself when he was picking the tracks to feature on his latest compilation album, ‘Curtain Call 2’, released in 2022.

The album features all his best tracks from the album ‘Relapse’ up till now, calling back to the original ‘Curtain Call’ album which featured his best hits between 1997-2005.

With ‘Curtain Call 2’ now out, and rumours of Eminem headlining Glastonbury in 2023, there is strong hope that he will announce his first tour since 2019 - and hopefully a full tour this time.

‘M’ has never been one for a full-blown tour, due to the fact that he doesn’t very much like it as well as his daughter Hailie never liking him going away for long periods of time.

However, in the past, he has headlined many top festivals, such as Coachella and Reading & Leeds.

He has also performed at Twickenham Stadium in the UK before, and that is really the level he is at. Even in 2023, Eminem could very easily sell out stadiums around the world, which leads us to believe he could announce a stadium tour in 2023.

This is a very appealing thought and one that would be very welcomed by fans around the world round. If it’s one that interests you, be sure to register your interest in Eminem VIP tickets and hospitality packages, so you can be notified if the rapper does announce any live shows in 2023.

Eminem’s good friend Snoop Dogg is on tour in 2023, bringing his ‘I Wanna Thank Me’ tour to the UK in March. Tickets are available to purchase now.