100 Songs About Getting High From Bob Marley to Modern Rap

Written by Brandon Topp

October 1st, 2025

You're scrolling through another "50 Greatest Weed Songs" list at 10 PM. You realize that "Because I Got High" would absolutely kill the vibe you're trying to create right now.

You came looking for songs about weed. What you're really hunting for is music that feels transcendent when your perception shifts.

Here's the thing nobody tells you. The songs you think of as "stoner music" and the songs that actually sound incredible while high are two completely different lists with surprisingly little overlap.

Your altered brain doesn't care about lyrics celebrating cannabis or which artist smoked the most. It responds to three controllable settings we can adjust like dials on a mixing board.

We're going to show you how energy, texture, and familiarity determine whether a track elevates your experience or triggers that paranoid edge you've learned to avoid. 

Master these three settings, and you can build perfect listening experiences whether you're spinning Willie Nelson or lo-fi beats.

Table of Contents

• The Complete 100-Song List

• The Cannabis Anthems Everyone Knows

• Hip-Hop's Laboratory for Getting the Perfect High Sound

• Rock and Metal's Secret Formula for Stoner Perfection

• Why Willie Nelson and Wiz Khalifa Belong on the Same Playlist

• The Three Settings That Control Your Entire High Experience

The Complete 100-Song List: Organized by Flight Path

Here's the complete list, organized by the four phases of your listening experience. Each track includes energy level and texture notes to help you build the perfect sequence.

Phase 1: Onset Tracks (20 Songs)

Gentle, Familiar, Low Energy

1. Bon Iver - "Holocene" (Low energy, sparse texture) 2. Tycho - "A Walk" (Low energy, warm texture) 3. Mac Miller - "2009" (Low energy, smooth texture) 4. Khruangbin - "People Everywhere" (Low energy, spacious texture) 5. Bonobo - "Kerala" (Low energy, organic texture)

6. Explosions in the Sky - "Your Hand in Mine" (Low energy, building texture) 7. Norah Jones - "Come Away With Me" (Low energy, intimate texture) 8. Iron & Wine - "Naked As We Came" (Low energy, acoustic texture) 9. José González - "Crosses" (Low energy, minimal texture) 10. Cigarettes After Sex - "Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby" (Low energy, dreamy texture)

11. Beach House - "Space Song" (Low energy, ethereal texture) 12. Mazzy Star - "Fade Into You" (Low energy, hazy texture) 13. Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal" (Low energy, harmonic texture) 14. Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago" (Low energy, orchestral texture) 15. The xx - "Intro" (Low energy, sparse texture)

16. Chet Faker - "Gold" (Low-medium energy, smooth texture) 17. Alt-J - "Breezeblocks" (Low-medium energy, unique texture) 18. Men I Trust - "Show Me How" (Low energy, soft texture) 19. Real Estate - "It's Real" (Low energy, jangly texture) 20. Washed Out - "Feel It All Around" (Low energy, nostalgic texture)

Phase 2: Ascent Tracks (25 Songs)

Building Energy and Complexity

21. Tame Impala - "Let It Happen" (Medium energy, psychedelic texture) 22. Thundercat - "Them Changes" (Medium energy, funky texture) 23. OutKast - "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" (Medium energy, horn-laden texture) 24. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Multi-Love" (Medium energy, lo-fi texture) 25. FKJ - "Tadow" (Medium energy, jazzy texture)

26. Caribou - "Can't Do Without You" (Medium energy, electronic texture) 27. BADBADNOTGOOD - "Time Moves Slow" (Medium energy, jazz-fusion texture) 28. Toro y Moi - "So Many Details" (Medium energy, indie texture) 29. Glass Animals - "Gooey" (Medium energy, bass-heavy texture) 30. MGMT - "Electric Feel" (Medium energy, synth texture)

31. The Avalanches - "Frontier Psychiatrist" (Medium energy, sample-heavy texture) 32. Air - "La Femme d'Argent" (Medium energy, smooth texture) 33. Zero 7 - "In the Waiting Line" (Medium energy, downtempo texture) 34. Thievery Corporation - "Lebanese Blonde" (Medium energy, world texture) 35. Portishead - "Glory Box" (Medium energy, trip-hop texture)

36. Massive Attack - "Teardrop" (Medium energy, atmospheric texture) 37. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." (Medium-high energy, varied texture) 38. Daft Punk - "Something About Us" (Medium energy, robotic texture) 39. Justice - "D.A.N.C.E." (Medium-high energy, French house texture) 40. Phoenix - "1901" (Medium-high energy, indie rock texture)

41. The Strokes - "Reptilia" (Medium-high energy, garage rock texture) 42. Cage the Elephant - "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" (Medium energy, blues rock texture) 43. Arctic Monkeys - "Do I Wanna Know?" (Medium energy, heavy texture) 44. The Black Keys - "Lonely Boy" (Medium-high energy, raw texture) 45. Tame Impala - "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" (Medium energy, reverb texture)

Phase 3: Cruise Tracks (40 Songs)

Sustained Vibe Across Moods

Classic Cannabis Anthems:

46. Bob Marley - "Kaya" (Medium energy, reggae texture) 47. Peter Tosh - "Legalize It" (Medium energy, activist texture) 48. Afroman - "Because I Got High" (Medium energy, comedic texture) 49. Cypress Hill - "Hits from the Bong" (Medium energy, bong-sample texture) 50. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - "The Next Episode" (Medium energy, G-funk texture)

51. Snoop Dogg - "Gin and Juice" (Medium energy, laid-back texture) 52. Method Man & Redman - "How High" (Medium energy, duo texture) 53. Luniz - "I Got 5 on It" (Medium energy, bass-heavy texture) 54. Wiz Khalifa - "Black and Yellow" (Medium energy, anthem texture) 55. Kid Cudi - "Marijuana" (Medium energy, introspective texture)

Rock & Metal:

56. Black Sabbath - "Sweet Leaf" (Medium-high energy, heavy texture) 57. Sleep - "Dopesmoker" (Low-medium energy, epic texture) 58. Tom Petty - "You Don't Know How It Feels" (Medium energy, classic rock texture) 59. The Beatles - "Got to Get You Into My Life" (Medium energy, Motown texture) 60. Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb" (Medium energy, guitar solo texture)

61. Pink Floyd - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (Low-medium energy, progressive texture) 62. Led Zeppelin - "Going to California" (Low energy, acoustic texture) 63. Jimi Hendrix - "Little Wing" (Medium energy, electric texture) 64. Grateful Dead - "Ripple" (Low energy, folk texture) 65. Phish - "Bouncing Around the Room" (Medium energy, jam texture)

Cross-Genre & Modern:

66. Willie Nelson - "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" (Medium energy, country texture) 67. Kacey Musgraves - "Follow Your Arrow" (Medium energy, progressive country texture) 68. D'Angelo - "Brown Sugar" (Medium energy, neo-soul texture) 69. Jhené Aiko - "Tryna Smoke" (Low-medium energy, R&B texture) 70. SZA - "The Weekend" (Medium energy, contemporary R&B texture)

71. Frank Ocean - "Pink + White" (Medium energy, ambient R&B texture) 72. Anderson .Paak - "Come Down" (Medium-high energy, funk texture) 73. Tyler, The Creator - "See You Again" (Medium energy, jazzy hip-hop texture) 74. Mac DeMarco - "Chamber of Reflection" (Low energy, synth texture) 75. Miley Cyrus - "Dooo It!" (Medium-high energy, psychedelic pop texture)

Electronic & Lo-Fi:

76. Boards of Canada - "Roygbiv" (Low-medium energy, nostalgic texture) 77. Aphex Twin - "Avril 14th" (Low energy, piano texture) 78. Four Tet - "Angel Echoes" (Medium energy, percussive texture) 79. Caribou - "Odessa" (Medium-high energy, building texture) 80. Flying Lotus - "Do the Astral Plane" (Medium energy, experimental texture)

81. Daft Punk - "Digital Love" (Medium-high energy, disco texture) 82. Moby - "Porcelain" (Low-medium energy, ambient texture) 83. Fatboy Slim - "Right Here, Right Now" (High energy, big beat texture) 84. The Chemical Brothers - "Star Guitar" (Medium-high energy, driving texture) 85. Röyksopp - "Eple" (Medium energy, quirky texture)

Phase 4: Descent Tracks (15 Songs)

Soft Landing, Familiar Comfort

86. Fleetwood Mac - "Dreams" (Low-medium energy, smooth texture) 87. Bill Withers - "Ain't No Sunshine" (Low energy, soulful texture) 88. Frank Ocean - "Nights" (second half) (Low-medium energy, contemplative texture) 89. Daniel Caesar - "Best Part" (Low energy, romantic texture) 90. Gregory Alan Isakov - "The Stable Song" (Low energy, folk texture)

91. Simon & Garfunkel - "The Boxer" (Low-medium energy, storytelling texture) 92. Nick Drake - "Pink Moon" (Low energy, minimal texture) 93. Elliott Smith - "Between the Bars" (Low energy, intimate texture) 94. Ray LaMontagne - "Trouble" (Low energy, bluesy texture) 95. Eva Cassidy - "Fields of Gold" (Low energy, cover texture)

96. Alicia Keys - "Fallin'" (Low-medium energy, piano texture) 97. Lauryn Hill - "To Zion" (Low-medium energy, gospel texture) 98. John Mayer - "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" (Low-medium energy, blues texture) 99. Stevie Wonder - "Isn't She Lovely" (Medium energy, joyful texture) 100. Louis Armstrong - "What a Wonderful World" (Low energy, classic texture)

How to Use This List

This isn't meant to be played straight through from 1-100. Instead, select tracks from each phase based on your session length and desired vibe. For a 45-minute smoking session, pick 3-4 onset tracks, 5-6 ascent tracks, 6-8 cruise tracks, and 2-3 descent tracks. 

For a 90-minute edible experience, double those numbers and extend the cruise phase with your preferred mood.

Remember the three dials. Adjust energy to match your developing state, choose textures that feel comfortable rather than challenging, and balance familiarity with discovery based on your cognitive capacity.

Every track here has been carefully selected because it works in harmony with altered perception rather than against it. Now, let's break down why these songs work and how to use them properly.

The Cannabis Anthems Everyone Knows

What Song Talks About Getting High?

Afroman's "Because I Got High" explicitly describes cannabis effects on daily activities. Bob Marley's "Kaya" celebrates morning consumption, and Peter Tosh's "Legalize It" advocates for legal reform.

However, songs explicitly about cannabis often create worse listening experiences than instrumental tracks without any drug references. These canonical tracks earned their status for good reasons.

Bob Marley's "Kaya" captures that gentle morning float. Peter Tosh's "Legalize It" channels activist energy.

Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" opens with tape-looped coughing that gives you permission to slow down. Afroman's Grammy-nominated "Because I Got High" became a cultural touchstone for how cannabis derails productivity.

When Not to Play These Classics

Here's what the greatest-hits lists won't tell you. These anthems work best as pre-session hype, not mid-experience soundtracks.

"Legalize It" carries confrontational energy that might feel too intense when you want to float. "Because I Got High" works brilliantly for the car ride over.

It works less well when you're trying to maintain a mellow headspace. The coughing intro on "Sweet Leaf" either gives you permission to ease in or reminds you too literally of the physical act.

It depends entirely on your current state. The cannabis anthems serve a specific function.

Reading the Room and Your Own Headspace

They signal to everyone present that this is a cannabis-friendly space. They're cultural markers, permission slips, inside jokes we all recognize.

The mistake is assuming they're also the best listeners once effects kick in. Your altered perception doesn't need songs about the experience.

It needs songs built for the experience. Those are usually hiding in entirely different genres.

Hip-Hop's Laboratory for Getting the Perfect High Sound

Hip-hop producers figured something out in the early '90s that rock bands took decades to understand. You don't make music about getting high.

You make music that feels incredible when you're high. DJ Muggs literally sampled bong water for Cypress Hill's "Hits from the Bong."

He built tracks around how smoking feels rather than what it means. Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" with Snoop Dogg captures that G-funk perfection.

Why Bass Frequencies Matter More Than Lyrics

The bassline hits your chest differently when perception shifts. Nate Dogg's hook on "smoke weed every day" became shorthand for West Coast cannabis culture.

Snoop's "Gin and Juice" maintains that laid-back energy. Chill, not hype.

Method Man and Redman's collaborations prove that two voices trading bars creates hypnotic patterns your altered brain locks onto. 

Luniz's "I Got 5 on It" demonstrates why hip-hop became the default soundtrack for cannabis sessions.

That deep bass doesn't just sound different when you're high. It feels different physically.

Dense Production Creates Physical Sensations

The frequencies vibrate through your body in ways you don't notice when sober. Redman's solo work and the entire Cypress Hill catalog understand this principle.

Dense, textured production with bass you feel in your sternum. This is exactly why Mood's effect-based playlist navigation beats generic "stoner music" compilations.

We organize by how the music feels, not what genre tag it carries. "Hits from the Bong" sits at medium energy with dense texture and high familiarity.

Energy Level Labels That Actually Help

Perfect for social sessions where you want engagement without chaos. "The Next Episode" rides that same medium-high energy sweet spot.

It maintains momentum without overwhelming. Contrast that with Redman's more intense tracks or Cypress Hill's harder cuts, which push higher on the energy dial.

Understanding these distinctions prevents that moment when the wrong song spikes your heart rate. You're suddenly very aware of how high you are.

Rock and Metal's Secret Formula for Stoner Perfection

Black Sabbath didn't just write songs about cannabis. They invented an entire sonic architecture for altered listening.

"Sweet Leaf" opens with that tape-looped coughing, then settles into repetitive, heavily distorted riffs with massive space between notes. That space is the secret.

Why Silence Between Notes Matters

When you're high, the silence between sounds becomes as important as the sounds themselves. Sleep took this principle to its logical extreme with "Dopesmoker."

A single 63-minute track that members recorded while consuming two ounces daily. They weren't singing about the experience.

They were building music from inside it. Slow tempos, groove-laden repetition, and heavily distorted textures that your altered brain can sink into.

The Birth of Stoner Rock

Stoner rock emerged as a distinct genre characterized by these elements. Slower than standard rock, repetitive enough to feel hypnotic, distorted sufficient to create texture density.

Tom Petty's "You Don't Know How It Feels" employed a radio-friendly approach to similar principles. That "roll another joint" lyric survived censorship controversies.

The Beatles wrote "Got to Get You Into My Life" as a love song to cannabis. Most listeners missed the metaphor entirely.

Hidden Cannabis Meanings in Classic Rock

That hidden meaning shows up across their psychedelic era. Songs that feel transcendent without announcing their inspiration.

If you're exploring stoner rock with Mood's THCa flower, start with mellower tracks like "Sweet Leaf" before diving into Sleep's intensity. Our flower becomes more potent when heated, reaching 25-30% THC.

Your altered perception needs time to adjust to heavy distortion and slow tempos. Jumping straight to the dense stuff can feel overwhelming rather than immersive.

Why Willie Nelson and Wiz Khalifa Belong on the Same Playlist

Genre boundaries exist for record stores and streaming algorithms, not for your altered brain. 

Willie Nelson's "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" shares more DNA with Wiz Khalifa's catalog than either artist shares with their supposed genre peers.

Texture and energy trump genre labels every single time. Kacey Musgraves' "Follow Your Arrow" captures that same casual acceptance of cannabis culture.

R&B and Country Share More Than You Think

Whether you file it under country, pop, or Americana doesn't matter. D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" and Jhené Aiko's "Tryna Smoke" demonstrate how R&B grooves create sustained, sensual textures.

Perfect for that cruise phase of your experience. Missy Elliott's "Pass That Dutch" and Cab Calloway's 1932 "Reefer Man" sit 70 years apart.

They work on the same playlist because they match energy and texture requirements. The finger-picking in country tracks prevents monotony when mixed with R&B grooves.

Crossing Genres Without Causing Whiplash

Different enough to stay interesting, similar enough in tempo and feel that transitions don't spike your nervous system. 

This is exactly why Mood's 11 mood-based playlists beat single-genre compilations.

Creative, Aroused, or Classic High, we understand that your altered brain responds to feeling, not tags.

Jazz musicians were singing about "reefer" before most current genres existed. Country artists from Willie to Toby Keith have chronicled cannabis use for decades.

Cannabis Culture Spans All Musical Territories

Hip-hop made it central to the culture. R&B wove it into songs about intimacy and relaxation.

The through-line isn't genre. It's understanding how to build music that works with altered perception rather than against it.

The Three Settings That Control Your Entire High Experience

What Is the Best Song to Listen to When High?

No single song works universally because altered perception responds to three variables. Energy level, texture density, and familiarity quotient.

Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" suits introspective sessions. Cypress Hill's "Hits from the Bong" matches social energy.

Individual tolerance and setting determine optimal choices. Here's the framework that changes everything.

Forget about finding perfect songs and start thinking about three dials you can adjust. Think of them like controls on a mixing board.

Dial 1: Energy

Energy runs from whisper-quiet ambient to full-throttle metal. Your altered state amplifies whatever energy level you choose.

Mellow tracks feel more relaxing. Intense tracks feel more overwhelming.

Most people instinctively start low and gradually increase. They match the music's energy to their developing headspace.

Jumping straight to high-energy tracks when effects are just beginning often creates that racing-heart sensation. You're trying to avoid that feeling.

Dial 2: Texture

Texture describes sound density and complexity. Sparse, minimalist tracks give your altered brain room to breathe and fill in spaces.

Dense, layered production creates immersive walls of sound that you can sink into. Smooth textures feel comforting.

Jagged, aggressive textures can enhance or overwhelm depending on your state. It varies person to person and session to session.

Dial 3: Familiarity

Known favorites require almost zero mental effort. You can sink into them without processing anything new.

Challenging new sounds demand attention and cognitive engagement. That might feel like work when you'd rather float.

The sweet spot often sits in the middle. Songs you've heard enough to recognize but not so often that every note feels predictable.

How Mood's Playlists Use These Three Dials

This is exactly how Mood's 11 curated playlists work. We've done the dial-adjusting for you.

We created ready-made combinations of energy, texture, and familiarity that match different intentions. Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" runs low energy, rich texture, high familiarity.

Perfect for introspective solo sessions. Cypress Hill's "Hits from the Bong" operates at medium energy, dense texture, high familiarity.

Putting the Three Dials Together

Ideal for social gatherings where you want engagement without intensity. Understanding these three settings means you can evaluate any song for high-listening potential.

Does it match your current energy level, or will it spike you into discomfort? Is the texture sparse enough to feel spacious or dense enough to feel immersive?

Do you need the comfort of familiarity or the engagement of discovery? These questions guide every song choice.