My 10 Favorite Sarah McLachlan Songs, Ranked
Mom, musician, and Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan has one of the most recognizable voices in music. Here are our favorite 10 songs from the Canadian siren and rockmommy.
#10: “Fallen” (Afterglow, 2003)
The sensual lead single from McLachlan’s fifth studio album Afterglow, “Fallen” unearths a woman who is coming to terms with the mistakes of her past, and trying to find salvation after hitting bottom. The song was released amid the singer-songwriter’s own big life shifts. McLachlan’s mother had died of cancer in December 2001, as she was pregnant with her first daughter, and career angst loomed large. Notably, McLachlan compared Afterglow’s writing process to “extracting blood from a stone.”
#9: “Adia” (Surfacing, 1997)
Co-written by McLachlan and her longtime producer Pierre Marchland, McLachlan’s “Adia” is deeply personal, apparently referencing a complex love triangle. It earned her a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy’s (1999). The video, which begins in front of a wedding dress shop, could hint to the song’s deeper meaning.
#8: “Vox” (Touch, 1988)
“Vox,” which came out at the tail end of the ’80s and is a fitting debut for a singer-songwriter, a mystical folk tune steeped in nature that’s a delight to stream.
[SEE RELATED: My Top 10 Favorite Heart Songs]
#7: “Angel” (Surfacing, 1997)
This power piano ballad is breathtaking and beautiful in its simplicity.
#6: “Fumbling Toward Ecstasy” (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, 2025)
The title track off McLachlan’s breakout 1993 album is possibly its most epic anthem – a tribute to the central theme of facing darkness and choosing to embrace love. As she belts out, “all the fear has left me now, I’m not frightened anymore,” she lures the listener into a state of bliss.
#5: “Gravity” (Better Broken, 2025)
McLachlan’s 2025 album Better Broken offers fresh perspectives from the mother’s vantage point, undergoing the heart-wrenching experience of watching her young adult daughters find themselves. The song “Gravity,” in particular, captures the push and the pull of parenthood. As she sings, “I will be like gravity, always true, I won’t give up on you,” McLachlan is singing for me and mamas everywhere, anchored to our babies even when they grow big.
#4: “Ice Cream” (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, 1993)
This charming, playful little tune gives Fumbling Towards Ecstasy the bit of lighthearted spark it needs, counterbalancing weightier tracks like “Possession.” It’s a real treat, and perfect for a summer or winter day.
#3: “Possession” (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, 1993)
I didn’t know “Possession” was literally about a stalker when I heard it for the first time, and boy, what a nuanced, yet glorious, tune it is about fan obsession. Yet “Possession” is also a double entendre, a song that taps into the idea of having courage to seek out freedom: It’s scary to leave a possessive relationship, but as McLachlan taps into her head voice, belting out, “I’ll take your breath away,” the desire to flee becomes even more palpable.
#2: “Building a Mystery” (Surfacing, 1997)
I can’t listen to this song without recalling the Lilith Fair, which I got to attend (and review as a music critic for my college paper!). Its signature guitar riff is immediate and unforgettable, and the lyrics are relatable: as one reviewer notes, “’Building a Mystery’ taps into the facades people construct; the idealized versions of themselves they present to the world.” Notably, the song is also the anthem for the 2025 Netflix Lilith Fair documentary, starring McLachlan and some of the greatest feminist-folk female musicians of the late ’90s, from Sheryl Crow to Paula Cole.
[SEE RELATED: I Covered the Lilith Fair as a College Journalist — and Now the Documentary is Making Me Miss 1998]
#1: “Into the Fire” (Solace, 1991)
I’ve rarely been so transfixed by a song the moment I heard it, and “Into the Fire” – from the 1991 album “Surfacing” is one of those songs. McLachlan’s song about facing your demons and fears and leaning on The Mother for courage is as inspiring as it gets. It’s hard to put into words how powerful this song is as McLachlan’s voice rises to an achingly beautiful crescendo, carrying a bounty of strength and encouragement to her listener. I just love it so much – I’ll never forget seeing the video one night on MTV at a friend’s house in 1994. It took my breath away and remains my favorite song by the artist to this day.
Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the founder and editor of Rockmommy.
