Ragtime Piano Music
List of 100 Greatest Rags

Two Ragtime piano sheet music covers
Criteria: These Ragtime music piano compositions were chosen as the best examples based on their initial and lasting popularity, impact on other songwriters, originality, and the innovative qualities of the piece.

Background: Ragtime music was a forerunner of Jazz and a child of the African rhythms of "Cakewalk" a pre-ragtime dance form. Ragtime's popularity spanned from c.1895 to 1919. Ragtime was shared by the sale of sheet music and piano rolls used in player pianos. The three most popular composers were Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb.

Greatest Ragtime Piano Music
   Song Title - Composer - year of publication
  1. Maple Leaf Rag - Scott Joplin - 1899
  2. The Entertainer - Scott Joplin - 1903
  3. Mississippi Rag - William Henry Krell - 1897
  4. You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You've Done Broke Down - Ben Harney - 1895
  5. The Cascades - Scott Joplin - 1904
  6. Ethiopia Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1909
  7. Original Rags - Scott Joplin - 1899
  8. Frog Legs Rag - James Scott - 1906
  9. Magnetic Rag - Scott Joplin - 1914
10. The Sporting Life is Sure Killing Me - Ben Harney - c.1890s
11. Charleston Rag - Eubie Blake - 1899
12. The Cake Walk in the Sky - Ben Harney - 1899
13. Combination March - Scott Joplin - 1896
14. La Pas Ma La - Ernest Hogan - 1895
15. 12th Street Rag - Euday Bowman - 1915
16. Shake Yo' Dusters, or Piccaninny Rag - William Henry Krell - 1898
17. Sugar Cane - Scott Joplin - 1908
18. Bohemia Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1919
19. Chicken Chowder - Irene M. Giblin - 1905
20. Climax Rag - James Scott - 1914
21. American Beauty Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1913
22. Louisiana Rag - Theodore Havermeyer Northrup - 1897
23. Fig Leaf Rag - Scott Joplin - 1908
24. Fluffly Ruffles - Cecil Duane Crabb - 1907
25. Strenuous Life - Scott Joplin - 1902
26. Hilarity Rag - James Scott - 1910
27. Peaches and Cream Rag - Percy Wenrich - 1905
28. Wall Street Rag - Scott Joplin - 1908
29. Peacherine Rag - Scott Joplin - 1901
30. The Chevy Chase - Eubie Blake - 1914
31. Roustabout Rag - Paul Sarebresole - 1897
32. Weeping Willow - Scott Joplin - 1903
33. Broadway Rag - James Scott - 1922
34. The Chrysanthemum - Scott Joplin - 1904
35. Dill Pickles Rag - Charles L. Johnson - 1906
36. Cleopatra Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1910
37. Sunflower Slow Drag - Scott Joplin & Scott Hayden - 1901
38. Castle House Rag - James Reese Europe - 1914
39. Champagne Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1915
40. The Baltimore Todolo - Eubie Blake - 1910
41. Elite Syncopations - Scott Joplin - 1902
42. Grace and Beauty (A Classy Rag) - James Scott - 1909
43. Hoosier Rag - Julia Lee Niebergall - 1907
44. Pineapple Rag - Scott Joplin - 1908
45. Don't Jazz Me Rag - James Scott - 1921
46. The Ragtime Dance - Scott Joplin - 1902
47. Top Liner Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1916
48. Temptation Rag - Henry Lodge - 1909
49. Mister Johnson (Turn Me Loose) - Ben Harney - 1896
50. Melody Rag - Raymond Birch (Charles L. Johnson) - 1911
51. Steeplechase Rag - James P. Johnson - c.1914-1916
52. The Dream Rag - Jesse Pickett - 1920
53. Regal Stomp (AKA: Bow to Your Papa) - Jimmy Blythe - 1901
54. Sensation Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1908
55. Great Scott Rag - James Scott - 1909
56. Gladiolus Rag - Scott Joplin - 1907
57. Alabama Dream (Ragtime Cake Walk) - George D. Barnard - 1899
58. New Era Rag - James Scott - 1919
59. Excelsior Rag - Joseph Lamb - 1909
60. Honey Moon Rag - James Scott - 1916
61. Dusty Rag - May Aufderheide - 1908
62. Kansas City Rag - James Scott - 1907
63. Eubie's Classical Rag - Eubie Blake - 1914
64. Junk Man Rag - Luckey Roberts - 1913
65. Tickled to Death - Charles Hunter - 1899
66. Pastime Rag #5 - Artie Matthews - 1913
67. St. Louis Tickle - Theron C. Bennett - 1904
68. Blue Goose Rag - Raymond Birch (Charles L. Johnson) - 1916
69. Powder Rag - Raymond Birch (Charles L. Johnson) - 1908
70. Dixie Blossoms - Percy Wenrich - 1906
71. Freckles Rag - Larry Buck - 1905
72. At a Ragtime Reception - Ben M. Jerome - 1899
73. Silk Hose Rag - Omar Sims - 1916
74. The Ebony Funeral - Carl Lexhoizt - 1894
75. The Thriller Rag - May Aufderheide - 1909
76. Whistling Rufus - Kerry Mills - 1899
77. Music Box Rag - Charles Luckey Roberts - 1914
78. Just Ask Me - Charles Hunter - 1902
79. Rag de Luxe - Elmer Olson & Scott Gowles - 1913
80. Porcupine Rag - Charles L. Johnson - 1909
81. Scott Joplin's New Rag - Scott Joplin - 1912
82. The Aviator Rag - Irene M. Giblin - 1910
83. You May Go, but This Will Bring You Back - Ben Harney - 1897
84. Ophelia Rag - James Scott - 1910
85. Possum and Taters - Charles Hunter - 1900
86. Snowball Babe - Roland Flick -1900
87. Honey Rag - Egbert Van Alstyne - 1909
88. A Tennessee Favorite - P. Emsel - 1899
89. Harlem Rag - Tom Turpin - 1897
90. Corn Shucks Rag - Ed Kuhn - 1908
91. The Smoky Topaz - Grace Bolen - 1901
92. Kismet Rag - Scott Joplin & Scott Hayden - 1913
93. Cataract Rag - Robert Hampton - 1914
94. Chatterbox Rag - George Botsford - 1910
95. Slippery Elm Rag - Emma Biba - 1914
96. Heliotrope Bouquet - Scott Joplin and Louis Chauvin - 1907
97. The Webster Grove Rag - Axel Christensen - 1915
98. Ashy Africa - Percy Wenrich - 1905
99. The National Rag - Ethel C. Schultz - 1908
100. Shake Ol' Brown Rag - R. P. Akard - 1916

Ragtime tune Maple Leaf Rag sheet music cover

Ragtime tune The Entertainer sheet music cover

Ragtime tune Mississippi Rag sheet music cover

Ragtime tune You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You've Done Broke Down sheet music cover

Ragtime tune The Cake Walk in the Sky sheet music cover

Ragtime tune Dill Pickles Rag sheet music cover






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More DigitalDreamDoor Music Lists
Off-Site Ragtime Resources:
• Library of Congress - History of Ragtime
• New World Encyclopedia - Ragtime
• Ragtime - Joachim Berendt - The Jazz Book
• Scott Joplin - the man and his music
• Ragtime Dorian Henry - PDF + MIDI
• America's First Pop Star - YouTube video