Have you ever been haunted by the feeling you’ve heard a song somewhere before when there’s absolute certainty you couldn’t have? We’ve all shouted with exclamation “Gosh, these sound exactly the same!”. Unless you’ve spend your life in an igloo, you’re probably already aware that this is, in fact, a thing in the music industry. But accidents do happen and there are only so many ways to combine tones and make them sound like music. Because “rip-off” is a bad thing to say, we’re just going to leave this painful subject alone for now and concentrate on songs that might or might have not been VERY influenced by other songs. We’ll give you some examples, then it’s your call – no questions asked, alright?

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not suggesting theft by any of the listed songwriters. A one-note difference in a chord progression could be a minor thing or a world of difference, depending on how you look at it. Some songs, however, sound suspiciously similar. Although a lot of the listed authors have never gone through an actual lawsuit, many of their songs, even if they’re in different keys, often share the same general feel and flow.

For this list we’re excluding cases of sampling, of course, although some of our suggestions will make you believe otherwise. Some of the bands listed here were openly inspired by other musicians and have stated so numerous times. Whether that’s real credit or a cheap way to get out of a legal conflict, you decide. Anyway, here are some songs that are not really rip-offs but sound very much alike:

Shania Twain/Abba

Lady Gaga/Madonna

Tom Petty/Red Hot Chili Peppers

Green Day/Chicago/Led Zeppelin

Green Day/The Kinks

The Offspring/The Beatles

One Direction/The Who

One Direction/The Clash

Kelly Clarkson/Beyoncé

Gorillaz/U2

Jet/Iggy Pop

Sublime/The Beatles