We have to start this list with arguably the biggest cover performance of this song ever, when Prince played “Best of You” during his halftime set at the 2007 Super Bowl. Dave Grohl has gone on record as calling the Prince cover his “proudest musical achievement.” “I was watching the greatest living performer known to man sing my song to 100 million people as if it were his own (and it goes without saying, much better than I ever could),” stated Grohl. The surprise cover came several years after the Foo Fighters had a hit with their cover of the Prince song “Darling Nikki.”

Prior to releasing his debut solo album in 2020, Corey Taylor’s solo shows often consisted of a number of cover songs. While on the road in 2016, Taylor shared his love for the Foo Fighters classic with the audience, though admitting his initial trepidation about taking it on. Performing solely with an acoustic guitar, Taylor lets his powerful vocals lead the way as the audience can be audibly heard singing along in this fan-shot video.

Global pop star Anastacia decided to record an album of covers for her fifth studio album, It’s a Man’s World. Her version of the Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” gave her a chance to showcase her rock side a little more, capturing the raw power and vulnerability of her voice all in one fell swoop. The song was released in 2012 complete with a professionally shot video.

The pandemic of 2020 gave rise to a bunch of socially distanced covers. One act taking advantage of the extra time and video technology was rising U.K. rock outfit Mason Hill. While many of the covers on this list lean acoustic, this is one of the more rocking releases you’ll find. Singer Scott Taylor goes for it vocally matching Dave Grohl’s original take while the band powers through the backing for a rocked out version.

Radio appearances often give bands a chance to pull out special performances, and during a 2013 appearance on Irish radio host Rick O’Shea’s show, Welsh alt-rock hitmakers Stereophonics trotted out a stripped-back version of the Foo Fighters “Best of You.” Slowing the tempo considerably, singer Kelly Jones delivers a beautifully melancholic and vulnerable vocal performance.

Amanda Brown has enjoyed quite a varied experience in music, singing as a backing vocalist for Alicia Keys and Adele, opening shows for The Killers as a solo artist and enjoying a successful run on The Voice where she let her rock side show on performances of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again.” This Foo Fighters cover, released in 2014, lets Amanda’s powerful and soulful vocal take the lead, accompanied by a solitary acoustic guitar.

In this collaborative effort, Canadian vocalist Lauren Babic of Red Handed Denial and Crazy Eighty Eight pairs up with Arizona metal outfit Halocene for a fairly faithful rendition of the Foo Fighters’ classic. Their rendition allows both Babic and Halocene vocalist Addie Amick to embody the grit of Dave Grohl’s vocal in parts while showing off their cleaner power vocals as well. The collaboration worked so well that they also covered Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender” as well.

Siblings Alejandro, Fabian and Daniel Manzano started garnering notice as a covers band before graduating to releasing original music. In 2011, the trio issued their New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 2 collection featuring their stripped down, piano centric cover that essentially serves as a showcase for Alejandro. One of the key things that connects “Best of You” with listeners is the raw vulnerability of the track, and Alejandro’s version shows you can accomplish this with a clean, heartfelt vocal just as easily as with the pure aggression that the original entails.

Rock doesn’t often get a spotlight on singing competition shows, but Diogo Correia brought it while appearing on the Portuguese version of The Voice. Armed with an acoustic guitar and his raspy voice, he earned only a solitary chair turn though several of the coaches seemed fully entertained by the performance.

Emily Hearn and her band also take on the Foo Fighters favorite, giving it a more acoustic performance. Sitting in the round with her band in a dimly lit space, the performance gives off a campfire vibe. What separates this from some of the other performances in this group is the beautiful break in Hearn’s vocal, the occasional harmonizing with her band and some of vocal approach choices that put their own stamp on this cover.

Jota John has gained notoriety on YouTube for using his raspier vocal to cover acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Linkin Park among others. This home-shot performance is pretty faithful to the original with the singer using an acoustic guitar and letting the power of his voice on “Best of You” lead the way.

British pop-rock and country vocalist Lianne Kaye took on Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” in a YouTube performance shot from home, breaking out the acoustic guitar and breaking down the arrangement a bit. Strummy guitar playing highlights the early half of the cover, allowing for Kaye to show some of the track’s power, but this cover thrives when she hits the brakes a bit at the end, pulling back the pacing for a tender and heartfelt finale. Her recorded cover of this appears on her 2016 collection, Covers, Vol. 1.

Pakistani band Madlock took on the Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” in 2016, delivering a pretty faithful and fully electric version of the song. The group rose to fame thanks to their participation in a Pepsi Battle of the Bands and they’ve also covered Nirvana. Singer Mehroze Gillani also gets bonus point for his look in this video, sporting a red and black flannel with stringy black hair the mostly covers his face, baring a resemblance in part to Dave Grohl.

For this cover, Argentinian singer-guitarist-producer Ricky Vadala takes us beachside with fellow singer Mila Colomer, who keeps the beat on a Cajon box drum. Though staying mostly faithful to the original, Vadala puts his own stamp on a guitar solo and the pair truly deliver a strong duet that accentuates both their voices.

Just about anything can be a dance hit. Need proof? In 2021, Razihel provided an electro remix of “Best of You.” Utilizing the song’s beat, adding electro-infected vocals and throwing on some electronic flourishes, “Best of You” is now dance club ready.

Perhaps the softest of the “Best of You” covers, folk artist Arianne Ruas gives this acoustic cover a tender and airy vocal approach while playing acoustic guitar.

It’s rare that bassists are in the spotlight and it’s easy to see with the guitar power, Taylor Hawkins’ drumming and Dave Grohl’s vocals where Nate Mendel’s bass could get a little lost if you weren’t trying to focus on it. But YouTuber Pook Low End rectifies that a bit with his bass cover of “Best of You.” Admittedly, the musician reveals that he added his “own changes here and there,” but what’s not lost is what a fun song this must be to play for Mendel and his cohorts.

We’ve showcased a bass cover of “Best of You” so it’s only fair to give the guitar some love as well. YouTuber Junin Cantador breaks out a couple of guitars while showcasing his playing on the Foo Fighters favorite, and he gets bonus points for using a Fender Chris Shiflett Telecaster Shoreline Gold as one of the featured instruments in the performance.

…. And completing the instrumental covers, we’re giving viewers a chance to check out YouTube favorite Meytal Cohen pounding away on the drums. With Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins in Foo Fighters, drums will likely never be too far from the spotlight and here Meytal gets a chance to enjoy one of the song’s more cathartic moments with Hawkins’ increasingly prominent drum part.

And now for something a little different. The Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” helps provide the musical backing for a parody, as in 2020 Crowder used the political news cycle as inspiration for a Donald Trump-centric take off. The parody did not prove prophetic, however, as the song predicting a second term for the former president ended up being “fake news.”