All 48 tracks in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits are master recordings of songs previously featured in the first five published games of the Guitar Hero series:
- Guitar Hero,
- Guitar Hero II,
- Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s,
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,
- Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.
"Cult of Personality" is a re-recording performed by Living Colour for Guitar Hero III, while two other songs are taken from live concert recordings; all other songs are based on original studio recordings. Although the game supports user-created songs through the "GHTunes" service (common to Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero: Metallica), other existing downloadable content does not work with Smash Hits. Songs in either the Career single player or band mode are arranged in tiers roughly in order of difficulty for the particular instrument, with different orders for each of the five Career paths. However, all songs are playable from the game's "Quickplay" mode without completing any Career goals. The songs included in the game are as follows.
^a not available as part of the Smash Hits export package but is available as DLC for Guitar Hero 5| Year | Song Title | Artist | Original Game | Vocal Tier/Venue | Exportable to GH5/BH/GHWOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Back in the Saddle" | Aerosmith | Guitar Hero: Aerosmith | 6. Great Wall Of China | No |
| 1983 | "Bark at the Moon" | Ozzy Osbourne | Guitar Hero | 3. Polar Ice Caps | No |
| 1977 | "Barracuda" | Heart | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 5. The Sphinx | No |
| 2005 | "Beast and the Harlot" | Avenged Sevenfold | Guitar Hero II | 7. Atlantis | No |
| 1976 | "Carry On Wayward Son" | Kansas | Guitar Hero II | 5. The Sphinx | No |
| 1987 | "Caught in a Mosh" | Anthrax | Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s | 4. London Sewerage System | Yes |
| 1990 | "Cherry Pie" | Warrant | Guitar Hero II | 6. Great Wall Of China | No |
| 1991 | "Cowboys from Hell" (Live in Moscow 1991) | Pantera | Guitar Hero | 6. Great Wall of China | No |
| 2007 | "Cult of Personality" | Living Colour | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 5. The Sphinx | Yes |
| 1982 | "Electric Eye" | Judas Priest | Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s | 6. Great Wall Of China | No |
| 1973 | "Free Bird" | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Guitar Hero II | 1. Amazon Rainforest | Yes |
| 2006 | "Freya" | The Sword | Guitar Hero II | 4. London Sewerage System | Yes |
| 1977 | "Godzilla" | Blue Öyster Cult | Guitar Hero | 1. Amazon Rainforest | No |
| 1993 | "Heart-Shaped Box" | Nirvana | Guitar Hero II | 1. Amazon Rainforest | Yes |
| 2004 | "Hey You" | The Exies | Guitar Hero | 2. Grand Canyon | Yes |
| 1980 | "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" | Pat Benatar | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 3. Polar Ice Caps | Yes |
| 1982 | "I Love Rock & Roll" | Joan Jett and the Blackhearts | Guitar Hero | 3. Polar Ice Caps | Yes |
| 1984 | "I Wanna Rock" | Twisted Sister | Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s | 2. Grand Canyon | Yes |
| 1974 | "Killer Queen" | Queen | Guitar Hero | 7. Atlantis | Noa |
| 1992 | "Killing in the Name" | Rage Against the Machine | Guitar Hero II | 1. Amazon Rainforest | No |
| 2004 | "Laid to Rest" | Lamb of God | Guitar Hero II | 3. Polar Ice Caps | No |
| 2006 | "Lay Down" | Priestess | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 4. London Sewerage System | No |
| 1979 | "Message in a Bottle" | The Police | Guitar Hero II | 4. London Sewerage System | Yes |
| 2006 | "Miss Murder" | AFI | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 3. Polar Ice Caps | Yes |
| 1997 | "Monkey Wrench" | Foo Fighters | Guitar Hero II | 3. Polar Ice Caps | Yes |
| 1976 | "More Than a Feeling" | Boston | Guitar Hero | 3. Polar Ice Caps | No |
| 1988 | "Mother" | Danzig | Guitar Hero II | 6. Great Wall Of China | No |
| 2002 | "No One Knows" | Queens of the Stone Age | Guitar Hero | 2. Grand Canyon | Yes |
| 1988 | "Nothin' but a Good Time" | Poison | Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s | 5. The Sphinx | Yes |
| 1989 | "Play With Me" | Extreme | Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s | 7. Atlantis | Yes |
| 1990 | "Psychobilly Freakout" | Reverend Horton Heat | Guitar Hero II | 1. Amazon Rainforest | Yes |
| 1986 | "Raining Blood" | Slayer | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 2. Grand Canyon | No |
| 1976 | "Rock and Roll All Nite" | Kiss | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 2. Grand Canyon | Yes |
| 1984 | "Round and Round" | Ratt | Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s | 5. The Sphinx | No |
| 1983 | "Shout at the Devil" | Mötley Crüe | Guitar Hero II | 6. Great Wall Of China | Yes |
| 1973 | "Smoke on the Water" | Deep Purple | Guitar Hero | 6. Great Wall Of China | No |
| 2000 | "Stellar" | Incubus | Guitar Hero | 2. Grand Canyon | No |
| 1990 | "Stop!" | Jane's Addiction | Guitar Hero II | 5. The Sphinx | No |
| 2002 | "Take It Off" | The Donnas | Guitar Hero | 4. London Sewerage System | No |
| 2004 | "Take Me Out" | Franz Ferdinand | Guitar Hero | 1. Amazon Rainforest | No |
| 1992 | "Them Bones" | Alice in Chains | Guitar Hero II | 2. Grand Canyon | No |
| 2006 | "Through the Fire and Flames" | DragonForce | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | 8. Quebec City | No |
| 1992 | "Thunder Kiss 65" | White Zombie | Guitar Hero | 5. The Sphinx | No |
| 1996 | "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" | Stone Temple Pilots | Guitar Hero II | 4. London Seweage System | No |
| 1983 | "The Trooper" | Iron Maiden | Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360) | 7. Atlantis | Yes |
| 1992 | "Unsung" (Live in Chicago) | Helmet | Guitar Hero | 1. Amazon Rainforest | No |
| 2006 | "Woman" | Wolfmother | Guitar Hero II | 4. London Sewerage System | Yes |
| 1981 | "YYZ" | Rush | Guitar Hero II | N/A | Yes |