Killing spree (multiple homicides): Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska.
Outlaw on the run:
Allman Brothers - “Midnight Rider”
Styx - “Renegade”
Serial murder:
Neko Case - “Deep Red Bells”
Bruce Springsteen - “Nebraska”
Serial rape/murder:
Rolling Stones - “Midnight Rambler”
Rape, torture, incest, and murder:
Elvis Costello - “Less Than Zero”
Prostitution:
Lou Reed - “Walk on the Wild Side”
Organized crime:
Bruce Springsteen - “Murder, Incorporated”
Bootlegging/Drug Dealing:
Steve Earle - “Copperhead Road”
Theft of women’s clothing:
Pink Floyd - “Arnold Layne”
Auto theft:
Beastie Boys - “Car Thief”
Assault with eggs:
Beastie Boys - “Egg Man”
Long-term embezzlement of auto parts:
Johnny Cash - “One Piece at a Time”
BTW, is the OP also interested in songs about prison and execution?
I hope so because I’m offering up
Criminal about to be hanged
Renegade by Styx
Pretty good.
One that I don’t think was a radio single
Scream of Anger by Europe
“Another One Bites the Dust,” Queen
Sure, why not.
Well then, how about most of the cuts from Johnny Cash’s Live at Folsom Prisonalbum?
Also:
Humble Pie - “30 Days in the Hole”
Thin Lizzy - “Jailbreak”
AC/DC - “Jailbreak”
Webb Piece and many other artists - “In the Jailhouse Now”
Did I miss it or has no one mentioned “Bohemian Rhapsody” yet?
Robbery & murder – “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” by Grateful Dead; “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde” by Georgie Fame
Murder – “Parchman Farm” by Mose Allison
Robbery – “Muddy Water” by Johnny Rivers
Prostitution – “House of the Rising Sun”
These are just 2 of the 16 tracks on the Cash compilation album Murder, devoted exclusively to, well, you can guess.
Drug use
Cocaine by Eric Clapton
Lit Up by BuckCherry
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mr. Brownstone by Guns N’ Roses
Haven’t seen “underage drinking” yet, so…
“Drunk Teenagers” by the Joel Plaskett Emergency
And how did this thread get here without “Been Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction?
ETA: One more, because I can’t stop listening to this band lately:
Murder and flight from authority: “Killed My Parents and Hit the Road” by The Twilight Sad
Embezzlement, Prostitution, and Armed Robbery (as well as a chorus that encompasses general crime):
Incarcerated:
Sam Cooke - “Chain Gang”
Escaped convict:
Grateful Dead - “Friend of the Devil”
Murder:
The Police - “Murder by Numbers”
Assault and battery:
Ramones - “Beat on the Brat”
Exceeding the posted speed limit:
“I can’t drive 55” - Sammy Hagar
Shoplifting: “Been Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction
Grand Theft, Auto: “In the Street” by Big Star
Homicide: “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles
Spousal abuse and murder:
“Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks.
“Shouldn’t Have Given Him A Gun For Christmas” - Wall Of Voodoo
Robbery:
Tennessee Plates, John Hiatt