The most popular song the year you were born

Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, and it’s easy to spend hours reminiscing about days gone by. It’s especially fun to look back at — and of course, listen to — the music that was popular during our childhood. Since 1940, Billboard magazine has been compiling the most widely purchased and played songs year after year. Originally, the Billboard charts ranked songs based on various categories, such as record sales and radio playtime. But in 1958, Billboard unveiled the Hot 100 chart, which compiled those  metrics into a definitive list of the top tunes each year. Let’s take a look back at the most popular songs of each year of the past century, based on these lists and other early data. 

1920’s

The 1920s were the decade in which pop music became a distinct genre of its own. In fact, the term “pop music” was actually coined in 1926to refer to any widely “popular” songs. But given that it was still such a nascent concept, there were no existing methods for tracking a song’s popularity over time. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1930s that anyone compiled an official weekly music chart that took into account sales and airplay. Despite the lack of an authoritative industry list, it’s possible to identify the most popular songs based on contemporary records such as The Billboard theatrical digest and historical compilations that generally reference the same tunes as the biggest hits in a given year. Here’s a look at the top tunes from each year of this formative decade.

1920 — “Swanee” by Al Jolson1921 — “I Ain’t Got Nobody” by Marion Harris1922 — “My Man” by Fanny Brice1923 — “Down Hearted Blues” by Bessie Smith1924 — “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin1925 — “Sweet Georgia Brown” by Ben Bernie1926 — “Bye Bye, Blackbird” by Gene Austin1927 — “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael1928 — “Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)” by Jimmie Rodgers1929 — “Makin’ Whoopee” by Eddie Cantor

1930’s

The 1930s were dominated by legendary artists such as Cab Calloway and Fred Astaire. In 1935, a program called Your Hit Parade debuted on TV and radio, and published the first weekly music chart in the U.S., preceding the Billboardcharts by five years. The list took into account multiple factors such as record sales and total radio plays, and it debuted with “Soon” by Bing Crosby in the No. 1 spot for the inaugural week of April 20, 1935. The top song of the entire decade, meanwhile, was “My Reverie” by Larry Clinton, which stayed at No. 1 for eight weeks in 1938.

1930 — “Happy Days Are Here Again” by Ben Selvin1931 — “Minnie the Moocher” by Cab Calloway & His Cotton Club Orchestra1932 — “Night and Day” by Fred Astaire and Leo Reisman1933 — “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin’ All the Time)” by Ethel Waters1934 — “Moonglow” by Benny Goodman1935 — “Cheek to Cheek” by Fred Astaire1936 — “The Way You Look Tonight” by Fred Astaire1937 — “Once in a While” by Tommy Dorsey1938 — “My Reverie” by Larry Clinton1939 — “Over the Rainbow” by Glenn Miller

1940’s

Billboard unveiled its first music chart in July 1940, and the song “I’ll Never Smile Again” — which featured a young Frank Sinatra on vocals — topped the chart for the first 12 weeks. From 1940 through 1943, Billboard only took into account retail sales for determining the top song, but later years saw the introduction of charts that tracked other metrics, such as total jukebox plays and radio play. Throughout the 1940s, orchestral bandleaders such as Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and Glenn Miller dominated the music scene in terms of retail sales and on-air playtime. Here’s a look at the most popular Billboard songs from the 1940s based on total sales, the one metric that was used throughout the decade. 

1940 — “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers1941 — “Frenesi” by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra1942 — “Moonlight Cocktail” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra1943 — “I’ve Heard That Song Before” by Harry James and His Orchestra with Helen Forrest1944 — “Swinging on a Star” by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and the Williams Brothers Quartet 1945 — “Till the End of Time” by Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra1946 — “The Gypsy” by the Ink Spots1947 — “Heartaches” by Ted Weems and His Orchestra with Elmo Tanner1948 — “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)” by Peggy Lee with Dave Barbour and the Brazilians1949 — “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra

1950’s

The early 1950s continued many of the musical trends from the 1940s, as bandleaders and musical standards continued to dominate the top of the charts — that is, until Elvis Presley showed up and revolutionized the music scene. Elvis topped the charts in both 1956 and 1957, the two years that preceded the first-ever Hot 100 ranking. In 1958, the weekly Hot 100 chart debuted with Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” in the No. 1 spot, though it was “Volare” by Domenico Modugno that ended up being the best-performing song that year, based on the number of weeks it spent on the chart, the number of records sold, and how much airplay it received.

1950 — “Goodnight Irene” by Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the Weavers1951 — “How High the Moon” by Les Paul and Mary Ford1952 — “Cry” by Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads1953 — “The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)” by Percy Faith and His Orchestra featuring Felicia Sanders1954 — “Little Things Means a Lot” by Kitty Kallen with Jack Pleiss and His Orchestra 1955 — “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by Pérez Prado and His Orchestra1956 — “Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis Presley1957 — “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley1958 — “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blue)” by Domenico Modugno1959 — “The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton

1960’s

The 1960s saw a seismic shift in the types of songs people listened to. While the year 1960 saw the orchestral “Theme From a Summer Place” top the Hot 100, it wasn’t long until pop acts began dominating the charts: The Beatles reached No. 1 for the first time with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in 1964, and also produced the most popular song of 1968, “Hey Jude.” Some songs, such as 1965’s “Wooly Bully,” never actually reached No. 1, but still performed better in terms of overall sales and total airplay than any other song that year. By the end of the 1960s, pop and rock music had completely displaced orchestral tunes as the most popular music genres in the country.

1960 — “Theme From a Summer Place” by Percy Faith1961 —  “Tossin’ and Turnin’” by Bobby Lewis1962 — “Stranger on the Shore” by Acker Bilk1963 — “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs1964 — “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles1965 — “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs1966 — “The Ballad of the Green Berets” by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler1967 — “To Sir With Love” by Lulu1968 — “Hey Jude” by the Beatles1969 — “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies

1970’s

The 1970s were a time of rich musical diversity. The decade opened with the folksy vocal stylings of Simon & Garfunkel atop the charts, but by 1979, the Hot 100 was all about powerful drums and raging guitar solos, and the Knack’s “My Sharona” was the most popular song in the decade’s final year. During the years in between, legendary performers such as Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, and Paul McCartney’s Wings topped the charts.

1970 — “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel1971 — “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night1972 — “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack1973 — “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando1974 — “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand1975 — “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille1976 — “Silly Love Songs” by Wings1977 — “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” by Rod Stewart1978 — “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb1979 — “My Sharona” by the Knack

1980’s

Acts such as George Michael, Prince, and the Police dominated the 1980s with their smash hit songs, many of which began to incorporate melancholic themes and relied heavily on minor keys. What’s notable about this decade is that pretty much every one of the top-performing songs continues to get widespread airplay today, proving just how much of an impact the 1980s had on the musical world.

1980 — “Call Me” by Blondie1981 — “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes1982 — “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John1983 — “Every Breath You Take” by the Police1984 — “When Doves Cry” by Prince1985 — “Careless Whisper” by Wham! featuring George Michael1986 — “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne and Friends1987 — “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles1988 — “Faith” by George Michael1989 — “Look Away” by Chicago

1990’s

The 1990s saw the rise of R&B and rap music. Boys II Men topped the Hot 100 in 1992 with “End of the Road,” and 1995 saw Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” climb to No. 1. Meanwhile, Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997” topped the Hot 100 chart as a tribute to the late Princess Diana. In fact, that song is the second-highest-selling physical single of all time, with 33 million copies sold, around 17 million fewer copies than Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

1990 — “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips1991 — “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams1992 — “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men1993 — “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston1994 — “The Sign” by Ace of Base1995 — “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio featuring L.V.1996 — “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los del Río1997 — “Candle in the Wind 1997” by Elton John1998 — “Too Close” by Next1999 — “Believe” by Cher

21st Century

As we push further into the 21st century, we’ve come a long way since the songs of the 1940s. This century has seen an eclectic mix of music top the Hot 100 charts, including the harder rock stylings of Nickelback, hip-hop tunes from Usher, and songs produced by larger-than-life celebrities such as Beyoncé and Justin Bieber. Here’s a look at the most popular songs from each year of the 21st century thus far.

2000 — “Breathe” by Faith Hill2001 — “Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse2002 — “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback2003 — “In da Club” by 50 Cent2004 — “Yeah!” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris2005 — “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey2006 — “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter2007 — “Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé2008 — “Low” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain2009 — “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas2010 — “Tik Tok” by Kesha2011 — “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele2012 — “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra2013 — “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz2014 — “Happy” by Pharrell Williams2015 — “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars2016 — “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber2017 — “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran2018 — “God’s Plan” by Drake2019 — “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus2020 — “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd2021 — “Levitating” by Dua Lipa2022 — “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals2023 — “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen