Fifty years ago, disco was dominating nightclubs, punk had emerged from underground, and the nascent hip-hop scene was budding in the Bronx. Stevie Wonder released his masterpiece album Songs in the Key of Life, and the Eagles delivered their hit Hotel California. Not a bad time to have a set of ears.
Since then, genres have morphed and tech has evolved, but our passion for music arguably hasn’t waned — even as newer forms of media compete for our attention. Research conducted by The Harris Poll in 2021 found that 72% of adults listened to music, and about 90% of TikTok and Snapchat users listened at least once a day. A lot of what we jam to is brand-new, but favorites from prior eras rack up the streams, too.
Compiling an exhaustive list of top-performing songs from the past 50 years would be a Herculean task, as there are myriad metrics to consider: weeks at No. 1, music video plays, Grammy wins, sheer cultural impact. Still, because looking back on an art form is a great way to feel inspired about its future, we went ahead and selected a couple of the biggest hits from each decade.
Nearly all such roundups inevitably inspire indignation (“How could you not include ____?!”), but we’re willing to wade through those contentious waters to bring you at least a sampling of impactful tunes. Take a stroll through music history with us.
1970s
ABBA, “Dancing Queen” | 1976
Since our aim is to cover 50 years of music, we’re going to skip over the first half of the ’70s (apologies to “Stairway to Heaven,” “What’s Going On,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and focus on hits from 1976 onward.
As mentioned, disco was thriving that year, and ABBA delivered one of the genre’s most enduring anthems. “Dancing Queen” was released as a single in Sweden before topping the charts in over a dozen other countries. It became ABBA’s first and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining in the top spot for one week. It’s considered by many to be one of the greatest pop songs of all time.
Debby Boone, “You Light Up My Life” | 1977
This history-making track was the first single to spend 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who couldn’t sing its chorus today. The daughter of ’50s and ’60s crooner Pat Boone, Debby earned a Grammy for best new artist in 1978 and went on to build a successful career in gospel music.
Honorable mentions: “Stayin’ Alive” (Bee Gees), “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor), “Silly Love Songs” (Wings), “Heroes” (David Bowie)
1980s
Olivia Newton-John, “Physical” | 1981
Olivia Newton-John’s risqué pop track spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the longest of any tune that decade. It’s the sixth song on her LP of the same name, for which the Australian singer created a pioneering video album featuring a music video for every track, winning her the second-ever video of the year Grammy in 1983.
Prince, “When Doves Cry” | 1984
Some say 1984 was the best year in pop history, while others argue 1987 takes the cake. The former gave us this hit off Prince and the Revolution’s album Purple Rain, which spent “an astonishing” 24 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while the latter annum welcomed Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” which wins in the category of songs most often played at weddings (seriously).
Honorable mentions: “Thriller” (Michael Jackson), “Every Breath You Take” (The Police), “Just Like Heaven” (The Cure), “Straight Outta Compton” (N.W.A), “Like a Prayer” (Madonna)
1990s
Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” | 1991
Nirvana’s second studio album, Nevermind, started out at No. 144 on the Billboard 200 when it was released in September 1991 but quickly moved from alternative circles into mainstream consciousness, hitting No. 1 by the following January. The single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and remains the band’s biggest commercial hit. This year, Collider ranked the song’s video as the greatest rock music video of all time.
Coolio, “Gangsta’s Paradise” | 1995
The first rap songs to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 came out in the ’90s, and “Gangsta’s Paradise” held the top spot for three weeks, leading the year-end ranking. Over 25 years later, in 2022, its music video surpassed 1 billion plays on YouTube. Dozens of other rap tracks made their cultural mark in this decade as well, including 2Pac’s “California Love,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 two months before his death in 1996.
Honorable mentions: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” (Los Del Río), “Wonderwall” (Oasis), “Candle in the Wind (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (Elton John)
2000s
Mariah Carey, “We Belong Together” | 2005
Spending 14 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, “We Belong Together” — from her 10th album, The Emancipation of Mimi — is one of Mariah Carey’s biggest hits of the aughts and tied with Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” for the decade’s longest No. 1 run. (Trivia: While Carey’s 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has racked up 22 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, it didn’t land there until 2019.)
Beyoncé, “Irreplaceable” | 2006
This breakup track from Beyoncé’s 25th birthday celebration album, B’Day, marked her fourth No. 1 hit as a solo artist, having branched out from Destiny’s Child in 2002 with debut single “Work It Out.” This year, a Spanish-language version of “Irreplaceable” was included on a deluxe 20th-anniversary edition of the record.
Honorable mentions: “In Da Club” (50 Cent), “Breathe” (Faith Hill), “Toxic” (Britney Spears), “Boom Boom Pow” (Black Eyed Peas)
2010s
Adele, “Rolling in the Deep” | 2010
Following up her 2008 debut LP, 19, Adele released 21, which featured megahits like “Someone Like You” and “Set Fire to the Rain.” The Grammy-winning album set 12 records, including making the singer the first woman to have three hits in the top 10 at the same time — the two just mentioned and “Rolling in the Deep,” which spent seven weeks at No. 1 and was Billboard’s 2011 year-end single.
Lil Nas X, “Old Town Road” | 2018
Lil Nas X broke through in a manner befitting the late 2010s: on TikTok. After independently releasing his single “Old Town Road,” it blew up on the social platform. He landed a deal with Columbia Records and released a remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus in 2019. The track then catapulted to No. 1 on the Hot 100 and stayed there for a record 19 weeks.
Honorable mentions: “Born This Way” (Lady Gaga), “Uptown Funk” (Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars), “God’s Plan” (Drake)
2020s
Taylor Swift, “Cardigan” | 2020
Taylor Swift has topped the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 over a dozen times each since 2008, and with this track from the album Folklore, she made history as the first artist to debut in the top spot on both charts the same week.
Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas” | 2025
Thought we weren’t going to talk about any country songs? Ella Langley’s toe-tapper doesn’t just have sworn haters of the genre bopping along — it also just broke the record for most nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, dethroning the aforementioned “All I Want for Christmas Is You” with 23 weeks in the top spot. Yee-haw!
Honorable mentions: “Blinding Lights” (The Weeknd), “Espresso” (Sabrina Carpenter), “Die With a Smile” (Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars)
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