# Billboard's Top 100 songs of the past 60 years... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938 "2019-01-17T18:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/1 "2019-01-17T18:10:36Z")
The Billboard Hot 100 had its 60th anniversary a few months ago, so BB decided to compile a list of the top 600 songs of that span (1958-2018): > **[Hot 100 60th Anniversary](https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary/)** > > The Greatest of All-Time 60th Anniversary Billboard Hot 100 Songs & Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its Aug. 4, 1958, inception through July 21, 2018). Son… Here is a video compilation (21 min) of the top-100, in case you need refreshing on some of these titles. Questions (really, as the title indicates, focused on the top-100): 1. WTF??? (That’s the usual response to these sort of things, so I thought I’d get it out of the way…) Seriously: 1. What is the highest ranking song which you (never heard)/(have no memory of never hearing)? 2. Who is underrepresented in your view? 3. What is the “That song was THAT popular? Really?” champion in your opinion? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/2 "2019-01-17T18:18:02Z")
To answer my questions: 1. #28, Low, by Flo Rida. Even sought this one out on YouTube, but have no memory of ever hearing this one at all. 1. I was going to say Madonna (0 top-100 songs), but… and I understand it’s a timing (1958-2018) issue… but NO Elvis? Really? 2. If you had come to me and said “John, I’m a Billboard expert and “Smooth” is the #2 song of all time, and LeeAnn Rimes holds strong at #5”, I would have just laughed and laughed and laughed… Was Boyz to Men really that big? I remember all the listed songs, but 3 in the top-100 songs of all time? Ed Sheeren has as much representation in the top-100 as Elvis, Madonna, U2, and Elton John combined. (Elton has 2, but one was a quartet and the other was a remake. None of his original work made it no higher than 192.) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/3 "2019-01-17T18:20:49Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. What is the highest ranking song which you (never heard)/(have no memory of never hearing)? #4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13 and 16. don’t register with me. That’s just from the top 20. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/4 "2019-01-17T18:31:17Z")
Almost certain that you would recognize snippets of #4 - lord knows I hear “Don’t believe me, just watch!” all the damned time outside of the song. Yeah, and #13 was a stunner. I would’ve named two thousand songs before I guessed “Closer” as the 13th biggest song of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/5 "2019-01-17T18:31:21Z")
Of the top 10, I have never heard/heard of 3, 4, 6 and 7. I feel out of touch. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/6 "2019-01-17T18:35:40Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Almost certain that you would recognize snippets of #4 - lord knows I hear “Don’t believe me, just watch!” all the damned time outside of the song. I just listened to it on YouTube. I had maybe heard it once before a while back. It seemed vaguely familiar. Definitely should not be #4. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/7 "2019-01-17T18:41:06Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Definitely should not be #4. I believe the list is an objective ranking by sales, not subjective based on quality. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/8 "2019-01-17T18:42:44Z")
Objective as they could be, given the varying ways Billboard has tabulated the Top-100 over the years. I think they just decided to go by a descending point system where a week @ #1 was 100 points, #2 was 99, #3 was 98, etc. Reading the descriptions, it’s pretty obvious that songs that hung around forever did better than those which shot to #1 and then dropped like a rock. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/9 "2019-01-17T18:46:05Z")
Sorry! Forgot the link for the video compilation! [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doZNCjyV-Js) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/10 "2019-01-17T19:00:32Z")
There’s only one song that I see in the Top 100 that I’m completely unfamiliar with: #30 Next - “Too Close.” I was out of the country from 1998-2003, so that’s my excuse. Otherwise, I recognize everything else (if not always by title–but pulling it up on Youtube, I knew it.) Some surprises: Uptown Funk is really #4? I know it was a popular tune, but it didn’t seem more popular than songs like Blurred Lines (#51) or Happy (#79). I wonder if it has to do a bit with how Billboard tallies the number one hits now, with the pop music scene and the ways of getting to music (radio, streaming, etc.) being so fractured. I am also shocked that “Rush Rush” is Paula Abdul’s biggest hit. I was a Paul Abdul fan during the _Forever Your Girl_ (and she had I think, what four #1s from that album, and two more charters–looke like “The Way That You Love Me” at #3, and “Knocked Out” at #41). And, really, “Rush Rush” is the big one? I’m surprised. I owned _Spellbound_, but it was largely forgettable to me. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/11 "2019-01-17T19:03:02Z")
1. #2. Don’t know how I missed a Santana. Maybe it was on easy listening stations? 2. Elvis 3. Nothing surprises me. The Macarena? Whoomp there it is? Carly rae Jepson? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/12 "2019-01-17T19:09:23Z")
I don’t know if I’m more shocked that the #13 song is “Closer” by the Chainsmokers, or that I’ve never heard it. I kind of hate myself right now. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/13 "2019-01-17T19:13:54Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > 1. Nothing surprises me. The Macarena? Whoomp there it is? Carly rae Jepson? I actually expected to see “The Macarena” in the Top 5, if not 3. I was surprised it was only #8. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/14 "2019-01-17T19:14:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > 1. #2. Don’t know how I missed a Santana. Maybe it was on easy listening stations? That’s pretty weird, man. It was a pretty pervasive song, considering it also featured Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20. It woulda been on every top 40 radio station, not “easy listening.” I’m trying to remember if it was on the alternative rock stations I listened to at the time. Probably not… but man, it was out there. I worked in a movie theater when it came out and it was on the in-house soundtrack. So I heard it about 30 times each shift as I swept popcorn. It’s quite possible that I have a very skewed sense of this song. I also feel that I could play it on guitar without knowing how to play guitar, I’ve heard it so much. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/15 "2019-01-17T19:26:49Z")
I pretty certain I’ve never heard #2 - the Santana track. It’s possible I’ve never heard any Santana track, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/16 "2019-01-17T19:33:41Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > I pretty certain I’ve never heard #2 - the Santana track. It’s possible I’ve never heard any Santana track, to be honest. [“Black Magic Woman”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyQUCYl-ocs), at least? Or [Oye Como Va](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ATTjg7tpE)? But, yeah, “Smooth” was everywhere. I actually didn’t realize until fairly recently (like within the last five years) that it was nominally a Santana track. It was just kind of generic background top 40 Latin-influenced pop rock to me. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/17 "2019-01-17T19:36:54Z")
I was surprised that [Gangnam Style by Psy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0) (aka “Open Condom Style”) never made it to #1 on the Hot 100 chart in the US. But even more surprised it made it to [#1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart](https://www.billboard.com/music/Psy/chart-history/rap-song). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/18 "2019-01-17T19:45:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [“Black Magic Woman”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyQUCYl-ocs), at least? Or [Oye Como Va](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ATTjg7tpE)? Ha, you know what - I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the original Black Magic Woman, but I’ve sure as hell heard umpteen pub cover-bands doing it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/19 "2019-01-17T20:01:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > #4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13 and 16. don’t register with me. That’s just from the top 20. Same exact list for me. Since they didn’t provide links, I wasn’t going to bother to see if I really knew some of them, but just didn’t recognize by name or artist. FWIW, “Smooth” is really more of a Rob Thomas song with Santana being his backup band, than a Santana song. Totally different era, totally different sound from “Black Magic Woman” and the like. ETA: Going through the top 50, I recognized 5 or 6 out of each group of 10. Going through the last 50, it was down to more like 3-5 out of every 10. A lot smaller drop-off than I would have figured. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938/20 "2019-01-17T20:02:43Z")
I did link to a compilation video for the top-100 in post 9 to make searching for these songs easier. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-top-100-songs-of-the-past-60-years/827938.md?page=2)