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Billboard ChartsBillboard is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corp., known for its music charts that rank the top songs and albums in the United States based on radio airplay, physical sales, and streams. It's become the gold standard in the recording industry for what's driving pop culture.
Billboard began in 1894 as Billboard Advertising, a modest, eight-page trade journal for the advertising industry. As the entertainment industry embraced recorded media, the magazine followed and, in 1940, published its first music chart. Over the next several decades, it introduced several new charts (including ones tracking performance outside the US) and changed others' names, indirectly defining the genre lines of American music. Today, the Hot 100, which measures songs, and the Billboard 200, which measures albums, are industry standards.
As technology has evolved, Billboard has periodically revised its methodology to reflect listening habits. The magazine incorporated streaming data into its charts' methodologies in 2007. The change has led to significant changes for the charts, yielding unexpected hits and, in some cases, accusations of manipulation.Explore Billboard Charts
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TikTok isn’t factored into a song’s rank on the Billboard charts, but it can have an impactBillboard ranks a song’s chart position based on its radio airplay, its physical sales, and its streaming numbers (across Spotify and other platforms), but doesn’t include user-generated content, meaning it doesn’t include TikTok videos. Keith Caulfield, Billboard’s managing director of charts and data operations, notes that TikTok still has an impact, though, because listeners will often stream the app’s most popular songs on other platforms. Billboard on the RecordSeveral major artists have embraced manipulating the Billboard chartsBillboard is supposed to be an accurate, objective representation of the country’s listening habits, but artists and their fans have discovered ways to manipulate the magazine’s methodology in order to push tracks to the top of the charts. In 2018, Taylor Swift rewarded fans for purchasing her album multiple times; in 2020, Justin Bieber reposted suggestions that fans repeatedly stream one of his songs while they sleep. The RingerAlthough payola was made illegal in 1960, it likely continued on the Billboard charts through the '70sIn his book “Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves,” music journalist Chris Dalla Riva argues that payola, the music industry term for undisclosed paid publicity, likely continued into the 1970s with the Billboard chart. Dalla Riva cites chart irregularities and reports about Bill Wardlow, Billboard’s then director of sales, who was a known booster for disco label Casablanca Records. Can't Get Much HigherBands largely disappeared from the charts in the 21st centuryChris Dalla Riva analyzed 65 years of Billboard charts and found that bands (even those that don't play instruments) severely declined in the 21st century, largely replaced by solo artists. Can't Get Much Higher'Jazz Samba' is considered the start of the American bossa nova crazeThe 1962 album by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd was an unexpected hit, reaching the top of the Billboard album chart and receiving a Grammy nomination for album of the year. Its lead single, "Desafinado," won the Grammy for best jazz performance and is now considered one of the genre's classic tracks. Everything JazzThe Chicago Bears are the only professional sports team to score a Billboard Hot 100 hitThe 1985 track "The Super Bowl Shuffle" was recorded for charity, but the song (with its rudimentary raps and goofy taunts) became an unexpected hit, reaching No. 41 on the Hot 100 chart. This podcast digs into the history of the song and how it became an unexpected pop culture phenomenon. Good Seats Still AvailableBillboard’s Hot 100 methodology is notoriously privateThe magazine’s singles chart is based on on-demand streams (from platforms like Spotify), digital sales (from stores like iTunes), and radio airplay. Not all of those sources are weighted equally, though—sales are more important than airplay, and airplay is more significant than streams. In 2018, Billboard began weighing streams from premium subscriptions more heavily than free streams (like listening to a song on Pandora). Firebird MagazineMariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' is the longest-running No. 1 singleIn 2025, the 1994 track spent 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song has been a popular Christmas number since its release, but streaming has elevated it to a perennial chart-topper: Every time someone plays the song on a service like Spotify (something that’s likely to happen every holiday season), they’re effectively casting a vote for it to hit the chart. NPRSuperfans of K-pop group BTS gamed the Billboard chartIn 2021, the boy band scored a number one hit with “Butter,” its second English-language track. As Stereogum writer Tom Breihan points out, though, it rose to the top of the charts without actually being the most popular song in the country. Other songs were considerably more popular on streaming platforms, but BTS’ hyperdevoted fanbase realized that purchasing digital downloads weighed more heavily in Billboard’s methodology. Recognizing an opportunity, BTS dropped the price of a download to 69 cents, securing their place on the top of the charts. StereogumSome critics say comparing chart rankings across decades is meaninglessAlthough Billboard’s charts are presented as objective measures of a given song’s popularity, the company’s changing methodology (alongside changes in technology and listener habits) has made weighing chart success from different eras an imperfect science. Penn State UniversityDrake has more top-five Hot 100 hits than any other artistIn 2022, the rapper’s collaboration with DJ Khaled and Lil Baby, “Staying Alive,” reached the number five slot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That was his 30th track to reach the top five, surpassing the Beatles’ record of 29, which they achieved in 1970 with “The Long and Winding Road.” USA TODAYBillboard began incorporating streaming in 2007For nearly 50 years, the Billboard charts primarily relied on radio airplay and retail sales. But in 2007, the magazine began incorporating early streaming services AOL Music and Yahoo! Music into its methodology, and later worked with Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms. A single stream was not weighed as heavily as a purchase of a physical CD or vinyl record. Still, streaming’s impact became evident when songs with minimal radio airplay began climbing the charts, as seen with Baauer’s “Harlem Shake,” which did exceptionally well on YouTube. NPRA technological breakthrough altered how Billboard determined what was popularBefore 1991, retail stores manually reported sales to Billboard, which then used those figures as part of its calculations for its weekly charts. In 1991, the magazine began using Nielsen SoundScan, a technology that tracked every unit sold in participating stores, providing a more accurate picture of what consumers were actually buying. The RingerOne writer traces the evolution of a Billboard chart over 25 yearsBillboard introduced its Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1988, looking to capture the rising popularity of acts like the Cure, REM, and U2. Music writer and Billboard obsessive Chris Molanphy traces the chart from his earliest days through grunge, alternative, and corporate eras, demonstrating just how much taste changes over time. PitchforkMaurice Williams and the Zodiacs' 'Stay' is the shortest song ever to hit No. 1The single reached the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart on November 21, 1960. At just 1:38, it's the shortest number one in Billboard's history. It also didn't last long at the top: It was replaced the following week by Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" BearWalkenBillboard's early music charts were racially segregatedIn 1942, the publication introduced the Harlem Hit Parade chart, listing the top 10 records sold at select record stores in the majority-Black borough of New York. In 1945, it changed the chart’s name to Most Played Juke Box Race Records, using the music industry term (“race record”) that identified recordings by Black artists, even if they played music markedly similar to the white artists on the other charts. University of OregonBillboard's first No. 1 single was Tommy Dorsey Orchestra's 'I'll Never Smile Again'The song was No. 1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Retail Records chart, the predecessor to the Hot 100. The chart only measured record copies sold, excluding other indicators of popularity, like sheet music sales or jukebox plays, that were used on other charts. MrRJDB1969Billboard began as an advertising industry magazineThe magazine was initially “devoted to the interests of advertisers, poster printers, bill posters, advertising agents & secretaries of fairs.” While it occasionally tracked music via sheet music, record, and jukebox sales through the 1930s, it added its first true top 10 singles chart in 1940. BillboardBrowse over a century of Billboard issuesFor a music nerd, there's nothing more fascinating than poring over the Billboard charts from past decades to see how music—and the way it's categorized—has evolved. This digital archive allows you to click through almost every issue of the magazine and, in the process, watch the gradual emergence of nearly every American musical trend of the past century. World Radio HistoryThe artists with the most No. 1 singlesScoring a No. 1 single is a difficult task—less than 4% of the songs that have made Billboard’s Hot 100 chart have ever reached the top spot. This list breaks down the most elite hitmakers in Billboard history, including the Supremes, Taylor Swift, and the Beatles, who released an incredible 20 No. 1 singles. BillboardChris Stapleton's 'Tennessee Whiskey' is the best-selling country song of all timeThe 2015 track has sold over 20 million units in the US, making it the third single to be certified double diamond. (The other two are Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" and Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower.") Stapleton's track is actually a standard that was written in 1981 and recorded by several other artists, including George Jones. Pitchfork'I Will Always Love You' is a widely covered standardThe song has had multiple lives: There’s Dolly Parton’s original recording, which reached the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1974 and then again in 1982, thanks to the soundtrack for Parton’s film, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Then it reached the top of the pop charts thanks to Whitney Houston’s 1992 cover on “The Bodyguard” soundtrack. Popular versions have also been released by LeAnn Rimes, Linda Ronstadt, and Kristin Chenoweth. WhoSampledThe best Dolly Parton songsThe country icon has been recording classics for over five decades, from hits that have topped the pop charts to evergreen standards. This list, compiled by two Billboard critics, ranks the 15 best in her catalog, including “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” along with some deeper cuts like “Two Doors Down.” Billboard'Rock 'n' roll' eventually became 'classic rock'As the 1980s arrived, rock radio began pivoting to the term “classic rock,” allowing them to focus on the Baby Boomer demographic and ignore the still-evolving genre. Since then, “classic rock” remains, though it’s constantly being redefined, due in no small part to its slippery name. Stat SignificantIn 2025, an AI-generated song became a country hitThe song, “Walk My Walk” by Breaking Rust, racked up over 3 million streams on Spotify in less than a month and went to number one on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales in early November 2025. Because the genre prides itself on authenticity and has a long history of workaday songwriters, the song's success was controversial in the industry. Billboard does not currently have a policy prohibiting AI-generated songs. Straight Arrow News'Over the Rainbow' became a widely covered standardJudy Garland’s original 1939 version won the Academy Award for best original song, though it never appeared on the Billboard pop singles chart (which didn’t appear until 1940). Twenty different versions of the song by other artists—including Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, and Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole—have appeared on numerous Billboard charts. Billboard2025 marked the first time in 35 years a hip-hop song wasn't in the top 40The Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 25, 2025, didn't have any rap or hip-hop songs in its top 40 singles, something that hadn't happened since Feb. 2, 1990. One explanation is a Billboard methodology change, and another is Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl." Billboard'The Life of a Showgirl' was Swift's 15th chart-topping albumThat places her second on Billboard's all-time list, though streaming has significantly changed how "sales" are interpreted. Prior to the shift to digital music, Billboard's album chart relied solely on sales of physical units. Since 2014, the chart has also considered streams from services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. BillboardLisa Loeb was the first unsigned artist to top the Billboard chartThe singer-songwriter's single "Stay (I Missed You)" was included in the film "Reality Bites" and included on its soundtrack. Due in part to the success of the film, the song quickly raced up the Billboard Hot 100. Grammy.comTaylor Swift was the first artist to occupy all of Billboard's Top 10Swift's 2022 release "Midnights" led to an unprecedented feat: For the first time in Billboard history, the entire top 10 of the Hot 100 was occupied by the same artist. Two years later, "The Tortured Poets Department" would occupy the first 14 slots on the chart. BBCBob Newhart was the first comedian to have a chart-topping albumIn 1960, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” reached the top of the Billboard charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. A few months later, a sequel, “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!,” was released. Both records occupied the top two spots for 30 weeks, a record that stood until 1991, when Guns ‘n’ Roses released their “Use Your Illusion” albums. Dynamo RevivalBaz Luhrmann's 'Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)' is based on a fake graduation speechThe 1997 song, which was a chart-topping hit in Australia and appeared on the Billboard "Hot 100" in the US, is based on a fake commencement speech written by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich. For a time, many people erroneously believed Kurt Vonnegut gave the speech at MIT's graduation ceremony. Switched on PopThe best female rappers of all timeHip-hop has too many incredible female MCs to name, but this list does an admirable job of ranking the 25 greatest. Along the way, it breaks down how ‘80s artists like MC Lyte and Queen Latifah paved the way for ‘90s innovators like Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill and more contemporary names like Doechii and Micki Minaj. BillboardCountry's popularity skyrocketed in the 21st centuryThanks to the crossover success of '90s artists like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, country music found a larger audience. By the 2000s, the genre was more popular than ever, at times accounting for nearly a quarter of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Stat SignificantSome critics argue that Grammys favor commercially successful artistsFor this two-part series of Slate’s pop music podcast "Hit Parade," pop critic Chris Malanfi looks into the relationship between commercial and critical success and how the Grammys are affected by outside influences like the Billboard Hot 100 chart. SlateWinning a Grammy significantly impacts an artist's sales and streaming2023 album of the year winner Harry Styles returned to the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, with "Harry's House." It's also not just the winners; Grammy performers also get a boost, like the 100% increase in Spotify streams that Bad Bunny's "Después de la Playa" saw after he sang it on the telecast. GRAMMYsTikTok's algorithm has changed the way hits are madeSongs aimed at TikTok's algorithm—designed for viral dances or soundtracking common experiences—often find success on the Billboard charts. An early example was Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," which used his memes and a country-trap beat from the Netherlands to rise to the top of the Billboard charts. The New York Times
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