Top Ten

1995 Music Hits: Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop, Dance Pop, R&B, Adult Rock, Britpop, Post-Grunge, and Mid-1990s Favorites 1995 music had the mid-1990s in full swing. Alternative rock was still huge, hip-hop was becoming more central to pop culture, R&B vocal groups dominated radio, dance-pop kept clubs and school dances busy, and adult rock filled the space […]

1966 Music Hits: Motown, Soul, Garage Rock, British Invasion, Folk-Rock, Adult Pop, Dance Hits, and Classic 1960s Favorites 1966 music was one of the great turning-point years of the 1960s. Adult pop still had elegance; Motown and soul were running hot; garage rock was getting fuzzier and louder; folk-rock was blooming; and British Invasion bands

1996 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, Britpop, Movie Songs, and Mid-1990s Favorites 1996 music was one of the most recognizable mid-1990s years. Dance-pop was still huge, alternative rock was everywhere, hip-hop and R&B were getting stronger, Britpop crossed into American awareness, and movie songs still had major radio power. The biggest 1996

1956 Music Hits: Elvis Presley, Rock and Roll, Doo-Wop, R&B, Country Crossover, Adult Pop, and Early Oldies Classics 1956 music was the year rock and roll fully kicked open the door. Elvis Presley crossed pop, R&B, and country in a way no one had quite done before, while Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Frankie Lymon, Fats

2002 Music Hits: Pop-Punk, Hip-Hop, R&B, Dance Pop, Teen Pop, Alternative Rock, Nu-Metal, and Early-2000s Favorites 2002 music sat right in the middle of the early-2000s handoff. Teen pop was still around, pop-punk and emo-friendly rock were rising, hip-hop and R&B were dominating radio, dance remixes had major pop life, and American reality-TV music was

2003 Music Hits: Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop-Punk, Garage Rock, Dance Hits, Adult Pop, Alternative Rock, and Early-2000s Favorites 2003 music was one of the early-2000s years where everything seemed to happen at once. Beyoncé became a major solo star, 50 Cent changed hip-hop’s center of gravity, crunk and club rap got louder, pop-punk stayed busy, garage-rock

2004 Music Hits: Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop Rock, Alternative Rock, Dance Hits, Country Crossover, and Early-2000s Favorites 2004 music was one of the clearest early-2000s crossover years. Hip-hop and R&B dominated pop radio, alternative rock had a major revival through The Killers, Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, and Green Day, country crossed into wider pop culture, and

2006 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Disney Pop, Emo Rock, Alternative, Album Rock, and Mid-2000s Favorites 2006 music was peak mid-2000s crossover chaos in the best possible way. Hip-hop, R&B, dance-pop, emo rock, Disney Channel pop, ringtone rap, and arena-ready alternative songs all shared space on radio, iPods, MySpace pages, and early YouTube clips.

1967 Music Hits: Soul, Psychedelic Rock, San Francisco Sounds, Motown, Bubblegum Pop, Dance Hits, and Classic 1960s Favorites1967 music was one of the biggest turning points of the 1960s. Soul music was powerful, Motown was polished, psychedelic rock was breaking into the mainstream, San Francisco bands were becoming national names, and pop radio still had

2007 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Ringtone Rap, R&B, Emo Pop, Teen Pop, Alternative Rock, Country Crossover, and Late-2000s Favorites 2007 music was packed with ringtone rap, dance-pop, R&B, emo-pop, Disney-driven teen pop, indie crossover, and big country-pop moments. It was a year when a song could break through on radio, YouTube, MySpace, Disney Channel, MTV,

2008 Music Hits: Dance Pop, R&B, Teen Pop, Indie Crossover, Alternative Rock, Album Rock, and Late-2000s Favorites 2008 music was a late-2000s collision of dance-pop, R&B, teen pop, indie crossover, pop-rock, and hard rock. The club sound was getting bigger, Disney and teen-pop acts were still strong, indie artists were sneaking into mainstream playlists, and

1958 Music Hits: Rock and Roll, Doo-Wop, Novelty Songs, Instrumentals, Dance Records, and Pop Favorites 1958 music had one foot in clean-cut pop and the other tapping hard into rock and roll, doo-wop, novelty records, and instrumental hits. This was the year of Tequila, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Rumble, Fever, Get a

1969 Music Hits: Soul, Rock, Bubblegum Pop, Woodstock, Funk, Pop Ballads, and Late-1960s Classics 1969 music sounded like the end of one decade and the beginning of several new ones at the same time. AM radio still loved bright pop hooks and bubblegum singles, but FM radio was pushing album rock, blues-rock, psychedelic sounds, jazz-rock,

2011 Music Hits: Dance-Pop, Adele Ballads, EDM, Bubblegum Pop, Alternative Rock, and Big Radio Anthems 2011 music sounded like a dance floor, a breakup playlist, a YouTube rabbit hole, and a festival field all fighting for the aux cord. Pop radio was packed with club-ready hooks, Adele turned heartbreak into a global event, Rihanna and

2000 Music Hits: TRL Pop, Rap Crossover, Dance Imports, Nu Metal, Post-Grunge, Country-Pop, and Y2K Radio Favorites 2000 music sounded like the future had arrived, wearing frosted tips, cargo pants, and a suspicious amount of lip gloss. Pop radio was packed with teen-pop groups, dance imports, rap crossover hits, post-grunge rock, country-pop ballads, nu metal,

1970 Music Hits: Soul, Bubblegum Pop, Early Hard Rock, Singer-Songwriters, AM Radio Favorites, and the Start of the 1970s Sound 1970 music sounded like a decade changing its clothes in public. The Beatles were ending, The Jackson 5 were exploding, The Carpenters were bringing soft-pop polish to radio, hard rock was getting louder, soul and

1981 Music Hits: Arena Rock, New Wave, Funk, Soft Rock, Country-Pop, Early MTV, and Radio Classics 1981 music sat right at the edge of the MTV era. Radio was still king, but music was about to become much more visual. Arena rock was huge, post-disco funk still had power, new wave was growing, country-pop crossed

1959 Music Hits: Doo-Wop, Rock and Roll, Teen Idols, R&B, Instrumentals, Pop Ballads, and the Day the Music Died1959 music stood at a turning point in early rock and roll. The first wave of rock stars had already changed pop radio, but the year also carried a sense of loss after the plane crash that

2001 Music Hits: TRL Pop, Dance Songs, Pop-Punk, Nu Metal, Post-Grunge, R&B, and Early-2000s Radio Favorites 2001 music sounded like MTV’s Total Request Live, pop-punk guitars, shiny dance-pop, R&B hooks, nu-metal angst, post-grunge radio, and the last stretch of the CD era, all sharing one oversized entertainment center. The year had bright party records, heavy

1971 Music Hits: Singer-Songwriters, Soul Classics, FM Rock, Bubblegum Pop, Protest Songs, and Early-1970s Radio Favorites 1971 music sounded like the 1970s had officially moved in, unpacked the record collection, and put the lava lamp near the stereo. Singer-songwriters were everywhere, soul music was becoming deeper and more cinematic, FM rock was growing in importance,

1997 Music Hits: Pop Rock, Hip-Hop, Dance Hits, Ska, Bubblegum Pop, Alternative Radio, and Late-1990s Favorites 1997 music sounded like the late ’90s had found its own strange, colorful rhythm. Pop radio had singer-songwriters, ska bands, dance-club crossovers, post-grunge rock, hip-hop blockbusters, teen-pop previews, and novelty hits that were almost impossible to escape. If a

1987 Music Hits: Big ’80s Pop, Dance Hits, Hair Metal, Hip-Hop, Freestyle, Alternative Rock, and MTV Favorites1987 music sounded like the 1980s had reached full neon brightness. Pop radio was huge, MTV still shaped what songs looked like, hair metal and arena rock were loud, freestyle dance records were filling clubs, hip-hop was pushing further

1960 Music Hits: The Twist, Doo-Wop, Teen Idols, Elvis, Instrumentals, Novelty Songs, and Early Soul 1960s music stood at a turning point between the first rock and roll explosion of the 1950s and the massive pop changes still to come in the early 1960s. The Beatles had not yet arrived in America, Motown was still