Top Ten

1991 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Hip-Hop, New Jack Swing, Alternative Rock, R&B, Pop Rock, Power Ballads, and Early-1990s Favorites 1991 was a major turning point in music. Dance-pop, new jack swing, adult contemporary, hip-hop, and pop-rock were still dominating radio, but alternative rock was moving fast, and grunge was about to change the room. The

1955 Music Hits: Rock and Roll, Doo-Wop, Adult Pop, R&B, Jukebox Favorites, and Early Oldies Classics 1955 music was the year rock and roll stopped knocking politely and started rattling the windows. Traditional pop, vocal groups, movie songs, instrumentals, and crooners were still powerful, but records by Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley,

1992 Music Hits: Grunge, Hip-Hop, Dance Pop, Country Crossover, Alternative Rock, R&B, Power Ballads, and Early-1990s Favorites 1992 music was the year the early 1990s fully stopped sounding like leftover 1989. Grunge and alternative rock broke into the mainstream, hip-hop kept expanding, dance-pop filled clubs and radio, country crossover had a major moment, and R&B

1965 Music Hits: The Beatles, Motown, British Invasion Rock, Soul, Girl Groups, Garage Bands, Folk-Rock, and Pop Favorites1965 music was one of the great collision years in pop history. The Beatles were fully established, The Rolling Stones were getting louder, Motown was in peak form, soul music was becoming tougher, folk-rock was breaking through, and

1993 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock, R&B, Pop Rock, Grunge, and Early-1990s Favorites1993 music was loud, colorful, strange, and unmistakably early-1990s. Alternative rock had moved into the mainstream, hip-hop was getting sharper and bigger, dance-pop was still everywhere, R&B vocal groups ruled radio, and pop-rock bands filled the space between college radio and

1994 Music Hits: Alternative Rock, R&B, Hip-Hop, Dance Pop, Movie Songs, Women-Led Rock, and Mid-1990s Favorites 1994 music was one of the defining years of the mid-1990s. Alternative rock was everywhere, R&B vocal groups dominated pop radio, hip-hop had major crossover strength, dance-pop stayed active, and soundtrack songs still had huge cultural reach. The biggest

1957 Music Hits: Rock and Roll, Doo-Wop, Calypso, Teen Idols, R&B, Country Crossover, and Early Oldies Classics1957 was one of the great early rock and roll years. Elvis Presley was everywhere, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino were helping shape rock’s vocabulary, Jerry Lee Lewis was pounding the piano like it owed him money, doo-wop was

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