Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, according to the RIAA. 1 for five weeks in 1975 would be granted a higher point value than a record that was No. For example, songs and albums moved up and down the charts faster in the 1970s than in other eras, so a record that was No. Second, since chart rules and chart behavior changed over time, we weighed the years and eras differently. 1 record would get X amount of points, a No. 16 with a beatboxed cover.īillboard vp charts and data development Silvio Pietroluongo explains the methodology behind the all-time charts.įirst, we used a sliding scale to rank each title: A No. 28 in 1960 - the classic re-emerged in 1988, when The Fat Boys peaked at No. Written by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - whose original hit No. 1 in two release cycles: once in 1960, after Checker first performed the tune on American Bandstand, and again in 1962. The biggest Hot 100 song of all time, Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” is the only single to reach No. “If I could get a dollar for every time someone said to me, ‘Man, it’s a hot one,’ ” he says, “I could trade in my royalties on ‘Smooth.'”
Thomas, for his part, still likes to hear the Y2K smash on the radio, but wishes the first line weren’t so quotable. 14, 2000 - changed per request of charts team, and remained in the top 10 for 30 weeks. As the centerpiece of aptly titled 1999’s Supernatural, “Smooth” washeld No. Matchbox 20‘s Rob Thomas and songwriter Itaal Shur had the perfect offering, a pop song that varnished the guitarist’s psych-rock for the so-called Latin Explosion era. “Her versatility has helped her reach.”Ĭarlos Santana says he was meditating in the late ’90s, after 15 years without a hit, when an entity called “Metatron” urged him to return to the airwaves - the kids needed him. “She doesn’t make any style sound forced,” says WBBM-FM Chicago assistant program director/music director Erik Bradley. 1 Unapologetic, Rihanna is poised to climb even higher on the all-time artist list. With her eighth album on the way, her first since 2012’s Billboard 200 No. 4 in February with the Kanye West and Paul McCartney collaboration “FourFiveSeconds.” Other acts with whom she has shared Hot 100 credit are also diverse: Bono, Jay Z, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj and Slash. Rihanna’s most recent Hot 100 top 10 even found her in coffeehouse-folk mode, as she hit No. 1 single “What’s My Name?” showcased Drake) to pop (2008’s “Take a Bow” and Altered the years inside the parentheses. 25 on the all-time Hot 100) and R&B/hip-hop (her Grammy-nominated 2010 No. “She has surprised fans with the ability to reinvent herself authentically album to album, song to song.” She also deftly moves among genres, from dance music (“We Found Love,” her 2011 smash with Calvin Harris, sits at No.
Key to the 27-year-old Barbadian’s success is her wide range, says Kid Kelly, SiriusXM vp music programming. 1 singles total, behind only The Beatles (20) and Mariah Carey (18). 1s - from 2006’s “SOS” to 2013’s “The Monster” (by Eminem featuring Rihanna) - place her in rarefied historical air: She’s tied with Michael Jackson for the third-best No. 13 artist of the chart’s 57-year history.
2-peaking dancehall reggae-splashed “Pon Decq Replay,” Rihanna ranks prominently as the No. Even though she didn’t arrive on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2005, with the No.