Billboard shares their greatest artists on the all-time list.
Billboard has unveiled its updated lists of the Greatest Songs and artists of all time. The Weeknd’s chart-topping hit “Blinding Lights” now becomes the number 1 song of Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time on Hot 100 Charts, after dethroning Chubby Checker’s 1960’s track “The Twist”. “Blinding Lights” first topped the Hot 100 in March 2020, the same week his “After Hours” album earned number 1 spot on Billboard 200. The song spends four weeks at top of Hot 100, followed by record for most weeks spent in the top five (43 weeks), top 10 (57), top 40 (86) and on the Hot 100 (90).
Billboard magazine prepared a ranking of the 100 best-performing songs on the chart over the 50 years, as well as the best-performing acts, for the Hot 100’s 50th anniversary in 2008. For the chart’s 55th anniversary edition, Billboard altered the ranks in 2013. Billboard re-evaluated the rankings in 2015. For the 60th anniversary of the Billboard chart, the rankings were changed one again in 2018. Following the ascension of “Blinding Lights” to the top of the chart in 2021, Billboard altered the ranks once again. The top 10 songs and top 10 singers from the Hot 100’s 63-year history, from November 1960 to November 2021, are listed here. The artists with the most songs on the “all-time” top 100 song list are also included.
Billboard issued four singles rankings before the Hot 100 was created: “Best Sellers in Stores,” “Most Played by Jockeys,” “Most Played in Jukeboxes,” and “The Top 100.” Between 1957 and 1958, these charts—which had 20 to 100 slots—were gradually phased away. Despite technically not being a part of the Hot 100 chart history, some data from these charts is included for calculation and to prevent making generalisations that are untrue.
Along with that, The Beatles defend their #1 ranking on Billboard‘s Greatest of All-Time Hot 100 Artists list. Madonna, with 38 Hot 100 top 10s, the most among women, is ranked number 2 on the list. She is followed by Elton John on #3, Elvis Presley on number 4 and Mariah Carey on #5. Fans are not happy with Michael Jackson spot, as the king of pop is on number 8th, after Stevie Wonder and Janet Jackson. The 9th and 10th spots are given to Whitney Houston and Rihanna respectively.
Billboard debuted the Hot 100 on August 4, 1958, permanently altering pop music — or at least how it’s assessed. The chart is still the gold-standard rating of America’s top songs each week, sixty years later. And while the definition of a hit has evolved (goodbye, jukebox play; hello, streaming! ), landing a position on the chart — and, even better, a coveted No. 1 — remains the barometer by which musicians measure their success, from Ricky Nelson on the first to Drake on the most recent. Which leads us to this top-of-the-top ranking of the 100 most popular performers over the last six decades.
Billboard‘s Greatest of All-Time Hot 100 Songs and Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its inception on Aug. 4, 1958, through Nov. 6, 2021).
On the Billboard 200, Marshall Mathers is the top hip-hop artist of all time, coming in at No. 14 overall, far ahead of rap mogul Jay Z. (No. 43). Eminem’s extraordinary run began in March 1999, when his second full-length, The Slim Shady LP, debuted at No. 2 (and peaked). Since then, all seven of Eminem’s following albums have debuted at No. 1, including The Marshall Mathers LP 2 in 2013 – his albums have spent a total of 132 weeks in the top ten. He’s also one of just four top 20 performers whose careers on the Billboard 200 began in the last 25 years. What about the others? Taylor Swift, who debuted in 2006, joined Garth Brooks and Mariah Carey, who both debuted in 1990.
According to Billboard, the rankings were created by combining all titles calculated on both the Billboard Hot 100 songs list and the Billboard 200 albums chart from 1958 to the present. The end result is a list of the top musicians in music history based on sales and chart success.
Of all, only Rihanna’s first song, “Pon De Replay,” from 2005, was made available to the public throughout the 2000s. According to Billboard, Drake, who is ranked No. 11, came quite close to cracking the top 10. (compared to No. 22 on the 2018 chart). Taylor Swift (No. 21), Maroon 5 (No. 24), Bruno Mars (No. 29), and Justin Bieber all make the top 100 list (38). A few musicians who debuted on the Hot 100 in the 2010s are also making their first appearances on the chart: The Weeknd (No. 43), Post Malone (77), Ariana Grande (78), and Ed Sheeran (87).
Songs are rated using an inverse point system, with weeks at number one getting the most and weeks at lower positions earning the least. Because of variations in chart technique throughout time, eras are weighted differently to accommodate for chart turnover rates at different times. As a consequence, artists are rated based on a “formula mixing performance.”
Check out the Top 10 Songs & Artists.
Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs, Top 10:
01. “Blinding Lights” – The Weeknd
02. “The Twist” – Chubby Checker
03. “Smooth” – Santana feat. Rob Thomas
04. “Mack the Knife” – Bobby Darin
05. “Uptown Funk!” – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
06. “How Do I Live” – LeAnn Rimes
07. “Party Rock Anthem” – LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock
08. “I Gotta Feeling” – The Black Eyed Peas
09. “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” – Los Del Rio
10. “Shape of You” – Ed Sheeran
Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Artists, Top 10:
01. The Beatles
02. Madonna
03. Elton John
04. Elvis Presley
05. Mariah Carey
06. Stevie Wonder
07. Janet Jackson
08. Michael Jackson
09. Whitney Houston
10. Rihanna
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In 2023, Billboard also named 50 greatest rappers of all time to celebrate 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. The list was topped by JAY-Z, followed by Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Tupac and Eminem. The top 10 also includes Biggie, Lil Wayne, Drake, Snoop Dogg and Nicki Minaj.
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