THE RECORD RESEARCH STORY

A lifetime spent preserving the heartbeat of the charts.

A lifetime spent preserving the heartbeat of the charts.

For more than a half century, Joel Whitburn’s Record Research has created the music-chart data trusted by collectors, DJs, historians, libraries, and fans. What began as a one-man hobby became a reference library built for people with a heart for the charts.

For more than a half century, Joel Whitburn’s Record Research has created the music-chart data trusted by collectors, DJs, historians, libraries, and fans. What began as a one-man hobby became a reference library built for people with a heart for the charts.

261

Books authored

56+

Years counting

159

“Top Hits” music
compilations

Joel Whitburn at his desk researching music chart history

Joel Whitburn

FROM HOBBY TO Library

Joel’s chart hobby became a living music library.

Record Research began with Joel Whitburn’s personal passion for chart collecting and grew into a small team of researchers documenting popular music as it happened. Despite wholescale changes in the recording, radio, and print industries, and dramatic shifts in how fans discover music, the mission stayed steady: preserve the facts with care.

1970

Record Research launches from a collector’s system of discovering and recording chart data on index cards to publishing a new kind of music-reference book.

EARLY 1990S

What was once a one-man hobby is now a thriving small business with a staff capable of supporting books, projects, and compilation research.

TODAY

A new chapter continues Joel’s legacy as an unbiased documentarian of music history, keeping the books alive for the next generation of collectors.

“More than a feeling when I hear that old song they used to play.”

PASSING THE MANTLE

A new chapter for the same trusted source.

In 2025, Record Research entered a new era. Longtime reader and data executive Vinnie Freda stepped in to help carry Joel’s legacy forward, expanding what Record Research can become.

Behind the Data

Portrait
Danny Gallenberger
After receiving his first Record Research book as a Christmas gift, Danny’s interest in chart statistics began to flourish, along with a keen interest in computer programming. In addition to IT, he’s also proven to be adept at both chart research and proof-reading.
IT / Research
Portrait
Kim Bloxdorf
Kim cannot recall a time when Record Research wasn’t part of her life. Over the decades, she has refined and expanded the books’ formats, produced numerous Billboard Top Hits music compilations, and played a key role in every aspect of the business. Record Research has been more than her father’s legacy—it has been her cherished sibling.
Publisher
Portrait
Vinnie Freda
As the new co-owner of Record Research, Vinnie is leading the strategic direction of our company as we upgrade our technology while continuing to maintain the principles set for by our founder, Joel. In addition to developing new digital products, he is working on expanding our data sources well beyond traditional channels, all while enjoying album cuts from the 70s, alternative from the 80s, and country from the 90s.
President
Portrait
Paul Haney
A lifelong music-chart fan and former Record Research customer, Paul left a budding radio career to join the company as a researcher in 1992. As Head Researcher and Chief Editor, he’s continuing Joel Whitburn’s legacy of meticulous research and attention to detail.
Head of Research
Portrait
Danny Gallenberger
After receiving his first Record Research book as a Christmas gift, Danny’s interest in chart statistics began to flourish, along with a keen interest in computer programming. In addition to IT, he’s also proven to be adept at both chart research and proof-reading.
IT / Research
Portrait
Kim Bloxdorf
Kim cannot recall a time when Record Research wasn’t part of her life. Over the decades, she has refined and expanded the books’ formats, produced numerous Billboard Top Hits music compilations, and played a key role in every aspect of the business. Record Research has been more than her father’s legacy—it has been her cherished sibling.
Publisher
Portrait
Vinnie Freda
As the new co-owner of Record Research, Vinnie is leading the strategic direction of our company as we upgrade our technology while continuing to maintain the principles set for by our founder, Joel. In addition to developing new digital products, he is working on expanding our data sources well beyond traditional channels, all while enjoying album cuts from the 70s, alternative from the 80s, and country from the 90s.
President
Portrait
Paul Haney
A lifelong music-chart fan and former Record Research customer, Paul left a budding radio career to join the company as a researcher in 1992. As Head Researcher and Chief Editor, he’s continuing Joel Whitburn’s legacy of meticulous research and attention to detail.
Head of Research

240 research books

Record Research has self-published 240 research books and has authored other series with Billboard Books and Hal Leonard.

Charts beyond Billboard

Joel and his team researched Billboard, Cash Box, The Gavin Report, Radio & Records, and Music Vendor/Record World in unmatched detail.

More than data

Each page is a trip down memory lane, as much as a reference tool: songs, artists, eras, collections, and personal soundtracks.

EXPLORE THE BOOKS

EXPLORE THE BOOKS

Through the Years

The Joel Whitburn Archive

A time capsule of America’s chart music.

… stepping out of a time machine and into a record shop in New York City on Saturday, June 3, 1961. Displayed on the store counter is a new 45: “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Girl Of Mine.” In the listening booth, you discover it’s a doo wop version of a classic (written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1927 Show Boat theater musical with “Girl” replacing “Man” in the original title and lyrics). This rendition released on RSVP 111 is by The Excels, a local Bronx group. You shell out some 50-odd cents and hop back to the present with your new vinyl treasure.

Back at your music library, you open a Record Research book and read that the song appeared at the very bottom of Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart for one week. You have the commercial release, not a promotional copy, re-release or re-recording on another label.  It is the record that was indeed available during its specific time in history.

Repeat the time machine scenario tens of thousands of times — spanning the past century, across the country, purchasing dozens of original commercial recordings on various configurations on each trip — you would have the Joel Whitburn Archive.  It is the world’s only time capsule of music popular on America’s charts.

Over seven decades, Joel assembled a comprehensive collection of music of various formats and genres that appeared on the charts of significant industry publications.  All of these musical artifacts exist together in Joel’s Archive, a detailed and rich tapestry of America’s musical history.

Step into music history below Joel as tour guide through his vault or browse through a catalog of his archive’s highlights.

Watch Joel guide viewers through the archive and the shelves behind decades of chart research.