Top Pop Singles 1990-2022

Joel Whitburn was beyond thrilled when he first opened Top Pop Singles 1955-1989.  It was his most informational edition ever of the vinyl years.  And, though it was a huge risk to also print that large book in color (he thought he might be the only one interested), Joel took the gamble.  The color edition became one of our fastest-selling books.

Joel immediately set to work on this book, Volume 2 of the 17^th edition of Top Pop Singles, with his ever-keen eye for accuracy, looking forward to beholding his research of the digital age in color.  He chose the photos within the book, including the cover which features one representative artist from each year covered, like Volume 1.

Unlike Volume 1, Volume 2 covers a vastly different era, resulting from interacting factors such as the transmission, the purchase, and the tabulation of ever-changing music.  During the vinyl era covered in Volume 1, songs were typically introduced on radio, then purchased as physical singles by fans in record shops.  Volume 2 covers an evolution from the decline of Top 40 radio, to the record industry’s retirement of the single, to the new technologies flooding those vacuums with the rise of streaming services, to the surge in music utilized within video games and social media.  These major shifts necessitated revisions to Billboard’s chart methodologies.  Compare the average chart life of a song from 1960 to one from 1985, 25 years apart, and you’ll see the about the same ebb and flow.  Do the same comparison for another 25 years (1985 to 2010), and the average chart life of a song reveals a stark contrast.

It was at this clear divide — between the vinyl era and the digital era — that Joel split the 17^th edition of Top Pop Singles into two volumes.  This offered a cleaner view of each era and the distinct song and artist rankings would be more equitable.  (We did, however, include the Top 500 ranking of all artists from 1955-2022 within this book.)  For the artists who span both volumes, we pick up their hit count in Volume 2 from their final hit in Volume 1.

Joel finished the bulk of his work on Volume 2, his last project before his passing in 2022.  With its new music, new edits and new features, it not hard to imagine that Volume 2 would rate a close second in Joel’s all-time ranking of his books.  (The vinyl era of Volume 1 contained his favorite music.)  But Joel’s huge heart for the charts and new music never wavered, and he would have, no doubt, devoured every page between these covers.

NEW FEATURES:

• COLOR text and photos!
• Title Counts continued from Volume 1 (1955-1989)
• Artists Ranking spanning 1990-2022
• All Canadian #1 Hits are noted
• Brush strokes separate decades of artists with long chart histories

UPDATED FEATURES:

• More photos – all chosen by Joel Whitburn
• Up-to-date Bio information
• Revised Artist Rankings

REGULAR FEATURES:

ARTIST SECTION

ALL SONGS that appeared on these Billboard charts:

• Hot 100
• Bubbling Under the Hot 100
• Hot 100 Airplay

For each of the 21,095 songs:

• DEBUT DATE
• PEAK POSITION
• # of WEEKS charted
• SONGWRITER(s)
• LABEL & NUMBER

If applicable:

• B-SIDE
• Total WEEKS AT PEAK for all #1s, #2s & #3s
• RIAA certification of Gold or Platinum for record sales
• RIAA certification of Gold or Platinum for digital sales
• CONFIGURATION if other than vinyl
• FEATURED ARTISTS
• SPECIALTY RECORDINGS:
  • C – Comedy
  • F – Foreign language
  • I – Instrumental
  • L – Live
  • N – Novelty
  • R – Re-entry
  • S – Spoken
  • X – Christmas
• TRIVIA NOTES
• NOTABLE AWARDS (Billboard, Grammy, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Rolling Stone)
• FIND-IT-FAST features for all #1s, biggest hits, Top 10s, etc.
• #1s from Canadian and UK charts with total weeks
• #1s from other major trade magazines:
  • CB (Cash Box)
  • RR (Radio & Records)
• #1s from main genre charts with total weeks at top:
  • AC
  • A40
  • ALT
  • C&W
  • C&W Airplay
  • MSR
  • R&B
  • ROK

For each of the 4,197 ARTISTS, one line or more of descriptive Biography featuring:

• Dates of birth and death
• Hometown
• Real Name
• Group Lineup
• Genre
• Decade & All-Time Rankings
• Notable Awards (Billboard, Grammy, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Rolling Stone)
• Clover symbol indicates artist had minimum of 24 hits.

SONG TITLE SECTION Lists alphabetically every song in book with artist name, peak position and year charted.

#1 HITS A chronological listing, by peak date, of every title to top Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

SPECIAL SECTIONS

TOP ARTISTS:

• Top 500 (1990-2022) in rank and alphabetical orders
• Top 500 (1955-2022) in rank and alphabetical orders
• Top 50 by Decade
• Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees
• The “24-Hit” Club
• Artists With Most:
  • Hits on Chart, Top 40, Top 10, at #1, #2, #3
  • Weeks at #1
  • Platinum/Gold Hits
  • #1 Hits in Canada and UK

TOP HITS:

• Top 150 Hits
• Top 25 Of Each Decade
• Longest Charting

Top 50 Record Labels