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Every top 5 song from 1958 to 2016
- visarga 10y agoI don't like most of the top #1 hits. Averaging the masses of people will give average music.
- baddestpoet 10y agoWhich is exactly the whole point of this.
- oneloop 10y agoNo, it's not average music. It's the #1 music averaged over the population. If you don't understand the difference, you're there one who's average.
- barbs 10y agoI like the concept though I kind of wish I could zoom out and see more than the top 5
- pathsjs 10y agoIs there a way to hear it in the background? Every time I switch tabs, it stops playing. Also, it sometimes mixes up songs from different periods (1958+1997)
- mootothemax 10y ago>Is there a way to hear it in the background? Every time I switch tabs, it stops playing. Also, it sometimes mixes up songs from different periods (1958+1997) A quick cheat for sites that stop "running" when switching tabs is to open them in a new window of their own, with no other tabs open in it. You can then return to your "main" browsing window and get back to whatever you were working on previously.
- pathsjs 10y agoThank you!
- y4mi 10y agosome sides (TED for example) still screw you over if you do that (the quality drops to beyond worthless in TEDs case). haven't visited that side in about 2 years now, and the main reason why i stopped going there was that i couldn't activate a stream on my second monitor while doing something else on my primary.
- USAnum1 10y agoI opened it side-by-side with my other tabs (using win + left arrow, win + right arrorw) after pulling the tab out. That way I can continue browsing without actually putting the other tab in the background. It is a silly restriction! edit: mootothemax's suggestion is even better, I didn't realize the tab can go in the background after being split out.
- Kiro 10y agoYeah, this is driving me insane.
- johnnyb9 10y agoLeave it running in a separate window.
- oneloop 10y agoIs it just my imagination, or are black people overrepresented in the top 5?
- JonnieCache 10y agoThey are overrepresented in popular music generally. Pretty much all pop music is derived from forms developed by african-americans: blues, jazz, disco, techno etc.
- oneloop 10y agoYeah, I guess that seeing it in terms of Top 5 just made the issue a lot more black and white.
- duncanawoods 10y agoIf you go back a step further, then you can say that those forms are derived from White-European sources e.g. Christian gospel, folk music, krautrock, experimental synth etc. so the question remains why/how it happened. IMHO good art comes from adversity and novelty (mixing cultures). These were active forces in the 19th century and sadly still active today.
- jacobush 10y agoWhat is still sadly active? Gospel is white and European now? I don't understand.
- duncanawoods 10y ago>> What is still sadly active? Adversity faced by the black community. Oppression, poverty and violence etc. We probably wouldn't have hip-hop if everyone had a trust-fund. Art needs something to say. >> Gospel is white and European now? Sure i.e. European Hymns as the principle influence of Southern Gospel music. I believe the original music called "Gospel" was in European Christian communities. I'm no expert and can be corrected. I'm seeking to demonstrate that questions about cultural influences are better explained by events (diaspora, oppression) than to just see race and stop there as though its a sufficient explanation.
- JusticeJuice 10y agoShameless plug - if you want more nostalgic music, check out my project http://thenostalgiamachine.com/ http://thenostalgiamachine.com/
- LeoPanthera 10y agoYou should add a country option. This seems to have a huge US bias.
- JusticeJuice 10y agoIt's based off the Billboard yearly top 100 chart, which only tracks american music. I'd love to make more, but it's actually been quite hard to get charts for other countries in a yearly format. Interestingly despite being american music, country which most vistors are from is....South Korea!
- agumonkey 10y agoWould be cool to have a 'fluid simulation' of top songs between countries too. To see spreading over oceans.
- danielweber 10y agoSo country and western?
- vlehto 10y agoInteresting how some themes changed completely. You would never expect to hear "ballad of green berets" as top song anymore. I think there is noticeable deterioration in music quality of the top hit during the past millenia. I guess it's combination of several factors: music getting cheaper, youngsters getting more money. And people in their thirties having more and more options on what to listen, so they are less likely to herd the record store on any one given single. I'd say music was still good in 86. (I was born then.) From 2001 onwards it seems the teens started to swarm billboard social 100 or something. Boybands are out and music is suddenly OK again.
- pazra 10y agoI think a big part of the deterioration of musical quality is connected to three major factors: 1. Recorded music has meant less need for such large numbers of musicians, as a result the pool of potential talent is lower. Much less live music is performed as a result, as a result the pool of musicians with great live musical abilities has gone down. 2. Multi-track and then computer recording has made it possible to make much more 'effects' based music, which wows the ears sonically, but requires less musicianship to back it up. The large producers of pop music has largely clung to using these techniques to give their music a unique 'modern' sound, largely fueled by the latest developments in technology. 3. The ever progressing corporatization of the music industry.
- CPLX 10y ago4. Lowered attention spans. It's true across all media, our culturally induced ADHD rewards novelty hits, least common denominator styles, and especially demotes things that require more than 15 seconds to process and understand before moving on. It's not just music it's clickbait headlines and superhero movies too.
- icebraining 10y agoSuperhero movies? They seem quite long to me. In fact, the average length of the most popular movies has been increasing.
- gerjomarty 10y agoI love this a lot, but every time I open it or switch back to it, it just makes me want to go and listen to Skee-Lo's I Wish.
- santa_boy 10y agoFWIW. I was wondering the source. This is top 5 per Billboard (in the title). Is Billboard the global leader in tracking hits? (just inquisitive)
- k-mcgrady 10y agoI think Billboard tracks in the US only.
- delgaudm 10y agoWhat I would love to see is how many plays/streams each number one got "this" week by comparison. It would be interesting to see the longevity of some of the songs as a replacement for "good", i.e. are there hit songs from the 60's or 70's that still get way more plays than hit songs from the 90's or 00's.
- tinkerdol 10y agoFor those interested in discovering music over the decades from different countries: http://radiooooo.com/ http://radiooooo.com/
- taigeair 10y agoVery nice shameless plugs. Wouldn't mind seeing more.
- dbalan 10y agoIts quite easy tracking song popularity down to number plays, thanks to the streaming services, but thats now. Any idea where the old data is coming from? Couldn't find any links on the site.
- danielsf 10y agoi made this. you can get much of it from billboard, though i used the whitburn project.
- plasticxme 10y agoIt use to be tracked by radio song requests and sales of singles.
- mwexler 10y agoI enjoyed this,but was surprised to see how the older stuff (1970s) skyrocketed to the top, then PLUMMETED off after a week. Compare to 2000s where a song can stay at top for a month, and may drift down. As others point out, changes in how tracked (radio play vs. download sales vs. streams) can change this, but it is fascinating to see visually.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoI wonder if different folks are listening (or reporting anyway). How did popularity used to get tracked? Callin requests to radio stations? Is that still how its done?
- knodi123 10y ago> Is that still how its done? Good lord, that would be shocking. I know very few under-20s who listen to the radio for music, and I've never even met someone who had ever called into a radio station to request a song. Most likely it's a mix of itunes downloads, youtube clicks, spotify plays, etc.
- Brendinooo 10y agoIt was five-ish years ago, but we had a period where we listened to the radio a lot at my previous employer. Company Wi-Fi didn't allow for streaming music, and I didn't have a smartphone at the time. Occasionally someone else did or I'd bring in my iPod and play stuff, but it's a lot easier just to tune in and let someone else be the DJ for you. It also takes off the pressure of picking music that's appropriate/likeable for everyone - if a song that no one likes comes on, we all could roll our eyes and sit through it or we could just change the station. Now that I work from home my radio usage is mostly limited to sports, though I take a lot of road trips for family purposes and it becomes fun to scan through the radio and seek out songs you know. And I have called in to a station before - probably not for ten years, but I've done it! It's interesting to see how they cut up the conversation to fit the space they have.
- Grishnakh 10y ago
- mosselman 10y agoThis is beautifully made. It works very well.
- madengr 10y agoIs it me, or did the 80's just have better music. Maybe it's just the when you become cognizant of music. My first album was Men at Work. Wore that tape out, and the music is STILL good.
- ekianjo 10y agoNot just that, but the 80s had way more movement up and down in the top 5. There was fierce competition and experimentation. Look at the 90s and you get some bands that stay FOREVER on the top 5 for weeks in a row. Never happened in the 80s.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- rco8786 10y ago> Maybe it's just the when you become cognizant of music. Almost certainly this.
- mwfunk 10y agoNot sure why anyone would downvote this, it's a huge factor. It's a well-known phenomenon. The emotional impact of the stuff you listened to in your early days of music fandom is often much greater than even your favorite music as a jaded music fan 20 years later. If that's combined with being a teenager (or younger), those associations are even stronger and more permanent, to the point where that music will always seem to have some intangible, emotionally resonant quality that seems to be missing from the stuff you get into later in life.
- lmitchell 10y agoSo obviously YMMV, but I was born in '92 and my roommate and I listened through basically this whole thing last night - and we both agree with you, the '80s was where it was at.
- Nav_Panel 10y agoHere's what happened as far as I'm aware: changes in radio station ownership in the 1990s created a much less competitive and more homogeneous musical environment, leading to less variety in hit music. The details: 1996 Telecommunications Act (viewable http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/tcom1996.txt http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/tcom1996.txt ), string search for "SEC. 202. BROADCAST OWNERSHIP": > NATIONAL RADIO STATION OWNERSHIP RULE CHANGES REQUIRED- The Commission shall modify section 73.3555 of its regulations (47 C.F.R. 73.3555) by eliminating any provisions limiting the number of AM or FM broadcast stations which may be owned or controlled by one entity nationally. Prior to this, each city had its own local stations and they'd all compete with each other. This change paved the way for Clear Channel aka iHeartMedia, Inc to purchase pretty much every commercial radio station around the country, resulting in the same programs everywhere. I read a reddit post recently that went into more detail about the process but I can't find it.
- danielweber 10y agoIs there a way to change the resolution from every day to every week or every month?
- golfstrom 10y agoIf you enjoyed this, I highly recommend the podcast episodes from The Gist (from Slate) where they talk about Billboard #1 hits from various years. https://www.google.com/search?q=molanphy+the+gist+billboard https://www.google.com/search?q=molanphy+the+gist+billboard
- briHass 10y agoIt's easy to forget just how well some modern artists fine-tuned the hit song production process. Everyone thinks of The Beatles, but Mariah Carey, Rihanna, and Beyonce (if we include her Destiny's Child time) all beat them for weeks at #1. Going by weeks at #1, Mariah Carey is probably the most popular artist of all time (i.e., since Billboard started recording). She also had a collab ("One Sweet Day") that still holds the record for most weeks at #1. Not only her raw numbers, but her career delivered #1s spanning 3 decades. I guess I never thought that she was as big as she is/was.
- leoc 10y agoHowever, even over the course of the '80s singles sales plunged from their '60s/'70s level, so those later long runs at #1 aren't as impressive in absolute terms.
- davidw 10y agoHah, cool - Nel Cielo Dipinto di Blu (aka Volare) was the last Italian song to get anywhere on US charts. With good reason IMO - I'm not much of a fan of Italian pop. I go for a bit more esoteric stuff like Fishbone, Oregon's own Cherry Poppin' Daddies, and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.
- kevindeasis 10y agoGood job, this is really cool
- robbiemitchell 10y agoSo. Cool. 1. Playing around in nostalgia territory and am amused by how well pop music re-uses itself over and over. For instance, in May-Oct 1993, #1 spots were dominated mostly by three songs: 8 weeks: "That's the Way Love Goes" (Janet Jackson) --> samples "Papa Don't Take No Mess" by James Brown (1974) 7 weeks: "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You (UB40) --> cover of "We Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis (1961) 8 weeks: "Dreamlover" (Mariah Carey) --> samples "Blind Alley" by The Emotions (1972) 2. Compare that kind of pop-culture inertia to, say, 1974, where the top spot cycled much more frequently, yet those songs have been sampled heavily in the years since.
- dikdik 10y agoI'm a music junkie and have been on a European-pop binge the last couple months. It amazes me how many beats/songs/samples are reused in the European market...and occasionally I'll find the exact song redone for Euro or American consumption (especially popular with Spanish speaking artists to do the same track in both English and Spanish for varying markets). My most recent find is: Yall - Hundred Miles (recently on Euro charts) ---> Beat rips off Major Lazer & DJ Snake - Lean On (from last summer)
- collinmanderson 10y agowhosampled.com is a nice website that catalogs samples. I've lots a lot of time on that. :)
- akhilcacharya 10y agoAmazing!
- ck2 10y agoAs someone who never listens to the radio so I don't know what is currently being paid-to-play this was very educational and entertaining.
- transfire 10y agoI listened all the way up to the 90s. I have to wonder how this chart is determined. While obviously many of the popular songs of the period trend, there are some places where it doesn't seem right. For example Michael Jackson's Thriller never broke #3, and MJ barely made the top ten week chart until BAD came out. That can't be right. I checked Wikipedia and it says all MJ songs from that album made #1.
- vladaionescu 10y agoI wish someone made a Spotify playlist for this.
- lomnakkus 10y agoThis is absolutely wonderful. Such a great idea and execution! I have to wonder how many of these Nile Rodgers[1] is responsible for. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_Rodgers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_Rodgers
- konart 10y agoVery cool project. Had to stop the music at first. 1990s' western music (pop music that is, can't see anything else there) was... well - bad. Didn't even realize up until now.
- S_A_P 10y agoI got to the early 70s before i ran out of time. The 60s were an incredible time for music. The sheer variety is amazing. Pop, soul, bossa nova, rock. I think the 90s had a smaller creative burst with rock and hip hop and to some degree dance/electronic genres. I'm ready for another music revolution.
- philwelch 10y agoOne fascinating point is the sudden collapse of disco in the summer of 1979. This may be related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night
- mitchpron 10y agoThank you for this! If anyone is interested in the evolution of pop music over time (especially the last 20 years) and how hits are made, read "The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory"