DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. The DMDB blog serves up music history snapshots, best-of lists, and music-related essays.
51. Fancy…Iggy Azalea & Charli XCX (2014)
52. Rude…Magic! (2013)
53. Something Just Like This…The Chainsmokers with Coldplay (2017)
54. What Do You Mean?...Justin Bieber (2015)
55. 7 Years…Lukas Graham (2015)
56. Radioactive…Imagine Dragons (2012)
57. Grenade…Bruno Mars (2010)
58. Sexy and I Know It…LMFAO (2011)
59. Let Her Go…Passenger (2012)
60. The Hills…The Weeknd (2015)
61. That’s What I Like…Bruno Mars (2016)
62. Stressed Out…Twenty One Pilots (2015)
63. Sugar…Maroon 5 (2014)
64. Give Me Everything…Pitbull with Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer (2011)
65. Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn remix)…OMI (2014)
66. Can’t Hold Us…Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Ray Dalton (2011)
67. Just Give Me a Reason…Pink with Nate Ruess (2012)
68. 7 Rings…Ariana Grande (2019)
69. Only Girl in the World…Rihanna (2010)
70. Love Me Like You Do…Ellie Goulding (2015)
71. Hotline Bling…Drake (2015)
72. Diamonds…Rihanna (2012)
73. Let It Go…Idina Menzel (2013)
74. Thank U, Next…Ariana Grande (2018)
75. Born This Way…Lady Gaga (2011)
76. Locked Out of Heaven…Bruno Mars (2012)
77. Lean On… Major Lazer with DJ Snake & MØ (2015)
78. Starboy…The Weeknd with Daft Punk (2016)
79. Take Me to Church…Hozier (2013)
80. Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)…Silento (2015)
81. Payphone…Maroon 5 with Wiz Khalifa (2012)
82. Humble…Kendrick Lamar (2017)
83. Chandelier…Sia (2014)
84. Timber…Pitbull with Ke$ha (2013)
85. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together…Taylor Swift (2012)
86. Ho Hey…The Lumineers (2012)
87. Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)…Cardi B (2017)
88. One More Night…Maroon 5 (2012)
89. OMG…Usher with will.i.am (2010)
90. Wrecking Ball…Miley Cyrus (2013)
91. I Like It….Cardi B with Bad Bunny & J. Balvin (2018)
92. Sunflower…Post Malone with Swae Lee (2018)
93. In My Feelings…Drake (2018)
94. Señorita…Shawn Mendes with Camila Cabello (2019)
95. The Monster…Eminem & Rihanna (2013)
96. Bad Blood…Taylor Swift (2014)
97. E.T….Katy Perry with Kanye West (2010)
98. Dynamite…Taio Cruz (2010)
99. Cruise…Florida Georgia Line (2012)
100. Pumped Up Kicks…Foster the People (2010)
These are my personal favorite top 100 songs from 2010-2019. To see a list of the top 100 songs based on Dave’s Music Database, go here.
1. Willie Nelson with Lukas Nelson “Just Breathe” (2012)
2. Michael Franti & Spearhead with Sonna Rele “Once a Day” (2015)
3. Disturbed “The Sounds of Silence” (2015)
4. Sturgill Simpson “In Bloom” (2016)
5. The War on Drugs “Under the Pressure” (2014)
6. Sturgill Simpson “The Promise” (2014)
7. Charles Bradley “Changes’ (2015)
8. Keala Settle & the Greatest Showman Ensemble “This Is Me” (2017)
9. Sheryl Crow with Johnny Cash “Redemption Day” (2019)
10. Michael Franti & Spearhead “The Sound of Sunshine” (2010)
11. Lady Gaga with Bradley Cooper “Shallow” (2018)
12. Michael Franti & Spearhead “Life Is Better with You” (2013)
13. Keb’ Mo’ “This Is My Home” (2019)
14. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats “Son of a Bitch” (2015)
15. Grouplove “Ways to Go” (2013)
16. Bruce Springsteen “We Take Care of Our Own” (2012)
17. The XX “I Dare You” (2017)
18. Lorde “Royals” (2013)
19. David Bowie “Lazarus” (2015)
20. Heart “Stairway to Heaven (live)” (2012)
21. Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” (2010)
22. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
23. AJR “Birthday Party” (2019)
24. Alabama Shakes “Hold On” (2012)
25. John Mellencamp “Save Some Time to Dream” (2010)
26. Artists of Then, Now & Forever “Forever Country” (2016)
27. Bruce Springsteen “Rocky Ground” (2012)
28. Justin Currie “Every Song’s the Same” (2013)
29. Cee-Lo Green “Fuck You (aka “Forget You”)” (2010)
30. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit “If We Were Vampires” (2017)
31. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (2012)
32. Hozier “Take Me to Church” (2013)
33. Pearl Jam “Sirens” (2013)
34. Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) with Bruce Springsteen “Sexy and I Know It (live)” (2012)
35. Justin Currie “Hey Polly” (2017)
36. Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) with Bruce Springsteen “Whip My Hair (live)” (2012)
37. Kacey Musgraves “Follow Your Arrow” (2013)
38. LP “Lost on You” (2016)
39. The National “Bloodbuzz Ohio” (2010)
40. Janelle Monáe “Make Me Feel” (2018)
41. Michael Franti & Spearhead “Nobody Cries Alone” (2018)
42. Band of Horses “Laredo” (2010)
43. k.d. lang, Neko Case, & Laura Veirs “Atomic Number” (2016)
44. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
45. Michael Franti & Spearhead “I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like)” (2013)
46. Chris Cornell “I Will Always Love You (live)” (2012)
47. Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (2018)
48. Fun. with Janelle Monáe “We Are Young” (2011)
49. David Bowie “Blackstar” (2015)
50. Chris Cornell “Nothing Compares 2 U (live)” (2016)
51. The Rainmakers “Like Dogs” (2011)
52. Chris Difford “Like I Did” (2010)
53. Of Monsters and Men “Little Talks” (2011)
54. Michael Franti & Spearhead “11:59” (2013)
55. Sheppard “Geronimo” (2014)
56. Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (2013)
57. Courtney Barnett “Dead Fox” (2015)
58. Shovels & Rope “I Know” (2016)
59. Neil Finn “Song of the Lonely Mountain” (2012)
60. Michael Franti & Spearhead “This World Is So Fucked Up But I Ain't Ever Givin' Up on It” (2019)
61. Bruce Springsteen “Wrecking Ball” (2012)
62. Brandi Carlile “The Joke” (2017)
63. Bruce Springsteen “Sundown” (2019)
64. Paul Simon “Wristband” (2016)
65. Chris Difford “Goldfish” (2010)
66. Michael Franti & Spearhead “Good to Be Alive Today” (2016)
67. Justin Currie “The Fight to Be Human” (2010)
68. Spoon “Do You” (2014)
69. Pink with Nate Ruess “Just Give Me a Reason” (2012)
70. The Highwomen “Highwomen” (2019)
71. Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers with Bruce Springsteen “That’s What Makes Us Great” (2017)
72. Helping Haiti “Everybody Hurts” (2010)
73. Roger Waters “Déjà Vu (If I Had Been God)” (2017)
74. John Mellencamp “Easter Eve” (2010)
75. Kacey Musgraves “Kansas City Star” (2018)
76. Bastille “Pompeii” (2013)
77. Bruce Springsteen “Hello Sunshine” (2019)
78. Alan Parsons “As Lights Fall” (2019)
79. Weezer “Africa” (2018)
80. AJR “Dear Winter” (2019)
81. Pink Floyd “Louder Than Words” (2014)
82. Janelle Monáe with Big Boi “Tightrope” (2010)
83. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013)
84. Playing for Change “Biko” (2010)
85. Keb’ Mo’ “Old Me Better” (2014)
86. Arcade Fire “Afterlife” (2013)
87. Neko Case “Last Lion of Albion” (2018)
88. The Rainmakers “Last Song of the Evening” (2011)
89. Kurt Vile with Courtney Barnett “Over Everything” (2017)
90. Fiona Apple “Pure Imagination” (2013)
91. Beck “Up All Night” (2017)
92. Muse “Madness” (2012)
93. X Ambassadors “Renegades” (2015)
94. Kongos “Come with Me Now” (2012)
95. Hozier with Mavis Staples “Nina Cried Power” (2018)
96. Walk the Moon “Shut Up and Dance” (2014)
97. The Rainmakers “Half a Horse Apiece” (2011)
98. Imagine Dragons “Radioactive” (2012)
99. Prince “Rock and Roll Love Affair” (2012)
100. Elvis Costello “Six Months in Kansas City” (2014)
September 18, 1982. I can peg my fascination with music charts to that date. After listening to a local radio station’s countdown of the hits of the summer, I decided to make my own list of favorites (see original list here). I ended up revising it every few days, eventually developing my own charts which I maintained into the ‘90s.
I’ve also projected before and after those lists to create speculative lists of #1 songs for eras not covered by those original charts. You can check out those links here, but this page is focused on the #1 songs that might have been for me in the 2000s.
2010:
Jan. 9: Toy Matinee “Blank Page” (3 wks)
Jan. 30: Eddie Vedder “My City of Ruins” (3 wks)
Feb. 20: Playing for Change “Biko” (2 wks)
Mar. 6: Helping Haiti “Everybody Hurts” (2 wks)
Mar. 20: Sheryl Crow with Kid Rock & Keith Urban “Lean on Me (live)” (4 wks)
Apr. 17: Band of Horses “Laredo” (3 wks)
May 8: The National “Bloodbuzz Ohio” (3 wks)
May 29: Justin Currie “The Fight to Be Human” (3 wks)
June 19: Michael Franti & Spearhead “The Sound of Sunshine” (4 wks)
The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999 book is available through Amazon or through DavesMusicDatabase.com as a standard book or ebook.
Dave’s Music Database presents this list as it appears in the book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999. The concept behind the book was to come up with a definitive list by consolidating hundreds of other best-of lists along with chart stats, sales figures, and awards. Read more about how the book was created here.
Some acts link to their entries in the DMDB music maker encyclopedia. Click on song titles to access their DMDB pages.
Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, image from warwickartscentre.co.uk
Squeeze was a new wave band formed in England in 1975. Singer/songwriters Chris Difford (born 11/4/1954 in Greenwich, United Kingdom) and Glenn Tilbrook (born 8/31/1957 in Woolwich, London, England) are the only two members to survive every incarnation of the band. The two also recorded an album as a duo in 1984 and worked as solo artists in the 21st century.
Top 50 Songs
Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes songs by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook in Squeeze, as a duo, and as solo acts.
4. Pulling Mussels from the Shell (1980)
5. Cool for Cats (1979)
6. Goodbye Girl (1978)
7. Black Coffee in Bed (1982)
8. 853-5937 (1987)
9. Annie Get Your Gun (1982)
10. Labelled with Love (1981)
11. Take Me I’m Yours (1978)
12. Slap and Tickle (1979)
13. Another Nail in My Heart (1980)
14. Is That Love? (1981)
15. Satisfied (1991)
Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:
16. If I Didn’t Love You (1980)
17. In Quintessence (1981)
18. Trust Me to Open My Mouth (1987)
19. Everything in the World (1993)
20. Loving You Tonight (1993)
21. Heartbreaking World (1985)
22. When the Hangover Strikes (1982)
23. Last Time Forever (1985)
24. I Won’t Ever Go Drinking Again (?) (1985)
25. Squabs on the Forty Five (1981)
26. Slaughtered, Gutted, and Heartbroken (1989)
27. Electric Trains (1995)
28. Bang Bang (1978)
29. Still (Glenn Tilbrook, 2009)
30. Fat As a Fiddle (Chris Difford, 2008)
31. Goldfish (Chris Difford, 2010)
32. Hits of the Year (1985)
33. Interviewing Randy Newman (Glenn Tilbrook, 2001)
34. No Show Jones (Chris Difford, 2003)
35. Hot Shaved Asian Teens (Glenn Tilbrook, 2004)
36. Temptation for Love (Squeeze with Cathy Dennis, 1995)
37. Like I Did (Chris DIfford, 2010)
38. Some Fantastic Place (1993)
39. Separate Beds (1980)
40. Vanity Fair (1981)
41. Messed Around (1981)
42. To Be a Dad (1998)
43. Ice Cream (Glenn Tilbrook, 2014)
44. Wedding Bells (1987)
45. If It’s Love (1989)
46. Action Speaks Faster (Difford & Tilbrook, 1984)
47. She Doesn’t Have to Shave (1989)
48. Farfisa Beat (1980)
49. Pinocchio (1993)
50. A Woman’s World (1981)
Pearl Jam is a Seattle-based grunge-rock group which formed in 1991. Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were previously in Green River (1984-1987) and Mother Love Bone (1987-90). When Andrew Wood, the latter’s lead singer, died in 1990, Gossard and Ament united with Soundgarden’s singer Chris Cornell and drummer Matt Cameron (later of Pearl Jam, 1998-) for the one-time Temple of the Dog tribute project.
That project also included singer Eddie Vedder, who would go on to front Pearl Jam. Other members in the band have included Mike McCready (guitarist: 1991-), Dave Krusen (drums: 91-92), Dave Abbruzzese (drums: 92-94), Jack Irons (drums: 94-98), and Boom Gaspar (keyboards: 02-).
Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. In addition to Pearl Jam songs, this list includes work by Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, and Eddie Vedder as a solo artist. Songs which hit #1 on the following charts are noted: Billboard album rock tracks (AR), Billboard alternative rock tracks (MR), Billboard adult alternative (AA), and Australian pop charts (AU).
DMDB Top 1%:
1. Jeremy (1991)
DMDB Top 5%:
2. Alive (1991)
3. Daughter (1993) #1 AR, MR
4. Last Kiss (1998) #1 AU
DMDB Top 10%:
5. Better Man (1994) #1 AR
6. Black (1991)
7. The Fixer (2009)
8. Just Breathe (2009) #1 AA
9. Even Flow (1991)
10. Who You Are (1996) #1 MR
11. Wishlist (1998)
12. Sirens (2013) #1 AA
DMDB Top 20%:
13. I Got Id (1995)
14. Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog, 1991)
15. I Am Mine (2002)
16. Given to Fly (1997) #1 AR
17. Spin the Black Circle (1994)
18. Nothing As It Seems (2000)
19. Yellow Ledbetter (1992)
20. Not for You (1994)
21. Mind Your Manners (2013)
22. Long Road (1995)
23. Go (1993)
24. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (1993)
25. Crazy Mary (with Victoria Williams, 1992)
26. Off He Goes (1996)
27. Hard Sun (Eddie Vedder, 2007)
Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:
28. Animal (1993)
29. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (Eddie Vedder, 2002)
30. Hail Hail (1996)
31. Say Hello 2 Heaven (Temple of the Dog, 1991)
32. Love Reign O’er Me (2006)
33. Corduroy (1994)
34. World Wide Suicide (2006) #1 MR
35. Dissident (1993)
36. Gone (2006)
37. Immortality (1994)
38. Tremor Christ (1994)
39. Light Years (2000)
40. Glorified G (1993)
41. Man of the Hour (2002)
42. Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns (Mother Love Bone, 1989)
43. Footsteps (1992)
44. Masters of War (Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, live: 1992)
45. All the Way (Eddie Vedder, 2008)
46. Save You (2002)
47. Once (1991)
48. Life Wasted (2006)
49. Do the Evolution (1998)
50. Got Some (2009) Awards:
January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog! To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This fourth batch of act inductees celebrates the top 10 music makers who made their names primarily as songwriters.
A highly regarded contributor the Great American Songbook. He composed more than 500 songs, most notably with lyricsts Ted Koehler (“Get Happy,” “Let’s Fall in Love,” “Stormy Weather”), E.Y. “Yip” Harburg (“Over the Rainbow,” “I’ve Got the World on a String”), and Johnny Mercer (“Blues in the Night,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Ac-Cent-Tchu-ate the Positive,” “One for My Baby”).
Russian-born composer and lyricist. George Gershwin called him “the greatest songwriter who ever lived.” Jerome Kern said, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music – he is American music.” A 2001 Time magazine article estimated Berlin wrote around 1250 songs (“Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Always,” “Blue Skies,” “God Bless America,” “White Christmas”). 25 have reached #1 on the pop charts. He wrote 17 complete scores for Broadway musicals and revues including Call Me Madam and Annie Get Your Gun. List of Berlin songs here.
New York-born musical theater lyricist (“Blue Moon”, “Isn’t It Romantic?”, “My Funny Valentine,” “The Lady Is a Tramp”, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, “My Funny Valentine”). Often worked with Richard Rodgers (Babes in Arms, The Boys from Syracuse, Pal Joey, On Your Toes).
Singer (“On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe,” “Ac-Cent-Tchu-ate the Positive,” “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”) songwriter (“Blues in the Night,” “That Old Black Magic,” “One for My Baby,” “Moon River”) who wrote lyrics to more than 1500 songs and more popular songs than any other songwriter in history. Worked in the legendary Brill Building, known for housing some of pop music history’s most famous songwriters and publishers. Received 19 Academy Award nominations. Also a co-founder of Capitol Records.
Musical theater composer born in Indiana. Songs included “Love for Sale,” “Night and Day,” “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and “Begin the Beguine.” Musicals included Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, and High Society.
Musical theater songwriter born in New York who composed over 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals. He worked with lyricist Lorenz Hart (“Blue Moon,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” Pal Joey) in the 1920s and ‘30s and Oscar Hammerstein II (, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music) in the ‘40s and ‘50s. He was the first person to win the four top American entertainment awards – an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. He also won a Pulitzer Prize, making him and Marvin Hamlisch the only two people to do so.
Resources and Related Links:
See individual song pages for keys to the footnotes.
Annie Lennox is a new-wave/pop singer/songwriter born 12/25/1954 in Aberdeen, Scotland. In the late ‘70s, she and Dave Stewart were in the Tourists. They went on to form the Eurythmics in the ‘80s and she launched a solo career in 1992. For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.
Top 30 Songs
Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. The list below consists of songs by the Tourists, Eurythmics, and Annie Lennox. Unless noted otherwise, a song is by the Eurythmics.
DMDB Top 1%:
1. Sweet Dreams Are Made of This (1983)
DMDB Top 5%:
2. Here Comes the Rain Again (1983)
DMDB Top 10%:
3. Would I Lie to You? (1985)
4. Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Annie Lennox with Al Green, 1988)
5. Why (Annie Lennox, 1992)
6. Love Is a Stranger (1982)
7. Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves (Eurythmics with Aretha Franklin, 1985)
8. Who’s That Girl? (1983)
9. Right by Your Side (1983)
10. No More “I Love You”’s (Annie Lennox, 1995)
11. There Must Be an Angel Playing with My Heart (Eurythmics with Stevie Wonder, 1985)
12. Walking on Broken Glass (Annie Lennox, 1992)
DMDB Top 20%:
13. Missionary Man (1986)
14. It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back) (1985)
15. Thorn in My Side (1986)
16. I Need a Man (1987)
17. Sexcrime (1984) (1984)
18. Don’t Ask Me Why (1989)
19. Winter Wonderland (1987)
20. Beethoven (I Love to Listen To) (1987)
21. You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart (1987)
Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:
22. I Only Want to Be with You (The Tourists, 1979)
23. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Annie Lennox, 1990)
24. Little Bird (Annie Lennox, 1992)
25. A Whiter Shade of Pale (Annie Lennox, 1995)
26. The Miracle of Love (1986)
27. Julia (1984)
28. I Put a Spell on You (Annie Lennox, 2014)
29. Sing (Annie Lennox, 2007)
30. Angel (1989)
Alan Parsons was born on this day – December 20 – in 1948 in London, England. Early in his career, he worked as an engineer on classic albums such as the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. He also worked with Ambrosia, the Hollies, Pilot, and Al Stewart. In 1976, he launched the Alan Parsons Project with Eric Woolfson and maintained the group for a decade before recording officially as a solo artist. He has received 13 Grammy nominations.
Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.
DMDB Top 10%:
1. Eye in the Sky (1982)
2. Time (1980)
3. Don’t Answer Me (1984)
4. Old and Wise (1982)
5. Games People Play (1980)
6. Damned if I Do (1979)
7. I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (1977)
DMDB Top 20%:
8. The System of Dr. Tarr & Professor Fether (1976)
9. Prime Time (1984)
10. Don’t Let It Show (1977)
11. Let’s Talk About Me (1985)
12. You Don’t Believe (1983)
13. Stereotomy (1986)
14. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (1985)
15. What Goes Up… (1978)
16. Snake Eyes (1980)
17. Standing on Higher Ground (1987)
18. Psychobabble (1982)
DMDB Top 20%:
19. The Turn of a Friendly Card Part II (1980)
20. Breakdown (1977)
21. The Raven (1976)
22. I Robot (1977)
23. Pyramania (1978)
24. Some other Time (1977)
25. You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned (1982)
As stated at Grammy.org, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is selected by a vote of the Recording Academy’s National Trustees. It is given to those “who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.” The first recipient was Bing Crosby in 1962.
The Grammys also give a Trustees Award to individuals who have significantly contributed to music in ways other than performance. This would imply that the Lifetime Achievement Award is a performers-only award and that no performers have won the Trustees Award, but the line is not that clearly defined. In fact, a handful of people have received both awards (Burt Bacharach, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Carole King, Frank Sinatra, Georg Solti). Here is a list of recipients of the Trustees Award from its inception in 1967:
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