DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. The DMDB blog serves up album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays.
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 | Top 50 Songs of the Decade (so far):2020-2029 |
These are the top 100 songs from the 2020s according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists. Check out other “songs of the decade” lists here.
Resources/Related Links:
First posted 10/12/2024; last updated 1/21/2026. |
 | New Musical Express (NME):Songs of the Year, 1953-2024 |
New Musical Express (NME) is a British music magazine first published in 1952. The magazine was responsible for the first UK singles chart that same year and has gone on to publish multiple best-of lists (links at bottom of page) throughout its history. Based on those lists are the top songs of each year from 1952 to 2008. From 2009 on, the top songs are determined by year-end lists. Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.
Resources/Related Links:
First posted 4/12/2019; last updated 1/3/2025. |
 | Rolling Stone:Songs of the Year, 1949-2024 |
These are the songs of each year as selected by Rolling Stone. The magazine was first published in 1967. By at least 1977, the magazine was selecting a “song of the year” annually. Prior to that, the songs of the year listed below were determined by the song with the highest ranking based on an aggregate of multiple best-of lists (see resources at bottom of page) over the years. You can also see the result of the aggregate as a list of Rolling Stone’s top 200 songs). Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.
Resources and Related Links:
First posted 4/15/2019; last updated 1/3/2025. |
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| Rolling Stone:Albums of the Year, 1965-2024 |
Since 1977, the American music magazine Rolling Stone has done an annual list of the year’s best albums. This list also includes picks back to 1965, based on best-of-all-time lists created by Rolling Stone. Check out other album of the year awards here.
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First posted 12/31/2020; last updated 12/2/2024. |
 | Billboard’s Biggest Airplay Hits:1984-present |
Billboard magazine started its airplay chart on October 20, 1984 to track the biggest hits as played on radio. This list focuses on the biggest hits on that chart based on weeks at #1. All songs which spent seven weeks or more at #1 are included in this list. Ties are broken by songs’ overall Dave’s Music Database points. See other chart-based lists here and specific Billboard lists here.
Resources and Related Links:
First posted 9/7/2021. |
 | Dave’s Music Database:Top 50 Songs of 2020 |
These are the top 50 songs of 2020 based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here.
DMDB Top 1%:
Resources/Related Links:
First posted 12/26/2021; last updated 1/17/2023. |
 | WAPCardi B & Megan Thee Stallion |
Writer(s): Cardi B, Megan Pete, Austin Owens, James Foye III, Frank Rodriguez, Jorden Thorpe (see lyrics here) Released: August 7, 2020 First Charted: August 22, 2020 Peak: 14 BB, 12 DG, 110 ST, 110 RB, 13 UK, 14 CN, 16 AU, 28 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.2 UK, 11.2 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1097.67 video, 1369.63 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:Cardi B had already topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves” (2017), “I Like It” (2018), and “Up” (2020) when she paired with Megan Thee Stallion for her fourth #1. The latter was born Megan Jovan Ruth Pete in Texas in 1995. She had also been part of the rap game since 2017, experiencing her first big success with “Hot Girl Summer” (#11 BB, 2019). She had her first chart-topping success earlier in 2020 with a remix of “Savage” that paired her with Beyoncé. Pairing these two American rappers together was a no-brainer. Not surprisingly, it was the first female collaboration to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song was fueled by heavy bass and drum beats and a sample from 1993’s “Whores in This House” by DJ Frank Ski. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion rap about “how they want to be pleased by men, specifically referencing numerous sexual practices” WK and “exchanging dirty talk about their lady parts.” SF Some praised the song for “its sex-positive message and for empowering women.” WK Pitchfork’s Lakin Starling called it “a nasty-ass rap bop, bursting with the personality of two of rap’s most congenial household names.” WK The New York Times’ Jon Caramanica said it was “an event record that transcends the event itself.” WK NPR’s Taylor Crumpton said it was “an already iconic song about women sexuality.” WK There were also conservative pundits who criticized the song for sexually explicit lyrics. The New York Times’ Ben Sisario said it “is almost certainly the most explicit song” SF to top the Hot 100. A clean radio version of the song made changes to the song, such as substituting the hook “wet-ass pussy” (the title is an acronym for “Wet-Ass Pussy”) with “wet and gushy.” WK Cardi B explained that the video used the censored version because “even YouTube was like ‘Hold on…that song might be too nasty.’” SF Resources:
First posted 1/16/2024; last updated 10/13/2024. |
 | Girls Like YouMaroon 5 with Cardi B |
Writer(s): Adam Levine/Henry Walter/Belcalis Almanzar/Brittany Talia Hazzard/Jason Evigan/Gian Stone (see lyrics here) Released: May 30, 2018 First Charted: June 9, 2018 Peak: 17 US, 12 RR, 116 BA, 16 DG, 136 AC, 114 A40, 7 UK, 110 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.2 UK, 12.04 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3998.5 video, 1552.09 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:The fifth single from an album isn’t supposed to be the biggest hit, but no one told Maroon 5. The song was the band’s fourth trip to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and thirteenth trip to the peak of the Adult Top 40 chart. it also became the biggest hit in the history of the adult contemporary chart when it passed Uncle Kracker’s 2003 cover of “Drift Away,” which spent 28 weeks at #1. “Girls” eventually spent 36 weeks atop the chart. The song topped the chart in eleven other countries and tied Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” for most weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. WK Before it spent 7 weeks atop that chart, it held the runner-up spot behind Drake’s “In My Feelings” for 6 weeks. WK When “Girls Like You” reached the summit, it broke a record 34-week stranglehold which rap had held on the charts. SF The song is about the protagonist appreciating his girl after overcoming difficulties in their relationship and the boy acknowledging how they need each other. A portion of the song’s success can be attributed to the remix featuring female rapper Cardi B. Maroon 5’s lead singer Adam Levine told Variety magazine, that he said to her, “I want you to put something down that shows your fierceness as a woman and say it however you want.” WK The video was Vevo’s most-viewed of 2018. WK It was directed by David Dobkin, who also worked with Maroon 5 on “Sugar” and “Don’t Wanna Know.” SF It featured Levine at a microphone in the center of a room which revolves to reveal a slew of female celebrities dancing and lip-synching around him. Among them were Elizabeth Banks, Mary J. Blige, Millie Bobby Brown, Camila Cabello, Ellen DeGeneres, Gal Gadot, Tiffany Hadish, Jennifer Lopez, and Danica Patrick. The video ends with Levine and his wife Behati Prinsloo and their baby girl, Dusty Rose. A second version of the video featured additional footage with the same women from the first version. It garnered another 260 million views. Resources:Related Links:
First posted 7/14/2019; last updated 7/21/2023. |
