U.S.A.’s Albums with Most Top Ten Hits

U.S.A. Albums: Most Top Ten Hits

These are the albums with the most top-ten hits (five or more) on the Billboard Hot 100. They are ranked based on most top-ten hits with ties broken by the albums’ overall status in Dave’s Music Database. Check out other album lists based on charts and sales. 10 Top Ten Hits 1) Taylor Swift Midnights (2022) 2) Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department (2024) 9 Top Ten Hits 3) Drake Certified Lover Boy (2021) 8 Top Ten Hits 4) Drake & 21 Savage Her Loss (2022) 7 Top Ten Hits 5) Michael Jackson Thriller (1982) 6) Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984) 7) Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) 8) Drake For All the Dogs (2023) 6 Top Ten Hits 9) Michael Jackson Bad (1987) 10) George Michael Faith (1987) 11) Katy Perry Teenage Dream (2010) 12) Janet Jackson janet. (1993) 13) Morgan Wallen One Thing at a Time (2023) 14) Drake Scorpion (2018) 15) Juice Wrld Legends Never Die (2020) 5 Top Ten Hits 16) Taylor Swift 1989 (2014) 17) Lionel Richie Can’t Slow Down (1983) 18) Madonna True Blue (1986) 19) Whitney Houston Whitney (1987) 20) Post Malone Hollywood’s Bleeding (2019) 21) Janet Jackson Control (1986) 22) Various Artists Waiting to Exhale soundtrack (1995) 23) Bobby Brown Don’t Be Cruel (1988) 24) SZA SOS (2022) 25) Paula Abdul Forever Your Girl (1988) 26) Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) (2009) 27) Bon Jovi New Jersey (1988) 28) Genesis Invisible Touch (1986) 29) New Kids on the Block Hangin’ Tough (1988) 30) Milli Vanilli Girl You Know It’s True (aka All or Nothing) (1989) 31) Huey Lewis & the News Fore! (1986) 32) Fergie The Dutchess (2006) 33) J. Cole The Off Season (2021) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Album Lists Based on Charts and Sales Billboard (5/2/2024). “The Albums with the Most Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 Hits” by Trevor Anderson First posted 5/5/2024.

Taylor Swift: The #1’s

Taylor Swift The #1’s: 2006-2023

Overview: Singer born Taylor Alison Swift on 12/13/1989 in Reading, Pennyslvania. She released her first album in 2006 while still a teenager. She started out as a country artist but completely transformed to a pop star by 2014 with her 1989 album. She has spent more weeks atop the Billboard album chart (54) than any other woman in history. She has sold more than 200 million records worldwide and won three Grammys for Album of the Year. On the Web: TaylorSwift.com (official site) Facebook Wikipedia Lists: Taylor Swift: Top 100 Songs

Awards:

The Studio Albums: Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page. Compilations: While Swift has released multiple editions of her studio albums and even re-recorded versions of some of them, she has yet to release a proper career retrospective. This page offers a glimpse of each of her studio albums, highlighting those songs which have reached #1 on various charts, thus offering a sampling of what songs would be most likely to appear on a very overdue compilation. Dates indicate the songs first appearance at #1 on any of the noted charts. Click for codes to singles charts.

Taylor Swift (2006): Swift’s self-titled debut was released when she was sixteen years old. The album gave her five top-10 country hits, two of which went to #1. All five of those songs also reached the Billboard top 40. The album spent 24 weeks atop the country album chart and reached #5 on the overall Billboard album chart. It was certified as 7x platinum. 12/22/2007: “Our Song” (CW: 6) 8/23/2008: “Should’ve Said Now” (CW: 2) Fearless (2008): Like its predecessor, Swift’s second album gave her five top-10 country hits, two of which reached #1. However, this album made her a bona fide pop star, giving her five top-10 pop hits and winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. In addition, the two songs listed here rank amongst the DMDB’s top 1000 of all time. The album spent 11 weeks at #1 on the overall Billboard album chart and 35 weeks atop the country chart. It was certified for 10 million in sales in the United States. 11/22/2008: “Love Story” (CW: 2, AC: 6, RR: 1, AU: 2) 8/22/2009: “You Belong with Me” (BA: 2, CW: 2, AC: 14, RR: 1) Valentine’s Day (soundtrack, 2010): 2/6/2010: “Today Was a Fairytale” (DG: 1, CN: 1) Speak Now (2010): Once again, Swift kept one foot in pop and the other in country, spending 6 and 13 weeks atop those respective album charts. It was certified for 6 million in sales in the U.S. The album gave her five more top-10 country hits and four more top-10 pop hits. 8/21/2010: “Mine” (DG: 1, AC: 1) 10/30/2010: “Back to December” (DG: 1) 11/26/2011: “Sparks Fly” (CW: 1) 3/31/2012: “Ours” (CW: 1) Red (2012): Swift’s farewell to country saw her spend 16 weeks at #1 on the country album chart and 7 on the pop chart. It landed 7 million in sales in the United States. She got three more top-10 country hits and four top-10 pop hits, including her first pop chart-topper, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” 9/1/2012: “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (BB: 3, DG: 5, CW: 10, CN: 4) 10/13/2012: “Begin Again” (DG: 1) 10/27/2012: “I Knew You Were Trouble” (BA: 4, DG: 3, RR: 6, A40: 1) 1989 (2014): Swift’s full-fledged pop coronation made her a superstar. She racked up three #1 pop hits and two more top-10’s. “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 of all time. The album logged 11 weeks atop the Billboard album chart. At more than 12 million sales worldwide, it is her biggest seller to date. It also garnered her a second Album of the Year Grammy. 9/6/2014: “Shake It Off” (BB: 4, BA: 4, DG: 4, ST: 2, RR: 2, AC: 5, A40: 8, CN: 4, AU: 3) 11/1/2014: “Out of the Woods” (DG: 1) 11/15/2014: “Blank Space” (BB: 7, BA: 6, DG: 7, ST: 7, RR: 5, AC: 4, A40: 6, CN: 6, AU: 3) 3/15/2015: “Style” (RR: 3, AC: 2, A40: 2) 6/6/2015: “Bad Blood” (with Kendrick Lamar, BB: 1, BA: 5, DG: 5, RR: 6, A40: 3, CN: 1, AU: 3) 10/25/2015: “Wildest Dreams” (BA: 2, RR: 2, A40: 4) Fifty Shades Darker (soundtrack, 2017): 12/31/2016: “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (with Zayn, DG: 2) Reputation (2017): This one spent four weeks at #1 on the album chart and sold more than 4.5 million worldwide. It gave Swift another Billboard Hot 100 chart topper with “Look What You Made Me Do” and a top-5 hit with “Ready for It?” Three more songs reached the top 20. 9/16/2017: “Look What You Made Me Do” (BB: 3, DG: 1, ST: 2, RR: 1, UK: 2, CN: 3, AU: 2) 9/23/2017: “Ready for It?” (DG: 1) 11/11/2017: “Gorgeous” (DG: 1) 11/25/2017: “Call It What You Want” (DG: 1) 7/22/2018: “Delicate” (RR: 1, AC; 10, A40: 4) Lover (2019): Swift’s sixth consecutive chart-topper only spent one week atop the Billboard album chart but matched the 4.5+ million in sales of its predecessor. Swift barely missed the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in the runner-up spot with “Me!” and “You Need to Calm Down.” The title cut was also a top-10 hit. The most interesting story, however, belongs to “Cruel Summer.” The fan favorite essentially served as the opening song on Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour and finally got its chart due, going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 nearly five years after its initial release. 5/11/2019: “Me!” (with Brendon Urie, DG: 1) 6/29/2019: “You Need to Calm Down” (DG: 1) 8/31/2019: “Lover” (DG: 2) 7/31/2023: “Cruel Summer” (BB: 1, RR: 2) Miss Americana (documentary, 2020): 2/15/2020: “Only the Young” (DG: 1) Folklore (2020): For her eighth album, Swift racked up another eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart, but saw a drop-off in sales. It still sold 2 million worldwide. “Cardigan” gave Swift another #1 hit and “Exile” and “The 1” reached the top 10. The album was her third to win the Grammy for Album of the Year. 8/8/2020: “Cardigan” (BB: 1, DG: 1, ST: 1) Evermore (2020): Swift’s ninth studio release gave her another 3 weeks atop the Billboard album chart. This was her first album to fail to sell a million copies. “Willow” became Swift’s seventh song to reach the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100. 12/26/2020: “Willow” (BB: 1, DG: 1, A40: 3) Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021): 2/27/2021: “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” (DG: 1) Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021): 11/15/2021: “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” (BB: 1, DG: 1, ST: 1, CW: 3, CN: 1, AU: 1) Midnights (2023): Swift made history with her Midnights album when she locked down the entire top ten slots on the Billboard Hot 100. The album’s lead single, “Anti-Hero,” became her biggest #1 on the chart, spending eight weeks on top. 11/5/2022: “Anti-Hero” (BB: 8, BA: 5, DG: 5, ST: 2, RR: 3, A40: 7, UK: 6, CN: 5, AU: 6) 11/5/2022: “Question…?” (DG: 1) 6/10/2023: “Hits Different” (DG: 1) 7/10/2023: “Karma” (RR: 2)

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Taylor Swift First posted 11/16/2021; last updated 10/24/2023.

Taylor Swift Midnights hit #1

Midnights Taylor Swift

Released: October 21, 2022 Peak: 16 US, 15 UK, 15 CN, 114 AU Sales (in millions): 2.81 US, 0.6 UK, 4.32 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Lavender Haze (10/31/22, 2 US, 20 A40, 3 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU) Maroon (10/31/22, 3 US, 4 CN, 4 AU) Anti-Hero (10/21/22, 17 US, 5 AC, 17 A40, 16 UK, 15 CN, 16 AU, 12 DF) Snow on the Beach (with Lana Del Rey) (10/31/22, 4 US, 33 AA, 4 UK, 3 CN, 3 AU) You’re on Your Own, Kid (10/31/22, 8 US, 65 UK, 6 CN, 6 AU) Midnight Rain (10/31/22, 5 US, 5 CN, 5 AU) Question…? (10/31/22, 7 US, 10 CN, 11 AU) Vigilante Shit (10/31/22, 10 US, 9 CN, 10 AU) Bejeweled (10/25/22, 6 US, 63 UK, 7 CN, 7 AU, 26 DF) Labryinth (10/31/22, 14 US, 14 CN, 13 AU) Karma (10/31/22, 2 US, 9 AC, 1 A40, 12 UK, 4 CN, 2 AU) Sweet Nothing (10/31/22, 15 US, 15 CN, 14 AU) Mastermind (10/31/22, 13 US, 12 CN, 12 AU) Total Running Time: 44:02

Rating: 4.082 out of 5.00 (average of 30 ratings) Quotable: “Midnights is a cohesive and at times stunning development for a songwriter who has made evolution her signature.” – Elamin Abdelmahmoud, BuzzFeed News Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: On Folklore and Evermore, Taylor Swift’s pair of alternative folk albums from 2020, she “stepped away from autobiographical songwriting and found new depths of feeling in fictional narratives.” PF On Midnights, she not only returns to a full-fledged pop endeavor, but one “addressing the central conflict of Taylor Swift, the individual and the persona.” PF She described the snyth-pop-driven concept album as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” WK “a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself.” BZ She explores anxiety, regret, and self-loathing in what Kitty Empire of The Observer describes as “an album of fascinating small-hours contemplation.” WK “Taylor Swift is a gifted wordsmith adept at the art of pop hooks” PM and here she “places herself firmly in the conversation as her generation’s counterpart to luminaries like [Joni] Mitchell and [Carole] King.” PM Musically, “if Swift’s previous recordings were full-blown productions with radically distinct aesthetics, this one would be best staged in a black-box theater.” PF Previous collaborator/co-producer Jack Antonoff “has accentuated Swift’s ambitiously vivid storytelling [in the past] with expressive technicolor syntho pop. Here…they explore moodier, more subdued hues. Built around vocal effects and vintage snyths, it’s an understated sound more interested in setting atmosphere than chasing trends.” PF This is “her messiest and possibly most vulnerable work.” BZ Lucy Harbron of Gigwise praised the album for its reinvention and experimentation. WK American Songwriter’s Alex Hopper described Midnights as “a grungier 1989 with the lyrical proficiency of Folklore and Evermore.” WK Ellen Johnson of Paste said Midnights has some of Swift’s “sleekest pop tunes yet.” WK Elamin Abdelmahmoud of BuzzFeed News says this is Swift’s “best and most ambitious album since her megapop turn” BZ with the aforementioned 1989, released in 2014. The album set the record for the most streams in a day on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. WK It amassed 700 million streams on Spotify within a week, making it the fastest album to reach that mark. WK It became Swift’s eleventh chart-topper on the Billboard 200 and the first album since Swift’s own Reputation in 2017 to reach a million sales in a week. PM It also became the first album in history to lock down the entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The other three songs on the album’s original version reached the top 15. Grammy for Album of the Year Also of note – on February 4, 2024, this album helped Taylor Swift make history again. She won Album of the Year at the Grammys, her fourth time in doing so. As a result she surpassed Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, and Stevie Wonder to become the artist with more Album of the Year Grammy wins than anyone in history. “Lavender Haze” This “infectiously danceable tune” PM “kicks off with a hazy, drum-machine club beat” PM It is about the tabloid rumors about her relationship with Joe Alwyn. It takes after the phrase “in the lavender haze” from the television drama Mad Men. WK It was the official second single from the album. “Maroon” Here Swift “engages in color wordplay within a moody dream-pop beat.” PM The song explores “missed-chance romance” WK reading “like an ongoing reflection on Red, which in its own deeply confessional singer-songwriter tracks is…itself a nod to Joni Mitchell’s Blue, a glimpse at both Taylor Swift’s influences and her legacy ambitions.” PM “Anti-Hero” The album’s lead single, Anti-Hero, spent seven weeks at #1, tying it with “Blank Space” as her biggest chart-topper. It became the best-selling song of 2022. WK It’s “equal parts perfect earworm and emotional ice pick to the heart,” PM delving into Swift’s “insecurities, such as struggling with not feeling like a person” WK and looking “meaningfully into Swift’s relationship with self-loathing.” BZ The video premiered eight hours after the album’s release. She described it as a depiction of her “nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts.” WK “Snow on the Beach” This is a “hazy dream pop ballad” WK that “sketches an image of strange beauty” PF “about falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you.” WK The song is a collaboration with Lana Del Rey, who “is reduced to the background” PM which “leaves the listener wondering what could have been had the full vocal stylings of the two interacted more completely.” PM “You’re on Your Own, Kid” You’re on Your Own, Kid is “an alternative rock song” WK in which Swift “guttingly reframes a time when we thought she had it all” BZ by reflectin on “her struggles during [her] rise to fame, such as her eating disorder.” WK “One imagines the earnest protagonist of ‘You Belong to Me’ from Fearless, whose steadfast longing for completion looks like self-harm in the rearview mirror: ‘I hated parties and starved my body / Like I’d be saved by the perfect kiss.” PM “Midnight Rain” Midnight Rain is about “an old relationship that was forestalled by her professional ambition and ambivalence about settling down.” WK “Exaggerating her natural uptalk, the production morphs her voice into a dramatic slant: ‘He wanted comfortable / I wanted that pain.” PF “Question…?” This song “asks rhetorical questions about ‘blurry’ memories.” WK She even samples herself here, drawing from “Out of the Woods” from 1989. It was released as a promotional single. “Vigilante Shit” Vigilante Shit is “built around bubbling beats, swirling synths, industrial elements, and snare drums. It is a ‘noirish’ vengeance declaration, taking aim at an enemy and encourages other women to do the same.” WK It’s “a throwback to the Reputation era of ‘Look What You Made Me Do.’ But here…she owns her full agency to wreak havoc.” PM “Bejeweled” This is “a disco tune…with lyrics recognizing Swift’s self-worth.” WK She sings about “straining against the frequent tendency of relationships to expect a dulling of one’s self in service to the pair.” PM She “flexes her autonomy” PM and “checks any attempt to clip her wings for the sake of a relationship.” PM “Cue Lesley Gore’s ‘You Don’t Own Me’ and give it some glitter.” PM “Labyrinth” This “is a steady synth-pop song” WK “about the anxiety over falling in love again.” WK “The production mirrors the ice melting around her heart, each synth quiver a pump of new blood.” PF It “stretches Swift’s sound as it exudes some distinctly Phoebe Bridgers’ vibes in the vocals.” PM “Karma” This “is a playful, electroclash and chillwave diss track with elements of new wave, alternative pop and techo.” WK It features “comical lyrics” WK in which Swift “conjures her sassy, shit-stirring alter ego in a less vindictive mood, luxuriating in her rivals’ inevitable comeuppance.” PF “Sweet Nothing” Sweet Nothing “is a relaxed love song driven by saxophone and electric piano, emulating 1970s ballads. It is an ode to Swift’s calm romantic relationship inside her house, as opposed to her hectic stardom outside.” WK Alwyn co-wrote the song under the pseudonym William Bowery. The song also shows how Swift knows “the strengths and limitations of her voice…Swift is not Adele, nor does she attempt to be…Her abilities to enunciate and play with the emphatic accent falls become rhythmic instruments.” PM “Mastermind” On the album closer, Swift satirizes her image as calculating by spinning a tale of “a lover who is aware of her schemes and wants to be part of them anyway.” BZ She confesses the “trauma that often manifests as an obsession with control” PM but makes the listener ask “is she a manipulator, or is she a planner in order to avoid the worst outcomes?” BZ She also addresses “the experience of surviving as a woman in a patriarchal world.” PM Conclusion Ultimately Midnights is Swift’s “attempt to play with what she has already written. Some of these songs scan as precise edits that bolster or challenge stories we already know. Others register as attempts to undo established narratives about Swift and replace them completely.” BZ It “is a cohesive and at times stunning development for a songwriter who has made evolution her signature.” BZ Notes: The Midnights – 3am Edition added the songs “The Great War,” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” “Paris,” “High Infidelity,” “Glitch,” “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” and “Dear Reader.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Taylor Swift BZ BuzzFeed News review by Elamin Abdelmahmoud (10/24/2022) PF Pitchfork review by Quinn Moreland PM Pop Matters review by Rick Quinn (11/2/2022) WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 2/17/2023; last updated 2/5/2024.

 

Taylor Swift debuts at #1 with “Anti-Hero”

Anti-Hero Taylor Swift

Writer(s): Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff (see lyrics here) Released: October 21, 2022 First Charted:October 29, 2022 Peak: 18 US, 15 BA, 15 DG, 12 ST, 5 AC, 17 A40, 16 UK, 15 CN, 16 AU, 12 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.8 UK, 4.77 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 259.47 video, 1680.55 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: November 5, 2022 will go down as one of the most significant dates in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Taylor Swift’s tenth album, Midnights, hit the charts and, in a trend that has become the norm for major artists during the streaming era, all of the album’s songs debuted on the Hot 100 that week. However, Swift accomplished a chart feat that had never been done before – she locked down the entire top 10. The chart domination was led by “Anti-Hero,” the album’s first official single, debuting at #1. It was her fifth time to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. She previously accomplished the feat with “Shake It Off,” “Cardigan,” “Willow,” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).” This was her ninth trip to the pinnacle overall. The songs on the Midnights album were inspired by Swift’s nightmares and insecurities. As she said, “one of the themes…is how you’re feeling in the middle of the night…You go through these very polarizing emotions…and your brain just spirals.” SF “Anti-Hero” specifically deals with her “issues with depersonalization and self-hatred” WK as she explores self-loathing, depression, and anxiety in the lyrics. As she said, the song is a “guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself.” WK The video reenacts a nightmare she had in which she is killed by her future daughter-in-law and the family fights over her will. The video won the People’s Choice Award for Music Video of 2022. Despite the downer of a topic, the snyth-pop song, co-written with Jack Antonoff from Fun. and the Bleachers, is driven by a “catchy rhythm.” WK Billboard magazine said it is the best song from the album. WK DIY magazine said it is arguably the best lead single of Swift’s career. WK Swift said it “is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.” SF It set the opening-day streaming record on Spotify and reached #1 in more than a dozen countries, including the United States and United Kingdom. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Taylor Swift SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/11/2023; last updated 10/14/2024.