The World’s Best-Selling Songs by Year, 1970-2019

First posted 12/29/2011; last updated 2/29/2020.

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Songs: The World’s Best Sellers by Year

Figuring out the best-selling song for each year isn’t as easy as it seems. A variety of sources for sales figures (see here) were tapped in the absence of an official agency to track worldwide sales. As such, some figures have likely been inflated by record companies or other vested parties. On top of that, reported figures don’t always strictly represent sales. In the 21st century especially, other figures such as such as the number of times songs were streamed via Spotify, YouTube or other services have been factored in. That means a song certified for 10 million in sales may not have actually “sold” that many copies. Nonetheless, this list has been assembled in the hopes of offering some idea of the bestselling song of each year from 1900 to present. The numbers in parentheses indicates the number of sales in millions. 2019: Billie Eilish “Bad Guy” (19.5 m) 2018: Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (18.4 m) 2017: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee “Despacito” (25.3 m) 2016: The Chainsmokers with Halsey “Closer” (20.7 m) 2015: Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth “See You Again” (20.9 m) 2014: Marc Ronson & Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (20.0 m) Lorde “Royals” (22.0 m) 2012: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz “Thrift Shop” (14.25 m) 2011: LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (18.87 m) 2010: Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (20.6 m) 2009: Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (15.0 m) 2008: Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (14.11 m) 2007: Flo Rida with T-Pain “Low” (12.0 m) 2006: Shakira with Wyclef Jean “Hips Don’t Lie” (10.0 m) 2005: Kanye West with Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” (8.54 m) 2004: O-Zone “Dragostea Din Tei” (8.0 m) 2003: Pan’Jabi MC “Mudian to Bach Ke” (10.0 m) 2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself” (15.38 m) 2001: Shakira “Whenver, Wherever” (8.5 m) 2000: Britney Spears “Oops!...I Did It Again” (6.0 m) 1999: Ricky Martin “Livin’ La Vida Loca” (8.0 m) 1998: Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman “Time to Say Goodbye” (12.0 m) 1997: Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (37.0 m) 1996: Toni Braxton “Un-Break My Heart” (10.0 m) 1995: Los Del Rio “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” (11.0 m) 1994: Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (16.0 m) 1993: Tag Team “Whoomp! There It Is” (4.04 m) 1992: Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (20.0 m) 1991: Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (15.0 m) 1990: The Scorpions “Wind of Change” (15.0 m) 1989: Kaoma “Lambada” (15.0 m) 1988: Tone Loc “Wild Thing” 2.54 m) 1987: Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me” (8.0 m) 1986: Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” (4.3 m) 1985: U.S.A. for Africa “We Are the World” (20.0 m) 1984: Band Aid “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (11.7 m) 1983: Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (6.0 m) 1982: The Goombay Dance Band “Sun of Jamaica” (10.0 m) 1981: Trio “Da Da Da” (13.0 m) 1980: Kenny Rogers “Lady” (16.0 m) 1979: Patrick Hernandez “Born to Be Alive” (11.0 m) 1978: Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta “You’re the One That I Want” (15.0 m) 1977: Baccara “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” (18.0 m) 1976: Prince Nico Mbarga “Sweet Mother” (13.0 m) 1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” Queen (12.61 m) 1974: Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun” (11.5 m) 1973: Tony Orlando & Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” (6.0 m) 1972: The Pipes & Drums & Military Band of Royal Scots Dragoon Guards “Amazing Grace” (7.0 m) 1971: Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (10.0 m) 1970: Mungo Jerry “In the Summertime” (30.0 m) Resources and Related Links: DavesMusicDatabase.com: sources referenced to compile this list DavesMusicDatabase.com (2020). The World’s All-Time Bestselling Songs”

Top 50 Songs of 2013

Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Songs of 2013

These are the top 50 songs of the year 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%: Pharrell Williams “Happy” Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” Lorde “Royals” John Legend “All of Me” Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams “Get Lucky” Katy Perry “Roar” One Republic “Counting Stars” Avici with Aloe Blacc “Wake Me Up!” Katy Perry with Juicy J “Dark Horse” Magic! “Rude” Idina Menzel “Let It Go” Pitbull with Ke$ha “Timber” Hozier “Take Me to Church” Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” DMDB Top 2%: Eminem with Rihanna “The Monster” Justin Timberlake “Mirrors” Vance Joy “Riptide” Bastille “Pompeii” DMDB Top 5%: Kacey Musgraves “Follow Your Arrow” Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Drunk in Love” Milky Chance “Stolen Dance” Darius Rucker “Wagon Wheel” Drake with Majid Jordan “Hold on, We’re Going Home” Lorde “Team” Nico & Vinz “Am I Wrong?” Arctic Monkeys “Do I Wanna Know?” George Ezra “Budapest” DJ Snake with Lil Jon “Turn Down for What” Baauer “Harlem Shake” Miley Cyrus “We Can’t Stop” A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera “Say Something” Drake “Started from the Bottom” Tove Lo “Habits (Stay High)” Sia with the Weeknd & Diplo “Elastic Heart” Mr. Probz “Waves (Robin Shulz Remix)” Justin Timberlake with Jay-Z “Suit & Tie” Eminem “Rap God” Jason Derulo with 2 Chainz “Talk Dirty” Fall Out Boy “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” One Direction “Story of My Life” Naughty Boy with Sam Smith “La La La” American Authors “Best Day of My Life” MKTO “Classic” DMDB Top 10%: Kristen Bell with Agatha Lee Moon & Katie Lopez “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” Arcade Fire “Reflektor” Ellie Goulding “Burn” Florida Georgia Line with Luke Bryan “This Is How We Roll” Paramore “Ain’t It Fun” Lady Gaga “Applause” Ariana Grande “Santa Tell Me” Resources/Related Links: American Songwriter Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Digital Songs Billboard Radio Songs Billboard Streaming Songs Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs Billboard Adult Pop Songs Billboard Country Songs Billboard Pop Songs Billboard Rock Songs TheBoomBox.com Boston Globe Complex Consequence of Sound GuestofaGuest.com HitFix.com Huffington Post JSonline.com KIIS FM Loudwire MTV NME (New Musical Express) NPR NZ Top 40 Okayplayer.com Paste Magazine PopCrush.com Pop Matters Power 1051 FM Pretty Much Amazing Radio.com Refinery29.com Rolling Stone Rob Sheffield Spin Stereogum (critics’ picks) Stereogum (readers’ picks) ThatGrapeJuice.net VH1 Vulture.com First posted 12/30/2013; last updated 1/18/2023.

Lorde hit #1 with “Royals”

Royals Lorde

Writer(s): Joel Little, Ella Yelich O’Connor (see lyrics here) Released: June 3, 2013 First Charted: June 22, 2013 Peak: 19 US, 16 BA, 15 DG, 11 RR, 2 AC, 13 A40, 18 AA, 17 MR, 11 UK, 16 CN, 3 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 0.6 UK, 22.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1032.48 video, 1064.0 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Royals” was the first single from New Zealand singer-songwriter Ella Yelich O’Connor, The singer, better known as Lorde, topped the U.S. pop charts when she was only 16 and became the first solo act from New Zealand to top the Billboard Hot 100. “Royals” also landed atop the charts in New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It reached the top five in Australia and Switzerland. She wrote “Royals” in a half an hour in July 2012, intending it as a “response to everything that’s on pop radio,” a sort of rant against the lyrics focused on fame and luxury. She was inspired by a July 1976 National Geographic magazine which showed Kansas City Royals’ baseball player George Brett signing baseballs. As she said to VH1, “It was just that word. It’s really cool.” WK Lorde’s critique of the high life rubbed Feministing blogger Vernoica Bayetti Flores the wrong way. She said the song was “deeply racist, because we all know who she’s thinking when we’re talking gold teeth, Cristal and Maybachs.” WK However, The Washington Times’ Aziza Jackson defended the song as being about “consumerism and class, not race…Today’s hip-hop and pop lyrics are laced with the promotion of shiny yet empty lives that is not black or white, but green.” WK However, the song was generally praised. Digital Spy said the song had an “addictive hook that thrives on its simplicity” and that “Lorde’s success is here to stay.” WK Spin magazine said “true artpop rarely announces itself as such.” WK The song won a Grammy for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Lorde SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia.org Last updated 7/23/2023.