Dave's Music Database: Songs of the Year (1800-2024)

DMDB Songs of the Year: 1800-2024

These are the best songs for each year from 1800 to present, according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are determined by aggregating multiple best-of lists along with chart data, sales figures, radio and video airplay, and streams. Check out other “songs of the year” lists here. 2024: Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” 2023: Miley Cyrus “Flowers” 2022: Harry Styles “As It Was” 2021: The Kid Laroi with Justin Bieber “Stay” 2020: Dua Lipa with DaBaby “Levitating” 2019: The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” 2018: Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” 2017: Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” 2016: The Chainsmokers with Halsey “Closer” 2015: Wiz Khalifa with Charlie Puth “See You Again” 2014: Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” 2013: Pharrell Williams “Happy” 2012: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz “Thrift Shop” 2011: Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” 2010: Adele “Rolling in the Deep” 2009: Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” 2008: Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” 2007: Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella” 2006: Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” 2005: Kanye West & Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” 2004: Usher, Lil Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!” 2003: OutKast “Hey Ya!” 2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself” 2001: Nickelback “How You Remind Me” 2000: U2 “Beautiful Day” 1999: Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” 1998: Britney Spears “Baby One More Time” 1997: Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” 1996: Spice Girls “Wannabe” 1995: Oasis “Wonderwall” 1994: Boyz II Men “I’ll Make Love to You” 1993: Beck “Loser” 1992: Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” 1991: Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” 1990: Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” 1989: Madonna “Like a Prayer” 1988: Tracy Chapman “Fast Car” 1987: Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” 1986: Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1985: USA for Africa “We Are the World” 1984: Prince “When Doves Cry” 1983: The Police “Every Breath You Take” 1982: Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” 1981: Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’” 1980: AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long” 1979: Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” 1978: Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” 1977: Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” 1976: Eagles “Hotel California” 1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” 1974: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” 1973: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” 1972: Stevie Wonder “Superstition” 1971: John Lennon “Imagine” 1970: Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” 1969: The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” 1968: The Beatles “Hey Jude” 1967: Aretha Franklin “Respect” 1966: The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” 1965: The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” 1964: The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” 1963: The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” 1962: Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” 1961: Ben E. King “Stand by Me” 1960: Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” 1959: Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” 1958: The Platters “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” 1957: Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” 1956: Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” 1955: Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” 1954: Bill Haley & His Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” 1953: Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart” 1952: Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me” 1951: Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon” 1950: Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” 1949: Gene Autry & the Pinafores “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” 1948: Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” 1947: The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” 1946: Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” 1945: Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey” 1944: Bing Crosby “I’ll Be Seeing You” 1943: Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” 1942: Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers & the John Scott Trotter Orchestra “White Christmas” 1941: Artie Shaw “Stardust” 1940: Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” 1939: Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” 1938: Artie Shaw Begin the Beguine 1937: Fred Astaire “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” 1936: Billie Holiday “Summertime” 1935: Fred Astaire “Cheek to Cheek” 1934: Guy Lombardo “Winter Wonderland” 1933: Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” 1932: Fred Astaire “Night and Day” 1931: Duke Ellington “Mood Indigo” 1930: Ted Lewis “On the Sunny Side of the Street” 1929: Fats Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” 1928: Cliff Edwards “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” 1927: Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” 1926: George Olsen with Fran Frey, Bob Rice, & Edward Joyce “Always” 1925: Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” 1924: Isham Jones “It Had to Be You” 1923: Van & Schenck “Carolina in the Morning” 1922: Henry Burr “My Buddy” 1921: Al Jolson “April Showers” 1920: Al Jolson “Swanee” 1919: Henry Burr with Albert Campbell “Till We Meet Again” 1918: Original Dixieland Jazz Band “Tiger Rag” 1917: American Quartet “Over There” 1916: Billy Murray “Pretty Baby” 1915: John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” 1914: Prince's Orchestra “Ballin’ the Jack” 1913: Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” 1912: American Quartet “Moonlight Bay” 1911: Arthur Collins and Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” 1910: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” 1909: Harry MacDonough with Elise Stevenson (as Miss Walton) “Shine on, Harvest Moon” 1908: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” 1907: Bryon G. Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” 1906: Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag” (aka “The Grand Old Rag”) 1905: Billy Murray “Give My Regards to Broadway” 1904: Billy Murray “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” 1903: Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime” 1902: Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” 1901: Byron G. Harlan “Hello Central, Give Me Heaven” 1900: Steve Porter “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” 1899: Arthur Collins “Hello Ma Baby” 1898: Edison Male Quartette “My Old Kentucky Home” 1897: John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever” 1896: James Black and Katharine Purvis (writers) “When the Saints Go Marching In” 1895: Katherine Lee Bates (m) & Samuel A. Ward (w) “America the Beautiful” 1894: traditional “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” 1893: George J. Gaskin “After the Ball” 1892: Len Spencer “Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay” 1891: Billy Golden “Turkey in the Straw” 1890: John Yorke Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” 1889: “Little Annie Rooney” 1888: “Where Did You Get That Hat” 1887: “Away in a Manger” 1886: “Johnny Get Your Gun” 1885: “How Great Thou Art” 1884: “Rock-a-Bye Baby” 1883: “The Farmer in the Dell” 1882: “Wabash Cannonball” (aka “The Great Rock Island Route”) 1881: Charles E. Pratt “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” 1880: “Funicili Funicula” 1879: “Dem Golden Slippers” (aka “Oh! Dem Golden Slippers”) 1878: “Mary Had a Little Lamb” 1877: “Chopsticks” 1876: “Grandfather’s Clock” 1875: “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” 1874: “Home on the Range” 1873: “Silver Threads Among the Gold” 1872: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” 1871: “Onward Christian Soldiers” 1870: “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” 1869: “Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me” 1868: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” 1867: “Michael Row the Boat” 1866: “Goober Peas” 1865: “What Child Is This?” 1864: “O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone” 1863: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” 1862: “The Battle Cry of Freedom” 1861: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” 1860: “Good King Wenceslas” 1859: “Dixie” 1858: “Wedding March from Midsummer’s Night Dream” 1857: “Jingle Bells” 1856: “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” 1855: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” 1854: “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair” 1853: “The Yellow Rose of Texas” 1852: “Pop Goes the Weasel” 1851: “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” 1850: “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” 1849: “Blow the Man Down” 1848: “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” 1847: “Oh! Susanna” 1846: 1845: “Paris Qui Rit” 1844: “Buffalo Gals (Buffalo Girls Will You Come Out Tonight)” 1843: “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” 1842: “This Old Man (Nick Nack Paddiwak)” 1841: “On Top of Old Smoky” 1840: “The Pesky Sargent” (aka “Springfield Mountain” and “On Springfield Mountain”) 1839: “Near the Lake Where Drooped the Willow” 1838: “A Life on the Ocean Wave” 1837: “Shenandoah” 1836: “Corn Cobs Twist Your Hair” 1835: “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)” 1834: “Turkey in the Straw” 1833: “I Saw Three Ships” 1832: “Skip to My Lou” 1831: “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” 1830: “Mary Had a Little Lamb” 1829: “William Tell Overture” 1828: “Jim Crow” 1827: “The Coal Black Rose” 1826: “Hokey Pokey” 1825: “Ave Maria” 1824: “O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)” 1823: “The First Noel” 1822: “The Fortune I Crave” 1821: “Invitation to the Dance (Aufforderung Zum Tanze)” 1820: -- 1819: -- 1818: “Silent Night, Holy Night (Stille Nacht, Heilge Nacht)” 1817: “La Gazza Ladra” 1816: -- 1815: “The Blue Bells of Scotland” 1814: “The Star-Spangled Banner” 1813: “Tis the Last Rose of Summer” 1812: “The Battle of the Wabash” 1811: “Au Clair de la Lune (By the Light of the Moon)” 1810: “Hail to the Thief” 1809: -- 1808: -- 1807: “The Wayfaring Stranger” 1806: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” 1805: “Little Miss Muffet” 1804: “A Foggy, Foggy Dew” 1803: “Polly Put the Kettle On” 1802: -- 1801: “Alknomook” 1800: “Billy Boy” Resources: Dave’s Music Database: Top Songs and Albums by Year lists Dave’s Music Database: Songs of the Year lists Dave’s Music Database: “Songs-of-the-Decade Lists First posted 3/31/2019; last updated 5/12/2025.

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

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

image from dreamstime.com

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”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit #1 with “Thrift Shop”

Thrift Shop Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz

Writer(s): Ben Hagerty/ Ryan Lewis (see lyrics here) Released: August 27, 2012 First Charted: September 15, 2012 Peak: 16 US, 12 RR, 35 A40, 114 RB, 14 MR, 11 UK, 16 CN, 17 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.74 US, 0.84 UK, 14.25 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1847.05 video, 1175.50 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: While most will remember “Thrift Shop” as the song which introduced rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis to the world, the song was actually the fifth single from the duo’s 2012 album, The Heist, although none of the others charted. After the monstrous success of the latter, however, “Can’t Hold Us” and “Same Love” were rereleased and hit #1 and #11 on the Hot 100 respectively. “Thrift Shop” gave Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the distinction of being the first duo since Los Del Rio (1996’s “Macarena”) to hit #1 with its first chart entry. SF It should be noted, though, that the song also featured guest vocals from Michael “Wanz” Wansley, a full-time software test engineer, brought in because he was a Nate Dogg sound-alike. SF The song topped the charts in the U.S. and eight other countries and became the best-selling rap song in U.S. history. WK It is one of only six songs in the history of Billboard to reach the 7 million plateau. WK It was also only the second independent song in history to top the Billboard Hot 100; the other was Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You)” in 1994. WK The song also had the distinction of falling from #1 and returning five weeks later, the longest gap since Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” hit #1 in 1960 and returned for another chart run in 1962. SF The song was composed as a tribute to Macklemore’s love of discount clothes shopping, a stark contrast to the oppolence and materialism traditionally associated with hip-hop. Macklemore said he thought the track succeeded because, “It’s obviously against the status quo of what people normally rap about. This is a song that goes against all of that. How much can you save? How fresh can you look by not looking like anybody else?” WK Critics agreed, praising the song for “its humorous lyrics and social critique.” WK Digital Spy’s Robert Copsey called the song “a rare beast…original, musically daring and genuinely funny.” WK Kyle Jackson of Common Sense Media said the song is “funny and captures the hipster zeitgeist perfectly.” WK He also called it “an eclectic and socially conscious tour de force.” WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 4/1/2024.