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This
is a compilation of lists ranking the best radio singles each year since
1954. For convenience, songs on the list are restricted to singles that made
Billboard’s Top Forty chart, which excludes a lot of songs and bands that are
as good as the ones on the list, especially in recent decades.
The Top Forty chart hasn’t had much
relevance in the last 10-15 years (or arguably since LP’s began outselling
singles, which happened in the 1960s) but it’s still the best-known source
for what songs were popular during the rock era. I’ve included a few general
comments about what is missing. For
those who feel that a list of great music that is only restricted to Top 40
is not worth doing, apologies -- there are plenty of other music lists out
there, so go find another one. |
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FIFTIES Popular music in the early 1950s was
“pop” --- non-rock and roll --- and other records rarely charted. Once rock and roll broke through in 1955, that changed, but it was
too late for a lot of great musicians. What was missing from the Top 40 in
the ’50s: most R&B, blues, jazz, and all pre-1953 chart hits (which aren’t
included in the Joel Whitburn books, though I might
go back and do the research someday). |
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1954: Hearts of Stone,
Charms Earth Angel,
Penguins Sh-Boom, Chords I Really Don't Want
to Know, Les Paul and Mary Ford Gee, Crows Mister Sandman, Chordettes Ling Ting Tong, Five Keys I'm a Fool To Care,
Les Paul and Mary Ford Shake Rattle and
Roll, Bill Haley and His Comets |
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1955: Maybellene, Chuck Berry Rock Around the
Clock, Bill Haley and His Comets The Great
Pretender, Platters Sincerely, Moonglows Only You, Platters Tweedlee Dee, LaVern
Baker Hummingbird, Les
Paul and Mary Ford At My Front Door,
El Dorados Ain't That a Shame, Fats Domino Cry Me a River, Julie London Sixteen Tons,
Tennessee Ernie Ford (White Christmas,
Bing Crosby) |
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1956: Don't Be
Cruel/Hound Dog, Elvis Presley Blueberry Hill,
Fats Domino In the Still of the
Nite, Five Satins Long Tall Sally,
Little Richard Heartbreak Hotel/I
was the One, Elvis Presley Why Do Fools Fall
in Love, Frankie Lymon Rip It Up, Little
Richard Blue Suede Shoes,
Carl Perkins Speedo, Cadillacs Roll Over
Beethoven, Chuck Berry Stranded in the
Jungle, Cadets Fever, Little
Willie John I Walk the Line,
Johnny Cash Tutti-Frutti, Little Richard Since I Met You
Baby, Ivory Joe Hunter Jim Dandy, LaVern Baker Memories of You,
Benny Goodman Trio with Rosemary Clooney I Want You to Be My
Girl, Frankie Lymon Hey Jealous Lover,
Frank Sinatra Let the Good Times
Roll, Shirley and Lee I Want You I Need You I Love You/My Baby Left Me,
Elvis Presley Jamaica Farewell,
Harry Belafonte Treasure of Love,
Clyde McPhatter Love Me Tender,
Elvis Presley Love Love Love, Clovers When You Dance,
Turbans I'm in Love Again,
Fats Domino The Fool, Sanford
Clark See You Later
Alligator, Bill Haley & His Comets Mack the Knife,
Louis Armstrong Be-Bop-a-lula, Gene Vincent My Prayer, Platters Slippin and Slidin,
Little Richard Love Me, Elvis
Presley |
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1957: Lucille, Little
Richard Great Balls of
Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis That'll Be The Day,
Crickets Jailhouse
Rock/Treat Me Nice, Elvis Presley Blue Monday, Fats
Domino You Send Me, Sam
Cooke Come Go With Me,
Dell-Vikings Rock and Roll
Music, Chuck Berry School Day, Chuck
Berry Searchin/Young Blood, Coasters Little Darlin’, Diamonds Honest I Do, Jimmy
Reed Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On, Jerry Lee Lewis At the Hop, Danny
and the Juniors Oh Boy!, Crickets Peggy Sue, Buddy
Holly Banana Boat
(Day-o), Harry Belafonte Love is Strange,
Mickey and Sylvia Bye Bye Love, Everly Brothers Mr. Lee, Bobbettes Walkin After Midnight, Patsy Cline Party Doll, Buddy
Knox To the Aisle, Five
Satins Susie-Q, Dale Hawkins It's You I Love, Fats Domino Let the Four Winds
Blow, Roy Brown Wake Up Little
Susie, Everly Brothers Whispering Bells,
Dell-Vikings Silhouettes/Daddy
Cool*, Rays Little Bitty Pretty
One, Thurston Harris So Rare, Jimmy
Dorsey Orchestra I'm Walkin, Fats Domino Jenny Jenny, Little Richard Sittin’ in the Balcony, Eddie Cochran Buzz-Buzz-Buzz,
Hollywood Flames When I See You,
Fats Domino There'll Be Peace
in the Valley, Elvis Presley Keep A Knockin, Little Richard Been So Long,
Pastels The Big Beat, Fats
Domino C.C. Rider, Chuck Willis |
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1958: Johnny B Goode,
Chuck Berry Good Golly Miss
Molly, Little Richard Sweet Little
Sixteen, Chuck Berry All I Have to Do is
Dream/Claudette, Everly Brothers Little Star, Elegants To Know Him is to
Love Him, Teddy Bears Maybe Baby,
Crickets Get a Job,
Silhouettes Think It Over,
Crickets Lonely Teardrops,
Jackie Wilson A Lover's Question,
Clyde McPhatter I Wonder Why, Dion and the Belmonts Don't/I Beg of You,
Elvis Presley Breathless, Jerry
Lee Lewis Donna/La Bamba, Ritchie Valens I Cried a Tear, LaVern Baker Do You Want to
Dance, Bobby Freeman Hard Headed Woman,
Elvis Presley Believe What You
Say, Ricky Nelson For Your Precious
Love, Jerry Butler Wear My Ring Around
Your Neck, Elvis Presley Summertime Blues,
Eddie Cochran One Night/I Got
Stung, Elvis Presley Rockin' Robin, Bobby Day Big River, Johnny
Cash* Carol, Chuck Berry Tea For Two Cha Cha, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Rebel-'Rouser,
Duane Eddy Rave On, Buddy
Holly Fever, Peggy Lee The Stroll,
Diamonds That Old Black
Magic, Louis Prima and Keely Smith Witchcraft, Frank
Sinatra Early in the
Morning, Buddy Holly Smoke Gets in Your
Eyes, Platters High School
Confidential, Jerry Lee Lewis It's Only Make
Believe, Conway Twitty Splish Splash, Bobby Darin Book of Love,
Monotones Rumble, Link Wray Maybe, Chantels Ooh My Soul, Little
Richard Western Movies,
Olympics Talk To Me, Talk To
Me, Little Willie John Ten Commandments of
Love, Harvey and the Moonglows What Am I Living
For, Chuck Willis Lollipop, Chordettes Whole Lotta Loving, Fats Domino Chantilly Lace, Big
Bopper
Love of My Life, Everly Brothers |
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1959: What'd I Say Pt 1,
Ray Charles I Only Have Eyes
For You, Flamingos There Goes My Baby,
Drifters Stagger Lee, Lloyd
Price Since I Don't Have
You, Skyliners Come Softly to Me, Fleetwoods Dream Lover, Bobby
Darin Say Man, Bo Diddley Kansas City,
Wilbert Harrison Sea of Love, Phil
Phillips I Want to Walk You
Home/I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Some Day, Fats Domino It Doesn't Matter Anymore,
Buddy Holly A Big Hunk o Love,
Elvis Presley Sea Cruise, Freddie
Ford Love Potion No. 9,
Clovers You're So Fine,
Falcons Personality, Lloyd
Price El Paso, Marty
Robbins I'm Movin' On, Ray Charles Broken-Hearted
Melody, Sarah Vaughan It's Just a Matter
of Time, Brook Benton Mack the Knife,
Bobby Darin I Need Your Love
Tonight, Elvis Presley Tragedy, Thomas
Wayne The Way I Walk,
Jack Scott
Til I Kissed You, Everly
Brothers Almost Grown, Chuck Berry I Ain't Never, Webb Pierce |
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SIXTIES Pop music in the 1960s was pretty
good, though there were also great records that didn't chart.
Significant numbers of LPs sold even in the early ’60s, but throughout the
decade most bands concentrated on making singles. What was missing from the
Top 40 in the ’60s: more blues, some “lost” pop and soul hits that didn’t
climb the charts, and some guitar-rock/psychedelic rock (e.g.
Hendrix) which was still too weird or too lengthy for radio. |
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1960: Will You Love Me
Tomorrow, Shirelles Money, Barrett
Strong Shop Around, Miracles Save the Last Dance
for Me, Drifters Sticks and Stones,
Ray Charles Baby What You Want
Me To Do, Jimmy Reed Fannie Mae, Buster
Brown Stay, Maurice
Williams and the Zodiacs Only the Lonely,
Roy Orbison Think, James Brown
& the Famous Flames I Count the Tears,
Drifters Georgia On My Mind,
Ray Charles Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, Brenda
Lee Wonderful World,
Sam Cooke Tonight's the
Night, Shirelles New Orleans, Gary
U.S. Bonds I Want to Be
Wanted, Brenda Lee The Twist, Hank
Ballard and the Midnighters Wonderland by Night, Louis Prima Let's Go Let's Go
Let's Go, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters A Thousand Stars, Kathy Young with the Innocents Let's Have a Party,
Wanda Jackson Mule Skinner Blues,
Fendermen Don't Go To
Strangers, Etta Jones Nobody Loves Me
Like You, Flamingos When Will I Be
Loved, Everly Brothers Peter Gunn, Duane
Eddy My Girl Josephine,
Fats Domino Mack the Knife,
Ella Fitzgerald The Twist, Chubby
Checker Angel Baby, Rosie
and the Originals Ooh Poo Pa Doo, Pt II, Jessie Hill Sweet Nothin's, Brenda Lee A Fool in Love, Ike
and Tina Turner Walking to New
Orleans, Fats Domino |
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1961: Crying/Candy Man,
Roy Orbison Stand By Me, Ben E
King It's Gonna Work Out Fine, Ike and Tina Turner Crazy, Patsy Cline Spanish Harlem, Ben
E King Runaway, Del
Shannon Please Mr Postman, Marvelettes Travelin Man/Hello Mary Lou, Ricky Nelson Little Sister/His
Latest Flame, Elvis Presley Pretty Little Angel
Eyes, Curtis Lee Unchain My Heart,
Ray Charles Mother-in-Law,
Ernie K-Doe Take Five, Dave
Brubeck Quartet Tossin' and Turnin',
Bobby Lewis Blue Moon, Marcels Dedicated to the
One I Love, Shirelles The Wanderer, Dion I Love How You Love
Me, Paris Sisters I Fall to Pieces,
Patsy Cline Mama Said, Shirelles Sea of Heartbreak,
Don Gibson Hit the Road Jack,
Ray Charles Walk Right Back, Everly Brothers Jambalaya, Fats
Domino Hide Away, Freddy
King But I Do, Clarence
Henry Ya Ya, Lee
Dorsey All in My Mind, Maxine Brown Runaround Sue, Dion There's A Moon Out
Tonight, Capris Every Beat of My
Heart, Gladys Knight and the Pips Rainin' in My Heart, Slim Harpo Funny How Time
Slips Away, Jimmy Elledge Rama Lama Ding
Dong, Edsels Quarter to Three,
Gary U.S. Bonds Running Scared, Roy
Orbison If You Gotta Make a Fool Of Somebody, James Ray Heartaches, Marcels |
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1962: Any Day Now, Chuck
Jackson Surfin’ Safari, Beach Boys Two Lovers, Mary
Wells I Can't Stop Loving
You, Ray Charles You'll Lose a Good
Thing, Barbara Lynn Green Onions,
Booker T. and the MG's Bring It On Home To
Me, Sam Cooke You Don't Know Me,
Ray Charles Baby It's You, Shirelles You Better Move On,
Arthur Alexander What's a Matter
Baby, Timi Yuro Desafinado, Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd You Are My
Sunshine/Your Cheating Heart, Ray Charles You Beat Me to the
Punch, Mary Wells He's a Rebel,
Crystals She's Got You,
Patsy Cline Party Lights,
Claudine Clark Turn On Your Lovelight, Bobby Bland Do You Love Me,
Contours Up On the Roof,
Drifters Leah, Roy Orbison If I Had a Hammer,
Peter, Paul and Mary The Loco-Motion,
Little Eva Tell Him, Exciters The One who Really
Loves You, Mary Wells Release Me, Esther
Phillips Dream Baby, Roy
Orbison Duke of Earl, Gene
Chandler A Wonderful Dream,
Majors Palisades Park,
Freddy Cannon Love Letters, Ketty Lester Little Diane, Dion Zip a Dee Doo Dah, Bob B Soxx & the Blue Jeans Ahab the Arab, Ray
Stevens |
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1963: Be My Baby, Ronettes Can I Get a
Witness, Marvin Gaye You've Really Got a
Hold On Me, Miracles Just One Look,
Doris Troy Surfer Girl/Little
Deuce Coupe, Beach Boys Louie Louie, Kingsmen Pipeline, Chantay's Hitch Hike, Marvin
Gaye Surfin' USA/Shut Down, Beach Boys He's Sure the Boy I
Love, Crystals Heat Wave, Martha
and the Vandellas Need to Belong,
Jerry Butler Part Time Love,
Little Johnny Taylor Pride and Joy,
Marvin Gaye Without Love (There
is Nothing), Ray Charles One Fine Day,
Chiffons Be True to Your
School/In My Room, Beach Boys Ring of Fire,
Johnny Cash Then He Kissed Me,
Crystals On Broadway,
Drifters Da Doo Ron Ron, Crystals Prisoner of Love,
James Brown & the Famous Flames Today I Met the Boy
I'm Gonna Marry, Darlene Love Call On Me/That's
the Way Love Is, Bobby Bland Surf City, Jan
& Dean Don't Make Me Over,
Dionne Warwick Remember Then,
Earls Mockingbird, Inez
Foxx Cast Your Fate to
the Wind, Vince Guaraldi Trio Blue Bayou, Roy
Orbison I Wanna Be Around, Tony Bennett Surfin Bird, Trashmen Don't Set Me Free,
Ray Charles Ruby Baby, Dion He's So Fine,
Chiffons I'm Leaving It Up
to You, Dale and Grace In Dreams, Roy
Orbison Since I Fell For
You, Lenny Welch Easier Said Than
Done, Essex Fingertips Pt 2,
Little Stevie Wonder End of the World, Skeeter Davis Hello Stranger,
Barbara Lewis Little Town Flirt,
Del Shannon Your Old Stand By,
Mary Wells Watermelon Man,
Mongo Santamaria The Rhythm of the
Rain, Cascades Another Saturday
Night, Sam Cooke Swinging on a Star,
Big Dee Irwin |
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1964: I Get Around/Don't
Worry Baby, Beach Boys Baby I Need Your
Loving, Four Tops Dancing in the
Street, Martha and the Vandellas Needles and Pins,
Searchers You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Righteous
Brothers You Really Got Me,
Kinks Out of Sight, James
Brown & the Famous Flames Nadine (Is It You),
Chuck Berry I Want to Hold Your
Hand/I Saw Her Standing There, Beatles House of the Rising
Sun, Animals I Feel Fine/She's A
Woman, Beatles Rock Me Baby, B.B.
King Come See About Me,
Supremes Time is On My Side,
Rolling Stones She Loves You,
Beatles How Sweet it is To
Be Loved By You, Marvin Gaye And I Love Her,
Beatles Mercy Mercy, Don Covay Oh Pretty Woman,
Roy Orbison Chapel of Love,
Dixie Cups When I Grow Up,
Beach Boys Under the
Boardwalk, Drifters My Guy, Mary Wells Ain't Nothing You Can Do, Bobby Bland Talking About My
Baby, Impressions Walk On By, Dionne
Warwick Where Did Our Love
Go, Supremes Steal Away, Jimmy
Hughes Do Wah Diddy Diddy,
Manfred Mann You Must Believe
Me, Impressions Leader of the Pack,
Shangri-las The Girl From Ipanema, Stan Getz/Astrud
Gilberto It's All Over Now,
Rolling Stones You Never Can Tell,
Chuck Berry Baby Love, Supremes Baby I Love You, Ronettes Just Be True, Gene
Chandler Can't Buy Me Love,
Beatles California Sun, Rivieras Who Do You Love,
Sapphires Dance Dance Dance, Beach Boys Selfish One, Jackie Ross I'll Cry Instead,
Beatles She's Not There,
Zombies Every Little Bit Hurts, Brenda Holloway No Particular Place
To Go, Chuck Berry Hello Dolly, Louis
Armstrong Hi-heel Sneakers,
Tommy Tucker Fun Fun Fun, Beach Boys Suspicion, Terry
Stafford The Pink Panther Theme, Henry Mancini Keep On Pushing,
Impressions The Shoop Shoop Song, Betty Everett A World Without
Love, Peter and Gordon Please Please Me, Beatles The Way you Do the
Things You Do, Temptations You Should Have
Seen How he Looked at Me, Dixie Cups |
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1965: Satisfaction,
Rolling Stones Like a Rolling
Stone, Bob Dylan I've Been Loving
You Too Long, Otis Redding My Girl,
Temptations Papa’s Got a Brand
New Bag, James Brown & the Famous Flames Tracks of My Tears,
Miracles Mr Tambourine Man, Byrds Shotgun, Junior
Walker and the All-Stars Subterranean
Homesick Blues, Bob Dylan Turn Turn Turn!, Byrds The Last Time,
Rolling Stones We Can Work It
Out/Day Tripper, Beatles Do You Believe in
Magic, Lovin' Spoonful She's About A
Mover, Sir Douglas Quintet Nowhere to Run,
Martha and the Vandellas Wooly Bully, Sam
the Sham & the Pharoahs I Can't Help
Myself, Four Tops Land Of 1000
Dances, Cannibal and the Headhunters Help Me Rhonda,
Beach Boys Yesterday, Beatles In the Midnight
Hour, Wilson Pickett Positively 4th
Street, Bob Dylan Respect, Otis Redding Ticket to Ride,
Beatles Heart Full of Soul,
Yardbirds I Got You Babe,
Sonny and Cher A Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke The Sound of
Silence, Simon and Garfunkel Yes I'm Ready,
Barbara Mason I Got You (I Feel
Good), James Brown & the Famous Flames The In Crowd, Dobie
Gray Get Off of My
Cloud, Rolling Stones We're Gonna Make It, Little Milton Don't Let Me Be
Misunderstood, Animals Stop in the Name of
Love, Supremes People Get Ready,
Impressions California Girls,
Beach Boys Ooh Baby Baby, Miracles Catch the Wind,
Donovan You Didn't Have to
Be so Nice, Lovin' Spoonful Ain't That Peculiar, Marvin Gaye You've Been in Love
Too Long, Martha and the Vandellas Heart of Stone,
Rolling Stones For Your Love, Yardbirds I Do, Marvelows Do the Boomerang,
Junior Walker and the All-stars Five O Clock World,
Vogues Unchained Melody,
Righteous Brothers Help!, Beatles Agent Double O
Soul, Edwin Starr Here Comes the
Night, Them Hold What You've
Got, Joe Tex Go Now, Moody Blues I'll Keep Holding
On, Marvelettes |
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1966: Hold On I'm a Comin', Sam and Dave When A Man Loves a
Woman, Percy Sledge Nowhere Man,
Beatles Devil With a Blue
Dress On medley, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels Tell It Like It Is,
Aaron Neville I Want You, Bob
Dylan California Dreamin', Mamas & the Papas Good Vibrations,
Beach Boys 96 Tears, and the Mysterians Eight Miles High, Byrds I'm a Road Runner,
Junior Walker and the All-stars Wouldn't It Be
Nice/God Only Knows, Beach Boys Reach Out I'll Be
There, Four Tops Summer in the City,
Lovin' Spoonful Eleanor Rigby,
Beatles 19th Nervous
Breakdown, Rolling Stones Going to a Go-go,
Miracles Knock on Wood,
Eddie Floyd Mothers Little
Helper/Lady Jane, Rolling Stones Paperback
Writer/Rain, Beatles A Hazy Shade of
Winter, Simon and Garfunkel Don't Bring Me
Down, Animals Good Lovin', Young Rascals I Know I'm Losing
You, Temptations Dirty Water, Standells Strangers in the
Night, Frank Sinatra Warm and Tender
Love, Percy Sledge Just Like a Woman,
Bob Dylan Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Temptations Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa, Otis Redding If I Were a Carpenter,
Bobby Darin Nashville Cats, Lovin' Spoonful Try a Little
Tenderness, Otis Redding Hey Joe, Leaves Kicks, Paul Revere
and the Raiders Harlem Nocturne,
Viscounts Crying Time, Ray
Charles Lies,
Knickerbockers You Keep Me Hangin' On, Supremes Uptight, Stevie Wonder It's a Mans Mans Mans World, James Brown
& the Famous Flames Sunshine Superman,
Donovan Homeward Bound,
Simon and Garfunkel Mustang Sally,
Wilson Pickett Love is Like an
Itching in My Heart, Supremes Let's Go Get
Stoned, Ray Charles I'm Your Puppet,
James and Bobby Purify Working in the Coal
Mine, Lee Dorsey Monday Monday, Mamas and the Papas Rainy Day Women #12
and 35, Bob Dylan Gloria, Shadows of
Knight Paint It Black,
Rolling Stones Stop Stop Stop, Hollies What Becomes of the
Brokenhearted, Jimmy Ruffin I'm the One You
Need, Miracles |
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1967: Respect, Aretha
Franklin I Never Loved a
Man, Aretha Franklin Penny
Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, Beatles Cold Sweat Pt 1,
James Brown & the Famous Flames I Heard It Through the
Grapevine, Gladys Knight and the Pips Gimme Some Lovin',
Spencer Davis Group Soul Man, Sam and
Dave Chain of Fools,
Aretha Franklin Baby I Love You,
Aretha Franklin Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin
Gaye/Tammi Terrell A Natural Woman,
Aretha Franklin All You Need is
Love/Baby You're a Rich Man, Beatles For What Its Worth,
Buffalo Springfield Fakin’ It, Simon and Garfunkel Tell Mama, Etta
James Are You Lonely For
Me, Freddie Scott Show Me, Joe Tex Brown Eyed Girl,
Van Morrison Different Drum,
Stone Poneys Darling Be Home
Soon, Lovin' Spoonful I Wanna Testify, Parliaments Light My Fire,
Doors Sweet Soul Music,
Arthur Conley Let It Out, Hombres The Letter, Box
Tops I Second That
Emotion, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles To Sir With Love,
Lulu In the Heat of the
Night, Ray Charles Make Me Yours,
Bettye Swann A Whiter Shade of
Pale, Procol Harum To Love Somebody,
Bee Gees Let’s Fall in Love,
Peaches and Herb Expressway to Your Heart,
Soul Survivors Hello Goodbye,
Beatles Security, Etta
James Higher and Higher,
Jackie Wilson My Back Pages, Byrds Somebody to Love,
Jefferson Airplane Your Precious Love,
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell Everybody Needs
Love, Gladys Knight and the Pips You Keep Running
Away, Four Tops Let Love Come
Between Us, James and Bobby Purify So You Want to Be a
Rock and Roll Star, Byrds At the Zoo, Simon
and Garfunkel Everybody needs
Somebody to Love, Wilson Pickett Friday on My Mind, Easybeats Twelve Thirty,
Mamas and the Papas Hip Hug-Her, Booker T.
and the MGs |
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1968: Hey
Jude/Revolution, Beatles I Heard it Through
the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye Jumpin' Jack Flash, Rolling Stones The Dock of the
Bay, Otis Redding Piece of My Heart,
Big Brother and the Holding Company Love Makes a Woman,
Barbara Acklin Say It Loud I'm
Black and I'm Proud, James Brown All Along the
Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix Experience Chained, Marvin
Gaye Mrs. Robinson,
Simon and Garfunkel Sweet Inspiration,
Sweet Inspirations Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Marvin
Gaye/Tammi Terrell Scarborough Fair,
Simon and Garfunkel Fool For You,
Impressions Dance to the Music,
Sly and the Family Stone Here Comes the
Judge, Shorty Long Keep On Lovin' Me Honey, Marvin Gaye/Tammi
Terrell Going Up the
Country, Canned Heat The Mighty Quinn,
Manfred Mann You’re All I Need
to Get By, Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell Do It Again, Beach
Boys Tighten Up, Archie
Bell and the Drells The House That Jack
Built, Aretha Franklin Born to Be Wild,
Steppenwolf Lady Madonna,
Beatles I Thank You, Sam
and Dave Hey, Western Union
Man, Jerry Butler (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone, Aretha Franklin Stay in My Corner,
Dells Folsom Prison
Blues, Johnny Cash We're a Winner,
Impressions Both Sides Now,
Judy Collins Paying the Cost to
Be the Boss, B.B. King Think, Aretha
Franklin The End of Our
Road, Gladys Knight and the Pips Gentle On My Mind,
Glen Campbell See Saw, Aretha
Franklin I Got the Feeling,
James Brown Who's Making Love,
Johnnie Taylor Magic Bus, Who Papa's Got a Brand
New Bag, Otis Redding Stand By Your Man,
Tammy Wynette You Met Your Match, Stevie Wonder Call Me Lightning,
Who MacArthur Park,
Richard Harris Licking Stick
Licking Stick, James Brown & the Famous Flames I Could Never Love
Another, Temptations Don't take It So
Hard, Paul Revere and the Raiders She's a Rainbow, Rolling Stones |
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1969: Everyday People,
Sly and the Family Stone Green
River/Commotion, Creedence Clearwater Revival Get Back/Don't Let
Me Down, Beatles Come
Together/Something, Beatles Good Lovin Ain't Easy To Come By,
Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell Suspicious Minds,
Elvis Presley Proud Mary, Creedence Clearwater Revival If I Could Change
My Mind, Tyrone Davis Up On Cripple
Creek, Band I Want You Back,
Jackson 5 Ramblin Gamblin
Man, Bob Seger System That's the Way Love
Is, Marvin Gaye Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival I Don't Want Nobody
to Give Me Nothing, James Brown Pinball Wizard, Who Cissy Strut, Meters Mother Popcorn,
James Brown A Brand New Me,
Dusty Springfield Share Your Love With Me, Aretha Franklin The Boxer, Simon
and Garfunkel Give Peace a
Chance, Plastic Ono Band I Don't Know Why I
Love You, Stevie Wonder Honky Tonk Women, Rolling Stones Mendocino, Sir
Douglas Quintet Rock Me,
Steppenwolf Put a Little Love
in Your Heart, Jackie deShannon Crossroads, Cream Time is Tight,
Booker T. and the MG's Take Care of Your
Homework, Johnnie Taylor A Boy Named Sue,
Johnny Cash Get Together, Youngbloods Polk Salad Annie,
Tony Joe White Israelites, Desmond
Dekker and the Aces Soul Deep, Box Tops Lay Lady Lay, Bob
Dylan Nobody But You Babe, Clarence Reid |
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SEVENTIES Music in the ’70s gained
professionalism but lost creativity and soul, and record companies were focused more on developing commercial product than developing distinctive artists. Still,
there was a lot of diverse music and some of it got airplay. LPs outsold
singles, so Top 40 was no longer representative of what people were listening to (obviously -- Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were among the decade's best-selling bands but only had a few singles). What was missing from the Top 40 in the ’70s: a lot of AOR, country-rock, roots-rock (like Little Feat), reggae (Bob Marley), the first rap records, most punk and new wave, and other music that didn’t fit
into FM or AM radio formats. |
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1970: Thank You Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin,
Sly and the Family Stone The Thrill is Gone,
B. B. King Come Running, Van
Morrison Woodstock, Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young Let It Be, Beatles Lets Work Together
Pt 1, Wilbert Harrison My Sweet Lord/Isn't
It A Pity, George Harrison Rainy Night in
Georgia, Brook Benton Lola, Kinks I Want to Take You
Higher, Sly and the Family Stone Bridge Over
Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel ABC, Jackson 5 Fire and Rain,
James Taylor Signed Sealed
Delivered I'm Yours, Stevie Wonder Sex Machine, James
Brown The Tears of a
Clown, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Band of Gold, Freda
Payne El Condor Pasa, Simon and Garfunkel Evil Ways, Santana Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop the Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival The Long and
Winding Road, Beatles Ohio, Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young Love or Let Me Be Lonely,
Friends of Distinction Steal Away, Johnnie Taylor War, Edwin Starr Maybe, the Three Degrees Instant Karma, John
Lennon O-o-h Child, Five Stairsteps |
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1971: Let's Stay
Together, Al Green Brown Sugar,
Rolling Stones Maggie May, Rod Stewart Respect Yourself,
Staple Singers Tired of Being
Alone, Al Green Won't Get Fooled
Again, Who It's Too Late/I
Feel the Earth Move, Carole King Mercy Mercy Me The Ecology, Marvin Gaye Soul Power Pt 1,
James Brown Sweet Hitchhiker, Creedence Clearwater Revival So Far Away, Carole
King Rock Steady, Aretha
Franklin Wild Horses,
Rolling Stones What's Going On,
Marvin Gaye Inner City Blues,
Marvin Gaye Theme From Shaft,
Isaac Hayes Me and Bobby McGee,
Janis Joplin What is Life,
George Harrison She's Not Just
Another Woman, 8th Day Mr Big Stuff, Jean Knight Ask Me No
Questions, B. B. King Just My
Imagination, Temptations Wild Night, Van
Morrison Behind Blue Eyes,
Who Imagine, Plastic
Ono Band Want Ads, Honey
Cone It Don't Come Easy,
Ringo Starr Have You Seen Her,
Chi-Lites Oye Como Va, Santana American Pie, Don
McLean High Time We Went/
Black-Eyed Blues, Joe Cocker Precious Precious, Jackie Moore Blue Money, Van
Morrison Do You Know What I
Mean, Lee Michaels |
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1972: Layla, Derek & the Dominos Don't Do It, Band The City of New
Orleans, Arlo Guthrie Take It Easy,
Eagles Superstition, Stevie Wonder Tumbling Dice,
Rolling Stones Get on the Good
Foot Pt 1, James Brown Mother and Child
Reunion, Paul Simon Heart of Gold, Neil
Young You Wear It Well,
Rod Stewart Superfly, Curtis Mayfield Feeling Alright,
Joe Cocker Doctor My Eyes,
Jackson Browne You’re So Vain, Carly Simon Family Affair, Sly
and the Family Stone Crocodile Rock,
Elton John You Turn Me On, I'm
a Radio, Joni Mitchell Baby Let Me Take
You in My Arms, Detroit Emeralds If You Don't Know
Me By Now, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes Stay With Me, Faces Papa Was a Rollin'
Stone, Temptations You're Still a
Young Man, Tower of Power Baby Blue, Badfinger Talking Loud and
Saying Nothing, James Brown I'll Be Around,
Spinners Bang a Gong, T. Rex Without You,
Nilsson |
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1973: Here I Am, Al Green
I Can't Stand the
Rain, Ann Peebles Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye Call Me, Al Green Kodachrome, Paul Simon Right Place Wrong Time, Dr. John Ramblin' Man, Allman
Brothers Band Drift Away, Dobie
Gray To Know You is To
Love You, B. B. King Midnight Train to
Georgia, Gladys Knight and the Pips Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan Living for the
City, Stevie Wonder Keep On Truckin Pt 1, Eddie Kendricks Loves Me Like a
Rock, Paul Simon Walk on the Wild
Side, Lou Reed Reeling in the
Years, Steely Dan Mind Games, John
Lennon Time to Get Down, O'Jays The Love I Lost Pt.
1, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out, Bobby Womack Angie, Rolling
Stones |
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1974: Sweet Home Alabama,
Lynyrd Skynyrd It's Only Rock and
Roll, Rolling Stones Let's Get Married,
Al Green You Haven't Done Nothin, Stevie Wonder On and On, Gladys
Knight and the Pips Boogie On Reggae
Woman, Stevie Wonder Distant Lover,
Marvin Gaye The Payback Pt 1, James Brown You Got the Love, Rufus f. Chaka Khan I Like to Live the
Love, B. B. King Overnight
Sensation, Raspberries American Tune, Paul Simon Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Steely Dan Don't Let the Sun
Go Down On Me, Elton John Mighty Mighty, Earth Wind and Fire Sundown, Gordon
Lightfoot Dancing Machine,
Jackson 5 |
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1975: Jive Talkin', Bee Gees You're No Good,
Linda Ronstadt Tangled Up in Blue,
Bob Dylan Born to Run, Bruce
Springsteen Wasted Days and
Wasted Nights, Freddy Fender Shakey Ground, Temptations Trampled Under
Foot, Led Zeppelin Big Yellow Taxi,
Joni Mitchell I'm On Fire, Dwight
Twilley Band Shame Shame Shame, Shirley and
Company This Will Be,
Natalie Cole Stand By Me, John Lennon Low Rider, War Wake Up Everybody
Pt 1, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes Lady Marmalade, Patti LaBelle Miracles, Jefferson Starship Bad Luck Pt 1,
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes I Get Lifted, George McCrae I Love Music Pt 1, O'Jays That's the Way I
Like It, KC and the Sunshine Band |
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1976: Rhiannon, Fleetwood
Mac Walk This Way, Aerosmith I Wish, Stevie Wonder Say You Love Me,
Fleetwood Mac You Should Be
Dancing, Bee Gees Tear the Roof off
the Sucker, Parliament The Rubberband Man, Spinners The Wreck of the
Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot Good Hearted Woman,
Waylon and Willie Got to Get You Into
My Life, Beatles 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Paul Simon Lowdown, Boz Scaggs Golden Years, David
Bowie Love is the Drug, Roxy Music |
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1977: Hotel California,
Eagles Stayin' Alive, Bee Gees Night Moves, Bob Seger Don't Stop,
Fleetwood Mac You Make Loving
Fun, Fleetwood Mac As, Stevie Wonder Got to Give It Up
Pt 1, Marvin Gaye Luckenbach, Texas, Waylon Jennings Life in the Fast Lane, Eagles Maybe I'm Amazed,
Paul McCartney/Wings Brick House,
Commodores At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You
Up), Rufus ft Chaka Khan It's Ecstasy, Barry
White I'm Your Boogie
Man, KC and the Sunshine Band Do Your Dance -
Part 1, Rose Royce Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett |
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1978: Disco Inferno, Trammps Prove It All Night,
Bruce Springsteen The Groove Line, Heatwave I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight, Atlanta Rhythm Section Lay Down Sally,
Eric Clapton Promises, Eric
Clapton King Tut, Steve Martin Its a Heartache,
Bonnie Tyler Breakdown, Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers Miss You, Rolling
Stones |
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1979: Dreaming, Blondie Sultans of Swing,
Dire Straits Heart of Glass,
Blondie Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Michael Jackson Good Times, Chic Let's Go, Cars Found a Cure,
Ashford and Simpson |
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EIGHTIES In the 1980s, Top 40 radio
still played a big role in promoting music, and
there was still pop music, mostly silly but catchy and
listenable. What was missing from the Top 40 in the ’80s: most of the
decade’s best bands, either because they didn’t have a lot of radio hits
(like Grandmaster Flash, the Cold Crush Brothers, Afrika Bambaataa, the English Beat, the Jam, the Replacements, the Pixies, Stone Roses, the Smiths, Squeeze, Midnight Oil, dB's, Sonic Youth, Primal Scream etc. etc.) or because their
singles weren’t their best songs (the Police, REM, U2, Talking Heads). |
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1980: Refugee, Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers Rapper's Delight,
Sugar Hill Gang Brass in Pocket, Pretenders It's Still Rock and
Roll To Me, Billy Joel Cocaine, Eric
Clapton Giving It Up For
Your Love, Delbert McClinton Call Me, Blondie Coming Up, Wings Let Me Be the Clock, Smokey Robinson Just Like Starting
Over, John Lennon Lovely One, Jacksons |
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1981: Centerfold, J. Geils Band Watching the
Wheels, John Lennon Being With You,
Smokey Robinson I Can't Go For That (No Can Do), Hall & Oates All Those Years
Ago, George Harrison Start Me Up,
Rolling Stones Hold On Loosely, .38 Special |
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1982: Dirty Laundry, Don Henley Freeze-Frame, J. Geils Band Sexual Healing, Marvin Gaye Valley Girl, Frank
Zappa Shame on the Moon,
Bob Seger Someday Someway,
Marshall Crenshaw Shock the Monkey,
Peter Gabriel Mama Used to Say, Junior Only the Lonely, Motels |
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1983: Back on the Chain
Gang, Pretenders Every Breath You
Take, Police Tell Her About It,
Billy Joel Beat It, Michael
Jackson Our House, Madness |
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1984: Dancing in the
Dark, Bruce Springsteen I Feel For You,
Chaka Khan Middle of the Road,
Pretenders Legs, ZZ Top Red Red Wine, UB40 Cover Me, Bruce
Springsteen Panama, Van Halen Tenderness, General
Public Born in the USA,
Bruce Springsteen Girls Just Want to
Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper |
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1985: Sun City, Artists
united against Apartheid My Hometown, Bruce
Springsteen Money for Nothing,
Dire Straits Go Home, Stevie Wonder |
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1986: Sledgehammer, Peter
Gabriel Kiss, Prince and
the Revolution A Matter of Trust,
Billy Joel You Be Illin', Run-D.M.C. Tuff Enuff, Fabulous Thunderbirds Living in America,
James Brown Walk This Way,
Run-D.M.C. Let's Go All the
Way, Sly Fox |
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1987: Ship of Fools,
World Party Big Time, Peter
Gabriel Tunnel of Love,
Bruce Springsteen You Can Call Me Al,
Paul Simon Just Like Heaven,
Cure Sign O the Times,
Prince The Right Thing,
Simply Red Smoking Gun, Robert
Cray Band The Future's So
Bright, Timbuk3 Hourglass, Squeeze |
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1988: What a Wonderful
World, Louis Armstrong New Sensation, INXS Cult of
Personality, Living Color Fast Car, Tracy
Chapman Tomorrow People, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers When We Was Fab, George Harrison |
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1989: You Got It, Roy
Orbison Hey Ladies, Beastie
Boys Veronica, Elvis
Costello Good Thing, Fine
Young Cannibals Cuddly Toy, Roachford The Last Worthless Evening, Don Henley Me Myself and I, De
La Soul Love Song, Cure Pop Singer, John
Cougar Mellencamp Mixed Emotions,
Rolling Stones |
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NINETIES In the 1990s, CDs vastly outsold
other media and singles existed only to sell CDs. Top 40 was increasingly
irrelevant -- even before online music sharing made sales a misleading measure
of popularity, Top 40 radio had lost importance. (Recognizing this fact, this list includes
songs that charted on some other Bilboard charts with an asterisk.) Radio balkanized into
mutually exclusive formats (country, hip hop/rap, ”alternative”
rock) with large audiences and artists almost never tried to cross over (though it was interesting when they occasionally did, like Snoop Dogg teaming with Rage Against the Machine or in a different universe, Santana and Rob Thomas). Country music re-entered the mainstream but got shallow, slick, softcore, and numbingly stupid; rap/hip hop became commercial, cartoonish, and unmusical -- as well as self-consciously preoccupied with violence, drug abuse, misogynistic sex, and ignorant social commentary. After a burst of creativity in the early and mid ’90s,
“alternative” rock morphed into unimaginative, adolescent pop and numetal, a rip on earlier hard-rock/metal which was
derivative to begin with. At least a few “alternative” bands had radio
hits before they started to suck. What was missing from Top 40 in the ’90s
and ’00s: most good hip hop, a lot of rock, in fact almost everything that was good, and most of the music that people over age 12 were actually listening to. |
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1990: A Girl Like You,
Smithereens Getting Away with
It, Electronica Nothing Compares 2
U, Sinead O'Connor |
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1991: Wicked Game, Chris Isaak Mysterious Ways, U2
Kiss Them For Me, Siouxsie and the Banshees Hard to Handle,
Black Crowes Elevate My Mind,
Stereo MCs Round and
Round, Tevin Campbell |
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1992: Give It Away, Red
Hot Chili Peppers* One, U2 Come As You Are,
Nirvana I'd Die Without
You, P M Dawn Damn I Wish I Was Your
Lover, Sophie B Hawkins They Want EFX, DAS EFX Crossover, EPMD* Little Miss Can't
Be Wrong, Spin Doctors Human Touch/Better
Days, Bruce Springsteen |
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1993: Slam, Onyx Nuthin But a G Thang,
Dr. Dre I'm Gonna Be, Proclaimers Informer, Snow Steam, Peter
Gabriel |
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1994: Loser, Beck About a Girl, Nirvana* Get Over It, Eagles Cantaloop, US3 Give It Up, Public
Enemy Mary Jane's Last
Dance, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Bop Gun (One Nation), Ice Cube ft. George Clinton |
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1995: You Oughta Know, Alanis Morissette* This is a Call, Foo Fighters* Strong Enough,
Sheryl Crow I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By, Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige Long Road/I Got Id, Pearl Jam |
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1996: What I Got,
Sublime* Too Much, Dave
Matthews Band* How Do U Want It/
California Love, 2Pac Jealousy, Natalie
Merchant Stupid Girl,
Garbage All Mixed Up, 311* Love Rollercoaster,
Red Hot Chili Peppers* |
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1997: 6 Underground,
Sneaker Pimps* If You Could Only
See, Tonic* Hypnotize, Notorious B.I.G. |
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1998: Bitter Sweet
Symphony, Verve |
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1999: Smooth, Santana
featuring Rob Thomas When I Said I Do,
Clint Black Learn to Fly, Foo Fighters Praise You, Fatboy Slim |
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2000: Beautiful Day, U2 Desert Rose, Sting
ft. Cheb Mami |
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2001: Sweet Baby, Macy
Gray ft. Erykah Badu* Fallin’, Alicia Keys Whenever, Wherever (Suerte), Shakira Music, Erick Sermon
ft. Marvin Gaye |
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2002: Blessed, Martina
McBride The Middle, Jimmy
Eat World Where Are You Going, Dave Matthews Band |
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2003: Clocks, Coldplay Crazy in Love, Beyoncé
ft. Jay-Z Bigger Than My
Body, John Mayer |
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2004: |
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2005: La Tortura, Shakira
ft. Alejandro Sanz |
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2006: Crazy, Gnarls
Barkley World Wide Suicide,
Pearl Jam |
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2007: Paralyzer, Finger 11 |
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