As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit the ranking's 100 biggest artists of all-time.
On August 4 1958, Billboard launched the Hot 100, forever changing pop music - or at least how it's measured. Sixty years later, the chart remains the gold-standard ranking of America's top songs each week. And while what goes into a hit has changed (bye, bye jukebox play; hello, streaming!), attaining a spot on the list - or better yet, a coveted No. 1 - is still the benchmark to which artists explore, from Ricky Nelson on the first to Drake on the latest. Which brings us to this hottest-of-the-hot list: the 100 most massive artists over the charts six decades.
1. The Beatles 2. Madonna 3. Elton John 4. Elvis Presley 5. Mariah Carey 6. Stevie Wonder 7. Janet Jackson 8. Michael Jackson 9. Whitney Houston 10. Rihanna 11. The Rolling Stones 12. Paul McCartney 13. Bee Gees 14. Usher 15. Chicago 16. The Supremes 17. Prince 18. Daryl Hall & John Oates 19. Rod Stewart 20. Olivia Newton-John 21. Drake 22. Aretha Franklin 23. Marvin Gaye 24. Taylor Swift 25. Katy Perry 26. Phil Collins 27. Billy Joel 28. Diana Ross 29. The Four Seasons 30. The Temptations 31. Donna Summer 32. The Beach Boys 33. Lionel Richie 34. Bruno Mars 35. Neil Diamond 36. Carpenters 37. Maroon 5 38. Boyz II Men 39. The Jacksons 40. Connie Francis 41. Beyoncé 42. Brenda Lee 43. Kenny Rogers 44. Barbra Streisand 45. Bryan Adams 46. Cher 47. George Michael 48. The Black Eyed Peas 49. P!nk 50. Bobby Vinton 51. John Mellencamp 52. Three Dog Night 53. Huey Lewis & The News 54. Gloria Estefan 55. Bon Jovi 56. Chubby Checker 57. Ray Charles 58. Foreigner 59. Chris Brown 60. Kool & The Gang 61. Gladys Knight & The Pips 62. Ricky Nelson 63. Duran Duran 64. Justin Timberlake 65. Commodores 66. Eagles 67. Lady Gaga 68. TLC 69. Paul Anka 70. Barry Manilow 71. Dionne Warwick 72. Heart 73. Nelly 74. The Everly Brothers 75. Bobby Darin 76. R. Kelly 77. James Brown 78. Paula Abdul 79. Eminem 80. Alicia Keys 81. Kelly Clarkson 82. Linda Ronstadt 83. Richard Marx 84. Starship 85. Destiny's Child 86. Kanye West 87. Céline Dion 88. Jay-Z 89. The Miracles 90. Bob Seger 91. Fleetwood Mac 92. Neil Sedaka 93. Justin Bieber 94. Bruce Springsteen 95. The Pointer Sisters 96. John Denver 97. Four Tops 98. Tony Orlando & Dawn 99. 50 Cent 100. The 5th Dimension
Methodology: The Greatest of All-Time 60th Anniversary Billboard Hot 100 Songs and Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its inception on August 4, 1958, through July 21, 2018). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods. Artists are ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all of their Hot 100 chart entries.
(Billboard)
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