Billie Jean
1982 · From Thriller
That bassline, mixed and remixed until it gleamed, and the four minutes that integrated MTV.
★ 9.8
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Thriller
1982 · From Thriller
Vincent Price cackling over a disco-funk groove, and a fourteen-minute video that turned pop into event television.
★ 9.2
Bad Romance
2009
Written on a tour bus in Norway and premiered at Alexander McQueen's last show, all nonsense syllables and appetite.
★ 8.7
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
2008
Beyonce found Bob Fosse's Mexican Breakfast on YouTube; three Grammys and a decade of wedding receptions followed.
★ 8.6
Get Ur Freak On
2001
Timbaland set a tumbi melody over tabla and left Elliott acres of empty space to fill.
★ 8.5
Toxic
2003
Minogue passed on it; Bloodshy and Avant hung a Bollywood string sample over surf guitar for Spears's only Grammy.
★ 8.2
...Baby One More Time
1998
Max Martin built it at Cheiron in Stockholm after TLC and the Backstreet Boys passed, and Spears was sixteen.
★ 7.7
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
1983
Robert Hazard wrote it in 1979 from a man's point of view, and Lauper flipped it into female solidarity.
★ 7.7
Like a Virgin
1984 · From Like a Virgin
A Steinberg and Kelly demo Rodgers disliked at first, six weeks at number one, and a seventeen-foot wedding cake.
★ 7.7
Smooth Criminal
1987 · From Bad
Jackson took the chorus line from a CPR dummy named Annie, and the anti-gravity lean later earned a patent.
★ 7.6
Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
Enjoy the Silence
1990 · From Violator
Gore wrote it as a harmonium ballad; Wilder and Flood put a dance beat under it over his objections.
★ 7.6
I Wanna Dance with Somebody
1987 · From Whitney
Walden thought the demo too country, funked it up, and Houston cut it while shaking off a bronchial infection.
★ 7.5
Poker Face
2008
RedOne produced it at Record Plant, Gaga's mum-mum-mum-mah hook nodding to Boney M, and 2009's best-selling single worldwide.
★ 7.5
Uptown Funk
2014
Six studios, eighty-two takes at the guitar part, Ronson collapsing in the studio, and fourteen weeks at number one.
★ 7.5
Can't Get You Out of My HeadKylie Minogue
Can't Get You Out of My Head
2001
Dennis and Davis wrote it in three and a half hours, and Minogue committed after twenty seconds of the demo.
★ 7.5
Bad
1987 · From Bad
Scorsese shot eighteen minutes in a Brooklyn subway station, and the brass hits point straight back at James Brown.
★ 7.4
Into the Groove
1985
Written for another singer, rebuilt with Stephen Bray for a Desperately Seeking Susan dance scene, then buried on a B-side.
★ 7.4
Express Yourself (Madonna)
1989 · From Like a Prayer
Madonna and Stephen Bray built it on horns and handclaps; Fincher's Metropolis video cost a reported five million dollars.
★ 7.2
We Found Love
2011
Calvin Harris wrote and produced it alone, and Rihanna rode ten weeks at number one, 2011's longest run.
★ 7.2
Nasty
1986
Jackson answered street harassers by demanding respect over a factory preset Jimmy Jam found on an Ensoniq Mirage.
★ 7.0
Wannabe
1996
Seven weeks at UK number one for a debut single, and a chorus that puts her friends before any suitor.
★ 6.7
Black or White
1991 · From Dangerous
Bill Bottrell played the riff everyone credits to Slash, then rapped the verse himself after eight months of searching.
★ 6.5
Don't Stop the Music
2007
StarGate looped Michael Jackson's chant from Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', and Rihanna took it to number one in ten countries.
★ 6.4
Fantasy
1995
Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love, flipped by Dave Hall, and Carey the first woman to debut at number one.
★ 6.3
Holiday (Madonna)Madonna
Holiday (Madonna)
1983 · From Madonna
Mary Wilson and Phyllis Hyman turned it down; Benitez cut it at Sigma Sound in a week, cowbell included.
★ 6.2
Return of the Mack
1996
Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love beat rebuilt as smooth British R&B, and Morrison sounding utterly unbothered about being wronged.
★ 6.2
Just Dance
2008
Twenty-two weeks crawling up the Hot 100 before number one, RedOne's synths announcing the pop decade ahead.
★ 6.2
Shake it Off
2014 · From 1989
Martin and Shellback stomped the drum pattern on a wooden floor, and Swift turned tabloid noise into fifty weeks charting.
★ 6.2
How Will I Know
1985 · From Whitney Houston
A demo Janet Jackson's camp turned down, which Houston rode to number one over her cousin Dionne Warwick.
★ 6.2
That Don't Impress Me Much
1998
Twain and Lange built it on three men who fall short, and that hooded leopard print did the rest.
★ 6.0
Independent Women
2000
Written for the Charlie's Angels soundtrack, eleven straight weeks at number one, and Michelle Williams's first single with the group.
★ 6.0
Survivor
2001
A radio host's joke about the lineup changes, flipped into a Grammy winner Beyonce largely wrote on a flight.
★ 6.0
Titanium
David Guetta and Sia
2011
Sia cut the vocal as a guide for another singer; Guetta released it anyway, and she got a number one.
★ 6.0
Promiscuous
2006
Nicknamed the BlackBerry Song because every line could be text-messaged, and Timbaland trades verses instead of just producing.
★ 5.9
Bye Bye Bye
2000
Andreas Carlsson reportedly wrote the lyric during a Stockholm driving test; Cheiron's producers built pop's most decisive exit.
★ 5.8
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
1984
Ridgeley scrawled a note to his parents, doubled a word by mistake, and George Michael built a number one on it.
★ 5.7
Conga
1985
Written after a show in Utrecht by the band's own drummer, it walked Latin percussion onto American pop radio.
★ 5.7
Lady Marmalade (Christina Aguilera)
2001
Four singers, one Rockwilder beat, and Missy Elliott turning a Labelle cover into 2001's best-selling single worldwide.
★ 5.6
Lucky Star
1983 · From Madonna
Written on a Casiotone the DJ Mark Kamins gave her, finished by Jellybean Benitez, and Madonna's first top five.
★ 5.5
Genie in a Bottle
1999
David Frank looped eight bars the night before the session; Aguilera re-sang her vocal softer and topped the Hot 100.
★ 5.5
Call Me Maybe
2012
A folk song on tour until Josh Ramsay poppified it, then nine weeks at the top of the Hot 100.
★ 5.5
Only Girl (In The World)
2010
Cut in New York, finished by Sandy Vee in Paris, and Rihanna's ninth Hot 100 number one; euphoria on demand.
★ 5.3
Party in the USA
2009
Jessie J wrote it with Claude Kelly, passed on singing it, and Cyrus took it to number two.
★ 5.3
I'm So Excited
1982
Anita Pointer takes the lead, Richard Perry produced, and a 1984 reissue lifted a number thirty single to nine.
★ 5.2
I'm Your Baby Tonight
1990 · From I'm Your Baby Tonight
A new jack swing pivot from L.A. Reid and Babyface, and by Reid's account the vocal took one take.
★ 5.2
Say You'll Be There
1996
Judd Lander, the harmonica player from Karma Chameleon, gives the record its Stevie Wonder swing over Absolute's production.
★ 5.1
Open Your Heart
1986 · From True Blue
Written as a rock song for Cyndi Lauper, then rebuilt with Patrick Leonard into Madonna's fifth American number one.
★ 5.0
Rhythm of the Night
1985
Warren wrote it for a Motown kung fu film, Perry swapped the drum machine for live players, DeBarge soared.
★ 5.0
Straight Up
1988
Elliot Wolff wrote and programmed it alone, Fincher shot the video in black and white, three weeks at number one.
★ 4.9
California Gurls
Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg
2010
Perry's West Coast answer to Empire State of Mind, the misspelling saluting Big Star, six weeks at number one.
★ 4.9
Never Gonna Give You Up
1987
Waterman handed Astley the title after hearing him talk about his girlfriend; five weeks at number one followed.
★ 4.8
Disturbia
2008
Four writers including Chris Brown, a reissue bonus track, and two weeks at number one on anxiety alone.
★ 4.8
Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
1997
Denniz Pop and Max Martin cut it at Cheiron in Stockholm, and Joseph Kahn's haunted-mansion video did the rest.
★ 4.7
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)
2012
Nietzsche by way of a co-writer's mother, Greg Kurstin's production, and Clarkson's third number one.
★ 4.6
Where Have You Been
2012
Ester Dean's hook borrows Geoff Mack's 1959 I've Been Everywhere; Calvin Harris and Dr. Luke supply the drop.
★ 4.5
It's Gonna Be Me
2000
Max Martin coached Timberlake into pronouncing the last word "may", and 'N Sync got their only Hot 100 number one.
★ 4.4
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
1991
Martha Wash sang the hook uncredited, then sued; her settlement put vocalist credits on MTV, and the floor still fills.
★ 4.3
Circus
2008
Claude Kelly's ringleader conceit, a Dr. Luke stomp, and Spears back on top of the spectacle that swallowed her.
★ 4.2
Summer Love
2007 · From FutureSex / LoveSounds
Cut at Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia Beach, with a prelude fused to the front of the summer single.
★ 4.1
Unbelievable
1990
A riff written on a bike ride, a sample Rick Rubin cleared free, and a surprise American number one.
★ 4.0
Tik Tok
2009
Nine weeks at number one, the first of the 2010s, and Kesha's talk-sung verses over Dr. Luke's synths.
★ 4.0
All That She WantsAce of Base
All That She Wants
1993
Minor key at Linn Berggren's insistence, a demo titled Mr. Ace, and a number one in thirteen countries.
★ 3.9
Safe and Sound
2011
Trumpet hook lifted from the Yiddish standard Dona Dona, and two and a half years later, number eight.
★ 3.8
Let's Hear It For The Boy
1984
An Oscar nominee from the Footloose soundtrack, George Duke producing, and Williams audibly grinning through every chorus.
★ 3.6
All About that Bass
2014
Forty minutes to write, eight weeks at number one, and Kadish playing the drums, guitar and bass himself.
★ 3.6
Starships
2012
RedOne, Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub behind the board, Minaj's vocals cut at Conway, diamond certified in America.
★ 3.5
Ghostbusters
1984
Parker had days to write it and found the hook in a late-night TV ad for a local service.
★ 3.4
Applause
2013
Snippets leaked online, so Gaga rushed it to radio a week early, cheering the crowd that cheers her.
★ 3.3
Cooler than Me
2010
Recorded on cheap gear in a college dorm room, co-written with Big Sean, and a number six hit.
★ 3.1
Give Your Heart a Break
2012
Josh Alexander played every instrument on it, and Billy Steinberg's melodic instincts date back to Like a Virgin.
★ 3.1
Kiss Kiss
Chris Brown and T-Pain
2007
T-Pain wrote and produced it at Chalice in Los Angeles, and it held number one for three weeks.
★ 3.1
Right Now (Na Na Na)
2008
A deliberate Euro-club record from Akon and Giorgio Tuinfort, with a video now past a billion views.
★ 3.0
Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)
1999
Ron Fair rebuilt an album track into a single, adding a bridge and a rap; four weeks at number one followed.
★ 2.9
Boom Boom Pow
2009
will.i.am heard electro in Sydney nightclubs while filming Wolverine, then rode that beat to twelve weeks at number one.
★ 2.8
Raise Your Glass
2010
Shellback and Max Martin built a toast to outsiders, and it gave Pink her third Billboard number one.
★ 2.7