Every Year-End No. 1 Song, 1956–2025
70 years, 70 champions. These are the songs that finished each year at No. 1 on the year-end Top 100, the best single measure of what America played most.
Only 2 acts have topped more than one year: Elvis Presley (2), The Beatles (2). A year-end ranking rewards songs that stay popular for months, so a slow-burning hit can finish ahead of a song that spent more weeks at No. 1.
| Year | Song | Artist | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Heartbreak Hotel | Elvis Presley | ▶♪ |
| 1957 | All Shook Up | Elvis Presley | ▶♪ |
| 1958 | Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) | Domenico Modugno | ▶♪ |
| 1959 | The Battle Of New Orleans | Johnny Horton | ▶♪ |
| 1960 | Theme From "A Summer Place" | Percy Faith | ▶♪ |
| 1961 | Tossin' And Turnin' | Bobby Lewis | ▶♪ |
| 1962 | Stranger On The Shore | Mr. Acker Bilk | ▶♪ |
| 1963 | Sugar Shack | Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs | ▶♪ |
| 1964 | I Want To Hold Your Hand | The Beatles | ▶♪ |
| 1965 | Wooly Bully | Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs | ▶♪ |
| 1966 | The Ballad Of The Green Berets | Sgt. Barry Sadler | ▶♪ |
| 1967 | To Sir With Love | Lulu | ▶♪ |
| 1968 | Hey Jude | The Beatles | ▶♪ |
| 1969 | Sugar, Sugar | The Archies | ▶♪ |
| 1970 | Bridge Over Troubled Water | Simon and Garfunkel | ▶♪ |
| 1971 | Joy To The World | Three Dog Night | ▶♪ |
| 1972 | The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face | Roberta Flack | ▶♪ |
| 1973 | Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree | Tony Orlando and Dawn | ▶♪ |
| 1974 | The Way We Were | Barbra Streisand | ▶♪ |
| 1975 | Love Will Keep Us Together | Captain and Tennille | ▶♪ |
| 1976 | Silly Love Songs | Wings | ▶♪ |
| 1977 | Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright) | Rod Stewart | ▶♪ |
| 1978 | Shadow Dancing | Andy Gibb | ▶♪ |
| 1979 | My Sharona | The Knack | ▶♪ |
| 1980 | Call Me | Blondie | ▶♪ |
| 1981 | Bette Davis Eyes | Kim Carnes | ▶♪ |
| 1982 | Physical | Olivia Newton-John | ▶♪ |
| 1983 | Every Breath You Take | The Police | ▶♪ |
| 1984 | When Doves Cry | Prince | ▶♪ |
| 1985 | Careless Whisper | Wham! | ▶♪ |
| 1986 | That's What Friends Are For | Dionne and Friends | ▶♪ |
| 1987 | Walk Like An Egyptian | The Bangles | ▶♪ |
| 1988 | Faith | George Michael | ▶♪ |
| 1989 | Look Away | Chicago | ▶♪ |
| 1990 | Hold On | Wilson Phillips | ▶♪ |
| 1991 | (Everything I Do) I Do It For You | Bryan Adams | ▶♪ |
| 1992 | End Of The Road | Boyz II Men | ▶♪ |
| 1993 | I Will Always Love You | Whitney Houston | ▶♪ |
| 1994 | The Sign | Ace Of Base | ▶♪ |
| 1995 | Gangsta's Paradise | Coolio | ▶♪ |
| 1996 | Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) | Los Del Rio | ▶♪ |
| 1997 | Candle In The Wind 1997 / Something About The Way You Look Tonight | Elton John | ▶♪ |
| 1998 | Too Close | Next | ▶♪ |
| 1999 | Believe | Cher | ▶♪ |
| 2000 | Breathe | Faith Hill | ▶♪ |
| 2001 | Hanging By A Moment | Lifehouse | ▶♪ |
| 2002 | How You Remind Me | Nickelback | ▶♪ |
| 2003 | In Da Club | 50 Cent | ▶♪ |
| 2004 | Yeah! | Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris | ▶♪ |
| 2005 | We Belong Together | Mariah Carey | ▶♪ |
| 2006 | Bad Day | Daniel Powter | ▶♪ |
| 2007 | Irreplaceable | Beyoncé | ▶♪ |
| 2008 | Low | Flo Rida feat. T-Pain | ▶♪ |
| 2009 | Boom Boom Pow | Black Eyed Peas | ▶♪ |
| 2010 | TiK ToK | Ke$ha | ▶♪ |
| 2011 | Rolling In The Deep | Adele | ▶♪ |
| 2012 | Somebody That I Used To Know | Gotye feat. Kimbra | ▶♪ |
| 2013 | Thrift Shop | Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz | ▶♪ |
| 2014 | Happy | Pharrell Williams | ▶♪ |
| 2015 | Uptown Funk! | Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars | ▶♪ |
| 2016 | Love Yourself | Justin Bieber | ▶♪ |
| 2017 | Shape of You | Ed Sheeran | ▶♪ |
| 2018 | God's Plan | Drake | ▶♪ |
| 2019 | Old Town Road | Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus | ▶♪ |
| 2020 | Blinding Lights | The Weeknd | ▶♪ |
| 2021 | Levitating | Dua Lipa | ▶♪ |
| 2022 | Heat Waves | Glass Animals | ▶♪ |
| 2023 | Last Night | Morgan Wallen | ▶♪ |
| 2024 | Lose Control | Teddy Swims | ▶♪ |
| 2025 | Die with a Smile | Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars | ▶♪ |
Hear any of these. Tap ▶ next to a song to play it on the Hey DJ 4U decks: a 30-second preview, or the full song with Apple Music.
Open the mixerBased on the year-end Top 100 singles charts, 1956–2025, as compiled on Wikipedia. Artist counts include lead and featured credits. How we handle the data.