The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Aug. 3, 1996)

You Know What It Is: One of the first-ever (largely) Spanish-language No. 1s on the Hot 100, a mercilessly ubiquitous mid-’90s dance craze — and a much more irresistible pop song than you likely remember.

Sign ‘o’ the Times: The famous Bayside Boys remix not only gave “Macarena” its squelchy dance groove and flirty sung-spoken verses, it also handicapped it with a number of extremely ’90s, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it samples — including Anne Bancroft’s “I am not trying to seduce you” protestation from The Graduate, used just a couple years earlier in George Michael’s “Too Funky.”

Gimme More: You may have just as many painful wedding, confirmation and/or bar mitzvah flashbacks to go along with Marcia Griffiths’ 1990 hit “Electric Boogie” — better known as the Electric Slide — but few pop songs of its era still sound as delightfully effervescent.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (March 11, 1989)

You Know What It Is: This song simply Has It (The Right Stuff) – and that stuff is a bass-heavy beat, puppy-love lyrics, and the voices of five Boston boys blending just right to make teen fans (and beyond) swoon.

This Magic Moment: It’s all about the sing-along “oh-oh-OH-oh-oh” chorus, which birthed the boy band’s trademark penguin dance move, made famous in the classic black-and-white music video.

Coming Around Again: “Weird Al” Yankovic reached into his cookie jar of tricks for this one, flipping “The Right Stuff” to “The White Stuff” as an ode to the crème filling of an Oreo.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 26 (Apr. 19, 1986)

You Know What It Is: The sweetly aching mid-’80s pop&B duet about still needing your love, babe — exactly one day a week.

Who Put the Bomp: Legendary hitmakers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, months away from conquering the top 40 world with Janet Jackson on her Control album, give both the lyrics and production here the exact right mix of seductive allure and anxious melancholy.

Coming Around Again: “Saturday Love” has been resurrected in recent years through songs by Charli XCX, Jason Derulo & David Guetta and many others — but the best lift remains Junior Jack’s 1999 U.K. dance hit “My Feeling,” which loops the vocal from the song’s finest moment: O’Neal’s “When I think about you/ My feelings can’t explain!” entrance.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Dec. 11, 1982)

You Know What It Is: The stomping rhythm that resonates like a squad of cheerleaders on a hardwood floor, the bratty “Mickey you’re so fine” chant and an ascending synth riff add up to a slice of new wave bubblegum that’s clung to brains for decades.  

Who Put the Bomp: Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn co-wrote the song, originally performed by ’70s U.K. pop-rockers Racey (and then known as “Kitty”). The duo also penned Exile’s “Kiss You All Over,” Suzi Quatro’s “Can the Can” and Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz,” while Chapman served as producer on Blondie’s classic album Parallel Lines.

Coming Around Again: According to Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola’s book Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling, DMC of Run-D.M.C. copped to basing one of their signature singles off the Basil smash. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 17 (Sept. 22, 1958)

You Know What It Is: The squawking dismissal of the titular cherub torturer that gave Connie Francis’ ballad-focused sound (and slowing career) a much-needed jolt.

Who Put the Bomp: “Stupid Cupid” was co-written by Brill Building stalwarts Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka, the latter of whom was about to become one of the biggest singer-songwriters in pop thanks to his own hits like “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”

Because of You: Francis’ hit helped establish Cupid as a staple title subject in pop music, recurring in excellent later Hot 100 smashes by artists ranging from Sam Cooke to 112 to the Gym Class Heroes.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 16 (Aug. 25, 2012)

You Know What It Is: Demi Lovato’s post-Disney Channel breakthrough at pop radio, a nifty bit of “heartbreak” wordplay that flipped the script on Lovato’s mainstream aspirations.

This Magic Moment: Lovato goes for broke during the final chorus, starting off with some background melismas (“I know you’re SCARED it’s WROOOOONG”) and then changing the lyrics in the second half for some elongated pleading.

Gimme More: Lovato’s 2011 album Unbroken has a deep bench of vocal showcases beyond “Give Your Heart a Break” and top 10 hit “Skyscraper” — the snappy, soulful “My Love is Like a Star” should have been a hit based solely on how Lovato sells its titular concept.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (May 22, 1982)

You Know What It Is: The power-pop gem that turned seven digits’ worth of bathroom graffiti into the catchiest (and most-pranked) phone number of the 1980s. 

Who Put the Bomp: Alex Call, who wrote “Jenny” with Tommy Tutone guitarist Jim Keller, was also the singer/guitarist for ’70s rock band Clover — which backed Elvis Costello on his classic debut album My Aim Is True, and which employed a harmonica player named Huey Louis (later “Lewis”). 

This Magic Moment: Keller and lead singer Tommy Heath trading off “I got it! / I got your number on the wall” harmonies on the bridge, leading to Heath’s climactic “For a good time, CAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!” wail. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 5 (Sept. 20, 2003)

You Know What It Is: Pharrell’s falsetto-laden come-on and solo breakout moment, after a half-decade of pop, rap and R&B smashes as one half of superproducer duo The Neptunes.

This Magic Moment: Plenty of swoon-worthy moments to go around here, but when Skateboard P takes a breather from the crooning on the outro to promise, “I’ma see you through your window.”

Because of You: Rapper Tyler, the Creator has said he considers “Frontin'” the greatest song of all time, taking to Instagram this April to testify about the impact hearing the song for the first time had on him: “The trajectory of my life changed at that moment… I’ve subconsciously been trying to chase that high for 20 years.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (May 28, 1983)

You Know What It Is: The propulsive and anthemic theme song that perfected the art of the film/music tie-in at the outset of the MTV era.

Hollywood Nights: Cara performed the song, written for and titled after the 1983 welder-turned-dancer drama Flashdance, on the Academy Awards the next year, in a dazzling production number in which she was joined by 44 boys and girls. Later in the show, she won an Oscar for co-writing the song with Moroder and Keith Forsey — becoming the first Black woman to win an Oscar in a non-acting category.

Who Put the Bomp: Giorgio Moroder, who supervised most of Donna Summer’s biggest hits, composed and produced Cara’s single. Joe Esposito, a member of Brooklyn Dreams, which teamed with Summer for the 1979 smash “Heaven Knows,” sang backing vocals. 

Hot 100 Airplay Peak: No. 52 (May 24, 1997)

You Know What It Is: A solo showcase on Lil Kim’s Hard Core album for her Junior M.A.F.I.A. co-lieutenant Lil Cease, turned into an unforgettably frisky two-hander between Kim and Cease on the single version.

Coming Around Again: He’s not credited on the single, but M.A.F.I.A. don The Notorious B.I.G. gets both the chorus and the most frequently-referenced line on the song — “He’s a slut, he’s a ho, he’s a freak/ Got a different girl every day of the week” — most memorably turned around by Field Mob’s Smoke (“I’m a slut, I’m a ho…”) on the rap duo’s Ciara-featuring top 10 hit “So What.”

Living on Video: The color-coded and cameo-strewn (Aaliyah, Uncle Luke, Ed Lover) “Crush” visual gave the song an extra layer of playfulness, and made a multi-wigged Kim look like an immediate pop icon.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Sept. 13, 1986)

You Know What It Is: The slow-burning synth-pop anthem that made ‘80s-era swoon-worthy moments synonymous with cinematic romance.

Hollywood Nights: In the action-romance blockbuster Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise as Maverick and Kelly McGillis as Charlie, the two protagonists share a passionate motorcycle ride on a moonlit night, solidifying the song’s association with their intense love story. 

Sign ‘o’ the Times: With its synth-driven sound and emotionally charged lyrics, Berlin’s quintessentially ’80s ballad captured the essence of a young generation in love.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 27 (June 3, 2000)

You Know What It Is: The most enduring (and emotionally resonant) anthem from the turn-of-the-century period where trance briefly worked its way from the clubs into top 40 radio.

This Magic Moment: When after little pops of it threaded through the song’s intro, the full hook is finally laid out in its total splendor — the “Smoke on the Water” of Y2K synth riffs.

Coming Around Again: That time-tested riff is never more than a year or so from showing up again somewhere in the pop world, most recently on Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj’s Hot 100 hit “Alone.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 5 (July 21, 2018)

You Know What It Is: An addictive, punch-drunk R&B love song with a brain-sticking, near-nonsense-sounding chorus — the way mom and dad used to make ’em.

Who Put the Bomp: “Boo’d Up” was a new sound and vibe for co-writer/co-producer Mustard, then best-known for his work on hip-hop bangers from YG, Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga.

Living on Video: A great teenage-love ballad with an ’80s-reminsicent sound needs a music video to match, and the song’s clip was nearly as winning — with a great choice of co-lead in then-rising R&B star Khalid.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 6 (Apr. 25, 1964)

You Know What It Is: An absolute British Invasion head rush, every bit as giddy and all-consuming as you’d expect from the title.

This Magic Moment: No more compulsory drum-along from the ’60s than the two-beat thump-thump in the middle of singer Mike Smith’s chorus insistence, “And I’m feeling… GLAD ALL OVER!“

Gimme More: If you need a double-shot of DC5 and even “Glad All Over” isn’t giving you the caffeine boost you need, try the absolute rocket fuel of 1965 hit “Any Way You Want It.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 5 (Mar. 19, 1983)

You Know What It Is: Written by the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde about her strained relationship with The Kinks frontman Ray Davies, “Back on the Chain Gang” is Hynde at her peak: touching lyricism, timeless melodies and a delivery both supple and powerful. 

This Magic Moment: The “Ooh! Ahh!” — the sounds of a prison chain gang — heard in the chorus, cleverly reminiscent of Sam Cooke’s similarly themed 1960 hit.

Gimme More: The excellent “Show Me,” another mid-tempo gem from 1984’s Learning to Crawl, shows a sweeter side of Hynde.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 19 (Oct. 20, 1962)

You Know What It Is: With a vocal both understated and unforgettable, this performance from Bennett — a singer whose talent spanned decades and transcended generations — defined the phrase “signature song.”

This Magic Moment: “To be where little cable cars/ climb halfway to the stars,” sings Bennett, as a drummer brushes his cymbals and piano notes float in as gently as fog off the bay.

Come Together: After Bennett’s passing in July 2023, Scott Simon of NPR recalled a 1961 tour where Bennett and longtime accompanist Ralph Sharon found themselves noodling around on a piano at a bar in Hot Springs, Ark. after a show, and tried out a few bars of “San Francisco.” The bartender told them: “If you guys record that song, I’ll buy the first copy.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (Nov. 12, 1994)

You Know What It Is: The gold standard for mid-’90s hi-NRG dance-pop, mixing house diva vocals with bass-voiced raps and more hooks than a fishing tackle box.

Sign ‘o’ the Times: Nothing timestamps this thing to the pop of the Clinton years like German rapper Olaf “O-Jay” Jeglitza’s heavily accented “I talk, talk, I talk to you” repetitions — a foundational element of the Planet of the Bass.

Gimme More: “Another Night” is essentially the midpoint between two other still-sparkling ’90s radio mix show fixtures: The dancefloor propaganda of Snap!’s “Rhythm Is a Dancer” and the romantic delirium of Amber’s “This Is Your Night.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 49 (March 15, 1980)

You Know What It Is: A textbook and instantly timeless power-pop rave-up that was only a modest chart hit upon release, but remains eternal at bars and sports stadiums across the country.

This Magic Moment: Hard to beat that intro, an immediate assault of riffage and handclaps, culminating in the full band shouting the only lyric you really need to know: “HEY!”

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: Ironically, there’s been no better demonstration of the supernatural tunefulness of the Romantics’ original than Kahn Souphanousinphone’s one-note rendition of the song on King of the Hill, as he tries to scare away an intrusive mariachi band.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Sept. 11, 2004)

You Know What It Is: Ciara’s breakout debut single, which became the delectable chart-topping title track of her debut album, catapulting her to stardom.

Who Put the Bomp: Crunk legend Lil Jon produced the hypnotic beat, and is credited as a writer on the track.

Coming Around Again: The Crunk&b track went dance in 2023 with a new version by Dillon Francis, and a heavier-hitting remix of his remix by emerging DJ Knock2.

Hot 100 peak: No. 18 (Jan. 30, 1965)

You Know What It Is: The most frenzied pop single ever released by the traditionally doomy-and-gloomy girl group, planning their smooch sneak-attack like a quartet of bouffanted major-generals on a sugar high.

Coming Around Again: The New York Dolls famously swiped the song’s classic “You best believe I’m in LUV, L-U-V” intro for the beginning to their own proto-punk killer “Looking for a Kiss” — but a little more subtly, the Grease soundtrack lifted its “tell me more, tell me more” backing pleads for the refrain to John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “Summer Nights.“

These Words: Every response Mary Weiss offers in the song’s spoken question-and-answer section is a gem, but none more than “Hmmm…. well, he’s good-bad, but he’s not evil.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (Oct. 5, 1974)

You Know What It Is: The ’70s AM gold nugget that blended pure-pop instincts, symphonic ambitions and catch-a-wave obsessiveness better than anyone not named Brian Wilson.

Who Put the Bomp: “Beach Baby” was penned by John Carter — the man behind such golden-oldies catnip as The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit O’ Soul” and Herman’s Hermits’ “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” — along with his wife Gillian Shakespeare, and the French horn melody on its bridge was borrowed from composer Jean Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony, getting the couple in legal trouble.

Gimme More: First Class singer Tony Burrows was the unavoidable voice of early-’70s bubblegum, also the singer behind winners like White Plains’ “My Baby Loves Lovin’,” and at least one more song still to come on this list.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (Sept. 5, 1987)

You Know What It Is: The big bang of the late-’80s mall-pop explosion, and the introduction of one of the most gifted young stars in teen-pop history.

Living on Video: The clip, set in New Jersey’s Asbury Park, properly captured not only the indefatigable energy of then-16-year-old Debbie Gibson, but the wistful-beyond-her-years longing of “Dreams” — and its cuts between vibrant color and hazy black-and-white would become a visual cliché of the era.

Sign ‘o’ the Times: Did this song really need a sax solo to raise the dramatic stakes after the second chorus? (Yes, because it was released in the mid-’80s.)

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (Oct. 13, 1958)

You Know What It Is: Doo-wop’s most sublimely forlorn moment, represented in one of its most instantly evocative title images.

These Words: While most of “Tears on My Pillow” is a big ol’ guilt trip laid at the instigater’s feet, Little Anthony makes the song a more complex one with his second-verse admission: “If we could start anew, I wouldn’t hesitate/ I’d gladly take you back, and tempt the hand of fate.”

Gimme More: “Two People in the World,” B-side to “Tears,” is just as spellbinding, and with even richer harmonies — as the group demonstrated in a show-stopping a cappella performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert in 2009.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 9 (Mar. 17, 1990)

You Know What It Is: A deliciously goofy sing-along that finds an off-key Markie wailing about getting friend zone’d over what sounds like a Fisher-Price piano.  

Gimme More: While he was justly hailed as the Clown Prince of Hip-Hop, Markie could spit with authority when a sick beat called for it: Check out “Nobody Beats the Biz” from his 1988 debut, Goin’ Off.  

Coming Around Again: Markie’s song – which includes an interpolation of Freddie Scott’s 1968 minor hit “(You) Got What I Need” – directly inspired Mario’s “Just a Friend 2002,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100.  

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (Aug. 7, 2004)

You Know What It Is: The beguiling dancehall breakout hit for identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino, the “Ni” and the “Na” in Nina Sky.

Sign ‘o’ the Times: The slithering Coolie riddim that the song rides was unavoidable in 2004, also buoying hits by Elephant Man (“Jook Gal”) and Pitbull (“Culo”) — but the Albino sisters’ twisting harmonies and brilliant deployment of micro-hooks throughout make “Body” peerlessly electric.

This Magic Moment: Hard to beat when a future pop classic calls back to an established one, as when the duo spends the bridge singing the refrain to fellow New Yorkers Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s 1985 hit “Can You Feel the Beat.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Feb. 8, 1992)

You Know What It Is: The inane-ly catchy debut single from the bald, be-muscled Fairbrass brothers about preening, peacocking models and mirror-obsessed flexers — and a ’90s dance camp classic that taught us about being too sexy for shirts, hats, cars and (sorry) your party.

Coming Around Again: Not only did “I’m Too Sexy” top the Hot 100, but it led to Fred and Richard Fairbrass and RSF guitarist Rob Manzoli earning songwriting credits on two additional No. 1s: Taylor Swift’s 2017 single “Look What You Made Me Do,” which borrowed bits of the hook’s melody and rhythm, and Drake’s 2021 smash “Way 2 Sexy,” which both sampled and interpolated the song.

Living on Video: Though the silly song has its own unique allure, the undeniable ridiculousness of the buff Fairbrass bros shaking their little tushes on the catwalk, posing in mesh tanks and being chased by bikini-clad paparazzi amped the kitsch factor up to 12.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 15 (Dec. 31, 2022)

You Know What It Is: Phil Spector’s Xmas high point — no small designation there — with a legendary Darlene Love vocal, capturing the heightened emotional stakes of the holidays like few seasonal songs before or since.

Coming Around Again: Few would’ve guessed Joshua Tree-era U2 to perform the closest thing “Christmas” has to a second definitive version, but Bono put his whole chest into their 1987 cover, hitting levels of desperation untouched even by the original with his climactic “BAAAAABY please come home”s.

Because of You: “Christmas” turned Darlene Love into an annual pop culture presence, with the song now re-charting every year, and has led to multiple unofficial sequels — including the also-excellent “All Alone at Christmas” (from 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) and the pitch-perfect 2005 SNL parody “Christmastime for the Jews.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Jan. 18, 2020)

You Know What It Is: The majestic, squeaky and bizarrely sticky breakout single that made Roddy Ricch a star — perhaps only briefly, turns out — and gave us the first true crossover smash of the 2020s.

Come Together: “The Box” owes its breathless nature — it often sounds like one long verse, or maybe one really long chorus — to being recorded in 15 minutes at the end of a marathon recording session for chart-topping debut album Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial. “I made it at, like, 7 A.M. in New York after recording all night,” Ricch told GQ in 2020. “It was actually the last song I made for the album.”

These Words: No other pop song could make a late-song climax out of a line like “B–ch don’t wear no shoes in my house!”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 8 (Dec. 5, 1970)

You Know What It Is: The sound that plays when you look up “power pop” in the dictionary.

Who Put the Bomp: Badfinger were such Beatlemaniacs that they actually got their breakout single “Come and Get It” to be written and produced by Paul McCartney. They didn’t score any of the Fab Four for “No Matter What,” but they did land longtime Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick to produce most of parent album No Dice, and give “What” a last-minute remix before releasing it as the lead single.

Hollywood Nights: “What” was established as the sound of the early ’70s for a new generation when it was featured in a 1970-set singalong scene in the coming-of-age drama Now and Then.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 2 (May 16, 1992)

You Know What It Is: A girl-group classic that rode spicy vocals and a funky and a looping guitar riff from James Brown’s “The Payback” to become one of the premier pop kiss-offs of the decade.

This Magic Moment: The a cappella breakdown that hits about 3:30 in is a showstopping demonstration of the foursome’s butter-smooth vocal harmonies.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: In a Season 2 episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the song soundtracked a memorable “Lip Sync for Your Life” segment between Nicole Paige Brooks and the season’s runner-up (and future Drag Race makeup artist/creative producer) Raven.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 7 (Dec. 8, 1973)

You Know What It Is: A mighty heartbreak testimony from R&B icon Teddy Pendergrass, with an upbeat groove that proved instrumental in facilitating the mid-’70s mainstream’s transition from soul to disco.

Who Put the Bomp: Like the majority of the Blue Notes’ classic catalog, “The Love I Lost” was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff — who, through their work with artists like the O’Jays, Billy Paul and Lou Rawls at their Philadelphia International label, helped define the sound of Philadelphia in the 1970s.

Gimme More: That sound was defined somewhat more literally by studio musician group MFSB — who often backed the Blue Notes — with their enduring 1974 No. 1 hit “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” also helmed by Gamble and Huff.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 2 (Oct. 25, 1997)

You Know What It Is: It’s Usher, baby, encapsulated in the single that launched him to superstardom: a smooth-meets-street slice of R&B perfection about the temptation of a love triangle (a subject Usher would return to … a lot).

Who Put the Bomp: “You Make Me Wanna” kicked off Usher’s career-long creative partnership with producer Jermaine Dupri; if he sounds a lot more experienced in love and life than the typical 18-year old on the track, consider it foreshadowing of what Dupri would help him tap into five years later on Confessions.

This Magic Moment: The dramatic bridge (a showcase for Usher’s emotional and technical vocal range) dropping off into pure beats, punctuated only by Usher’s “you make me wanna” refrains for the dance break (a showcase for Usher’s other considerable talents).

Hot 100 Peak: No. 33 (Nov. 28, 1981)

You Know What It Is: The joyous, club-wrecking R&B single that put Vandross, a gifted session singer with a slew of A-list credits, on the map as a force in his own right. 

Who Put the Bomp: The propulsive, springy bass-work — that’s the very first, slap-in-the-face sound on the recording — is courtesy of Marcus Miller. In addition to being an indispensable part of so many Vandross records, Miller’s playing graced albums by Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Miles Davis.  

Gimme More: Vandross’ biggest hits were often ballads which built to epic peaks perfect for his elastic, emotionally wrenching voice. But “Never Too Much” is dance-floor dynamite, and Vandross has other tracks in this vein: Try “I’ll Let You Slide,” a bottom-heavy boogie cut from 1983.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (Nov. 2, 2002)

You Know What It Is: The ultimate call-and-response club track of the early 2000s, with Juelz Santana and Cam’ron’s respective verses buttressed by a back-and-forth flirtation (delivered by fellow Dipset member Freekey Zekey and guest singer Toya).

Who Put the Bomp: “Hey Ma” was the lone song on Cam’ron’s breakthrough 2002 album Come Home With Me that was helmed by Brooklyn producer D/R Period, who had broken through with the M.O.P. classic “Ante Up” two years prior.

This Magic Moment: That conclusive “And we gon’ get it on ton-iii-ght,” which arrives at the beginning and end of each chorus, is the sing-along line when you’re in a big group setting, leaving the rest of the chorus to be mumbled along with the track.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (June 16, 1990)

You Know What It Is: It’s that heart-rending, goosebump-inducing ballad full of yearning and ache that plays as Julia Roberts’ Vivian rides off in a limo after turning down Edward’s (Richard Gere) offer to “stay … not because I’m paying you … but because you want to” in Pretty Woman. 

This Magic Moment: “Yeah it must have been love/ But it’s over now/ It was all that I wanted/ Now I’m living without,” Marie Fredrikkson practically screams in the final third of the song as the key modulates way up, her agony over an epic lost love palpable in the chorus’ final lines.  

Coming Around Again: A power ballad deserves power vocals, and Kelly Clarkson gave the song just that when she took on the heartbreak hit in a December 2020 Kellyoke session on her eponymous talk show. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (June 15, 1968)

You Know What It Is: As bubbly and gummy as ’60s bubblegum gets, the lone top 10 hit for Midwestern pop-rockers the Ohio Express is like snorting a ground-up pack of Bazooka.

Gimme More: Arguably the Ohio Express’ lone rivals for pure chewiness in the late ’60s was the 1910 Fruitgum Company, whose “1, 2, 3 Red Light” from just a few months later is probably still stuck in the teeth of some Boomers.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: No better illustration of the song’s all-consuming infectiousness than the Simpsons flashback scene to a young Homer listening to it on headphones, blissfully unaware that his father is watching man land on the moon for the first time a room over.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 4 (July 18, 1992)

You Know What It Is: The pleading breakup song that introduced a hip-shaking, ponytail-wearing Billy Ray Cyrus to the country music scene (and everyone else) in 1992. 

Sign ‘o’ the Times: “Heart” is the ‘90s song that, along with songs such as Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and shows from CMT and TNN, helped thrust line-dancing into a commercial peak. 

Living on Video: The exciting music video for the song, which featured Cyrus exiting a limousine while crowded by a throng of shouting fans, positioned Cyrus as star from the get-go and included the line dance steps that would help bolster the dance’s popularity. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (July 22, 2006)

You Know What It Is: A hypnotically twinkling and deeply synthed statement of romantic intention that quickly became a classic of the ringtone pop era.

Who Put the Bomp: “Me & U” was written and produced by Ryan Leslie — an R&B singer-songwriter in his own right, who earned a cult following and a lot of early hype but never got above No. 95 on the Hot 100 as a lead artist.

Living on Video: While the song’s main video features Cassie doing a solo dance routine inspired by Janet Jackson’s “The Pleasure Principle,” another clip exists — intended for international audiences, and mostly disavowed by Cassie herself — that’s much more risqué, highlighting the pretty adult undercurrents to what is on its surface a very innocent-sounding song.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 36 (Oct. 29, 1988)

You Know What It Is: One of the earliest examples that rap as a genre could produce party and wedding staples as timeless as Motown.

These Words: Countless quotables to be had throughout “It Takes Two,” but few more out-of-nowhere memorable than Base declaring, “I like the Whopper, f–k the Big Mac” — up there with Run-D.M.C. hanging out at KFC in “You Be Illin'” and the Beastie Boys shilling for White Castle throughout Licensed to Ill for rap’s greatest fast-food product placement of the ’80s.

Coming Around Again: “It Takes Two” still shows up time and time again in music and pop culture, but perhaps most notable was barely a year later, when Seduction lifted both the chorus hook and the song’s famous break (originally sampled from Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It)”) for their much bigger 1990 chart hit “Two to Make It Right.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 5 (July 18, 1964)

You Know What It Is: Bossa nova’s crossover peak, a universally accessible bilingual pop song, and a recording so intimate-sounding that every listen feels like you’re hearing it being performed from the bar stage for the first time.

Hollywood Nights: In the midst of The Blues Brothers’ action-packed climax, the titular bros take an elevator ride soundtracked by a nondescript instrumental cover of “Ipanema” – a nod to the song’s eternal ubiquity as incidental background muzak.

These Words: “Tall and tan and young and lovely” become an iconic description for model-like beauties of the time – so much so that when a character on ‘60s-set TV drama Mad Men used it admiringly about protagonist Don Draper’s wife, no explanation of the allusion was needed.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Jan. 14, 1989)

You Know What It Is: The New Edition star’s battering-ram breakthrough as a crossover solo artist. 

These Words: Co-penned by Brown in response to criticism about his leaving New Edition, “My Prerogative” is a live-your-life anthem that still resonates 35 years later: “Everybody’s talking all this stuff about me/ Why don’t they just let me live?/ I don’t need permission, make my own decisions / That’s my prerogative.” 

Coming Around Again: Britney Spears channeled her own frustrations with fans and media dissecting her life when she covered “My Prerogative” in 2004 — just days after her marriage to now ex-husband Kevin Federline.  

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (Oct. 21, 2017)

You Know What It Is: The French and Colombian artists collaborating to create a global hit in Spanish, crossing cultural and genre barriers with their killer fusion of reggaetón and dancehall beats. 

Come Together: In late 2016, Balvin’s trip to Paris sparked his interest in collaborating with a prominent French artist. Balvin called William and asked to do a remix together. They collaborated on the song’s melody, and Balvin wrote the lyrics for the Spanish verse. Willy William remembers it happening almost unintentionally. 

Because of You: Along with an even bigger crossover hit from the same year still to come on this list, “Mi Gente” opened doors for Latin music as a global phenomenon — aided by a profile-boosting remix featuring American superstar Beyoncé — redefining the mainstream and making history in the process. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Aug. 31, 1963)

What You Know It Is: A deceptively sweet bop of Angels harmonizing about how you’re about to catch hands for those inappropriate comments.  

Who Put the Bomp: As a young man, heavy metal musician Ronnie James Dio (Dio and Black Sabbath) played trumpet on the track.  

Hollywood Nights: In 1993, the song was featured in the trailer (though not the film) for the teen zombie romance My Boyfriend’s Back, which follows a high school girl defending her undead boyfriend from pitchfork-wielding angry mobs. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Nov. 21, 1981)

You Know What It Is: The half-Skinemax, half-Jane Fonda smash single and video that updated the ultimate girl-next-door of the ‘70s for the MTV years.

These Words: “There’s nothing left to say unless it’s horizontally” – no other pop song has ever managed to make a five-syllable adverb sound so explicitly libidinous.

Coming Around Again: Already this decade, Dua Lipa has borrowed the phrase and Doja Cat the musical phrasing of Newton-John’s “Let’s get physical” command – each ending up with one of their most beloved singles for it, as evidence of the original’s enduring potency.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (July 8, 2006)

Know What It Is: A hip-shaking duet that takes flirting in the club to another level, while moving away from Furtado’s earlier head-bopping pop tunes.

Who Put the Bomp: Furtado of course tapped Timbaland, in the middle of his second career renaissance, to not only feature on the single, but to co-write and co-produce on the majority of her 2006 album Loose — alongside longtime collaborator Danja and Jim Beanz — modernizing her sound and bringing her closer to pop’s forefront than ever before.

Coming Around Again: You can catch a hat-tip to the song’s beat and hook in Tate McRae’s recent top 40 hit “Greedy” — proving “Promiscuous” not just a signature 2000s single, but an enduring bop in 2023.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Aug. 14, 2021)

You Know What It Is: The commercial apotheosis (so far) of Australian singer-rapper The Kid LAROI’s career, a synth-pop anthem with Justin Bieber that became one of the biggest hits of the early 2020s.

Who Put the Bomp: Along with pop studio stalwarts Omer Fedi, Blake Slatkin and Cashmere Cat, “Stay” was co-produced by Charlie Puth, who had shown The Kid LAROI the melody on his keyboard during a songwriting session; Puth was already credited for the piano on Bieber’s “Anyone,” which was released six months before “Stay.”

This Magic Moment: The “Stay” chorus moves so rapidly as LAROI rattles off his broken promises that it’s not exactly a sing-along hook; instead, the song’s most euphoric bellowing point comes in the pre-chorus, as a series of “Ohhhh-a-whoa-whoa’s” get punctuated by the melodically bounding plea, “I’ll be f–ked up if you can’t be right here!”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 58 (Apr. 9, 1994)

You Know What It Is: The apex of forlorn rocksteady balladry, Dawn Penn’s seminal “You Don’t Love Me” harnessed the ’90s Stateside dancehall boom and turned that energy into a cutting breakup anthem so sharp that even Beyoncé and Rihanna have delivered their own renditions over the years.

Who Put the Bomp: Bo Diddley. Penn’s track is a redo of Willie Cobbs’ “You Don’t Love Me,” which, in turn, heavily borrows elements of Diddley’s “She’s Fine, She’s Mine” (1955).

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: During the first episode of the first season of Big Little Lies, “You Don’t Love Me” plays softly in the background as Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) and Nathan (James Tupper) converse after a yoga class — a sly allusion to the show’s overarching theme of performative love that everyone operates under but never names.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 36 (Jan. 30, 1999)

You Know What It Is: The out-of-nowhere alt-pop success that crashed the era of boy bands and nu-metal with a song so timelessly tuneful and urgent that even Joni Mitchell was an avowed supporter.

Sign ‘o’ the Times: Look in the mirror and say “Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson/ Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson” three times, and you will be immediately transported back to your local mall food court in 1999, wearing a bucket hat and Old Navy khakis.

Gimme More: While “You Get What You Give” is frequently cited as the New Radicals’ lone hit, the Hot 100-missing “Someday We’ll Know” is nearly as heart-piercing — and has been lent an impressive shelf life through covers by Mandy Moore and Hall & Oates, and even an interpolation on rapper Yëat’s 2023 album Aftërlyfe.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 16 (June 10, 1972)

You Know What It Is: One of pop-rock’s greatest and most unpredictable studio maestros, with a piano-led ‘70s gem so immaculate Carole King probably thought she wrote it the first time it came on AM radio.

Come Together: The simple brilliance of “I Saw the Light” was a joint result of Rundgren being intent on having a pop hit to lead off his Something/Anything album, and him popping a whole lot of Ritalin at the time. “[It] took me all of 20 minutes,” an unimpressed Rundgren said of the song in 2004. “You can see why, too, the rhymes are just ‘moon/June/spoon kind of stuff.”

This Magic Moment: Splendiferousness abounds throughout, but hard to beat the moment in the song’s final chorus when Rundgren’s “’Coz I saw the light in your eyes” transforms into a satisfyingly pleading “Can’t you see the light in my eyes?”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 10 (Oct. 11, 2014)

You Know What It Is: The heart-racing classical-house jam that brought orchestral riffs to top 40 radio, introduced U.K. pop star Jess Glynne to listeners across the pond, and rode the post-EDM dance boom into the upper reaches of the Hot 100.

The Sun Always Shines on TV: “Rather Be” received a spirited performance during the final season of Glee — blink and you might miss Finneas O’Connell, who played Alistair on the show before breaking big alongside sister Billie Eilish, dancing and crooning!

Gimme More: “Disconnect,” Clean Bandit’s 2017 single with Marina, is an elegant contemplation about setting your phone down; it was stuck in development for years before its release, and while it never took off, the song should have been another Clean Bandit smash.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 6 (May 10, 1986)

You Know What It Is: As soon as you hear those instantly recognizable guitar chords and famous opening line – “Josie’s on a vacation far away!” – you know exactly the level of sing-along power-pop you’re in for.

The Sun Always Shines on TV: “Your Love” inspired a totally ’80s SNL sketch back in 2013, in which host Josh Hutcherson lip-syncs the undercover-lover lyrics to come on to an older girl (stick around for a cameo from musical guest HAIM!).

Coming Around Again: The song found a whole new generation of listeners when it was put in regular rotation on Flash FM, the nothing-but-hits top 40 station from the ’80s-set video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, released in 2002.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 7 (Feb. 18, 2012)

You Know What It Is: The simultaneously retro and futuristic club-killer that set the early-’10s trap-pop standard and confirmed that proved that the ascendant Young Money label had star power even beyond its Big Three.

Because of You: The chant-along nature of “Rack City” inspired a countless number of remixes and re-dos – with sports-themed takes on it proving particularly popular, including a Yelawolf Lakers take and Bun B’s Astros-boosting “Crush City.”

Hollywood Nights: Boo! A Madea Halloween featured a Tyga appearance to perform “Rack City,” with a disapproving Madea unable to stop her body from responding viscerally to the trap anthem – ultimately declaring, “I got to get the hell out of here, my ho comin’ out.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 2 (Nov. 27, 1982)

You Know What It Is: An unshakeable English-language cover of Umberto Tozzi’s Italian-language 1979 European smash, which ended up finding the perfect musical midpoint between the disco ‘70s and synth-pop ‘80s.

Living on Video: The relatively unassuming charm of “Gloria” was amplified by its decidedly low-budget visual, which featured a game Branigan performing in front of a trio of glittering mirrorballs – making the singer look like just another one of the thousands of suburban pop aspirants who would soon give the song their all on karaoke night.

Coming Around Again: The song’s iconic jackhammering synth hook would be lifted on guitar a decade later for Britpop greats Pulp’s wistful U.K. smash “Disco 2000,” with that unforgettable melody triggering the intended nostalgic rush from its first two chords.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 5 (Jan. 18, 1992)

You Know What It Is: A feel-good house hit, fueled by a bobbing bassline and Peniston’s brawny vocal, which celebrates the pure joy of finding Mr. Right — finally.

This Magic Moment: Peniston sings the word “finally” about 20 times in this song, but it’s lucky no. 13 where she destroys the word on the break, growling it out and turning a song about meeting the man of your dreams from a cloying concept into a hard-won victory cry.

Gimme More: Though “Finally” was Peniston’s first track released from her debut album of the same name, the second single, “We Got a Love Thang,” is an even better showcase of her vocal elasticity, as she easily reaches for highs and lows in an effortlessly breezy performance.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 78 (Apr. 16, 1983)

You Know What It Is: New wave’s finest cold war love song, which was only a minor hit upon its original release, but whose reputation in the decades since keeps on getting better, all the time.

Hollywood Nights: Whatever initial impact “I Melt With You” did make was likely due to its appearances in the 1983 teen romance Valley Girl, soundtracking sweetly us-against-the-world montages of its star-crossed lovers (played by Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage).

These Words: For all the apocalyptic doominess of its verses and chorus, the song’s most memorable line remains its repeated bridge declaration of defiant optimism: “The future’s … open … wide!”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Jan. 5, 2008)

You Know What It Is: The love-it-or-hate-it 2007 hip-pop anthem known for its catchy chorus, which will always be relevant on dance floors across the world.

Sign ‘o’ the Times: Fashion trends are meant to be a sign of the times: Apple Bottom jeans, Reebok sneakers, baggy sweatpants… need we say more? 

This Magic Moment: Flo Rida’s classic hook that we all know and love, particularly its how-low-can-you-go ending: “Shawty had them apple bottom jeans (jeans)/ Boots with the fur (with the fur)/The whole club was lookin’ at her/She hit the floor (she hit the floor)/Next thing you know/Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low.”

Hot 100 Peak: No. 2 (June 16, 1979)

You Know What It Is: The good-hearted, disco-era smash that became an anthem of positivity and inclusion, and a must-play at any family celebration big enough to require a band or DJ.

Who Put the Bomp: Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, then members of Chic, wrote and produced this song (and also Sister Sledge’s previous single, “He’s the Greatest Dancer”). 

Hollywood Nights: “We Are Family” is featured prominently in director Mike Nichols’ 1996 comedy The Birdcage. In the closing scene, the entire cast, some in drag, sing and dance to the song. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (Nov. 12, 1983)

You Know What It Is: 1960s doo-wop meets 1980s pop-rock in an endlessly-singable ragtag love story — one that’s had everyone from downtown to uptown putting an extra pep to their step for decades.

Coming Around Again: The Piano Man has said his An Innocent Man single was inspired by Frankie Valli, but many of today’s tweens were likely introduced to this song thanks to a lyric in Olivia Rodrigo’s 2021 hit, “Deja Vu”: “I bet that she knows Billy Joel ‘cause you played her ‘Uptown Girl.’”

Living on Video: In a look reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe, Christie Brinkley stars as the video’s titular leading lady — just two years before the couple tied the knot.

Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (Oct. 10, 1992)

You Know What It Is: That head-nodder of a rap song with the catchy squeal that gets everyone to literally “jump around” for the home team at sporting events, causing stadiums to shake to their foundations. 

Hollywood Nights: House of Pain’s classic has appeared in a cavalcade of (mostly ’90s) movies — from Mrs. Doubtfire, when it soundtracks the rowdy kids’ party that gets Robin Williams’ Daniel in trouble, to Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, when he, well, jumps up the leaderboard at the Waterbury Open golf tournament. 

Sign o’ the Times: “Or better yet a Terminator, like Arnold Schwarzenegger/ Tryin’ to play me out like as if my name was Sega” arrived just after Terminator 2 exterminated the competition at the box office in July 1991, and the Sega Genesis console was well on its way to outselling Nintendo by the end of that same year. 

Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (Apr. 14, 2001)

You Know What It Is: The disco-funk, turn-of-the-millennium jam that saw Janet Jackson balance her airy voice against pounding dance-pop production, starting a third consecutive decade of pop cultural dominance. 

This Magic Moment: There’s just something special about when Janet enters on the syncopated first verse with “I see you starin’ out the corner of my eye,” scratching a rhythmic itch you weren’t even sure you had in the first place. 

Coming Around Again: Taylor Swi