A History of Pop Music, Year-by-Year

In a year of envelope pushing in society, Pop doubles down on its proven formulas with lusher strings, Country/Western covers, Teen Idols and even barking dogs! Learn more on Chartcrush 1953!

Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyonce rally as EDM Pop surges, the Great Recession hits bottom, Obama is sworn in and the King of Pop succumbs. Learn more on Chartcrush 2009!

Country surges, Pop goes FM and it’s a mishmash on the charts as Americans strap on their Walkmans, hit the gym and get Physical the year before MTV hits big. Learn more on Chartcrush 1981!

Pop’s ADHD year as hits churn faster than ever, John Lennon’s Jesus comment sparks a Beatles backlash, Folk-Rock rules, Garage Bands stomp and Motown surges. Learn more on Chartcrush 1966!

It’s Bing Crosby’s best year ever and Louis Jordan is the jukebox king as Decca and Capitol settle with the musicians union and get a clear shot at the charts. Learn more on Chartcrush 1944!

Somber hymns rule in a turbulent year, the last Beatles hits chart, The Jackson 5, Partridge Family and Carpenters debut and Kent State fuels big protest hits. Learn more on Chartcrush 1970!

Napster finishes off the Pop single for good, but Post-Grunge hits make Alt the new Mainstream in Rock, and newly single R&B Divas hit the club and get crunk! Learn more on Chartcrush 2001!

Hip-Hop affirms its dominance as Billboard retools the Hot100 for the streaming era and Trump-era narratives reverberate beyond politics to reshape pop culture. Learn more on Chartcrush 2018!

Racial integration is a Cold War imperative so Teens oblige by launching Black R&B records onto the Pop charts, amplified by the brand new Top40 radio format. Learn more on Chartcrush 1954!

MTV breaks its Rock format to air Michael Jackson vids under threat by CBS and accusations of racism, and becomes Pop’s new gravitational center post-AM Top40. Learn more on Chartcrush 1983!

It’s Twistmania as the Silent Generation peaks culturally, Girl Groups surge, Ray Charles goes Country and The 4 Seasons make Doo Wop a commercial juggernaut. Learn more on Chartcrush 1962!

Politics lurches right, Madonna reins it in and Mariah goes Hip-Hop as Billboard names a Gangsta Rap song #1 on the year, but where is the Theme from Friends? Learn more on Chartcrush 1995!

Disco peaks, then collapses after Rock fans riot in Chicago, New Wave breaks out with “My Sharona” and Pop is a mostly Disco-free grab bag heading into the 80s. Learn more on Chartcrush 1979!

Hays Code decency standards permeate showbiz and Big Bands throw in the towel the year after WW2, but Singers, Sweet Bands and Songwriters shine on the charts. Learn more on Chartcrush 1946!

Pop amps up as the music biz chases will.i.am’s “bubble” and the Recession spawns the biggest Dance boom since Disco, starring Gaga, Taio, Usher… and Auto-Tune! Learn more on Chartcrush 2010!

Teen Idols and Folk surge as Congress takes aim at Rock ‘n Roll DJs and Payola, and a plane crash in Iowa claims three major stars on “the day the music died.” Learn more on Chartcrush 1959!

Online piracy tanks CD sales and the last big box music chain goes under, but Ringtones, ad deals, iTunes and Myspace are lifelines for the flailing music biz. Learn more on Chartcrush 2007!

It’s the “Eve of Destruction” and young Boomers “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” as Vietnam widens the generation gap and Motown hits become Civil Rights anthems. Learn more on Chartcrush 1965!

The Beatles have split and Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are dead, but Singer-Songwriters soothe frayed nerves as militant activism and protest go mainstream. Learn more on Chartcrush 1971!

Lilith Fair galvanizes women in music while the late ’90s Pop boom begins, two shocking deaths inspire massive tribute singles and Rock newcomers conquer radio. Learn more on Chartcrush 1997!

Whitney Houston blitzes the charts as Hip-Hop, Glam Metal and The Bangles score big and music’s benefit streak peaks with a #1 charity single for AIDS research. Learn more on Chartcrush 1986!

Billboard adds YouTube to the Hot100 and bloggers recoil at “incorrect” fan-propelled hits, but JT is back, Folk booms, Katy Roars and Miley gets her twerk on! Learn more on Chartcrush 2013!

It’s Crooners unleashed as ethnic sounds score, Mitch Miller starts a genre gold rush mining Country for Pop hits, and the year’s #1 record taps deep anxieties. Learn more on Chartcrush 2004!

Atlanta and Crunk ‘n B rule the year every #1 song is by a Black artist, Usher Confesses and scores big, and everyone’s shaking it like a Polaroid picture. Learn more on Chartcrush 2004!

Euro-Disco and Paula Abdul arrive as the Cold War ends, Teen Pop peaks, Milli Vanilli lip-syncs and some of Boomerdom’s top acts score their final big hits. Learn more on Chartcrush 1989!

The payola scandal chills Rock on the radio and adult genres surge with LPs outselling singles, but Elvis is out of the Army and everyone’s doing “The Twist!” Learn more on Chartcrush 1960!

Trump v. Hillary politicizes Pop like never before as streaming reverses the music biz’s 15-year free-fall from filesharing and Dancehall/Trophouse sounds rule. Learn more on Chartcrush 2016!

Big Band Swing is all but extinct, but the record biz prospers as nostalgia sweeps the nation, makes Al Jolson cool again, and lifts a record from 1933 to #1. Learn more on Chartcrush 1947!

Crossover becomes the norm as Billboard takes the charts digital, but Michael Jackson finds Pop’s new sweet spot and Boyz II Men set a new bar for weeks at #1. Learn more on Chartcrush 1992!

Elton John can do no wrong but big chart acts move in bold directions and Disco dancing emerges as a preferred escape from economic hardship and ’70s “malaise.” Learn more on Chartcrush 1975!

Elvis Presley rules the charts and personifies Rock ‘n Roll as teens buy millions of 45s, top-40 radio explodes and Seeburg launches the 200-selection jukebox. Learn more on Chartcrush 1956!

Boy Bands, Britney v. Christina and Latin Pop carry over into the new millennium, but Rock is back, Destiny’s Child redefines R&B, and Country scores big. Learn more on Chartcrush 2000!

The Walkman fuels a fitness craze but dooms music on AM as Top 40 moves to FM. MTV subs triple and launch a “Second British Invasion” of New Wave and Synthpop. Learn more on Chartcrush 1982!

It’s Flower Power and Hippies in California; urban riots everywhere else as Sgt. Pepper’s launches Album Rock and The Monkees take over TV and the Pop charts. Learn more on Chartcrush 1967!

Edgy, genre-bending Pop marks Gen-Z’s arrival via TikTok and streaming hits 50% of music biz revenue as BigCulture™ #resistance to Trump/MAGA enters beast mode. Learn more on Chartcrush 2019!

It’s Divas, Post-Grunge, Trip-Hop, Netscape vs. Microsoft and Alanismania the year Tupac is killed, the internet takes off and everyone is doing “The Macarena.” Learn more on Chartcrush 1996!

The Red/Blue political divide arrives and the tension manifests in Glam Rock, nostalgia and escapism. Black artists rule the top ten in the lead-up to Wattstax. Learn more on Chartcrush 1972!

The Petrillo ban lifts in time for Pop to celebrate victory in WW2 with a final burst of Big Bands, new girl singers and Crooners, and a heroic theme by Chopin. Learn more on Chartcrush 1945!

Hip-Hop helps elect a President in its last dominant year til the late ’10s, also a year of big female debuts as Lil Wayne & T.I. face jail on weapons charges. Learn more on Chartcrush 2008!

The Cold War ends, but The Gulf War energizes the charts, yellow ribbons trend and postmodern irony, serial shock and taste inversion enflame the Culture War. Learn more on Chartcrush 1990!

New and established Crooners and Pop Singers are on top as Ike is elected, Elizabeth II is coronated, the Cold War becomes the new normal and “the ’50s” begin. Learn more on Chartcrush 1952!

Peak Disco with The Bee Gees and Andy Gibb dominating, two blockbuster movie soundtracks, Lionel Richie’s first #1 Pop-Soul-AC crossover hit and Yacht Rock! Learn more on Chartcrush 1978!

Social media eclipses TV as the top driver of pop culture in The Year of the Booty, Indie-Folk spreads and underground Hip-Hop styles vie for chart dominance. Learn more on Chartcrush 2014!

The “visual sizzle” of music video defines the look and sound of the ’80s, soundtracks yield multiple hits, veteran acts relaunch and Prince floods the zone. Learn more on Chartcrush 1984!

The ’00s take shape after 9/11 as Emo and Bling Rap conquer the charts, Avril and Nelly emerge, Eminem goes mainstream and the ’00s biggest Rock bands debut. Learn more on Chartcrush 2002!

Teens take over the Pop charts as Billboard unveils the Hot100, silly hits abound, Folk is back and the Jet Age dawns with foreign language songs like “Volare.” Learn more on Chartcrush 1958!

Music is fragmented the second year of the Soundscan era on the charts as Gen-X takes charge, but genres are blossoming and R&B and Hip-Hop rule the Hot100. Learn more on Chartcrush 1993!

Disco crests with Disco novelty hits and Pop veterans jumping on the bandwagon, while Soft Rockers and Balladeers continue charting massive chart hits. Learn more on Chartcrush 1976!

Pop is trending younger and more global the year before The Beatles and Supremes, Girl Groups are everywhere and Surf sounds are California’s hot new export. Learn more on Chartcrush 1963!

Big Band Swing is extinct and Jazz is off into Bebop-land, but Crooners, Pop Singers and Sweet Bands are making waves, and Country-Western is breaking through. Learn more on Chartcrush 1949!

A “free-for-all” after Disco implodes! Michael Jackson survives but Bee Gees and Chic retreat to the producer’s booth as Rock, AC and New Wave fill the vacuum. Learn more on Chartcrush 1980!

The Rock Era dawns with “Rock Around the Clock” and whitewashed R&B as grownups go nuts for hi-fi and Mambo, Mitch Miller continues scoring and Sinatra returns. Learn more on Chartcrush 1955!

Females rule as Latins invade, TLC returns, AutoTune appears and Total Request Live showcases Millennial Pop idols Britney, Christina, Backstreet and ‘NSYNC. Learn more on Chartcrush 1999!

Woodstock galvanizes the Boomer-Hippie counterculture as men walk on the moon, Bubblegum and Doomsday Folk triumph and Black acts score the year’s top 2 songs. Learn more on Chartcrush 1969!

EDM triumphs as the “New Pop” unifies American music for the first time in a decade, while Adele sets a new standard for soulful female singers. Learn more on Chartcrush 2011!

Glam metal arrives on the pop charts but Gen-X genres are pushing at the ramparts on MTV’s 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps and Headbanger’s Ball. Learn more on Chartcrush 1987!

Things are unraveling but music is a sanctuary, in the car on 8-tracks or at home on headphones, as Rock and Soul expand horizons on albums like never before. Learn more on Chartcrush 1973!

Broadband juices mp3 piracy but Ringtones are making big buck$ as Hip-Hop’s Bling Era endures and Kelly Clarkson confirms American Idol’s star-making prowess. Learn more on Chartcrush 2005!

The Beatles and Supremes flood the charts as the Baby Boom arrives and Motown, the British Invasion and the concept of the “Rock band” reshape U.S. Pop forever. Learn more on Chartcrush 1964!