Who are the top single and album artists in Hot 100 and Billboard 200 history? The Beatles (No. 1 all-time artist) and Adele (biggest album), but also Eminem, Rihanna and... Air Supply? For the first time Billboard reveals the most successful songs, albums and acts of the past 50-plus years.
The all-time top 10 Hot 100 artists:
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. The Rolling Stones
Even though she didn't arrive on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2005, with the No. 2-peaking dancehall reggae-splashed "Pon Decq Replay", Rihanna ranks prominently as the No. 13 artist of the chart's 57-year history. Her 13 No. 1s - from 2006's "SOS" to 2013's "The Monster" (by Eminem featuring Rihanna) - place her in rarefied historical air: She's tied with Michael Jackson for the third-best No. 1 singles total, behind only The Beatles (20) and Mariah Carey (18).
The top 10 all-time Hot 100 songs:
1, "The Twist", Chubby Checker, 1960
2, "Smooth", Santana Featuring Rob Thomas, 1999
3, "Mack The Knife", Bobby Darin, 1959
4, "How Do I Live", LeAnn Rimes, 1997
5, "Party Rock Anthem", LMFAO ft Lauren Bennett & Goon Rock, 2011
6, "I Gotta Feeling", The Black Eyed Peas, 2009
7, "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)", Los Del Rio, 1996
8, "Physical", Olivia Newton-John, 1981
9, "You Light Up My Life", Debbie Boone, 1997
10, "Hey Jude", The Beatles, 1968
11, "We Belong Together", Mariah Carey, 2005
35, "One Sweet Day", Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995
Carlos Santana says he was meditating in the late '90s, after 15 years without a hit, when an entity called "Metatron" urged him to return to the airwaves - the kids needed him. Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas and songwriter Itaal Shur had the perfect offering, a pop song that varnished the guitarist's psych-rock for the so-called Latin Explosion era. As the centerpiece of aptly titled 1999's Supernatural, "Smooth" washeld No. 1 from October 23, 1999 through January 8 until January 14, 2000 - changed per request of charts team, and remained in the top 10 for 30 weeks. Thomas, for his part, still likes to hear the Y2K smash on the radio, but wishes the first line weren't so quotable. "If I could get a dollar for every time someone said to me, 'Man, it's a hot one,' " he says, "I could trade in my royalties on 'Smooth'."
The biggest Hot 100 song of all time, Chubby Checker's "The Twist" is the only single to reach No. 1 in two release cycles: once in 1960, after Checker first performed the tune on American Bandstand, and again in 1962. Written by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - whose original hit No. 28 in 1960 - the classic re-emerged in 1988, when The Fat Boys peaked at No. 16 with a beatboxed cover.
The all-time top 10 Billboard 200 artists:
1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Barbra Streisand
4. Garth Brooks
5. Elton John
6. Mariah Carey
7. Herb Alpert
8. Taylor Swift
9. Chicago
10. Michael Jackson
Marshall Mathers, 43, is the top hip-hop artist of all time on the Billboard 200, ranking at No. 14 overall - even significantly higher than rap demigod Jay Z (No. 43). Eminem's remarkable run began in March 1999 with the No. 2 arrival (and peak) of his second full-length, The Slim Shady LP. Since then, all seven of the rapper's subsequent releases have debuted at No. 1, including 2013's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 - in total, Eminem's albums have spent 132 weeks in the top 10. He is also only one of four top 20 acts whose Billboard 200 careers began in the last 25 years. The others? Garth Brooks and Mariah Carey, who both emerged in 1990, and Taylor Swift, who arrived in 2006.
The all-time top 10 Billboard 200 albums:
1, 21, Adele, 2011
2, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack, 1965
3, Thriller, Michael Jackson, 1983
4, Fearless, Taylor Swift, 2008
5, Born In The U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen, 1984
6, Ropin' The Wind, Garth Brooks, 1991
7, Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette, 1995
8, Doctor Zhivago, Soundtrack, 1966,
9, All The Right Reasons, Nickelback, 2005
10, Tapestry, Carole King, 1971
50, Mariah Carey, Mariah Carey, 1990
52, The Emancipation Of Mimi, Mariah Carey, 2005
87, Music Box, Mariah Carey, 1994
(excerpt from Billboard)
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