Introducing "The Summer of Billboard No. 1s"

A preview of a new series running from June to August 2026.

This summer, I’m spending three months at the top of the chart. The Hot 100, to be more specific.

Starting in June and running through August, I’m publishing a series called “The Summer of Billboard No. 1s,” where I’ll be selecting my 20 favorite songs that reached the top spot on the Hot 100, one decade at a time. There are tons of great singles from every era, but if it didn’t claw its way to No. 1 on the Billboard chart, it doesn’t qualify for consideration.

Also, I’m purposely designating these lists as my 20 favorites. Not the 20 most important in an objective sense, nor an arbitrary collection of “essentials,” because, let’s be honest, those types of lists have been done to death and mostly tread on similar ground. My 20 favorites, which turns out to be a harder and more brutally honest undertaking than it sounds, is where I landed. It feels right, and I’ve really enjoyed making these, piece by piece, over the past few months.

I hope you’ll enjoy them just as much.

For those not in the know or who need a bit of a refresher, the Hot 100 has been the definitive measure of American popular music since 1958. Its history, which is every bit as checkered as you might expect, is fascinating reading in its own right if you’re interested. But what’s worth underscoring for a second is the American distinction there, one I didn’t make clear at the outset in my article about one-hit wonders and, predictably, got roasted for it. The UK singles chart will tell a different story of a decade’s hits, as will the equivalent chart in Canada, where I grew up. Keep that in mind when these start rolling out.

Overall, I’m sure some picks will surprise you (though maybe not, especially for subscribers who have been with me since the beginning), and others you may have forgotten even reached No. 1. I’m most interested in the songs that changed how I listen to music, the ones that land differently now that I’m closer to 40 than not. Hindsight and nostalgia make strange bedfellows, and I’ll leave it there for now.

Extra content for paid subscribers

Each post in the series will include an exclusive playlist: my favorite 100 recordings from that decade. One constraint was built into each mixtape to make it more interesting: I was allowed only one song per artist, which meant making genuinely difficult choices. One Beatles track for the 1960s, one ABBA or Bee Gees track for the 1970s, and so on. The playlist is a decade filtered through one set of ears, and the one-per-artist rule helped me keep the selection honest, not a tired “best of” collection for a select few artists.

If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading to a paid subscription, this series is an excellent opportunity to make that leap. Paid subscribers get all five playlists, full access to the back catalog of paid-tier content, and every paid-only post going forward.

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We’ll begin in June with the 1960s. Hope to see you there.