Top Holiday Songs of All-Time

With many radio stations playing holiday music continuously for several weeks now, it is time to begin THO's annual poll of the top holiday songs of all time. For the past two years, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has been the #1 song. Maybe this year we shouldn't expect anything different, since Mariah's hit is currently the most-played holiday song on radio stations according to Billboard's Top Holiday Songs chart. But as there are every year, there will be many votes for Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and Wham!

- New Poll
- 2007 Poll Results
- 2006 Poll Results

Akon

Aliaune Thiam, or the artist we know as Akon, logs his 15th THO hit this week with "Right Now (Na Na Na)." Often Akon collaborates with others on hit songs, such as "Smack That" with Eminem or "Just Dance" with Lady GaGa and Colby O'Donis. But "Right Now" is a solo hit, just as his first THO hit was: 2005's "Lonely." He has several impressive achievements, including being the first artist to hold both the #1 and #2 slots on the Billboard Hot 100 TWICE! Akon was also nominated for a Grammy Award, although he lost to Justin Timberlake. We created another poll, for you to choose your favorite Akon tune.

- Akon chart history
- Akon poll
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The Offspring

This week The Offspring rack up their 18th chart hit with "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid." Their long string of hits began in 1994 when "Come Out And Play" took Modern Rock radio stations by storm. It was followed by the memorable "Self Esteem." The Offspring have always rocked, but often with tongue-in-cheek, as evidenced by "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)," and "She's Got Issues." Their Wikipedia entry brings up some interesting facts about the band: for example, they've sold over 40 million albums worldwide and one of the members goes by the name Noodles. We've created an Offspring poll for you to vote on their best song.

- Offspring Poll
- Offspring on Wikipedia
- Current THO 100
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Coldplay Back On The Charts

This week on the THO 100 Coldplay returns for the first time since 2006's "The Hardest Part." The lead single from their new album, "Violet Hill" has a huge debut at #24. It is also Coldplay's 13th THO hit, which started in 2000 with "Yellow." With 13 chart hits, they are added to our list of artists with the most songs to chart on the THO 100. They certainly have a long way to go to reach the 46 hits by the leader, Mariah Carey. We have also created a poll for fans to pick their favorite Coldplay song.

- Best of Coldplay poll
- Coldplay chart history
- Current THO 100 chart
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Top Guitarist of All-Time

Who is the best guitarist of all-time? This is one of those questions that seems like it might draw endless debate. But in the last two polls we've conducted, Jimi Hendrix drew 42% and 40% of the votes, far and away the top vote-getter each time. (The first guitarist poll we did received over 12,000 votes!) We thought we'd add a few more guitarists to the list, such as Slash, Prince, and Richie Sambora, and start a new guitarist poll. We hope you'll vote in the new poll.

- New Best Guitarist Poll
- 2007 Poll Results
- 2004-2007 Poll Results
- Rolling Stone magazine's list of Top 100 guitarists
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Linkin Park Adds to Their Hit List

This week on the THO 100, one of the new entries is "Given Up" by Linkin Park. It marks the 14th chart hit for Linkin, and follows the huge success of their previous single "Shadow Of The Day." The new chart entry moves them up to a modest 53rd on the all-time list of bands/artists with the most charted songs. They have had six top 5 hits, but have never reached #1. "What I've Done" reached #2 in 2007 and "In The End" spent a remarkable 52 weeks on the chart, which is tied for 10th all-time. I'm sure we'll hear more from this great band, but for now I hope you'll vote in our Best of Linkin Park poll:
- Best of Linkin Park poll
- Artists/Bands with most charted songs
- Songs with most weeks on THO 100
- Linkin Park Wikipedia page

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Top Songs of 1983

It is easy to see why our 1983 polls and chart are the most popular of the decade. The year was filled with huge hits. Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Billie Jean," plus hits by The Police, Duran Duran, and Men At Work are just a few. We will soon be publishing our ranked list of the top songs of the entire decade, and the #1 song could very well be from 1983. The only question is which huge hit it will be.
- 1983 Polls
- Top Songs of 1983
- All 1980s Polls
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Top Songs of 1980

Our huge project to rank the best songs of the 80s continues... this week we've updated the Top Songs of 1980, and Blondie continues to lead the chart. "Call Me" was the theme of the movie "American Gigolo," which starred Richard Gere. Legend has it that Stevie Nicks was first in line to record the song, but she didn't want it. The producer was the well-known Giorgio Moroder who asked Debbie Harry of Blondie to write the lyrics and perform it. It ended up being one of the biggest hits of the year in both the U.S. and U.K. Now it barely tops our 1980 chart over heavyweights like Pink Floyd and Queen.
- Top Songs of 1980 chart
- 1980s Polls
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Top Songs of 1982

1982 was a transition year for modern popular music. Radio stations were caught between the disco era and a new wave of international synthesizer-based artists. The hard rock (hair metal) era had not yet begun, but several rock songs dented the charts such as our #1 song of 1982: "I Love Rock & Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. Several new wave bands made the top 10 such as The Human League and Soft Cell. We've updated our 1982 chart after hundreds more votes, but the 80s polls are always going - we are always adding more of them.

Top Songs of 1982
1982 Polls

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Top Songs of 1988

We think 1988 was a great year for music. Pop still dominated radio stations, but rock bands like Guns N Roses, Aerosmith and Poison were making inroads. Not-quite-pop artists like Terence Trent D'Arby and Midnight Oil were also getting airplay right alongside rap songs like "Push It" or "It Takes Two." We've updated our 1988 poll to account for hundreds more votes. The results show the diversity of the music at that time, with just the top 10 covering Rock, Pop, Reggae, and Dance/Rhythm. Check out our 1988 results and visit all of our 80s polls.
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R.E.M. Collects Another THO Hit

This week on the THO 100, venerable band R.E.M. have huge debut at #24 with "Supernatural Superserious." It is their 18th hit on the THO chart, which dates back to 1993. Before that, R.E.M. had many hit songs on top 40 and modern rock radio stations. They are credited with being one of the first "alternative" rock bands, and were a staple artist of college radio stations starting with their first single release in 1981. In 2007 they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We've compiled a list of some of their biggest hits and most well-known songs into a poll. Choose up to three of your favorite R.E.M. songs and see what others have to say about this great band. R.E.M. Poll
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Top Songs of 1985

Simple Minds continue to rise above all other 1985 songs with their hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)." Used in a recent performance on American Idol, the song is from the famed 80s movie The Breakfast Club. Our 1985 polls are still going strong, but every once in a while we update the 1985 Top 100 list at THO. There are some great songs in the list, including two in the top four by the same artist (guess who?) and several one-hit wonders. Check out all of our 80s polls here.
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Mariah Carey Extends All-Time THO Song Lead

No artist has had more songs on the THO 100 than Mariah Carey. This week on the THO chart she adds to her total with "Touch My Body." The THO chart began in 1993, so the list is even missing some of Mariah's biggest hits of her career in 1991-1992. Nevertheless, she leads Madonna, Janet, and Shania on the all-time list of most songs on the THO chart. We've created a poll to determine fans' favorite Mariah songs of all-time. Because of the large number of hits, we've limited the list to only her top 10 Billboard or THO hits. Vote on the Mariah Carey song poll here.
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Top Songs of 1986

We've added a few hundred more votes from our 1986 polls. While Madonna still sits at #1, numbers two and three switch positions with the Pet Shop Boys (pictured) overtaking Bon Jovi. "West End Girls" was the hit that put the Pet Shop Boys on the map, but they had 11 more hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and more than 30 hits on Billboard's dance charts. Our 1980s polls are ongoing, so please visit and vote - the song lists are sure to bring back memories.

Updated 1986 Poll Results
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Kylie Minogue Continues Chart Success

This week on the THO 100, Kylie Minogue notches her 18th hit on the chart with "In My Arms." She is one of the most successful artists of the past nine years, but there are still 23 other artists with more career hits than Kylie according to our all-time chart. In Kylie's honor, we've created a poll for music-lovers to vote on their favorite song from her career. Since TopHitsOnline only goes back to 1993, we've included her three pre-1993 U.S. hits in the poll: I Should Be So Lucky, The Loco-Motion, and It's No Secret.

Kylie Minogue Favorite Songs Poll
Kylie Lyrics
Kylie Chart History
Artists with Most Songs on THO 100
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Top Songs of 1981

We've processed a few more hundred votes, and Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" remains at #1 in our Top 100 Songs of 1981 chart. While our poll results from other years include a variety of dance and slow songs in the top end of the chart, the 1981 chart has mostly upbeat tunes in the top 10 with the exception of REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" and "Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie. Our Ultimate 80s polls keep going, and we keep updating the charts. Later this year, look for us to begin new polls for the 1990s!

2008 Brit Awards

Although most of our readers are from the US, Top Hits Online is not just about the US music scene. You'll notice that the THO 100 has many UK and Australian hits. On February 20th the 2008 Brit Awards will be held in London. This is one of our favorite awards shows, because there are only 10 awards handed out, rather than the 100+ awards given at the US Grammys. We've created polls for the best British this-and-that. See the links below:
British Group
British Albums
British Single
British Breakthrough Act
British Male Solo Artist
British Female Solo Artist

Tomorrow we'll have polls for the four international Brit awards.

2008 Hall of Fame Inductee: John Mellencamp

For years we were not sure what to call him - John Couger, John Couger Mellencamp, John Mellencamp. But that didn't overshadow the fact that he continued making fantastic pop/rock songs. Writing nearly all of his own songs, he continually reminded us of the struggles of the lower-middle working class. But he's ventured outside of that genre and performed duets with many celebrated artists such as India.Arie, Trisha Yearwood, and Lucinda Williams. Soon he will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and we hope you'll take part in our poll choosing the best John Mellencamp song.

Top Songs of 1989 Updated

1989 was full of big hits by big female pop artists: Cyndi Lauper, The Bangles, Madonna, Paula Abdul, Cher, etc. But in our Top Songs of 1989 polls, it is Madonna's "Like A Prayer" that still lands at #1 after our recent update. We' compiled hundreds more votes from our 1989 polls and updated the Top 100 Songs of 1989.

Top Songs of 1984 Updated

Several hundred more votes from the Top Songs of 1984 polls were counted, and the main 1984 chart was updated. Phil Collins and Van Halen still have the top 2 songs, but there were a few other changes. This was a year of some great singles, and I really enjoy looking through this chart. Enjoy!

http://www.tophitsonline.com/polls/1980s/bestof1984_pollresults.htm

2008 Hall of Fame Inductee: Madonna

Four artists have been selected for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. One of them is the ever-changing Madonna. In her honor, Top Hits Online has started a poll to determine fans' favorite Madonna song. Here is the poll, where you can choose up to five of your favorites, or just view the results. It should be interesting!

Vote on the Top Songs of 2007

We've already published our Top 100 Songs of 2007 chart, but now it is your turn to vote on which of the top 10 songs you think was the best. I'm sure some won't think any of these 10 songs deserve to be on the list, but these were the favorites compiled from hundreds of personal charts (every week!) on the web. Here is the Top Song of 2007 Poll.