Top 10 Songs (2004 - present) was created in response to the growing popularity of paid song downloads and the lack of global digital song charts in the early 2000s. The first top 10 songs of the year chart in 2005 was topped by “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani. In 2005, "Hollaback Girl" was the first song ever to sell over one million downloads in the United States. From July 2004 to December 2013, the 10 most popular songs were ranked based on the top downloaded songs from online music retailers. Top 10 Songs began including streaming to determine weekly, monthly and yearly chart rankings from January 2014 to 9 August 2018. From 16 August 2018 to February 2019, the top 10 songs were ranked based on the 10 most influential songs of the week. The popularity of the site led to interest in using our charts on other media. Brian Carroll - on behalf of “Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest” - contacted top10songs.com about the use of our end year chart for their TV Special.

Top 10 Songs now ranks the top songs of the week and year 50 years ago, beginning in 1969. A song may be great for any number of reasons; emotion, melody and longevity can all make a great song. A song may be popular at one time and not at another – likes and preferences in music change throughout the lifetime of songs, and throughout the lifetime of people. Popular songs are vast and diverse, and tastes are subjective. You know when you hear a song for the first time and the sights, sounds, and feelings of that moment stay with you? Songs included here may or may not have been popular hits – but all have elements that make them great songs. Each song is researched to determine its true first release date by year (single, album, or country of first release). This is reflected in the song's first weekly chart entry date. Charts have been compiled using global data since 2004.

#ChartsDoneRight

Beginning October 2022, voting has changed. Previously, songs that made the weekly charts were eligible for one year of voting, regardless of their year of entry into the charts. For example, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift debuted on the weekly charts on 16 August 2012 and could be voted on until 15 August 2013. Therefore, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” could have made both the 2012 and 2013 end year charts. Now, the weekly chart debut date of a song determines which end year chart the song is voted upon. Voting begins after December 31 of each year so that all songs have an equal period of voting. Vote for the top songs of 1970, 1971, 1972, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. All votes also count towards Top 100 Songs by Vote.