In Defense of Pop Music -- New York Magazine takes a look at the rise of pop and dance music and the death of rock in the charts.
posted by empath on Jul 16, 2011 - 110 comments

Five seconds of every No. 1 song from about 1956 to 1993.
posted by Cool Papa Bell on Feb 22, 2011 - 42 comments

Exploration of Beatles music through infographics.
posted by chillmost on Jan 19, 2010 - 92 comments

Ever wondered what the number one song was on your birthday? Anniversary? the day John Lennon was shot?, the attack on Pearl Harbor? (last two links can open iTunes directly).

Well, wonder no more. (via reddit)
posted by purephase on Apr 12, 2008 - 80 comments

Song Chart Meme. A series of charts breaking down popular music.
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Feb 29, 2008 - 18 comments

The Band is one of the more user-friendly fan sites I have come across. What I appreciate most is the (unadvertised) chord charts. They are not always right but they are often not wrong. Subtle, theatrical chromaticism, your name is Mozart Robbie Robertson.
posted by St Urbain's Horseman on Oct 26, 2007 - 16 comments

The Manual (How To Have a Number One - The Easy Way). Both light-hearted and thorough, the Timelords, aka the KLF, wrote this tongue-in-cheek manual in 1988 following their own novelty pop No. 1 "Doctorin' the Tardis". "If you are already a musician stop playing your instrument. Even better, sell the junk. It will become clearer later on but just take our word for it for the time being." Oh and apparently have lots of tea on hand.
posted by yeti on Jul 12, 2007 - 35 comments

A Collection of 'All Time' Best Albums Charts from the US, UK, Netherlands & Belgium. Guess which chart has 3 dEUS albums in the top 20?
posted by Kattullus on Jan 2, 2006 - 21 comments

The Anti-Hit List , by John Sakamoto, continues to unearth music from the depths of the net and through rare releases. It can be found in the pages of the Toronto Star and is now available in convenient podcast form. Note: previous death and rebirth of the site.
posted by boost ventilator on Jul 3, 2005 - 8 comments

As its old home lies dormant, John Sakamoto'sAnti-Hit List continues on in the pages of Toronto's Eye Weekly. Where else could you hear about The Flaming Lips covering Kylie, Ween singing for about Pizza Hut or quite possibly the best song title in ages.
posted by boost ventilator on Feb 10, 2003 - 9 comments

The End of the Anti-Hit List? "And with that, the Anti-Hit List is retiring, at least for the foreseeable future."

John Sakamoto's Alternate Top 10 (AKA The Anti-Hit List) was one of the best top ten music lists on the net. It was short and sweet and a great way to discover b-sides, covers and alternate versions of songs from a wide variety of artists. And to think, it all started back on March 12, 1996.
posted by boost ventilator on Jul 31, 2002 - 4 comments

For the first time in forty years, there is not a single UK act on the Billboard top 100 singles chart. A lot of people argue that it's because manfactured crap is interchangable, so there's no need to import it, but plenty of American artists still make it in the UK, so I'm inclined to believe there's something else at work here. Any ideas as to what that something might be?
posted by aaron on Apr 24, 2002 - 71 comments

Hometown band makes good. Albuquerque band The Shins release an album on Sub Pop. (I absolutely recommend their song New Slang, a sweet poppy ballad.) Maybe this is so exciting because it's not every day a bunch of kids you've seen a trillion times get to be ON THE CHARTS. What bands have come from your hometown and made it big? (more inside)
posted by sugarfish on Jul 7, 2001 - 60 comments