Official Charts and BBC Radio 1 and 2 team up to reveal the UK's Official most-streamed songs of the past 70 years

The ultimate way to celebrate 70 years of the Official Singles Chart, available now on BBC Sounds.
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To celebrate 70 years of the UK's Official Singles Chart, the Official Charts Company has teamed up with BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds to reveal the most-streamed songs of each year from 1952 - 2022.

Radio 2 will mark the anniversary by broadcasting each of the most-streamed songs from 1960-1999 during their Sounds Of The 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s shows on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th November. A one-off programme on BBC Sounds, Most Streamed Songs of the 50s, presented by Ricky Wilson, will showcase the songs from 1952-1959.

BBC Radio 1 will broadcast the most-streamed songs released from 2000-2022, with 2000-2010 presented by Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton, and 2011- 2022 presented by Jack Saunders.

The full chart lands on BBC Sounds today as a collection called The UK’s Official Most Streamed Chart.

Discover the most-streamed song from each year 1952-2022 below in full.

Official Most Streamed Songs: 1952-1959 

1952      Singin' In The Rain by Gene Kelly

1953      Thats Amore by Dean Martin

1954      I've Got A Woman by Ray Charles

1955      Tutti Frutti by Little Richard

1956      I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash

1957      Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley

1958      Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry

1959      Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Paul Anka

Official Most Streamed Songs: 1960-1969

1960      At Last by Etta James

1961      Stand By Me by Ben E King

1962      Cry To Me by Solomon Burke

1963      Be My Baby by Ronettes

1964      My Girl by Temptations

1965      I Can't Help Myself by Four Tops

1966      Paint It Black by Rolling Stones

1967      Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

1968      (Sittin' On The) Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding

1969      Here Comes The Sun by Beatles

Official Most Streamed Songs: 1970-1979 

1970      Your Song by Elton John

1971      Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver

1972      Tiny Dancer by Elton John

1973      Jolene by Dolly Parton

1974      Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd

1975      Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

1976      Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

1977      Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

1978      September by Earth Wind & Fire

1979      Don't Stop Me Now by Queen

Official Most Streamed Songs: 1980-1989

1980      Another One Bites The Dust by Queen

1981      Don't Stop Believin’ by Journey

1982      Africa by Toto

1983      Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Eurythmics

1984      Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham

1985      Summer Of '69 by Bryan Adams

1986      Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi

1987      I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston

1988      Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac

1989      We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel

Official Most Streamed Songs: 1990-1999

1990      Thunderstruck by AC/DC

1991      Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

1992      Creep by Radiohead

1993      What Is Love by Haddaway

1994      Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G

1995      Wonderwall by Oasis

1996      No Diggity by Blackstreet Ft. Dr Dre

1997      Bitter Sweet Symphony by Verve

1998      Iris by Goo Goo Dolls

1999      No Scrubs by TLC

Official Most Streamed Songs: 2000-2010 

2000      Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader

2001      How You Remind Me by Nickelback

2002      Lose Yourself by Eminem

2003      Mr Brightside by The Killers

2004      Let Me Love You by Mario

2005      I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys

2006      Naïve by The Kooks

2007      Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys

2008      I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

2009      Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus

2010      Love The Way You Lie by Eminem Ft. Rihanna

Update: In May 2024 Official Charts announced The Killers' Mr Brightside had overtaken Wonderwall to become the biggest song of all time never to have topped the chart.

Official Most Streamed Songs: 2011-2022

2011      Someone Like You by Adele

2012      Let Her Go by Passenger

2013      Riptide by Vance Joy

2014      Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

2015      Cheap Thrills by Sia

2016      Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur

2017      Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran

2018      Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

2019      Dance Monkey by Tones & I

2020      Head & Heart by Joel Corry Ft. MNEK

2021      Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran

2022      As It Was by Harry Styles

Please note, this chart does not include the hit Christmas singles from each of the decades, but the most streamed Christmas songs will feature in a show to be broadcast on Radio 2 over the festive season.

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MO

Mark Owen

0

Am i missing something, what about Mariah Carey all i want for christmas and wham last christmas? Huge streaming figures every year!

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HazDaSprinter

0

Does this mean As It Was is the best track of 2022? We now need to determine sales.

R

RyanT

0

how interesting

Just 1 Beatles song! So many on the list were not even #1 in the original release

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⁉️

0

i scored because why not lol

70s:

1970: your song (3/10)
1971: take me home country roads (3/10)
1972: tiny dancer (1/10)
1973: jolene (4/10)
1974: sweet home alabama (0/10)
1975: bohemian rhapsody (-1/10)
1976: go your own way (6/10)
1977: dreams (7/10)
1978: september (10/10)
1979: don’t stop me now (0/10)

best: september
worst: bohemian rhapsody
average: 3.3

———

80s:

1980: another bites the dust (0/10)
1981: don’t stop believing (3/10)
1982: africa (2/10)
1983: sweet dreams (are made of these) (3/10)
1984: wake me up (before you go-go) (5/10)
1985: summer of 69 (1/10)
1986: livin on a prayer (0/10)
1987: i wanna dance with somebody (0/10)
1988: everywhere (10/10)
1989: we didn’t start the fire (6/10)

best: everywhere
worst: i wanna dance with dance with somebody
average:
average: 3

———

90s:

1990: thunderstruck (-1/10)
1991: smells like teenage spirit (8/10)
1992: creep (10/10)
1993: what is love (4/10)
1994: juicy (9/10)
1995: wonderwall (6/10)
1996: no diggity (9/10)
1997: bittersweet symphony (8/10)
1998: iris (10/10)
1999: no scrubs (10/10)

best: creep
worst: thunderstruck
average: 7.3

———

00s:

2000: dancing in the moonlight (2/10)
2001: how you remind me (4/10)
2002: lose yourself (5/10)
2003: mr brightside (3/10)
2004: let me love you (6/10)
2005: i bet you look good on the dancefloor (9//10)
2006: naive (8/10)
2007: fluorescent adolescent (10/10)
2008: i’m yours (1/10)
2009: party in the usa (10/10)

best: fluorescent adolescent
worst: i’m yours
average: 5.8

———

10s/20s:

2010: love the way you lie (3/10)
2011: someone like you (4/10)
2012: let her go (10/10)
2013: riptide (6/10)
2014: thinking out loud (2/10)
2015: cheap thrills (1/10)
2016: say you won’t let go (0/10)
2017: shape of you (5/10)
2018: someone you loved (3/10)
2019: dance monkey (2/10)
2020: head & heart (-1/10)
2021: bad habits (1/10)
2022: as it was (5/10)

best: let her go
worst: head & heart
average: 3.15

———

average: 4.51

top 5 best:

1: fluorescent adolescent
2: party in the usa
3: creep
4: no scrubs
5: let her go

top 5 worst:

1: head & heart
2: bohemian rhapsody
3: thunderstruck
4: say you won’t let go
5: i wanna dance with somebody

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Taylor Swift = 10/10

0

your song (3)
take me home country roads (4)
tiny dancer (2)
sweet home alabama (0)
bohemian rhapsody (-1)
go your own way (5)
dreams (7)
september (10)
don't stop me now (0)

another one bites the dust (2)
don't stop believing (5)
africa (2)
sweet dreams (are made of these) (4)
wake me up (before you go-go) (6)
summer of 69 (0)
livin on a prayer (3)
i wanna dance with somebody (5)
everywhere (10)
we didn't start the fire (6)

thunderstruck (-1)
smells like teenage spirit (10)
creep (10)
what is love (4)
juicy (9)
wonderwall (8)
no diggity (10)
bittersweet symphony (9)
iris (10)
no scrubs (10)

dancing in the moonlight (7)
how you remind me (5)
lose yourself (4)
mr brightside (9)
let me love you (6)
i bet you look good on the dancefloor (10)
naive (8)
flourescent adolescent (10)
i'm yours (3)
party in the usa (10)

love the way you lie (8)
someone like you (5)
let her go (10)
riptide (8)
thinking out loud (7)
cheap thrills (4)
say you won't let go (6)
shape of you (5)
someone you loved (3)
dance monkey (4)
head & heart (-1) (the mnek acoustic ate though)
bad habits (0)
as it was (8)

LM

Lee Moore

1

How can Toploader have the 10th most streamed song from the 70s, 80s snd 90s but be the most streamed song from 2000?

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Michael Farrie

0

Can there also be a Top 100 most streamed chart from 1952-2022? The 90s seems very different to the CD single based sales which was a lot more poppy and dancey.

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Rob Parkinson

2

Just goes to show how much streaming eventually shows the tracks which are liked more over sales when many of these tracks didn't even chart that well on sales first time around but they are loved by many and listened to so much as opposed to 1 sale which may have only been listened to once upon purchase due to the artist or could have been listened to thousands of times, no way of knowing with a unit of sale but is no uncertainty with streaming numbers if the track is popular or not.

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Official Charts

1

YES! Such a good point.

S

ScienceGuy

3

None of the most streamed songs in the 90s got to number 1. Summer of 69 has never made the top 40!

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rayever

1

Head & Heart!! shocked but pleasantly surprised to see it there :)

S

ScienceGuy

1

I am surprised Head and Heart outstreamed Blinding Lights

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rayever

2

Blinding Lights was released in 2019 so it didn’t count

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Zimowski

2

Fleetwood Mac <3