The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music
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- Create Date：2022-11-20 17:21:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Tom Breihan
- ISBN：0306826534
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Summary
Beloved music critic Tom Breihan's fascinating narrative of the history of popular music through the lens of game-changing #1 singles from the Billboard Hot 100。
When Tom Breihan launched his Stereogum column in early 2018， “The Number Ones”—a space in which he has been writing about every #1 hit in the history of the Billboard Hot 100， in chronological order—he figured he’d post capsule-size reviews for each song。 But there was so much more to uncover。 The column has taken on a life of its own， sparking online debate and occasional death threats。
The Billboard Hot 100 began in 1958， and after four years of posting the column， Breihan is still in the early aughts。 But readers no longer have to wait for his brilliant synthesis of what the history of #1s has meant to music and our culture。 In The Number Ones， Breihan writes about twenty pivotal #1s throughout chart history， revealing a remarkably fluid and connected story of music that is as entertaining as it is enlightening。
The Numbers Ones features the greatest pop artists of all time， from the Brill Building songwriters to the Beatles and the Beach Boys; from Motown to Michael Jackson， Prince， and Mariah Carey; and from the digital revolution to the K-pop system。 Breihan also ponders great artists who have never hit the top spot， like Bob Dylan， Bruce Springsteen， and James Brown。 Breihan illuminates what makes indelible ear candy across the decades—including dance crazes， recording innovations， television phenomena， disco， AOR， MTV， rap， compact discs， mp3s， social media， memes， and much more—leaving readers to wonder what could possibly happen next。
When Tom Breihan launched his Stereogum column in early 2018， “The Number Ones”—a space in which he has been writing about every #1 hit in the history of the Billboard Hot 100， in chronological order—he figured he’d post capsule-size reviews for each song。 But there was so much more to uncover。 The column has taken on a life of its own， sparking online debate and occasional death threats。
The Billboard Hot 100 began in 1958， and after four years of posting the column， Breihan is still in the early aughts。 But readers no longer have to wait for his brilliant synthesis of what the history of #1s has meant to music and our culture。 In The Number Ones， Breihan writes about twenty pivotal #1s throughout chart history， revealing a remarkably fluid and connected story of music that is as entertaining as it is enlightening。
The Numbers Ones features the greatest pop artists of all time， from the Brill Building songwriters to the Beatles and the Beach Boys; from Motown to Michael Jackson， Prince， and Mariah Carey; and from the digital revolution to the K-pop system。 Breihan also ponders great artists who have never hit the top spot， like Bob Dylan， Bruce Springsteen， and James Brown。 Breihan illuminates what makes indelible ear candy across the decades—including dance crazes， recording innovations， television phenomena， disco， AOR， MTV， rap， compact discs， mp3s， social media， memes， and much more—leaving readers to wonder what could possibly happen next。
Reviews
Richard D’Orazi
，
Tom Breihan is my favorite music writer currently with his very informative and entertaining Number Ones column on Stereogum that I’ve been following since almost the beginning。 In his column， Breihan reviews every US #1 song in chronological order starting with the Billboard Hot 100 chart’s beginning in 1958。 His column serves as the basis for his Number Ones book which profiles 20 #1 songs and how they each have impacted pop music in a variety of ways from introducing new styles to new crazes Tom Breihan is my favorite music writer currently with his very informative and entertaining Number Ones column on Stereogum that I’ve been following since almost the beginning。 In his column， Breihan reviews every US #1 song in chronological order starting with the Billboard Hot 100 chart’s beginning in 1958。 His column serves as the basis for his Number Ones book which profiles 20 #1 songs and how they each have impacted pop music in a variety of ways from introducing new styles to new crazes or new means of promotion and hitmaking。 Breihan brings his online writing style to his book which makes the Number Ones a very fun yet accessible read through modern pop music history。 He gives you lots of cool background and insight on every song that makes you understand how these 20 songs connect in the large scheme of music history from Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” to BTS’ “Dynamite。” This book is everything I expected from Breihan and I can’t recommend this and his Number Ones column enough！ 。。。more
Nick Huntington-Klein
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Having binged the column over the past few months， a fair number of the early columns were a bit of a retread。 But the column is great， so what are you gonna do？ A fun and breezy read with a lot of great insights about pop music。
MookNana
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I'm a longtime reader of Tom Breihan's column， The Number Ones， published on the independent music blog Stereogum。 I found it sometime in the mid-virtual-70's and have been faithfully following along ever since， really enjoying the experience as the column found its voice and made me think of music and pop culture history in new and challenging ways。 I have a deep affection for the community that grew in the comments section （TNOCS） and the whole thing holds a special place in my heart。Excited a I'm a longtime reader of Tom Breihan's column， The Number Ones， published on the independent music blog Stereogum。 I found it sometime in the mid-virtual-70's and have been faithfully following along ever since， really enjoying the experience as the column found its voice and made me think of music and pop culture history in new and challenging ways。 I have a deep affection for the community that grew in the comments section （TNOCS） and the whole thing holds a special place in my heart。Excited as I was about the book， my first question was naturally "Is this just a retread of the column？" Happily， it is not！ The write-ups for each song are unique and have a subtle difference in tone。 The book seems to focus more closely on what factors in the music industry led to the development and success of each song and what the implications were for the business and pop culture。 Each song chosen for the book marks a specific， pivotal point in American popular music， from the beginning of the British Invasion to the advent of Auto-Tune and music-as-technology。 The articles are thoughtful， well-researched， and unabashedly nerdy。 There is a lot of technical discussion about how the industry works， how chart performance is measured， and how music is delivered to the public。 That said， it still remains very accessible and readable。 The cultural contexts of various music phenomena， from disco to boy bands， are absolutely fascinating and I'm just awed by how interconnected everything is--it truly feels like a butterfly flaps its wings and somehow we get K-Pop！I would heartily recommend this to anyone interested in music， pop culture， or contemporary American history。 I learned a lot while reading this and had a great time along the way！Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review！ 。。。more
Diane Hernandez
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The subtitle for The Number Ones is Twenty Chart-topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music。 It sounds like hyperbole—but it’s not。 Get ready to give your favorite music streaming service a workout as you revisit old favorite songs and find new ones。The book covers music from 1960 through 2020。 It’s amazing how well even surprisingly mundane hits， like The Human League’s 1981 hit “Don’t You Want Me”， changed the path of music going forward。 For the book is very successful in convincing it The subtitle for The Number Ones is Twenty Chart-topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music。 It sounds like hyperbole—but it’s not。 Get ready to give your favorite music streaming service a workout as you revisit old favorite songs and find new ones。The book covers music from 1960 through 2020。 It’s amazing how well even surprisingly mundane hits， like The Human League’s 1981 hit “Don’t You Want Me”， changed the path of music going forward。 For the book is very successful in convincing its readers that individual songs moved music in surprisingly new directions over the decades。 It is hard for an average pop music listener to see how Chubby Checker led to The Byrds much less Gucci Mane and BTS。The Number Ones is a fun ride for readers old enough to remember at least a few of these songs firsthand。 But even casual modern listeners can learn a bit about how a single thing can cause a mountain of difference eventually。 5 stars and a favorite！Thanks to Hachette Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book。 。。。more
tanner musgrove
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I just loved this book！ Tom Breihan’s writing style is super conversational while teaching you so much！ I’m fascinated by artists back stories and it was fun reading about how so many people were connected to each other without even realizing it。 If you love music， this book is for you！ Thanks to Boswell Books for this ARC！
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this book on the history of hit songs and their influences。When I worked at an independent music store， we had our own charts and our own lists of what we thought was hip hop and happening in music。 For all our pretentiousness， for all the the other too cool for radio customers we had， it was the bread and butter Billboard popular albums that kept our store going， and kept me in bootlegs and import singles。 DJ's My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this book on the history of hit songs and their influences。When I worked at an independent music store， we had our own charts and our own lists of what we thought was hip hop and happening in music。 For all our pretentiousness， for all the the other too cool for radio customers we had， it was the bread and butter Billboard popular albums that kept our store going， and kept me in bootlegs and import singles。 DJ's both wedding and club， a lot from strip clubs actually， would come in with their copy of Billboard Hot 100 or paw through ours， and buy what they needed for their weekend gigs， either by request from savvy listeners or in an attempt to be ahead of the zeitgeist and be considered cool。 I was never much of a Billboard music listener， I read it to keep up and answer questions， but the bands I liked with exceptions wouldn't usually be on the top twenty， and never the Hot 100。 Boy did I miss a lot and cheat myself out of a lot of cool stories。 Tom Breihan， journalist and music historian has in his book The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music written a history on how certain songs changed quite a lot of things in music， sometimes for the good， sometimes for the worse。 Twenty songs are featured in the book， each with a particular influence to the era and the music that followed， from Chubby Checker， the Beatles， Michael Jackson， and BTS。 Looking at the table of contents it is interesting to see how music changed in 60 years， from early rock n roll to disco to pop to what it is today。 Each chapter features information on the song， who wrote the song， a biography on the singer and the making of the song， the producer， and the reception from the label and the public。 The essays reflect on the times， the influence the song had on music， who tried to copy the song， and who used the song to grow as artists and make even more and sometimes better music。 There is a lot of diverse information。 As the book goes on readers see how music taste change， the importance of charts and how corporations used this information， and how listeners tastes and how the acquired information evolved MTV and Limewire and other pirate sites。 The book is very well written and even better humorous， which does not take away from the information of the writing。 As I wrote readers learn quite a bit about music， and the eras in which the songs came out， and this is presented quite well， in a nice style that is easy to follow， and even better fun and informative to follow。 Breihan has a snappy writing ability to share information and not make it seem like a slog to get through， nor seem like a pretentious record clerk making fun of a person for not knowing the bassist in a regional math band that almost made it。 That's is hard in music， and Breihan does it quite well。 I never thought that I would care how Soulja Boy recorded and marketed his music， but honestly that was one of my favorite chapters。A book for music fans， scholars and nerd who love not only knowing about songs but the minutiae that all songs have， from creation to reception and history。 The book tells not only about songs， but about the industry， how it rose， and fell， and became what is is today， sort of a mess。 A very good gift for people who love music and musical trivia。 。。。more
Ben
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Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for an ARC of this title。I've been a massive fan of The Number Ones column since it first dropped at Stereogum， and I've been eagerly awaiting this book to see how it would build on the community that's formed there。 This isn't a reprint of anything you've already seen on the site - it's taking 20 songs that have all hit number one and showing how they act as inflection points in the history of pop music， changing and shaping what could go to number one。 Ea Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for an ARC of this title。I've been a massive fan of The Number Ones column since it first dropped at Stereogum， and I've been eagerly awaiting this book to see how it would build on the community that's formed there。 This isn't a reprint of anything you've already seen on the site - it's taking 20 songs that have all hit number one and showing how they act as inflection points in the history of pop music， changing and shaping what could go to number one。 Each song acts as a jumping off point to discuss in greater detail trends from the sixties through today， and it's a very satisfying read that taught me a few new things about songs I thought I knew well。 It's a delightful book from start to finish， and I hope we get more writing from Breihan on the history of pop outside the column sooner rather than later。 。。。more
patrick Lorelli
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Here is a good book about different chart-topping songs。 Each that the author has chosen has risen to number one， he starts from 1960 with the Twist and works his way through the 2000s。 He also gives a background on the formation of billboards and how they pick the number one song through sales。 Most of the songs I was familiar with since I had either grown up listening to them or eventually my children would be listening to new artists， as well as my youngest daughter now who has been listening Here is a good book about different chart-topping songs。 Each that the author has chosen has risen to number one， he starts from 1960 with the Twist and works his way through the 2000s。 He also gives a background on the formation of billboards and how they pick the number one song through sales。 Most of the songs I was familiar with since I had either grown up listening to them or eventually my children would be listening to new artists， as well as my youngest daughter now who has been listening to BTS which is where he stops。 But between Chubby Checker and BTS you get a real look at many different styles of music and many different artists and were surprised at how many top artists made it to the number two spot but never made it to number one。 A good book though and though he talks a little about disco it really was not that bad it got a lot of people out dancing especially in high school。 A very good book。 I received this book from Netgalley。com 。。。more
Alise
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I thought this was an excellent read。 Well researched and stretching into music engineering， history， international trends and more。 The book does focus on the history of pop music， but that is told through of the story of how it was influenced by all genres， long before the Billboard was established。 I definitely think this is worth reading if you are interested in music， celebrities， or history。 It is obviously set by 20 specific songs， but each chapter connects those songs to other parts of m I thought this was an excellent read。 Well researched and stretching into music engineering， history， international trends and more。 The book does focus on the history of pop music， but that is told through of the story of how it was influenced by all genres， long before the Billboard was established。 I definitely think this is worth reading if you are interested in music， celebrities， or history。 It is obviously set by 20 specific songs， but each chapter connects those songs to other parts of musical history， societal context， and other artists。 You get to jump around to a lot of different time periods， bands， producers and events as each song is connected to other things in multiple ways。 Disclaimer: I received a gifted ARC and finished copy of this book from the publisher。 。。。more
Tammy
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The Number Ones covers a variety of musicians including The Beatles， Prince， Mariah Carey， Puff Daddy， Britney Spears， T-Pain & even BTS to create a harmonizing book with a section for pretty much any music lover。 I enjoyed that it started with the creation of the Hot 100 & the days of The Dick Clark Show & ventured all the way to now & the power of streaming & canvases like the BTS Army！ I liked that each song， & in turn each artist， was given one solid chapter to cover a history of the artist The Number Ones covers a variety of musicians including The Beatles， Prince， Mariah Carey， Puff Daddy， Britney Spears， T-Pain & even BTS to create a harmonizing book with a section for pretty much any music lover。 I enjoyed that it started with the creation of the Hot 100 & the days of The Dick Clark Show & ventured all the way to now & the power of streaming & canvases like the BTS Army！ I liked that each song， & in turn each artist， was given one solid chapter to cover a history of the artist along with the creation & inevitable success of the hit。 Thanks to how it is written， I found it very easy to pick up & read a couple chapters & songs at a time when I was free， which I enjoyed。 The music industry， along with the entertainment business in general， is full of unbelievable artists， people with wicked determination & grit & a plethora of personalities， which is the perfect recipe for art， chaos & unimaginable drama。 This book does an excellent job of condensing so much history for each artist & song into digestible chapters。 It highlights facts regarding the musician， the song & their personal journey in an entertaining way。 Even artists that I already was a fan of， I learned things when reading their chapters， which I feel like is an excellent showcase to a book about music。 I would recommend The Number Ones to any music lover &/or anyone wanting to learn more about music， chart-topping hits or the music business in general！ Massive thanks goes to Hachette Books for sending me a physical arc along with a finished copy， which I voluntarily read & reviewed。 All thoughts & opinions are my own。 。。。more
Mary
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It’s pretty bitchin’ reading an informative book that talks about The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac one moment and Britney Spears and T-Pain the next。This was such a cool book， especially as a music lover。 It delves into the background of some number one hits over the decades and provides a cultural context to describe the important of each song。 Each hit was a musical moment in history， a defining time that shaped and re-paved the music industry and youth of that time。 You get the sense of each tra It’s pretty bitchin’ reading an informative book that talks about The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac one moment and Britney Spears and T-Pain the next。This was such a cool book， especially as a music lover。 It delves into the background of some number one hits over the decades and provides a cultural context to describe the important of each song。 Each hit was a musical moment in history， a defining time that shaped and re-paved the music industry and youth of that time。 You get the sense of each track’s grandiosity， even when you least expect to feel it （cough cough， “Buy U a Drank”）。 I wish there weren’t so many names left and right， but in the end it definitely gave me a feel for how connected， yet vast， the entertainment industry really is。 Highly recommend this to any music lover out there。 Thank you Hachette Books for my copy！ 。。。more
Jennifer Schultz
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This is a fascinating and revealing look at influential #1 songs， arranged by decade。 Some readers may quibble with the song（s） selected for the decade， but that's to be expected with books like this。 Readers looking for an entertaining journey across the pop music landscape should not miss this。 Many thanks to Hachette and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 This is a fascinating and revealing look at influential #1 songs， arranged by decade。 Some readers may quibble with the song（s） selected for the decade， but that's to be expected with books like this。 Readers looking for an entertaining journey across the pop music landscape should not miss this。 Many thanks to Hachette and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Theresa S
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Fun read！ Learned more about some of my favorite songs I grew up with！
Laura
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The Number Ones was a fascinating read！ This book looks at 20 #1 Billboard hits between 1960 and 2020 that tell the story of pop music and the songs that changed trends in music。 These are not the best songs of all time。 They're not even always great songs， but they are important songs for what they did to influence pop music。 The back stories in each chapter were really interesting to me （except some of the rap sections because I have no real interest or knowledge in that genre）。 Luckily I was The Number Ones was a fascinating read！ This book looks at 20 #1 Billboard hits between 1960 and 2020 that tell the story of pop music and the songs that changed trends in music。 These are not the best songs of all time。 They're not even always great songs， but they are important songs for what they did to influence pop music。 The back stories in each chapter were really interesting to me （except some of the rap sections because I have no real interest or knowledge in that genre）。 Luckily I was familiar and a fan of lots of these great artists and their music。 I was inspired to listen to these songs as I traveled chapter to chapter， but now with a new understanding and listening for certain things that Tom Breihan had pointed out。 I definitely will be passing this book on to some other music lovers。 Thanks to Hachette Books for an ARC of this book won through a Goodreads giveaway。 。。。more
Jessica Williamson
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This was a fun book to read， the author provided a lot of information， broke down the back story for each song and discussed how that song impacted pop music for future artists and listeners。
Lovely Loveday
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The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music is a fantastic read！ A well-written look into the history of Top 100 songs from the Billboard charts with release dates， how they charted， and how long it was on the chart。 The Number Ones is a well-researched book that gives in-depth coverage of each time period。
Steph
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As someone who loves music， especially the 60s- early 2000s， I couldn’t wait to read this one！ I only had two of the songs featured I wasn’t overly familiar one - one a disco tune and the other a more recent one because I’m old and tragically unhip。 😂 What I really liked about this book though is that while it definitely does some background on the songs themself， it really is more of a deep dive into the impact this song had on the music industry and charts which I thought was fascinating。 Span As someone who loves music， especially the 60s- early 2000s， I couldn’t wait to read this one！ I only had two of the songs featured I wasn’t overly familiar one - one a disco tune and the other a more recent one because I’m old and tragically unhip。 😂 What I really liked about this book though is that while it definitely does some background on the songs themself， it really is more of a deep dive into the impact this song had on the music industry and charts which I thought was fascinating。 Spanning from the 1960s when the Billboard 100 first began to the 2020s， I thought the songs and stories were well chosen and so interesting。 Some of the writing was stiff and a pretentious at times （example: … the combination of bucolic reverie and erudite viciousness held sway… ） but for the most part its an easy to read， well researched deep dive into pop music。 I of course had to listen to each song as I read about it， along with several of the other songs that came up as well which made for a fun reading experience。 Absolutely recommend for any music lovers or anyone interested in the history and behind the scenes of pop music。Thanks @hachettebooks for the gifted copy。 The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music will be out on November 15。 It would make an excellent Christmas gift for the music lover in your life！ 。。。more
Leiannasaur
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I never thought of how pop music sets cultural markers for songs released afterwards。 It’s cool to think of ‘firsts’ and Breihan chooses a diverse cast of artists in his #1 choices。 From 1960 to 2020， each chapter is its own mini-essay on why a #1 hit remains a significant song and how it affected music afterwards。 While my eyes glossed over at the mention of chart numbers， the joy is reading about the times you’re familiar with and how artists you love cemented themselves in from their own dram I never thought of how pop music sets cultural markers for songs released afterwards。 It’s cool to think of ‘firsts’ and Breihan chooses a diverse cast of artists in his #1 choices。 From 1960 to 2020， each chapter is its own mini-essay on why a #1 hit remains a significant song and how it affected music afterwards。 While my eyes glossed over at the mention of chart numbers， the joy is reading about the times you’re familiar with and how artists you love cemented themselves in from their own drama， created waves in rap music， or became anomalies in Korean pop music。 I had a lot of fun with this as Breihan covers my musical coming-of-age with Limewire downloads and choosing ringtones… look out for that Soulja Boy chapter。I think this book is best enjoyed while playing each song while you’re reading the chapter。 I always love reading deep-dives into music and appreciating it for more than just lyrics I hear。 Fans of Pitchfork and other music columns will love this read。 Overall， fun， well-researched， and presents an impressive， in-depth coverage of each time period， even from contexts of race and generational gaps。Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher NetGalley。 。。。more
J Earl
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The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music， by Tom Breihan， is a fun read that for many readers will bring back memories， perhaps fond ones， perhaps not。In point of fact what is revealed is A history of pop， not THE history of pop。 But hyperbole is the name of the game for writers like this， so whatever。 A different group of songs could have been chosen， with maybe one or two exceptions， but the ones here do tell a very interesting thread of the overall histo The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music， by Tom Breihan， is a fun read that for many readers will bring back memories， perhaps fond ones， perhaps not。In point of fact what is revealed is A history of pop， not THE history of pop。 But hyperbole is the name of the game for writers like this， so whatever。 A different group of songs could have been chosen， with maybe one or two exceptions， but the ones here do tell a very interesting thread of the overall history。 While there might not be much in the way of new information here， that isn't the point。 These songs represent （mostly） significant moments where the direction of pop music changed or at least shifted a bit。 While his authorial voice is just about as annoying as imaginable， the stories of the songs are interesting enough to overcome his inflated sense of his own opinion。 I guess you may have noticed I find his style something less than good。 But many others seem to really like it， so it is probably just what I like rather than something objectively good or bad。 The style， that is， the ego is evident to all。Don't let my negativity about the author dissuade you。 The songs and the stories are well-chosen and quite interesting。 In the hands of an actual writer this would have been a phenomenal book。 As it is it is still a very good book。 If you either like pop music or just appreciate pop music as the background to whatever genre you prefer， this book is well worth your time。 The bulk， though not all， of my complaints are a matter of personal taste and the dynamic between a writer and a reader。 Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Vnunez-Ms_luv2read
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