Tag Archives: Best List

Tempted as I am to make the obvious joke and say ’69 was a very “nice” year, such a mild descriptor really doesn’t do this year justice. A man named Armstrong landed on the moon, a crook named Nixon landed in the White House, and the Manson Family killed eight Hollywood hot-shots because some whackoContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1969”

Any attempt by historians to neatly demarcate where one cultural epoch ends and another begins is always going to be at least a little reductive. In 1968, there was still plenty of music and art that felt more of a piece with the zeitgeist of the years prior, and many of the trends that roseContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1968”

Here we are, folks. 1967, arguably the year that defined the entire decade. It’s hard not to view this year as the climax the past seven years were all building to, and the remainder of the decade as a comedown from the dizzying whirlwind that was 1967. This was the year of the The MarchContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1967”

By 1966, the countercultural revolution was already well under way on both sides of the Atlantic, but this year still brought advances in both music and culture at large that would reverberate throughout the rest of the decade and onwards. Walt Disney passed away in December of this year, effectively bringing an end to Disney’sContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1966”

Oh man. Oh man. At long last, we’ve finally gotten to the years where I really have to work to contain my excitement. 1965 is the start of an extended golden age for the Billboard charts- The popular wisdom is that it lasted until around 1970 or so, but I would actually argue that everyContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1965”

Alright, now we’re cooking with fire! If 1963 was the pop world finally realizing it needed to kick itself into gear, 1964 finds it at the end of its sport-movie training montage: limbered up, reinvigorated and raring to go. We haven’t quite arrived at the doors of pop’s true golden era, but by the finalContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1964”

1963 was still not a particularly strong year for the hot 100, but after the punishing doldrums of the previous year, I doubt there’s much that wouldn’t have felt like an improvement, and indeed, ‘63 was substantially better than ‘62; if I’m in a generous mood I’ll probably even give it the edge over ‘61.Continue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1963”

I listened to most of the 1962 year-end list with my roommate, and after twenty or so songs he turned to me and said, and I quote, “Jesus dude, I thought ‘60s music was supposed to be good”. I can’t say I disagree with the sentiment. As bad a year as 1961 was for pop,Continue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1962”

Okay, now we’re really in the thick of the pre-Beatles dry spell, and make no mistake folks, this year was rough. The 1960 Year-End Hot 100 is a veritable ocean of mediocrity, with precious few islands of quality to speak of. I can’t even write much here, I just want to get this over with.Continue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1961”

The start of the 1960s was a pretty far cry from what our collective memory of what the capital-S Sixties were. Pop music took its sweet time dragging itself groggily out of bed to face the dawn of the new decade, and in the meantime the listening public had to subsist on the dregs ofContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1960”