The best pop songs of all time are groundbreaking, chart-topping, downright famous hits that’ll have you singing at the top of your lungs
Before we dive into this list of the best pop songs of all time, we need to take a moment to define what pop music is. And, unfortunately, that requires a lot of caveats along with ample use of the words “technically” and “actually.” Technically, indie rock and rap qualify as pop, so long as they’re filled with catchy beats and memorable melodies. Actually disco and hair metal are pop because they held the zeitgeist of a decade. You could technically qualify Limp Bizkit as pop music, since it dominated airwaves alongside the Backstreet Boys. (We won’t… but we could.)
One thing pop isn’t is old. At its very essence, pop music and “popular” songs are of their time. And once they hit a certain vintage, they graduate to classic status. Yes, The Beatles all but defined pop, and MJ was its king. But decades on, they’ve moved onto a different plane of existence.
For this updated rundown of the best pop songs of all time, we’ve rethought the canon and focused solely on 21st-century hits. The 10
songs on their list were all released between 2000 and 2021. We’ve excluded straight-up rock, alternative (whatever that means), and hip hop and focused instead on radio-friendly popular songs that will force even the stodgiest music snob to sing along if nobody’s looking.
#1
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” by Beyoncé
Credits to: pinterest.com
The anthem of single gals everywhere, the opus made Beyhive converts out of every last hold-out. No one could resist that Queen Bey’s leotard and signature dance moves, and Kanye West was right: “Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!”
To listen: Single ladies
#2
“Umbrella” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
Credits to: pinterest.com
Recently minted billionaire Rihanna has become part of pop’s very DNA over the past two decades thanks to her singular persona, joy in courting controversy and, most crucially, the strength of her powerful voice. Choosing one Rihanna song for the pop hall of fame is a fool’s errand, but gun to our head — likely held by Rihanna whilst asking us where her money is — the safe choice is the best. “Umbrella” not only introduced the world at large to one of pop’s biggest stars, it ushered in a pop-culture dynasty, with fellow mogul Jay-Z on board to co-sign.
To listen: Umbrella
#3
“Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift
Credits to: pinterest.com
1989 marked a clean break from Swift’s country roots, with the singer emerging as a pop diva for the ages on the strentgh of a front-to-back record of bangers. This lead-off single had former haters shaking their heads over their unexpected conversion into T-Swift fandom. Even if you rolled your eyes at her awkward dancing in the video, you were involuntarily grooving in your
desk chair. Taylor would continue morphing her image in the wake of its success, but this is the singer at her most purely joyous.
To listen: Shake it off
#4
“Toxic” by Britney Spears
Credits to: pinterest.com
Before 2003, Britney was leaning hard into her “not that innocent” sexuality via breakout albums …Baby One More Time and Oops… I Did It Again. Here, Britney seems transformed into a vicious femme fatale, her voice soaring and dipping over a deranged synth-string arrangement that wouldn’t seem out of place in a Hitchcock film, but felt alien when it hit MTV. Even now, amid the #freebritney movement and two decades removed, it’s a disorienting stunner of a pop masterpiece.
To listen: Toxic
#5
“Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
Credits to: pinterest.com
The English sensation exploded to international fame with this tune, released when she was just 21 years old — though her voice carries the expertise of a woman decades older. High-reaching vocals, a bone-chilling opening note and ever-relatable subject matter of tarnished love scored Adele two Grammy Awards as fans around the world cried to the breakup anthem.
To listen: Rolling in the deep
#6
“Firework” by Katy Perry
Credits to: .wikipedia.
Part dance floor anthem, part inspirational power song, “Firework” was Katy Perry’s third release off 2010’s Teenage Dream and a huge elevation point in her career. It won MTV’s 2011 VMA for Video of the Year and earned two Grammy nominations, and all the hoopla around Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview gave it another boost of publicity in 2014.
To listen: Firework
#7
“ReHab” by Amy Winehouse
Credits to: spotify.com
One of pop’s most unlikely and tragic crossovers, Winehouse’s cross-generational sing-along about the not-so-sunny world of interventions and addictions has a timeless quality thanks in large part to Mark Ronson’s time-traveling production, which wisely surrounds the raven-haired singer with rusted-over doo-wop sounds. But really, it’s all Amy: Her haunting, otherworldly voice delivering each “no, no, no” with the utmost precision and a universal sense of nonconformity.
To listen: ReHab
#8
“Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd
Credits to: pinterest.com
The Weeknd’s reign over pop has been stratospheric ever since he first dropped his cocaine-fueled “I Can’t Feel My Face.” But the Canadian crooner took things to a new level with “Blinding Lights,” a synth-driven monster whose signature hook and soulful chorus anaged to somehow brighten up the summer of Covid, blasting out of cars everywhere as people escaped their bubbles. More than a year later, its power has only grown.
To listen: Blinding Lights
#9
“Dancing on My Own” by Robyn
Credits to: pinterest.com
Perhaps the most highly danceable breakup song of all time, Robyn’s kinetic masterpiece is a front-to-back all-timer of triumph and solemnity. The Swedish megastar’s pulsing synth-driven song defiantly flips the bird to any that would prevent you from dancing the pain away. This is pop music as a healing balm and a dance track reinvisioned as therapy.
To listen: Dancing on my own
#10
“Hey Ya!” by Outkast
Credits to: pinterest.com
Outkast ATLien André 3000 took a break from changing the rap game for this unexpectedly sunny ’60s throwback that sees the superstar hit pause as an emcee to play bandleader. In a discography of unexpected twists and turns, it was a move nobody could have seen coming from the “Ms. Jackson” and “Spottiottiedopalicious” legend, and further proof that André can do pretty much anything. Truly cooler than a polar bear’s toenails.
To listen: Hey ya
