The Beatles topped the Billboard Hot 100 twenty times in a six-year stretch — a feat no later artist has matched even with longer careers.
How to Play: Guess if the artist on the right has MORE or FEWER Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits than the one on the left.
Name A
Name B
Top 10 Most #1 Hits on Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits is the gold-standard chart success metric in US music. The chart launched 1958 and combines sales, radio, and streaming.
| # | Name | #1 Hits | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | 20 | #1 hits |
| 2 | Mariah Carey | 19 | #1 hits |
| 3 | Rihanna | 14 | #1 hits |
| 4 | Michael Jackson | 13 | #1 hits |
| 5 | Drake | 13 | #1 hits |
| 6 | Madonna | 12 | #1 hits |
| 7 | The Supremes | 12 | #1 hits |
| 8 | Taylor Swift | 12 | #1 hits |
| 9 | Whitney Houston | 11 | #1 hits |
| 10 | Stevie Wonder | 10 | #1 hits |
How Hot 100 #1s Are Tracked
Billboard’s Hot 100 has been the US singles chart since August 1958. A #1 means the song was the top-charting single in any given week.
The Beatles’ 20 #1s came between 1964 and 1970 — six years of absolute dominance. Mariah Carey’s 19 spans 1990 to 2020+, including the perennial ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ returning every December.
Drake’s 13 illustrates the streaming era: he charts huge volumes of singles, often from album rollouts, generating chart-topping debuts that older artists never had access to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most #1 hits ever?
The Beatles at 20. Mariah Carey at 19 is closest active.
Why does Mariah keep coming back?
‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ (1994) reached #1 for the first time in 2019 and has charted every December since, adding new #1 weeks.
Are these solo or featured?
Includes lead-artist credits and featured roles where the artist is part of the credited bill.
How does streaming affect #1 counts?
Streaming-era artists chart faster but fade faster too. Drake has 13 #1s but few have lasted long at the top.
Note: Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits per Billboard records as of late 2024.
More Wise Games to Try