50 Cent, Journey, Fleetwood Mac & More: The Biggest Hits This Week From the ‘2000s, 1990s, ‘80s, ‘70s & ‘60s

The Billboard Hot 100 chart ranks the top songs in the United States each week, blending streaming, radio airplay and sales figures (per data tracker Luminate). Unsurprisingly, the biggest hits tend to be relatively new at any given time, as they have been since the survey began in 1958. On the latest list, five acts are even enjoying their first top 10s: Shaboozey, Tommy Richman, Sabrina Carpenter – simultaneously logging her first two top 10s – Teddy Swims and Benson Boone.

But what about the current biggest hits that were released in past decades?

Nostalgia sells, and streams and attracts strong radio play, per a Billboard analysis of the best-performing songs in the July 12-18 tracking week that were originally released in the 2000s, 1990s, ‘80s, ‘70s and ‘60s.

Similarly, as Luminate revealed in its midyear report, catalog music (released 18 months or earlier) accounted for 73% of all album consumption in the first half of 2024, matching its share in 2023, and up slightly from its totals earlier this decade. (Even the Hot 100’s current No. 1 draws from the past, as Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song [Tipsy],” on top for a second week, interpolates J-Kwon’s 2004 hit “Tipsy.”)

Below is a look at the top 10 songs this week from each decade from the ‘00s back to the ‘60s. Notably, the top track from the ‘00s experienced an unexpected surge: Following the July 13 shooting of former president Donald Trump during a campaign rally, memes emerged comparing him to 50 Cent, who was shot nine times in 2000. (Mused a shrugging 50 Cent, “Trump gets shot and now I’m trending.”)

The rapper’s “Many Men (Wish Death)” subsequently reigns as the biggest song from the 2000s July 12-18, led by 6.4 million official U.S. streams – up 224% week-over-week.

The song’s performance outpaces its original showing, as it bubbled under the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 2003 and has yet to reach the ranking, or the Hot 100. Still, most of the titles below (and, happily, reflecting content of a more peaceable nature) were substantial hits upon their releases, with over 80% top 10 hits on the Hot 100 over the five decades analyzed.

Browse below the most prominent representation of songs from the 2000s (2000-09), 1990s, ‘80s, ‘70s and ‘60s over the past week, encompassing a wide variety of genres, from pop and hip-hop to new wave, classic rock and Motown.