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The best pop songs of all time, heavily influenced and constrained to music I have listened to and love personally. This list is limited to one song per artist as I only have so much time on my hands. So these placements can also be considered acknoledgements to the individual acts pop contributions overall.

100. Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith, "Not in Love"

99. Lorde, "Sober"

Release Year: 2017

What Makes It Great:

There could honestly be quite a few Lorde tracks to represent her here, but Sober is a personal favorite of mine. I love the particularly wordy verses and chorus which dont lose their ear worm. And darker tone pop songs like this in the mainstream set the stage for artists like Billie Eilish.

98. Cher, "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"

Release Year: 1971

What Makes It Great:

For a pop song at the time it had a wonderful non-typical song structure, strong vocals, and of course implicitly suggestive subject matter.

97. Alanis Morisette, "You Oughta Know"

Release Year: 1995

What Makes It Great:

Alanis underwent a jarring sonic switch up from the dance-pop/soft alt-rock she put out up until this point, and committed entirely. There are so many incredible bars to pick from here, "would she go down on you in a theater", "And are you thinking of me, when you fuck her?"

96. M83, "Midnight City"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

Incredibly effective vocal layering and very iconic opening synth licks.

95. f(x), "4 Walls"

Release Year: 2015

What Makes It Great:

Sleek incorperations of house and uk garage with a wonderfully even showcasing of all the members. The vocal harmonies are butter on this one.

94. The Sugarcubes, "Birthday"

Release Year: 1987

What Makes It Great:

Björks incredibly young and earnest vocals, even then showing off her incredible eccentricity. 

93. Utada Hikaru, "Somewhere near Marseilles"

Release Year: 2022

What Makes It Great:

An incredibly complimentary collaboration between Hikaru and producer Floating Points where they complement each others strengths in a 12 minute oddesey of house, trance, and deep longing over a past rendezvous.

92. P!nk, "Just Like a Pill"

Release Year: 2002

What Makes It Great:

The synthesis of P!nk's popular appeal, with just the right amount of angst, chanting choruses and wine-mom appeal. Lyrically its much more original than most of her other hits as well. 

91. Demi Lovato, "Cool For The Summer"

Release Year: 2015

What Makes It Great:

This is the highest form of soft verses to lull you into an epic chorus. The verses themselves are not afterthoughts, conveying a level of sex appeal i didn't know they had in them. 

90. The Weeknd, "False Alarm"

89. Koda Kumi, "Taboo"

Release Year: 2008

What Makes It Great:

Wonderful fusion of dancepop, electronic music and R&B, and a late career highlight for the Japanese diva. The vocoder effects in the chorus are particularly lush.

88. Muse, "Madness"

Release Year: 2012

What Makes It Great:

Well past the onset of dubstep included in popular music, Muse took a much softer approach to the subgenre than the overdone aggressive dance breaks incorperating substep. Sludgy overpowering bass tied into dubstep with the the vocoder in the hook gives a surprisingly catchy and memorable song.

87. Namie Amuro, "Mint"

Release Year: 2016

What Makes It Great:

Wonderful chant-like vocals envoking great pop tracks like Venus, raging guitar licks straight out of a western film, soaring EDM synths alongside the 'Don't you break my heart refrain', this song is endlessly exciting.

86. Pond, "Paint Me Silver"

Release Year: 2017

What Makes It Great:

The best kind of glistening disco synths and soft romance. Wonderful vocals, just a solid tune all around.

85. Shinee, "Sherlock (Clue + Note)"

Release Year: 2012

What Makes It Great:

A monumental song in K-pop boy-group lore, splicing together 2 separate tracks into a new beast all together. A huge bombastic vocal line with new jack swing in the mix? Can't go wrong.

84. 100 Gecs, "Money Machine"

Release Year: 2019

What Makes It Great:

"Hey you little piss baby" for one. Also one of the pillars of Hyperpop.

82. Caroline Polachek, "Bunny is a Rider"

Release Year: 2021

What Makes It Great:

Wonderful meeting of Timbaland style production and more modern spacy elements of the PC music scene. The whistling refrain throughout the track is instantly iconic.

81. Tinashe, "Bouncin"

Release Year: 2021

What Makes It Great:

An absolute highlight in the ever under appreciated discography of Tinashe. I always love when a pop song manages to keep the verses as engaging and catchy as the chorus, without slacking on either front. Very GOAT'd pop song.

80. Bad Bunny feat. El Alfa, "La Romana"

79. Billie Eilish, "Happier Than Ever"

Release Year: 2021

What Makes It Great:

The several sections to the record which could easily sound as 3 disjointed tracks but seamlessly work. Especially love the third verse.

78. Nicki Minaj feat. Cassie, "The Boys"

Release Year: 2012

What Makes It Great:

The hyperactive beat on this one really highlights how ahead of its time Nicki's beat selection was in the early 10's.  Additionally gave three standout verses on it, easily one of her most underrated pop-rap tracks.

77. Ariana Grande, "Into You"

Release Year: 2015

What Makes It Great:

There is always a place for power vocalists to take on dancepop. This stands among the greats. Everything is pristine to the nth degree, with vocal layering like butter, tasteful vocoder and autotune elements that don't let up til the very end.

76. Drake feat. The Weeknd, "Crew Love"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

The Weeknd's contribution to this track may as well make him a lead artist on it, which makes sense as it was initially meant for his first mixtape which this song would fit snugly into it. His vocal harmonies blending smoothly into the crashing percussion is very iconic.

75. Róisín Murphy, "Something More"

Release Year: 2020

What Makes It Great:

The lush extended intro demonstrates Murphy's masterful patience when it comes to pop music, a trait not many can claim.

74. Red Velvet, "Dumb Dumb"

Release Year: 2015

What Makes It Great:

The multiple Michael Jackson references Irene and Joy take on the 4th (yes 4th) verse. The chaotic song structure packed with loads of content within 3 minutes while still sounding cohesive really solidified the group as masters of pop music.

73. Kanye West feat. Big Sean and Jay-Z, "Clique"

Release Year: 2012

What Makes It Great:

A career highlight for Big Sean in particular, he kills this chorus and first verse. Everyone else in the mix delivers as well, including Hit-Boy who delivers a very sick synth baseline under soaring boss dungeon-sounding chants. I will accept this as my first hot take!

72. Jessie Ware, "Begin Again"

Release Year: 2023

What Makes It Great:

An indisputed career peak for this modern disco diva. Representative of the tonal shift in "That! Feels Good", Ware forgoes futuristic electronic house beats for classic Disco Diva vocal harmonies and natural instrumentation to a smashing success.

71. Meghan Trainor, "Me Too"

Release Year: 2016

What Makes It Great:

Not only spearheading a social movement, Trainor blended dancepop, r&b, gospel and electroclash in a way that was never done before. Historic!

70. Jay-Z and Linkin Park, "Numb/Encore"

69. AOA, "10 Seconds"

Release Year: 2016

What Makes It Great:

When that first chorus hits! Smooth buttery synthpop meets R&B style singing performance.

68. New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

Release Year: 1986

What Makes It Great:

New Order at their most straight-forward, and arguably their best. Shockingly it did not perform well at the time of release, but has since been the basis of many modern pop songs since its inception. The aggressive synths are delicious and iconic.

67. Christina Aguilera, "Candyman"

Release Year: 2006

What Makes It Great:

The vocals of course. A career standout for Aguilera which is why she charges the big bucks to perform it even to this date. Additionally, the throwback swing sound was a very bold career choice for her which few of her contemporaries could hope to emulate.

66. Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream"

Release Year: 2010

What Makes It Great:

Bonnie Mckee's pen! An immaculate bridge and great verses on this one.

65. Dua Lipa, "New Rules"

Release Year: 2017

What Makes It Great:

The list-style girl to girl advice lyrics in the pre-chorus.

64. Calvin Harris, "Feel So Close"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

Harris' meloncholic vocal performance and repetitive house synth refrain.

63. The Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"

Release Year: 1969

What Makes It Great:

There is no inch of this song that is not instantly iconic and recognizable. The opening guitar riffs, Michael Jacksons tween vocal pitch, the bombastic chorus, the smooth R&B group vocals in the back. Excellent song all around.

62. a-ha, "Take On Me"

Release Year: 1984

What Makes It Great:

The music video. Jk, not really. The whistful vocal performance leading up to an intense falsetto is very good, outshining the already fantastic synthpop instrumental.

61. Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor"

Release Year: 2005

What Makes It Great:

Turners stellar vocals backed by adrenaline pumping riffs into this fun garage rock dance banger.

60. Miley Cyrus, "See You Again - Rock Mafia Remix"

59. Girls' Generation, "Gee"

Release Year: 2009

What Makes It Great:

The song is one of the greatest vehicles to the advent of K-pop in the global popular culture. Every 'Aegyo' (cutesy) style kpop song really just wants to be this one.

58. Animal Collective, "My Girls"

Release Year: 2009

What Makes It Great:

A psychedelic trip of a song, that while it sounds other-worldly juxtaposes with very homely modest lyrics.

57. M.I.A., "Bad Girls"

Release Year: 2013

What Makes It Great:

This song felt like a victory lap for M.I.A. at the time of release, with a seamless fusion of her love for hip hop, middle eastern music, world beat, politics, sexual empowerment, you name it.

56. Selena Gomez & The Scene, "Love You Like A Love Song"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

A non-chrorus made into an iconic one, the longing that can only be put into the idea of a song. An exceptionally brilliant mark of post-consciousness.

55. Rosalía, "SAOKO"

Release Year: 2022

What Makes It Great:

Aggressive industrial synth guitars blended into reggaeton like are you serious?

54. Kesha, "Tik Tok"

Release Year: 2009

What Makes It Great:

Trashy white girl talk-rapping done to the 10s, the P-Diddy line following with his voice memos. Despite claims at the time that it would age poorly I think it has comparatively aged quite wonderfully compared to other songs of the time.

53. St. Vincent, "Cruel"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

The glistening disco beats and guitars contrasted by an increasingly manic grungy vocal performance.

52. Carly Rae Jepsen, "Turn Me Up"

Release Year: 2012

What Makes It Great:

My second hot-take pick. I absolutely adore this song, from its non-obvious referential lyrical things to the Titanic Call Me Maybe, clever lyrical switch-ups, and irresistible chorus. Like 20 Jepsen choices are acceptable here, but I had to go with my underappreciated favorite!

51. Girls Aloud, "Biology"

50. Mariah Carey, "Honey"

49. Robyn, "Call Your Girlfriend"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

The mature older sister to 'Dancing On My Own', Robyn builds on her sound of sad melancholic dance music and provides an absolute banger. Lyrically every bar here is a gut punch you become emotionally invested in.

48. Soft Cell, "Tainted Love"

Release Year: 1981

What Makes It Great:

The 12" single version melting into another cover, of "Where Did Our Love Go"

47. Shakira feat. Alejandro Sanz, "La Tortura"

Release Year: 2005

What Makes It Great:

The sultry back and forth between the two vocalists, along with the subtle notes of flamenco throughout the song.

46. Amerie, "1 Thing"

Release Year: 2005

What Makes It Great:

Amerie's frantic breathy vocal performance backed with bustling horns that frankly paved the way for 'B'day'.

45. Avril Lavigne, "My Happy Ending"

Release Year: 2004

What Makes It Great:

The double hook in the verses and the chorus, somber ear candy!

44. Lady Gaga, "Scheiße"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

Thumping fast synths with electro clash linings tied with a nonsensical chorus in gibberish and hilarious accent. It is the maximalist interpretation of the Gaga pop formula.

43. Underworld, "Born Slippy (Nuxx)"

Release Year: 1996

What Makes It Great:

Macabre style dark electronica taking on themes of alcoholism in a rave style mania? So me coded

42. Talking Heads, "Psycho Killer"

Release Year: 1977

What Makes It Great:

Very difficult to not place the much better version of this song (Bad Liar) here. But the song deserves its props for spinning up what is arguably the most iconic bassline in popular music.

41. Kelis, "Caught Out There"

Release Year: 1999

What Makes It Great:

Beautiful rage laid to tape over a fantastic hip hop beat. The screaming in the chorus is just too good.

40. Magdalena Bay, "You Lose!"

39. Gorillaz, "Feel Good Inc."

Release Year: 2005

What Makes It Great:

The division of the track into passages with calm sections, bass sections, rap sections etc with a beautiful melancholic chorus.

38. TLC, "No Scrubs"

Release Year: 1999

What Makes It Great:

Ended men.

37. Shygirl, "Slime"

Release Year: 2020

What Makes It Great:

One of the last production contributions we got from Sophie and it truly does not disappoint, it's so absolutely grimy, to its namesake. Shygirl also never sounds more alive on a track than this.

36. Stromae, "Alors On Danse"

Release Year: 2009

What Makes It Great:

The ravey hypnotic sax chorus which walked so songs like Mr. Saxobeat and Run Away With Me could run. 

35. Björk, "Jóga"

Release Year: 1997

What Makes It Great:

Björks siren style, booming vocal performance.

34. David Bowie, "Life on Mars?"

Release Year: 1973

What Makes It Great:

Bowie at the time really pushed his chops as a songwriter, and while the tune at its core is solid enough to work on its own, incorporates many theatrical elements and chord changes that make it an ever-engaging listen.

33. Taylor Swift, "Enchanted"

Release Year: 2010

What Makes It Great:

A masterclass in pop songwriting, the song could easily have crumbled under the weight of densely packed lyrics but there isn't a single part that is not an earworm. Swift also deserves her props for (almost) never skimping on the bridge department.

32. Britney Spears, "Freakshow"

Release Year: 2007

What Makes It Great:

Freakshow is emblematic of Britney's status as a tastemaker in pop music. Well before the trend caught wildfire in the 2010s, Spears was incorporating then underground sounds of substep in her music, paving the way for one of the most overdone trends in pop.

31. Joy Division, "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

Release Year: 1980

What Makes It Great:

Chillingly meta commentary on lead singer Ian Curtis' life and struggles at the time. The smooth and subtle new wave licks of guitar are also memorable/iconic.

30. Florence + The Machine, "Never Let Me Go"

29. MGMT, "Kids"

Release Year: 2005

What Makes It Great:

Top 3 most instantly recognizable synth lines of all time?

28. Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"

Release Year: 1983

What Makes It Great:

From the opening keys to the glistening synths to Cyndi's standout vocals, this song has earned its place as one of the most iconic hits of all time.

27. Fiona Apple, "Criminal"

Release Year: 1996

What Makes It Great:

Endless motherhood in the lyrics like wow, how can you not say cunt.

26. Arcade Fire, "Ready To Start"

Release Year: 2010

What Makes It Great:

Gorge lush orchestral excellence we know Arcade Fire for tied with one of their strongest hooks.

25. Charli XCX, "Vroom Vroom"

Release Year: 2016

What Makes It Great:

Charli struck career gold on this collaborative project, with herself, Sophie, Noonie Bao in the mix coming up with this noisy, experimental and hilarious wall of noise that should never work but is tied together wonderfully by the forward thinking pop vision of everyone involved.

24. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Release Year: 1991

What Makes It Great:

Propelled by Cobain's one of a kind performance, this track strikes a wonderful sweet-spot of pop music and grunge.

23. Depeche Mode, "Enjoy The Silence"

Release Year: 1990

What Makes It Great:

At this point its quite obvious i love a macabre style apathetic vocal performance backed by pounding synth beats, right?

22. Queens of the Stone Age, "No One Knows"

Release Year: 2002

What Makes It Great:

Homme's clear reverence for Elvis Presley's vocal style shines here in a groovy stoner rock banger, with clear reverence for pop song structures. This song oozes sex appeal, cool factor and the casual irreverence that makes their music so engaging.

21. Rihanna feat. Jay-Z, "Umbrella"

Release Year: 2007

What Makes It Great:

Iconic high hats, iconic hook, iconic bridge. An incredibly studied pop song with really no flaws.

20. Lana Del Rey, "Video Games"

19. Kate Bush, "Cloudbusting"

Release Year: 1985

What Makes It Great:

My personal favorite Kate Bush song, there is just wonderful subtle use of various instruments throughout the track, from soft synthesizers to percussion drums, it truly mothered Baroque-pop as a subgenre.

18. Daft Punk, "One More Time"

Release Year: 2000

What Makes It Great:

Pure unadulterated euphoria.

17. Eurythmics, "Here Comes the Rain Again"

Release Year: 1983

What Makes It Great:

Immaculate synths and immaculate vocal performance from Lenox.

16. Beyoncé, "Countdown"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

Beyoncé's most bombast vocal performance and truly one of her cookiest songs, Countdown contains some of the most impressive vocal acrobatics on a song to date.

15. Fatboy Slim, "The Rockafeller Skank"

Release Year: 1998

What Makes It Great:

Effortlessly cool and one of the greatest contributions to Big Beat music. 'Praise You' can also be here but thats just down to preference.

14. Whitney Houston, "So Emotional"

Release Year: 1987

What Makes It Great:

A true gem in Whitneys pop catalogue, like I said for Ariana, there is always a place in my heart for vocal divas over a dance track and this is the one to beat in that category.

13. The Beatles, "For No One"

Release Year: 1966

What Makes It Great:

Another early example of the now very popular baroque/art pop style, this track has always stood out to me as a lyrical standout in The Beatles catalog. A somber tale of the ending stages of a relationship.

12. Michael Jackson, "Beat It"

Release Year: 1982

What Makes It Great:

Jackson always had a very strong point of view on his image, sound, and intention for his music. The strong sense of identity is what has established him as the quintisential male pop icon who will forever be imitated and never duplicated. A pop rock track with a vocal performance only he could deliver, this stands tall as one of his greatest, most influential singles.

11. Sinéad O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Release Year: 1990

What Makes It Great:

Very few acts can claim to match let alone exceed a vocal performance from Prince and O'Connor absolutely smashes it here.

10. Sophie, "Immaterial"

9. Deee-Lite "Grove is in the Heart"

Release Year: 1990

What Makes It Great:

Funky house meets free-style, psychedelic, hip hop, you mame it. A completely out of this world production feat on this one.

8. Kylie Minogue "Better the Devil You Know"

Release Year: 1990

What Makes It Great:

Arguably still her best vocal performance on a track to date, a blueprint in the melancholic dance floor anthems, and was a cornerstone in Kylie's career to the mature pop diva we know today.

7. Azealia Banks feat. Lazy Jay "212"

Release Year: 2011

What Makes It Great:

A one-hit wonder tale as old as time, but what makes this track special is its almost prophetic nature to its lyrics, pointing to a deeper self-awareness of the rapper. It is always a shame when careers don't quite pan out the way we would like them to but at the same time, many artists would be blessed to have such a statement of a song. 

6. Missy Elliott "Get Ur Freak On"

Release Year: 2001

What Makes It Great:

Obviously, the outlandish worldly instrumental, with snaring Bhangra instruments, Japanese excerpts, and manic pattering drums. Missy is no slouch on the beat either, from the opening 'Headbanger' proclamation she commands the club with a tight grip.

5. Madonna, "Impressive Instant"

4. Grimes, "Oblivion"

3. Janet Jackson, "The Pleasure Principle"

2. Prince and the Revolution, "Kiss"

1. Donna Summer, "I Feel Love"