The Top 30 Selling Songs Of The Decade (So Far)

So yesterday, while I was browsing through the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 article, someone posted about how there was someone on the Billboard 200 article interested in the best-selling songs of the decade. That user posted a list of the 30 best-selling songs of the decade so far. We’re 2/3 the way through the decade, so it’s not a bad time to look back on it…

…Especially seeing as sales may not be anywhere near as big a deal as they used to be. Given that the overall amount of sales have really decreased since this year, case in point – come the mid-year, only one song had sold anywhere near close to 2 million copies. That would be My House by Flo Rida, which at the time had 1.95 million (and has probably sold more since), although Can’t Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake isn’t too far behind. I don’t know whether that’s a testament to how crappy 2016 has been or how much people don’t care enough to buy new songs because of the rise of streaming, but one thing I do know is that since Billboard increased the impact of sales in their formula and lowered the impact of streaming, I find it highly ironic that this downfall would happen at a time like this.

And since I said I would try to make at least one non-countdown post a month (at least I’m sure I did), I think this will give something to do for it. Given that sales may not increase someday (but I could always be wrong), let’s see just how much really managed to stand out in the days before streaming took over.

I assume you know the color code by now, but just in case:

Red = Shit (0 points)

Orange = Least favorite song (0 points)

Turquoise = Bad (1 point)

Yellow = Meh (2 points)

Pink = Decent (3 points)

Blue = Good (4 points)

Green = Great (5 points)

Purple = Favorite song (5 points)

I’ll be taking the songs based on how much that user had listed at the time, even if they gained more before then. One thing to keep in mind before I review these songs, is that these are just for the singles in the United States. Therefore, it does not count any album sales. I’ll talk more about that later, but for now, let’s just get to the songs, shall we?

1. Rolling In The Deep by Adele (8.6 million) – I’ll say, when Adele first came out, I’m sure not many expected her to stick around. But she is one of the names we have to thank for giving us something new after the repetitive 2000s, and in a pop world with lack of quality control, this really stands out.

2. Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock (8.1 million) – I feel obligated to not hate this song, given that it’s #5 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time list. I liked it way more when it was new, but revisiting it (and hearing it on Venus commonly), the drop is rather ugly, but the chorus vocals are good enough and the “Everyday I’m shuffling” is still funny.

3. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons (7.95 million) – Thanks to Billboard’s lame 52/25 recurrent rule, this will forever hold the record for longest time on the Hot 100, with 87 weeks. I used to like this a lot more in 2013 when it was mainstream, but looking back on it… I guess it does have good appeal. Dan Reynolds does have raw oomph to his vocals here, at the least.

4. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra (7.9 million) – My goodness, do I love this one. Although it may appear minimalist when you really hear it, you realize just how good a song it is when you see how un-pop it is. And let’s not forget that video, too. It being the #1 song of 2012 makes absolutely no sense, but I will never complain about it, because it deserved it. I absolutely love it. There is but one thing I can say I dislike about it: the fact that it has crappy remixes that add dance beats. Let me make one thing extremely clear: THIS IS NOT AN EDM SONG. It’s indie and pulls that off well. But really, did this guy need to have only one hit? You didn’t have to cut him off! But no, turns out he’s just somebody that we used to know.

5. Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz (7.9 million) – While this may be a silly song about saving money by buying stupid clothes as opposed to fancy ones, it’s still epic. With that awesome trumpet anchoring the song, and a song that takes on the premise of spending thousands of dollars when they don’t need that to have fun, that’s how you tear down the tired world that pop tends to have. “This is fucking awesome”, indeed.

6. Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen (7.6 million) – Similar to Party Rock Anthem, I feel obligated to not hate this. I mean, sure, it’s asinine and completely nothing, aside from some nice guitar in the chorus, but at the end of the day it does have its own unique charm to it that I can’t adequately explain.

7. Cruise by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly (7.55 million) – Blech. A mix of terrible lines combined with everything being drenched in auto-tune and an over-produced mess that feels like everything is just scrunched together. And Nelly hardly adds anything to the song. Yeah, this is garbage. Next!

8. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams (7.55 million) – This is completely insufferable. Those “hey hey hey”s in the background combined with some pretty questionable lyrics make for one unpleasant listen. And to think that despite all its success, it somehow failed to hit #1 on the Weekend Countdown, and god bless for that. This deserved the suing it got from Marvin Gaye’s estate. Next!

9. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars (7.4 million) – The throwback that came out of nowhere and took the world by storm, I’ve pretty much said my praise for this and don’t need to re-state it. It completely deserved its success and will never be forgotten by me. Also, here’s some trivia for you all: I found out on Pulse Music Board that if it weren’t for the stupid 52/25 recurrent rule, this song would have spent a total of 76 weeks on the chart. That’s right, 76. Third highest only behind Radioactive and a certain other song I’ll discuss later. In that case, not only would it have easily made 2016’s Year-End Hot 100 as well, but it potentially would’ve claimed the Top 5 of the Greatest of All Time chart. My goodness this song.

10. Happy by Pharrell Williams (7.33 million) – Very over-hated, but I can definitely say that I respect it, even if it is ridiculous and doesn’t quite stand out.

11. We Are Young by fun. featuring Janelle Monae (7.15 million) – Is it just me, or is this song REALLY over-hated? Admittedly, the overplay did leave me to find that there isn’t much all too special or exciting about it, but it certainly doesn’t deserve all the hate it’s gotten.

12. Firework by Katy Perry (7.13 million) – This doesn’t come to the high point of the fun factor that California Gurls and Teenage Dream did, and would proceed to be the first of her self-empowerment trilogy, with another being one I’ll discuss shortly.

13. Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars (6.88 million) – As with We Are Young, hearing this so much did leave me to realize that it doesn’t stand out perfectly. Even so, I won’t say it’s a bad song. It’s sweet, and not a bad start for the guy.

14. Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera (6.85 million) – While I can appreciate the song’s disco sound, that’s really the only thing about it I find worth caring about. Is it just me, or did this song get popular at a time when “swagger” was really popular? That’s why Mick Jagger’s name got popular again very early in the decade (see: Tik Tok by Ke$ha, The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas, Swagger Jagger by Cher Lloyd). Not really sure what Christina Aguilera does here, either.

15. Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna (6.61 million) – Ah yes, Adrian’s favorite song of all time, if memory serves. It does a good job at showing the premise of two people in a love-hate relationship, Eminem was far more on-point here than in anything he did since Lose Yourself, and Rihanna’s chorus is a well-crafted sarcastic whinge at Chris Brown for being the dick-hole that he was.

16. Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO (6.4 million) – With a repulsive endlessly looping beat and lacking a hook, combined with some pretty crappy repetition, this is just an underwritten slog of a song. Likewise, I liked it when it was new, but hearing it again – no thank you.

17. Someone Like You by Adele (6.19 million) – This track shows Adele seeing her ex happy and wishing him the best and leaves her hoping to find someone new. It’s well-written and really captures the bittersweet thoughts of both sides. Sometimes it lasts to love, but sometimes it hurts instead, indeed. To me, this is definitely Adele’s best song – I’ll take it over both of her two other biggest successes.

18. Roar by Katy Perry (6.18 million) – Looking back on this one, I don’t think it’s as craptastic as many make it out to be, but it still isn’t anything special and not the kind of thing that Katy Perry should be trying to sell. Sadly, I’d rather listen to it than its crappy “successor” – not Dark Horse, but the third of her self-empowerment trilogy (sorry people that like Rise, but for me that is a skip).

19. Grenade by Bruno Mars (6.1 million) – Bruno Mars has always been talented, but this was not a good display of his capability. Too much melodrama, it gets more pissy than it should, and worst of all, the “I would die for you, baby / But you won’t do the same” in the chorus has some pretty unsettling implications. But I guess I can see the appeal, I’m just not a fan.

20. Dark Horse by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J (6.08 million) – This, however, ugh. Ugly production plus trying to pass her off as a powerful destroyer is a dreadful mix. And not helping whatsoever is Juicy J’s verse where he’ll “put her in a coma” instead of waking her up from it. Once again, I actually liked it at first until I really paid attention. Even my folks said they hated this one when I mentioned it as being 2014’s biggest song from iHeartRadio. Next!

21. Dynamite by Taio Cruz (6 million) – For a feel-good party song, this does work, but it hasn’t held up as well. For one, I can’t ignore those elongated syllables in the verses (do-do-do-do? I’ll let you guess the joke for that yourself). I guess there’s not too much to hate about it, but there are better songs like it and thus it's rather forgettable today.

22. Fuck You!/Forget You by Cee Lo Green (6 million) – Meanwhile, here’s Graham’s favorite song of all time, yet one of Adrian’s most hated. What makes this song so good is how funny and happy it is. Although it may seem jarring to have a song with the f-bomb in its chorus, it’s not a song that really needs to be taken seriously in the bigger picture. And if you want them to, it’s a good kiss-off to an ex. :P Oh yeah, and the uncensored version is infinitely better. Censoring it ruins the whole point. I mean, come on, I have no idea who could really be offended by this.

23. Sail by AWOLNATION (5.97 million) – Now, it is cool to see songs have ridiculous longevity in pop music, and this does have eerie synth and dub-step, but to say the least, I have no idea what the song is even about.

24. All Of Me by John Legend (5.96 million) – Not really much to say about this one, while I can’t exactly call it a bad love song, it could’ve been written better. But admittedly, having listened to the Tïesto remix (the one that got big on Hits 1, if I’m not mistaken), I can honestly say I prefer that, which admittedly does feel odd.

25. Royals by Lorde (5.9 million) – How about that? I mean, sure, I like these party and dance jams, but I also like that we have a teenager attempting to step up and slam all these songs about this lifestyle. It’s something that really deserves credit.

26. E.T. by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West (5.8 million) – While I will admit that this one sounds cool, and Kanye’s second verse is funny, it does have its bouts of awkwardness that keep me from putting it higher.

27. Counting Stars by OneRepublic (5.71 million) – A pretty solid single from a band that for a while had been deemed uninteresting. Something like “Take that money, watch it burn” is one that could only be written by someone who has already made a lot of money. As Hits 1’s #1 song of 2014, I’m glad it was as big as it was.

28. California Gurls by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg (5.7 million) – I’m honestly not sure why I like this one still. To me it’s not quite as good as Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), which to me remains my favorite of her tasteless songs to date, not to mention shooting whipped cream from her breasts in the video, but it’s still fun.

29. All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor (5.56 million) – Meghan Trainor. As I’ve said before, nowadays I find this song too stupid to really hate. That doesn’t make it good per se, though, but at least it can make me laugh some days.

30. Payphone by Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa (5.51 million) – Too sulky and underperformed by Adam Levine’s low standards. Top it off with an ugly guest verse from Wiz Khalifa with a complete lack of rhyming and being a jerk to the woman in question, and you have yourself one disappointing song. Sorry.

Overall score of all these songs: 88/150 - Not quite enough to really be good, but there were a few standouts despite more iffy stuff.

Bottom 5 of these songs:

1. Cruise by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly

2. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams

3. Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO

4. Dark Horse by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J

5. Payphone by Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa

Top 5 of these songs:

1. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra

2. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

3. Someone Like You by Adele

4. Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz

5. Fuck You! by Cee Lo Green

Some comments I wanted to make:

– Here are the artists with more than one representation on this list:

Katy Perry (5)

Bruno Mars (3)

Adele (2)

LMFAO (2)

Pharrell Williams (2)

Maroon 5 (2)

– The two biggest songs here were from 2011, but they both carried into 2012.

– At first, I was very surprised to not see Hello by Adele on this list, seeing as it broke the record for the highest first-week sales with over 1 million when it debuted. But it has not even been around for a full 10 months (it was released on October 23, 2015, for reference), and it came along around the time that sales were starting to diminish. It also had the disadvantage of having many use “complete my album” on iTunes, which set it back at least half a million. Just imagine if it had released in 2014 or earlier… Looks like it will most likely be remembered as the last song to sell more than five million copies, when that inevitably comes, as well as the only song to sell more than one million in a week. Set Fire To The Rain, on the other hand, did sell over 5 million.

– Likewise, not seeing any Taylor Swift falls under that same note. Shake It Off (5.08 million) and Blank Space (4.4 million) were both on the mammoth of an album that was 1989, which did cut into some of their individual sales. She had but one other single that sold over 5 million copies, and that would be I Knew You Were Trouble (5.31 million).

– A total of six of these songs failed to make #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Cruise, Dynamite, Fuck You!, Sail, Counting Stars, and Payphone. Sail never even made the Top 10, either.

– Uptown Funk is the newest song on this list, having released in November 2014. For the last massive sales song we may ever see, it sure did pretty darn well. (Actually, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran also sold pretty well, but not enough to make this list.)

– 12 of these songs are currently on Billboard's Greatest of All Time chart – Rolling In The Deep, Party Rock Anthem, Somebody That I Used To Know, Call Me Maybe, Blurred Lines, Uptown Funk, Happy, Just The Way You Are, Moves Like Jagger, Dark Horse, Royals, and All About That Bass, although Dark Horse is #100 and will more than likely be booted off come the next update. From what I heard, Thrift Shop disappointingly missed it by the skin of its teeth.

– Despite being the #1 song of 2010, Tik Tok by Ke$ha was the only #1 song of any year this decade up until now to not make this list.

There are probably other things I'm thinking to say right now, but I can't think of them at the moment. If there are any other songs not here that you’re curious about, mention them and I’ll see how well they did.

There you have it. These may be the last songs that will make it look like sales ever matter. Things might pick up again someday, but seeing as sales have hit a record low, it’s not likely. But streaming is what the music industry has come to, so we have these to remember when things felt like sales mattered. Thanks for reading, everybody!