List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones

This is a comprehensive listing that highlights significant achievements and milestones based upon Billboard magazine's singles charts, most notably the Billboard Hot 100. This list spans the period from the issue dated January 1, 1955 to present. The Billboard Hot 100 began with the issue dated August 4, 1958, and is currently the standard popular music chart in the United States.

Prior to the creation of the Hot 100, Billboard published four singles charts: "Best Sellers in Stores", "Most Played by Jockeys", "Most Played in Jukeboxes" and "The Top 100". These charts, which ranged from 20 to 100 slots, were phased out at different times between 1957 and 1958. Though technically not part of the Hot 100 chart history, their data are included for computational purposes, and to avoid unenlightening or misleading characterizations. All items listed below are from the Hot 100 era, unless otherwise noted (pre-Hot 100 charts).

In 2008, for the 50th anniversary of the Hot 100, Billboard magazine compiled a ranking of the 100 best-performing songs on the chart over the 50 years, along with the best-performing artists. In 2013, Billboard revised the rankings for the chart's 55th anniversary edition. In 2015, Billboard revised the rankings again. Shown below are the top 10 songs and top 10 artists over the 57-year period of the Hot 100, through October 2015. Also shown are the artists placing the most songs on the overall "all-time" top 100 song list.

* – re-released
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† – "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" reappeared on the Hot 100 for two weeks in 2016, and the above reflects their re-entries only. When the songs originally charted in 1984, their chart positions in their final week on the Hot 100 were well below the top 10.

†† – A recurring holiday song charting during the Christmas season.

* – "You Belong with Me" later re-entered the Hot 100 as a single in 2009 to reach a peak of #2. The recurring song's final week on the Hot 100 was in 2010, when it was low as possible on the chart.

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† – Contains vocal part, but is considered an instrumental. See Instrumental#Borderline cases for more.

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Chart notes: If counting Presley's dual hit song "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" separately then Elvis has 5 for 1956. Some Presley songs included here charted #1 on Cashbox, but not on the Billboard Top 100, the precursor to the Billboard Hot 100.

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