Hit song
- For the online collaborative production company, see hitRECord
A hit record is an audio recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" (appeared on) one of the popular chart listings. Despite the current dominance of a few record companies worldwide, for reasons of cultural, political, and linguistic differences, few songs achieve broad international airplay and sales.[citation needed] Most hits are only so in the country of their release, or at most, in countries sharing a language, like English, Portuguese, or Modern Standard Arabic, and to a lesser extent, French and Spanish. The following is a compilation of Wikipedia hit record lists from around the world. Most of the lists ignore or underreport hits from older decades, when sales of all recordings were much lower.
UK
- List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom (as compiled by the Official Charts Company)
- List of UK Singles Chart number ones
- List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom
- UK Singles Chart records and statistics
- List of best-selling singles by year in the United Kingdom
- List of one-hit wonders on the UK Singles Chart
- List of Christmas number one singles in the UK
- See also
- Hit Music in the UK
- Charts Plus (about the weekly UK newsletter)
- UK Albums Chart
- UK Singles Chart
- Music Week about the UK trade paper
- Record Retailer about the trade paper
Ireland
- List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
- List of songs that reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart (still in development in late 2005)
- Top selling singles and albums in Ireland (still in development)
- List of songs that reached number one on the Irish Dance Chart (still in development)
- One-hit wonders in Ireland
Australia
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
- List of Number 1 singles in Australia during the 1980s
- List of Number 1 singles in Australia during the 1990s
- See also
Canada
- See also
- Canadian Recording Industry Association
- RIAA certification of a hit record
United States
- List of number-one hits (United States) Billboard Magazine List
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- Elv1s: 30 top hits by Elvis Presley
- Top 40
- List of best-selling singles in the United States of all time
- List of best-selling albums in the United States
- See also
- RIAA certification of a hit record
- Billboard magazine Complete list of Billboard's lists
France
Brazil
Other
External links
- World Top 20 A&R Chart at HitQuarters