This is a list of songs that have peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the magazine's national singles charts that preceded it. Introduced in 1958, the Hot 100 is the pre-eminent singles chart in the United States, currently monitoring the most popular singles in terms of popular radio play, single purchases and online streaming.
The following year-by-year, week-by-week listings are based on data accrued by Billboard magazine before and after the inception of its Hot 100 popularity chart in August 1958.
All data is pooled from record purchases and radio/jukebox play within the United States. Later charts also include digital single sales, online streaming, and YouTube hits.
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | |
| 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 |
The following sources apply to all "by year" pages linked above:
