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Most Streamed Songs by Decade on Spotify (1960s-2020s)

Published September 4, 2026 · Streambinder

What is the most streamed song of each decade on Spotify? According to our November 1, 2026 snapshot, it is "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival for the 1960s, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen for the 1970s, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police for the 1980s, "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls for the 1990s, "Yellow" by Coldplay for the 2000s, "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd for the 2010s and "As It Was" by Harry Styles for the 2020s.

Below is the top 10 for every decade, plus what the lists say about how we listen to old music in the streaming era. Figures are cumulative Spotify streams, rounded, from public numbers collected on kworb.net. Streambinder is independent and not affiliated with Spotify. Decades follow the year of the version tracked in our catalogues, which can be more recent than the original release (more on that below).

TrackMythic

Bohemian Rhapsody

Queen · 1975

3.3Bstreams

TrackMythic

Every Breath You Take

The Police · 1983

3.9Bstreams

TrackMythic

Iris

The Goo Goo Dolls · 1998

3.9Bstreams

TrackMythic

Yellow

Coldplay · 2000

4.1Bstreams

TrackMythic

Blinding Lights

The Weeknd · 2019

5.7Bstreams

The most streamed songs by decade: top 10 of each

The 1960s

1. "Fortunate Son", Creedence Clearwater Revival (2.02 billion)
2. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Marvin Gaye (2.01 billion)
3. "Here Comes The Sun", The Beatles (1.95 billion)
4. "Stand By Me", Ben E. King (1.85 billion)
5. "Paint It, Black", The Rolling Stones (1.80 billion)
6. "Brown Eyed Girl", Van Morrison (1.53 billion)
7. "ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE", Brenda Lee (1.43 billion)
8. "California Dreamin'", The Mamas & The Papas (1.42 billion)
9. "Can't Help Falling In Love", Elvis Presley (1.42 billion)
10. "My Girl", The Temptations (1.37 billion)

The 1970s

1. "Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen (3.32 billion)
2. "Dreams", Fleetwood Mac (3.01 billion)
3. "Don't Stop Me Now", Queen (2.81 billion)
4. "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", Creedence Clearwater Revival (2.62 billion)
5. "September", Earth, Wind & Fire (2.48 billion)
6. "Highway to Hell", AC/DC (2.48 billion)
7. "Hotel California", Eagles (2.38 billion)
8. "Dancing Queen", ABBA (2.17 billion)
9. "Sultans Of Swing", Dire Straits (1.95 billion)
10. "The Chain", Fleetwood Mac (1.94 billion)

The 1980s

1. "Every Breath You Take", The Police (3.85 billion)
2. "Billie Jean", Michael Jackson (3.35 billion)
3. "Don't Stop Believin'", Journey (3.05 billion)
4. "Take on Me", a-ha (2.98 billion)
5. "Sweet Child O' Mine", Guns N' Roses (2.95 billion)
6. "Africa", TOTO (2.81 billion)
7. "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", Tears For Fears (2.76 billion)
8. "Another One Bites The Dust", Queen (2.56 billion)
9. "Livin On A Prayer", Bon Jovi (2.43 billion)
10. "Back In Black", AC/DC (2.31 billion)

The 1990s

1. "Iris", The Goo Goo Dolls (3.83 billion)
2. "Creep", Radiohead (3.23 billion)
3. "Wonderwall", Oasis (3.17 billion)
4. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana (3.16 billion)
5. "Gangsta's Paradise", Coolio (2.69 billion)
6. "All I Want for Christmas Is You", Mariah Carey (2.54 billion)
7. "Thunderstruck", AC/DC (2.43 billion)
8. "Enter Sandman", Metallica (2.28 billion)
9. "I Want It That Way", Backstreet Boys (2.22 billion)
10. "Come As You Are", Nirvana (2.22 billion)

The 2000s

1. "Yellow", Coldplay (4.07 billion)
2. "Viva La Vida", Coldplay (3.59 billion)
3. "Mr. Brightside", The Killers (3.57 billion)
4. "In the End", Linkin Park (3.45 billion)
5. "Without Me", Eminem (3.29 billion)
6. "505", Arctic Monkeys (3.11 billion)
7. "Lose Yourself", Eminem (3.06 billion)
8. "The Scientist", Coldplay (3.05 billion)
9. "Numb", Linkin Park (2.98 billion)
10. "Somewhere Only We Know", Keane (2.77 billion)

The 2010s

1. "Blinding Lights", The Weeknd (5.66 billion)
2. "Shape of You", Ed Sheeran (5.17 billion)
3. "Sweater Weather", The Neighbourhood (5.00 billion)
4. "Starboy", The Weeknd (4.84 billion)
5. "One Dance", Drake (4.55 billion)
6. "Sunflower - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", Post Malone (4.54 billion)
7. "Someone You Loved", Lewis Capaldi (4.49 billion)
8. "Perfect", Ed Sheeran (4.17 billion)
9. "I Wanna Be Yours", Arctic Monkeys (4.09 billion)
10. "The Night We Met", Lord Huron (4.01 billion)

The 2020s

1. "As It Was", Harry Styles (4.70 billion)
2. "STAY", The Kid LAROI (4.12 billion)
3. "Die With A Smile", Lady Gaga (4.11 billion)
4. "BIRDS OF A FEATHER", Billie Eilish (4.08 billion)
5. "Heat Waves", Glass Animals (3.98 billion)
6. "Espresso", Sabrina Carpenter (3.24 billion)
7. "Beautiful Things", Benson Boone (3.23 billion)
8. "Seven (Explicit Ver.)", Jung Kook (3.13 billion)
9. "Flowers", Miley Cyrus (3.02 billion)
10. "drivers license", Olivia Rodrigo (3.00 billion)

What the decade lists tell you

• The ceiling rises with the decade. The number one goes from about 2.0 billion in the 1960s to about 5.7 billion in the 2010s. The 2020s are still being written: that decade has not finished, and its top song is already at about 4.7 billion.
• The classics that tie up the middle. Queen takes two of the top three spots in the 1970s and appears again in the 1980s. AC/DC places a song in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s lists, and Creedence Clearwater Revival shows up in both the 1960s and the 1970s.
• Guitar bands rule the 2000s. Coldplay has three songs in the top eight, and Eminem, Linkin Park, Arctic Monkeys and The Killers all make the cut.
• Christmas never goes away. Brenda Lee (1960s) and Mariah Carey (1990s) both break into their decade's top 10. For the overall top 20, see our guide to the most streamed songs of all time.
• 2024 is stacked. Four of the ten songs in the 2020s list ("Die With A Smile", "BIRDS OF A FEATHER", "Espresso" and "Beautiful Things") are from 2024.

Why reissues change the picture

Streaming platforms often list several versions of one song: the original, a remaster, a re-recording, a live cut. Our catalogues keep the best-performing version of each song, so the decade comes from that version. A single can therefore land in a decade that looks "wrong". Brenda Lee's Christmas classic appears in the 1960s list although it was first recorded in the late 1950s, which is why you should read the lists as "the decade of the version people stream" rather than "the decade the song was written".

There's also a numbers effect. The 1960s have only 16 songs with a billion streams or more, against 742 in the 2010s, so the older lists are shorter and more fragile. For the whole club, from the oldest member to the biggest, see our billion streams club guide.

What it means for cards

In Streambinder, a card's rarity follows its Spotify streams, so every song above would be among the rarest cards in its country edition, and a card you own never loses its rarity. If you want to see how this works in practice, read how rarity is calculated, or open a free pack and see which decade you pull from. Streambinder is free, runs in your browser, and only uses coins as a game currency, never real money. If the collecting side appeals to you, our music collecting guide explains what it means to collect music in the streaming age.

FAQ

What is the most streamed song from the 1980s? "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, with about 3.85 billion streams in our November 1, 2026 snapshot.

What is the most streamed 90s song? "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls, at about 3.83 billion, just ahead of "Creep" by Radiohead at about 3.23 billion.

Why are the 2010s so far ahead? Streaming became the default way to listen in that decade, and its most popular songs have had years to build up their totals.

Are the decades based on release dates? Not exactly. They follow the year of the version tracked in our catalogues, so a reissue can shift a song to a more recent decade.