In 1981 Billboard started doing the "Top Artists" lists as part of their year-end charts. Here's the top 10 of each year since 1981:

Billboard Top 10 Artists of the year

1981:

1. REO Speedwagon
2. Kenny Rogers
3. Pat Benatar
4. AC/DC
5. Daryl Hall & John Oates
6. The Police
7. STYX
8. Kim Carnes
9. Bruce Springsteen
10. Rolling Stones
11. Air Supply
12. Christopher Cross
13. The Alan Parsons Project
14. Neil Diamond
15. Journey
16. John Lennon
17. Ronnie Milsap
18. Eddie Rabbitt
19. The Beatles
20. Kool & The Gang

1982:

1. Go-Go’s
2. Rolling Stones
3. Foreigner
4. Olivia Newton-John
5. J. Geils Band
6. Journey
7. John Cougar
8. Rick Springfield
9. Asia
10. Kenny Rogers
11. Alabama
12. Loverboy
13. The Police
14. Air Supply
15. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
16. Willie Nelson
17. Daryl Hall & John Oates
18. Genesis
19. Ozzy Osbourne
20. Juice Newton

1983:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Men At Work
3. The Police
4. Duran Duran
5. Def Leppard
6. Journey
7. Daryl Hall & John Oates
8. Alabama
9. Lionel Richie
10. Prince
11. Culture Club
12. Loverboy
13. Stray Cats
14. Billy Joel
15. Laura Branigan
16. Toto
17. Bob Seger & The Sliver Bullet Band
18. Thomas Dolby
19. Willie Nelson
20. Pink Floyd

1984:

1. Lionel Richie
2. Michael Jackson
3. Culture Club
4. Prince
5. Duran Duran
6. Huey Lewis & The News
7. Billy Idol
8. Van Halen
9. The Police
10. Billy Joel
11 cyndi lauper
12 eurythmics
13 the pointer sisters
14 john cougar mellencamp
15 night ranger
16 kenny rogers
17 the cars
18 motley crue
19 madonna
20 quiet riot

1985:

1. Madonna
2. Bruce Springsteen
3. Prince & The Revolution
4. Phil Collins
5. Bryan Adams
6. Wham!
7. Tears For Fears
8. Tina Turner
9. Billy Ocean
10. The Pointer Sisters
11 hall & oates
12 u2
13 kool & the gang
14 don henley
15 survivor
16 reo speedwagon
17 billy joel
18 foreigner
19 john fogerty
20 huey lewis & the news

1986:

1. Whitney Houston
2. Madonna
3. John Cougar Mellencamp
4. Sade
5. ZZ Top
6. Phil Colins
7. Heart
8. Janet Jackson
9. Miami sound Machine
10. Mr. Mister
11 robert palmer
12 billy ocean
13 dire straits
14 van halen
15 the monkees
16 lionel richie
17 mike & the mechanics
18 bob seger
19 starship
20 the outfield

1987:

1. Bon Jovi
2. U2
3. Whitney Houston
4. Madonna
5. Whitesnake
6. Huey Lewis and the News
7. Janet Jackson
8. Bruce Hornsby & the Range
9. Genesis
10. Beastie Boys
11 europe
12 steve winwood
13 paul simon
14 poison
15 kenny g
16 expose
17 lisa lisa & cult jam featuring full force
18 billy idol
19 heart
20 anita baker

1988:

1. George Michael
2. Def Leppard
3. INXS
4. Michael Jackson
5. Debbie Gibson
6. Guns 'N Roses
7. Whitney Houston
8. Richard Marx
9. Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
10. Rick Astley
11 terrence trent d'arby
12 steve winwood
13 tiffany
14 aerosmith
15 poison
16 elton john
17 belinda carlisle
18 taylor dayne
19 cheap trick
20 tracy chpman

1989:

1. New Kids on the Block
2. Bobby Brown
3. Guns N’ roses
4. Paula Abdul
5. Milli Vanilli
6. Bon Jovi
7. Fine Young Cannibals
8. Madonna
9. Richard Marx
10. Debbie Gibson
11. def leppard
12. tone loc
13. skid row
14. karyn white
15. warrant
16. anita baker
17. poison
18. rod stewart
19. tom petty
20. the bangles

1990:

1. New Kids On The Block
2. Janet Jackson
3. Phil Collins
4. Paula Abdul
5. Michael Bolton
6. M.C. Hammer
7. Aersomith
8. Bell Biv Devoe
9. Taylor Dayne
10. Wilson Phillips
11. milli vanilli
12. madonna
13. motley crue
14. the b-52s
15. billy joel
16. roxette
17. depeche mode
18. sinead o'connor
19. don henley
20. lisa stansfield

1991:

1. Mariah Carey
2. Garth Books
3. C&C Music factory
4. Michael Bolton
5. Wilson Phillips
6. Whitney Houston
7. Vanilla Ice
8. Paula Abdul
9. Amy Grant
10. Madonna
11. the black crowes
12. r.e.m.
13. extreme
14. hammer
15. queensryche
16. color me badd
17. ll cool j
18. boyz ii men
19. bette midler
20. another bad creation

1992:

1. Garth Brooks
2. Mariah Carey
3. Guns N’ Roses
4. Boyz II Men
5. Michael Bolton
6. Michael Jackson
7. Genesis
8. En Vogue
9. Red Hot Chilli Peppers
10. Color Me Badd
11. u2
12. kris kross
13. nirvana
14. tlc
15. metallica
16. bonnie raitt
17. bryan adams
18. amy grant
19. hammer
20. bill ray cyrus

1993:

1. Garth Brooks
2. Kenny G
3. Pearl Jam
4. Eric Clapton
5. Billy Ray Cyrus
6. Janet Jackson
7. Michael Bolton
8. Dr. Dre
9. Spin Doctors
10. Reba McEntire
11. brooks & dunn
12. george strait
13. u2
14. swv
15. sade
16. stone temple pilots
17. alan jackson
18. aerosmith
19. rod stewart
20. mariah carey

1994:

1. Ace of Base
2. Mariah Carey
3. Toni Braxton
4. Janet Jackson
5. R. Kelly
6. All-4-One
7. Celine Dion
8. Salt-N-Pepa
9. Snoop Doggy Dogg
10. Aerosmith
11. Tevin Campbell
12. Pearl Jam
13. Enigma
14. Counting Crows
15. Tim McGraw
16. Meat Loaf
17. Stone Temple Pilots
18. Bryan Adams
19. Boyz II Men
20. Smashing Pumpkins

1995:

1. TLC
2. Boyz II Men
3. Hootie & The Blowfish
4. Real McCoy
5. Sheryl Crow
6. Madonna
7. Brandy
8. Bon Jovi
9. Notorious B.I.G.
10. Melissa Etheridge
11. Blues Trveler
12. Garth Boolks
13. Live
14. Eagles
15. Green Day
16. Montell Jordan
17. Soul for Real
18. The Cranberries
19. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
20. Seal

1996:

1. Alanis Morissette
2. Mariah Carey
3. Celine Dion
4. Hootie & The Blowfish
5. LL Cool J
6. Tracy Chapman
7. R. Kelly
8. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
9. The Smashing Pumpkins
10. Coolio
11. Toni Braxton
12. Natalie Merchant
13. Oasis
14. Keith Sweat
15. The Tony Rich Project
16. Shania Twain
17. La Bouche
18. 2Pac
19. Garth Brooks
20. Fugees

1997:

1. Leann Rimes
2. Spice Girls
3. Jewel
4. Toni Braxton
5. Celine Dion
6. Puff daddy
7. Notorious B.I.G.
8. Hanson
9. Dru Hill
10. The Wallflowers
11. 2Pac
12. No Doubt
13. Sheryl Crow
14. Blackstreet
15. Sublime
16. En Vogue
17. Keith Seat
18. Erykah Badu
19. The Verve Pipe
20. Meredith Brooks

1998:

1 - Usher
2 - Shania Twain
3 - Savage Garden
4 - LeAnn Rimes
5 - Next
6 – Backstreet Boys
7 – Celine Dion
8 – Spice Girls
9 – Janet
10 – Monica
11. Will Smith
12. Mase
13. K-Ci & JoJo
14. Madonna
15. Sarah McLachlan
16. Mariah Carey
17. Third Eye Blind
18. Master P
19. Puff Daddy
20. Barenaked Ladies

1999:

1 - Backstreet Boys
2 - TLC
3 - Britney Spears
4 - Shania Twain
5 - Ricky Martin
6. Sugar Ray
7. Cher
8. 98 Degrees
9. Whitney Houston
10. Goo Goo Dolls
11. 'N Sync
12. Sarah McLachlan
13. Dixie Chicks
14. Lauryn Hill
15. Brandy
16. Jennifer Lopez
17. R. Kelly
18. Mariah Carey
19. Jay-Z
20. Monica

2000:

1 - Destiny's Child
2 - Santana
3 - 'N Sync
4 - Christina Aguilera
5 - Faith Hill
6 – Sisqo
7 – Creed
8 – Marc Anthony
9 – Britney Spears
10 – Savage Garden
11. Joe
12. Backstreet Boys
13. 3 Doors Down
14. Eminem
15. Vertical Horizon
16. Dixie Chicks
17. Matchbox Twenty
18. P!nk
19. Celine Dion
20. Lonestar

2001:

1 - Destiny's Child
2 - Shaggy
3 - Jennifer Lopez
4 - Nelly
5 – Lifehouse
6 – Janet
7 – Ja Rule
8 – Lenny Kravitz
9 – Alicia Keys
10 – Dido
11. Usher
12. Train
13. 112
14. Staind
15. Outkast
16. 'N Sync
17. Jay-Z
18. Jagged Edge
19. Faith Hill
20. Creed

2002:

1 - Nelly
2 - Ashanti
3 - Eminem
4 - Creed
5 – P!nk
6 – Usher
7 – Nickelback
8 – Ja Rule
9 – Linkin Park
10 – Avril Lavigne
11. Puddle Of Mudd
12. Jennifer Lopez
13. Shakira
14. Enrique Iglesias
15. Ludacris
16. Mary J. Blige
17. Toby Keith
18. No Doubt
19. Alan Jackson
20. Alicia Keys

2003:

1 - 50 Cent
2 - R. Kelly
3 - Sean Paul
4 - Justin Timberlake
5 - Christina Aguilera
6 – Beyoncé
7 – Norah Jones
8 – 3 Doors Down
9 – Avril Lavigne
10 – Shania Twain
11. Jay-Z
12. Eminem
13. Matchbox Twenty
14. Jennifer Lopez
15. Ashanti
16. Dixie Chicks
17. Aaliyah
18. John Mayer
19. Missy Elliott
20. Chingy

2004:

1 - Usher
2 - Alicia Keys
3 - Outkast
4 - Maroon 5
5 – Beyoncé
6 – Kanye West
7 – Toby Keith
8 – Twista
9 – Jay-Z
10 – Linkin Park
11. Britney Spears
12. Kenny Chesney
13. Nelly
14. Ludacris
15. Hoobastank
16. R. Kelly
17. Evanescence
18. Nickelback
19. Norah Jones
20. Sheryl Crow

2005:

1 - 50 Cent
2 - Kelly Clarkson
3 - Mariah Carey
4 - Green Day
5 - Gwen Stefani
6 - The Black Eyed Peas
7 - Ciara
8 - Destiny’s Child
9 - Eminem
10 - The Game
11. Ludacris
12. Mario
13. Kayne West
14. Usher
15. The Killers
16. Toby Keith
17. Rascal Flatts
18. Rob Thomas
19. Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz
20. Akon

2006:

1. CHRIS BROWN
2. NICKELBACK
3. RASCAL FLATTS
4. SEAN PAUL
5. NE-YO
6. THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS
7. RIHANNA
8. MARY J. BLIGE
9. THE FRAY
10. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
11. JAMES BLUNT
12. THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS
13. BEYONCE
14. KELLY CLARKSON
15. CARRIE UNDERWOOD
16. T.I.
17. FALL OUT BOY
18. DANIEL POWTER
19. THE BLACK EYED PEAS
20. EMINEM

2007:

1. AKON
2. FERGIE
3. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
4. DAUGHTRY
5. CARRIE UNDERWOOD
6. BEYONCE
7. NICKELBACK
8. AVRIL LAVIGNE
9. T-PAIN
10. GWEN STEFANI
11. TIMBALAND
12. RIHANNA
13. NELLY FURTADO
14. RASCAL FLATTS
15. MAROON 5
16. KANYE WEST
17. FALL OUT BOY
18. T.I.
19. LINKIN PARK
20. JAY-Z

2008:

1. CHRIS BROWN
2. LIL WAYNE
3. RIHANNA
4. ALICIA KEYS
5. TAYLOR SWIFT
6. LEONA LEWIS
7. MILEY CYRUS
8. JORDIN SPARKS
9. JONAS BROTHERS
10. T.I.
11. COLDPLAY
12. FLO RIDA
13. CARRIE UNDERWOOD
14. T-PAIN
15. JOSH GROBAN
16. COLBIE CAILLAT
17. NE-YO
18. KANYE WEST
19. KATY PERRY
20. MARIAH CAREY

2009:

1. TAYLOR SWIFT
2. BEYONCE
3. LADY GAGA
4. THE BLACK EYED PEAS
5. MILEY CYRUS
6. KANYE WEST
7. BRITNEY SPEARS
8. T.I.
9. NICKELBACK
10. P!NK
11. KINGS OF LEON
12. KATY PERRY
13. FLO RIDA
14. KELLY CLARKSON
15. JASON MRAZ
16. THE FRAY
17. NE-YO
18. LIL WAYNE
19. RASCAL FLATTS
20. ZAC BROWN BAND

2010:

1. LADY GAGA
2. TAYLOR SWIFT
3. EMINEM
4. LADY ANTEBELLUM
5. KE$HA
6. USHER
7. THE BLACK EYED PEAS
8. JUSTIN BIEBER
9. RIHANNA
10. DRAKE
11. KATY PERRY
12. SUSAN BOYLE
13. JASON DERULO
14. B.O.B
15. TAIO CRUZ
16. TRAIN
17. LUDACRIS
18. TREY SONGZ
19. MICHAEL BUBLE
20. LIL WAYNE

2011:

1. Adele
2. Rihanna
3. Katy Perry
4. Lady Gaga
5. Lil Wayne
6. Bruno Mars
7. Nicki Minaj
8. Taylor Swift
9. Justin Bieber
10. Chris Brown
11. The Black Eyed Peas
12. Eminem
13. Jason Aldean
14. Britney Spears
15. Wiz Khalifa
16. P!nk
17. Pitbull
18. Kanye West
19. Ke$ha
20. Lady Antebellum

2012:

1. Adele
2. Rihanna
3. Taylor Swift
4. Drake
5. Justin Bieber
6. Nicki Minaj
7. Katy Perry
8. Maroon 5
9. LMFAO
10. One Direction
11. Flo Rida
12. Coldplay
13. Jason Aldean
14. fun.
15. Carly Rae Jepsen
16. Kelly Clarkson
17. Lady Gaga
18. Luke Bryan
19. Bruno Mars
20. David Guetta

2013:

1. BRUNO MARS
2. TAYLOR SWIFT
3. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
4. RIHANNA
5. MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
6. P!NK
7. IMAGINE DRAGONS
8. ONE DIRECTION
9. MILEY CYRUS
10. MAROON 5
11. DRAKE
12. JUSTIN BIEBER
13. LUKE BRYAN
14. KATY PERRY
15. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE
16. BLAKE SHELTON
17. EMINEM
18. JAY Z
19. ROBIN THICKE
20. THE LUMINEERS

2014:

1. ONE DIRECTION
2. KATY PERRY
3. BEYONCE
4. TAYLOR SWIFT
5. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
6. IGGY AZALEA
7. ARIANA GRANDE
8. MILEY CYRUS
9. PHARRELL WILLIAMS
10. EMINEM
11. LORDE
12. LUKE BRYAN
13. SAM SMITH
14. JOHN LEGEND
15. ONEREPUBLIC
16. DRAKE
17. JASON DERULO
18. JUSTIN BIEBER
19. IMAGINE DRAGONS
20. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE


Note: 1983 & 1984 were the only years without any females in the top 10.


UPDATE: I added the top 20 from 1981-2014.

Originally posted by Stan 2003 - 6. Beyoncé 2005 - 8. Destiny's Child I don't know when they exactly split up and stuff, but how is this possible?

Originally posted by Afferty How come Katy Perry didn't make the list with her debut

Originally posted by Afferty How come Katy Perry didn't make the list with her debut

Originally posted by umich Because her era was split over two years.

oh ok

Originally posted by Stan 2003 - 6. Beyoncé 2005 - 8. Destiny's Child I don't know when they exactly split up and stuff, but how is this possible?

Originally posted by RobynYoBank 2008 #5 TAYLOR SWIFT 2009 #1 TAYLOR SWIFT 2010 #2 TAYLOR SWIFT 2011 #8 TAYLOR SWIFT 2012 #3 TAYLOR SWIFT 2013 #2 TAYLOR SWIFT 2014 #4 TAYLOR SWIFT 2015 (soon to be) #1 TAYLOR SWIFT The most dominant artist since they started the chart.

2009: 1.TAYLOR SWIFT