*This was published some time ago, but it's still interesting I'd say. Timeless songs.
In a career that spanned almost all 50 years of his life, Michael Jackson became a mainstay on the Billboard charts. It was his dominance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, however, that entered him into the record books: As a solo artist, 13 of his singles went to No. 1 -- the most by a male artist -- and an additional four songs by the Jackson 5 also topped the chart.
Here,
Jackson's top 50 singles are ranked based on a track's performance on the Hot 100. (Nielsen SoundScan started tabulating sales data for Billboard in 1991; as many Jackson songs were released before then, a measurement based on strict sales numbers would be incomplete.) Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. (For all of the details on how this chart was compiled, scroll to the bottom of this page.)
1. Say Say Say
Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (six weeks)
Peak Date: December 10, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 22
After the success of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's "The Girl Is Mine" duet, the former Beatle recruited the King of Pop for this collaboration on his 1983 album, "Pipes of Peace." "Paul and I shared the same idea of how a pop song should work and it was a real treat to work with him," Jackson wrote in his 1988 autobiography, "Moonwalk."
At six weeks, "Say" marks Jackson's second-longest reign at No. 1 on the Hot 100. While "Billie Jean" spent one more week at No. 1 and two more weeks on the Hot 100 than "Say Say Say," Jackson's collaboration with McCartney spent more weeks in the top 10 (13 to 11), the top 20 (16 to 12), and the top 40 (18 to 17) than "Jean" did, making it his all-time biggest hit on the Billboard charts.
2. Billie Jean
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (7 weeks)
Peak Date: March 5, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 24
3. I'll Be There
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (5 weeks)
Peak Date: October 17, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 16
4. Beat It
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (3 weeks)
Peak Date: April 30, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 25
5. Rock With You
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (4 weeks)
Peak Date: January 19, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 24
6. Dancing Machine
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: May 18, 1974
Weeks On Chart: 22
7. Man In The Mirror
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: March 16, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 17
8. I Want You Back
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: January 31, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 19
9. ABC
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: April 25, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 13
10. The Girl Is Mine
Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: January 8, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 18
11. The Love You Save/I Found That Girl
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: June 27, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 13
12. The Way You Make Me Feel
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: January 23, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 18
13. Black Or White
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (7 weeks)
Peak Date: December 7, 1991
Weeks On Chart: 20
14. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: September 19, 1987
Weeks On Chart: 14
15. Bad
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: October 24, 1987
Weeks On Chart: 14
16. Got To Be There
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 4
Peak Date: December 11, 1971
Weeks On Chart: 14
17. Dirty Diana
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: July 2, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 14
18. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: October 13, 1979
Weeks On Chart: 21
19. Rockin' Robin
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: April 22, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 13
20. Never Can Say Goodbye
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: May 8, 1971
Weeks On Chart: 12
21. Ben
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (one week)
Peak Date: October 14, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 16
22. You Are Not Alone
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (one week)
Peak Date: September 2, 1995
Weeks On Chart: 20
23. State Of Shock
The Jacksons
Hot 100 Peak Position: 3
Peak Date: August 4, 1984
Weeks On Chart: 15
24. Remember The Time
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 3
Peak Date: March 7, 1992
Weeks On Chart: 20
25. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 5
Peak Date: July 16, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 15
26. Shake Your Body
(Down To The Ground)
The Jacksons
Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: May 19, 1979
Weeks On Chart: 22
27. Enjoy Yourself
The Jacksons
Hot 100 Peak Position: 6
Peak Date: February 19, 1977
Weeks On Chart: 21
28. Thriller
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 4
Peak Date: March 3, 1984
Weeks On Chart: 14
29. Mama's Pearl
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: February 27, 1971
Weeks On Chart: 10
30. Smooth Criminal
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: January 14, 1989
Weeks On Chart: 15
31. Human Nature
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: September 17, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 14
32. Will You Be There
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: September 11, 1993
Weeks On Chart: 20
33. Scream/Childhood
Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 5
Peak Date: June 17, 1995
Weeks On Chart: 17
34. She's Out Of My Life
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: June 21, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 16
35. Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: April 12, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 17
36. In The Closet
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 6
Peak Date: May 30, 1992
Weeks On Chart: 20
37. Sugar Daddy
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: January 22, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 10
38. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: November 26, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 16
39. Another Part Of Me
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 11
Peak Date: September 10, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 13
40. Lovely One
The Jacksons
Hot 100 Peak Position: 12
Peak Date: November 15, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 18
41. I Am Love (Parts I & II)
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 15
Peak Date: March 22, 1975
Weeks On Chart: 14
42. Butterflies
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 14
Peak Date: January 26, 2002
Weeks On Chart: 20
43. I Want To Be Where You Are
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 16
Peak Date: July 15, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 11
44. Little Bitty Pretty One
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 13
Peak Date: May 27, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 9
45. Corner Of The Sky
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 18
Peak Date: December 16, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 12
46. Heartbreak Hotel
The Jacksons
Hot 100 Peak Position: 22
Peak Date: February 14, 1981
Weeks On Chart: 16
47. You Rock My World
Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: September 22, 2001
Weeks On Chart: 20
48. Get It Together
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 28
Peak Date: October 6, 1973
Weeks On Chart: 13
49. Torture
The Jacksons
Hot 100 Peak Position: 17
Peak Date: September 29, 1984
Weeks On Chart: 12
50. Lookin' Through The Windows
The Jackson 5
Hot 100 Peak Position: 16
Peak Date: August 26, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 10
How This Chart Was Created
The ranking of Michael Jackson's top 50 Billboard hits is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. For example, while "Billie Jean" spent one more week at No. 1 and two more weeks on the chart than "Say Say Say," Jackson's collaboration with Paul McCartney spent more weeks in the top 10 (13-11), the top 20 (16-12) and more weeks in the top 40 (18-17) than "Jean" did.
Prior to the Hot 100's implementation in 1991 of enhanced radio and sales information from Nielsen BDS and Nielsen SoundScan, songs had shorter reigns at No. 1 and shorter chart lives. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from Michael Jackson's entire recording career, earlier time frames were each weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those decades and the turnover rates that have occurred since the advent of Nielsen Music data.