To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, we're counting down the top 100 songs in the entire history of one of Billboard's signature (and smoothest) surveys.

Some of the genre's earliest giants infuse the list, including Elton John, Barbra Streisand and Stevie Wonder, while relatively newer artists that continue to keep AC a top-rated radio format likewise appear, including Natasha Bedingfield, Enrique Iglesias and matchbox twenty.

The Top 50 Adult Contemporary Artists Ever

Celebrate the gentle sounds of the AC chart's first five decades, as some of the biggest ballads - and biggest hits of the entire rock era - fill the ranking.


From "Moon River" to "Islands in the Stream," the countdown begins.


100  CHARIOTS OF FIRE - TITLES  Vangelis

99  ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT)  Lionel Richie

98  THIS IS THE TIME  Billy Joel

97  THE CANDY MAN  Sammy Davis, Jr. With The Mike Curb Congregation

96  YOUR WILDEST DREAMS  The Moody Blues

95  YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION  Chicago

94  YOU AND I  Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle

93  WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL  Boy Meets Girl

92  JUST THE WAY YOU ARE  Billy Joel (1978)

What better example to showcase the AC circle of life? Before Bruno Mars spent 20 weeks at No. 1 with his song of the same name (the longest reign for an artist's first AC chart entry), Joel made this ballad the first of his eight AC No. 1s. He pulled four of those leaders from his 1983 album "An Innocent Man": "Tell Her About It," the title cut, "The Longest Time" and "Leave a Tender Moment Alone."

91  MOON RIVER  Henry Mancini

90  MAGIC  Olivia Newton-John

89  JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST  Randy Vanwarmer

88  LOVE IS FOREVER  Billy Ocean

87  MUSKRAT LOVE  Captain & Tennille

86  HELLO  Lionel Richie (1984)

Like Billy Joel (see No. 92), Richie also released an album that yielded four AC No. 1s. 1983's "Can't Slow Down" generated the format leaders "All Night Long (All Night)," this song, which ruled for six weeks, "Stuck on You" and "Penny Lover." Richie has tallied 11 solo No. 1s following one, "Three Times a Lady" (1976), as frontman of the Commodores.

85  ISLANDS IN THE STREAM  Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton

84  HEARTBREAKER  Dionne Warwick

83  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU  Michael Bolton

82  WIND BENEATH MY WINGS  Bette Midler

81  WORDS GET IN THE WAY  Miami Sound Machine


NEXT: 80-61


The 50th anniversary Adult Contemporary songs chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Adult Contemporary chart since its inception in the July 17, 1961, issue of Billboard. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower rankings on the chart earning less. Due to various changes in chart rules, chart length and in methodology throughout the years - including the implementation in 1993 of monitored airplay data from Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems - songs had varying reigns at No. 1 and on the chart. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from all 50 years, earlier time frames were each weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years.