Five Top 10s (Or More)
There are thousands of albums released every year and most of them never have one track reach the top 10 on the prestigious Billboard Hot 100. And then there are these albums that don't just have one top 10 hit, or two, or three, or even four. These albums all had at least five songs enter the top 10—usually with at least one (if not more) making their way all the way to number one.
While you might be aware of some of these albums—the sheer number of hits they each produced is probably more than you remember. Are any of these albums among your favorites of all time?
Bon Jovi: New Jersey (5 Top 10s)
Top 10s: "Bad Medicine" (1), "Born to Be My Baby" (3), "I’ll Be There for You" (1), "Lay Your Hands on Me" (7), "Living in Sin" (9)
Yes, Slippery When Wet is Bon Jovi's best-selling and best album, but that iconic record only produced three top 10 hits. Whereas their follow-up album, New Jersey, produced five songs that landed in the top 10.
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Lionel Ritchie: Can't Slow Down (5)
Top 10s: "All Night Long (All Night)" (1), "Running With the Night" (7), "Hello" (1), "Stuck on You" (3), "Penny Lover" (8)
Ritchie's second solo album became one of the best-selling albums of the 80s and an Album of the Year Grammy winner. The former lead singer of The Commodores released five singles off of the album and all of them made it into the top 10—with two becoming number-one hits as well.
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Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl (5)
Top 10s: "Straight Up" (1), "Forever Your Girl" (1), "Cold Hearted" (1), "(It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me" (3), "Opposites Attract" (1)
This album was such a smash that people forget that the first two singles Abdul put out from her debut album failed to even reach top 40 status. But then came Straight Up, and the rest is history—a history of five top 10s, with four of them getting to number one.
Janet Jackson: Control (5)
Top 10s: "What Have You Done for Me Lately" (4), "Nasty" (3), "When I Think of You" (1), "Control" (5), "Let’s Wait Awhile" (2)
Janet Jackson's first two studio albums barely made any waves—but her third made...what are bigger than waves? Talk about zero to 100—Jackson's third album didn't just have five top 10 hits, all five tracks made it into the top five (with one number one in there also).
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Madonna: True Blue (5)
Top 10s: "Live to Tell" (1), "Papa Don’t Preach" (1), "True Blue" (3), "Open Your Heart" (1), "La Isla Bonita" (4)
Madonna already had two hit albums to her name when she released True Blue in 1986. In fact, her previous album had seen four singles reach the Billboard Hot 100 top five and she also got her first number one hit as well. And yet, her next album, True Blue, did even better. We're talking five top five songs and three number ones.
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Whitney Houston: Whitney (5)
Top 10s: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (1), "Didn’t We Almost Have It All" (1), "So Emotional" (1), "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (1), "Love Will Save the Day" (9)
When you take into account the three straight number ones Houston scored off her first album, the four in a row off of the second album set a record of seven straight number-one singles (the Beatles and the Bee Gees both had six)—a record that still stands to this day.
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Genesis: Invisible Touch (5)
Top 10s: "Invisible Touch" (1), "Throwing It All Away" (4), "Land of Confusion" (4), "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (3), "In Too Deep" (3)
With this 1986 album, Genesis became the first group to ever have five top 10s from one album.
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Taylor Swift: 1989 (5)
Top 10s: "Shake It Off" (1), "Blank Space" (1), "Style" (6), "Bad Blood" (1), "Wildest Dreams" (5)
Five top 10s and three number ones is pretty amazing—but it pales in comparison to the hit levels Swift would reach with future albums. Just wait.
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J Cole: The Off-Season (5)
Top 10s: "interlude" (8), "my.life" (2), "amari" (5), "pride.is.the.devil" (7), "95.south" (8)
After waiting three years for a new album, J Cole fans were very happy with what they got with The Off Season—propelling five tracks into the top 10.
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Huey Lewis And The News: Fore! (5)
Top 10s: "Stuck With You" (1), "Hip to Be Square" (3), "Jacob’s Ladder" (1), "I Know What I Like" (9), "Doing It All for My Baby" (6)
Their fourth album racked up five top 10 hits—including the band's last two number ones.
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SZA: SOS (5)
Top 10s: "Kill Bill" (1), "I Hate U" (7), "Good Days" (9), "Nobody Gets Me" (10), "Snooze" (2)
Along with the five top 10s, SZA's album spent 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album charts.
Post Malone: Hollywood’s Bleeding (5)
Top 10s: "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" (1), "Circles" (1), "Wow." (2), "Goodbyes" (3), "Take What You Want" (8)
They say variety is the spice of life and Post Malone got real spicy on this hit record, from hip hop and rap to alternative and rock. Take What You Want even featured both Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott.
Bobby Brown: Don’t Be Cruel (5)
Top 10s: "Don’t Be Cruel" (8), "My Prerogative" (1), "Roni" (3), "Every Little Step" (3), "Rock Wit’cha" (7)
While New Edition had a total of four top 10 songs—Bobby Brown beat his old group's number in just one album.
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New Kids On The Block: Hangin’ Tough (5)
Top 10s: "Please Don’t Go Girl" (10), "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" (3), "I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)" (1), "Hangin’ Tough" (1), "Cover Girl" (2)
The boy band's first album didn't find much of an audience. But they hung tough, and their sophomore effort made New Kids on the Block stars—on the backs of five top 10 hits (two number ones).
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Milli Vanilli: Girl You Know It’s True (5)
Top 10s: "Girl You Know It’s True" (2), "Baby Don’t Forget My Number" (1), "Girl I’m Gonna Miss You" (1), "Blame It on the Rain" (1), "All or Nothing" (5)
Sure, the lip-synching duo of Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus never actually sang the songs on the album. But that didn't stop five of them from becoming top 10 hits (including three number ones).
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Waiting To Exhale’s Soundtrack (5)
Top 10s: Whitney Houston: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (1), "Count on Me" (8); Mary J Blige: "Not Gon Cry" (2); Brandy: "Sittin’ Up in My Room" (2); Toni Braxton: "Let It Flow" (1)
Whitney Houston scored two of the five top 10s on this soundtrack, while Brandy, Toni Braxton, and Mary J Blige brought the other three.
Fergie: The Dutchess (5)
Top 10s: "London Bridge" (1), "Fergalicious" (2), "Glamorous" (1), "Big Girls Don’t Cry" (1), "Clumsy" (5)
With five top 10 hits off of her solo debut—Fergie did something that The Black Eyed Peas had never done. Until...
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The Black Eyed Peas: The E.N.D. (5)
Top 10s: "Boom Boom Pow" (1), "I Gotta Feeling" (1), "Meet Me Halfway" (7), "Imma Be" (1), "Rock That Body" (9)
A few years after Fergie's solo success, The Black Eyed Peas had their own album with five top 10 songs. However, they also did something that no one had ever done before. "Boom Boom Pow" spent 12 weeks at number one and "I Gotta Feeling" followed it in the top spot for 14 more weeks—making the Peas the first act to have the number one spot for 26 weeks straight.
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Morgan Wallen: One Thing At A Time (6)
Top 10s: "Last Night" (1), "You Proof" (5), "Don’t Think Jesus" (7), "Thought You Should Know" (7), "Thinkin’ Bout Me" (9), "One Thing at a Time" (10)
Only one of the six songs made it to number one, but Last Night spent an amazing 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
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Michael Jackson: Bad (6)
Top 10s: "I Just Can’t Stop Loving You" (1), "Bad" (1), "The Way You Make Me Feel" (1), "Man in the Mirror" (1), "Dirty Diana" (1), "Smooth Criminal" (7)
As we will see later, Thriller provided more top 10 songs, but Bad did something maybe even more impressive—of the six top 10 hits, five hit number one. A record that stood, until...
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Katy Perry: Teenage Dream (6)
Top 10s: "California Gurls" (1), "Teenage Dream" (1), "Firework" (1), "E.T." (1), "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" (1), "The One That Got Away" (3)
23 years after Michael Jackson did it, Katy Perry matched the King of Pop with her own album that produced five number-one hit songs.
Juice WRLD: Legends Never Die (6)
Top 10s: "Come & Go" (2), "Wishing Well" (5), "Conversations" (7), "Life’s A Mess" (9), "Hate The Other Side" (10), "Smile" (6)
Juice WRLD passed away in 2019 and his first posthumous release saw the rapper/singer reach new heights of chart success.
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George Michael: Faith (6)
Top 10s: "I Want Your Sex" (2), "Faith" (1), "Father Figure" (1), "One More Try" (1), "Monkey" (1), "Kissing a Fool" (5)
It's not five like Bad, but four number-one hits out of six top 10s puts George Michael's Faith right up there.
Janet Jackson: janet. (6)
Top 10s: "That’s the Way Love Goes" (1), "If" (4), "Again" (1), "Because of Love" (10), "Any Time", "Any Place/And On and On" (2), "You Want This/70’s Love Groove" (8)
As we will see soon, Jackson's previous album, Rhythm Nation 1814, set a record that is still yet unmatched. However, the six top 10s on janet. made this Jackson sibling the first artist to have three albums with five or more top 10 hits.
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Michael Jackson: Thriller (7)
Top 10s: "The Girl Is Mine" (2), "Billie Jean" (1), "Beat It" (1), "Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’" (5), "Human Nature" (7), "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (10), "Thriller" (4)
The four top 10s on his previous album (Off The Wall) was impressive—but that was nothing compared to the seven top 10s Jackson racked up off of the iconic Thriller.
Bruce Springsteen: Born In The U.S.A (7)
Top 10s: "Dancing in the Dark" (2), "Cover Me" (7), "Born in the U.S.A." (9), "I’m on Fire" (6), "Glory Days" (5), "I’m Goin’ Down" (9), "My Hometown" (6)
Only two albums in history have had at least five top 10 hits and no number ones. Born In the U.S.A is one of them.
Janet Jackson: Rhythm Nation 1814 (7)
Top 10s: "Miss You Much" (1), "Rhythm Nation" (2), "Escapade" (1), "Alright" (4), "Come Back to Me" (2), "Black Cat" (1), "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" (1)
Not only did Janet Jackson tie the record (at the time) of seven top 10s set by Springsteen and her brother Michael—she took it one step farther as all seven songs made it into the top five (setting her own record—and one that still hasn't been broken).
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Drake: Scorpion (7)
Top 10s: "God’s Plan" (1), "In My Feelings" (1), "Nice for What" (1), "Nonstop" (2), "I’m Upset" (7), "Emotionless" (8), "Don’t Matter to Me" (9)
In 1964, The Beatles had six songs in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 at the same time. 54 years later, Drake set a new record, with seven.
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Drake: For All The Dogs (7)
Top 10s: "Slime You Out" (1), "First Person Shooter" (1), "IDGAF" (2), "Virginia Beach" (3), "Calling You Out" (5), "Daylight" (8), "Fear of Heights" (10)
Drake has had albums with more top 10s (as you will see soon), but For all the Dogs and the previously discussed Scorpion are his only two albums (so far) with two number-one tracks each.
Kendrick Lamar: GNX (7)
Top 10s: "Squabble Up" (1), "TV Off" (2), "Luther" (3), "Wacced Out Murals" (4), "Hey Now" (5), "Reincarnated" (8), "Man at the Garden" (9)
Lamar had a pretty amazing 2024—and the seven top 10 hits from GNX don't even include his Drake-dissing singles Meet the Grahams and Not Like Us, which leaked at number 12 and number one on the charts respectively.
Drake & 21 Savage: Her Loss (8)
Top 10s: "Rich Flex" (2), "Major Distribution" (3), "On BS" (4), "Spin Bout U" (5), "Pu55y & Millions" (6), "Privileged Rappers" (7), "Circo Loco" (8), "BackOutsideBoyz" (9)
Drake has done it on his own a bunch of times, and in 2022 he did it again—this time with 21 Savage and the duo's joint album, Her Loss.
Drake: Certified Lover Boy (9)
Top 10s: "Way 2 Sexy" (1), "Girls Want Girls" (2), "Fair Trade" (3), "Champagne Poetry" (4), "Knife Talk" (4), "In the Bible" (7), "Papi’s Home" (8), "TSU" (9), "Love All" (10)
If you thought Drake's record of seven simultaneous top 10 songs was impressive, then what word would you use for nine simultaneous ones? Because that's what he did this time. And what word would you use for...
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Taylor Swift: Midnights (10)
Top 10s: "Anti-Hero" (1), "Lavender Haze" (2), "Karma" (2), "Maroon" (3), "Snow on the Beach" (4), "Midnight Rain" (5), "Bejeweled" (6), "Question…?" (7), "You’re on Your Own, Kid" (8), "Vigilante S..." (10)
A top 10 clean sweep (or should we now call it a clean "swift"?)! There was a week in 2022 in which every song on the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 was a Taylor Swift song from Midnights.
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Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department (10)
Top 10s: "Fortnight" (1), "Down Bad" (2), "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" (3), "The Tortured Poets Department" (4), "So Long, London" (5), "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" (6), "But Daddy I Love Him" (7), "Florida!!!" (8), "Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?" (9), "Guilty as Sin?" (10)
Just a couple years after Midnights, Taylor Swift had another "clean swift" with The Tortured Poets Department. Although, she took it one step further. Not only did she simultaneously have every spot in the top 10, at one point, it was all Swift from 1-14 on the Hot 100.
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