This book ranks the Top 40 Hits for every year from 1900-1999. There is a chronological listing by ranking order with an overview of the decade. The tunes are also alphabetically listed by artist and by song title, and there are sections on the top hits by decade and the top artists by decade and by half century.

For fans and researchers, this is a great overview of how some of the jazz standards ranked on the pop charts. For each year, 40 hits are listed. Usually those comprise the hits that reached the top of the charts sometime that year--all that reached number one and number two, on up to usually position four. To see how many more hits ranked, up to position 30, take a look at Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music or The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. There is no index other than the cross references shown in the table of contents.

Since 1970 Joel Whitburn has authored over 60 books that research and chart pop music. He is known as “The World’s #1 Chart Authority.” His comprehensive research even dates back to 1890. In collaboration with Rhino Records he has produced over 100 CD compilations of his favorite songs in a variety of musical categories.