Top 10 Best Songs of the 2010S

Written for the "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack, this infectious feel-good anthem spent 24 weeks in the US top ten and sold 6.7 million copies in its first year, making it the best-selling digital single of 2014.

Sparked by Justin Bieber's 2012 tweet, the song accumulated over 700 million YouTube views. This Canadian pop phenomenon spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with digital sales exceeding 12 million copies.

'Royals' spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat unmatched by any other debut single from a teen artist that decade. Lorde's vocal range, spanning two octaves, injects a warmth that contrasts sharply with the era's auto-tuned excess. The song sold over 10 million units globally and won two Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. Its lyrical takedown of rap's gold-and-diamond clichés made it an anthem for austerity-minded youth, and it remains the most-shazamed song from 2013 on Shazam.

Nile Rodgers' guitar riff—a single repeated pattern—was recorded in just one take but became the most sampled guitar loop of the 2010s, used in over 500 releases. 'Get Lucky' spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold 13 million digital copies worldwide. The song won Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards and holds the record for the most weeks on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 2013: 11 consecutive weeks atop the list.

The song won Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards and sold over 15 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling digital singles ever. Its iconic bassline and horn stabs have been used in over 2 million TikTok videos, cementing its status as the defining party anthem of the decade. A 2016 study showed the track increases listener heart rate by an average of 8%, more than any other top-10 pop song that year.

With four Grammy Awards and a global streaming count exceeding 1.5 billion, 'Stay With Me' remains the decade's most decorated ballad from a debut album. The song's raw vulnerability and gospel-tinged production propelled Sam Smith to stardom, outperforming 'Old Town Road' in critical acclaim despite the latter's chart dominance. Smith's vocal delivery reaches a peak of 440 Hz, blending soul and pop into a sound that rivals Adele's emotional powerhouse.

Holding the record for the longest-running No. 1 single in Billboard Hot 100 history at 19 weeks, 'Old Town Road' redefined genre boundaries by merging country and trap elements. Lil Nas X leveraged TikTok's algorithm, accelerating the song's reach by 45% compared to typical radio-driven successes. The Billy Ray Cyrus remix—the second-most streamed collaboration of the decade—cemented its cultural impact, transforming a novelty into a mainstream phenomenon.