WThis is a list of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1996.
WAdult Contemporary is a chart published by Billboard ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1996, five different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. The chart was published under the title Hot Adult Contemporary through the issue of Billboard dated March 9 and Adult Contemporary thereafter.
WHot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1996, 28 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.
WRPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. 1996 saw twenty-three songs reach the number-one spot in Canada. Alanis Morissette achieved both the first and last number-one singles of the year: "Hand in My Pocket" and "Head over Feet", respectively. Six different artists reached number one for the first time in 1996: Joan Osborne, Everything but the Girl, Collective Soul, Melissa Etheridge, BoDeans, and The Tragically Hip.
WTop Country Albums is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music albums in the United States, published by Billboard. In 1996, seven different albums topped the chart, based on electronic point of sale data provided by SoundScan Inc.
WThe 1996 Triple J Hottest 100, counted down in January 1997, was a countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. A CD featuring 31 of the songs was released. A countdown of the videos of most of the songs was also shown on the ABC music series Rage. The 1996 chart marked the first time an Australian band had topped the chart, with Spiderbait taking out top honours.
WThe UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart is a record chart which ranks the best-selling rock and heavy metal albums in the United Kingdom. Compiled and published by the Official Charts Company, the data is based on each album's weekly physical sales, digital downloads and streams. In 1996, there were 22 albums that topped the 52 published charts. The first number-one album of the year was Queen's fifteenth and final studio album Made in Heaven, which spent the first four weeks of the year atop the chart at the end of an eleven-week run beginning in November 1995. The final number-one album of the year was 18 til I Die, the seventh studio album by Bryan Adams, which spent the last six weeks of the year at number one in its fifth spell of the year.
WThe UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1996, as well as singles which peaked in 1995 but were in the top 10 in 1996. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time.
WThe UK R&B Chart is a weekly chart, first introduced in October 1994, that ranks the 40 biggest-selling singles and albums that are classified in the R&B genre in the United Kingdom. The chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company, and is based on sales of CDs, downloads, vinyl and other formats over the previous seven days.
WThe UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart is a record chart which ranks the best-selling rock and heavy metal songs in the United Kingdom. Compiled and published by the Official Charts Company, the data is based on each track's weekly physical sales, digital downloads and streams. In 1996, there were 30 singles that topped the 52 published charts. The first number-one single of the year was "When Love & Hate Collide", the only single from the Def Leppard compilation Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995). The final number-one single of the year was "In the Meantime", the debut single by alternative rock band Spacehog.
WThe Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical sales and airplays. The year started out with "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men and ended with "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton. There were nine singles that peaked atop the charts, but if "One Sweet Day" is excluded from the count, the total would be eight, the second lowest for a single year, along with 1997, 2005 and 2015. The longest running number-one single of 1996 is "Macarena", which stayed at the top for 14 weeks.
WLatin Pop Airplay is a chart that ranks the top-performing songs on Latin pop radio stations in the United States, published by Billboard magazine based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems. It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. In 1996, 16 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.
WTropical Airplay is a chart that ranks the top-performing songs on tropical radio stations in the United States, published by Billboard magazine based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems. It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. In 1996, 20 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.