The musical landscape of 1977
Dance music, funk, soft rock, album-oriented rock and crossover pop created one of the most stylistically crowded periods in chart history.
Leo Sayer appears 2 times in the Top 20, making the artist one of the clearest recurring presences in this year’s list.
What to listen for
Listen for rhythm-section prominence, layered studio production and the way dance-floor energy sits beside softer radio favourites.
This list contains 19 different credited artists. The number gives a quick indication of whether the year was concentrated among repeat hitmakers or spread across a wider field.
Billboard Year-End Top 20 songs of 1977
| Rank | Song | Artist | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tonights the Night | Rod Stewart | Spotify ↗ |
| 2 | I Just Want to Be Your Everything | Andy Gibb | Spotify ↗ |
| 3 | Best of My Love | The Emotions | Spotify ↗ |
| 4 | Evergreen | Barbra Streisand | Spotify ↗ |
| 5 | Dont Leave Me This Way | Thelma Houston | Spotify ↗ |
| 6 | Torn Between Two Lovers | Mary MacGregor | Spotify ↗ |
| 7 | You Make Me Feel Like Dancing | Leo Sayer | Spotify ↗ |
| 8 | Im Your Boogie Man | KC and the Sunshine Band | Spotify ↗ |
| 9 | Dancing Queen | ABBA | Spotify ↗ |
| 10 | You Light Up My Life | Debby Boone | Spotify ↗ |
| 11 | Margaritaville | Jimmy Buffett | Spotify ↗ |
| 12 | Rich Girl | Hall and Oates | Spotify ↗ |
| 13 | Hotel California | Eagles | Spotify ↗ |
| 14 | Southern Nights | Glen Campbell | Spotify ↗ |
| 15 | Got to Give It Up | Marvin Gaye | Spotify ↗ |
| 16 | Gonna Fly Now | Bill Conti | Spotify ↗ |
| 17 | Angel in Your Arms | Hot | Spotify ↗ |
| 18 | I Like Dreamin | Kenny Nolan | Spotify ↗ |
| 19 | Undercover Angel | Alan ODay | Spotify ↗ |
| 20 | When I Need You | Leo Sayer | Spotify ↗ |
Build a 1977 playlist
Start with “Tonights the Night” by Rod Stewart, then alternate familiar high-ranking records with contrasting selections from the lower half of the list.
How this page should be used
Year-End charts summarize performance across an extended chart year. They are not simply a list of songs that reached number one, and historical methodology has changed. Treat this page as a guided listening resource and compact chart-history reference rather than a mathematical comparison with other eras.