Playlist culture and borderless pop

Top Songs of 2017

The Billboard Year-End Top 20, led by “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran.

The musical landscape of 2017

Streaming playlists became major discovery channels, hip-hop grew more dominant, and international sounds moved more easily into the North American mainstream.

Bruno Mars 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 shorter arrangements, rhythmic vocal delivery and production choices designed to create an immediate identity.

This list contains 17 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 2017

RankSongArtistListen
1 Shape of You Ed Sheeran Spotify ↗
2 Despacito Luis Fonsi Spotify ↗
3 Thats What I Like Bruno Mars Spotify ↗
4 Humble Kendrick Lamar Spotify ↗
5 Something Just Like This The Chainsmokers Spotify ↗
6 Bad and Boujee Migos Spotify ↗
7 Closer The Chainsmokers Spotify ↗
8 Believer Imagine Dragons Spotify ↗
9 Congratulations Post Malone Spotify ↗
10 24K Magic Bruno Mars Spotify ↗
11 Say You Wont Let Go James Arthur Spotify ↗
12 Mask Off Future Spotify ↗
13 Stay Zedd and Alessia Cara Spotify ↗
14 I Feel It Coming The Weeknd Spotify ↗
15 Wild Thoughts DJ Khaled Spotify ↗
16 Theres Nothing Holdin Me Back Shawn Mendes Spotify ↗
17 Body Like a Back Road Sam Hunt Spotify ↗
18 XO Tour Llif3 Lil Uzi Vert Spotify ↗
19 Unforgettable French Montana Spotify ↗
20 Im the One DJ Khaled Spotify ↗

Build a 2017 playlist

Start with “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran, then alternate familiar high-ranking records with contrasting selections from the lower half of the list.

Open the playlist builder

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.