Every recording artist dreams of a top 10 hit, but few reach that pinnacle. There are exceptions, however – performers who don’t just score big once or twice or have a brief run of successes but who end up at the highest level of musical success again and again. (These are the most dominant reigns in Billboard history.)

To determine the artists with the most Top 10 hits, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical Billboard Hot 100 chart performance. Artists were ranked based on the total number of songs to enter in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 throughout their careers. Supplemental data on an artist’s biggest hit is based on an inverse ranking wherein a week at No. 1 is worth 100 points, a week at No. 2 worth 99 points, and so on, up to a week at No. 100 worth one point.

Calculated weekly, the Billboard Hot 100 counts a song’s sales (physical and digital), radio airplay, and online streaming in the U.S. Music data provider MRC Data (formerly Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen Music Products) gather the sales numbers from retail stores, mass merchants, and Internet sales. MRC Data also tracks digital song sales, while Billboard, MRC Data, and the National Association of Recording Merchandisers compile the most popular streamed radio songs as well as on-demand songs and videos on leading online music platforms.  

Click here to see the artists with the most top 10 hits

According to our research, some 45 artists have each won at least 15 appearances on the  Hot 100 – and the most successful of them is Canadian-born rapper Drake. The 35-year-old has racked up 55 Top 10 hits, far surpassing second-place finisher Madonna, at 38, and The Beatles, in third place at 34. (These are the rappers with the most hits.)