Ranking the '60s Version 2.0 Paperback – August 7, 2025

It’s a new and expanded version of a classic.When Dann Isbell published the original Ranking the ‘60s, it was an instant hit. Chart enthusiasts and ‘60s buffs alike loved having a data-based ranking of all the singles and acts that inhabited their favorite music decade. So how do you improve a classic? You keep everything that people like and give them more. It’s a great lookup book.The singles are here—all 6889 of them—scored, ranked and indexed using the unique area-under-the-curve analytics pioneered by the Ranking books. And this time every imaginable chart statistic is here—including their history on the Billboard Hot 100, their albums of origin, writers and producers.The albums are here—all 3904 of them—scored, ranked and indexed with album chart statistics including Entry, Exit and Peak dates, Top 10 and Top 40 weeks and the singles they spawned.The acts are here--scored and ranked for their history with both singles and albums. There are unique Chronologies giving an at-a-glance graphical and narrative decade history of the 25 most important singles acts.The writers and writer teams are here—scored, ranked and listed with the acts they wrote for. And the producers and producer teams are here—ranked on their own and shown with their acts and labels.Then there are the special lists—nearly 70 of them:Top singles and albums of each yearMost weeks on the chartsMost consecutive weeks on the charts by acts and writersAll the cover versionsAlbums charting the most singlesActs whose careers started and those whose careers ended in the ‘60sWriters with the most songs charting at the same timeMost streamed recordsAnd so much more data, data, data. The Table of Contents alone is three pages!It’s also a great read.There are articles on the development of the 45 and the LP and the advance of stereo, an explanation of the payola scandal of 1960, the history of the Billboard album charts and how the album changed from an easy listening medium at the beginning of the decade to the way everyone bought rock at the end. And don't forget the Knucklebuster Trivia Quiz--and yes, the answers are there and found in the tables and lists.It’s THE reference for a pivotal decade.Open Ranking the '60s Version 2.0 to any page and find a memory, an insight or a surprise. And there are way more of them this time."The '60s was a decade of musical change as we’d never seen before. Now, Bill Carroll puts the spotlight on every aspect of that exciting time, as only he can. This is not just a book….it’s an adventure through every note that poured out of transistor radios across America."--Lou Simon, VP Music Programming, Sirius XM RadioFrom “Running Scared” to “Strangers in the Night” to “Suspicious Minds”…from the Temptations to the Zombies…there’s more excitement in “Ranking the ‘60s” than in anything else you’ll read this year!--Rich Appel, host of radio’s “That Thing with Rich Appel,” heard on stations around the world Read more