We pulled monthly English Wikipedia pageviews from January 2016 to September 2026 for 164 artists, 95 songs and 85 albums. XXXTentacion leads the artists with 119.8M views; readership spiked after his death in June 2018 and has never fully faded. Freddie Mercury (104.8M, lifted by the 2018 'Bohemian Rhapsody' film) and Taylor Swift (104.7M) are effectively tied for second, and Michael Jackson is fourth with 99.1M. Among songs, the US national anthem (19.2M) beats 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (14.2M). The Beatles hold three of the top five album spots, led by 'Abbey Road' (12.8M).
Most-read artists
| # | Article | Views Jan 2016–Sep 2026 | Peak month | Peak-month views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | XXXTentacion | 119.8M | Jun 2018 | 8.2M |
| 2 | Freddie Mercury | 104.8M | Nov 2018 | 9.9M |
| 3 | Taylor Swift | 104.7M | Feb 2024 | 4.4M |
| 4 | Michael Jackson | 99.1M | May 2026 | 4.4M |
| 5 | Ariana Grande | 86.3M | May 2017 | 3.3M |
| 6 | Elvis Presley | 85.4M | Jan 2023 | 3.8M |
| 7 | Billie Eilish | 73.5M | Apr 2019 | 3.5M |
| 8 | Lady Gaga | 72.8M | Feb 2017 | 3.5M |
| 9 | Eminem | 72.8M | Sep 2018 | 2.2M |
| 10 | Kanye West | 69.0M | Oct 2022 | 2.1M |
| 11 | David Bowie | 64.7M | Jan 2016 | 13.9M |
| 12 | Jennifer Lopez | 64.4M | Feb 2020 | 2.7M |
| 13 | Prince | 64.2M | Apr 2016 | 17.5M |
| 14 | Dua Lipa | 64.0M | Mar 2021 | 1.3M |
| 15 | Tupac Shakur | 63.0M | Jun 2017 | 1.7M |
Most-read songs
| # | Article | Views Jan 2016–Sep 2026 | Peak month | Peak-month views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Star-Spangled Banner | 19.2M | Sep 2017 | 793K |
| 2 | Bohemian Rhapsody | 14.2M | Nov 2018 | 1.2M |
| 3 | Despacito | 10.4M | Jul 2017 | 1.2M |
| 4 | Happy Birthday to You | 10.3M | Jan 2024 | 187K |
| 5 | Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song) | 9.3M | Nov 2016 | 644K |
| 6 | Hotel California | 8.0M | Jan 2016 | 264K |
| 7 | All I Want for Christmas Is You | 6.6M | Dec 2019 | 477K |
| 8 | Old Town Road | 6.5M | Jul 2019 | 702K |
| 9 | Texas hold 'em | 6.3M | Apr 2020 | 91K |
| 10 | Gangnam Style | 5.8M | Jan 2017 | 144K |
| 11 | Baby Shark | 5.7M | Sep 2018 | 198K |
| 12 | Hey Jude | 5.5M | May 2019 | 100K |
| 13 | Stan | 5.2M | Sep 2018 | 108K |
| 14 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | 5.2M | Sep 2016 | 334K |
| 15 | Stairway to Heaven | 5.1M | Jun 2016 | 88K |
Most-read albums
| # | Article | Views Jan 2016–Sep 2026 | Peak month | Peak-month views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abbey Road | 12.8M | Dec 2021 | 506K |
| 2 | The Dark Side of the Moon | 12.5M | Mar 2023 | 251K |
| 3 | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 12.2M | Jun 2017 | 347K |
| 4 | The Beatles | 10.2M | Nov 2018 | 232K |
| 5 | The Life of Pablo | 9.7M | Feb 2016 | 2.0M |
| 6 | The Wall | 9.3M | Mar 2019 | 247K |
| 7 | Rumours | 9.0M | Dec 2022 | 218K |
| 8 | Folklore (Taylor Swift album) | 8.4M | Jul 2020 | 1.1M |
| 9 | Revolver (Beatles album) | 7.5M | Dec 2021 | 139K |
| 10 | Nevermind | 7.4M | Aug 2021 | 214K |
| 11 | Thriller | 7.4M | May 2026 | 522K |
| 12 | To Pimp a Butterfly | 7.1M | Feb 2016 | 284K |
| 13 | Lover | 7.1M | Aug 2019 | 742K |
| 14 | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 7.0M | Feb 2016 | 182K |
| 15 | Taylor Swift | 6.9M | Feb 2024 | 211K |
What it means
Fame shows up in reads, streams and searches, but it starts with a song. If you have a hook of your own, an AI song generator can turn it into a full track with vocals in a few minutes. For a soundtrack to your own day, an AI music generator can score it to whatever mood you need.
Method
- English Wikipedia page views, all devices, human readers only (bots excluded), monthly per article, Jan 2016–Sep 2026. 'Past 12 months' = Oct 2025–Sep 2026.
- Totals sum the monthly views for each article over Jan 2016–Sep 2026.
Cite and download
Free to use and cite with a link back to this page.
aisong.lol Research. (2026). The Wikipedia Hall of Fame: the most-read music articles of the decade. aisong.lol. https://aisong.lol/research/the-wikipedia-hall-of-fame-the-most-read-music-articles-of-the-decade
Use this data. Every table in this study as one spreadsheet-ready file.
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