“How do you know that song???”

My teenager was playing Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People” on Spotify. As a lifelong music geek who once was on air at an Atlanta Oldies station, i know every word of this 1968 classic. But how did my kid know a song that’s older than I am?

“Dad, everyone knows this song.”

There’s lots of anecdotes of young people rediscovering old songs. But which songs are the Spotify generation playing as often as they play today’s hits? Which classics have actually become a part of young music fans’ favorites, not just a quirk that fits a short-lived viral trend?

I analyzed the Spotify Top 200 chart for every week from January 2019 through May 2024 to see which older songs were intermingled amongst today’s most-streamed songs. (That’s five years and five months total, or 283 weeks for the mathy among you.) I looked at the total streams (for weeks each song qualified for the Top 200), as well as how many weeks each song made the Top 200.

(To be clear, we’re extrapolating that these songs are popular among younger music fans because they’re popular on Spotify—where younger folks still account for the predominant share of usage.)

Below are the 20 biggest old songs that younger listeners love, based on that analysis, which fall into four broad categories. Note the orange line on each graph, which shows how many streams a song needed each week to make Spotify’s Top 200. This line gives you perspective on when each song was most popular and how the old songs that are newly popular have evolved.

Are the Oldies that make big news the ones Spotify users really play most?

#1: The New Classics

These songs didn’t blow up because of a viral trend or a media event. They are simply songs that people are consistently playing week after week. Many are newer than the typical classic hits that grab headlines when they blow up.

The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather (2013)

If you’re young enough, you’re old enough to be nostalgic for 2013. Thanks in part to the ambiguity of its lyrics, “Sweater Weather” has also become an anthem for bisexual teens. Mere mention of the title is code for bisexuality. With it’s chill vibe, it’s not surprising it’s Generation Z’s most streamed oldie among a broader audience, too.

The Killers - Mr. Brightside (2004)

There’s a famous Spotify playlist called Songs that Get White People TURNT. Alongside “Don’t Stop Beleivin’” (see below), ABBA’s Dancing Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody (see further below), and “Livin” On A Prayer”, you’ll find “Mr. Brightside” It’s arguably Millennials’ favorite golden oldie.

Cage The Elephant - Cigarette Daydreams (2013)

Already the right vintage and vibe to become a Gen Z classic, it didn’t hurt that Billie Eilish said it’s one of her favorite songs.

Journey - Don't Stop Believin’ (1981)

Even those of us old enough to remember when it was new might be shocked to learn it only reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 originally. By the time Glee performed it, “Don’t Stop Believin’ was already the most streamed song of the 1980s and s a staple of Classic Hits radio.

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)

As Generation X’s biggest cultural contribution save Winona Ryder, it’s unsurprising the song that took Grunge mainstream is among the classics. (“Something In The Way” also made a brief 10-week appearance in Spotify’s Top 200 after appearing in the trailer for The Batman.)

Hozier - Take Me to Church (2013)

With introspective lyrics and a powerful yet slow vibe, “Take Me To Church” fits the Gen Z classics mold.

The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris (1998)

You’d expect late 90s nostalgia to push The Backstreet Boys or N’Sync into Spotify’s Top 200. However, it’s this late 90s pop-alt smash from the movie City of Angels that makes the cut.

#2: TikTok Viral Revivals

This list of songs that can directly thank a TikTok for their resurgence is a lot shorter than you’d expect.

Fleetwood Mac – Dreams (1977)

You’ll undoubtedly find TikToks featuring every single song on this list. However, “Dreams” is the only one on this list that can exclusively thank a viral TikTok for its revival. It’s also the TikTok song that stuck: After peaking at #6, “Dreams” never really went away, continuing regularly making Spotify’s weekly Top 200.

Radio programmers and journalists take note whenever obscure oldies become TikTok memes, but “Dreams” is a unicorn here. Most songs follow the pattern of Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)". The 1970 song briefly became the theme song for any video featuring a charmingly unkempt woman. As much as I hate to disappoint my fellow Oldies gurus who faithfully gather every Saturday at 3:00 for The Time Machine with Don Tandler on Pop Gold Radio, however, Gen Z’s fascination with Rosemary barely lasted five weeks.

Know a radio programmer seeking to understand TikTok’s role in bring back hits?

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#3: Special Event Songs

These songs can all thank a specific cultural event for making them relevant today.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

The film Bohemian Rhapsody was the second film that made the song a comeback hit. Wayne’s World did it first in 1992. The song’s streaming pattern, peaking sharply in early 2019 and then receding, looks more like a current hit than a classic. While Bohemian Rhapsody hasn’t made Spotify’s Top 200 since 2019, it racked up big streaming numbers for 43 weeks that year. I suspect it’s not too far below the top 200 threshold.

Four other classics reached Spotify’s Top 200 thanks to the Queen biopic, namely “Don't Stop Me Now,” “Somebody To Love,” “Another One Bites The Dust,” and “Under Pressure.” None of these songs endure like the movie’s namesake.

Eminem - The Real Slim Shady (2000)

Marshall Mathers’ breakthrough was already appearing in the Spotify Top 200 in 2022 when he appeared among Hip Hop royalty in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show on February 13, 2022. The appearance boosted those streams significantly.

Eminem - Lose Yourself (2002)

Arguably Eminem’s signature song, “Lose Yourself” can directly thank Eminem’s Super Bowl halftime appearance for its streaming surge. It actually peaked higher immediately after the big game than did “The Real Slim Shady”. Unlike that song, however, “Lose Yourself” fell quickly afterwards. Even though it hasn’t made Spotify’s Top 200 since, it, too, is unquestionably a classic.

Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (1985)

Arguably this song shouldn’t be on this list. For us Generation X kids who grew up with what we now call Alternative, Kate Bush is a cult favorite (at least in the U.S. She’s a mainstream hitmaker in her native U.K.). We felt thrillingly exonerated that “Running Up That Hill” was finally a hit.

For younger generations, however, “Running Up That Hill” is a 2022 song.

Sure, they knew it was an 80s song. After all, Stranger Things is how they discovered it. The streaming pattern of the song—peaking quickly at #1 and settling after the new fans finished binging it—is the typical pattern of a brand-new release on Spotify.

Other Stranger Things songs made Spotify’s Top 200 briefly, from Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” to Musical Youth’s “Pass The Dutchie.” "Running Up That Hill” is the song that stuck as a song so innovative, it actually fit perfectly alongside 2022’s other big hits.

Miley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A. (2009)

Several songs on this list are Fourth of July favorites. Starting in 2022, however, Miley’s take of letting go at what was definitely not a Nashville party sees its stream counts spike all summer long.

#4: 2024’s Rediscovered Hits

Finally, these songs are noteworthy because they’re the classics making Spotify;s Top 200 right now—and their appeal is growing.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son (1969)

Like “Party In The U.S.A.”, “CCR’s Vietnam anthem is especially popular on Independence Day. Starting last year, “Fortunate Sun” is among the 200 biggest songs on Spotify on weeks that aren’t America’s birthday.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen The Rain (1971)

In unison with “Fortunate Son,” Creedence’s 1971 classic first appeared in Spotify’s Top 200 in 2023 and continues growing in 2024.

Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl (1967)

It’s also a song Americans love to play on the Fourth of July. (Perhaps making love in the green grass behind the stadium makes folks patriotic.) It’s on this list because of its consistent streaming growth in 2024.

On many Classic Hits stations, “Brown Eyed Girl” is often the only sixties song they still play. Streaming suggests there’s a reason it still makes the cut.

Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten (2004)

It was a part of a pivotal scene in Anyone But You, released during the 2023 holiday season. While the film put “Unwritten” back in the spotlight, it’s still garnering Top 200 streaming five months later.

Daryl Hall & John Oates - You Make My Dreams (Come True) (1981) and Rich Girl (1976)

Hall and Oates have been enjoying newfound hipness for years now. Perhaps news of their recent falling out—and the realization that we may not get to see them perform together again—has further increased our collective fondness for them. These two songs’ Spotify stream counts were still growing as of May ‘24.

The Cranberries – Linger (1993)

Several artists on this list have died during the past few years. Interestingly, none of these songs can thank the artist’s death for their long-term revival. That includes “Linger.” Over five years after Dolores O'Riordan died way too young, The Cranberries 1993 hit is just this year appearing regularly among Spotify’s 200 most streamed songs.

Keeping Classic Revivals in Perspective

For media pundits and cloud-yellers, the notion that young people are predominantly listening to old music is a compelling story. That narrative—that new music is so bad even young people don’t listen to it—is simply not congruent with the data.

In our 2019-2024 analysis time frame, there were 787 new and recent songs that received more total Top 200 streams on Spotify than “Sweater Weather”, the biggest “Oldie” on our list. The fact is, the vast majority of the most steamed songs on Spotify during any given week are less than eight weeks old.

Finally, the biggest song in this analysis is Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” from late 2018. Along with The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”, Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves”, Post Malone’s “Circles”, “Last Night” from Morgan Wallen and SZA’s “Kill Bill”, the most streamed songs that aren’t new releases are overwhelmingly contemporary hits.

Even if they remain the vast minority, young music fans do indeed keep discovering old songs. My teenager recently played 1971’s “Ain’t No Sunshine.” by Bill Withers. My kid’s not alone; it has newly been in Spotify’s Top 200 since April.

Date source for this post:

Spotify Charts (weeks of 1/3/2019 through 5/30/2024 for the USA): https://charts.spotify.com/charts/overview/us

20 Old Songs Young People Love (According to…