The 1940s

Winter 1940

Spring 1940

Summer 1940

Fall 1940

Winter 1941

Spring 1941

Summer 1941

Fall 1941

Winter 1942

Spring 1942

Summer 1942

Fall 1942

Winter 1943

Spring 1943

Summer 1943

Fall 1943

Winter 1944

Spring 1944

Summer 1944

Fall 1944

Winter 1945

Spring 1945

Summer 1945

Fall 1945

Winter 1946

Spring 1946

Summer 1946

Fall 1946

Winter 1947

Spring 1947

Summer 1947

Fall 1947

Winter 1948

Spring 1948

Summer 1948

Fall 1948

Winter 1949

Spring 1949

Summer 1949

Fall 1949

Every top 40 hit that peaked in that season of that year, plus other songs that missed the top 40 but that have gone down as classics, or as influential, or as memorable novelties.

Are any songs missing?

Only the ones that aren’t available on Spotify. A list of these songs is shown in the playlist description. Ignoring these few, enjoy hours of listening in any of these precise eras.

I can’t get the songs to play in Spotify.

Try opening the app in the background first. Then click on several different songs and be patient. Sometimes the app is slow to respond at first but eventually catches up.

I found an error!

It was impossible to listen to every song while compiling these lists, and I expect to find that I made some mistakes along the way. If you encounter a song that appears to be the wrong version, please let me know. If you want to quibble about which season a certain song belongs in, it should be at least two seasons off; also, please back up your claim with verifiable evidence. Send feedback to popmusicanthology@gmail.com.