of all of them.
But I've only heard 6 all the way through.
Seeing as I changed channels for the other 34, that'll do (pig)

....I know quite a few and own a quarter of those.

The interesting thing about that chart though is the fact that a few artists in there have more than one track in the 40. I guess that will be the download effect at work.

I always think it's wise to know your number ones. A few years back when there was something like 42 No.1's in a year, the whole business seemed devauled. There were only 20 chart toppers last year, and bar the very unlistenable X Factor Finalists making an even bigger pig's ear out of Hero and bleedin' Kid Rock, all of them have various merits.

Being aware of the greasy world of pop statistics is an essential part of one's poplife. I remember reading someone on here hadn't heard Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love and thought 'well, it's not particularly hard to find it and make up for your ignorance'. Anyway. Ageing popkid innit?

Lady Gaga?
She was invented by Akon apparently, or at least 'mentored' (ahem - whatever meaning that word has left). I'm on the fence. Part of me thinks she's amazing and a good thing. The other part of me thinks someone from the Pussycat Dolls camp saw the likes of Princess Superstar/ Peaches etc and decided to invent a slightly more sellable version and I should therefore write to my MP and complain.

and all heard as album tracks. This does not bode well for our team at the charity music quiz, but that's why we have the young people along.

Scared that the only ones I know reasonably well are the ones I bought Mrs b for Christmas (Girls Aloud, Pink, The That etc).

With a few exceptions (eg Kings of Leon) the rest look like the devils work to me, and probably sound even worse.

My default position is that anything with the words "Ft" or "Vs" (if you call those words) in the artists name are normally pretty unlistenable. Not many of these in this particular top 40 but thats not the point.

Jeff Buckley. The rest I have honestly not heard, at least not knowingly.

Probably heard about half of them. When I used to work in Our Price and Virgin, it was your solemn duty to know the all. Indeed in my interview for Our Price you had to list the top 10. Can't say i'm that bothered now. In the days of Top of the Pops i always knew who was in the charts

I made a point of hearing the other Hallelujah too.
Heard of several artists mentioned but I am not feeling I am missing much. James Morrison ands Nelly Furtado, eh? They can both sing. Both have naff image (to me) but I am not disenchanted with the James Morrison (1st) CD I own, but probably would not have it had it not been a present and I keep on seeing Nellly in sales for a fiver. Killers make me say arse and I keep on muddling up The Kings of Leon, who I don't like, with the Black Keys, who I do.

... but almost all of those are just one hearing, never to be repeated. Like a few here, I used to know the charts inside out, every track back-to-front, the chart position that week, chart history etc.

With me it's not an implicit judgement call that everything I haven't heard must be rubbish (though to be honest there wasn't anthing there I thought I ought to check out), more that without TOTP and since the Top 40 show went downhill (with more chat than music), it's just too difficult & painful to get to hear what music is currently "happening"...

which is more than I thought. Only own the Jeff Buckley song.

Chart is awfully irrelevant now - partly because I'm 42 and partly because it is just less important full stop.

I know 17. I do occasionally browse free music TV channels and get a feel for the big tunes when at a loose end. There's a few I quite like when I hear - Kings of Leon (Someone Like Me), Britney (Womanizer), Katy Perry, but not enough to own them. But from time to time something enters the chart that does do it for me - e.g. Girls Aloud 'The Promise' and new one. Not sure that's a lot different to the old days, have always found not much in charts that grabs me most of time, but maybe there is less than used to be. Age is a factor, as is lack of TOTP for getting to know stuff.

But at least I have heard of almost all the artists. It does seem a bit odd that so many artists have more than one single in the charts, also there seems to be a massively high ratio of arunbee or urban or whatever you like to call it. Only one or two indie bands in there yet the number of indie bands out there seems to outnumber the the urban acts by about ten to one.

Or should I say 5ive? That's the number I've knowingly heard. I've still never knowingly heard Girls Aloud, and haven't had to go out of my way to reach this position. I listen to Radio 2 occasionally, but they never seem to play Girls Aloud. Ho hum.

A big fat zero. Never heard anyofem and don't want to either.

As for Lady GaGa then Queen dragged up as Coronation St characters comes to mind. Am I close?

I agree with lovelyian. It's wise to know your number ones! So I checked out Lady Gaga last week when she seemed to appear at number one behind my back. Not my C of T, but gotta keep up on the pop.

Add in prog and all the rest and it is nearer 40 years.
I thought we all did that. Pre-requisite of the site and all that. We'll sleep when we're deaf, coming sadly to this space soon.

I used to religiously study the Musicweek Top 75 in my local olde record shoppe and if did not know of a tune I would quickly acquaint myself with it.

No longer. Sign of old age or crap in the charts? I suspect the former. Wonder if Sir Tim "Old Duffer" Rice still religiously buys all the chart singles each week. Or was that Dame Elton John. Who cares anyway?

I know the chorus from Human by the Killers, I'm aware of the Take That song, thanks to the wife, but right now I don't think I could hum the chorus (which is not going to be easy to say soon, thanks to Gary Barlow's genius at using a song title that will guarantee mucho TV airplay on adverts and over the top of Big Brother winners, etc) and Hallelujah, but apart from that I couldn't sing you the chorus from any of them. In fact, I've only ever heard of a handful of the artists. If I've heard the songs they have gone in one ear and out of the other.

There's only three or four different variations of chart song nowadays anyway. Every song sticks to one of the formulas.

Heard one, own one. The same one (The last one).

Should I care? I really don't.

Wonder if its the same ones? Love the KoL tracks and think Girls Aloud are ok-ish. Obviously love Jeff...but its all a bit meaningless really. A long way away from when The Jam reissued all their singles - all that lovely vinyl. What a shame.

Though I may have stumbled across more in the supermarket and not known what they were.

I've even successfully negotioated Christmas without hearing the X Factor Cohen cover, aside from about 3 seconds Charie Brooker showed on Screenwipe (I don't think that counts as "hearing it").

Me too - simply because I've never seen nor plan to see X Factor (or any of the similar shows) and I don't listen to mainstream radio. And my interest in what's in the Top 20 ended in the mid-1980s. It's really very easy to avoid drivel if you so wish.

I think I only know how two of them "go" (Jeff Buckley and the Killers) No doubt I've heard some of the others playing in the background in a lift or something. Interesting that some artists have got more than one song in the charts (Alesha Dixon, Girls Aloud); assume it's something to do with downloading. God, I'm behind the times. Or should that be OMG I'm behind the times LOL?

Is the only one I have heard. As it is the 2008 remix, I haven't even heard that.

....not bad for an old fart who doesn´t really listen to the radio anymore, I suppose I caught them on MTV. Come to think of it, most of the ones I´ve heard all feature attractive ladies in the video, especially Lady Gaga. Still, nice to see the Kings of Leon riding so high, love the album.

.. the charts, who cares anymore? As long as TOTP's remains a memory in TV programmes they shouldn't have got rid of, then as far as i'm concerned the charts can f**k off as well!! Its only full of 15 minutes of fame X-Factor slop anyway isnt it, or Take That (level pegging in my opinion!).

Ho hum, i think i grew up and learnt to ignore the charts a long time ago, once my musical listening tastes stretched to music that gave a damn!

..and in fact I've heard 10. I feel quite youthful.

Is Beyonce's Top 10 song really called "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"?

Oh dear.

And I thought I was completely out of touch. I'm only 75% out of touch.

I was only aware that one of the 5 I know is actually a single (Jeff Buckley).

Anyone get the feeling that our dad's could have written this thread 30 years ago?

"Charts, just a bloody racket that lot, call it music? When I were a lad...."

Jeff Buckley (of course) and Alesha Dixon's Boy Does Nothing (which I like - so there)
Must have heard the Killers/Kings of Leon tracks but without looking them out (I'm notoriously bad at remembering titles) they're not ringing any bells.
Catie

I've not heard Laday gaga's tune - but I know of her because she is reported in the freebie newspapers (metro, London Life) who ponces about in her undies when coming out of a nightclub at about 2am when its -5C and she ought to be wrapped.

The lack of a TOTP show, the multiplication of music channels and the ease of downloading renders the top 40 meaningless......