The Beach Boys’ 40 Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits

Thanks to their iconic catalog of sun-soaked anthems that could seemingly melt the coldest of climates, the Beach Boys boast one of the most accomplished histories ever on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Beach Boys debuted on the Hot 100 dated Feb. 17, 1962, at No. 93, with “Surfin.” That October, their second entry, “Surfin’ Safari,” reached No. 14, marking their first of 35 top 40 hits.

The band kept catching waves to higher Hot 100 crests, with “Surfin’ U.S.A.” becoming its first of 15 top 10s, hitting No. 3 in May 1963.

“I Get Around” became the Beach Boys’ first Hot 100 No. 1 on July 1964. They reigned again with “Help Me, Rhonda” in May 1965, “Good Vibrations” in December 1966 and “Kokomo” in November 1988. With its lattermost leader, the band set two records at the time: It established the longest span of No. 1s for any act (24 years and four months) and closed the longest gap between trips to the top (21 years and 10 months).

Notably, Brian Wilson was not a part of the recording of “Kokomo.” As reported June 11, the founding member and essential creative force of the band passed away at age 82. Along with the group’s 55 Hot 100 hits logged through 1989, he charted one solo entry: “Caroline, No” rose to No. 32 in April 1966. (He was also the title subject of a Hot 100 hit: Barenaked Ladies’ “Brian Wilson” reached No. 68 in 1998.)
 
“I am proud that I have weathered not just one storm, but a lifetime of storms,” Wilson mused to Billboard in 2015. “Proud that I have stuck with my music and musical convictions. And proud — really proud — to have proven stronger than many imagined me to be.”

The Beach Boys’ Hot 100 history has expanded in recent years thanks to its 1963 classic “Little Saint Nick.” In both the 2023 and 2024 holiday seasons, the carol jingled to a No. 25 high, the band’s best rank since “Kokomo” in December 1988.

The Beach Boys have also continued to chart new music this century. In June 2012, That’s Why God Made the Radio cruised onto the Billboard 200 at its No. 3 peak, marking their 14th and most recent top 10 album – and their highest placement on the chart in 38 years.

In honor of the group’s beloved songs that make it feel like an endless summer when listening any day of the year, count down the Beach Boys’ 40 biggest Hot 100 hits below. Beyond their highest-charting entries — which helped lead to the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2001 — the ranking includes favorites whose legacies have outpaced the reach of their original runs, such as “God Only Knows” (a perhaps surprising, in retrospect, No. 39 peak) and “Don’t Worry Baby” (No. 24).

The Beach Boys’ Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Hot 100 chart from its Aug. 4, 1958, inception, through June 14, 2025. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.