Ever think that you're missing something by ignoring today's pop music? No, me neither.

The thing I like about Rick is that he doesn't judge unique styles of music, it's clear he knows and appreciates all kinds of music. He's also not one of those "all modern music is trash" people, he judges everything fairly.

I like that Rick can find good things about songs that he CLEARLY doesnt like

Still can’t get over how quickly Rick can analyse a song…. Amazing!

Cruel Summer came out 4 years ago, crazy how it got back to the charts

There's actually a lot of really good music being made these days. The problem is that almost none of it shows up on hits lists.

Kevin Parker known as “Tame Impala” is the producer of Dua Lipa song!!! He’s an insanse producer and he also has his own discography, you should check “currents” one of his best albums for me! 😄

Rick, you always balance your huge knowledge, professionalism, experience and great musical skills with a humble, curious, open-minded, and respectful attitude. Thanx for sharing this with us!!

The pop charts used to be stylistically and sonically diverse. Now it feels like there's only one genre represented, and the genre is "production tricks". Take a look at a top 10 from 1983. Every song sounded like what it was - distinctive from its writing to its playing to its recorded sound. The pop charts now feel like hanging out at Walmart late at night. Some kind of soulless, post-apocalyptic, plastic nightmare.

The 2nd Olivia Rodrigo song has a recognisable 90s grunge/alt. sound to me. And regarding the Dua Lipa song: I'm more and more convinced that pop songs always work great when they take a lot from the Disco era.... cause it's Disco, it's been working for decades and everybody loves it, even if they say they hate it.

Dance the Night is just so well produced i cant believe it, then again it's Dua Lipa's production team

"Bad Idea Right?" Is a great tune. And that Dua Lipa song -- you can't not dance when it comes on.

LOVE the idea of having Rick do a "50 years ago this week Top 10 analysis" ! Out of curiosity, i checked it out - week of August 18th 1973: 1. Diana Ross - Touch Me In The Morning 2. Wings - Live And Let Die 3. Stories - Brother Louie 4. Maureen McGovern - The Morning After 5. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On 6. Jim Croce - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown 7. Gilbert O'Sullivan - Get Down 8. Helen Reddy - Delta Dawn 9. Charlie Daniels - Uneasy Rider 10. Chicago - Feelin' Stronger Everyday Now, i can't say positions 4,7,8, or 9 do anything for me, but i find way more sonic, rythmic and melodic variety in those 10 songs.

There’s a good reason why songs like Olivia’s vampire come around to become a hit, even though the progression is similar to previous hits. That progression gets people in the feels. It’s like people cycle back to the same food after a while.

Love this! I’m a 50-something musician who loves to stay up to date with modern pop. Your comments are spot on. Love how you pick out the chords so easily - since they are frequently so common. But I agree with you so much on the skilled songwriters and producers. I love a well written pop song with great production. They always make me smile. 🤩

Love this Top 10 Review series. I always mean to listen to new stuff, but never seem to get to it. Rick's insights and informed assessment is both interesting and educational, keeping me engaged on stuff I'd switch away from on my own.

I'm 55. I always swore I'd never be one of these old people who hate / don't know modern music. I did pretty well up until my 40s. I could still relate to my younger nieces and what they were into. But honestly, I just can't take what passes for music these days.

Dear Rick , I’m sure many of us would love you to do this same video but for random weeks from the 1970s 🙏🏻❤

It's fun to hear a seasoned session musician deconstruct the current hot play list. I personally have no idea how to judge whether a song is any good - I just know if I like or don't like it. But one thing I'll say - the Dua Lipa song, "Dance the Night Away," from the Barbie movie is a genuine perfect pop song, and there are so damn few of those around anymore. That song worms its way into your brain - and stays! And you never get tired of it. That song will be around for a long time.

I love it when you do these videos and I always enjoy hearing new music, even when I don't like it. I'm really surprised I liked several songs on this list. I appreciate the way you break it all down, Rick. I really enjoy all of your videos.

I came from under my rock to see what the masses were listening to... I shall return to my rock.

The worst part is not how bad the songs are, but rather that millions of people are listening to them 🤦🏻‍♂️

The funniest part of these videos is that Rick’s small stabs of guitar add a lot of texture to these songs

This was an interesting watch. It feels nice to have curate a selection of songs to show somebody what’s out there and what sounds good. Thank you.

Rick is living proof that everything is better with guitars, he’ll just be casually strumming to the song and I’m like “ oh it sounds not that bad” then he stops playing and the song feels a little empty

There's a lot I could say here, but I believe that I can sum it all up with this: popular music has reached a point where the bar for finding anything worth praising is so low that you have to actually say how great it is to hear a guitar up front.

Rick, you just showed us what’s missing from today’s pop music: guitars and real instruments!

That was so, so fascinating. I wish I could find more time to listen to Rick's work and I am terribly tempted to download his course bundle except that I know I would not find time to use it, and would just have something else calling to me longingly. But I am still inspired to not go for easy changes or melodies and to write as professionally as I can when I get the chance, just to do my best to raise the bar a bit. I am grateful for your work to stand up for music, Rick!

I like that Olivia Rodrigo is still pop-rocking, Lipa is pop-discoing and Taylor is pop-poppin' while the reggaeton guys are eating each other's dinner rehashing the same tunes over and over. Girls are keeping the dream alive.

It is really quite ironic how alternative music is now more accessible than ever, yet mainstream music found a way to dominate the internet, like tv and radio back in the day.

As an old guy, 67, I remind myself that I thought I hated disco when it first emerged. Now, many of those tunes have become favorites.

10:01 lmao, Rick was trying not to laugh. 😂😂😂

I like how every song instantly sounds better when you start playing over it. Guitar is missing often in modern pop songs

3 songs from barbie but "im just ken" isnt there, sad. That song truly exceeded my expectations, knowing it was more like a joke, but ryan delivered it perfectly. The change in pace that occurs too, underrated asf and it's not even cause it was ryan gosling doing it

I'm not a fan of today's music but I appreciate that you're giving the songs a shot.. some songs weren't terrible..

it's almost sunrise where i live and i am stuck in a youtube rabbithole because i just discovered beato's ranty side... absolutely worth it

Uncanny how Rick's off-the-cuff guitar strumming / finger picking (while he's figuring out the changes) actually adds to the tune.

It's great that you always try to reach for "what sounds good" instead of focusing on how extremely boring it all just ends up sounding, kudos! I definitely don't have that level of patience

Y’know, I’m no Swiftie, but the fact that Cruel Summer is maybe more than 4 years old gives me hope that something’s actually sticking with people. Everything else seems to come and go so quickly.

Nice and efficient Rick.... I didn't make it past track no. 8.... man I'm glad I'm old 😂.... Bless you for doing this 🙏🏼

My 19 year old son works in a restaurant were they play classic rock. He told me he likes "Summer of '69" and "A Long December". I was thrilled but tried not to over react! 😆

I always feel like I've heard all these songs a million times before. There's so much great music being made out there by alternative artists, rock, metal, prog that I can't keep up with all the stuff I actively want to listen to, thank goodness it doesn't seem like I'm missing out on anything interesting in the charts 🤯

I am a listener, not a music maker or analyzer. What I would do to have a fraction of your knowledge. Thank you for the enlightenment!

Rick, can you do a video on modern country music? The last few years it’s gotten really diverse despite the reputation it’s attained. Independent artists have grown so much, and I think they carry on the rock and roll + singer-songwriter spirit a lot of modern music lacks. Texas country is interesting too… lots of cool guitar work from Whiskey Myers, Koe Wetzel, Treaty Oak Revival, and the Turnpike Troubadours. It’s a super diverse sub genre of the country scene… some go for the honky tonk twang, some with the classic southern rock approach, and some have a wicked Seattle sound.

Ah a new episode of "Rick tries his utmost best to find something positive to say about half of these songs" Easily among my favorite things to watch ;)

Dua Lipa and her team don’t hide their Elton John and ABBA influences. A lot of great stuff.

I would love to see an interview with Jack Antonoff or an analysis of some of his music, or both. He seems super open to describing his production process (including providing tracks for others to remix), and given his experience as both a performer and producer, I think he would have a lot of interesting things to share, especially having worked with so many talented people, and Rick seems to like his work when it comes up, such as Cruel Summer. At the very least he is influencing the sound of pop music quite a bit, and worth exploring that.

I liked this video very much. I have been staying away from new music for a time now as my habit is to go back and try to find new repertoire from artists I enjoy. Yes, I am old. BTW I bought your book set. It is awesome. Some of it is over my head as I am a new music student. I still am working through it in hopes I can understand things I hear or see in the future.

I'm 5 minutes in, and all I can say so far is props to Olivia for having some music in her music.

Whenever Rick opines on the current top ten pop hits I get an image of being stuck inside a Chuck E Cheese restaurant. The noise is deafening, the kids making it are oblivious to its harshness, yet there is a loving, concerned adult attempting to bring some calm and meaning to the maddening, incessant noise. Rick, you are that Saint.

Your respectfulness and genuine constructive criticism was great, +1 sub haha.

That "Vampire" song by Olivia Rodrigo is mostly interesting in its development over the full course of the song - it takes an almost rock-operatic turn. I think it's more original and unexpected than the 1st part conveys. That's what makes it kind of surprising.

As a listener I don't think i'll ever truely LOVE pop , However as a musician there really is an art to how simple yet effective pop can be. its really impressive when Billie or Olivia Rodrigo are able to add subtle veriations while keeping it digestable. Honestly thought the Nikki and Ice spice track was super smart to remix the Barbie girl track into a Trap inspired beat plus the Juke break gives it extra points. Kudo's Rick new subscriber.

The lyrics in "What was I made for?" Are very deep and clever

It's very refreshing to hear your honesty, about some of today's music!

The way pop music evolved/devolved over the last 60 years is truly phenomenal. It defies logic and purely befuddles me how we got to artists like Gunna. 🤷‍♂️

I like how Rick tries desperately to find something good in each song, God bless him. 😁😁😁

Rick, do you ever do reviews from virtually unknown artists? I’d love to see a video like that.

Hey Rick, always love when you do these and find it interesting. I'm not generally a fan of what's at the top of the charts, but I confidently love a well-crafted pop hook. Btw, not that you'd know but #1 was by Jung Kook (pronounced with a J sound and the word Cook), he's the youngest member of BTS but I don't think any of them co-wrote this song.

I watch Rick do these videos to see him effortlessly pick up the chord progressions. I watch them for his positive attitude finding good things to talk about. I watch them to cry how far we have fallen musically since the seventies.

I love how Rick instantly makes even the crappy songs 200x better just by adding his guitar track by ear

This is depressing.

Love the Billie Ellish critique. It was like "One and Done", " Say no more". LOL. You go Rick! Seriously, keep going, music needs all the qualified critics it can get.

Nice to see some credit for the youngest BTS guy's solo project. Not an army. But I do believe these guys know how to make good pop music. And they really mix old vibes with the new stuff really well. I like this song a lot and all the solo stuff I've hear so far have been great.

Listening to this makes me feel blessed that I grew up with Van Halen, Aerosmith, Frampton, Skynyrd, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Gary Wright

Just echoing a few other comments I've seen on here, but I like the way Rick always tries to find positive things to say about these songs, even if he has to wade through a sea of mediocre sameness to find them.

If art reflects the soul of a culture, we are done for.

Back in the '80s, Frank Zappa included as liner notes on his YOU ARE WHAST YOU IS double-album an essay entitled something like "The Nation That Chose Cheese" -- about how the Top 10 radio playlists were chosen via the lowest common denominator of clueless, tasteless adolescents. Or something like that -- it's been about 40 years since I read it. I'm wondering how blistering Zappa's opinions would be regarding today's Top 10 playlist of songs. Rick Beato goes out of his way to try to find SOMETHING nice to say about each song, but we can all tell he's not really that impressed with even the moderately less sucky tracks he reviewed here.

"BAD IDEA RIGHT?" by Olivia Rodrigo seems very inspired by Wet Leg

Jungkook is the tip of the arrow for Kpop in English speaking artist. But in general, ignoring KPop is one of the biggest blind spots in American and British pop music. Why are wevso insular? If you want huge artists and huge songs only and focus on charts alone, where are you going for innovation? Korean bands can make old genres new and mix them freely. Their production is outstanding. The songwriting is as well. Yes, lots of KPop is boy bands, pretty girl groups and high level complicated choreography. Being good looking doesn’t rule you out as talented and looks only get you up the first step. I was so disillusioned with contemporary rock/pop/indie genres that I stopped looking for something great. When I first found KPop and bands like SHINee a legendary act whose every member is also a successful solo artist , BTS - particularly Suga’s stuff as A’gust D - Riize, Mammamoo, it literally brought my life a lot more of everything positive. There’s debate about how the Korean music industry will expand into the U.S. But these guys sell out huge arenas, have powerful fan bases, and are all watching Jungkook as he tests the waters with American lyrics. These artists are simply extraordinarily vigorous, inventive, hard working and generous to their fans. How provincial have we become?

I'd really like to see Rick reacting to Eurovision songs...i'm sure that'll blow his mind

Steven Stills (For What Its Worth, Suite: Judy Blue Eye's, Bluebird etc.) said that when he was writing songs in the 60's, he was consciously trying to write a song that would last 50 years. I don't think modern songwriters can say that.

Would be great to have a section where you show multiple songs that are almost identical side by side, just to prove how pop music keeps repeating itself

I love your way of thiinkk, its so open and you know when its a good production,

Your guitar playing makes these songs sound so much better 👍

I like how you can explain things amateurs like myself may feel but lack the experience and vocabulary to put into words

I know i'm gonna sound old...but i'm glad i experienced the nineties in music and festivals.

Седой, но - молодой. Крутой и душевный. Это наш Рик. Здоровья и благоденствия!

You are way too generous.

Something I found myself thinking about Dance The Night is how remarkably close to Levitating it is. Not to say it's a bad song but listening to them back to back the similarities are striking

at 4:30 watching you pick up on the chords and the groove is why I've kept watching your channel for years. The knowlegede, the talent, the ability to cut to the core of songs. perfection!

i like your content, good stuff.

Literally, I have listened to all those songs endlessly on Tik Tok, KZfaq shorts, now I understand why they are so popular

I love that Rick stays positive. It’s really helpful for me to learn about music and empathise as to what is engaging about modern music

This series should be called "What makes Rick Beato great" and be about how he is always able to show some kind of appreciation, give insight about contemporary mainstream music and have something positive to say about the cringiest global Spotify charts.

Love the channel , as rod Serling would say, case in point… I’m a child of the 60s and grew up in deep purple Led Zeppelin Beatles etc . Most of the memories I have of great songs are just cherry picked favorites - not all jammed into a top 10?at a given point . One of my favorite channels is yesterday’s papers covering top 10’sof the 60s and 70s . Talk about a load of crap :) there are some real dogs in there man .

God, I love Rick’s channel. Obsessed 🤩. I feel totally vindicated in my love of Rock and all music w/ real musicianship 😅… (and yay Dua Lipa 😂. Knew I liked her for a reason)

Rick gives every song a chance and shows respect, even for the least of them. 🎶☝🤓🎸🎶

Dua Lipa’s production is always unbelievable, future nostalgia is probably my favorite modern pop album and I can’t wait for her next album, I think the fact most of her stuff uses mostly live production plays a part in it, especially the fact they get whole live orchestras on her songs instead of a vst Annnnnd it’s a serban mix no wonder it’s great

I dig watching you break down what is going on with a song. Always fascinating. Your take on pop songs makes me think of this podcast I listen to: Pop songs your boyfriends too stupid to know about on Mixcloud. Always eclectic and they have turned me on to some really interesting bands. I do love that the internet has given the artists the ability to build a following based on their creativity, which I think puts them in a position to make a record without to much interference from a label, or better yet to fund their own record and control the direction of the band, for better or worse.

My music interests started with my first time hearing Highway to Hell at a birthday party in 6th grade. Over time my music tastes have greatly expanded first to the heaviest of metal I could find. But then something happened. I found that my favorite music had similar features to other genres. Slowly I discovered classical, country, Motown, pop, rap/hip hop, etc. Most recently I have been really enjoying Jazz. I’ve really been going down the rabbit hole so to speak. I see so much creativity and excellence in some of those works. Every time I go to the top 10 songs my expectations for some reason are that I’m going to encounter excellence, and then I am just absolutely demolished when I find out that we get the same reggaeton beat over and over and over again. Ladies and gentlemen, please do yourselves a favor. Go spend a few minutes and look up Sidney Bechet and Lester Young.

Rick, you made EVERY song sound 1000% better just by adding a couple of guitar licks.

It may not get views but I’d love to see Rick do this with top ten lists from every decade. Every year even.

Video game music has been big for quite some time, I think. I'm a Gen Xer, now closer to my forties than to my thirties. I was a metalhead in my early adulthood, but nowadays, I find myself listening to synth music and video game music. Many are new, some from my early childhood games.

I have been following like the same three bands and the leaders of those bands other bands for years it's safe and it keeps me from crying

I love this segment… I can now pretend to know who the pop”stars” are without having to endure an entire song. This is an invaluable service to humanity! I will now retire to my Steely Dan and Tower of Power safe place.

Far kinder than I am to so much of what's being listened to on Spotify globally. I genuinely struggle to differentiate between this one and your last vid doing the same. Proof that popular is not necessarily high quality. It feels like the time for a change in modern popular music has never been more desperately needed.

It’s not only interesting to hear what’s popular today (at my age, I’m listening exclusively to my own musical wanderings, Jimi and Miles, Radiohead and Metallica), but we’re also seeing positive comments about the songs, arrangements, production, etc. it’s great to see anyone older than 35 appreciating music that’s different from what we were raised on. That’s not always easy and I’m sure there is pressure from viewers to act like an old crank, so kudos for the positivity.

Great analysis as usual

I like how charitable Rick is about the songs, as if they're not really s***.