Rating: 
Summary: Christopher Feldman vs Joel Whitburn
Review: They both can't be right.......I'm disappointed. I randomly
checked a few songs, The Great Pretender by the Platters, and
Ain't That A Shame by Pat Boone, Feldman says they peaked at
Number 2 and Whitburn said Number 1. However the verbage is
interesting which is why I gave it any rating at all....Problem is, is that data called into question since the Billboard position is flawed. I've invested in a bunch of Joel Whitburn's books so I guess I stay with him,
and I have no way of independently verifying either author. arrrghhhhhhh
Rating: 
Summary: okay for chart thinking people
Review: #1 isn't everything, neither is #2, #3, #4, and on down the chart. if a person likes a song, they don't care what chart peak it reached. but, this book is a fascinating study of major hits that people assume hit #1 but didn't. the author also highlights the singles at the top that kept the #2 single from reaching #1. This isn't a Joel Whitburn book so there's nothing obscure or exhaustive...only a list of #2 singles and a few pages of artist achievements. LeAnn Rimes holds the record for the #2 single with the most longevity on the Hot 100: 69 weeks and 3,000,000 copies sold. on the back of the book is says that the author is a passionate music fan and record collector who at the time lived in Iowa.
Rating: 
Summary: Close but no cigar
Review: Christopher Feldman has done a great job chronicling those songs that for some reason couldn't grab the brass ring on the Billboard singles chart-This book will settle many an argument-It's a darn shame,for example,that "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen had to play second fiddle to the Singing Nun & that immortal toe tapper "Dominique" or Foreigner got shut out of #1 with "Waiting For A Girl Like You",while most pop fans preferred to get "Physical" with Olivia Newton-John-Anyway,this book is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride.
Review: Even though there may be some repetition,The "Billboard Book One-hit Wonders" set is the companion to the "Billboard Book of #2 Hits": avid followers of the Billboard charts and the trivia over the years are not the only ones for whom these set are appropriate; fans of a given artist whose only hits were also number-two singles find added biographical and circumstancial material about the artists and the novelty singles that prompted them to attempt to follow an artist, who because of their ephemeral presence on the charts, had all but disappeared. For instance, Jane Child falls under both categories: "Don't Wanna Fall in Love", her only U.S. Top 40 hit, reached number 2. Had the song reached #1, maybe the course of the gifted singer's career would have run more smoothly. The astounding level of airplay the song received may stun the casual observer who would have probably continued to think the song was a number one Billboard Top 40 Single; it did, however, peak at #1 on the US Radio and Records Chart. It is also interesting to note that the "Billboard Book of #2s" tracks the songs by the most familiar artists such as Madonna, whose "Frozen" was kept out of the #1 spot by lesser-known KC and Jo-Jo's "All My Life". Both the casual chart observer-or someone who had a distaste for Madonna- and more confessed-guru would probably thrive on such esoteric trivia that also, in case you are wondering, details the number of weeks Madonna tried to achieve summit-status holding on at #2. Foreigner's "Waiting for A Girl Like You" was second-bested for 10 weeks by two different singles, a phenomenon that must frustrate the artist. The set occasioanlly documents the artists' prespective and perspective on being second-best, which is also gives the trivia a fresher perspective. Even though-albeit very subjectively- "Frozen" may not be considered in the same league as more classic Madonna hits such as "Express Yourself" or "Cherish", guess what? These hits were prevented from #1 status as well. The set confirms that so many classics you may assume went to the top did not.
Rating:
Summary: some minor corrections
Review: Fascinating book if you're into old pop music charts. Great for holiday reading. Some minor flaws, though. In 1961 the Dane Jorgen Ingmann went #2 with "Apache", but his winning tune in the Eurovision Song Contest was not called "I love you", but "Dansevise", a true Scandinavian oldie about our endless summer nights (can be found on any Eurovision compilation). Another thing - these photos, are they adequate? I mean, Tommy Sands, the teen idol of 1957 is immortalized in a photo from, let me guess, 1997? (the same goes for Billy Vaughn and some other artists)Wouldn't it be more appropriate to have photos from the year the artist charted? The same problem is found in Fred Bronson's Book of Number One singles, but not to the same extent. Otherwise an informative book. So how about the Book of #3 singles? After all, there were a lot of great songs still heard today on the radio that never made it to #2...
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting information; dry writing; who edited this?
Review: I am one of those people who friends call late at night because they can't remember who sang a certain song, so the publication of a new Billboard book is always a joy. There is a lot of interesting information in this book, and Feldman tells us what songs kept the included records from hitting #1 (example: KC and the Sunshine Band's "Keep It Comin' Love" was shut out by "You Light Up My Life" and the Disco Star Wars theme - ouch!). There are, however, several glaring mistakes, the most obvious of which was naming Elton John's drummer Nigel Olsson as Nigel Austin. Wesley Hyatt's recent volume on adult contemporary hits suffered from this same editing weakness, but Hyatt is a more engaging and witty writer than Feldman so his book reads much better. Who is proofreading these books? I tell you what, Billboard, I'll proof the next one for free.
Rating:
Summary: Feldman is Fantastic
Review: I think that the careful consideration of the facts and the excellent presentation of the information is a wonderful combination. Chris has done a fabulous job of showing how 2nd best isn't anything to be ashamed about. People get blind-sided by the #1's, but the #2's manage to stay in our hearts forever. Sometimes we're just not ready for them to be #1's. Sometimes timing and other circumstances prevent them from being #1, but it doesn't mean they're not good enough to be #1. Because we all know they are. So is Chris Feldman. Thank you for being #1 Chris.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing wrong with Number 2#
Review: many songs here are better than many songs that have reached Number 1 to me.I have heard some sorry songs go to number 1#&stay there way too long overall to me.and nowadays easily the songs here are far&away better than what's tops now.if a song is Good it doesn't really matter where it lands just as long as you remember it.charts don't really always tell the full picture to alot of Artists&Groups.
Rating:
Summary: Needed better stats
Review: This is for the most part a good reference guide for chart freaks like me. My only beef with the book is that the statistics/trivia listed in the back coud have been expanded considerably. For example, what about a listing of the songs which spent 7+ weeks at #2 ("Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Little Darlin'", "If I Ever Fall In Love", etc.)? Or, the #2 songs which reigned under the most #1 songs (I believe "I'm Not In Love" reigned under three different #1 songs)? Or, the #1 song(s) which prevented the most different #2 songs from hitting the top (I think "Everything I Do" kept five different #2's from hitting the top)? Or, #2 songs which wound up being ranked #1 for the year by Billboard ("Wooly Bully", "Breathe", "Hanging By a Moment")? All of these questions and more could have been answered on probably one extra page.
Rating:
Summary: Needed better stats
Review: This is for the most part a good reference guide for chart freaks like me. My only beef with the book is that the statistics/trivia listed in the back coud have been expanded considerably. For example, what about a listing of the songs which spent 7+ weeks at #2 ("Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Little Darlin'", "If I Ever Fall In Love", etc.)? Or, the #2 songs which reigned under the most #1 songs (I believe "I'm Not In Love" reigned under three different #1 songs)? Or, the #1 song(s) which prevented the most different #2 songs from hitting the top (I think "Everything I Do" kept five different #2's from hitting the top)? Or, #2 songs which wound up being ranked #1 for the year by Billboard ("Wooly Bully", "Breathe", "Hanging By a Moment")? All of these questions and more could have been answered on probably one extra page.
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