11 Music Videos You Won't Believe Topped 'TRL' Back In The Day — mtv.com

In 2015, artists are desperate to top the iTunes or Spotify charts. But not so long ago, there was a little show called “Total Request Live,” and artists were gunning for #1. Because it ruled music. Carson Daly, Times Square, thousands of screaming fans … “TRL” had it all. From 1998 until the show’s cancellation in 2008, it was a daily ranking of the most requested music videos around — and it serves as a time capsule of the musical zeitgeist from the late-CD/early-MP3 era to the YouTube era. Basically, it was really important for a lot of current twenty- and thirtysomethings who were weaned on Britney Spears and *NSync.

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