Mellow gold

Obviously, people mock Adult Contemporary radio. It's called "vanilla" and bland. Tedious. Monotonic. Strictly for the elevator. We beg to differ: AC is absolutely captivating. And to celebrate the chart's 50th anniversary, we've ranked its 50 biggest stars. Aside from being one of the most successful formats in the histories of recorded music and commercial radio, our AC chart is home to hall of famers, big-betters and hard rockers. Home to soulful sweethearts and songwriting superstars. AC isn't a place songs go to die. As radio folks, songwriters and fans well know - AC is the place where stars go to live forever. 28. Mariah Carey Just 20 years old when she arrived in 1990, Carey scored three AC No. 1s from her self-titled debut album: "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time" and "I Don't Wanna Cry". Now mother of twins, she collected her seventh and most recent leader with "Oh Santa!" last winter. (Billboard)