2006
19 different songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. The year opened with Don't Forget About Us by Mariah Carey at the top, and SexyBack by Justin Timberlake held #1 the longest — 7 weeks in 2006.
Prices rose 3.2% over 2005. One dollar in 2006 buys about what $1.60 buys in 2025.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $2.59, up 13% from 2005. In 2025 dollars that is $4.13, against an actual 2025 average of $3.26.
Mailing a letter took a 39¢ stamp (it is 73¢ in 2025), and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 an hour.
Every #1 hit of 2006
| Song | Artist | First week at #1 | Weeks at #1 in 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don't Forget About Us | Mariah Carey | Jan 7 | 1 |
| Laffy Taffy | D4L | Jan 14 | 1 |
| Grillz | Nelly Featuring Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp | Jan 21 | 2 |
| Check On It | Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug | Feb 4 | 5 |
| You're Beautiful | James Blunt | Mar 11 | 1 |
| So Sick | Ne-Yo | Mar 18 | 2 |
| Temperature | Sean Paul | Apr 1 | 1 |
| Bad Day | Daniel Powter | Apr 8 | 5 |
| SOS | Rihanna | May 13 | 3 |
| Ridin' | Chamillionaire Featuring Krayzie Bone | Jun 3 | 2 |
| Hips Don't Lie | Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean | Jun 17 | 2 |
| Do I Make You Proud | Taylor Hicks | Jul 1 | 1 |
| Promiscuous | Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland | Jul 8 | 6 |
| London Bridge | Fergie | Aug 19 | 3 |
| SexyBack | Justin Timberlake | Sep 9 | 7 |
| Money Maker | Ludacris Featuring Pharrell | Oct 28 | 2 |
| My Love | Justin Timberlake Featuring T.I. | Nov 11 | 3 |
| I Wanna Love You | Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg | Dec 2 | 2 |
| Irreplaceable | Beyonce | Dec 16 | 3 |
Weeks are counted within 2006; a song that carried over from 2005 or into 2007 shows only its 2006 weeks.
What things cost in 2006
| Item | 2006 price | In 2025 dollars | Actual 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon of regular gas | $2.59 | $4.13 | $3.26 |
| Dozen large eggs | $1.31 | $2.09 | $4.25 |
| Loaf of white bread (per lb) | $1.08 | $1.73 | $1.87 |
| Gallon of whole milk | $3.08 | $4.92 | $4.07 |
| Ground beef (per lb) | $2.22 | $3.55 | $6.09 |
| Whole chicken (per lb) | $1.05 | $1.68 | $2.06 |
| Bacon (per lb) | $3.44 | $5.50 | $7.02 |
| Ground coffee (per lb) | $3.20 | $5.12 | $8.18 |
| Bananas (per lb) | $0.50 | $0.80 | $0.65 |
| Sugar (per lb) | $0.50 | $0.79 | $1.02 |
| Potatoes (per lb) | $0.53 | $0.85 | $0.96 |
| Flour (per lb) | $0.33 | $0.53 | $0.56 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.11 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| Federal minimum wage (per hour) | $5.15 | $8.22 | $7.25 |
| Median new home sale price | $243,750 | $389,269 | $415,400 |
| First-class stamp | 39¢ | 62¢ | 73¢ |
Compare 2006 prices with any amount → · Find the #1 song on any day in 2006 →
The internet in 2006
- March 21, 2006The first tweet — Jack Dorsey posts "just setting up my twttr". source
- October 9, 2006Google buys YouTube — Google agrees to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, 18 months after the first upload. source
See the web as it looked in 2006:
Yahoo! ↗Netscape ↗AOL ↗CNN ↗Amazon ↗Apple ↗Microsoft ↗The White House ↗GeoCities ↗Space Jam ↗eBay ↗Google ↗Napster ↗Wikipedia ↗Myspace ↗Facebook ↗YouTube ↗
Links open the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine at its capture nearest July 1, 2006.
