2009
13 different songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009. The year opened with Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyonce at the top, and I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas held #1 the longest — 14 weeks in 2009.
Prices rose -0.4% over 2008, a calm year by historical standards. One dollar in 2009 buys about what $1.50 buys in 2025.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $2.35, down 28% from 2008. In 2025 dollars that is $3.53, against an actual 2025 average of $3.26.
Mailing a letter took a 44¢ stamp (it is 73¢ in 2025), and the federal minimum wage was $6.90 an hour.
Every #1 hit of 2009
| Song | Artist | First week at #1 | Weeks at #1 in 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) | Beyonce | Jan 3 | 2 |
| Just Dance | Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O'Donis | Jan 17 | 3 |
| My Life Would Suck Without You | Kelly Clarkson | Feb 7 | 2 |
| Crack A Bottle | Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent | Feb 21 | 1 |
| Right Round | Flo Rida | Feb 28 | 6 |
| Poker Face | Lady Gaga | Apr 11 | 1 |
| Boom Boom Pow | The Black Eyed Peas | Apr 18 | 12 |
| I Gotta Feeling | The Black Eyed Peas | Jul 11 | 14 |
| Down | Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne | Oct 17 | 2 |
| 3 | Britney Spears | Oct 24 | 1 |
| Fireflies | Owl City | Nov 7 | 2 |
| Whatcha Say | Jason Derulo | Nov 14 | 1 |
| Empire State Of Mind | Jay-Z + Alicia Keys | Nov 28 | 5 |
Weeks are counted within 2009; a song that carried over from 2008 or into 2010 shows only its 2009 weeks.
What things cost in 2009
| Item | 2009 price | In 2025 dollars | Actual 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon of regular gas | $2.35 | $3.53 | $3.26 |
| Dozen large eggs | $1.66 | $2.50 | $4.25 |
| Loaf of white bread (per lb) | $1.39 | $2.08 | $1.87 |
| Gallon of whole milk | $3.11 | $4.67 | $4.07 |
| Ground beef (per lb) | $2.22 | $3.33 | $6.09 |
| Whole chicken (per lb) | $1.28 | $1.92 | $2.06 |
| Bacon (per lb) | $3.61 | $5.41 | $7.02 |
| Bananas (per lb) | $0.61 | $0.92 | $0.65 |
| Sugar (per lb) | $0.57 | $0.86 | $1.02 |
| Potatoes (per lb) | $0.62 | $0.93 | $0.96 |
| Flour (per lb) | $0.50 | $0.75 | $0.56 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.13 | $0.19 | $0.18 |
| Federal minimum wage (per hour) | $6.90 | $10.35 | $7.25 |
| Median new home sale price | $215,650 | $323,613 | $415,400 |
| First-class stamp | 44¢ | 66¢ | 73¢ |
Compare 2009 prices with any amount → · Find the #1 song on any day in 2009 →
The internet in 2009
- January 3, 2009Bitcoin's genesis block — Satoshi Nakamoto mines the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain. source
See the web as it looked in 2009:
Yahoo! ↗Netscape ↗AOL ↗CNN ↗Amazon ↗Apple ↗Microsoft ↗The White House ↗GeoCities ↗Space Jam ↗eBay ↗Google ↗Napster ↗Wikipedia ↗Myspace ↗Facebook ↗YouTube ↗Twitter ↗
Links open the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine at its capture nearest July 1, 2009.
