50 Tracks is a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio One in 2004 and 2005.[1] The show, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, was a listener vote to determine the 50 most essential songs in pop music history,[2] through a mix of listener voting and selection by celebrity guests.[3]
Each week, three celebrity guests nominated songs from each time period, to arrive at a list of four songs.[4] In the next few days, listeners would then vote on a fifth selection from the remaining nominated songs that had not been selected by the debate's panelists.[4] At the series conclusion listeners voted on these songs, plus 10 additional songs suggested by listeners.
The 2004 edition of the series concentrated on pop music from anywhere in the world, while the 2005 edition concentrated on Canadian music.[5] One song, Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know", was selected for both lists.
In the fall of 2005, CBC Radio launched the series The National Playlist, which took a similar format and adapted it to a weekly series.[6]
Panelists in 2005 included Terry David Mulligan, Jay Ferguson, Lorraine Segato, Laurie Brown, Damhnait Doyle, Denise Donlon, Geoff Pevere, Leah McLaren, Lee Aaron, Jennifer Hollett, and Emm Gryner.