Behind the board

The people who decide how a record sounds

A producer's name is on the sleeve in small type and nowhere in the chorus. These are the producers credited on the most tracks for artists other than themselves, and the artists they were credited with. Pick a decade to see who was running the room then.

Producers indexed
9,791
Artists counted
549
Albums counted
4,846
Albums verified
4,628

What these numbers count

What is in

The producer credit rows on the 4,846 studio albums entered so far, 4,628 of which have had their credits checked against liner notes or another primary source. Ranking is by tracks produced, then by how many artists those tracks are spread across.

What is out

Producing your own act. A production credit to a band, or to one of its members on that band's record, belongs to that act and stops there. This board counts hired hands, so an artist who mostly produces themselves sits low here or does not appear.

What it is not

A career total. Nobody's full discography is in the database yet, and albums arrive a few artists at a time. A producer's real number is higher than the one on this page, and it moves every time we add a record they worked on.

Producers

Most credited producers

Production credits, for artists other than themselves. 9,791 producers are indexed in all. Pick a decade to re-rank the board on the albums released in it; an album with no release year on file counts in the all-time view only.

Portraits come from Wikimedia Commons and are credited at the foot of this page. A name with no freely licensed photograph keeps its initials.

Filter by decade

Each count is the producers with a credit on an album released in that span. The bar under it measures that against the 9,791 producers indexed in all. A short bar means the catalog holds fewer albums from that span, not that the decade was quiet.

All time Top 50 producers by tracks produced, across every album in the catalog

Every album counted together, including the ones with no release year on file, which count here and in no decade view. That is 9,791 producers with at least one credit on somebody else's record.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

    Byron Gallimore

    283 tracks · 3 artists

  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

    George Martin

    233 tracks · 3 artists

  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17

    Felton Jarvis

    209 tracks · 1 artist

  18. 18

    Jerry Wexler

    205 tracks · 4 artists

  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25

    William "Smokey" Robinson

    176 tracks · 1 artist

  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30

    Scott Hendricks

    162 tracks · 4 artists

  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33

    Kenny Laguna

    159 tracks · 2 artists

  34. 34

    Don Law

    158 tracks · 1 artist

  35. 35

    Lee Gillette

    157 tracks · 2 artists

  36. 36
  37. 37

    Buddy Cannon

    155 tracks · 3 artists

  38. 38

    Irv Gotti

    154 tracks · 5 artists

  39. 39

    David Briggs

    154 tracks · 2 artists

  40. 40

    Frank Rogers

    154 tracks · 2 artists

  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45

    John Farrar

    150 tracks · 1 artist

  46. 46

    Bob Johnston

    149 tracks · 3 artists

  47. 47

    James Harris III

    148 tracks · 3 artists

  48. 48

    Nigel Godrich

    147 tracks · 4 artists

  49. 49

    Michael Baskette

    143 tracks · 5 artists

  50. 50

2020s Top 50 producers by tracks produced on albums released in the 2020s

4,200 producers have a credit on one of the 794 albums released in the 2020s, counted across their 11,271 tracks. This view ranks the top 50 by tracks produced.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

    Joey Moi

    104 tracks · 2 artists

  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

    John Feldmann

    80 tracks · 5 artists

  13. 13
  14. 14

    Ernesto Fernández

    73 tracks · 3 artists

  15. 15

    Bob Ezrin

    70 tracks · 2 artists

  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19

    Chip Matthews

    64 tracks · 1 artist

  20. 20

    Jonathan Singleton

    64 tracks · 1 artist

  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24

    Josh Wilbur

    60 tracks · 3 artists

  25. 25

    La Paciencia

    60 tracks · 1 artist

  26. 26

    Budd Dwyer

    59 tracks · 1 artist

  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30

    Dímelo Ninow

    53 tracks · 3 artists

  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33

    6ix

    51 tracks · 1 artist

  34. 34
  35. 35

    kasper

    49 tracks · 1 artist

  36. 36

    Turbo

    47 tracks · 4 artists

  37. 37
  38. 38

    Jimmy Humilde

    46 tracks · 3 artists

  39. 39

    Erik Ron

    46 tracks · 2 artists

  40. 40
  41. 41

    Teezio

    45 tracks · 2 artists

  42. 42
  43. 43

    Ovy on the Drums

    44 tracks · 6 artists

  44. 44
  45. 45

    Kent Wells

    43 tracks · 1 artist

  46. 46
  47. 47

    Jay Joyce

    42 tracks · 1 artist

  48. 48

    Gregg Wattenberg

    41 tracks · 4 artists

  49. 49

    Dot da Genius

    40 tracks · 1 artist

  50. 50

    Jesús Iván Leal Reyes

    40 tracks · 1 artist

2010s Top 50 producers by tracks produced on albums released in the 2010s

3,716 producers have a credit on one of the 1,160 albums released in the 2010s, counted across their 14,959 tracks. This view ranks the top 50 by tracks produced.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

    Michael Baskette

    87 tracks · 4 artists

  9. 9
  10. 10

    Kevin Churko

    85 tracks · 3 artists

  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16

    Scott Hendricks

    75 tracks · 1 artist

  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20

    Byron Gallimore

    70 tracks · 3 artists

  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25

    Buddy Cannon

    66 tracks · 3 artists

  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31

    John Hanlon

    58 tracks · 1 artist

  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35

    Josh Wilbur

    57 tracks · 3 artists

  36. 36
  37. 37

    Chuck Ainlay

    56 tracks · 2 artists

  38. 38
  39. 39

    Frank Liddell

    54 tracks · 1 artist

  40. 40

    Glenn Worf

    54 tracks · 1 artist

  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45

    6ix

    53 tracks · 1 artist

  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48

    Darrell Brown

    50 tracks · 1 artist

  49. 49

    Kevin Savigar

    50 tracks · 1 artist

  50. 50

2000s Top 50 producers by tracks produced on albums released in the 2000s

2,431 producers have a credit on one of the 1,146 albums released in the 2000s, counted across their 15,447 tracks. This view ranks the top 50 by tracks produced.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

    Irv Gotti

    130 tracks · 3 artists

  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

    Frank Rogers

    113 tracks · 1 artist

  10. 10
  11. 11

    Byron Gallimore

    103 tracks · 2 artists

  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18

    Johnny K

    89 tracks · 4 artists

  19. 19
  20. 20

    Nigel Godrich

    84 tracks · 3 artists

  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27

    Neal Avron

    71 tracks · 2 artists

  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30

    Nick Raskulinecz

    65 tracks · 4 artists

  31. 31

    Keith Stegall

    65 tracks · 2 artists

  32. 32

    John Feldmann

    63 tracks · 4 artists

  33. 33
  34. 34

    James Stroud

    62 tracks · 2 artists

  35. 35
  36. 36

    Bob Marlette

    61 tracks · 4 artists

  37. 37

    Alan Moulder

    61 tracks · 2 artists

  38. 38

    India.Arie

    61 tracks · 1 artist

  39. 39
  40. 40

    Brett Gurewitz

    60 tracks · 1 artist

  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43

    Jacknife Lee

    58 tracks · 4 artists

  44. 44

    Humberto Gatica

    57 tracks · 3 artists

  45. 45

    Darran Smith

    56 tracks · 1 artist

  46. 46
  47. 47

    David Bendeth

    55 tracks · 3 artists

  48. 48

    James Harris III

    55 tracks · 3 artists

  49. 49

    Buddy Cannon

    55 tracks · 1 artist

  50. 50

    Bobby Braddock

    54 tracks · 1 artist

1990s Top 50 producers by tracks produced on albums released in the 1990s

1,239 producers have a credit on one of the 744 albums released in the 1990s, counted across their 9,834 tracks. This view ranks the top 50 by tracks produced.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

    Allen Reynolds

    90 tracks · 1 artist

  6. 6
  7. 7

    Terry Date

    89 tracks · 4 artists

  8. 8

    The Bomb Squad

    83 tracks · 3 artists

  9. 9

    Executive producer

    82 tracks · 2 artists

  10. 10

    Byron Gallimore

    81 tracks · 2 artists

  11. 11
  12. 12

    James Stroud

    79 tracks · 2 artists

  13. 13

    Bruce Fairbairn

    77 tracks · 6 artists

  14. 14

    Bob Rock

    77 tracks · 5 artists

  15. 15

    Timbaland

    77 tracks · 5 artists

  16. 16

    Keith Stegall

    76 tracks · 3 artists

  17. 17

    Hugh Padgham

    65 tracks · 3 artists

  18. 18

    Mannie Fresh

    65 tracks · 2 artists

  19. 19

    Dave Jerden

    63 tracks · 3 artists

  20. 20

    Peter Collins

    61 tracks · 4 artists

  21. 21

    Rob Cavallo

    61 tracks · 2 artists

  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24

    Steve Buckingham

    57 tracks · 1 artist

  25. 25

    Erick Sermon

    56 tracks · 6 artists

  26. 26

    Robert John "Mutt" Lange

    56 tracks · 2 artists

  27. 27
  28. 28

    Gil Norton

    55 tracks · 3 artists

  29. 29
  30. 30

    Alan Moulder

    51 tracks · 2 artists

  31. 31
  32. 32

    Organized Noize

    50 tracks · 5 artists

  33. 33

    Colin Richardson

    49 tracks · 2 artists

  34. 34

    James Harris III

    49 tracks · 1 artist

  35. 35

    Scott Litt

    49 tracks · 1 artist

  36. 36
  37. 37

    Toby Wright

    48 tracks · 4 artists

  38. 38

    Beats by the Pound

    48 tracks · 1 artist

  39. 39

    Don Was

    47 tracks · 3 artists

  40. 40

    Arif Mardin

    45 tracks · 3 artists

  41. 41

    DJ U-Neek

    45 tracks · 1 artist

  42. 42

    Howard Benson

    45 tracks · 1 artist

  43. 43
  44. 44

    Harold Shedd

    43 tracks · 2 artists

  45. 45

    Mario Caldato Jr.

    43 tracks · 2 artists

  46. 46

    Nelson Larkin

    43 tracks · 1 artist

  47. 47
  48. 48

    Mike Clink

    42 tracks · 1 artist

  49. 49

    Eric Valentine

    41 tracks · 2 artists

  50. 50

    Scott Hendricks

    41 tracks · 2 artists

1980s Top 50 producers by tracks produced on albums released in the 1980s

373 producers have a credit on one of the 444 albums released in the 1980s, counted across their 4,588 tracks. This view ranks the top 50 by tracks produced.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

    Rick Rubin

    68 tracks · 4 artists

  4. 4

    Rick Derringer

    68 tracks · 1 artist

  5. 5

    Kenny Laguna

    66 tracks · 1 artist

  6. 6

    Robert John "Mutt" Lange

    62 tracks · 3 artists

  7. 7

    Ted Templeman

    59 tracks · 3 artists

  8. 8

    Chris Thomas

    58 tracks · 1 artist

  9. 9

    Ritchie Cordell

    57 tracks · 2 artists

  10. 10

    Reinhold Mack

    54 tracks · 1 artist

  11. 11

    Tom Werman

    50 tracks · 3 artists

  12. 12

    Jimmy Bowen

    50 tracks · 2 artists

  13. 13

    Daniel Miller

    50 tracks · 1 artist

  14. 14

    David M. Allen

    50 tracks · 1 artist

  15. 15

    Chuck Plotkin

    44 tracks · 3 artists

  16. 16

    Bruce Fairbairn

    44 tracks · 2 artists

  17. 17

    Jon Landau

    44 tracks · 1 artist

  18. 18

    Kevin Elson

    43 tracks · 1 artist

  19. 19

    Niko Bolas

    42 tracks · 2 artists

  20. 20

    Nile Rodgers

    41 tracks · 4 artists

  21. 21

    Bob Clearmountain

    41 tracks · 2 artists

  22. 22

    Steve Lillywhite

    41 tracks · 2 artists

  23. 23

    Stock Aitken Waterman

    40 tracks · 3 artists

  24. 24

    Maurice Starr

    40 tracks · 2 artists

  25. 25

    Brian Ahern

    40 tracks · 1 artist

  26. 26

    George Martin

    39 tracks · 1 artist

  27. 27

    David Briggs

    36 tracks · 1 artist

  28. 28

    Ray "Pablo" Falconer

    36 tracks · 1 artist

  29. 29

    Afrika Islam

    35 tracks · 1 artist

  30. 30

    John Farrar

    35 tracks · 1 artist

  31. 31

    Chris Kimsey

    34 tracks · 2 artists

  32. 32

    Jacques Morali

    34 tracks · 1 artist

  33. 33

    Glen Kolotkin

    33 tracks · 2 artists

  34. 34

    Steven Van Zandt

    32 tracks · 1 artist

  35. 35

    Daniel Lanois

    31 tracks · 2 artists

  36. 36

    Ron Nevison

    31 tracks · 2 artists

  37. 37

    Bill Ham

    31 tracks · 1 artist

  38. 38

    Bob Ezrin

    30 tracks · 3 artists

  39. 39

    Desmond Child

    30 tracks · 3 artists

  40. 40

    Quincy Jones

    30 tracks · 3 artists

  41. 41

    Alan Tarney

    30 tracks · 1 artist

  42. 42

    Russell Simmons

    30 tracks · 1 artist

  43. 43

    Tom Dowd

    29 tracks · 2 artists

  44. 44

    Elliot Mazer

    29 tracks · 1 artist

  45. 45

    Keith Forsey

    29 tracks · 1 artist

  46. 46

    Steve Levine

    29 tracks · 1 artist

  47. 47

    Larry Smith

    28 tracks · 2 artists

  48. 48

    Terry Lewis

    28 tracks · 2 artists

  49. 49

    Michael James Jackson

    28 tracks · 1 artist

  50. 50

    Arif Mardin

    27 tracks · 3 artists

Before 1980 Top 50 producers by tracks produced on albums released before 1980

233 producers have a credit on one of the 558 albums released before 1980, counted across their 5,885 tracks. This view ranks the top 50 by tracks produced.

  1. 1

    Felton Jarvis

    209 tracks · 1 artist

  2. 2

    Jerry Wexler

    194 tracks · 3 artists

  3. 3

    George Martin

    191 tracks · 1 artist

  4. 4

    Don Law

    158 tracks · 1 artist

  5. 5

    Lee Gillette

    157 tracks · 2 artists

  6. 6

    Bob Johnston

    149 tracks · 3 artists

  7. 7
  8. 8

    William "Smokey" Robinson

    124 tracks · 1 artist

  9. 9

    Gus Dudgeon

    114 tracks · 2 artists

  10. 10

    John Farrar

    113 tracks · 1 artist

  11. 11

    Andrew Loog Oldham

    110 tracks · 1 artist

  12. 12

    Bob Ezrin

    104 tracks · 3 artists

  13. 13

    Arif Mardin

    93 tracks · 2 artists

  14. 14

    Hank Cosby

    93 tracks · 1 artist

  15. 15

    Bob Ferguson

    92 tracks · 1 artist

  16. 16

    Larry Butler

    88 tracks · 1 artist

  17. 17

    Roy Thomas Baker

    87 tracks · 3 artists

  18. 18

    David Briggs

    86 tracks · 2 artists

  19. 19

    Steve Sholes

    85 tracks · 1 artist

  20. 20

    Jimmy Miller

    83 tracks · 3 artists

  21. 21

    Clarence Paul

    76 tracks · 1 artist

  22. 22

    Chet Atkins

    75 tracks · 1 artist

  23. 23

    Norman Whitfield

    69 tracks · 1 artist

  24. 24

    Robert Mersey

    68 tracks · 2 artists

  25. 25

    Bill Ham

    59 tracks · 1 artist

  26. 26

    Charlie Bragg

    59 tracks · 1 artist

  27. 27

    Hal Davis

    56 tracks · 3 artists

  28. 28

    Pete Bellotte

    56 tracks · 2 artists

  29. 29

    Clyde Otis

    56 tracks · 1 artist

  30. 30

    Jimmy Bowen

    56 tracks · 1 artist

  31. 31

    Tom Catalano

    56 tracks · 1 artist

  32. 32

    Voyle Gilmore

    55 tracks · 2 artists

  33. 33

    Norman Granz

    54 tracks · 1 artist

  34. 34

    Tony Visconti

    53 tracks · 1 artist

  35. 35

    Tim Mulligan

    49 tracks · 1 artist

  36. 36

    Dave Cavanaugh

    48 tracks · 2 artists

  37. 37

    Ahmet Ertegun

    48 tracks · 1 artist

  38. 38

    Bruce Welch

    48 tracks · 1 artist

  39. 39

    Sid Feller

    46 tracks · 1 artist

  40. 40

    Tom Wilson

    46 tracks · 1 artist

  41. 41

    Jack Douglas

    44 tracks · 2 artists

  42. 42

    George Young

    44 tracks · 1 artist

  43. 43

    Harry Vanda

    44 tracks · 1 artist

  44. 44

    Ken Scott

    44 tracks · 1 artist

  45. 45

    Giorgio Moroder

    43 tracks · 1 artist

  46. 46
  47. 47

    Glyn Johns

    40 tracks · 2 artists

  48. 48

    Joe Wissert

    40 tracks · 1 artist

  49. 49

    Mike Vernon

    38 tracks · 2 artists

  50. 50

    Bill Szymczyk

    38 tracks · 1 artist

The other half of the credit

The writers behind the words

Every record on this board arrived as somebody's lyric and somebody's melody first. 28,367 writers are indexed from the same credit rows, ranked the same way and filterable by the same decades.

See the songwriters board

Want to see what this does to a single artist's score? Put two of them side by side.

Photo credits

Every portrait on this page came from Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons licence or in the public domain, and the licences ask that the photographer travels with the picture. 90 photos are used across the boards above, each one credited here. All of them are resized for the board and some are cropped to frame the face; nothing else about them has been changed.