It’s hard to predict what the most popular ringtones are going to be at any given moment. Sure, you have the Top 40 hits to go by. But some songs make better ring tones than others.

Popular Hip Hop Ringtones

I’ve noticed that the hip hop genre fills up the Top 20 lists of many ringtone service providers. That’s probably because these songs tend to have a good beat and an instantly recognizable hook.

Some of the more popular ringtones right now are songs by Chamillionaire, Young Dro, Yung Roc and D4L. Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ (Ridin’ Dirty)” seems omnipresent. “Laffy Taffy” by D4L is another of the hot tunes at the moment.

Kelis adds a hip hop flavor to her R&B hits. Her latest single, “Bossy”, brings the kind of attitude that made “Milkshake” such a phenomenon.

Of course, songs by rap mainstays are constantly near the top of the ringtone and realtone charts. At any given moment, you’ll find several hits or collaborations featuring Usher, Nelly, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West.

Popular Latin Beat Ringtones

Latin beats are in high demand, too. Shakira’s Hips “Don’t Lie” may be the most popular download on the internet. Speaking of Brazilian hotties, Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” makes it onto a number of the most wanted lists.

Other bands registering ringtone powerhouses are Black Eyed Peas with “My Humps”, Pussycat Dolls with “Don’t Cha” and Rihanna with “S.O.S.” and “Unfaithful”.

Other Ringtones Whose Popularity Might Surpise You

But there are other ringtone genres just as popular. Of all things, the theme song from the classic NES game, Super Mario Bros., pops up on most wanted list after most wanted list.

Another selection you might not expect is the theme to the Halloween movie. John Carpenter’s score is a creepy classic, but I wouldn’t expect it to be so popular after all these years.

There are other movie ring tones that get lots of play. It doesn’t surprise me that the theme to Mission Impossible is a favorite download. The movie was recently out, and it remains one of the most instantly recognizable tunes from television and movies.

The Daniel Powter hit, “Bad Day”, is making a comeback. It was everywhere a year or so ago, but died away like most Top 40 hits. But when “Bad Day” became a weekly standard on American Idol, the song shot back up the ringtone charts.

The O’Jays hit, “For the Love of Money”, owes its resurgence to television, too. It is the theme song for the Donald Trump vehicle, The Apprentice.

Pop and Country Music Ringtones

There are songs from other pop genres, too. Country is represented by a band like Rascal Flatts, whose hit “What Hurts The Most” is found on several most wanted lists. Alternative rock scores its hits, with songs like “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day.

Finding out which ringtones are currently popular these days is actually not that hard. It’s actually as simple as visiting some of the more popular ringtone services like Jamster.com Ringtone Jukebox.com.

Randy is amused by the variety of cell phone ringtones that are available on the market, even though he doesn’t own a cell phone himself.