The Swiss Music Charts (German: Schweizer Hitparade) are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.

The Swiss Charts include:

Since 2010, Media Control began enlisting also the highest-selling singles and albums in Romandie, the Francophone region of Switzerland:

The weekly updated charts are released on Sundays, and are posted publicly on the preceding Wednesday evenings.

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40.

There are lots of different criteria used in different charts used to reflect popularity, commonly: sales of records, cassettes and compact discs; the amount of radio airplay; and (recently) the number of downloads.

Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to a particular geographical location (although download charts are not easily pinned down in this way). The most common period of time covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure the commercial success of individual songs.

A chart hit is an extremely popular recording, identified by its inclusion in a chart that uses sales or other criteria to rank popular releases. Chart-topper and related terms (like No. 1 hit, top of the charts, chart hit, and so forth) are widely used in common conversation and in marketing, and are loosely defined. In North America, the weekly charts from Billboard magazine are most often referenced (quite often internationally, as well), particularly the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and Billboard 200 album chart, although there are many other charts and sources. Because of its value in promoting recording artists and releases, both directly to the consumer, and by encouraging exposure on radio, TV other media, chart positioning has long been a subject of scrutiny and controversy. Chart compilation methodology and data sources vary, ranging from buzz charts based on opinions of various experts and tastemakers, to charts that reflect empirical data such as retail sales. Therefore, a chart-topper may be anything from an "insiders' pick" to a runaway seller.

Switzerland has long had a distinct cultural identity, despite its diversity of German, French, Italian, Romansh and other ethnicities. Religious and folk music dominated the country until the 17th century, with growth in production of other kinds of music occurring slowly.

One of Switzerland's earliest composers was Ludwig Senfl (circa 1486-1554). The first music conservatory in the country was founded in Geneva in 1835. Composers like Hans George Naegeli and festivals like the Fête des Vignerons helped establish a classical music tradition, and the Swiss Musicians Association was founded in 1900.

The twentieth century saw a rise in the prominence of Swiss composers, amongst them Othmar Schoeck, Ernest Bloch, Frank Martin, Rolf Liebermann, and perhaps most famously Arthur Honegger, whose portrait of a steam train, Pacific 231, has entered the core repertoire. Both Martin and Honegger spent much of their careers in other European nations: Martin in the Netherlands and Honegger in France. Prominent contemporary Swiss composers include Klaus Huber and Heinz Holliger (who is also an oboe virtuoso).

Mike Candys (born 21 August 1981) is a Swiss music producer and house DJ.

In 2008, he became widely known in Switzerland with the song La Serenaissima. In 2009, Candys found success after collaborating with Jack Holiday in a remix of the Faithless song Insomnia, which reached the top 10 in various European singles charts. His third single, People Hold On, is ranked fourth in the 2010 European club charts and was followed by Together Again, which helped him to become internationally recognized. In 2011, he again reached the top of the charts with One Night In Ibiza, a track that contains elements of 1990s eurodance, alternating between female vocalist Evelyn Zangger and rapper Patrick Miller. The song is an answer to Welcome to St. Tropez by Swiss DJ Antoine and Timati. In March 2012, Mike Candys released 2012 (If The World Would End) that became immediately a top 10 hit in German speaking countries. It is so far his most successful single.

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H. Hart, reprinted in 1992 with revisions. It is a ranking of the 100 people who, according to Hart, most influenced human history.

The first person on Hart's list is the Prophet of Islam Muhammad. Hart asserted that Muhammad was "supremely successful" in both the religious and secular realms. He also believed that Muhammad's role in the development of Islam was far more influential than Jesus' collaboration in the development of Christianity. He attributes the development of Christianity to St. Paul, who played a pivotal role in its dissemination."

The 1992 revisions included the demotion of figures associated with Communism, such as Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, and the introduction of Mikhail Gorbachev. Hart took sides in the Shakespearean authorship issue and substituted Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for William Shakespeare. Hart also substituted Niels Bohr and Henri Becquerel with Ernest Rutherford, thus correcting an error in the first edition. Henry Ford was also promoted from the "Honorary Mentions" list, replacing Pablo Picasso. Finally, some of the rankings were re-ordered, although no one listed in the top ten changed position.