The earliest incarnation of the chart was first published on February 21, 1992 by a music industry trade publication The Hard Report. It was included in the January 20, 1996 edition of
Billboard, as a feature in
Billboard sister publication
Airplay Monitor. In 2006,
Airplay Monitor ceased publication after
Billboard parent company
VNU Media's acquisition of rival radio trade magazine
Radio & Records, which then subsequently incorporated
Airplay Monitors Nielsen-based Triple A chart.
Billboard itself began publishing the Triple A chart in the issue dated July 5, 2008, through their Billboard.biz website, appropriating the same airplay data as
Radio & Records. In February 2014, the chart's reporting panel was expanded from 23 to 32 stations, including non-commercial reporters for the first time. Following a re-design of their website,
Billboard officially incorporated the history of the
Airplay Monitor/Nielsen chart from 1996 to 2008 into their Adult Alternative Songs chart. The
Billboard website and its official chart archive now show the first Adult Alternative Songs chart as having been published on January 20, 1996, with "
The World I Know" by
Collective Soul as its first number one single. Radio And Records first charted their Adult Alternative chart in the September 22, 1995, issue. It was a 30 position chart, and "
Til I Hear It from You" by the
Gin Blossoms was the first number one. ==All-time achievements==