From January 12 to November 22, 1980, RPM magazine published a chart for top-performing singles in the adult contemporary or easy listening categories in Canada. The chart, entitled Adult Oriented Playlist in 1980, has undergone numerous name changes and has become Adult Contemporary (or Contemporary Adult) from June 1981 to September 1988, and May 1989 until the magazine's final publication in November 2000. In 1980, thirty-two individual songs topped the chart, which contained 50 positions. By late 1980, the chart was only published every two weeks, and went into hiatus in November 29, restarting publication then simply as Adult Oriented in June 1981, and becoming Contemporary Adult and Adult Contemporary for the rest of the magazine's existence.
An asterisk (*) indicates an unpublished weekly chart, either due to the special double issues RPM publishes for the year-end top singles charts or the chart being published only every two weeks (as from September 27 until the chart's hiatus).