BACKGROUND: The number of times an article has been cited has been used as a marker of its influence in a medical specialty. The purpose of this study was to determine the 50 most cited articles in shoulder surgery and their characteristics. METHODS: Science Citation Index Expanded was searched for citations of articles published in any of the 61 journals in the category "Orthopedics." Each of the journals was searched to determine the 50 most often cited articles specific to shoulder surgery. The following characteristics were determined for each article: authors, year of publication, source journal, geographic origin, article type, and level of evidence for clinical articles. Citation density (total number of citations/years since publication) was also determined. RESULTS: The number of citations ranged from 1211 to 192. The 50 most often cited articles were published in 8 journals. The majority of the articles (42) were clinical, with the remaining representing some type of basic science research. The most common level of evidence was IV (23). The mean number of citations for methodologic articles (437 citations per article) was greater than that for non-methodologic articles (301 citations per article) (P = .034). CONCLUSIONS: Articles that introduced instruments for outcome evaluation or that introduced classification systems (methodologic) were highly cited regardless of the date of publication. The top 50 list presented provides residency and fellowship directors with a group of "classic" articles in the subspecialty of orthopedic shoulder surgery that can be included in reading curriculums for their trainees.