Alright, this question comes up constantly so I'm gonna go ahead and end it with this thread...
First and foremost you need to be practicing to slower beats (around 95-115 bpm). Why so slow?
1. You need to learn to hit the beats. This is far easier with slower tracks and will allow you to do a large range of steps without rushing to keep up with the beat.
2. To learn the proper technique you need to go slow before you can go fast.
3. It's far easier to keep your tops "loose" when you're practicing to slower beats. A lot of that has to do with the fact that you're just stepping on the snare and can go at a relaxed pace without having to rush or force anything. As you progress in skill this relaxation will carry over as you start practicing to faster beats.
Also, you should be dancing to FUNK. Funk has lots of elements to it like horns, vocals, changes in the beats, etc that just aren't present in other genres. Not to mention that funk is the backbone for b-boying. If it wasn't for the breaks present in these songs, this dance wouldn't exist. Period. The steps, the attitude, and the style of the dance grow directly out of the funk genre. Listening to funk will help add an element of "soul" to your tops.
Whenever your practice, bounce on the balls of your feet like a boxer, shake your head, loosen your shoulders, shake your arms out, and then start stepping out lightly on the snares. Don't force anything. Don't concentrate too hard. Don't worry about your hands or anything else. Don't worry about any particular steps. Just work on staying relaxed and stepping out on the snare. As you get comfortable your body will naturally start finding something to do.
Some of my favorite songs to practice tops to (in order of speed)
"Baby Don't Cry" - Third Guitar
"Rocksteady" - Aretha Franklin
"Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" - James Brown
"40 Days" - Billy Brooks
"Rock Creek Park" - The Blackbyrds
"Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" - James Brown
"I Believe in Miracles" - Jackson Sisters
"Come Down" - Beginning of the End
"The Mexican" - Babe Ruth
"Razor Blade" - Little Royal
"Woman" - Barrabas
Those all have a lot of elements you can work on rocking like lyrics, horn hits, guitars, etc. once you've gotten past the basic "step on the snare"
You can get the tracks off our breaks database here:
AlphaTrion's Playlist
Let's get some perspective on toprock...
There's a lot of people coming on here and going "My toprock is awful" and they've only been dancing about 6 months (usually far, far less). Toprock isn't a move. It isn't about mechanics or momentum like power moves or freezes. It's about attitude and style. That takes time...lots of time. For me, it took about 3 years to get to a point where I was comfortable with my toprock and 6 years to actually be happy with it. I'm now 8 years into this and I still feel like I have a lot of room for improvement. Most b-boys who have been doing this for a while that I've talked to feel the same. On average it seems to take at least 2 to 3 years where people feel like their toprock is decent.
Chances are, you're reading this and probably getting a bit discouraged. But b-boying isn't something you learn within a few years, then you've got it. It's a constant learning process. If you ask people that have been in the game for decades, they'll tell you that they're still learning. So my point is you just have to keep practicing, stay relaxed, and don't get discouraged.
