Music. It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions. It is the universal language that speaks to the soul. It forms the soundtrack of our lives.
It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007. It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray. So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.
We kick things off today with the first ten songs tied for 183rd place with 36 plays apiece since my stats began in late 2007.
#183: Warrant – Cherry Pie
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 5/30/2024
Previous ranking: #125
Written in fifteen minutes after the label’s president wanted a “rock anthem”, the lead single from the group’s second studio album added just four new listens over these past five years.
#183: Tom Cochrane – Life is a Highway
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 4/14/2024
Previous ranking: NR
Cochrane’s sole hit in the US, peaking at #6 on the Hot 100, he first started working on it in the 1970s as a member of Red Rider.
#183: Thomas Newman – Six Feet Under Title Theme
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 7/29/2024
Previous ranking: NR
An additional 19 listens over the past nine years has pushed this theme from the HBO series that premiered in 2001.
#183: Tegan and Sara – I Bet It Stung
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 4/22/2024
Previous ranking: NR
This album track from the duo’s fourth studio album re-enters the chart after nine years thanks to 16 new plays.
#183: Tegan and Sara – Hell
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 11/8/2023
Previous ranking: #112
Featured on the group’s sixth studio album, it picked up only three new listens over the past five years, dropping 81 spots.
#183: Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 3/11/2024
Previous ranking: NR
One of the band’s biggest hits, it spent fifteen weeks atop the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart between 1994 and 1995.
#183: Rancid – Time Bomb
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 11/18/2023
Previous ranking: #144
The highest ranking of Rancid’s releases on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, it added five new listens over the past five years, dropping 39 spots in the rankings.
#183: Pearl Jam – Alive
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 10/27/2024
Previous ranking: NR
The debut single from the iconic grunge band, the song, as an instrumental, was included in the group’s demo looking for a new singer and Eddie Vedder added the lyrics, which got him the gig with the band.
#183: No Doubt – Spiderwebs
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 11/7/2022
Previous ranking: NR
The second single from the band’s breakthrough third studio album, it peaked at #5 on the Alternative Airplay charts in 1996.
#183: Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 2/9/2024
Previous ranking: #144
The lead single from the trio’s second studio album, it is credited with pushing grunge music into the mainstream. It has picked up just five new plays over the past five years, leading to a 39-spot drop.