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 continue this week with the final batch of songs tied for 158th place with 37 plays apiece and move on to the first group of songs with 38 plays since my stats began in late 2007, good for 145th place.
#158: The Beatles – Help!
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 3/31/2024
Previous ranking: #98
A mere three new plays in the last five years for this title track from both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album.
#158: Aerosmith – Janie’s Got a Gun
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 1/4/2022
Previous ranking: #170
This Grammy winner for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1990 has somehow picked up seven new listens despite having gone unheard in over three years.
#158: Aerosmith – Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 10/28/2024
Previous ranking: #170
The 1987 hit, which earned the band their first VMA nominations, for Best Group Video and Best Stage Performance, picked up seven new plays in the last five years.
#145: The Wonders – That Thing You Do
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 10/29/2021
Previous ranking: #98
The theme song from the 1996 movie of the same name, about a band that hits it big in the 60s before disintegrating before they can record a follow up, has somehow not been heard in over three years.
#145: No Doubt – Just A Girl
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 11/13/2023
Previous ranking: NR
The band’s first charting single in the US, which spent 29 weeks on the Hot 100, topping out at #23, added 36 plays since I upgraded to the iPhone 5S in September of 2013.
#145: Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 1/18/2022
Previous ranking: #98
It has somehow been over three years since I’ve heard this song written by bassist Nikki Six about an overdose where he was declared clinically dead before two adrenaline shots to the heart brought him back to life.
#145: Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 9/25/2024
Previous ranking: #125
Ranked as the 468th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2021, the track, which reached #3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994, picked up six new plays in the last five years.
#145: Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 12/18/2024
Previous ranking: NR
The 89th biggest pop hit of 1999 on the Hot 100 makes its first appearance on this chart, just weeks after the artist was accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
#145: Hole – Celebrity Skin
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 4/17/2024
Previous ranking: #144
A drop of a single spot for Hole’s most commercially successful single, the only one to reach the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, thanks to seven new plays.
#145: Garbage – Cherry Lips (Live)
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 8/9/2024
Previous ranking: #170
Used as the home run song by the Brewers, this live version of the song was performed at Chicago’s Virgin Megastore and broadcast live on WXRT.