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 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007. It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray. So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.
We kick things off today with our first batch of ten artists, covering the genres of pop, rock, and hip-hop. We only have one performer who is a newcomer, at least as a solo artist, to the list this week.
#195: Naughty By Nature
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #182
Formed in East Orange, New Jersey in 1986, the Grammy award winners added eleven new plays to the two seminal rap tunes that grace my collection.
#195: Fall Out Boy
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #194
The local band, founded in 2001 and named after a character from The Simpsons, picked up fourteen new listens spread across the two songs in my collection, one of which spent the 2015 season as the running-onto-the-field music for the White Sox.
#195: Stan Bush
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #178
The star of the TransFormers: The Movie soundtrack has two tracks comprise his total, which increased by ten listens over the past five years.
#195: The Cure
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #188
One of the originators of the Goth Rock scene of the early 80s, The Cure, founded in 1976 in England, use two tracks to make up their total, which increased by thirteen over five years ago.
#195: The Juliana Hatfield Three
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #197
After breaking up with the Blake Babies, Juliana Hatfield put together this band in 1993 before going solo, which rises two slots on this chart after garnering fifteen new listens across its two tracks, including one from the Reality Bites soundtrack.
#195: Sixpence None The Richer
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #188
Named after a passage from a CS Lewis book, the Christian alternative rock band founded in Texas spread their thirteen new plays across four different tracks.
#191: The Dandy Warhols
iTunes stats: 60 plays
Previous ranking: #148
Another big 43-spot drop for the Portland-based band responsible for the original Veronica Mars theme song, thanks to only three new listens over these past five years.
#191: The Breeders
iTunes stats: 60 plays
Previous ranking: #178
Started by the Deal sisters following the breakup of The Pixies in early 1993, the group picked up eleven new plays over the last five years.
#191: Mariah Carey
iTunes stats: 60 plays
Previous ranking: #197
The pop icon, who debuted in 1990, adds sixteen new listens to three of her hit songs, none of which are her wildly successful Christmas classic.
#191: Vince Neil
iTunes stats: 60 plays
Previous ranking: N/A
The Mötley Crüe frontman, who briefly went solo after being fired from the band in 1992, makes his debut on this chart thanks to three of those solo tracks.