We last counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library four years ago. Since that time, the world has literally changed, and my commute has decreased from 1+ hours each way to 25 steps. So, despite the decrease in potential listening time, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through the morning of January 1, 2022.
We begin the second quarter of our chart with the next batch of ten albums that I have listened to the most over the last 15 years, including two compilations, two albums from bands I’ve seen live in concert, and one movie soundtrack.
#150: Various Artists – Billboard Top Hits 1988
iTunes stats: 83 plays
Previous Ranking: 190
Five tracks from this compilation of the biggest hits of 1988, from artists like Billy Ocean, The Escape Club, and Bobby McFerrin, amongst others, nearly doubled its plays over the past four years to rise 40 slots on the chart.
#149: Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion I
iTunes stats: 84 plays
Previous Ranking: 151
The third studio album from the band, released the same day as its companion album Use Your Illusion II and which I bought during finals week after my first semester in college, increased its listens by nearly 65%.
#148: Various Artists – Austin Powers
iTunes stats: 86 plays
Previous Ranking: 117
The soundtrack to the original Austin Powers film, released in 1997 and featuring the work of artists like Strawberry Alarm Clock and Divinyls, uses four songs to increase its plays by 23.
#147: Nirvana – In Utero
iTunes stats: 87 plays
Previous Ranking: 125
The final studio album from Nirvana, released in 1993 just six months before Kurt Cobain’s death, added 27 new listens to the four tracks out of twelve that I’ve listened to.
#145: The Beatles – With The Beatles
iTunes stats: 88 plays
Previous Ranking: 147
This 1963 album, like all of the Beatles studio albums, would be much higher, but I lost all of the old counts for their albums when I upgraded to the remastered versions in 2009.