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 start the final quarter of this chart with the one remaining song tied for 50th place with 49 plays through the four tracks with 51 plays apiece, good enough for 41st place since my stats began in late 2007.
#50: The Beatles – Helter Skelter
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 8/15/2024
Previous ranking: #51
Considered by music historians as a key influence in the development of heavy metal, the song has added nine new plays over the past five years.
#45: The Lonely Island – Lazy Sunday (ft. Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 10/18/2024
Previous ranking: #29
A bit of a drop down the charts for the original SNL digital short that put the Lonely Island on the pop culture map and defined the phrase “viral video”.
#45: Foo Fighters – Everlong
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 3/29/2024
Previous ranking: #33
Recorded live in London’s Hyde Park, the song added five additional listens over these past five years.
#45: Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 10/21/2024
Previous ranking: #60
A medley of three 19th century songs: Dixie, a blackface minstrel song that became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy since the Civil War; All My Trials, originally a Bahamian lullaby, but closely related to African American spirituals; and The Battle Hymn of the Republic, the marching song of the Union Army during the Civil War.
#45: Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg – Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 3/20/2024
Previous ranking: #43
The first single from Dr. Dre’s solo debut, which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the hip-hop song of the decade by XXL magazine.
3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.
#36: Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains (Live)