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 wrap up the first half of the countdown this week with the next batch of songs tied for 99th place with 41 plays apiece since my stats began in late 2007.
#99: Styx – Come Sail Away
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 12/7/2024
Previous ranking: #79
Once used at the ballpark on days Chris Sale was pitching for the White Sox, the 1977 hit from the Chicago band added five plays since 2020.
#99: Mexican Cheerleader – American Nice
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 9/23/2023
Previous ranking: #79
Only four new plays for the song that serves as a ringtone for the band’s singer on my phone.
#99: The Lonely Island – I Just Had Sex (feat. Akon)
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #112
Released as the first single from the group’s second album, the video, featured as a Saturday Night Live digital short, features Akon, Jessica Alba, Blake Lively, and John McEnroe.
#99: Garfunkel and Oates – This Party Took a Turn for the Douche
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 10/22/2024
Previous ranking: #112
Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci add another tune to the charts.
#99: Garfunkel and Oates – Fuck You
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 7/24/2023
Previous ranking: #112
Eight new listens for this ode to wanting to be intimate with the object of your affection.
#99: Garbage – Push It
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 6/7/2023
Previous ranking: #112
The lead single from the band’s second album, about “the schizophrenia that exists when you try to reconcile your desires and demons with the need to fit in,” added eight new plays over these last five years.
#99: Divinyls – I Touch Myself
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 6/8/2024
Previous ranking: #89
This ode to self-pleasure, the lead single from the Australian band’s fourth studio album, peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and had a video directed by Michael Bay.
#99: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – End Credits (Broom Dance/Grr Argh)
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 7/18/2023
Previous ranking: #112
This jazzed-up version of the ending theme from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer added eight new plays since 2020.
#99: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Under Your Spell
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 11/5/2024
Previous ranking: #125
Amber Benson performs the song which writer Joss Whedon called “pornography” and “probably the dirtiest lyric I’ve ever written, but also very, very beautiful.”
#99: Blur – Girls & Boys
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 12/13/2024
Previous ranking: #125
Picking up nine new listens in the last five years, this lead single from the group’s third album reached #5 on the UK charts and #4 on the US Modern Rock charts.