Tag / iTunes

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #2

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.

Today, we have our penultimate entry with the artist I’ve listened to the second most over the last 13-ish years.  Formed in Liverpool, England in 1960, I present to you the Fab Four, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.  Collectively known as The Beatles.

#2: The Beatles
iTunes stats: 2147 plays
Previous ranking: #2

Arriving on US shores in early 1964, The Beatles put together what is today considered a catalog of thirteen studio albums and one compilation.  Those releases are the core of the 99 tracks that make up their 2147 plays, for an average of 21.7 listens per track.  Their counts would be even higher, but their totals were reset in 2009 when I replaced the original CD releases from the 1980s with a remastered box set.

While the band broke up four years before I was born following the release of 1970’s Let It Be, I have managed to see Paul McCartney in concert twice, first at Wrigley Field in 2011 and then again at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in 2017.  His touring band puts on quite a show and I’m sure I’d be interested if and when he comes back through town again, assuming the price was reasonable.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #3

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.

Today, we have our final entry from a comedian with the artist I first “discovered” in 1989 with his role as Rufus in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure followed by an HBO comedy special the following year, George Carlin.

#3: George Carlin
iTunes stats: 2102 plays
Previous ranking: #3

A 22% increase for the 117 tracks from eight different albums leaves the comedy legend, who died in 2008 at the same position.  Averaging nearly 18 plays per routine, many of these tracks, mostly from 1992’s Jammin’ In New York and 2001’s Complaints and Grievances, are used as background noise as I try to fall asleep while away from home.  Like our previous comedian entries, I’ve enjoyed Carlin’s work in other mediums as well, whether it was television, movies, or the written word.  Sadly, I never got the opportunity to see him perform live.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #4

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.

Widely known for his stand-up performances and his role as Spence Olchin The King of Queens, Patton Oswalt checks in today at #4.  Oswalt began performing stand-up comedy in 1988, eventually moving from Virginia to San Francisco and then Los Angeles, where he became part of the comedy scene.

#4: Patton Oswalt
iTunes stats: 1402 plays
Previous ranking: #4

Funnyman Patton Oswalt stays level from five years ago, despite a small 9.7% increase thanks to 124 new listens to the 135 comedy bits in my collection.  In addition to the seven comedy albums, I’ve also read his book and, in 2018, saw him do a talk, moderated by author Gillian Flynn, about his late wife’s book, about the search for the Golden State Killer.  Little did he, or anyone, know, the next day Sacramento police announced that they had made an arrest in the case.

I recently added his latest two comedy albums via iTunes and I hope to one day make it to one of his live shows.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #5

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.

Today, we break into the top five as we approach the top of our chart.  Born out of the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 and the subsequent breakup of Nirvana, our next entry is the Dave Grohl solo project that turned into the real live band known as Foo Fighters.

 

#5: Foo Fighters
iTunes stats: 1249 plays
Previous ranking: #5

Adding listens to an additional six songs, pushing them up to 54 tracks, helped the Foo Fighters raise their total by nearly 22%, leaving them static in their spot on the charts.  Their most popular song, a live version of My Hero from a concert in London’s Hyde Park in 2006, clocks in with 68 listens, while twelve different tracks bring up the rear with only a single play.

I’ve managed to see the band in concert twice: first in 2005 and again in 2015.  The first show was an indoor affair at the Allstate Arena, where they were touring with Weezer, who got things started by mixing a cover of Big Me into their set.  Once the Foo Fighters came out, they mixed in old hits with selections from their new album for a fun, 16-song set.  They also managed to break down some of their hits with elongated guitar solos that gave the audience an opportunity to thrash themselves as much as humanly possible.

Ten years later, I saw them for the second time at Wrigley Field.  Having broken his leg over two months earlier, Dave Grohl spent the show sitting in an electric throne that could bring him out into the crowd thanks to an extended stage.  The band wasted no time in getting things started, blowing out Everlong and Monkey Wrench straight out of the gate.  Over 2 and a half hours and 21 songs later, they closed down the joint with a rousing rendition of Best of You.  In between, they put on a hell of a show, featuring their own hits along with some snippets of hits from Van Halen, Yes, and Alice Cooper.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #6

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.

Today, we continue today with the musical comedy duo that takes the sixth spot on our charts and move our play count into four digits for the first time.  Comedians Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci combine forces and take the stage as Garfunkel and Oates.

 

 

#6: Garfunkel and Oates
iTunes stats: 1159 plays
Previous ranking: #6

Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, performing as Garfunkel and Oates since 2007, stay steady on the charts despite increasing their play total by 24%, an increase of 226 listens.  Those were spread amongst 49 songs from five different releases, including one Christmas single.  I’ve had plenty of exposure to the duo over the years, including a television show and a concert or two, at Abbey Pub and the House of Blues.

The first show, at Abbey Pub in 2013, had the girls came out and do their thing, mixing banter between themselves with their comedic songs.  In addition to the “hits” from their existing albums, they performed some of their newer songs, including Bernadette’s Song, which they wrote and had debuted on The Big Bang Theory the night before, and God’s Loophole, an exciting ditty about anal sex.  Once the show finished, both Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci came out to sign autographs and take pictures.  I got their autographs on my tickets and got my picture taken with both of them.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #7

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.

Formed in 1990 after the demise of Mother Love Bone following the death of singer Andrew Wood, Pearl Jam checks in today at #7 as we continue with the top ten.  The new group burst onto the Seattle grunge scene in 1991 and, by the second half of 1992, became a worldwide sensation.

#7: Pearl Jam
iTunes stats: 874 plays
Previous ranking: #8

The grunge godfathers move up one spot thanks to a nearly 34% increase in plays.  Their 874 plays, an increase of 221, come from 42 tracks spread between twelve different albums.  Go, my most listened to of their songs, benefited from being used as the walkup song for White Sox star Paul Konerko’s final seasons and its inclusion on my various victory playlists.

I’ve seen them in concert twice: at Soldier Field back in 1995 and Wrigley Field in 2018.  The first show took place during the tour they put on without using Ticketmaster, which led to a lottery for tickets. Pearl Jam came out and performed an astounding 29 song set, including 2 encores.  My favorite memory of the night was during the performance of Better Man, when my friend Joe, not understanding the meaning of the song, said that all of the girls sang it about him, that they couldn’t find a better man.  Ironically, this was my last visit to old Soldier Field, which would be “renovated” in 2001 and 2002.

The second show, more than 20 years later, came a long time since I had last considered myself a Pearl Jam fan.  The show, while entertaining, certainly dragged for long periods between songs that I knew as the last album that I owned came out prior to the 1995 show.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #8

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 continue today with twin sisters who bonded in high school over a love of music following the discovery of their stepdad’s guitar.  My eighth most listened to artist: Sara Quin and Tegan Quin, known professionally as the band Tegan & Sara.

#8: Tegan and Sara
iTunes stats: 847 plays
Previous ranking: #7

Tegan and Sara entered my consciousness in the early 2000s, when I Hear Noises started to get some airplay on WXRT and someone gave me an MP3 knowing I would be into it.  Since then, I’ve seen them in concert, read their book. and listened to their music, with 84 songs, 61 of which I’ve listened to, from ten different albums in my collection.  They’ve dropped down one spot on the charts, despite a nearly 29% increase in listens over the past five years.  

I saw them in concert in October of 2005, at the end of what was a very busy week.  Prior to the show, I settled in at Rock Bottom in River North to watch the end of Game 3 of the ALDS as the White Sox finished off their sweep of the Red Sox.  After the game, a group of us hopped on the Red Line and headed north to Wrigleyville to check out Tegan and Sara at the Metro.  To be honest, I don’t remember much about the show at all.  The album they were touring in support of, So Jealous, is one of my favorites and I’m sure I enjoyed the performance.  But, my favorite baseball team was headed for the ALCS, I’d just been to two playoff games, and the Weezer and Foo Fighters show was earlier that week.  It’s all sort of jumbled together at this point.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #9

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.

Formed in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, this band released their first album in 1975 and have been rocking the world ever since, selling more than 200 million records worldwide.  At #9, we have the powerhouse group known as AC/DC.

#9: AC/DC
iTunes stats: 748 plays
Previous ranking: #10

The Australian hard rockers move up one slot from their previous ranking thanks to 20 songs, from seven different albums, which increased by 34%.  The most popular song, Thunderstruck, has a tremendous amount of plays due to the White Sox use of it when running out on to the field and its inclusion on my various victory playlists.  Another entry, Back In Black, has also made an appearance or two over the years, most recently thanks to former catcher James McCann’s use as his walkup song.

In 2015, I saw the band in concert in Toronto, at Downsview Park.  I’d be lying if I said that seeing AC/DC was at the top of my to-do list musically speaking.  In fact, they were playing Wrigley Field the following week, and I had passed on the chance to get tickets.  But, as a wise man once said, you only live once, and, seeing as this is potentially their last go-around, I guess you can say that I’m glad to have seen them.  After missing the opening act thanks to traffic, we got to the show just as AC/DC were starting.  The show itself was both good and bad.  The songs are what you expect, but there was no real flow, probably due to the band’s conditioning, or lack thereof.  After each song, the lights went down and there was a brief break before the next song would begin.  The net result of this was a disjointed experience, where each song stood on its own without there being any coherence in the set.  This ended up being their last tour with Brian Johnson before the unfortunate Axl Rose experiment, so I guess I’m glad I saw them when I did.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #10

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.

Today, we break into the top ten and slow down the pace a bit, taking one act at a time.  Hailing from Sheffield, England, this group pushed through devastating personal injury and untimely death to become the breakout stars of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s.  At #10, we have the band known as Def Leppard.

#10: Def Leppard
iTunes stats: 722 plays
Previous ranking: #11

One of only five rock bands to have two studio albums sell more than 10 million copies in the US, Def Leppard moves up one spot to crack the top ten.  With 43 separate tracks that have listens coming from eight different albums, legit or otherwise, the band added 196 new plays over the past five years, rising 37%.  Surprisingly, Let’s Get Rocked is my most listened to song, while a couple of bootleg live tracks check in with a single listen.

I was able to see them in concert back in the summer of 1993 at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park.  Given that this was 30-some odd years ago now, my main memory of the show is lead singer Joe Elliot trying to curry favor with the crowd by wearing a Chicago Bulls t-shirt.  Judging by the setlist posted on the Interwebs, it was a pretty solid show, with all of their big hits being covered, including their then-latest from the Last Action Hero soundtrack.  Given my fandom for the band at the time, I’m glad I got the chance to see them live at the time.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #11-20

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 continue today with our final batch of ten artists, bringing us to the brink of the top ten.

#20: Nirvana
iTunes stats: 495 plays
Previous ranking: #20

The seven-time Grammy nominees, and one time winner, stay even on the charts thanks to 121 new listens, good for a 32% increase.

#19: R.E.M.
iTunes stats: 503 plays
Previous ranking: #18

The 2007 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picked up 115 additional plays over the past five years, dropping them one spot.

#18: Elvis Presley
iTunes stats: 510 plays
Previous ranking: #16

The King of Rock & Roll, who died in 1977, adds 111 plays to his total from five years ago, dropping two spots in the rankings.

#17: Taylor Swift
iTunes stats: 212 plays
Previous ranking: #38

The fourteen-time Grammy winner, who is halfway towards an EGOT, saw a 158% increase with 336 new plays, thanks in part to a many new albums added to the collection.

#15: Alanis Morissette
iTunes stats: 576 plays
Previous ranking: #15

The former You Can’t Do That on Television star, who I saw in 1996 at the New World Music Theater, added 161 new listens to steady even in the rankings.

#15: Bon Jovi
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