I like listening to music, and I also like statistics about listening to music.
What were my most-played songs of the previous decade, and what do they say about me?
All this data is pulled from Last.fm, which is linked to my Spotify account. Some tracks on here were scrobbled directly through the Last.fm player. Not included are plays from CD, vinyl, or anything not connected to Last.fm, obviously.
| Song name | Artist | Number of scrobbles | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dancing On My Own | Robyn | 250 | It had to be. I'm genuinely glad this is my #1 played song ever - it's an absolute masterpiece. |
| 2 | Fembot | Robyn | 137 | This is also a very good song, albeit very much in the shadow of the one above. |
| 3 | City | Sara Bareilles | 107 | This is the live version from her first album, not the studio one from Little Voice. Good songwriting. Good enough to listen to a little under once a month for 10 years. |
| 4 | Elements | A Fine Frenzy | 105 | Ah yes, another throwback from my early Spotify days. Solid drum intro, and moody piano and synth. When I started working from home at the start of the 2010s, I'd listen to this album and artist a lot. And it's strange; I thought I'd outgrown them, but listening again, there's a crashing strength that perseveres. |
| 5 | Alexander | Charlotte Hatherley | 97 | For reasons unknown, this track's not on Spotify any more, but you can hear it on YouTube all the same. |
| 6 | Physics | Nural | 94 | Nural is no more, a shame as this was a pleasingly upbeat rocker. |
| 7 | Bad Boys | Alexandra Burke (feat. Flo Rida) | 92 | I was at a games industry event once and saw Alexandra Burke, whom I greatly admired at a time, but I didn't have the confidence to ask for an introduction. Life's full of regrets. |
| 8 | Kayleigh | Marillion | 92 | Why so high? This used to be my go-to karaoke song, so I suppose I listened to it a lot at work for practice reasons. |
| 9 | Gravity | Sara Bareilles | 92 | Another from what you could generously call my "a woman with a piano is the purest form of music" period. Again, live, not studio. |
| 10 | Amber Sky | Samantha James | 91 | Oh Samantha, what happened? Where did you go? You promise more music, and yet, alas your potential lies unfulfilled. |
| 11 | Show Me Love | Robyn | 90 | Quite high for a bonus track you won't find on the standard CD; yes, it's not the original single, but a nicely stripped-back version from later on. |
| 12 | Tonight We Fly | The Divine Comedy | 87 | A lovely composition: evocative, bittersweet. |
| 13 | Halo | Beyoncé | 85 | I am not a Beyoncé fan by any means. Why is this so high? Probably because a) it's a great song and b) it was on a work playlist, along with... |
| 14 | Breakaway | Kelly Clarkson | 85 | Yep, another one I listened to a lot at work in times gone by. |
| 15 | You Go Down Smooth | Lake Street Dive | 84 | Should be about 13 places higher. Always brings a smile to my face and gets my toes tapping. |
| 16 | Nothing Happens for a Reason | Heartsounds | 79 | "How can I sum it all up in one song? A father's love from my very first breath" A beautiful song, thrash rhythm and all. |
| 17 | Waves of Change | Samantha James | 79 | I wonder: if this song were added to Spotify nowadays, would I give it the time of day? Probably. Soothing in a generic sort of way. |
| 18 | Maybe Tomorrow | Samantha James | 76 | Sam, really, it's time. |
| 19 | September | Daughtry | 74 | You know when you're younger and you think you've found great songwriting? |
| 20 | Party in the U.S.A. | Miley Cyrus | 73 | 73 times in 10 years doesn't sound like a lot, but it certainly feels like it. |
| 21 | With Every Heartbeat | Robyn (feat. Kleerup) | 71 | I am shocked to see this outside the top 10, let alone top 20. A favourite, in all its anguish, all its pain, all its heart. |
| 22 | Missing U | Robyn | 69 | This 2018 release is the newest song in my top 100, and as the opening track to Honey, no surprise it's so high up. |
| 23 | Lungs Quicken | Lanterns on the Lake | 68 | Another album opener, from Lanterns' first album, Gracious Tide, Take Me Home, from when they did violins and ASMR instead of outspoken anti-Conservative sentiment and ebows. |
| 24 | If I Ain't Got You | Alicia Keys | 65 | There's a duet version of this that used to play on Last.fm that I can't find elsewhere. IT had good harmonies. |
| 25 | Now That I'm Real (How Does It Feel?) | Chad Valley | 65 | Doot doot doot, doot doot; catchy intro this. |
| 26 | You Got The Love | The Source (feat. Candi Staton) | 65 | I love the way this sounds. |
| 27 | Girls | Lefty | 64 | You might know it from the Sugar & Spice soundtrack, but I know it from the Jet Set Radio soundtrack. |
| 28 | Sea Shells | Violas | 64 | Another relic of my early Spotify days, when I presume I spnet my days listening to the same forty songs on repeat. |
| 29 | Iron | Woodkid | 64 | Lump this one with the above category. Like many, I discovered this from an Assassin's Creed trailer. |
| 30 | Biology | Girls Aloud | 63 | Samples "Club-a-Go-Go" by The Animals, of course, proving that genius steals. |
| 31 | Honey | Robyn | 63 | Soul, sex, sadness, dissatisfaction; it could only be Robyn. |
| 32 | Calgary | Bon Iver | 62 | I couldn't tell you what this song sounds like without hearing it first. It's the eighth track from this album and I've no idea why it's higher than any other. |
| 33 | Down Down Down | Charlie Simpson | 62 | Nice fingerpicked guitar from that eyebrowed guy from Busted. |
| 34 | Soak It Up | Houses | 62 | There are so many bands called Houses. This is the downtempo indie duo from Chicago. The album cover for this is really appropriate. |
| 35 | Keep On Trying | Lanterns on the Lake | 62 | More indie downtempo stuff, from our Hazel and the gang. The video's set in a bingo hall up North I believe. |
| 36 | Walk in the Sun | McFly | 62 | A fingerpick up there with Here Comes the Sun, and delicate lyrics to match. |
| 37 | Bulletproof | La Roux | 61 | Doot doot doot do doot do doot do doot, doot doot doot do doot do doot do doot, doot doot doot do doot do doot do doot (a-nerrr-anerr-anerr) |
| 38 | I'm Yours | Jason Mraz | 60 | Yes I really listened to this song 60 times, and probably 50 of those came in one year. Not something I'm proud of. |
| 39 | Too Little Too Late | JoJo | 60 | Unlike this one, which is a stone classic and a much-overlooked breakup karaoke classic. |
| 40 | About You Now | Sugababes | 60 | I'm a bit over this now, but the intro still sounds really nice. |
| 41 | Rental Love | Lake Street Dive | 58 | What a discovery this band has been. Rachael's delivery of the outro is characteristically soulful. Still wish they'd done it when we went to see them live. |
| 42 | You're Almost There | Lanterns on the Lake | 58 | Interesting to see this album split up: this is track 9 of 11, and we have 1 and 3 higher up. What about the others? |
| 43 | Atletico (The Only One) | Rae Morris | 58 | What a song! How pop music needs to sound. Plus, it's about watching someone dance, which earns bonus Robyn points. |
| 44 | The Boys of Summer | The Ataris | 58 | Have you heard this cover? It's great. |
| 45 | Telephone | Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé | 57 | I've no idea why. Presumably I liked it at the time. |
| 46 | Eclipse | Robyn | 57 | Slow Robyn is not my favourite Robyn, obviously, but she shines here, whispering over a gossamer rhythm. |
| 47 | Something Good Can Work | Two Door Cinema Club | 57 | What men like me thought good music sounded like in 2010. |
| 48 | Things Are Changin' | Gary Clark Jr. | 56 | Pure cool. |
| 49 | Baby Forgive Me | Robyn | 56 | Hannah gets goosebumps when Robyn whispers, "baby forgive me". |
| 50 | Still Alive | Lisa Miskovsky | 55 | A hangover from my game retail days. |
| 51 | Forgive Me | Missy Higgins | 55 | Heartfelt plea for forgiveness after infidelity, sung by a woman with a piano: very much my aesthetic in the early half of the last decade. |
| 52 | Wait for the Rain | Rae Morris | 55 | Would not have put this one so high up, myself, but neverthless, finely crafted pop music. Odd but endearing vocal "ee-yeah-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh"s. |
| 53 | In My Eyes | Robyn | 55 | Robyn certainly presented a sound on this album. I used to run to this song. |
| 54 | Time Will Wait | Submotion Orchestra | 55 | From the good, soulful, moody half of this album. |
| 55 | New Heights | A Fine Frenzy | 54 | Looking back at this list is like musical clothing embarrassment: "Did we really wear that?" Yes, we did. |
| 56 | The Minnow & the Trout | A Fine Frenzy | 54 | OK, I know it might seem like I'm down on A Fine Frenzy, but it's intended more as mocking my own past taste. |
| 57 | Beth/Rest | Bon Iver | 54 | I unironically love the keyboard sound in this song. |
| 58 | The Way It Is | Bruce Hornsby & the Range | 54 | Absolutely no idea. Great riff though. |
| 59 | Satellites | Samantha James | 54 | You'd think after hearing a song 50 times, your brain would be able to replay it like an mp3, but for so many of these songs, I have to load up Spotify. Recognition, not recall. |
| 60 | You'll Be Mine | The Pierces | 54 | Good song this! I just learned that the glockenspiel in this song is played by the bassist from Coldplay. |
| 61 | Sweet Disposition | The Temper Trap | 54 | Cool sound. I never went further though. |
| 62 | Maybe I Wish | Embrace | 53 | "Are we ready, are we rollin' Rick?" From the file-sharing days when gorging on b-sides and rarities from half a dozen bands was easier than discovering the new. |
| 63 | I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man | Prince | 53 | The single version is another perfect 3:41 of pop. |
| 64 | Push Me to My Limit | Rae Morris | 53 | "We are in an age of losing". Bit harsh, Rae. |
| 65 | Because It's in the Music | Robyn | 53 | That breathy rising staccato - "and it makes me want to cry" - is some of the best phrasing on this list. |
| 66 | Kaleidoscope Heart | Sara Bareilles | 53 | Lovely harmonies, as you'd expect from a former a capella group member. |
| 67 | Vienna | Ultravox | 53 | Another hangover from my early work days where I didn't have access to Spotify at work. But I still get goosebumps at that first chorus line. |
| 68 | The World Without | A Fine Frenzy | 51 | This kind of light and breezy piano pop doesn't appear on my list so much these days. |
| 69 | Fight for This Love | Cheryl Cole | 51 | What a tune this was when it first came out. I'd have liked her to do a more synth-heavy version; those intro chords are sparsely non-committal. |
| 70 | I Heard It Through the Grapevine | Marvin Gaye | 51 | There's nothing I can write about this song you don't already know. It's great. |
| 71 | Paradise Circus | Massive Attack | 51 | The opening tune to the TV show Luther, of course. |
| 72 | Subconscious | Samantha James | 51 | More lazy, lounge-y, sunset tunes from Samantha James who, according to her record label bio, "has spent years honing her estimable skills as a modern-day singer/songwriter". |
| 73 | Jimmy Mó Mhíle Stór | Cara Dillon | 50 | Years ago, Amazon cocked up and sold some digital albums for 29p, and Cara Dillon's classic folk album Hill of Thieves was one of them. I like the tin whistle in this song very much. |
| 74 | Hang with Me | Robyn | 50 | The churning synth at the beginning is exactly what Cheryl Cole was missing. |
| 75 | Human Being | Robyn | 50 | "I'm a human being" would be normal from anyone else, but considering Robyn's previous fembot persona, it's quite a transformation. |
| 76 | She Wolf | Shakira | 50 | Speaking of transformations! Hats off for the perfect use of "lycanthropy". |
| 77 | Come On, Come Out | A Fine Frenzy | 49 | Alison Sudol (aka A Fine Frenzy), like many artists, went away for a while. She came back in 2019 with the Moon EP. I might listen to it. |
| 78 | Fire and Rain | James Taylor | 49 | Atmosphere on tape. |
| 79 | Steer | Missy Higgins | 49 | Opens like a cheesy campfire singalong, before sinking into teen drama soundtrack territory at the chorus. |
| 80 | Real Girl | Mutya Buena | 49 | Mutya, this was a tune. |
| 81 | Starships | Nicki Minaj | 49 | Nicki, this was also a tune. Well done to you both. |
| 82 | Reborn | Rae Morris | 49 | Rae, you've done well here. I like the arpeggio opening, I like the drums, and I like the yelled "I am rebooooorn". Good job. |
| 83 | Monument | Royksopp (feat. Robyn) | 49 | Eight minutes of stormy morbidity from these lot. |
| 84 | Shell Suite | Chad Valley | 48 | From the Warm Bodies soundtrack, apparently. |
| 85 | waves | Miguel | 48 | I remember falling in love with this song: the bridge ecstasy, the rise and fall sublime. |
| 86 | As | Stevie Wonder | 48 | Eight minutes of genius. Won't ever sound old. |
| 87 | (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher | Jackie Wilson | 47 | Hearing this in stereo for the first time was something of a revelation. |
| 88 | Please Don't Leave Me | P!nk | 47 | First part of a Pink double-bill, apparently. I've no idea why. |
| 89 | Who Knew | P!nk | 47 | This is clearly a better song than the one above (not that I particularly like either of them, mind) |
| 90 | Jessie's Girl | Rick Springfield | 47 | Hannah loves this song. I like it too. I can already confidently say it will be on my most-played list in 10 years. |
| 91 | Send to Robin Immediately | Robyn | 47 | Opening whispers, soon hardening soulfully, challenging. |
| 92 | Holocene | Bon Iver | 46 | Pleasing, ripe for parody: a rare combination. |
| 93 | The Hill of Thieves | Cara Dillon | 46 | If the album was 29p, and I've listened to this song 46 times, I'd call that value for money. |
| 94 | Battlefield | Jordin Sparks | 46 | When I used to work at retail, I'd put together themed playlists for game launches. I think this one was used a lot. |
| 95 | All the Lovers | Kylie Minogue | 46 | Still smooth, soulful, and cool. |
| 96 | Where I Stood | Missy Higgins | 46 | Surprised that "Forgive Me" isn't on this list, as it's the best song off this album. |
| 97 | Between the Lines | Robyn | 46 | At first I didn't like the slightly dissonant chorus, but now I do. |
| 98 | Orange | Young Wonder | 46 | I don't think this song is about oranges, but I could be wrong, as I don't know what it's about. |
| 99 | Electric Twist | A Fine Frenzy | 45 | Pop sounds mask currents of manipulation. |
| 100 | Perth | Bon Iver | 45 | Interesting that I've listened to this - the opening track from the Bon Iver album - one time fewer than Holocene, whih is track 3. |
Well done for making it all the way through! Here’s another post about music statistics: Songs of the year – 2018.
My name is James Newton, and this is my website - a collection of my writings about
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