Ian turned me onto a website called www.last.fm One of the first things I did was install a tool which analyzes your iTunes library. It ranked my favorite artists based on the number of (completed) plays each received. A few surprises were there. Here are my top 50, based upon the play count for each artist:
1. Jimmy Buffett – 4,834
2. The Tragically Hip – 939
3. R.E.M. – 757
4. The Black Crowes – 548
5. Elton John – 544
6. The Rolling Stones – 483
7. Eric Clapton – 480
8. John Mayer – 368
9. Willie Nelson – 324
10. Bob Marley & The Wailers – 296
11. Counting Crows – 294
12. Ronnie Milsap – 263
13. Pink Floyd – 248
14. Eagles – 247
15. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band – 242
16. Madonna – 242
17. Sarah McLachlan – 241
18. Van Morrison – 212
19. Fleetwood Mac – 207
20. U2 – 178
21. The Neville Brothers – 177
22. Steve Winwood – 175
23. Joan Osborne – 174
24. Hootie & the Blowfish – 163
25. ZZ Top – 160
26. Bonnie Raitt – 141
27. James Taylor – 130
28. Jackson Browne – 128
29. Bob Seger – 124
30. DJ Earworm – 122
31. Lighthouse Family – 116
32. Ray Charles – 101
33. John Mellencamp – 99
34. Gavin DeGraw – 91
35. Kenny Chesney – 90
36. Electric Light Orchestra – 86
37. Mick Jagger – 83
38. Tim Wilson – 81
39. Aaron Neville – 80
39. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – 80
41. George Jones – 79
42. Pearl Jam – 72
43. Stevie Wonder – 71
43. Tom Petty – 71
45. Swampfoot – 70
46. Dolly Parton – 68
46. Jim Croce – 68
48. Ian Moore – 67
48. Jet – 67
50. Red Hot Chili Peppers – 65
No surprise that Mr. Buffett would be #1, but wow that play count is huge! Must have something to do with the size of his catalog.
A couple of points of order. If you combine certain solo artists with their band, you get a slightly more accurate picture of tastes:
#6 The Rolling Stones (483 plays) + #37 Mick Jagger (83 plays) = #4 566 plays
#15 Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (242 plays) + #29 Bob Seger (124 plays) = #9 366 plays
#39 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (80 plays) + #43 Tom Petty (71 plays) = #26 151 plays
Based on my gut, I would have ranked Van Morrison, Ray Charles, Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers much higher. But, in fairness, I only ripped PJ’s “Ten” album today. And the plays are completed plays. Sometimes I start iTunes on an album or playlist and then walk away from it. Sometimes I sit in my office and listen to music by jumping around a lot. However, overall, I would say it is a relatively fair representation of my musical tastes.
Oh, and Kenny Chesney only got as high as he did because of his Christmas album.