20 Years of Listening

20 Years
of Listening

237,690plays
24,962recordings
1,104artists
2,198albums
73playlists

One library, catalogued from November 8, 2006 to Sep 4, 2026. Every number here is counted, not estimated — and every number is a lifetime total, frozen on the day of the export.

641.5 Days

of continuous audio — 15,396 hours, or 1.76 years if it never once stopped.

Play count × track length, summed across the library

Spread across the 7,240 days since the first recorded play, that is 32.8 plays every day — for twenty years, without a day off.

The average played track runs 3.89 minutes. At sixteen waking hours a day, 962 whole waking days of this life have had music in them. Standup and spoken word — 667 plays — are counted separately and left out of every music ranking that follows.

01

Top Artists

Ranked by lifetime plays. The top five have not changed order in a very long time.

  • 01Counting Crows3.13% of all plays · 24.8 days · 547 tracks · top: Palisades Park (175)7,440
  • 02Motion City Soundtrack2.93% of all plays · 16.1 days · 120 tracks · top: Last Night (187)6,975
  • 03Cold War Kids2.17% of all plays · 13.1 days · 188 tracks · top: Double Life (130)5,162
  • 04Third Eye Blind2.13% of all plays · 14.0 days · 173 tracks · top: Motorcycle Drive By (181)5,072
  • 05Jimmy Eat World1.97% of all plays · 13.2 days · 197 tracks · top: Night Drive (120)4,677
  • 06The Airborne Toxic Event1.59% of all plays · 10.8 days · 93 tracks · top: The Graveyard Near the House (230)3,788
  • 07Bleachers1.59% of all plays · 9.1 days · 113 tracks · top: Hate That You Know Me (131)3,781
  • 08Foster the People1.51% of all plays · 9.9 days · 72 tracks · top: Call It What You Want (148)3,579
  • 09Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness1.48% of all plays · 8.9 days · 54 tracks · top: Fire Escape (269)3,506
  • 10Alkaline Trio1.47% of all plays · 8.0 days · 202 tracks · top: Bleeder (123)3,495
02

One Man, Four Names

The chart above says Counting Crows is the most played artist in this library. The chart above is wrong.

  • 01Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness8.9 days · first added Oct 15, 20143,506
  • 02Jack's Mannequin8.9 days · first added Nov 15, 20063,224
  • 03Something Corporate2.6 days · first added Nov 15, 20061,019
  • 04Andrew McMahon23 hours · first added Jul 20, 2013360
8,109

plays for Andrew McMahon — one songwriter, four project names, more than Counting Crows's 7,440.

These are four genuinely different bands, so they are not merged anywhere else on this page — Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin sound nothing alike, and the rankings keep them apart. But it is the same person, and across twenty years he quietly outlasted everyone.

03

Top Songs

Cumulative plays per recording. Live takes are counted separately from studio versions — a different night is a different performance.

  • 01Fire Escape — Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness15 hours · last played Jun 22, 2026269
  • 02The Graveyard Near the House — The Airborne Toxic Event19 hours · last played Mar 31, 2026230
  • 033 Rounds and a Sound — Blind Pilot16 hours · last played Aug 5, 2026216
  • 04Last Night — Motion City Soundtrack10 hours · last played Jan 7, 2026187
  • 05All At Once — The Airborne Toxic Event16 hours · last played Jul 5, 2026184
  • 06Dark Blue — Jack's Mannequin13 hours · last played Mar 5, 2026182
  • 07Motorcycle Drive By — Third Eye Blind13 hours · last played Jul 25, 2026181
  • 08Young Fathers — Typhoon13 hours · last played Jul 25, 2026181
  • 09One Red Thread — Blind Pilot13 hours · last played Aug 5, 2026176
  • 10Palisades Park — Counting Crows24 hours · last played Aug 5, 2026175
04

Top Albums

Compilations and soundtracks are excluded — this is albums as bodies of work.

Plump by Twiddle
My Dinosaur Life by Motion City Soundtrack
3 Rounds and a Sound by Blind Pilot
All At Once by The Airborne Toxic Event
Even If It Kills Me by Motion City Soundtrack
Everything in Transit by Jack's Mannequin
White Lighter by Typhoon
Commit This to Memory by Motion City Soundtrack
Gone Now by Bleachers
Tilt At The Wind No More by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Cold War Kids by Cold War Kids
Zombies On Broadway by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Sacred Hearts Club by Foster the People
You'll Be Fine by Hot Mulligan
Torches by Foster the People
Somewhere Under Wonderland by Counting Crows
I Am the Movie by Motion City Soundtrack
We Are the Tide by Blind Pilot
Out of the Vein by Third Eye Blind
All the Stars and Boulevards by Augustana
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows
Gorilla Manor by Local Natives
Screamer by Third Eye Blind
This Desert Life by Counting Crows
Plump
Twiddle · 28 tracks · 5.9 days
1,767
My Dinosaur Life
Motion City Soundtrack · 12 tracks · 3.5 days
1,479
3 Rounds and a Sound
Blind Pilot · 11 tracks · 3.8 days
1,432
All At Once
The Airborne Toxic Event · 11 tracks · 3.9 days
1,375
Even If It Kills Me
Motion City Soundtrack · 14 tracks · 3.1 days
1,322
Everything in Transit
Jack's Mannequin · 12 tracks · 3.8 days
1,317
White Lighter
Typhoon · 13 tracks · 3.2 days
1,293
Commit This to Memory
Motion City Soundtrack · 13 tracks · 2.8 days
1,215
Gone Now
Bleachers · 12 tracks · 2.8 days
1,205
Tilt At The Wind No More
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness · 11 tracks · 3.0 days
1,205
05

Played the Whole Damn Thing

Albums of eight tracks or more where every single track has real play counts — no skipping to the singles.

AlbumArtistTracks PlaysLeast-played track
v2.0GoGo Penguin1029727
Tilt At The Wind No MoreAndrew McMahon in the Wilderness111,20599
Why Would I WatchHot Mulligan1256540
You Deserve LoveWhite Reaper1054846
Agony & IronyAlkaline Trio1230121
TorchesFoster the People111,13086
Mirror MasterYoung the Giant1243630
We Breed ChampionsRoyal Bangs1048539
Seven Days Walking: Day 7Ludovico Einaudi1228619
My Dinosaur LifeMotion City Soundtrack121,47995
Social CuesCage the Elephant1344226
Neon PillCage the Elephant1231520

The last column is the point: on these records even the quietest track has been played properly.

06

The Long Tail

Most listening histories are top-heavy: a handful of songs carry everything. This one is not.

6,932

separate recordings are needed to account for 80% of every play. The top 100 songs account for 5.9%.

Share of all plays

top 10.1%
top 100.8%
top 251.9%
top 503.4%
top 1005.9%
top 25012.3%
top 50020.4%
top 1,00032.2%
top 2,50053.7%
top 5,00072.0%
top 10,00087.9%

Recordings by play count

01,679
14,836
2–59,461
6–103,349
11–253,224
26–501,512
51–100724
100+177

Bar length is share of total plays; the figure is the number of recordings.

It takes 675 recordings to reach a quarter of all plays and 2,164 to reach half. There is no top 100 here worth speaking of — there is a top five thousand.

07

The Live Archive

Buried inside the library is a second one: 3,343 live and session recordings, most of them bootlegs filed by city and date. 285 songs exist here in more than one performance.

Same song, most nights

  • 01Rain King — Counting Crows131 plays across every version21×
  • 02Round Here — Counting Crows117 plays across every version19×
  • 03Mr. Jones — Counting Crows72 plays across every version16×
  • 04Omaha — Counting Crows47 plays across every version15×
  • 05Anna Begins — Counting Crows25 plays across every version12×
  • 06A Murder of One — Counting Crows28 plays across every version10×
  • 07Sullivan Street — Counting Crows23 plays across every version
  • 08Ghost Train — Counting Crows17 plays across every version
  • 09Time and Time Again — Counting Crows17 plays across every version
  • 10Perfect Blue Buildings — Counting Crows18 plays across every version
  • 11Mercury — Counting Crows25 plays across every version
  • 12Angels of the Silences — Counting Crows38 plays across every version
08

Still in Rotation

54 of the top 200 recordings of all time were also played in the final ninety days before this snapshot. These are not nostalgia — they are still working.

RecordingArtistLifetime plays Last played
Fire EscapeAndrew McMahon in the Wilderness269Jun 22, 2026
3 Rounds and a SoundBlind Pilot216Aug 5, 2026
All At OnceThe Airborne Toxic Event184Jul 5, 2026
Motorcycle Drive ByThird Eye Blind181Jul 25, 2026
Young FathersTyphoon181Jul 25, 2026
One Red ThreadBlind Pilot176Aug 5, 2026
Palisades ParkCounting Crows175Aug 5, 2026
OviedoBlind Pilot169Aug 4, 2026
When I Dream of MichelangeloCounting Crows168Aug 5, 2026
We Are the TideBlind Pilot168Aug 13, 2026
Possibility DaysCounting Crows168Jul 21, 2026
St. Robinson in His Cadillac DreamCounting Crows165Aug 5, 2026
09

The Ones That Got Away

Songs with heavy lifetime play counts that simply stopped being played. No story is implied about when those plays happened — only that they did, and that it has been a while.

#RecordingArtistAlbum Lifetime playsLast heard Years ago
01John Appleseed’s LamentCounting CrowsSomewhere Under Wonderland141Jun 21, 20215.2
02Untitled (Love Song)Counting CrowsUnderwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation)132Nov 28, 20178.8
03Earthquake DriverCounting CrowsSomewhere Under Wonderland122Jun 21, 20215.2
04White LightTwiddlePlump112Apr 21, 20215.4
05Getting OldHellogoodbyeWould It Kill You?110Nov 1, 20205.8
06CowboysCounting CrowsSaturday Nights & Sunday Mornings106Feb 17, 20188.5
07Blacking Out the FrictionDeath Cab for CutieThe Photo Album106Apr 12, 20179.4
08Four WindsBright EyesCassadaga95Oct 3, 20169.9
09Yer SpringHey Rosetta!Seeds93Feb 19, 20215.5
10I Was a KaleidoscopeDeath Cab for CutieThe Photo Album90Apr 13, 20179.4
11HospitalCounting CrowsUnderwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation)89Nov 21, 20178.8
12Last ExitPearl JamVitalogy88Jun 8, 20179.2
13People, Turn AroundDelta SpiritOde to Sunshine88Oct 10, 20205.9
14Polluted BeautyTwiddlePlump86Apr 21, 20215.4
15FiveTwiddlePlump86Apr 21, 20215.4
10

What You Said vs. What You Played

502 recordings carry five stars and 197 are marked Loved. The play counts tell a different story.

Five stars, barely played

RecordingArtistPlays
Bennie and the JetsElton John1
Hey Ya!Outkast1
MaybelleneChuck Berry1
Suffragette CityDavid Bowie1
Billie JeanMichael Jackson2
RememberTyphoon2
Long Time ComingFly Golden Eagle2
When My Time Comes [live]Dawes3
La Fuente Del RitmoSantana3
When Doves CryPrince3

A museum of songs you know are great. Bennie and the Jets: played once.

Never rated, never Loved, played constantly

RecordingArtistPlays
All My HeroesBleachers104
Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)Foster the People101
Built to LastAndrew McMahon in the Wilderness100
Last RitesAndrew McMahon in the Wilderness100
GoodbyeBleachers86
Braindead MegaphoneCold War Kids81
When "You're" AroundMotion City Soundtrack78
Starring RoleCold War Kids76
Make Out KidsMotion City Soundtrack76
You're a Mean One, Mr. GrinchTyler, The Creator74

The songs that actually got listened to were never given a rating at all.

11

Your Music by Decade

Share of plays by release decade

1940s0.0%
1950s0.0%
1960s0.9%
1970s2.2%
1980s2.2%
1990s17.0%
2000s38.6%
2010s31.7%
2020s6.4%

Play-weighted average release year: 2006.0. Play-weighted median: 2007. Twenty years of listening, centred almost exactly on its own midpoint.

How the library grew

200427
2005152
20066,913
20071,564
20081,037
20091,337
2010962
20111,403
20121,788
2013975
2014814
2015792
20162,078
2017797
2018529
2019630
2020747
2021471
2022725
2023404
2024366
2025224
2026300

Date Added is a real event, so this is genuine time-series data — it describes how the library grew, not how much was listened to in any year. 2006 is the original import.

12

Skips & Genres

Most skipped

RecordingArtistSkips Plays
Holy WarRainbow Kitten Surprise2750
Jen is Bringing the DrugsMargot & the Nuclear So and So's2037
MercyCounting Crows1821
The ConversationMotion City Soundtrack1744
Happiness is OverratedThe Airborne Toxic Event1650
Big Yellow Taxi (with Vanessa Carlton)Counting Crows1633
1492Counting Crows1585
All My FailuresCounting Crows156
The Song Formerly Known as IntroHot Mulligan1568
Built to LastAndrew McMahon in the Wilderness15100

11,637 skips against 237,690 plays — an overall skip rate of 4.7%. A skip is not a verdict; sometimes a song has simply been heard enough.

Plays by genre

Alternative &72.5%
Rock18.5%
Hip-Hop & Ra3.4%
Pop1.1%
R&B & So0.9%
Holiday0.8%
Jazz0.7%
Folk0.7%

Two labels account for roughly nine plays in ten. This is Apple's genre tagging, not a considered taxonomy — nearly everything guitar-shaped lands in "Alternative & Punk" regardless of what it actually sounds like.

13

A Few Fun Facts

Most time on one song
Palisades Park — Counting Crows
24.4 hours across 175 plays
Longest song you actually play
Better Man — Oasis
38 minutes, 12 plays
Most played under two minutes
Cold War — The Morning Benders
104 seconds, 142 plays
Never played
1,700 tracks
6.8% of the library
Most played pre-1970 recording
Little Saint Nick — John Denver & The Muppets
1963 · 45 plays
Most played 1970s recording
Me and Julio Down By the School Yard — Paul Simon
1972 · 94 plays
Most played 1980s recording
The Boy in the Bubble — Paul Simon
1986 · 141 plays
14

The Full Record

The complete top hundreds, for anyone who wants to read the whole chart.

#ArtistPlaysShareTracksTimeTop recording
01Counting Crows7,4403.13%54724.8 daysPalisades Park
02Motion City Soundtrack6,9752.93%12016.1 daysLast Night
03Cold War Kids5,1622.17%18813.1 daysDouble Life
04Third Eye Blind5,0722.13%17314.0 daysMotorcycle Drive By
05Jimmy Eat World4,6771.97%19713.2 daysNight Drive
06The Airborne Toxic Event3,7881.59%9310.8 daysThe Graveyard Near the House
07Bleachers3,7811.59%1139.1 daysHate That You Know Me
08Foster the People3,5791.51%729.9 daysCall It What You Want
09Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness3,5061.48%548.9 daysFire Escape
10Alkaline Trio3,4951.47%2028.0 daysBleeder
11Pearl Jam3,3061.39%2099.0 daysSometimes
12Jack's Mannequin3,2241.36%1098.9 daysDark Blue
13Spoon3,2061.35%1288.1 daysYou Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
14Collective Soul3,1421.32%1758.5 daysCompliment
15Blind Pilot3,1161.31%778.3 days3 Rounds and a Sound
16Local Natives2,8451.2%908.1 daysCubism Dream
17Red Hot Chili Peppers2,7731.17%1938.2 daysThe Getaway
18Manchester Orchestra2,7651.16%1198.1 daysI Can Feel a Hot One
19Twiddle2,7361.15%2329.9 daysSyncopated Healing
20Hot Mulligan2,5751.08%865.2 daysDirty Office Bongos
21Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers2,5421.07%2126.7 daysAmerican Girl
22Augustana2,3991.01%696.4 daysSunday Best
23Angels & Airwaves2,3500.99%887.4 daysThe Gift
24Death Cab for Cutie2,3440.99%1336.8 daysBlacking Out the Friction
25Better Than Ezra2,3230.98%1146.4 daysMisunderstood
26Everclear2,2460.94%2165.3 daysThe Twistinside
27Hey Rosetta!2,2170.93%657.4 daysSwing the Cellar Door
28Cage the Elephant2,2050.93%1015.4 daysAin't No Rest for the Wicked
29Frightened Rabbit2,0140.85%905.3 daysThe Loneliness and the Scream
30Milky Chance2,0000.84%735.4 daysFlashed Junk Mind
31Our Lady Peace1,9910.84%1285.7 daysLove and Trust
32The Wallflowers1,9710.83%1165.6 daysBleeders
33Delta Spirit1,8890.79%1065.4 daysChildren
34Hellogoodbye1,8340.77%744.2 daysFinding Something to Do
35Typhoon1,8160.76%834.6 daysYoung Fathers
36Paul Simon1,8120.76%1534.9 daysThe Boy in the Bubble
37Foo Fighters1,7990.76%1405.1 daysHey, Johnny Park!
38The Wonder Years1,7600.74%974.3 daysWyatt’s Song (Your Name)
39Matchbox Twenty1,7020.72%954.6 daysLong Day
40Anderson .Paak1,4640.62%583.7 daysCome Down
41Beck1,3820.58%1663.7 daysElevator Music
42Arcade Fire1,3640.57%834.2 daysKeep the Car Running
43Wilco1,3620.57%1753.8 daysOuttasite (Outta Mind)
44Margot & the Nuclear So and So's1,3550.57%843.6 daysSkeleton Key
4510,000 Maniacs1,3520.57%783.8 daysJezebel [live]
46Butch Walker1,3170.55%1253.6 daysCloser to the Truth and Further from the Sky
47Rainbow Kitten Surprise1,3130.55%412.8 daysIt's Called: Freefall
48GoGo Penguin1,2860.54%764.4 daysSeven Sons of Bjorn
49Ages and Ages1,2790.54%423.3 daysDivisionary (Do the Right Thing)
50Thao & The Get Down Stay Down1,2630.53%852.7 daysBeat (Health, Life, and Fire)
51Snow Patrol1,2310.52%1073.7 daysHow to Be Dead
52Glass Animals1,1950.5%633.0 dayswhatthehellishappening?
53Tokyo Police Club1,1660.49%992.7 daysFavourite Food
54Kanye West1,1620.49%1763.2 daysHomecoming
55The Strokes1,1600.49%832.8 daysYou Only Live Once
56Tom Petty1,1140.47%422.9 daysSaving Grace
57Royal Bangs1,1060.47%553.1 daysLittle Switzerland
58The Morning Benders1,0900.46%562.4 daysCold War
59Blink-1821,0830.46%902.4 daysStockholm Syndrome
60Oasis1,0810.45%1053.6 daysSongbird
61Ben Folds Five1,0640.45%722.9 daysPhilosophy
62Lifehouse1,0620.45%833.0 daysSky is Falling [acoustic]
63These United States1,0310.43%802.5 daysSusie at the Seashore
64Something Corporate1,0190.43%342.6 daysShe Paints Me Blue
65Phantom Planet1,0060.42%1002.3 daysDo the Panic
66R.E.M.1,0010.42%1533.0 daysNightswimming
67Young the Giant9660.41%802.5 daysSuperposition
68Ra Ra Riot9570.4%632.4 daysGhost Under Rocks
69Judah & The Lion9550.4%1002.5 daysQuarter-Life Crisis
70Weezer9350.39%1172.3 daysIsland in the Sun
71Vanessa Carlton9270.39%1022.5 daysHands On Me
72Sister Hazel9250.39%962.7 daysYour Winter
73Live9090.38%1492.6 daysStage
74Good Kid8760.37%4039 hoursAlchemist
75Iron & Wine8670.36%652.7 daysPagan Angel and a Borrowed Car
76The Cure8640.36%2152.6 daysClose to Me
77Acceptance8520.36%562.2 daysMidnight
78The Academy Is...8480.36%4947 hoursBlack Mamba
79Smashing Pumpkins8470.36%1352.5 daysDisarm
80Green Day8290.35%13947 hoursGood Riddance (Time of Your Life)
81The Beatles8150.34%16538 hoursEleanor Rigby
82Marvelous 37940.33%502.0 daysFreak of the Week
83Bruce Springsteen7670.32%1712.4 daysThunder Road
84The Dodos7600.32%582.2 daysWalking
85Stone Temple Pilots7430.31%1122.0 daysInterstate Love Song
86White Rabbits7360.31%3245 hoursThe Plot
87The Refreshments7250.31%262.1 daysBanditos
88Phoenix7160.3%6343 hoursLisztomania
89Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers7150.3%10947 hoursBeautiful Disaster
90Childish Gambino7100.3%14143 hoursL.E.S.
91The Hush Sound6640.28%4335 hoursWe Intertwined
92Eminem6570.28%16347 hoursDrug Ballad
93White Reaper6570.28%2633 hours1F
94Black Lab6480.27%7945 hoursWash It Away
95Gin Blossoms6410.27%9241 hoursHey Jealousy
96Dave Matthews Band6340.27%832.1 daysWhy I Am
97Cake6280.26%7637 hoursGuitar
98Billy Joel6260.26%11446 hoursThe Longest Time
99Bon Iver6200.26%5543 hoursSkinny Love
100Kendrick Lamar6200.26%9748 hoursKing Kunta