Ever December, I get jealous of everyone’s Spotify Unwrapped round-ups. But as I am an old coot, I prefer to own my music, rather than subscribe to it. So instead, I just track yearly plays on my iPhone (formerly my iPad).
- “One Way Out of a Hole” – Cloud Cult
- “Chaise Lounge” – Wet Leg
- “If It Makes You Happy” – Best Coast
- “Wet Dream” – Wet Leg
- “Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome” – The Mountain Goats
- “Walk Through Fire (feat. Aimee Interrupted)” – Bedouin Soundclash
- “I Feel So Weird!” – Cheekface
- “Space Cowboy” – Kacey Musgraves
- “Endless Summer” – Superchunk
- “Givin’ It Up” – Pearl Charles
- “i’m not crying you’re crying” – Pinkshift
- “Tin Cups” – ZZ Ward & Aloe Blacc
- “River Nile” – Elsy Wameyo
- “Lies” – Pale Waves
- “The Only Way Out” – Danielle Ponder
- “Bumblebee” – Dora Jar
- “El Bueno Y El Malo” – Hermanos Gutiérrez
- “Black Summer” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- “Sharevari” – Aidan Noell & Nancy Whang
- “Play It Cool” – Penelope Isles
- “Blah Blah Blah” – PJ Western
- “Popular (feat. Nada Surf & Matthew Caws)” – Pom Pom Squad
- “Habibi Inta – ????? ???” – S H I R A N
- “Haircut” – Alex the Astronaut
- “Vacuum” – Beverly Crusher
- “So Long” – Danielle Ponder
- “Summer Never Dies” – The Foxies
- “High Horse” – Kacey Musgraves
- “(I’m Gonna Get Over This) Some Day” – Logan Ledger
- “Heart of Glass” – The Surfrajettes
- “Phoning It In” – Yam Haus
- “The Overload” – Yard Act
- “Go Bravely Feat. MulRli” – Denise Challa
- “Nobody’s Wrong” – Gaby Moreno
- “Rainbow” – Kacey Musgraves
- “To The Floor” – Lil Silva & BADBADNOTGOOD
- “Training Montage” – The Mountain Goats
- “Una Más” – Ozomatli
- “How Was Your Day?” – Stella Donnelly
- “Pineapple Princess” – Annette Funicello
- “Ain’t No Man” – The Avett Brothers
- “Love’s Train” – Bruno Mars, Anderson. Paak & Silk Sonic
- “Loser” – The Cleverlys
- “Some Of Us Are Brave” – Danielle Ponder
- “Bad Love” – DEHD
- “El Sultán” – Dirtwire & Chancha Vía Circuito
- “Rock & Roll (Live)” – Jane’s Addiction
- “drivers license” – Olivia Rodrigo
- “Mi Destino (feat. B-Real, Gaby Moreno)” – Ozomatli
- “Walking at a Downtown Pace” – Parquet Courts
- “Dyslexic Heart” – Paul Westerberg
- “Would? (Live)” – Alice in Chains
- “Birthday” – Best Coast
- “Flutter Girl” – Chris Cornell
- “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” – David Lee Roth
- “Forever (feat. Sekou Bembeya Diabate & Toumani Diabaté)” – Habib Koité
- “Flagpole Sitta” – Harvey Danger
- “Lonely Weekend” – Kacey Musgraves
- “Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” – Lana Del Rey
- “Oh!” – The Linda Lindas
- “Battle of Evermore” – The Lovemongers
- “Mark on You” – The Mountain Goats
- “Zombie!” – Orla Gartland
- “Waiting for Somebody” – Paul Westerberg
- “Peaches” – The Presidents of the United States of America
- “Do I Wanna Stay” – Shannon & The Clams
- “Birth Ritual (Live)” – Soundgarden
- “Temple” – Thao & Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
- “Tongo Barra” – Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin
- “It Ain’t Like That” – Alice in Chains
- “Sweetness” – Best Coast
- “10 A.M. Automatic” – The Black Keys
- “Missing” – Chris Cornell
- “California Girls” – David Lee Roth
- “Fairweather Friend” – GA-20
- “Wonder Woman” – Kacey Musgraves
- “Everything’s Electric” – Liam Gallagher
- “Tonite” – The Linda Lindas
- “She’s a Lover” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- “Grown So Ugly” – The Black Keys
- “Incinerate for KG” – Chaka Gettz
- “Thank You” – Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
- “Laughing in the Sunshine” – G. Love & Special Sauce
- “Golden Hour” – Kacey Musgraves
- “On My Way (Feat. Kimmortal)” – A La Una
- “Thir Ghar Baiso” – Sonny Singh
- “Psycho Killer” – The Talking Heads
- “All Alone” – Best Coast
- “Girl Is On My Mind” – The Black Keys
- “The Lengths” – The Black Keys
- “Six Foot Under” – Blood Circus
- “Chainsaw Girl” – Chainsaw Girl
- “Spoon Man” – Chris Cornell
- “Coconut Grove” – David Lee Roth
- “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” – Dead or Alive
- “California Dreamin'” – The Beach Boys
- “Leading” – Best Coast
- “Nowhere but You” – Chris Cornell
- “Easy Street” – David Lee Roth
- “W.I.T.C.H.” – Devon Cole
Previous top 100 lists: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
I have friends who read dozens and dozens of books each year, but I keep my ambitions a bit lower than that. I read 22 books in 2022 and plan to read 23 in 2023. This will become something of an issue by 2300.
Feb. 5: Acceptance
Feb. 27: Interesting Times
March 17: The Peshawar Lancers
March 29: Irontown Blues
March 31: Bad Advice
April 28: Maskerade
May 1: Sandman Slim
May 10: Ernest Hemingway on Writing
June 25: Alternate Routes
July 22: Feet of Clay
Aug. 20: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Aug. 21: Alien III
Aug. 26: Animal Farm
Aug. 31: The Turn of the Screw
Sept. 26: Watership Down
Oct. 2: The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains
Oct. 26: Forced Perspectives
Oct. 30: Black God’s Kiss
Nov. 23: The Princess Bride
Dec. 2: Hogfather
Dec. 18: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Illustrated Edition
Dec. 24: The Hobbit
It’s not hard to see this list as a reaction of the year that was. Let’s hope 2021 and especially 2022 are heavier on happy, bouncy tunes.
1. “Ayeyayaya” – The Shredders
2. “Get Up Get Out” – Born Dirty
3. “Top Knot Turn Up” – Madame Ghandi
4. “50 Foot Woman” – Hannah Williams & The Affirmations
5. “Time Spent in Los Angeles” – Dawes
6. “For the First Time” – Best Coast
7. “Fuck Up the Friendship” – Leah Kate
8. “You’re Not Alone” – Semisonic
9. “March March” – The Chicks
10. “Malibu” – Kim Petras
11. “Looking for America” – Lana Del Rey
12. “I Would Die 4 U” – Mariachi El Bronx
13. “You Can’t Rule Me” – Lucinda Williams
14. “Loteria” – Mariachi El Bronx
15. “Take the Money and Run” – Run-DMC
16. “California” – Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers
17. “Black Steel” – Tricky
18. “I Wanna Be Like You” – Ukulena
19. “Antifa Dance” – Ana Tijoux
20. “House of Bamboo” – The Hi-Tide Orchestra
21. “Signal” – Automatic
22. “Making Love to the Dead” – Beginners
23. “Different Light” – Best Coast
24. “Goonda Gold” – Cartel Madras
25. “Monday” – Filous & Ashe
26. “A Hero’s Death” – Fontaines D.C.
27. “New Mood” – LPX
28. “Take What You Can Carry” – Mia Doi Todd
29. “Lonely Heather” – The Nude Party
30. “I Am America” – Shea Diamond
31. “Dystopian Boy” – Sólveig Matthildur
32. “Worry” – Songhoy Blues
33. “I’m a Man” – Spencer Davis Group
34. “Moral of the Story” – Ashe
35. “Running to Chad” – Baba Stilz
36. “Everything has Changed” – Best Coast
37. “Coming of Age” – Blondes
38. “Lay Me Down” – Dirty Heads
39. “Watermelon Sugar” – Harry Styles
40. “Little Bit of Love” – Kesha
41. “I’m Sayin'” – Longshot
42. “Fortunate Son” – Sleater-Kinney
43. “South Gotta Change” – Adia Victoria
44. “Angola Rodeo” – The Black Lips
45. “Rise” – Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles
46. “Grounds” – Idles
47. “Lockdown” – Koffee
48. “Here Come the Warm Dreads” – Lee “Scratch” Perry
49. “Gypsy Woman” – Muddy Waters
50. “Bang!” – AJR
51. “Valens” – Graveyard Club
52. “Peaceful Easy Feeling” – Jim “Kimo” West
53. “Asleep on the Shore” – The Swingin’ Palms
54. “Give Us Justice” – Thee Sacred Souls
55. “(I Blame) Society” – Titus Andronicus
56. “Malibu” – Trixie Mattel
57. “Ball and Biscuit” – The White Stripes
58. “Sunglasses” – Black Country, New Road
59. “Stay High” – Brittany Howard
60. “Working” – Cartel Madras
61. “Supermoon” – Charly Bliss
62. “Steel Guitar Rag” – The Greasy Gills
63. “Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar” – The Hi-Tide Orchestra
64. “The Perfect Wave” – The MelTones
65. “Santeria” – Metalachi
66. “Justice Never Dies” – Quetzal
67. “Stay Away” – Randy Newman
68. “Sing Along” – Sturgil Simpson
69. “Over the Moon” – The Swingin’ Palms
70. “Kalua” – Arthur Lyman
71. “Hear It” – Bad Religion
72. “N.B.T.” – Black Market Brass
73. “Voodoo Bamboos” – Chaino
74. “Mystique” – Cosmique Hypnotique
75. “Rome” – Dojo Cuts
76. “Leisure Time” – Eyesore & The Jinx
77. “Swamp Meet” – The Greasy Gills
78. “Jaws” – Greg Townson
79. “Lockdown” – The Hi-Tide Orchestra
80. “All Eyes” – Mariachi El Bronx
81. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Mariachi El Bronx
82. “Moonlight Wahine” – Network Music Ensemble
83. “All I Want” – The Offspring
84. “Trouble in Paradise” – Rufus Wainwright
85. “Old Man” – Stella Donnelly
86. “Entrada” – The Swingin’ Palms
87. “Ten in 2010” – Bad Religion
88. “Pipeline” – The Chantays
89. “Waterfalls” – Death Cab for Cutie
90. “Mr. Rebel” – The Greasy Gills
91. “Tiki Diva” – Kenny Sasaki & The Tiki Boys
92. “Pearly Shells (P?p? A’o ‘Ewa)” – Maile Serenaders
93. “Wind of Change” – The Scorpions
94. “Makaha” – The Tikyaki Orchestra
95. “Brown Eyed Lover” – Allen Stone
96. “Rollercoaster” – Best Coast
97. “War Room” – Black Market Brass
98. “Shark Tank” – Bloodshot Bill
99. “Keep On” – Courtney Barnett
100. “U.F.S.” – The Greasy Gills
Previous top 100 lists: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.