Back at it! In 2020 there were a mind boggling 36,620 scrobbles, which equates to 98 days and 16 hours of streaming. All of that came from 4090 different artists, an average of 8.954 streams per artist. Top 5 genres from the year were Rock, Classic Rock, Alternative Rock, Pop and Alternative. The hours that had the most scrobbles throughout the year were 12p-1p, 9a-10a, and 10p-11p, while Monday and Thursday were the two busiest days for streaming. That makes two years in a row that Monday is the busiest day - how curious?
Here's the key -
TY. Artist (LY)
Top Track (TY)
25. Trans-Siberian Orchestra (NR in 2019)
Top Track: Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24 (T180)
TSO ended at #40 last year, and usually gets a heavy run in the last 3 months of the year. In lieu of being able to see them live, I just listened to them a heck of a lot more than usual this year. 82% of their scrobbles came from December, of course, and in total they had 69 songs register at least one stream.
24. Wolfsheim (9)
Top Track: Künstliche Welten (T53)
There's no stopping the German duo, who have cracked the Top 25 each of the last 3 years. "Künstliche Welten" had just 1 more stream than the usual leader "Blind", both of which come from the always popular Spectators album that registered the 16th most streams this year.
23. Demon Hunter (6)
Top Track: The Negative (T98)
Demon Hunter is also making their 3rd consecutive appearance on the Top 25, albeit quite a bit lower than last year. Of course, in 2019 they released 2 albums simultaneously, blowing their scrobble total way up and also landing them in the Top 20 Countdown as well. The band has put out 10 albums in 18 years, and I'm not sure if they're planning on slowing down any time soon.
22. Rush (NR)
Top Track: Limelight (T59)
The passing of Neil Peart brought a resurgent focus onto Canada's premier rock act. Moving Pictures still rates as one of my all-time favourite classic rock records, but I spent more time digging deeper into their discography in 2020, with songs like "Marathon" and "Distant Early Warning" landing in the 5 most scrobbled songs for the band.
21. Johnny Cash (NR)
Top Track: I Won't Back Down (T335)
One of the biggest benefactors of the oldies resurgance was Johnny Cash, who moved up from 91st last year to #21. Amusingly, the biggest hit was a cover of Tom Petty, of which the original version was the most streamed song of the year for me. All told, 42 different songs had at least 1 play, landing Cash in the Top 25.
20. The Birthday Massacre (15)
Top Track: All of Nothing (T125)
The Birthday Massacre are another band that have made it to all 3 Top 25 Artist lists for me, with this year coming from listening to their entire discography to support the release of their album Diamonds. While the new record definitely wasn't my favourite offering from the group, I still found plenty to enjoy in 2020, with "All of Nothing" being their most streamed song for the third consecutive year.
19. The Four Tops (NR)
Top Track: It's The Same Old Song (37)
The Four Tops Greatest Hits are required listening in my house. "Reach Out I'll Be There" "Baby I Need Your Loving" "Bernadette" "Standing In The Shadows Of Love"... the list goes on and on. If you're feeling bad and want to dance, they are the band for you.
18. Sevendust (NR)
Top Track: Enemy (T409)
The Dust boys were just barely out last year at #28 and had 11 different tracks with at least 5 scrobbles, showing versatility. Also, each of the top 5 songs (Enemy, Waffle, Black, Decay, T.O.A.B.) are from 5 different records. Gotta love em. They just dropped a new record that I can't wait to dive into. They'll surely be back in the Top 25 in '21.
17. The Beatles (NR)
Top Track: Eleanor Rigby and Nowhere Man (T335)
The Beatles finally broke through this year on the strength of 57 different songs getting at least 1 play, including double digits for six of them. "Eleanor Rigby" continues to be the pace car for this group, but I found a new appreciation for songs like "Lady Madonna" due to one of my residents being a massive Beatles fan.
16. Audioslave (NR)
Top Track: I Am The Highway (T241)
Audioslave slides back in after falling out in '21, thanks to my friend Josh and I doing "Best of Chris Cornell Bracket" when March Madness was cancelled. Not that I need an excuse to listen to their self-titled record, which is possibly my all-time favourite record. "I Am The Highway" grabbed the most streams, knocking "Like A Stone" off of the pedestal after 2 consecutive years on top.
15. Mesh (5)
Top Track: The Last One Standing (8)
Once again, "The Last One Standing" and "The Fixer" pushed Mesh into the Top 25, accounting for 37.22% of their streams for the year. Last year they made up for 45.5%, showing a little more versatility in the British duo's discography. It's been 4 years since their last record, and I'm dying for something new. Each one that they've released has shown maturity from the prior albums.
14. Rich Mullins (NR)
Top Track: Alrightokuhhuhamen (42)
There was a point where I had just started my new job, and I wanted to listen to worship music on the Sunday's I worked. That led me back to ol' Rich, and for four months I was hammering the repeat button for his Songs compilation, which ended up being the most streamed record of the year for me. "My One Thing" finished at #46 as well this year, giving him two in the top 50.
13. Eagles (NR)
Top Track: Take It Easy (T98)
For the Eagles, it's always "Take It Easy" and the rest of the songs, despite how much I love them. By the end of the year, they had 11 different songs with at least 5 plays, and 24 with at least two. One of the benefits of being able to play classic rock at work is more Eagles.
12. Sam Cooke (NR)
Top Track: (What A) Wonderful World (14)
With "(What A) Wonderful World" cracking the Top 30 for the second consecutive year, it was high time for Sam Cooke to make it, and he made it big in 2020. "Bring It On Home To Me" and "Twistin' The Night Away" both tied at 86 this year as well. Can't argue with The Man Who Invented Soul.
11. Chris Cornell (NR)
Top Track: You Know My Name (44)
Remember what I said about the Cornell Bracket? That meant that I listened to all of his works, and spent a lot of time with "You Know My Name", which actually won the bracket for me. I'm pretty sure Soundgarden will be way up on the list as well, giving him the trifecta across the board.
10. Elvis Presley (NR)
Top Track: Burning Love (T53)
Easily the biggest jumper from last year, Elvis moved from a tie for 137th to #10 in 2020, on the strength of 8 different song getting double digit streams. "Suspicious Minds" was also tied for 86th on the list, with a surprising new favourite in "King Creole" coming next for The King.
9. Aurelio Voltaire (NR)
Top Track: Captains All (T409)
I don't want to say it was quantity over quality for Voltaire, but I did listen to the majority of his discography in 2020, a whopping 143 different songs getting at least one scrobble. He did finish 26th last year, just barely missing the cut, so it's not to say anything against the Captain. Also, it was a big leap from 10 to 9 this year - AV had 23 more scrobbles than Elvis - none of the previous artists had more than 8 scrobbles between them.
8. George Carlin (NR)
Top Track: N/A...
Hahaha... back in May I decided I needed some laughs to help with Ohio being shut down, so I went back through George Carlin's entire catalogue and listening to everything. This isn't the first time I've done this, but that's over 200 tracks with just one or two streams. Lol...
7. Five Iron Frenzy (20)
Top Track: Dandelions (T180)
Ska was my ultimate comfort in 2020, with the usual kings FIF leading the way. "Dandelions" was kind of a surprise nostalgia hit for me this year, as I didn't really love it when it first came out. Five Iron was 25th in 2019, #20 last year and has leapt to #7 this time around, with a new album slated for 2021 release. Where will they end up next year? Only time will tell.
6. Soundgarden (22)
Top Track: Outshined (T282)
Ah, there's Soundgarden. The argument of Audioslave vs Soundgarden is always a fun one to have, as both bands have 2 amazing albums (Superunknown and Badmotorfinger for SG, Self titled and Out of Exile for AS). The big difference in streams is that Soundgarden also has 5 other records to choose form, each with solid songs on them. I would say Superunknown is my favourite from the Seattle grungers, with 6 of the top 10 SG songs on it this year.
5. Evanescence (NR)
Top Track: Anywhere (4)
The next biggest stream difference comes with Evanescence landing 42 ahead of Soundgarden, on the strength of the early year Origin obsession. For as popular as Fallen and The Open Door were, I still have always preferred their earlier EPs and demos to anything they've done since being signed. In fact, Origin made up 44.45% of their total streams this year, with older tracks making up 29.89%. I don't say it to be a hipster, I just genuinely enjoy that material a lot more than the newer stuff. I'm really curious as to what their new record will sound like next year.
4. Assemblage 23 (4)
Top Track: Endure (23)
And here's where we truly separate the wheat from the chaff. A23 had a mind-boggling 134 more scrobbles than Evanescence, with 25 different tracks getting at least 5 streams. "Damaged" rolled in at T86, while "Endure" found a life that I never thought possible for an instrumental song. Endure the album was 10th among all album streams as well. They released a new album late last year which hasn't really made a true impact on me yet, and I'll be intrigued to see if they can make it into the Top 20 Countdown again.
3. Anberlin (3)
Top Track: Cadence (T114)
Anberlin lands at #3 again, and in 3 years of Top 25 Artist lists, they've had 3 different songs top their most streamed list. The band did several live-stream concerts this year, which made me fall in love with their older material even more than I already was. Their first two albums, Blueprints for the Black Market and Never Take Friendship Personal registered 14 and 17th among the most streamed records of the year.
2. Cold (1)
Top Track: Sad Happy (T140)
Well, your surprise is my surprise here. The kings of the last year 3 years slid to second in 2020. Perhaps there was a little burnout after spending a lot of time with their new record last year, but they still managed to have 12 different songs register double-digit scrobbles. Year of the Spider had the 4th most streams among albums, while 13 Ways To Bleed Onstage and A Different Kind Of Pain were 11th and 12th respectively. Cold began to tour early this year, only to have it halted just a few weeks before it came here. I think I was pretty sore about that too, but here's hoping for 2021.
1. VNV Nation (2)
Top Track: Only Satellites (9)
I looked at the top scrobbles back in December and was surprised to see how close the top 3 were. At the end of the day, VNV Nation had exactly ONE stream more than Cold. ONE!! And 8 more than Anberlin. What a race. "The Farthest Star" (17) and "Carry You" (16) gave VNV 3 entries in the Top 30 Played songs, and even Arena was tied for 59th. VNV is more top-heavy than Cold or Anberlin, but they still had 22 songs with at least 5 scrobbles.
At the end of the year, VNV Nation accounted for 1.294% of all streams, Cold 1.291%, Anberlin 1.275% and Assemblage 1.133%. Pretty cool to see how those numbers play out every year.
Well, with 15 new artists, that means a big shuffle of songs exited this year. Last year only six bands fell out - here's the list for this year.
Key: LY. Artist (TY)
25. Blindside (132)
24. Fuel (65)
23. And One (113)
21. Solitary Experiments (41)
19. The Cure (76)
18. Solar Fake (70)
17. Circle of Dust (188)
16. Ashbury Heights (104)
14. The Broken Relics (37)
13. Korn (33)
12. Slipknot (45)
11. Truslow (36)
10. Curse of Cassandra (81)
8. Rammstein (57)
7. Apoptygma Berzerk (31)
No new Blindside album came, or even any updates from them. The Cure also promised new music and faltered, while Solar Fake and The Broken Relics have new music scheduled to release. Rammstein is apparently also writing this year as well, but they usually take a little more time between discs. As for the rest, well, you can see the exodus of EDM artists. It's not that I didn't listen to them, there was just a lot more time spent listening to oldies and classic rock at work rather than listening to them at home. Regardless of how you look at it, it was a record breaking year from Last.FM, Spotify, Pandora and all of the other places that I find music.
Here's to music!
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