It’s the time of year when everyone is making end-of-year lists of various things. I decided to make a list of the top songs I’ve listened to in 2014. Now a few things went into this and there should be some things stated up front.
First — I almost always listen to music on random. Usually it’s a playlist I’ve created and there are a couple playlists I have in iTunes that have been my go-to work music this year. But what that means is that for any single song to appear multiple times it means I was probably listening to that artist a lot.
Second — Since I listen to so much stuff on random, and since that “random” list often comes out of a playlist with a bunch of stuff by a bunch of specific artists, a lot of songs cropped up from the same artist or album. So, in compiling this list, I made an effort to select songs by unique artists so it wasn’t all clogged up by Chromeo and M83 and nothing else.
Third — The way I ranked items was based on a combination of Last.fm stats for the year and iTunes # of plays. Now, iTunes doesn’t reset the number of plays each year, so its’ numbers are cumulative . And Last.fm wasn’t working 100% through the whole year, and regardless, the numbers were very different from Last.fm to iTunes so I really don’t know how these things compare.
The stuff from this list, therefore, has a fair bit of fudging around specific tracks and artists to be a more accurate representation of what has been playing through my speakers this year. Since each artist on the list could be taken as an entry into “most listened-to album“, I also pared this list down based on artists I played more frequently.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Pharrell_Williams_-_Happy.jpg)
Pharrel Williams
Happy
Single – 2013
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/Washed_Out_-_Within_and_Without.png/220px-Washed_Out_-_Within_and_Without.png)
Washed Out
Eyes Be Closed
Within and Without – 2011
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/76/NONONO_Pumpin_Blood_single.jpg/220px-NONONO_Pumpin_Blood_single.jpg)
NONONO
Pumpin Blood
Single – 2013
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/M83-Hurry-Up-Were-Dreaming.jpg)
M83
Steve McQueen
Hurry Up We’re Dreaming – 2011
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Chromeo_-_White_Women.png)
Chromeo
Old 45’s
White Women – 2014
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Gotye_-_Making_Mirrors.png)
Gotye
Eyes Wide Open
Making Mirrors – 2011
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/The_king_of_limbs.jpg)
Radiohead
Separator
The King of Limbs – 2011
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/Dear_science_album_cover.jpg)
TV on the Radio
Golden Age
Dear Science – 2008
![](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31iLhcDgw1L.jpg)
Beirut
Santa Fe
The Rip Tide – 2011
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/My_Head_Is_An_Animal.jpg)
Of Monsters and Men
Little Talks
My Head is an Animal – 2012
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/Afc_lcd_LCDSoundsystem.gif/220px-Afc_lcd_LCDSoundsystem.gif)
LCD Soundsystem
Yr City’s a Sucker
LCD Soundsystem – 2005
![](http://geo-media.beatport.com/image_size/500x500/5998890.jpg)
AlunaGeorge
Put Up Your Hands
You Know You Like It – 2013
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/Grimes_-_Visions_album_cover.png)
Grimes
Genesis
Visions – 2012
![](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/913GJRQvp2L._SL1500_.jpg)
SOHN
The Wheel
Tremors – 2014
![](http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/297/MI0003297526.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Out of Frequency
Out of Frequency – 2012
![](http://popmani.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bat_for_lashes_the_haunted_man.jpg)
Bat for Lashes
All Your Gold
The Haunted Man – 2012
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Stories_From_The_City,_Stories_From_The_Sea.jpg)
PJ Harvey
This Mess We’re In (with Thom Yorke)
Stories from the City, Stories From the Sea – 2000
![](http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/black-keys-1399042102.jpg)
The Black Keys
Fever
Turn Blue – 2014
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Random_Access_Memories.jpg)
Daft Punk
Get Lucky (featuring Pharrel Williams)
Random Access Memories – 2013
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Florence_and_the_Machine_-_Lungs.png)
Florence and the Machine
Cosmic Love
Lungs – 2009
![](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91vvLcHrAkL._SL1425_.jpg)
Marina and the Diamonds
Mowgli’s Road
The Family Jewels – 2010
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Haim_-_Days_Are_Gone.png/220px-Haim_-_Days_Are_Gone.png)
HAIM
Falling
Days are Gone – 2013
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/Yeah_Yeah_Yeahs_-_It's_Blitz.png)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Dull Life
It’s Blitz! – 2009
![](http://d2tqed3y8k290k.cloudfront.net/incentives/000/092/620/icons/large.jpg?1404922753?1409889492)
Mike Doughty
Change
Stellar Motel – 2014
![](http://cdn.discogs.com/3X25j9Xo-R6o7W6yyY1qGQAOGoE=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb()/discogs-images/R-2025179-1259251951.jpeg.jpg)
Pretty Lights
Fly Away Another Day
Passing By Behind Your Eyes – 2009
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ef/Crying_lightning.jpg/220px-Crying_lightning.jpg)
The Arctic Monkeys
Crying Lightning
Crying Lightning – 2009
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e1/Ellie_Goulding_-_Halcyon.png/220px-Ellie_Goulding_-_Halcyon.png)
Ellie Goulding
Only You
Halcyon – 2012
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/Little_Dragon_-_Nabuma_Rubberband.png/220px-Little_Dragon_-_Nabuma_Rubberband.png)
Little Dragon
Only One
Nabuma Rubberband – 2014
![](http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/3179/bestdavidguetta.jpg)
David Guetta
Baby When the Light
Best of David Guetta – 2007
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Push_the_Sky_Away.jpg/220px-Push_the_Sky_Away.jpg)
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Jubilee Street
Push the Sky Away – 2013
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