RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Teardrops On My Guitar (2006)
FAVORITE SONG: No Body, No Crime (2020)
FAVORITE MEMORY: My friend Ellie and I watching the videos for “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled” at work near the end of our shifts once it slowed down and we were able to get away with it.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: The 2014 list was compiled before 1989 came out, so at that time she was really still a country artist. Changing to pop helped her BIG time with me, and also just being very consistent. Even Reputation, which I was underwhelmed with following 1989, had some great songs on it.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: She may be overexposed and inescapable these days. She may have released multiple albums a year in the last few years (a foreign concept to Adele). You may want to throw your TV, computer, and phone out the window every time you hear about her and Travis Kelce. But dammit, she makes some good pop tunes. Before 1989, I liked a few songs and I respected her as an artist, but the 1989 album was what fully converted me into a fan. I also appreciate how consistent she has been over the years, I even enjoyed Folklore and Evermore despite being drastically different from the previous albums. And while I understand how the reissues of her past albums may be annoying to some, I do appreciate the statement she is making with them and the fact that she adds so much extra music on the albums is brilliant. You can’t really blame so many people for being Swifties, she spoils the f*ck out of her fans… a foreign concept to Adele.
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Just Dance (2008)
FAVORITE SONG: Bad Romance (2009)
FAVORITE MEMORY: I actually have two with her – watching her go from being a Proboards advertisement to an overnight superstar was pretty f*cking cool. And also, watching A Star Is Born with my Mom.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: More appreciation for her music. I was very sick of her by 2010/2011 due to overexposure, and I thought her antics during Artpop were extremely obnoxious. Once all of that went away, I was able to appreciate her talent a lot more.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A decade ago I never would’ve thought she would make this list. I was so turned off of her during the “Artpop” era, but not long after that trainwreck of an era ended I started warming up to her more and appreciating her and her talent. It’s pretty amazing how she can do dance/pop anthems like “Poker Face” one minute and 70’s singer/songwriter influenced songs like “Shallow” the next. She was also making these extravagant, well done music videos like “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” during a time when nobody else was putting in effort like that into their videos, she caused a resurgence in music videos for a brief period in the early 2010’s. If that’s not impactful I don’t know what is!
RANK IN 2014: #48 (-20)
FIRST SONG: Love Machine (2004)
FAVORITE SONG: The Show (2004)
FAVORITE MEMORY: My parents getting me their What Will The Neighbors Say and Chemistry albums for Christmas in 2005, plus a framed autographed picture of them.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Competition. Again, I still love them just as much as I did a decade ago! I even looked into getting tickets to their reunion tour but unfortunately traveling to the UK or Ireland is not in the cards for me right now. Meh.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I was introduced to Girls Aloud through everyone’s favorite 2000’s RPG game – no, not Grand Theft Auto, I can’t imagine stealing cars and killing people to the tune of “Sound Of The Underground”.
I’m talking about Urapopstar of course! Girls Aloud were popular on there similar to Kelly Clarkson and the Killers on here. I gave them a curiosity spin one day and was hooked ever since. They had a few #1’s on my chart including “I’ll Stand By You”, “Something New”, and “Sexy! No No No…” Unfortunately, I cannot say I was a fan of any of their solo material. I remember Nicola’s solo single in particular being awful. They are definitely better together. I was very sad to hear about Sarah Harding losing her battle with breast cancer a few years ago, and I think it’s great that the other four girls reunited to honor her (not just with the reunion tour they’re doing, but also I heard about them doing charity walks for breast cancer and things like that too). Just a great group full of Y2K nostalgia.
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Complicated (2002)
FAVORITE SONG: Complicated (2002)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Playing the Let Go CD nonstop in the summer of 2002.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: I am truly impressed at what a return to form she has made over the last few years. I didn’t even THINK about putting her on the 2014 list because she lost me so much with shit like “Here’s To Never Growing Up” and “Hello Kitty”, but she went back to her roots and took advantage of the pop-punk revival which was a brilliant career move for her. Over the last few years she has reminded me of how much I loved her when she first came out.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Another artist who I didn’t think would be on here a decade ago. She lost me with The Best Damn Thing era (although I didn’t mind “When You’re Gone”) and was never able to fully recover. In fact, she started getting WORSE. Her self-titled album era was… Christ almighty I am still not entirely sure what the f*ck that was. But the fact that she went from “Hello Kitty” to going back to her roots with bangers like “Bite Me” and “I’m A Mess” was extremely impressive and unexpected. In the last few years she has reminded me what made me first fall in love with her music in the summer of 2002 (I played the crap out of Let Go when it came out). I also think her first two albums have aged extremely well. I listened to both on vinyl fairly recently and they sounded fantastic. I’m proud to say that I am an Avril Lavigne fan again.
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: What Makes You Beautiful (2011)
FAVORITE SONG: Sign Of The Times (2017)
FAVORITE MEMORY: “Harrymania” during the first half of 2019 and the Fine Line episode of the Book Club.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: I will admit the wait between Harry’s first two solo albums made me listen to and appreciate 1D’s music more (Four is a great pop album), but let’s be real – the main reason Harry and 1D are on here is because of Harry’s solo stuff.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: At their peak, One Direction was not a group I really liked or disliked. I liked a few songs here and there (“You And I” was a #1 for me and “Night Changes” went top 5), but I never went out of my way to listen to them. Fast forward to 2017 when they all start going solo.
Pipa tells me one day that Harry’s debut single “Sign Of The Times” is going for adds on rock stations and we both start laughing and making jokes. Then I heard the song and I shut the f*ck up. Christ almighty I did NOT expect him to go OFF like he did on that song! That was the first time I really noticed his talent, and not long after that I saw a video of him performing the song on SNL and I’ve had a major crush on him ever since.
But unlike a certain former member named after a planet that Train sang about in 2001, I listen to music with my ears and not my eyes. Yes I think Harry is hot as hell, but I absolutely love his music too. I checked out his debut when it came out and I thought it was great (I’m still annoyed “Ever Since New York” never became a single), and his follow-up from 2019 “Fine Line” I loved even more! I will be honest and say I wasn’t as big of a fan of “Harry’s House” (although “As It Was” did go to #1 for me), but I still enjoy him very much (in more ways than one 😉
). As for 1D, I decided to check out all of their albums in early 2019 and I began appreciating them more. I own both Four and Made In The AM on vinyl and think both are great albums. I also regret not charting a lot of their hits like “Steal My Girl” and “Drag Me Down”. The last thing I’d like to say is that I LOVE Harry’s “treat people with kindness” motto and I think he sends an amazing message about kindness. Just wish his psycho stans would listen to it, but that’s a rant for another day.
Also, these remain legendary and iconic:
RANK IN 2014: #84 (+19)
FIRST SONG: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (1987)
FAVORITE SONG: Elevation (2000)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Stanning “Elevation” in 2001 – a VERY early hint that I was going to become a fan of rock music.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: More appreciation for their music, and Y2K nostalgia.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: When I first started getting into music, I mostly listened to pop and R&B (just look at my 2003 era charts). One of the first rock bands I liked was U2. I remember seeing the music video for “The Sweetest Thing” a few times when it was out, and I liked it. But it wasn’t until the All That You Can’t Leave Behind era when I really started paying attention to them. I liked the first two singles “Beautiful Day” and “Walk On” a lot, but the third single, “Elevation”, I thought was COOL as HELL. Particularly the Tomb Raider remix. The album version is cute, but the Tomb Raider remix is to this day ABSOLUTE FIRE. My love for that song was especially so out of character at the time because back then I was all about Madonna, Britney, Christina, Janet, Destiny’s Child, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, etc.
I even found a one-off chart I did back in 2001 where I had that song at #1! To this day I believe this was a very early hint that I was going to eventually become a fan of rock and alternative music, so I guess you can say they were pioneers. And of course their 80’s and 90’s hits also remain iconic – I was actually just listening to “Desire” a few minutes ago.
RANK IN 2014: #62 (-2)
FIRST SONG: Smoke On The Water (1972)
FAVORITE SONG: Space Truckin' (1972)
FAVORITE MEMORY: “Stormbringer” was one of my favorite early discoveries on the Book Club, from the 1974 Yearbook episode.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Competition, although it didn’t affect them
that much.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Legends. Absolute legends. Everyone and their Mom knows that opening riff to “Smoke On The Water”. Ian Gillian and Ritchie Blackmore made such a good team (although as I will get to much later – I preferred Blackmore with Ronnie James Dio). I think the singles from Machine Head (1972) and their 80’s reunion album Perfect Strangers (1984) were the band at their best. I also liked the music they released with David Coverdale like “Stormbringer” and “Burn”.
RANK IN 2014: #58 (-5)
FIRST SONG: 'Til I Hear It From You (1995)
FAVORITE SONG: 'Til I Hear It From You (1995)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Hearing their hits on the radio ALL the time as a kid.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Competition.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Another act who I heavily associate with 90’s nostalgia. I’ve heard most of their 90’s hits on the radio as a kid, especially “’Til I Hear It From You”, so whenever I hear their music I think of driving around Rocky Point with my Mom and getting candy and coloring books from the local general store. My go-to candy back then were the Spice Girls lollipops.
They are also still going strong today, their single “Break” from 2018 was excellent and up there with their 90’s hits to me.
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: I Want To Touch You (1992)
FAVORITE SONG: Black Metallic (1992)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Discovering “Black Metallic” on the 1992 Yearbook episode of the Book Club from 2017.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Their 2018 episode of the Book Club.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: These guys have a bit of a cult following, but truthfully, I never heard of them until 2016. The week of my birthday, I did an episode of the Book Club where I discovered songs I’ve never heard before that were on the charts the week I was born – September 10, 1992. One of the songs that was on the alternative charts at that time was the band’s song “I Want To Touch You”, and I really liked it. Fast forward a couple months later in summer 2017, I did the 1992 Yearbook episode and discovered their most well-known song, “Black Metallic”, and absolutely LOVED it. To this day that song is one of my top 10, possibly even top 5, favorite songs I’ve discovered on the show. Then in September 2018 I finally did an episode on Catherine Wheel and discovered more great songs like “Balloon” and “Waydown”. For some reason I don’t think “Crank” was played on that episode, but I do love that one as well (and is a huge reason why “Gasoline” by Heavenward was such a huge #1 on my chart last year – it’s a complete rip-off of “Crank
). Definitely an underrated band, and also a band who makes me want to check out other 90’s bands from the shoegaze subgenre. Future Book Club episode perhaps?
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Christian Woman (1993)
FAVORITE SONG: Black No. 1 (1993)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Being obsessed with them in early 2010 and having a HUGE crush on Peter Steele before his April 2010 death.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: As big of a deal as they were for me in the early 2010’s, I did not consider them for the 2014 list as I was kind of “metal’d out” during that time for personal reasons. I have since come around and love heavy metal again, so expect a lot of metal bands to either rank higher than they did in 2014 or be new entries altogether like Type O.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am pretty these guys are the most polarizing act to make the list, but honestly, I understand the hate and definitely think they are an acquired taste. Having said that, I was OBSESSED with them when I started getting into their music in early 2010. I loved how dark and over the top “Black No. 1” was, and the haunting sound of songs like “Love You To Death” and “Christian Woman”. I played the crap out of their Bloody Kisses and October Rust albums back then, and 17-year-old me thought Peter Steele was so insanely sexy. Oh who am I kidding? I still feel this way lmao, let’s just say that I didn’t hate his Playgirl photos. 😉
I never had an artist obsession before where the artist passed away at the peak of the obsession… until Type O Negative. Literally a week after I bought October Rust, Peter Steele passed away of heart failure. To say I was in shock (he was only 48!) would be an understatement. So sadly, I never got to witness a Type O Negative era as their last album was Dead Again in 2007, but I still enjoy their albums today and always check for new projects from the surviving members.
51. A band who have a history of different singers, but are mostly well-known for their guitarist who sadly passed away in 2020.
52. If
Matt compiled this list, I am pretty sure this Canadian singer would be in the top 2.
53. Whenever the question is asked, “Which band created heavy metal?”, the debate is usually between two bands – Black Sabbath, and these guys.
54. A pop and R&B legend who I saw in concert last year. Her first name ain’t Baby.
55. An 80’s pop/rock legend who I saw in concert in 2018. Do you remember?
56. Hey look! Another artist I saw in concert! I saw this British rock icon in concert with my Mom in 2015. She has been a fan of this artist since he first debuted in 1970. I guess you can say us seeing him in concert together is the circle of life!
57. Although this Australian pop singer is only really known for one big hit in the US, she was a huge part of my childhood and was one of the first singers I ever loved.
58. Obviously, my favorite girl group of all-time are the Spice Girls. These ladies – also popular in the 90’s – are my second favorite. Don’t be a silly ho, I know you guys can get this one!
59. Another band who I am completely dumbfounded did not make the 2014 list – this band had a bunch of hits in the 90’s. Sadly, their lead singer passed away near the end of 2015.
60. A British pop singer who really should be MUCH higher on this list, but that’s what happens when you prioritize being a socialite over your music career.