RANK IN 2014: #91 (+31)
FIRST SONG: Chasing Pavements (2008)
FAVORITE SONG: Hello (2015)
FAVORITE MEMORY: The entire first week “Hello” came out. Especially when
Unkie came home from work to overhear me cranking up the music video from just outside our apartment.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: 25 was even more impactful for me than 21, and remains my favorite album of hers. If 25 never happened, she would not be on this list today.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: For any other artist, being up 31 spots from the last list would be excellent. But for Adele it’s honestly very shitty because on paper she really should be MUCH higher than #60. The only reason why she was so low on the last list is because she only had two albums and I was worried she wouldn’t be able to properly follow-up 21. I was wrong, she completely outdid herself with 25 – in fact, it turns out THAT was the album she wasn’t able to properly follow-up.
I’m sure you all remember that from 2011 to 2018, Adele was my BITCH. Not just my bitch, she was also my hoe. But then one day…
Okay all jokes aside lol the point I am trying to make is that I ABSOLUTELY f*ckING LOVED Adele. I thought she was such a breath of fresh air.
Pipa always talks about how he went out and bought Green Day’s American Idiot after hearing “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” for the first time – that is pretty much what happened to me after I heard “Set Fire To The Rain”. I still remember impulsively buying 21 at Target and then playing the f*ck out of it that summer. And “Hello”… Christ almighty was that a moment or WHAT?!?! She really was on track to become one of my favorite artists. “Hello” to this day is still the longest-running #1 on my chart at 15 weeks. But unfortunately over the last few years she seemed to prioritize becoming a socialite over putting in effort into her music. I can’t say I didn’t try with 30 – I listened to it THREE TIMES. Usually I’m like one listen and my decision is final. But I tried my darndest to love it and… well… the vibe wasn’t vibing. But enough of the negativity, let’s remember the good ‘ol days of her first three albums when she was a queen!
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Sour Girl (2000)
FAVORITE SONG: Interstate Love Song (1994)
FAVORITE MEMORY: My Dad giving me a copy of his “Purple” CD he bought in the 90’s when I was 13.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: STP are another band who I am not entirely sure why they were not on the 2014 list. Your guess is as good as mine!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: STP were definitely overshadowed by the big Seattle four (who obviously are all still to come), but there is no denying that they have had their fair share of bangers too. I mean, “Plush”? “Creep”? “Trippin’ On A Hole Whatever The Rest Of It Is Called”? All iconic. But my favorite will always be “Interstate Love Song”! I wish Scott Weiland was able to overcome his demons, he was a great frontman.
RANK IN 2014: #46 (-12)
FIRST SONG: Waterfalls (1994)
FAVORITE SONG: Waterfalls (1994)
FAVORITE MEMORY: I still remember what a moment “No Scrubs” was when it first came out. Also, them singing the All That theme song.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Definitely competition.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I loved TLC! I thought they were so freaking cool. And what an amazing streak of hits they had throughout the 90’s. I was very sad to hear about Left Eye’s passing in 2002.
RANK IN 2014: #44 (-13)
FIRST SONG: Torn (1998)
FAVORITE SONG: Torn (1998)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Being obsessed with “Torn” when it was out, playing the crap out of her “Left Of The Middle” CD my Dad bought for me at Borders, and writing her fan mail where she sent back an autographed picture (unfortunately, this got misplaced when we moved to Florida so I no longer have it
)
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Competition for sure. Considering that Natalie has had several top 10 hits on my chart since the 2014 list, including my #1 song of 2015 with “Instant Crush”, it’s safe to say that I still love her.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Natalie was one of the first artists I ever loved, and I have a lot of fond memories of 5-year-old me singing along to “Torn” whenever the video came on VH1 or MTV, and listening to her Left Of The Middle CD (I was so excited when “Wishing I Was There” and “Smoke” became singles and was disappointed they underperformed). And what’s funny is, 26 (!!) years later… nothing has changed. I still love her music very much. Left Of The Middle still sounds just as great as it did in 1998, and even as recently as 2021 she has been putting out great music. Her last album had several hits on my chart, most notably the #6-peaking “Maybe It’s Great”. I will ALWAYS root for Natalie.
RANK IN 2014: #31 (-25)
FIRST SONG: Circle Of Life (1994)
FAVORITE SONG: Your Song (1970)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Seeing him in concert with my Mom in 2015.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: The 70’s whore era is still over.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Elton John, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, and Phil Collins (who I will talk about more in a moment) were all part of a quartet I call the “WALK 97.5 Kings”. I heard all four of these dudes on WALK 97.5 ALL THE TIME growing up. Between that and having parents who love his music (my Mom especially), I definitely grew up appreciating Elton John. Oh and The Lion King of course. What 90’s kid
didn’t love The Lion King? Seven months after I wrapped up the 2014 list, my Mom and I saw Elton perform at the Amway Center in Orlando (which I believe is now called the Kia Center) and he was great. His setlist had a lot of hits and deep cuts from throughout his career, and it was especially meaningful since it crossed a big thing off of my Mom’s bucket list just a couple of months after her doctor told her she was cancer free (she spent most of 2014 fighting breast and kidney cancer). The whole experience definitely gave me a newfound appreciation for Elton John… even if he is down 25 spots.
RANK IN 2014: #28 (-27)
FIRST SONG: In The Air Tonight (1981)
FAVORITE SONG: Another Day In Paradise (1989)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Hearing his music constantly as a kid. And I guess the “Cowboy Phil” inside joke too even if it WAS originated by a pretentious jerk from Worcester…
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Probably the only artist I’ve seen in concert who left me disappointed. I get that he isn’t young anymore, but he really was not on his A game when
Unkie and I saw him in 2018.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Hmmm, I had a great experience seeing Elton and a meh experience seeing Phil, so when you think about it the spots should be reversed, but meh, I always preferred Phil’s music overall.
I feel like in recent years he has become a bit of a punchline, like the poster child for “Dad rock” or whatever. Um okay hater can YOU drum and sing at the same time?? And not only that but he’s super good at both! Can YOU do that drum solo in “In The Air Tonight”? No, you’re too busy on being a hater on Twitter? Then shut the f*ck up. Phil Collins is a f*cking icon and you’re gonna deal with it skank face! And yeah the show in Oakland, California that
Unkie and I went to in 2018 wasn’t the greatest, but I can confidently say that it was still better than Jennifer Lopez covering “Down In A Hole”.
RANK IN 2014: #85 (+41)
FIRST SONG: Together Again (1998)
FAVORITE SONG: Together Again (1998)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Seeing her in concert with
Unkie last year in Phoenix, Arizona.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: On the flip side, I think seeing Janet in concert last year with
Unkie helped her get a higher rank. That and overall just appreciating her music more and remembering how much I loved her when I first started getting into music. Plus, the Unbreakable album came out a year after the 2014 list, and to me that was her strongest era since All For You.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Well I’ll be damned – ANOTHER singer who I saw in concert! And I think said concert is a huge part of why her rank improved from 2014. 57 years old and still performs EXACTLY the same as she did 25 years ago. She hasn’t missed a beat, which is especially amazing given all the shit she has been through over the last couple of years (Nipplegate backlash, MJ’s death, etc.). She sounded great, the setlist was excellent (I felt like she performed her entire discography), she looked amazing and I loved her outfit changes (the Rhythm Nation-inspired outfit was my favorite), the whole experience reminded me of when I first started getting into her music as a kid. She was a very early favorite of mine, and – unpopular opinion – I always preferred her over Michael (who I also like, but was always more of a casual fan of). I especially loved that the tour was named after the song that got me into her – I remember hearing “Together Again” on the radio and seeing the video all the time as a kid and I loved it. She has so many classics but I’m glad that one has become her signature song. I’m also glad the tables have been turning and she is getting appreciated and loved again – the backlash she got for the 2004 Superbowl was – to quote Eric Cartman – totally not cool.
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Stairway To Heaven (1971)
FAVORITE SONG: Stairway To Heaven (1971)
FAVORITE MEMORY: I’m gonna say their 2018 Book Club episode.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK:
Definitely appreciating their music more. Their Book Club episode from 2018 definitely helped!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am weird as hell – at the height of my hard rock/heavy metal phase, I just didn’t
get Led Zeppelin. And to be honest there are still some songs of theirs that I don’t get like “D’yer Maker” and “Black Dog”. But over the last couple of years I have definitely started appreciating them more. If I heard “Heartbreaker” years ago I would’ve dived into their discography MUCH sooner than I did. They have a lot of great deep cuts too like “Achilles Last Stand”, which was a huge influence on a lot of grunge artists like Dave Grohl, Mike McCready, and everyone’s favorite cutie boy, Chris Cornell (Believe me, this is not the last time I talk about him being cute in this thread. Not even close.
). But yeah, Led Zeppelin = awesome!
RANK IN 2014: #56 (+4)
FIRST SONG: My Heart Will Go On (1998)
FAVORITE SONG: My Heart Will Go On (1998)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Being obsessed with “My Heart Will Go On” when I was a kid and always singing along to it when it came on the radio.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Honestly, it's a miracle that she's higher on this list than the last one given some circumstances that occurred in 2020 that I am not going to go into. I will say that I have recently come around and have been able to listen to her music again, I had to take a break thanks to said circumstances from 2020. Also, seeing her at the Grammys made me SO happy!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Well here is the complete opposite of Zeppelin.
I will always have a soft spot for Celine. Just like Natalie and Janet, she was a very early favorite of mine when I first started getting into pop music and I still have a lot of nostalgia for “My Heart Will Go On”, which is still one of my favorite songs. I feel terrible for what she has been going through over the last couple years, between her health and losing so many people close to her. Celine is another one who I will always root for, even if I am not a fan of her newer stuff (I did not like the Courage album at all).
RANK IN 2014: #54 (+3)
FIRST SONG: Jump (1984)
FAVORITE SONG: Runnin' With The Devil (1978)
FAVORITE MEMORY: This:
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Like I mentioned in the commentary for Type O Negative, I was “metal’d out” for a bit. Coming around and being able to enjoy that music again probably helped them get a higher rank this time, even if it was only just by three spots.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A legendary and iconic band who just had so much energy, between David Lee Roth’s stage presence and Eddie Van Halen’s amazing guitar work. I don’t completely hate the Van Hagar era but I wasn’t crazy about it either. But I DO completely hate the Van Cherone era. To me the DLR line-up is the only true Van Halen line-up. Just a great band who made fun rock tunes. RIP Eddie Van Halen.
41. An idol who would be much higher if
FreakyFlyBry compiled this list.
42. One of the biggest bands of the 80’s; responsible for an insanely overplayed hit from 1981.
43. The band responsible for the theme song for MTV News.
44. The band who gave us the phrase “Ignoreland”.
45. "We want Chilly Willy!"
46. A great example of me successfully separating the art from the artist, because this guy is a f*cking prick.
47. Linda Ronstadt’s backing band!
48. Germany’s answer to Lita Ford.
49. 90’s band from Buffalo New York; may or may not have given us “The Riff”.
50. I know this will give it away, but... CARLEGEND SLAYMON!