I had to make some rules for myself in order to create such a list. I used Billboard's Top 100 Singles for each year. On Billboard's actual website, they call it the "Hot 100" (I think), and they only have about ten years listed. According to other websites, they've been keeping such a list since the '50's, so I used other websites too (mostly, wikipedia...sad, I know). I'm not quite sure how the "Top 100" or "Hot 100" was created throughout the years (I'm sure I could have done some more research to find out, but I didn't), but it seems to be the industry standard to look to Billboard's list for the popularity of music singles. I haven't always been one who was a fan of only the "popular" stuff (such as the songs that are going to be on Billboard's Hot 100), so there's several artists/bands that are not respresented. The "Mixtape" is definitely an imperfect reflection of "My Life". Anyways........ Here's how I came up with the list..........
I looked at the "Top 100" list for each year of my life: 1973 to 2012 (obviously, 2013 year end charts aren't listed yet). My initial rule was that I'd select TWO songs from EACH year, then add in 20 others from whatever years I wanted in order to create my own "Top 100" songs of my life. That was my initial rule, but I changed it because there were actually a couple of years when music was crap, and I couldn't even choose two songs out of a hundred for this fun little experiment of mine (hello, 1997 & 1998). Another rule I made for myself was no band/artist could have two songs in the same year. Lastly, I told myself if the song is not in my current music library, or if I couldn't remember owning the song prior, then it didn't make the cut. For each of these, I can remember the LP or 45 or cassette or CD or digital download (a select few weren't "mine", but my mom's, dad's, or brother's).
So...without further ado...here's the "Mixtape of My Life": I make no apologies for some of my choices. I realize music critics and fans alike might consider some of my selections as "crap" too. So be it. This is my list. Yes, there's a lot of Bon Jovi and power ballads. Again, this is my list. Songs are listed by year, rank from Billboard's Top 100 for that year, song title, and artist. Enjoy :)
- 1973 - (4) - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
- 1973 - (17) - Drift Away - Dobie Gray
- 1974 - (40) - The Joker - Steve Miller Band
- 1974 - (78) - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me - Elton John
- 1975 - (1) - Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tenille
- 1975 - (33) - Sister Golden Hair - America
- 1976 - (18) - Bohemain Rhapsody - Queen
- 1976 - (51) - Dream On - Aerosmith
- 1977 - (68) - Cold As Ice - Foreigner
- 1977 - (78) - Give a Little Bit - Supertramp
- 1978 - (13) - You're the One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
- 1978 - (22) - Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
- 1978 - (30) - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad - Meatloaf
- 1979 - (67) - Renegade - Styx
- 1979 - (74) - I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS
- 1979 - (95) - Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
- 1980 - (4) - Rock With You - Michael Jackson
- 1980 - (55) - All Out of Love - Air Supply
- 1980 - (62) - I Can't Tell You Why - The Eagles
- 1981 - (5) - Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
- 1981 - (7) - Kiss On My List - Hall and Oates
- 1981 - (10) - Keep On Lovin' You - REO Speedwagon
- 1981 - (88) - Smoky Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
- 1982 - (22) - Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
- 1982 - (48) - Young Turks - Rod Stewart
- 1982 - (73) - Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
- 1982 - (90) - Hot in the City - Billy Idol
- 1982 - (96) - Workin' for the Weekend - Loverboy
- 1983 - (7) - Maneater - Hall and Oates
- 1983 - (17) - Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
- 1983 - (81) - Faithfully - Journey
- 1983 - (90) - Photograph - Def Leppard
- 1984 - (1) - When Doves Cry - Prince
- 1984 - (4) - Footloose - Kenny Loggins
- 1984 - (57) - Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar
- 1984 - (68) - Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
- 1984 - (99) - Rock Me Tonite - Billy Squier
- 1985 - (1) - Careless Whisper - Wham
- 1985 - (26) - Cool It Now - New Edition
- 1985 - (44) - Never Surrender - Corey Hart
- 1986 - (30) - You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
- 1986 - (62) - Your Love - The Outfield
- 1987 - (7) - Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
- 1987 - (10) - Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
- 1987 - (15) - With or Without You - U2
- 1988 - (5) - Sweet Child of Mine - Guns N' Roses
- 1988 - (11) - One More Try - George Michael
- 1988 - (19) - Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
- 1988 - (21) - Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
- 1988 - (41) - Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
- 1988 - (95) - Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
- 1989 - (3) - Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
- 1989 - (15) - Heaven - Warrant
- 1989 - (68) - Lovesong - The Cure
- 1989 - (86) - Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
- 1990 - (55) - U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
- 1990 - (67) - Love Song - Tesla
- 1990 - (72) - I Remember You - Skid Row
- 1990 - (91) - What It Takes - Aerosmith
- 1990 - (96) - Without You - Motley Crue
- 1991 - (78) - Something to Believe In - Poison
- 1991 - (82) - Silent Lucidity - Queensryche
- 1992 - (2) - Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
- 1992 - (17) - November Rain - Guns N' Roses
- 1993 - (50) - What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
- 1993 - (60) - Cryin' - Aerosmith
- 1994 - (91) - Always - Bon Jovi
- 1995 - (5) - On Bended Knee - Boys to Men
- 1995 - (70) - This Ain't a Love Song - Bon Jovi
- 1996 - (29) - You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
- 1996 - (41) - The World I Know - Collective Soul
- 1996 - (56) - Wonderwall - Oasis
- 1996 - (68) - Just A Girl - No Doubt
- 1999 - (10) - Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
- 1999 - (13) - Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
- 2000 - (9) - Bent - Matchbox Twenty
- 2001 - (9) - Again - Lenny Kravitz
- 2001 - (100) - Hemorrhage (In My Hands) - Fuel
- 2002 - (26) - Wasting My Time - Default
- 2003 - (4) - Crazy in Love - Beyonce with Jay Z
- 2003 - (28) - Lose Yourself - Eminem
- 2004 - (8) - Hey Ya! - Outkast
- 2004 - (19) - My Immortal - Evanescence
- 2005 - (4) - Since You Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
- 2005 - (16) - Mr. Brightside - The Killers
- 2005 - (36) - Scars - Papa Roach
- 2005 - (68) - Best of You - Foo Fighters
- 2006 - (29) - Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
- 2007 - (59) - Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
- 2007 - (69) - Who Knew - P!nk
- 2008 - (33) - Stop and Stare - OneRepublic
- 2008 - (44) - Sorry - Buckcherry
- 2009 - (26) - Second Chance - Shinedown
- 2009 - (45) - So What - P!nk
- 2010 - (45) - Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
- 2010 - (87) - Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
- 2011 - (24) - Someone Like You - Adele
- 2012 - (1) - Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye with Kimbra
- 2012 - (15) - Wide Awake - Katy Perry
- 2012 - (22) - Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
Love it! Loved many of the same songs through the years - although I went through phases of country music, too. :)
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through a FB post. Will be reading more. :)