When it comes to my Top Played of any year, I’m more of a straight list kind of guy.  I like looking at the numbers and noting things like the difference in plays between my 1st and 2nd songs (27 plays), and seeing how much total time I spent listening to just those 25 songs.  I don’t need to knock things off the list just because they weren’t released in the specific year.  I said this before, but this list tends to be what really makes or continues to make a personal impression.  Maybe a song hit just at the right part of June, or I heard something in a new way.  So, here is the list of what I took in most in 2010.  It’s not always cool, but it’s always comfortable for me to come back to. (The number to the right of each song is the number of times I listened to that specific song, in case you were wondering.)

25. James Vincent McMorrow – We Don’t Eat (25)
24. Brett Dennen – Make You Crazy (25)
23. hellogoodbye – When We First Met [mp3] (26)
22. The Young Friends – Makeout Point (27)
21. Theophilus London – Hey Wonderful (27)
20. Mos Def – History [mp3] (27)
19. The Dads – Haunted (27)
18. Young Empires – Rain of Gold (28)
17. Black Elk Speaks – Sympaco Nom (28)
16. Delorean – Stay Close (29)
15. Best Coast – Boyfriend (29)
14. The Black Keys – Tighten Up (30)
13. Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky (30)
12. Tame Impala – Alter Ego (34)
11. Gauntlet Hair – Out, Don’t (34)
10. Sufjan Stevens – Djohariah (35)
09. Donovan Woods – Lawren Harris (39)
08. Cults – Go Outside (39)
07. Ra Ra Riot – Boy (RAC Mix) (41)
06. Kanye West – Good Friday (51)
05. Mayer Hawthorne – Thin Moon [mp3] (52)
04. Tokyo Police Club – Breakneck Speed (61)
03. Aloe Blacc – I Need a Dollar [mp3] (78)
02. Drake – Find Your Love [mp3] (79)
01. Gauntlet Hair – I Was Thinking… (106)

In total, I listened to these 25 songs for 4344 minutes and 44 seconds.  Or, 72 hours, 24 minutes and 44 seconds.  Or, just slightly over 3 entire days just listening to these 25 songs.  Nearly 10 of those hours were spent listening exclusively to the fantastic “Djohariah” from Sufjan Stevens’ All Delighted People EP, which was the song I sent the most time listening in the past year.

This is all slightly obsessive, really, but I like having the ability to quantify and qualify my obsession/addiction/love.  It’s not useful data for anyone except me, unless you study my music listening habits for a living.  (And if you do, how come we haven’t met?)

Bottom line: I love that there are two local bands on here, that the only band to appear twice on the list doesn’t even have a full album released yet, and that there are so many different styles and feelings represented.  This is me drinking, this is me dancing, this is me driving, this is me living.  It’s been a great year.  Here’s to the 2011′s Top 25 – the majority of which are undoubtedly not even in my collection yet.