Ok, kids, just like 365 days ago I’m going to celebrate my second year of being on last.fm by counting down the artists I’ve scrobbled the most. Unlike last year, we’re counting down from 30 (not 20) and we’ll also keep track of total scrobbles per artist and how they’re moving relative to the rest of the list. (Now, since I only kept track of the scrobble numbers in the top 20, the change in rank compared to last year past the top 20 is only a guesstimate, hence the "about" in the descriptions.)

One year after my first list, I am starting to notice that there’s much more separation between the artists towards the top. There’s still room for artists to move, but quite a few artists seem to have a comfortable placement in the top ten. (The further you go down the list, especially past the top 50, the numbers are closer and tighter.) Anyhow, we'll note take of some stats and then count the list down.

(all figures as of 8pm CST 8/29/08)
total tracks scrobbled = 43,526
total artists in my library = 1,191
total friends = 16

30) Idaho (234 plays, up about 10)

Although lumped in the "slowcore" genre along with Red House Painters, Low, Rex and Codeine, Idaho have always been an island to themselves. From their four-string guitar philosophy to the deep, brooding vocals of founder and sole mainstay Jeff Martin, Idaho had a distinctive sound from the get-go. Nowadays, the rock leanings of the past has altered to more atmospheric, instrumental mood pieces. For my money, their 1996 album Three Sheets to the Wind is one of the best of the 90s and I still listen to it regularly.

29) Johan (236 plays, waaay up)

Speaking of bands who never got their due in the States, this Dutch quartet has only seen their debut issued over here, and that was 10 years ago! They have released two albums since then (2001's Pergola and 2006's THX JHN) and thanks to my emusic subscription, I've discovered them both in the past 12 months. Anyone looking for smart, adult guitar pop shoudl definitely check them out if the name doesn't ring a bell...they may end up in your top 30, too!

28) Foo Fighters (250 plays, down about 6)

One of the few current top 40 acts I have time for. Dave Grohl always seems to *gasp* ENJOY being a rock star and also geniunely loves making music for a living. That said, I wasn't exactly bowled over by last year's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace but the Foos still have a pretty stellar track-for track batting average by my ears, so I would think they'll stick in the top 30.

27) Steely Dan (256 plays, down about 5)

Music fans tend to find the Dan a pretty polarizing band, some not able to get past the easy listening background to hear the great jazzy chord changes and eyebrow raising lyrics. Of course, this is my page and I say their 70s output remains as captivating today as they were when I first heard them in high school/college. Can't say much for their two "comeback" albums released this decade, except that sounds like it was formulated by people in white lab coats....

26) They Might Be Giants (257 plays, down about 3)

TMBG were a huge fave of mine back in high shcool and early college, and it took the Gigantic documentary to put some of their stuff in my iTunes library. I still don't listen to an album's worth of their matieral, but their short, quirky ditties work well in a shuffle context.

25) De La Soul (258 plays, down 10)

De La take quite a tumble, yet still are still the only hip-hop act in my top 30. Which is ironic because I've been listening to my fair share of hip-hop, but from a rather wide gamut (Wale, The Roots, Starpower, the new Ice Cube, etc) I keep meaning to get De La's latest, and once I do, I'm sure they'll rocket back up the charts.

24) Eric Mattthews (259 plays, up about 3)

After making 2 of my fave LPs of the 90s, Mr. Matthews took a eight year sabbatical. Considering he's released two EPs and two LPs in the last 3 years, it's safe to say he's making up for lost time. This year's The Imagination Stage returns to the formula that made him an act to watch ten years ago, with Eric's smoky croon wrapping around elegant chamber pop.

23) Gomez (261 plays, down 7)

I'll be honest; I forget about these guys sometimes. I like 'em just fine and none of their albums are out and out bad, but they fall out of my rotation and have a hard time getting back in. Maybe a new album will correct my oversight...

22) Eels (270 plays, down 5)

Like Gomez above, I haven't had much occasion to blast their stuff en masse. Unlike Gomez, I haven't been keeping up with their discography as there's their b-side comp Useless Trinkets-B Sides, Soundtracks, Rarieties and Unreleased 1996-2006 as well as their live album Live At Town Hall. (There's also a greatest hits album, but since I have all the LPs I think I'll pass on that.)

21) PJ Harvey (271 plays, waaaaay up)

Well, I finally got around to hearing White Chalk and I quite liked it, as PJ's sudden burst up my charts can attest to. Add in that I found the Dry / Demonstration bonus disc and am shocked at how much I prefer it to the actual album. So, miss Polly may climb higher yet... stay tuned.

T19) Suede (272 plays, down 5)

As I said last year, I have so much Suede material in my ITunes library, they're bound to stay towards the top of my charts, even 5 years after they broke up. Maybe I'll remove their stuff from the library one day, but I still get a kick out of them when they show up on my shuffle.

T19) The Who (272 plays, down 2)

Most of the time an artists moves up the charts, it's because I'm listening to full albums quite a few times (yes, some people still do listen to albums straight through!) This poses a problem for the Who because all their albums in my library are at least an hour, and I'm been gravitating towards shorter LPs. But when a Who kick arrives, it's gonna hit harder than Keith Moon used to.

18) Randy Newman (278 plays, up about 17)

Rather than credit his new one Harps And Angels which I have yet to hear, the main reason for Randy's big leap on my charts is getting the Guilty: 30 Years Of Randy Newman box set in my grubby mitts. Weird but true fact: Randy was quoted in the latest Rolling Stone is being really impressed by the lyrics of one Steven Patrick Morrissey....

17) Neil Young (288 plays, up about 8)

He puts out about an album a year, that humungazoid box set is finally set to come out, and even at his worst (the Human Highway soundtrack, anyone?) he's extremely interesting. That's how you stay at the top of my charts. And the above talley doesn't even factor in his Crazy Horse collaborations...

16) Idlewild (295 plays, down 5)

I finally did manage to get Promises/warnings (side note: that whole copyright control crap embedded in the disc which makes it very hard to put on an iTunes library makes you hate the album before you even hear it!) but their 2 classics remain 100 Broken Windows and The Remote Part so it remains to be seen if they can keep Idlewild towards my chart's upper reaches.

T14) Broadcast (302 plays, up about 7)

One of my favorite currently active bands... I love how they come out with a new sonic approach each album yet still remain a core sound and identity all their own. When they FINALLY release a new LP, expect them to soar up the charts.

T13) The Smiths (302 plays, down 1)

See my post last year....their songs still ring true, two decades after they pulled the plug. It says something their stature continues to rise every year. Reminds me of some Liverpool band of the 60s...

13) The Magnetic Fields (342 plays, down 6)

Unless my library searches become more fruitful, I figure Distorstion will be on my 2008 halo list, and considering I took off about 4 albums of theirs, they may slip further.

12) Pernice Brothers (344 plays, down 2)

Joe and company still get lots of plays here, and a new album would greatly assist in that regard, Er, hint, hint?

11) Blur (345 plays, down 2)

They only dipped a little (like Suede, there's a lot of their stuff in my library) but my enthuiasm for them continues to wane. I'm not even sure they'll still a band yet, with all of Damon Alburn's side projects and Graham Coxon out of the picture seemingly forever.

10) Morrissey (371 plays, down 2)

The Randy Newman-approved Pope of Mope won't have an album out now til the beginning of next year, and his Greatest Hits album released earlier this year comically overstates the staying power of his last two efforts, but Morrissey will always be a sentimental fave of mine, so don't expect him to dip much.

9) American Music Club (420 plays, up 10)

Another big gainer, much of it thanks to this year's The Golden Age. Mark Eitzel and co. have quite a few albums in their past that won't gather dust in the recesses on my iTunes.

8) Supergrass (431 plays, up 4)

See? Release a new album like the 'Garse (this year's Diamond Hoo Ha) and you move up the chart. Of course, it helps that it was a really good album, but then again, I've come to expect nothing less from them.

7) The Beach Boys (445 plays, down 1)

Another act who benefits by having a giant catalogue trapped in my ITunes, but I still discover new things from them. Plus, you have to figure Pet Sounds should get a few plays between now and next year...

6) Wilco (488 plays, down 3)

Wilco take a bit of a dip, but it's more other artists racking up much more plays than Wilco actually losing any. It may be a while before a new Wilco LP gets onto the shelves; hopefully it won't affect Wilco's position too much.

5) Radiohead (489 plays, up 14)

Yeah, how a year chages things, eh? You may not have heard about it, but Radiohead released a new album this year. in rainbows, I think it was called. They released it on the net, and it bombed. Nobody heard it except for me, I think. I heard Thom Yorke had to sell his spleen on eBay to make back some of the money. I hope a 14 slot advance is a bit of a consolation, and hopefully the boys in Radiohead will learn that deserting the major labels will only hurt you in the end.

4) XTC (597 plays, down 2)

I'm noticing an ongoing phenomenon, that current bands are moving up the chart, whereas bands that no longer exist are going down the chart. It is so bizarre, there's no way to explain it. But all that aside, don't expect XTC to fall too far -- I enjoy their approach and craft too much for them to do an utter nosedive.

3) R.E.M. (626 plays, up 2)

Hard to say a lot more about a band I've loved since, what, 7th-8th grade? Well, the new one's (Accelerate) pretty great, and their older stuff still hits me in the right place. So there.

2) The Beatles (647 plays, down 1)

The Fab Four finally abdicate their number one slot, and while I wouldn't go so far as saying the Beatles should pass a torch to the new number one act, it is fitting that both acts emphasize a band as a united front and each member sings different songs. The Beatles have sold a few more records, though.

1) Sloan (754 plays, up 3)

With enjoying both a new album and an album I haven't gotten around to yet, Sloan leapfrog into the number one position with a nice 100 track buffer between them and the former champ. Sloan stand for all the things I love about pop music: caring about the end product, yet not taking yourself too seriously. Each member getting a chance to create, but enough democracy to not become torn apart by ego. They're on their ninth album....am I selfish enough to humbly request at least one more?

Well, *whew* that's it....seeya next year!