I love keeping track of things. I’m somewhat obsessed with how many times I’ve seen movies, how much time I’ve spent playing video games, and how long albums are (in minutes). The order of it appeals to me. This is why Last.fm is awesome.

Last.fm is an aggregator that charts how many times you listen to things. It’s like the iTunes counter, but since it’s on the Internet, your count survives through computer crashes and OS changes. Mine’s been ticking for a week shy of 18 months now, and I’ve logged 15,640 plays. I’ve listened to the Mountain Goats 661 times, Damien Jurado 444 times, Smashing Pumpkins and Christian folksters Caedmon’s Call 68 times each, and Senses Fail exactly one time. It’s so much fun to use; I highly recommend it to you.

Here’s a list of the top five songs I’ve listened to the most in the last eighteen months.

5. “California Skies” – Novi Split. Not even my favorite track off their album Pink in the Sink, but apparently the one I choose to listen to the most. I much prefer “You Got Served” in my mind, but apparently my ears (and clicking fingers) prefer the dreamy folk sounds of “California Skies” to the creaky, snare-heavy folk of the other one. Interesting.

4. “Stumblin’ Home Winter Blues” – Hotel Lights. This project was an outgrowth of the Ben Folds Five. But instead of upbeat pop, there’s a lot of downtempo moodiness. This is one of the only optimistic tracks on the album, and subsequently the one I’ve listened to the most. It’s clear, bright acoustic guitar line and plaintive vocals hook me every time.

3. “For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti” – Sufjan Stevens. I can’t listen to Michigan because I fall asleep by the end. But this song, yanked out of its context, is still incredibly beautiful. The banjo, not usually a pretty instrument, is transcendent here. Every time I think of this I swoon a bit in my mind.

2. “Murder in the City” – the Avett Brothers. Both Emotionalism and I and Love and You were incredible, but this gem comes off of an interim EP, The Second Gleam. My friend Nathan, who runs I Hope Your Ears Bleed, feels that this is the best pop song written in the last twenty years. I believe it. This acoustic ballad is that gorgeous, and both the lyrics and harmonies are transcendent.

1. “Price is Right” – Aaron Robinson and the Lost Verses. This rare live track is not really a ballad; it’s more of a morose, depressed anthem. It has a power inherent in it that demands repeated listens. The stats back it up; I’ve listened to “Murder in the City” 87 times, while “For the Widows…” commands 83 listens. “Price is Right”? 110 listens. Head and shoulders above the rest. You can listen to it (as well as watch it!) on Aaron Robinson’s Myspace.

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Aaron Robinson and the Lost Verses, Avett Brothers, Caedmon's Call, Damien Jurado, Emotionalism, Hotel Lights, I and Love and You, I Hope Your Ears Bleed, Last.fm, Michigan, Mountain Goats, Novi Split, Pink in the Sink, Smashing Pumpkins, Sufjan Stevens, The Second Gleam