Let The Countdown Begin….

Welcome to the 2012 music countdown!

It was a weird year for me and music. Don’t fool yourself, it’s still my first true love, and while there were many new likes (Taylor Swift, Tanlines, Bonaventure), for a good part of the year I stuck with a lot of familiar…yet comfortable sounds. I guess that’s not really weird after all. Sometimes familiar is just what the doctor ordered.

It was also the year that Spotify changed the way I listen to my music. Unable to access iTunes at work, I relied on the greatness that is Spotify, to help me through my long days.

While that in itself isn’t a bit deal, it has altered the criteria I use to select the songs of the year.

Here is the altered criteria….

1. All songs must have been released by September of 2011 (same as previous years)
2. Number of months a song made it to the monthly playlist (same as previous years)
3. Number of Spotify plays (from memory mostly) (new criteria)
4. Number of iTunes plays (same as previous years)

I will be posting my top songs of the year over the next 11-days (excluding Christmas Day) until we get to the top song — on New Year’s Eve.

So without further ado (drum roll) let’s get it on!

NUMBER 10

As I mentioned, this was the year of the familiar sound for me. So I can’t think of a better way to kick off the countdown that with the a return of a familiar sound. It’s hard to believe it had been over a decade since we last hear new music from this band…collectively. In my opinion, their first single didn’t disappoint. In fact, the sound was so familiar and awesome…it felt like they had never left.

Kicking of my top songs of 2012 countdown is No Doubt and their comeback single “Settle Down.”