Milestone: 1st Anniversary, and 200 reviews

Well, here we are, one year (and a few days) into the project. I haven't kept up the pace I wanted to, although posting a review every single day, including weekends, was overly optimistic of me. But at least with 200 reviews, I can look back satisfied that I've made a good dent in the list.

I've liked 90 of the 200 songs, and not liked 110 songs. I'm actually surprised it's that close to equal. I really expected to dislike a lot more songs. Maybe hearing some of the truly terrible songs I've heard has relaxed my standards. Maybe listening to all this pop music has made me start to like songs I never would have liked before. My theory is that sometimes, sitting down and actually giving a pop song your undivided attention can actually improve your perception of it. If nothing else, sometimes that causes me to respect a song even if I don't like it all that much.

So how do the results break down by decade?

(1950s: Like 1, Don't like 4. Decade score: 20%)
1960s: Like 24, Don't like 21. Decade score: 53%
1970s: Like 20, Don't like 28. Decade score: 42%
1980s: Like 25, Don't like 22. Decade score: 53%
1990s: Like 10, Don't like 16. Decade score: 38%
2000s: Like 9, Don't like 17. Decade score: 35%
(2010s: Like 1, Don't like 2. Decade score: 33%)

I would have guessed that the 60s and 80s would wind up with the most favorable ratios, and by quite a bit. It seems to me that good music and popular music were closer together then. I know there's plenty of great rock and roll from the 1970s, but little of it reached that No. 1 spot. And I still remember the day I went through the list looking for the first Grunge No. 1 of the 90s (there's isn't one).
It's interesting to look at some of that data, though. I think it's particularly fascinating how many fewer No. 1 songs there were in the 90s and 2000s, as compared to the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I know it could be randomness skewing my sample, but I also know that it took 5 years to get songs 1-100 on the list (1958-1963), but took 9 years to get songs 801-900 (1995-2004). Songs stayed at the top of the charts longer past the 90s. Some of that is due to shifting tastes. A lot of it is due to changing rules about how the charts are calculated, too, and the cultural music shifts that accompanied that.

As for my favorite and least favorite songs I've reviwed, those are both surprisingly easy:

My favorite song so far is still "I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (#514). It's a solid, energetic rock song. Since I reviewed it, I have actually purchased two Joan Jett albums, I Love Rock 'N Roll and Bad Reputation. The title tracks to the two albums are the best songs on each, although I do also love her punk rock cover of the rock classic "Shout."

Runner-up favorite song: "So What" by Pink (#964). Every pop song should be this lovingly crafted and emotionally impacting.

My least favorite song remains "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dog featuring Pharrell (#910). It's an unpleasant, atonal mess of grating sounds that is barely music. I seriously doubt any other song on the list will unseat this one.

And that's that. The first 200 songs, and the first year. Here's looking forward to the next 200 songs and the next year.