In 2024, I embarked on a completely unnecessary journey. I created a note on my phone titled “Album Listening List 2024” in an attempt to log every single album I listened to for a year. I began the nearly 300 item list on January 1st. Here’s what I learned:
As a collector of CDs, I have always believed that consuming an album start to finish is the ultimate way to interact with music. Ever since The Beatles popularized the concept of a cohesive, artistic album instead of a random amalgamation of hit singles and meaningless filler, the order of songs in an album has now become part of the statement.
Every released album since then is a look into the current state of an artist, a themed project that functions as a whole to deliver one general message or vibe. For me to fully enjoy a piece of music, listening to a title in its intended form is always preferred.
That is why I challenged myself to branch out and delve into as many albums as I could in a year. Perhaps it was my desire to be as well-versed as possible in music culture, or my longstanding tendency to collect information. Whatever the origin of the idea, the 365 day long project was most certainly a learning experience.
On January 1st, at a New Year’s Eve party, we listened to John Mayer’s Room for Squares. And so it began.
By December 31st, I had logged 268 albums. Not 268 differentiated albums, but I sat down and listened to an album that many times. I remember ambitiously hoping to somehow achieve 1000 by the end of the year, but I soon found out that it would be impossible. Consuming an entire album is a commitment of time. Sometimes an hour or more each, and especially in the age of screenagers, keeping my attention span up was a difficult task.
Soon into the endeavor, I began looking at the log as something akin to a progress bar. Every time I increased the number, I kept increasing the potential end result in my mind. Simultaneously, my friend Owen Ettinger also embarked on the same journey. Since we shared each note with one another, a subconscious competition ensued.
Some days I actively pushed myself to get another album in, by using the 40 minutes spent walking the track in PE, or 45 minute long car ride to eke out one more.
On March 19th, I listened to 5 titles, with at least 4 taking place in school. Back in the days of earbuds being allowed after finishing work, I strategically used that time to begin a new listen. Hilariously, one album listed that day is Tame Impala’s EP from 2008; a 6 track, 26 minute long release that I distinctly remember choosing because I had exactly that much time left in the professional period.
As I look back at this list, certain standout titles evoke the exact memory or feeling from when I listened. I think to myself: Why on Earth did I listen to Verities and Balderdash by Harry Chapin of all albums? Immediately I remember the box of CDs Coach Murphy gave to me when he learned about my collection, and how intrigued I was not only by the title of this album, but the track called “30,000 Pounds of Bananas.”
I gathered some interesting data based on this list that I think is absolutely fascinating. For example, I listened to exactly 100 different albums in that year, and I can’t tell if this is more or less than I expected. I’m proud of myself for consuming exactly 100 different pieces of music but it also raises another question: There are 268 total albums. Which album did I play the most times?
The answer is Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Though my first listen was on the 16th of March, the 9 times after that were all in the late summer and early fall of the year. This is because, during a trip to Ocean City, NJ, I discovered “Landslide.” If I was measuring what song I listened to most, it would most certainly be that one. Funnily enough, “Landslide” isn’t even on Rumours, but instead Fleetwood Mac. It merely inspired me to listen to the classic 70s rock album, which I liked so much I listened 9 times in two months.
Of course, the list is filled with repetition. I listened to Rubber Soul by The Beatles twice in one day, every Tame Impala album several times, and Moon Music by Coldplay which I continually listened to after its release date in October of that year.
Though there were several days, like January 1st, where I listened to as many as 5 albums in one day, none compared to February 8th with 8 titles. I am immediately taken back to that day: a ski trip in Aspen Colorado. I quickly downloaded all 8 albums before the flight and somehow got through every single one during those hours of travel.
Interestingly, my album count dipped heavily towards the end of the year. Maybe I had less and less time as the school year picked up, or maybe I realized that I wasn’t anywhere close to 1000, let alone 500, and lost my ambition. In the beginning of the year, I averaged nearly 10 albums a week, but from November to December I was lucky to have logged 1.
Come January 1st, 2025, I did not make a new note. I decided not to continue the project, thinking I wouldn’t listen to enough albums for it to be worthwhile. In some ways, this was true. Sophomore year to junior year is a much busier time for a high school student, and I unfortunately haven’t sat down and spun a CD in its entirety in weeks.
However, reading through these titles and transporting back to 2024, imagining the exact situation I was in on that day, was eye opening. Not only was that note a fascinating look into my interests, phases, and moods throughout that year, but a dusted over time capsule hiding vacations, events, hangouts, and holidays.
Having the “Album Listening List 2024” note pinned to the top of the app and glancing at me from a widget on my homescreen constantly inspired me to grab a CD from the shelf that year. It allowed me to take a break from whatever I was doing and enjoy my absolute favorite pastime. I hope I commit to a 2026 list and get back into the swing of listening. I intend to set a goal from the start instead of mindlessly changing it, and set an additional number of different albums to listen to.
Until then, tune back in to The Providential on January 1st, 2027 and maybe the sequel article will be published.
Stats:
Most listened to album: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac (10x)
Most albums in a day: February 8th (8)
Most listened to artist: John Mayer (50x)
Most frequent genre: Rock
Most frequent decade of music: 2000s
First album: Room For Squares by John Mayer
100th album: Currents by Tame Impala
200th album: In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson
268th album: Moon Music by Coldplay
Approximate hours listened: 188 Hours (just over an entire week!)