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First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.

#1. Backstreet Boys
1) Nick Carter
2) Brian Littrell
3) *NSYNC
4) Aaron Carter
5) Westlife
6) Jesse McCartney
7) 98 Degrees
8) Blue

#2. Heather Nova
9) Jewel
10) Sarah Bettens
11) Chantal Kreviazuk
12) Beth Orton
13) Natalie Merchant
14) Paula Cole
15) Beth Hart
16) Lisa Loeb

#3. Westlife
17) Boyzone
18) Brian McFadden
19) A1
20) Backstreet Boys
21) Ronan Keating
Blue
22) Gareth Gates
23) Shayne Ward

#4. Bryan Adams
24) Bon Jovi
25) Phil Collins
26) Roxette
27) Richard Marx
28) Mike & The Mechanics
29) Jon Bon Jovi
30) Foreigner
31) Bonnie Tyler

#5. Hanson
32) Tinted Windows
33) Everybody Else
34) The Moffatts
35) Ingram Hill
36) Ben Jelen
37) Locksley
38) O-Town
39) Michael Tolcher

#6. The Beatles
40) John Lennon
41) George Harrison
42) Paul McCartney
43) Ringo Starr
44) Paul McCartney & Wings
45) Wings
46) The Who
47) Paul & Linda McCartney

#7. Silbermond
48) Christina Stürmer
49) Juli
50) Revolverheld
51) Cassandra Steen
52) Rosenstolz
53) Ich + Ich
54) Wir sind Helden
55) Pur

#8. Allison Crowe
56) Josh Woodward
57) Rachael Sage
57) Rob Costlow
58) Ruth Theodore
59) Charlotte Martin
60) Maya Filipič
61) Vienna Teng
62) Steven Dunston

#9. Amanda Marshall
63) Jann Arden
Chantal Kreviazuk
64) Tara MacLean
65) Holly McNarland
66) Melissa Etheridge
67) Alannah Myles
68) Sophie B. Hawkins
69) Meredith Brooks

#10. Peter, Paul & Mary
70) The Kingston Trio
71) Joan Baez
72) Judy Collins
73) Pete Seeger
74) John Denver
75) Gordon Lightfoot
76) Arlo Guthrie
77) The Seekers

#11. Sarah McLachlan
Natalie Merchant
Jann Arden
Jewel
Paula Cole
Chantal Kreviazuk
Tara MacLean
78) Poe
79) Shawn Colvin

#12. Nerina Pallot
80) Amy Studt
81) Lucie Silvas
82) Sandi Thom
83) Anna Nalick
84) Siobhan Donaghy
85) Holly Brook
Charlotte Martin
86) Rachael Yamagata

#13. Sandi Thom
87) Nerina Pallot
Amy Studt
Lucie Silvas
88) Remi Nicole
89) Terra Naomi
90) KT Tunstall
Anna Nalick
Holly Brook

#14. Dixie Chicks
91) Trisha Yearwood
92) Faith Hill
93) Martina McBride
94) Sara Evans
95) Miranda Lambert
96) Gretchen Wilson
97) SHeDaisy
98) LeAnn Rimes

#15. Elvis Presley
99) Jerry Lee Lewis
100) Chuck Berry
101) Ricky Nelson
102) Roy Orbison
103) Eddie Cochran
104) Gene Vincent
105) Buddy Holly
106) The Everly Brothers

#16. Sheryl Crow
Jewel
107) Joan Osborne
108) Alanis Morissette
Meredith Brooks
109) Sarah McLachlan
110) Texas
Melissa Etheridge
111) Liz Phair

#17. 3 Doors Down
112) Nickelback
113) Breaking Benjamin
114) Three Days Grace
115) Hoobastank
116) Hinder
117) Theory of a Deadman
118) Daughtry
119) Creed

#18. Jewel
Sarah McLachlan
120) Sheryl Crow
Lisa Loeb
121) Heather Nova
Paula Cole
Alanis Morissette
Chantal Kreviazuk
Natalie Merchant

#19. Avril Lavigne
122) Pitty
123) The Veronicas
124) Ashlee Simpson
125) Hilary Duff
126) Paramore
127) Skye Sweetnam
128) Lindsay Lohan
129) Katy Perry

#20. Matchbox Twenty
130) Rob Thomas
131) Tabitha's Secret
132) Train
133) Goo Goo Dolls
134) Vertical Horizon
135) Nine Days
136) Counting Crows
137) Lifehouse

Final Score:
137/160

My favourite albums of the decade...

1. abattoir blues/the lyre of orpheus - Nick Cave And Bad Seeds 2004
2. funeral - Arcade Fire 2004
3. the letting go - Bonnie Prince Billy 2006
4. motherland - Natalie Merchant 2001
5. ys - Joanna Newsom 2006
6. mirrored - Battles 2007
7. orphans - Tom Waits 2006
8. rook - Shearwater 2008
9. sound of silver - LCD Soundsystem 2007
10. back to black - Amy Winehouse 2006

11. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips 2002
12. and then nothing turned itself inside out - Yo La Tengo 2000
13. gold sounds - James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Ali Jackson, Reginald Veal 2005
14. bubblegum - Mark Lanegan Band 2004
15. elephant - The White Stripes 2003
16. franz ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand 2004
17. songs for the deaf - The Queens of the Stone Age 2002
18. xtrmntr - Primal Scream 2000
19. divine shadows - Dhafer Youssef 2006
20. the life pursuit - Belle and Sebastian 2006

21. the for carnation - The For Carnation 2000
22. the decline of british sea power - British Sea Power 2003
23. clap your hands say yeah! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! 2005
24. in rainbows - Radiohead 2007
25. is this it - The Strokes 2001
26. silent shout - The Knife 2006
27. moving - Bugge Wesseltoft 2001
28. O - Damien Rice 2003
29. broken - Soulsavers 2009
30. the world has made me the man of my dreams - Me'Shell Ndegeocello 2007

31. The Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit 2008
32. didn't it rain - Songs Ohia 2002
33. Grinderman - Grinderman 2007
34. Fur And Gold - Bat for Lashes 2007
35. Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair 2008
36. supermodified - Amon Tobin 2000
37. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend 2008
38. Where you go, I go too - Lindstrom 2008
39. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - PJ Harvey 2000
40. 'sno angel like you by Howe Gelb 2006

I only allowed 1 album per artist.

So, guess what. I'm selling a TON of my CDs on Ebay. Go crazy!:

CD Bundles

I'm selling them in bundles like so...:

6 CD Bundle: folk and indie singer/songwriters
Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Josh Rouse and more


9 CD Bundle: emo punk rock- Get Up Kids, Saves the Day
Dashboard Confessional, Pedro the Lion, Vagrant Recrds


6 CD Bundle: brit pop and brit rock Albums
Bloc Party, British Sea Power, The Cure and more


9 CD Bundle: alternative grunge 90s Rock
Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Coughing


6 CD Bundle: Female Singer/Songwriters
Aimee Mann, Leona Naess, Tiff Merritt, Natalie Merchant


6 CD Bundle: indie rock
Interpol, The Strokes, ...Trail of Dead and more


7 CD Bundle: GREATEST Rock Artists of All Time
Bob Dylan, The Kinks, Lou Reed, The Smiths, David Byrne


8 CD-DVD Bundle: Rock and pop
Dave Matthews Band, blink-182, The Samples, Dane Cook


5 CD Bundle: Punk Indie Albums - The Clash...
At The Drive In, Blood Brothers, Pretty Girls Make Graves


6 CD Bundle: Punk Indie Emo Albums -- Alkaline Trio...
Less Than Jake, Hey Mercedes, Eastern Youth


7 CD Bundle: Indie / Pop - Cat Power, Grandaddy,
Phantom Planet, Mazzy Star, Uncle Tupelo, Asobi Seksu


8 CD Bundle: Indie/Electro- Four Tet, NERD, La Roux
Dizzee Rascal, Cibo Mato, Major Laze[artist]r, [artist]Fatboy, Massive Attack


6 Rap / Hip Hop CD Bundle
Jay-Z, OutKast, The Roots, Jurassic 5, Limp Bizkit

Some charts, findings, fun things etc...

The mundane easy stuff:

Top 10 Artists by playcount:
1. Brad Paisley - 6,021 plays
2. Morrissey - 2,708 plays
3. Greg Edmonson - 2,450 plays
4. Natalie Merchant - 2,382 plays
5. Murray Gold - 2,100 plays
6. Josh Turner - 2,071 plays
7. Tori Amos - 2,043 plays
8. Keith Urban - 2,027 plays
9. John Barrowman - 2,026 plays
10. 10,000 Maniacs - 1,546 plays

Top 10 Albums by playcount:
1. Greg Edmonson - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - 1767 plays
2. Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night - 1527 plays
3. Jeremy Soule - Oblivion Original Soundtrack - 1098 plays
4. Brad Paisley - Mud on the Tires - 1084 plays
5. Stillhouse Hollow - Dakota - 964 plays
6. Keith Urban - Keith Urban: Greatest Hits - 857 plays
7. Brad Paisley - 5th Gear - 783 plays
8. Murray Gold - Doctor Who - Series 3 (Original Television Soundtrack) - 753 plays
9. Greg Edmonson - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Original Soundtrack from the Video Game) - 683 plays
=. Murray Gold - Doctor Who (Original Television Soundtrack) - 683 plays

Top 10 Songs by playcount:
1. Greg Edmonson - Nate's Theme - 214 plays
2. Brad Paisley - Oh Yeah, You're Gone - 184 plays
3. John Barrowman - You'll Think of Me - 167 plays
4. Brad Paisley - The Best Thing That I Had Goin' - 159 plays
5. Brad Paisley - Everybody's Here - 153 plays
6. Keith Urban - Romeo's Tune - 148 plays
7. Brad Paisley - Welcome To The Future - 148 plays
8. 10,000 Maniacs - Don't Talk - 146 plays
9. Murray Gold - Doomsday - 143 plays
10. Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night - 137 plays

Best discoveries:
- Brad Paisley - Well duh. Truth is I first scrobbled I'm Still a Guy back in Oct 08, but obviously wasn't paying attention enough, as it wasn't till the new year that I really discovered him. And listened to him over 6,000 times. Love his humour, and ability to sing sentimental songs without being soppy. Anything Like Me is a case in point here.
- Greg Edmonson - not so much of a discovery, as I already had listened to his music through playing the Uncharted games, but had a lot of difficulty finding where to buy it. Made up for lost time, though, as now Nate's Theme is now my most played track. It is possibly the best minute and three quarters of music ever written/performed. I have a big big crush on Nathan Drake, and this beautiful tune only makes me love him more.
- Stillhouse Hollow - contacted me through Twitter, and I have to say, I was utterly delighted, as there was no way in hell I would have found them myself. Their acoustic countryesque blugrassy music and harmonies are simply incredible. Through them I also discovered Josh Preston who is also amazing.
- Jace Everett - pleased to be able to say I'd listened to him before seeing True Blood, although that tune is amazing. I was delighted to get to see him at the Monto Water Rats in King's Cross, and was right down the front, right in front of him. He is really charismatic, and moves the way his voice sounds. It was an amazing performance, and would love to see him again.

Best concerts:
- Jace Everett - see above. Can't stress enough how great this was. I spoke to him afterwards and asked him to ask his Nashville buddies to come to the UK, as we don't get our fair share of Country Music over here. He said he already does. Top man.
- Jazz voice - Not a jazz fan (through ignorance rather than taste) but took the opportunity to go to this gig, purely because Natalie Merchant was to do a couple of tracks. Having been a fan for 15 odd years, I have never gotten to see her live. When finally I did, I burst into tears. She truly is beautiful. And I enjoyed most of the rest of the gig, so it was win all round.
- Morrissey - got to see him twice, in quick succession in the end, as one was postponed from May to October. When he did finally get back to gigging I felt he looked more relaxed than I had seen him before, and in better spirits and humour than I had seen. And he sang Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself that made me cry somewhat, as I love it so much, and hadn't heard him do it live before.

Hopes for 2010:
As a fan of Country music, I would like to get the opportunity to see more of it live. Other than Jace Everett none of the ones I like seem to come over the pond. I know I could have seen Taylor Swift or Toby Keith but of course they are two that I don't really like/want to see. I am really talking, of course, to Mr Brad Paisley. I was delighted to see that he was extending his American Saturday Night Tour into 2010, but really upset that he is not setting foot outside the US. I know that he has a young family etc. but he also has a lot of fans in Europe, and I believe he would be pleasantly surprised by the reception that we want to give him. He wouldn't have to come here for long, just a date in London... But, he is not the only one I would like to see - Josh Turner and Keith Urban in London would make me immensely happy too. The onus is not just on Brad here.

I understand that Natalie Merchant is releasing a new album next year, which I am looking forward to a lot. I also hope that a tour goes with it, as I would love to see her do her own solo show. Albums from Lonesome Spurs and Stillhouse Hollow would also go down a treat.

So next year, basically I want more gigs and albums from the people I like.

I can't believe it's Already December. This time last year I was doing promotions for night clubs and strip clubs for my now boyfriends company and then leaving over to Oceanside, CA on my birthday. I feel like I'm back tracking. Dealing with old issues, completing old tasks, and I want to have it done before 2010, but theirs no way thats happening. I'm on probation till' March and then I can leave to California, if I had to wait till December 2011, I think I'd go nuts! I had an an assessment at the mental health center yesterday and apparently I'm a mild insomniac, have clinical depression and clinical anxiety disorder. How wonderful, I was perfectly fine up until I got back into Oregon. I really had wanted to visit Oregon, but not end up staying here and now I don't have a choice. I hate having my feet pulled out from under me and having to let others choices be my choices. Its a horrible feeling to have to live with unstable people and have them constantly down somebodys throats. I know this is a music site. This isn't group therapy. I just felt like throwing all this bologna up into the air so it wouldn't be 10,000 pounds on my mind for the four months.
Speaking of 10,000, I got the 10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged along with Paper Trail which was long overdue for my music library. I remember last year my friend Jason was obsessed with T.I. and Young Joc and I always made fun of him for it while I sang along. I don't mind it at all though, 10,000 maniacs or more like Natalie Merchant has that non chalance about her voice that I could listen to in almost any atmosphere. T.I. is good shower dancing music if I don't say so myself! haha :)

emcxmc's top albums (overall)
1. Toni Childs - Keep the Faith (355) 2. Heather Nova - Redbird (293) 3. Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor (290) 4. Rachael Yamagata - Happenstance (224) 5. A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea (203) 6. Maria McKee - Peddlin' Dreams (177) 7. Tori Amos - American Doll Posse (167) 8. Mindy Smith - Stupid Love (159) 9. Heather Nova - The Jasmine Flower (157) 10. A Fine Frenzy - Bomb In A Birdcage (156) 11. Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily (154) 12. Natalie Merchant - Live in Concert (134) 13. Jewel - Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (126) 14. Madonna - Hard Candy (Deluxe Version) (124) 15. Sheryl Crow - Detours (123) 16. Eddi Reader - Peacetime (114) 17. Feist - The Reminder (114) 18. Tori Amos - Abnormally Attracted To Sin (114) 19. Natalie Merchant - Motherland (112) 20. Natalie Merchant - Ophelia (107) 21. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope (101) 22. Miranda Lee Richards - Light Of X (99) 23. Maria McKee - Life Is Sweet (98) 24. Charlotte Martin - Reproductions (98) 25. Kristin Hersh - Strange Angels (98) 26. Eddi Reader - Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns (96) 27. Cat Power - The Covers Record (94) 28. Mary Margaret O'Hara - Miss America (93) 29. Kristin Hersh - Hips and Makers (93) 30. Eddi Reader - Simple Soul (93) 31. Toni Childs - House of Hope (92) 32. Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque (91) 33. Jane Siberry - When I Was A Boy (90) 34. Eddi Reader - Love Is The Way (90) 35. Kristin Hersh - Sunny Border Blue (89) 36. Kristin Hersh - Learn To Sing Like A Star (84) 37. Regina Spektor - Far (83) 38. Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (80) 39. This Mortal Coil - Blood (80) 40. Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll (77) 41. Rachael Yamagata - Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into (76) 42. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside (75) 43. Eddi Reader - Angels & Electricity (75) 44. Miranda Lambert - Revolution (75) 45. Tori Amos - The Beekeeper (74) 46. Sheryl Crow - Wildflower (73) 47. Heather Nova - Storm (72) 48. The Pretenders - Greatest Hits (71) 49. Eddi Reader - Driftwood (70) 50. Cat Power - The Greatest (67)