Hi! They call me Jarrod. Welcome to my site. A collection of collections, a boyhood fascination with Casey Kasem turned into an adult hobby of collecting, organizing, and counting down songs, a passion for music and song. The countdown emporium!
Before I explain I think it is important to take a moment to take notice of those who helped nurture this passion. My father, with his giant collection of records ranging from Willie Nelson to Motorhead, got me listening to all sorts of great music before I could put on a record myself. My uncle, who worked in the music business and gave me access to free concert tickets, free music and the introduction to the fabulous Billboard magazine! My mother who would drive me to Ames as a kid to get 45’s any time I had an extra $1.50 to blow. My older brother who heard of all the cool bands before me and let me borrow their tapes…from Violent Femmes to the Cure, from Run DMC to the Beastie Boys. And of course, my sister, who sat through all of my countdowns every year of our childhood as I counted down the hits on my fake radio station. They all helped make this site as much as I did.
Ever since I was 8 years old I enjoyed the music countdown. I would listen to American Top 40 every weekend and especially enjoy the year end Top 100 songs. In 1985 I made my first countdown. I cannot remember how many songs were in it but I know that number one was “Oh Sheila” by Ready for the World! From then on, I made Top 100 countdowns each year until 1993, when I became an angsty teen and had better things to do.
I remember as I got out of my teen years, our alternative channel WHFS had its Top 500 songs of the 1990’s and I listened all weekend and even recorded it on cassettes. Countdowns were reborn! Beginning in 2000, I have made a year end countdown and have continued to do so to this day, currently making a year Top 500.
Music is one of the greatest parts of life. Music can make a great day even better and can make a bad day bearable. Music can say the things we cannot to those we love, or hate. Music can tie together a memory or a time, a place, a person. Music allows us to travel in time, even if it is just for 4 minutes at a time. So countdowns aren’t just a list of songs to look through and analyze. They are like a photo album, something to sit back and enjoy and reminisce. Whether it’s just the past year or the last decade or your whole life, the music countdown is a journey, and it is something I have been passionate about for over 35 years.
Now, I am able to bring this passion to you and share my weekly, yearly and specialized countdowns so that you can enjoy and hopefully appreciate, the love and care I put into these countdowns.
Please enjoy my weekly Top 100 that will be updated on this site as well as my past year end countdowns and decade lists, specialty countdowns and eventually, the Top 10,000 songs of all time!