The Hideaway 20: The 89 Most-Listened To Songs from July 2026

For five months in a row now, I have intentionally listened to music every single day, and as expected, it has been a wonderful experience, though I am unsure if I will be able to sustain the streak through August & September. In July, the day with the lowest amount of music listening was July 8th, with just 51 songs heard, while on the 27th, I was able to listen all day, enjoying 168 songs over a little more than 11 hours. At month's end, there was a ten-way tie for most listened-to song and a seventy-nine-way tie for second most listened-to song, giving us The Hideaway 89. Coincidentally, 89 tracks were added to the House Blend (The Hideaway's official daily playlist) in July, boosting the playlist up to 5,758 songs. I had listened to 2,429 of those songs, or 42.2% of them. Accounting for tracks with multiple listens, I heard a total of 3,062 songs, averaging 98 per day. The oldest song to make the countdown this month was Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" from 1960, while the newest track was "Good Side" by Crash Adams from 2024. Barry Manilow, Cher, Guns N' Roses, and U2 all landed two tracks each on the countdown. Six songs make their second appearance on The Hideaway 20 this year. Odd thing I noticed about the countdown is the word rose appearing multiple times in both song titles and artist names.

	July 2026 — Top 89 Most Listened To Songs
rank	title	artist	year
89	I'll Be Good To You	Brothers Johnson	1976
88	Roses Are Red (My Love)	Bobby Vinton	1962
87	Loverboy	Billy Ocean	1984
86	The Walls Came Down	The Call	1983
85	Swearin' To God	Frankie Valli	1975
84	Welcome To The Jungle	Guns N' Roses	1987
83	It Never Rains in Southern California	Albert Hammond	1972
82	Look Who's Lonely Now	Bill LaBounty	1982
81	Magic	Olivia Newton-John	1980
80	Rude	MAGIC!	2013
79	You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)	Dead Or Alive	1985
78	Mysterious Ways	U2	1991
77	Pour Me	Trick Pony	2001
76	Rough Boy	ZZ Top	1985
75	Your Woman	White Town	1997
74	Who Can It Be Now?	Men At Work	1982
73	Fire	The Pointer Sisters	1978
72	Take Me Home	Cher	1979
71	Tango In The Night	Fleetwood Mac	1987
70	The Load-Out/Stay	Jackson Browne	1977
69	Zorba The Greek	Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass	1965
68	I Wanna Be Adored	The Stone Roses	1989
67	Country State Of Mind	Hank Williams Jr.	1986
66	One Hundred Ways	Quincy Jones feat. James Ingram	1981
65	Face The Face	Pete Townshend	1985
64	Goodbye 70's	Yaz	1982
63	I Feel The Earth Move	Carole King	1971
62	Video Killed The Radio Star	The Buggles	1979
61	Gotta Be Somebody	Nickelback	2008
60	I Want You To Want Me (live)	Cheap Trick	1978
59	Elevation	U2	2000
58	Good Side	Crash Adams	2024
57	Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo	Tracy Byrd	2002
56	Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves	Cher	1971
55	Long Road Out Of Eden	Eagles	2007
54	I'm Sorry	Brenda Lee	1960
53	Home	Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros	2010
52	Grace Kelly	Mika	2007
51	Meet Me At Our Spot	The Anxiety	2020
50	Aerials	System Of A Down	2001
49	The Most Beautiful Girl	Charlie Rich	1973
48	The Show	Doug E. Fresh	1985
47	Up On Cripple Creek	The Band	1969
46	People Are Crazy	Billy Currington	2008
45	Star Baby	The Guess Who	1974
44	Ready to Take a Chance Again	Barry Manilow	1978
43	Crimson and Clover	Joan Jett and the Blackhearts	1982
42	Into The Mystic	Van Morrison	1970
41	Silly Love Songs	Wings	1976
40	Space Cowboy	Jonzun Crew	1983
39	R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.	John Cougar Mellencamp	1985
38	Sweet Child O' Mine	Guns N' Roses	1987
37	Chelsea Dagger	The Fratellis	2006
36	Gloria	Them	1964
35	Until You Come Back To Me	Aretha Franklin	1974
34	Can't Hold Us	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton	2011
33	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	Elton John	1973
32	Valerie	Steve Winwood	1982
31	Can't Smile Without You	Barry Manilow	1978
30	Photograph	Ed Sheeran	2015
29	Show Me What I'm Looking For	Carolina Liar	2008
28	The House Of The Rising Sun	The Animals	1964
27	Hello, I Love You	The Doors	1968
26	Burning The Ground	Duran Duran	2004
25	Queen Of Hearts	Juice Newton	1981
24	Dry The Rain	The Beta Band	1997
23	Rose Colored Glasses	John Conlee	1978
22	So Wrong	Patrick Simmons	1983
21	Signs	Five Man Electric Band	1971
20	Dancing In The Dark	Bruce Springsteen	1984
19	Union Man	The Cate Brothers	1975
18	Proto/Star Wars - Main Title	Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra	1984
17	Undercover of The Night	The Rolling Stones	1983
16	You Don't Have To Be A Star...	Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.	1976
15	Strong Enough	Sheryl Crow	1993
14	Change	John Waite	1982
13	Back In My Arms Again	The Supremes	1965
12	One's On The Way	Loretta Lynn	1971
11	Beat It	Michael Jackson	1982
10	Only the Good Die Young	Billy Joel	1977
9	Can't Get There From Here	R.E.M.	1985
8	Roxanne	The Police	1978
7	I Will Survive	Gloria Gaynor	1978
6	Come Monday	Jimmy Buffett	1974
5	Escape	Enrique Iglesias	2001
4	Can't Shake Loose	Agnetha Fältskog	1983
3	Understand Your Man	Johnny Cash	1964
2	Step By Step	Eddie Rabbitt	1981
1	We'll Sing In The Sunshine	Gale Garnett	1964

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For this month's Hideaway 20 Flashback, we're jumping back to July 2019 for The Hideaway 47. It's a power-pop-infused collection, conclusive evidence I was in the midst of researching the post about Come Out and Play: American Power Pop I (1975-1978) from Rhino's fabulous DIY compilation series. Many of my other favorites filled out the countdown. The oldest track was Dion's "Lovers Who Wander" from 1962, while the two newest tracks came out in 2016. The Paley Brothers have five tracks in the countdown, while three other acts (Big Star, Flamin' Groovies, and The Knack) landed two tracks apiece on the list. Compared to the July 26 playlist, this Flashback shows focus: what I was choosing to listen to at the time, as opposed to just pressing the >II button and letting the shuffle function set the course, which has been my daily routine since 2023.

	July 2019 — Top 47 Most Listened To Songs
rank	title	artist	year
47	You Tore Me Down	Flamin' Groovies	1976
46	September Gurls	Big Star	1974
45	Just Another Day	Oingo Boingo	1985
44	I'm On Fire	Dwight Twilley Band	1975
43	What Do All the People Know?	The Monroes	1982
42	Turn the Tide	Paley Brothers	1978
41	Carnival (live)	Natalie Merchant	1999
40	Dreaming	Blondie	1979
39	Who Are You	The Who	1978
38	Just the Two of Us	Grover Washington, Jr. feat. Bill Withers	1980
37	Steal My Sunshine	Len	1999
36	You're So Vain	Carly Simon	1972
35	Rock n Roll Girl	Paul Collins	1979
34	Behind the Wall of Sleep	The Smithereens	1986
33	Brand New Day	Sting	1999
32	Come On, Come On	Cheap Trick	1977
31	Down the Line	Paley Brothers	1978
30	I'll Be Around	The Spinners	1973
29	Go Your Own Way	Fleetwood Mac	1977
28	My Sharona	The Knack	1979
27	Can't Wait	Piper	1977
26	I Heard The Bluebirds Sing	Paley Brothers	1978
25	Wild World	Jimmy Cliff	1970
24	Lack of Communication	Ratt	1984
23	Jolene	Dolly Parton	1974
22	Good Girls Don't	The Knack	1979
21	Why Are You Not Rocking?	Monster Truck	2016
20	Whenever You're On My Mind	Marshall Crenshaw	1983
19	Head Over Boots	Jon Pardi	2016
18	Bang Pop	Free Energy	2010
17	Margaritaville	Jimmy Buffett	1977
16	Tell Me Tonight	Paley Brothers	1978
15	Tell That Girl to Shut Up	Holly and the Italians	1981
14	Baby It's You	Phil Seymour	1980
13	Lovers Who Wander	Dion	1962
12	Lonely Hearts	The Atlantics	1980
11	La Grange	ZZ Top	1973
10	Teacher Teacher	Rockpile	1980
9	I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend	The Rubinoos	1978
8	Stay with Me	Faces	1971
7	London Calling	The Clash	1979
6	What I Like About You	The Romantics	1980
5	Come Out and Play	Paley Brothers	1978
4	Cruel to Be Kind	Nick Lowe	1979
3	Shake Some Action	Flamin' Groovies	1976
2	Thirteen	Big Star	1974
1	Where Have You Been All My Life	Fotomaker	1978