1. DIZZY – The Million Reasons (2)
2. CLOSER – IAMWARFACE (1)
3. GHOST – Badflower (5)
4. NATURAL – Imagine Dragons (3)
5. NEVERMIND – Dennis Lloyd (4)
6. NINA CRIED POWER – Hozier featuring Mavis Staples (10)
7. BETTER NOW – Post Malone (6)
8. BURN THE HOUSE DOWN – AJR (7)
9. ALL MY FRIENDS – The Revivalists (8)
10. CITY LOOKS PRETTY – Courtney Barnett (12)
11. PANIC – Agency Panic (13)
12. WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS – Greta Van Fleet (9)
13. TIDAL WAVE – Portugal.The Man (14)
14. BODY TALKS – The Struts (15)
15. SHE’S KEROSENE – The Interrupters (16)
16. GOLD RUSH – Death Cab for Cutie (11)
17. IN MY MIND – Draft Evader (19)
18. LOADING ZONES – Kurt Vile (20)
19. UH HUH – Jade Bird (25)
20. HAPPIER – Marshmello featuring Bastille (26)
21. MY BLOOD – twenty one pilots (27)
22. SHAME – Elle King (28)
23. JUMPSUIT – twenty one pilots (17)
24. SUPERWOMAN SWAY – Brett Vogel (24)
25. GUIDING LIGHT – Mumford & Sons (29)
26. CRAZY – From Ashes to New (18)
27. RIDE OR DIE – The Knocks featuring Foster the People (21)
28. UNREALITIES – Dying Habit (30)
29. FEELS LIKE SUMMER – Childish Gambino (23)
30. YOU’RE SOMEBODY ELSE – flora cash (N)
1. CLOSER – IAMWARFACE (1) 3rd week at #1 2. DIZZY – The Million Reasons (3)
3. NATURAL – Imagine Dragons (2)
4. NEVERMIND – Dennis Lloyd (4)
5. GHOST – Badflower (6)
6. BETTER NOW – Post Malone (8)
7. BURN THE HOUSE DOWN – AJR (9)
8. ALL MY FRIENDS – The Revivalists (10)
9. WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS – Greta Van Fleet (7)
10. NINA CRIED POWER – Hozier featuring Mavis Staples (25)
11. GOLD RUSH – Death Cab for Cutie (5)
12. CITY LOOKS PRETTY – Courtney Barnett (14)
13. PANIC – Agency Panic (15)
14. TIDAL WAVE – Portugal.The Man (16)
15. BODY TALKS – The Struts (17)
16. SHE’S KEROSENE – The Interrupters (18)
17. JUMPSUIT – twenty one pilots (11)
18. CRAZY – From Ashes to New (13)
19. IN MY MIND – Draft Evader (20)
20. LOADING ZONES – Kurt Vile (23)
21. RIDE OR DIE – The Knocks featuring Foster the People (19)
22. SOMETHING HUMAN – Muse (12)
23. FEELS LIKE SUMMER – Childish Gambino (21)
24. SUPERWOMAN SWAY – Brett Vogel (26)
25. UH HUH – Jade Bird (29)
26. HAPPIER – Marshmello, Bastille (30)
27. MY BLOOD – twenty one pilots (N)
28. SHAME – Elle King (N)
29. GUIDING LIGHT – Mumford & Sons (N)
30. UNREALITIES – Dying Habit (N)
2015 was another amazing year in music, and saw the release of numerous albums of merit, most notably the incredible Blurryface from twenty øne piløts, How Big How Blue How Beautiful from Florence + the Machine, Beauty Behind the Madness from The Weeknd, Currents from Tame Impala, Wilder Mind from Mumford & Sons, What Went Down from Foals, Sound and Color from Alabama Shakes, To Pimp a Butterfly from Kendrick Lamar, Drones from Muse, Every Open Eye from CHVRCHES, Kintsugi from Death Cab For Cutie, My Love is Cool from Wolf Alice, Caracal from Disclosure, Get to Heaven from Everything Everything and, at the end of the year, Adele’s eagerly awaited and record-setting 25. One of my personal favorites was No Devotion’s exceptional debut album Permanence, which I previously reviewed in this blog.
One of the biggest hits of the year was the hugely popular “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. The wildly entertaining and oft-imitated video paid homage to masters of funk James Brown, Funkadelic and Prince. Another break-out artist was Elle King, whose “Ex’s and Oh’s” was one of the biggest and most enjoyable songs of the year, and I especially loved “My Type” from Saint Motel, a fun and stylish tune. My pick for best song of 2015 is “Tear in My Heart,” a rousing anthem to the highs and lows of love from my favorite band of the year, twenty øne piløts.
1. TEAR IN MY HEART – twenty øne piløts
2. UPTOWN FUNK! – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
3. EX’S & OH’S – Elle King
4. THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER – Tame Impala
5. FIRST – Cold War Kids
6. SHUT UP AND DANCE – Walk the Moon
7. RENEGADES – X Ambassadors
8. BELIEVE – Mumford & Sons
9. STRESSED OUT – twenty øne piløts
10. CAN’T FEEL MY FACE – The Weeknd
11. DREAMS – Beck
12. MY TYPE – Saint Motel
13. HELLO – Adele
14. LAMPSHADES ON FIRE – Modest Mouse
15. THINKING OUT LOUD – Ed Sheeran
16. HOLLOW MOON (BAD WOLF) – AWOLNATION
17. LONG WAY DOWN – Robert DeLong
18. SHIP TO WRECK – Florence + the Machine
19. DON’T WANNA FIGHT – Alabama Shakes
20. DEAD INSIDE – Muse
21. BLACK SUN – Death Cab For Cutie
22. CRYSTALS – Of Monsters and Men
23. WHAT KIND OF MAN? – Florence + the Machine
24. SOMETHING FROM NOTHING – Foo Fighters
25. S.O.B. – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
26. ROLLERCOASTER – Bleachers
27. ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME – Coldplay
28. BUDAPEST – George Ezra
29. MOANING LISA SMILE – Wolf Alice
30. NEARLY FORGOT MY BROKEN HEART – Chris Cornell
31. ELECTRIC LOVE – BØRNS
32. SEDONA – Houndmouth
33. BLAME IT ON ME – George Ezra
34. WHAT WENT DOWN – Foals
35. I AM – AWOLNATION
36. EARNED IT (FIFTY SHADES OF GREY) – The Weeknd
37. CIGARETTE DAYDREAMS – Cage the Elephant
38. COULD HAVE BEEN ME – The Struts
39. EVERY OTHER FRECKLE – alt-J
40. THE WOLF – Mumford & Sons
41. MESS IS MINE – Vance Joy
42. CECILIA AND THE SATELLITE – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
43. THE GHOSTS OF BEVERLY DRIVE – Death Cab for Cutie
44. 2 HEADS – Coleman Hell
45. HOLD BACK THE RIVER – James Bay
46. I BET MY LIFE – Imagine Dragons
47. R.I.P. 2 MY YOUTH – The Neighbourhood
48. FIGURE IT OUT – Royal Blood
49. SOMEBODY NEW – Joywave
50. ADDITION – No Devotion
51. MOUNTAIN AT MY GATES – Foals
52. MERCY – Muse
53. KATHLEEN – Catfish & the Bottlemen
54. FAIRLY LOCAL – twenty øne piløts
55. R U MINE? – Arctic Monkeys
56. SOMEONE NEW – Hozier
57. HOTLINE BLING – Drake
58. COLD COLD MAN – Saint Motel
59. THE GROUND WALKS, WITH TIME IN A BOX – Modest Mouse
60. LEAVE A TRACE – CHVRCHES
61. DIFFERENT COLORS – Walk the Moon
62. MOLECULES – Atlas Genius
63. COMING HOME – Leon Bridges
64. FLASHED JUNK MIND – Milky Chance
65. THE WEIGHT OF LOVE – The Black Keys
66. FROM EDEN – Hozier
67. UMA THURMAN – Fall Out Boy
68. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? – Justin Bieber
69. REGRET – Everything Everything
70. SHOTS – Imagine Dragons
71. EVERY BREAKING WAVE – U2
72. COMING FOR YOU – The Offspring
73. SOUND OF CHANGE – Dirty Heads
74. EVERYTHING IS WRONG – Interpol
75. KARMA – Disciples of Babylon
76. DISTANT PAST – Everything Everything
77. DYING TO SHINE – She Pulled the Trigger
78. REALiTi – Grimes
79. WANT TO WANT ME – Jason Derulo
80. CIGARETTES AND SAINTS – The Wonder Years
81. REALLY LOVE – D’Angelo and the Vanguard
82. I LIVED – OneRepublic
83. CIVIL WAR – Ages Apart
84. BEST OF ME – The Awareness
85. PERMANENT SUNLIGHT – No Devotion
86. STYLE – Taylor Swift
87. I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE – Sam Smith
88. FOOL FOR LOVE – Lord Huron
89. WAVES – Mr. Probst
90. KING KUNTA – Kendrick Lamar
91. LITTLE MONSTER – Royal Blood
92. JEALOUS – Nick Jonas
93. BAD BLOOD – Ryan Adams
94. SEE YOU AGAIN – Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
95. OUTTA MY MIND – The ARCS
96. CONGREGATION – Foo Fighters
97. ELASTIC HEART – Sia
98. LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO – Ellie Goulding
99. HALLELUJAH – Panic! At the Disco
100. ABSOLUTION CALLING – Incubus
2011 saw the release of two incredible albums by two of my favorite artists, Adele’s epic masterpiece “21” and Foster the People’s debut album “Torches.” The best song of the year is without doubt “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele’s triumphant song of betrayal, heartbreak and ultimate survival. Foster the People have three songs in my top 10, beginning with “Pumped Up Kicks,” with it’s dark message sharply contrasting with a peppy upbeat melody.
Here are my Top 50 favorite songs of 2011:
1. ROLLING IN THE DEEP – Adele
2. PUMPED UP KICKS – Foster the People
3. MOVES LIKE JAGGER – Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
4. STEREO HEARTS – Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine
5. READY TO GO – Panic! At the Disco
6. RAISE YOUR GLASS – P!nk
7. HOUDINI – Foster the People
8. HELENA BEAT – Foster the People
9. SOMEONE LIKE YOU – Adele
10. FIREWORK – Katy Perry
11. PERFECT – P!nk
12. EVERY TEARDROP IS A WATERFALL – Coldplay
13. ADOLESCENTS – Incubus
14. PARTY ROCK ANTHEM – LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock
15. CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT – Foster the People
16. HOWLIN’ FOR YOU – The Black Keys
17. GOOD LIFE – OneRepublic
18. SHAKE ME DOWN – Cage the Elephant
19. MONEYGRABBER – Fitz & the Tantrums
20. ONLY GIRL IN THE WORLD – Rihanna
21. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE – Bruno Mars
22. JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH – The Black-Eyed Peas
23. FOR THE FIRST TIME – The Script
24. BORN THIS WAY – Lady Gaga
25. MY BODY – Young the Giant
26. THE LAZY SONG – Bruno Mars
27. GIVE ME EVERYTHING – Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afro jack & Nayer
28. GRENADE – Bruno Mars
29. WHAT’S MY NAME? – Rihanna featuring Drake
30. TONIGHT, TONIGHT – Hot Chelle Rae
31. THE CAVE – Mumford & Sons
32. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP – Andy Grammer
33. WALK – Foo Fighters
34. WAITING FOR THE END – Linkin Park
35. RHYTHM OF LOVE – Plain White T’s
36. DON’T YOU WANNA STAY – Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
37. DON’T GOTTA WORK IT OUT – Fitz & the Tantrums
38. THE ADVENTURES OF RAIN DANCE MAGGIE – Red Hot Chili Peppers
39. DOG DAYS ARE OVER – Florence + the Machine
40. THE SOUND OF WINTER – Bush
41. THE EDGE OF GLORY – Lady Gaga
42. YOU AND I – Lady Gaga
43. LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (T.G.I.F.) – Katy Perry
44. UNDISCLOSED DESIRES – Muse
45. YOU ARE A TOURIST – Death Cab for Cutie
46. IF I DIE YOUNG – The Band Perry
47. NOTHING – The Script
48. WITHOUT YOU – David Guetta featuring Usher
49. JUST A KISS – Lady Antebellum
50. NEVER GONNA LEAVE THIS BED – Maroon 5
A number of talented alternative, indie rock and hip hop bands and artists emerged on the music scene in 2013, including Lorde, The Neighbourhood, Capital Cities, Bastille, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Lana Del Rey. Other established artists such as P!nk, OneRepublic, Bruno Mars, Muse, Fitz & the Tantrums, Rihanna and Fall Out Boy also produced some memorable songs. My pick for the best song of 2013 is “Sweater Weather,” the achingly beautiful song of young love and lust by The Neighbourhood.
1. SWEATER WEATHER – The Neighbourhood
2. CAN’T HOLD US – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton
3. RADIOACTIVE – Imagine Dragons
4. SAFE AND SOUND – Capital Cities
5. OUT OF MY LEAGUE – Fitz & the Tantrums
6. JUST GIVE ME A REASON – P!nk featuring Nate Ruess
7. LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN – Bruno Mars
8. COUNTING STARS – OneRepublic
9. MADNESS – Muse
10. ROYALS – Lorde
11. THRIFT SHOP – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
12. BLURRED LINES – Robin Thicke + Pharrell + T.I.
13. HO HEY – The Lumineers
14. WAKE ME UP! – Avicii
15. STAY – Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko
16. GET LUCKY -Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
17. LITTLE TALKS – Of Monsters and Men
18. DON’T YOU WORRY CHILD – Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin
19. IT’S TIME – Imagine Dragons
20. ELEPHANT – Tame Impala
21. CARRY ON – fun.
22. WHEN I WAS YOUR MAN – Bruno Mars
23. WAYS TO GO – Grouplove
24. POMPEII – Bastille
25. I WILL WAIT – Mumford & Sons
26. SUMMERTIME SADNESS – Lana Del Rey
27. CATCH MY BREATH – Kelly Clarkson
28. MY SONGS KNOW WHAT YOU DID IN THE DARK – Fall Out Boy
29. DAYLIGHT – Maroon 5
30. MIRRORS – Justin Timberlake
31. DEMONS – Imagine Dragons
32. TROJANS – Atlas Genius
33. ROAR – Katy Perry
34. MISS JACKSON – Panic! At the Disco
35. TREASURE – Bruno Mars
36. CLARITY – Zedd featuring Foxes
37. HOLD ON, WE’RE GOING HOME – Drake
38. THE MONSTER – Rihanna + Eminem
39. TAKE BACK THE NIGHT – Justin Timberlake
40. HARLEM – New Politics
41. SAIL – AWOLNATION
42. LEADER OF THE BROKEN HEARTS – Papa Roach
43. I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE – Taylor Swift
44. LOVE SOMEBODY – Maroon 5
45. A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES – Linkin Park
46. SAME LOVE – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert
47. BRAVE – Sara Bareilles
48. SWEET NOTHING – Calvin Harris featuring Florence Welch
49. DIAMONDS – Rihanna
50. TRY – P!nk
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 