75. "Through the Roses" - Future Islands
74. "Right Now" - Haim
73. "Waiting On A Song" - Dan Auerbach
72. "Thinking of a Place" - The War On Drugs
71. "New York" - St. Vincent
70. "Love" - Lana Del Rey
69. "Opposition/Perihelion; The Coil" - Ex Eye
68. "Die 4 You" - Perfume Genius
67. "On Hold" - The xx
66. "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" - The National
65. "God in Chicago" - Craig Finn
64. "Up in Hudson" - Dirty Projectors
63. "In My World" - Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie
62. "Satrunz Barz" - Gorillaz f. Popcaan
61. "The Pure and the Damned" - Oneohtrix Point Never f. Iggy Pop
60. "Bosses Hang" - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
59. "Moontalk" - Laurel Halo
58. "Shine A Light" - Shabazz Palaces
57. "Til Death" - Japanese Breakfast
56. "Soothing" - Laura Marling
55. "A Wall" - Downtown Boys
54. "Rest" - Charlotte Gainsbourg
53. "How Do You Sleep?" - LCD Soundsystem
52. "T-Shirt" - Migos
51. "Continental Breakfast" - Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
50. "The Underside of Power" - Algiers
49. "Cred Woes" - Liars
48. "Barbary Coast (Later)" - Conor Oberst
47. "Thresholds Beyond" - Spectral Voice
46. "Second One to Know" - Chris Stapleton
45. "Black Smoke Rising" - Greta Van Fleet
44. "Star Roving" - Slowdive
43. "An Intention" - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
42. "Wild Fire" - Laura Marling
41. "Motion Sickness" - Phoebe Briders
40. "Machine" - The Horrors
39. "Drew Barrymore" - SZA
38. "Machinist" - Japanese Breakfast
37. "Don't Delete the Kisses" - Wolf Alice
36. "Waiting Around to Die" - Power Trip
35. "Falling Asleep" - The Clientele
34. "Steambreather" - Mastodon
33. "Call It What You Want" - Taylor Swift
32. "Hot Thoughts" - Spoon
31. "The Story of O.J." - Jay-Z
30. "Truth" - Kamasi Washington
29. "The Weekend" - SZA
28. "Natural Blue" - Julie Byrne
27. "Primordial Malignity" - Tomb Mold
26. "Tinseltown Swimming in Blood" - Destroyer
25. "American Dream" - LCD Soundsystem
24. "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)" - Power Trip
23. "The Combine" - John Maus
22. "I Could Use a Love Song" - Maren Morris
21. "Show You the Way" - Thundercat f. Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins
20. "Arkhipov Calm" - Converge
19. "Funeral" - Phoebe Bridgers
18. "Gorgeous" - Taylor Swift
17. "The Louvre" - Lorde
16. "Despacito" - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee f. Justin Bieber
15. "Love Galore" - SZA f. Travis Scott
14. "If We Were Vampires" - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
13. "Call the Police" - LCD Soundsystem
12. "Pay Gap" - Margo Price
11. "Hard Times" - Paramore
10. "Green Light" - Lorde
As underwhelmed and, eventually, overly annoyed as I was by "Royals", I didn't expect Lorde to ever win me over. But boy did she ever. I fell hard for this song since the first time I heard it during her appearance on Saturday Night Live. An upbeat anthem that I just couldn't get enough of, from a very unexpected source.
9. "New Year's Day" - Taylor Swift
Although several songs ended up growing on me over time, I was fairly underwhelmed by my first trip through Reputation when it was released. This song, however, stuck with me right from the start, most likely because of how different it was to the rest of the record. It's a calm, piano driven ballad that finds Taylor musing on what life is going to be like after the party when the hangover kicks in and, more importantly, who will still be there to share in it.
8. "Praying" - Kesha
Another pop star that initially turned me off before winning me over completely, "Praying" was the emotional heart of her terrific and wide-ranging album, Rainbow. It's an outpouring of grief, anger, sadness, frustration and even hope, a call for healing in even the darkest of moments. Even if you were unaware of the real-life inspiration behind the performance, it was still one of the more moving pop hits of the year.
7. "DNA" - Kendrick Lamar
While I didn't find DAMN to be as breathtaking as his previous two records, there were still a number of standouts that underscore Kendrick's status as the best rapper in the game right now. "DNA" is the lyrical standout of the record, with Kendrick's flow front and center and underlined by a chaotic, hyperactive Mike Will beat.
6. "Bad and Boujee" - Migos f. Lil Uzi Vert
Migos was one of the few mega-popular hip hop groups of recent vintage that broke through the noise of Soundcloud mumblers to grab my ears and this was the track that did it. It was mostly down to Metro Boomin' production and Offset's verses in particular, but this is the kind of confident, infectious hip-hop hit that we just don't hear enough of these days.
5. "Turn Out the Lights" - Julien Baker
The title track from Baker's second record, and intense music on the destructive power of self-doubt, was just one of the album's many emotional high points, but it's the cathartic release at the track's climax underscored by her howl and distorted guitar that pulled me in to her world. There were few moments in the year's music as emotionally naked.
4. "Cut to the Feeling" - Carly Rae Jepsen
Although it was relegated to the soundtrack for an underappreciated kid's movie, "Cut to the Feeling" will rightfully go down as one of Jepsen's best singles. An unabashedly uplifting anthem that pulls a power-pop song through modern pop production, it's an admittedly cheesy song that is sold through Jepsen's sheer optimism and vulnerable vocals.
3. "Want You Back" - Haim
While Haim's long-awaited second album didn't exactly set the world on fire in the same manner as their unexpected debut, there were still plenty of wonderful moments to be found. "Want You Back" was the cream of the crop, an exuberant gem that drew heavy inspiration from Fleetwood Mac for the vocal melody while embracing Ariel Rechtshaid's inventive production, particularly in the song's second half. Even though I didn't return to the album as a whole as often as I'd hoped, I couldn't get enough of this track.
2. "Sign of the Times" - Harry Styles
In a year in which a lot of pop singers unexpectedly won me over, One Direction's Harry Styles was probably the biggest shock of them all. I enjoyed almost all of his debut solo album, but this song was the one that continued to blow me away. Drawing on a long tradition of bombastic ballads that traced a thread through Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Prince, Coldplay, Blur and Elton John (among many others), "Sign of the Times" found Styles embracing his frontman status and winning over a lot of doubters.
1. "HUMBLE" - Kendrick Lamar
While "DNA" was the standout form DAMN in terms of Kendrick's flow, "HUMBLE" was the track that best exemplified his lyrical topics. Over a crisp and 808 dominated Mike Will beat, Kendrick starts out with, understandably, boasts about his domination of the current rap scene before turning it into a meditation on contemporary beauty standards and self-love. It's an unexpected twist, but one that reinforces Lamar's commitment to the community at large without sacrificing his lyrical attack.
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