FOR THE FIRST SIX LISTS CLICK BELOW.
#100 – 91 #90-81 #80-71 #70-61 #60-51
#50-41
40. “Freakin’ Me Out” – The Mowglis
As if the song itself isn’t fun enough, this original video from Flood Magazine will get you through your day the next time you run out of “your” prescription Xanax. With a catchy upbeat track and the spot-on harmonies that The Mowglis have become known for, “Freakin’ Me Out” will undoubtably make your day a little brighter.
39. “Favorite Liar” – The Wrecks
According to their Twitter account, The Wrecks are “5 kids who snuck into a recording studio to self-produce their debut EP.” But after listening to their first track, “Favorite Liar,” they sure as hell could have fooled me.
The song, about being in a rocky relationship and knowing that your significant other (or ex) is a liar, but you still have feelings for them anyway, will get your blood pumping and heart racing. For maximum enjoyment listen to it on full blast while driving down the highway and singing at the top of your lungs (while pretending that is not what you are doing every time you drive by a car.)
38. “Live While I Breathe” – The Moth & the Flame
Easily one of the most passionate and dramatic songs of the year, “Live While I Breathe” by The Moth & the Flame is so unique that it almost seems futuristic. With a hauntingly beautiful melody and deep soulful lyrics, “Live While I Breathe,” is the brightest light yet for The Moth & the Flame.
37. “Ride” – Twenty One Pilots
Unless you have been in a coma or possibly on a deep-sea ice fishing trip in Antarctica for the last year, you are certainly familiar with the band Twenty One Pilots and their hit song, “Ride.”
In fact, if you still haven’t tired of hearing the song, I dare you to not sing along with the oooooh, ooooooh, oooooh, oooooh, oooooh, ohhhh part, as I am pretty sure it is impossible to not sing along to. Even if you don’t want to. But love it or hate it, you can’t deny that Twenty One Pilots have become hit making machines, and “Ride” was one of the biggest and most catchy songs of the year.
36. “Red Dress” – Magic!
From the first few notes of the song, it is obvious to any music fan familiar with Magic! that “Red Dress” is from the Canadian reggae band.
The song is about a pain in the ass woman who takes forever to choose what she wants to wear to dinner while her man waits patiently while growing more and more hungry. But when she finally makes up her damn mind and walks out wearing her red dress, he quickly forgets that he is famished and his focus changes from eating to his attraction to his woman.
Reggae meet rock meets pop in this Magic! track that will make sales of short little red dresses quadruple in numbers.
35. “King of the World” – Weezer
“King of the World” is the old school Weezer you have been waiting over ten years to hear again. It is the story of a man who compares what life is actually like, to what life would be like if he was king of the world.
“If I was king of the world
You’d be my girl
You wouldn’t have to shed one single tear
Unless you wanted to
‘Cause yeah I know what it’s like
If I was king of the world
Yeah, girl
We could ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos
And stay for the rest of our lives”
After being a fan of Weezer for over 20 years, I have decided to no longer question Weezer on their otherwise nonsensical lyrics. Now that I have decided to do this, I somehow have an urge to put “ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos” on my bucket list. If it is good enough Rivers Cuomo, it is good enough for me.
34. “Bury It” – CHVRCHES
CHVRCHES (pronounced Churches) the Scottish synthpop band from Glasgow, have been described as Indietronic, Indie Pop, and even electronic pop. And while their latest hit, “Bury It,” may be all of those things, it is also downright rock.
One of the most memorable songs of the year by a female lead, “Bury It” will help you to push down all those feelings that are dragging you down, and enable you to rise above. Try running to this infectious track, and every time you feel like you are going to keel over and die, just “bury it, and rise above” and you will be surprised at how far you can go.
33. “Fire Escape” – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
While the fun-loving pop rock song itself is more than deserving of a spot in the top 40 songs of the year, it is the hysterical video that you will first fall in love with if you are unfamiliar with the latest track by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, “Fire Escape.”
The concept of the video is following around two starry-eyed inflatable wavy armed dancers, the kind that you may find in a used car lot to bring in customers. From their first date all the way until the birth of their first inflatable child, you will see their budding romance grow. You will not only fall in love with the inflatables, but you will fall in love with this killer song by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.
32. “My Church” – Maren Morris
Frontrunner for Best New Artist of 2016, Maren Morris not only broke into the country music world, but made a name for herself outside of the genre as well. While “My Church” is as country as it gets, even the biggest opponent of the genre would be lying if they said they didn’t find the song catchy as hell. Music fans of any genre will be able to appreciate the fact that the song is about a girl who is so at peace with driving down the highway and listening to her beloved music that she likens it to being her church.
While Morris had other hits this year, “My Church” will be the song that gets the ball rolling for her inevitable progression into the world of pop and rock music.
31. “Critical Mistakes” – 888
Denver, CO band, 888, urges listeners to “come wake me
“I want a house on the hill by the ocean, I’d let the tide wash away all my critical mistakes” is one most memorable lines of 2016, and some of the best use of imagery any rock band has used all year.
888 has come out swinging and 2017 will be a “critical” time for them to build on their well deserved success from “Critical Mistakes.”
For songs 30 – 21 click here.