The 50 Best Hit Songs of the 2010s

I don’t know what possessed me, in 2010, to look at the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 list and decide to select my top 20 favorites, rank them in order, and create this blog in order to share it with the world. I certainly couldn’t have predicted then that I would keep that tradition going throughout the entire decade, ending up with an incredible catalog of my 200 favorite hit songs from the 2010s. But what I do know is, at some point in the last year, I realized I had an amazing opportunity to create a best-of-decade list that would put everyone else’s to shame. So here’s what we’ve got.

I took the entire 200-song catalog of year-end favorites, and whittled it down to my top 50, and ranked them, because what good is a list if you don’t rank it? There are songs from every year 2010-2019 represented on this list, but there are more from some years than from others (2018 was awfully lean). As a reminder, every song on this list had to have qualified for the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 in the year of its release, AND had to have been picked by me as one of my top 20 favorites for that year as well. So I don’t want to hear any bellyaching if your favorite song doesn’t show up here- the rules are the rules. I will also say that my tastes are diverse, and you’ll see every type of (popular) music represented on here (except country), but the top of the list is fairly EDM-heavy, since that’s what I like the most. So yes, it’s biased. Duh. Why are you even reading if you expected an unbiased list? And what would an unbiased list even look like? OK, let’s get to the music!

*WARNING: This blog is a 5,000 word behemoth. An epic Spotify playlist is embedded at the bottom if you just want the music and don’t want to read a ton of words. The music video to each song is linked in its title as well.*

50. Kelly Rowland Featuring Lil Wayne – "Motivation" (2011): This was the best R&B babymaking jam of the decade, but it’s crazy to listen to it now and realize how old it is. Lil Wayne being braggadocious and not having gone through several near-death experiences, Kelly Rowland still being in the post-Destiny’s Child chart-topping phase of her career and not having been completely and totally eclipsed by Beyonce’s stardom...it’s a trip. But musically, I think it stands the test of time, which was an important criteria I tried to apply to all the songs on this list.

49. Cee-Lo- “F**k You” (2010): Man, remember what a shocking thrill it was to have a top-40 hit with a bona fide, A-list SWEAR WORD in the title? What’s funny is that the song was good enough that it didn’t need that kind of gimmick to be successful. The radio-friendly “Forget You” was still plenty popular enough. Cee-Lo’s charisma shines through no matter what the subject matter is, and the timeless sound of the song still makes it a jam almost 10 years later.

48. Chris Brown Featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - "Look At Me Now" (2011): I recognize this song was somewhat of a gimmick too- the premise being, check out how fast Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne can rap, and check out Chris Brown being capable of rapping at all, but hey, it worked. Everyone I know tried to learn at least one of the verses to this one (my specialty is Lil Wayne’s, but no, I will not be performing it for you thanks to the many, many instances of inflammatory language), and for that reason, it brought back enough fond memories to not only make the list, but also be the only true rap song to make it at all.

47. Hozier- “Take Me To Church” (2015): Big tone shift now. There were a surprising number of slow, moody ballads and downtempo songs that made the top 50. It turns out I don’t ONLY like party jams. Hozier burst onto the scene with an incredible debut album and has failed to replicate his success, but “Take Me To Church” definitely holds up as one of the decade’s best dramatic ballads. 

46. Adele- “Hello” (2015): Man, when Adele dropped this song and video after a long hiatus, it felt like one of the biggest music moments of the decade. And when you think about it, she hasn’t had another lead single since then, so the next time she does drop one, it’ll probably feel just as momentous as “Hello” felt back in 2015. The song is pretty jaw-droppingly great, starting slow and building to an epic crescendo of reminiscing on a failed relationship. I think it’s actually in the top tier of epic failed-love ballads throughout history. Yep, I’m ready for more Adele in the 2020s now, please.

45. Khalid- “Talk” (2019): I just wrote about this song in this year’s blog, so there’s not a lot to add in terms of historical perspective. Khalid came on strong in the last few years of the decade, and this was his best work, helped by a simple but effective beat by Disclosure.

44. Paramore- “The Only Exception” (2010): I loved this song when it came out. It’s a timeless ballad that I think I would still love just as much if it came out today. Looking at the video, though, filled with hundreds of 2010 emo dudes, I wonder what they’re all doing today. What kind of hairstyles are they rocking? Are they hanging on to the swooped bangs? Or have they updated to something more current? Or have they (gulp) gone bald or gray by now? 10 years is a loooong time, anything is possible.

43. Calvin Harris- "Feel So Close" (2012): Calvin Harris strayed far from his native Scotland to film the video for this, his breakout US single, and some say he’s never left LA/Las Vegas/The Desert ever since. This is far from the last time we’ll hear Calvin on this list, and this song is a great starting point for the evolution of his sound over the decade.

42. Paramore- "Ain't It Fun" (2014): Well, I asked just two songs ago what happened to the guys with emo hairstyles from 2010. It looks like, as of 2014, they had shed the bangs for more traditional cuts, at least if we’re going by the example of the guys from Paramore. Hayley Williams has also updated to more of a pixie cut by this time, but kept her distinctive red dye. As for the song, I’m not sure any song spoke to me more as a 23-year old than this one in 2014. Keeping that in mind ensured that it made the list.

41. Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj- "Side to Side" (2016): Nobody, before or since, has A) done more for the spin-studio industry than Ariana Grande did with this song and video in 2016, and B) given a less accurate representation of what actually happens at a spin class than this one. Trust me, there’s no seduction or writhing happening, just muscle burns and sweat. Like, so much sweat. But hey, the song is a certified jam, working its Caribbean beats to perfection. And it’s not the last time we’ll hear Ariana on this list.

40. Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo- "Let's Go" (2012): If you like music with deep, substantive lyrics or heartfelt emotions, then this wasn’t the song for you. If you needed a quick pump-up, though, there were very few this decade that did the trick better than this one. That’s probably why it continues to be a mainstay at sporting events even seven years later.

39. Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ- "Cold Water" (2016): The middle of the decade saw a consortium of sorts involving Major Lazer, DJ Snake, Justin Bieber, M0, and others. This consortium was incredibly fruitful and will see a few more entries on this decade-end list. “Cold Water” is a perfect mid-tempo banger that works in almost any situation- versatility is key for heavy rotation, and that’s exactly what it had.

38. Maroon 5 Featuring Christina Aguilera - "Moves Like Jagger" (2011): Oh, Maroon 5. Definitely one of the most-hated bands of the 2010s, along with Imagine Dragons, 21 Pilots, The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, and any other group of white dudes that dominated the Rock and Hot AC charts. Of all their songs, “Moves Like Jagger” seems to inspire some of the most heated opinions. I never got the hate- I think it’s one of the catchiest songs of the decade. But it’s also been many years since it was on the radio three times an hour, plus I’ve always been a Maroon 5 fan, so maybe I just don’t Get It. Either way, it’s their only entry on this list, so get all your hateful thoughts out now and let’s continue in a better mood.

37. Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko- "Stay" (2013): This may not be a power ballad, per se, but it sure is a powerful ballad. Rihanna has never been shy about baring it all, emotionally and physically, so this song and video are no exception. The twist was making the song a duet with relative unknown Mikky Ekko, allowing the listener to hear two perspectives as the two lovers try to figure it out. It’s not the last we hear from Rihanna in this list, and I wonder how much more she could have dominated had she kept releasing music these last few years.

36. Lewis Capaldi- “Someone You Loved” (2019): I just wrote about this one for this year’s wrapup blog, so all I can add for now is that we were certainly blessed with some great brooding ballads in the 2010s, and I’m very glad that Lewis Capaldi was able to add his voice to the mix. I hope for big things from him in the years to come.

35. Rihanna Featuring Calvin Harris - "We Found Love" (2011): This song absolutely exploded onto the scene back in 2011. It featured two artists at the height of their powers collaborating to create something that was really special. Rihanna, still in her post-Chris Brown phase, cavorts around with his lookalike in the video, and Calvin Harris delivers his signature sound, which was still brand-new to most of America at the time. The song dominated the charts and still brings back instant memories anytime you hear it. It was definitely one of the defining songs of the 2010s. I’m stopping now before I move it up the list!

34. Calvin Harris & Disciples- “How Deep Is Your Love” (2015): Mid-decade Calvin now. This video featured what, at the time, felt like the debut of model Gigi Hadid, and the song helped cement the deep house sound as one of the defining ones of the mid-2010s. It’s worth noting that Calvin was helped out by fellow British producers Disciples, and the sound is pretty unmistakably theirs. I like that the video gives you an extra 20 seconds at the end with Gigi Hadid writhing over the beat. Clearly someone assumed that to get to 1.3 billion views, you gotta give the people what they want. 

33. Jessie J- "Domino" (2012): Time for some pure pop, wouldn’t you say? Jessie J is probably slightly more well-known for “Price Tag” but for my money (get it?), her greatest contribution to music this decade was this one. Despite being very of-the-moment sonically, I think it stands the test of time more than, I’d guess, a lot of other hits from 2012 do. Certainly nothing aged faster than dubstep, did it? But that’s a topic for another time. “Domino” is an unqualified pop success, and it won’t be the last of those we see here.

32. Lady Gaga- “Alejandro” (2010): I think this may be the oldest song on this list, having been first released with The Fame Monster alllll the way back in July 2009, and again as a single in 2010. It definitely qualifies as a perfect pop song, although it’s also uniquely Gaga, right down to the 9-minute concept video that almost crosses the line for the level of nudity Youtube will tolerate. I’ve always wondered if there was a real Alejandro who inspired the track, but I doubt we’ll ever know. 

31. Adele- "Set Fire to the Rain" (2012): To me, this is the single most anthemic Adele song. It’s also got the most complex, lush composition of any song of hers that I’m familiar with. It also never got an official music video, so you’ll have to make do with an amazing live performance from the Royal Albert Hall. Poor you, you get to feel like you’re at an Adele concert for four minutes. I’m sure you’ll recover. I think this is the last song in the slow-and-powerful category we have on the list, so get those feelings out and get ready to party!

30. Ariana Grande- “Breathin” (2019): Since this is a 2019 song, I just wrote about it, so not much else to say except that it’s a perfect midtempo dancepop song (which I think I already said in my first writeup- just makes it doubly true). It has kind of a blissed-out vibe, which maybe wasn’t such a bad thing this year with all the bad news that seemingly rains down on us every day now. It may have been something Ariana herself needed, too.

29. B.o.B.- “Nothin’ On You” (2010): Hard to believe, but this was the first career breakthrough for Bruno Mars, before he ever had a major single as a solo artist. Considering “Uptown Funk” was the #1 song of the decade on the Billboard chart, I’d say it was pretty momentous that B.o.B. chose him to be the guest vocalist on this song. Looking back, the lyrics are certainly a little corny, and it’s weird to remember that B.o.B. is a flat-earther now, but the sound certainly stands the test of time, even after Earth has orbited the sun 10 times since its release...

28. Coldplay- "Adventure of a Lifetime" (2016): Most people probably think Coldplay peaked in the 2000s with “Yellow,” “Clocks,” “Speed of Sound,” “Viva La Vida,” and many others. I love those songs, but I think Coldplay had almost as many great singles this decade, even if perhaps their albums didn’t have the depth of quality that their earlier ones did. “Adventure of a Lifetime” is a great example, although I’ll admit the dancing musical apes in the video are more unnerving than cute.

27. Ariana Grande & The Weeknd- “Love Me Harder” (2015): This is the highest listing for Ariana Grande on this list, and since her career has only existed in this decade, I guess you could say I think it’s her best song. I’d say that opinion is warranted. This is a truly great song, and even though it’s only 4 years old, I think it will definitely stand the test of time. It may not break much new ground, but it does what it does very well, which is all we’re supposed to ask of pop music, right?

26. Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug- "Havana" (2017): Now here is a pop single that does, to some extent, break new ground. It definitely didn’t sound much like anything that came before it, although it managed to incorporate elements of several preexisting genres. I guess that’s how it became one of the biggest and best hits of 2017, and in the process allowed itself to be perfectly mimicked by a rubber squeaky chicken.

25. Katy Perry- “Teenage Dream” (2010): This was the title track to the album that tied the record for the most #1 singles in Billboard chart history, joining Michael Jackson’s Thriller in the top spot. I’m not sure you need more than that to show how influential “Teenage Dream” was, but if you do, just start singing it to any girl who was a teenager, or even slightly older, when it came out, and watch them sing it back to you even louder. You could also sing it to me and I would do the same thing, which is why it fully deserves to be considered a top-25 song of the entire decade, even though I didn’t realize how great it was at the time.

24. Bruno Mars- "24K Magic" (2017): This was maybe the best instant party-starter of any song that came out in the 2010s. Bruno Mars, the hardest-working man in Hollywood (apologies to Ryan Seacrest), goes all-out Vegas Disco Funk for this one. Put your pinky rings up, people. It’s a logical successor to "Uptown Funk" and it’s by far the best song Bruno Mars has in his impressive catalogue of hits. And yes, it comes it at #24 cause you have to have some fun, don’t you?

23. Coldplay- "Paradise" (2012): Now here’s a wildlife-themed Coldplay video that works like an absolute charm. I never thought I would nearly break down sobbing at a stupid video of an elephant mascot escaping the London Zoo and joining his mascot friends in the savannah, but when it’s set to a song as brilliant and emotional as this one, I guess that’s what happens. We all have our own version of paradise, and for this elephant mascot, it’s joining Elephant Mascot Coldplay.

22. Taylor Swift- "22” (2013): What, you thought there wouldn’t be ANY Taylor Swift on this list? Come on. When she releases a song called “22,” about being 22, in the year that I myself was also 22, you’re damn right I’m gonna put it right at #22 for the decade. I still think it’s her best song, possibly rivaled by 2008’s “You Belong With Me.” And it fit so perfectly when it came out, obviously. Here’s to forever feeling 22.

21. Drake- "Passionfruit" (2017): Likewise, you didn’t think this list would have NO Drake on it, did you? “Passionfruit” featured my preferred version of Drake, Singing Drake, over a sultry smooth beat. It’s chilled-out, but it’s a great toe-tapper, and easily clears the Versatility bar that I’m often looking for. Of course it’s about a failing relationship, but what great Drake song isn’t? It’s likely his best work apart from, of course, his debut 2009 single “Best I Ever Had.” His career and Taylor Swift’s overlap in a lot of weird ways, I guess.

20. Kendrick Lamar and SZA- "All the Stars" (2018): And again, you...actually, if you know me, you probably DID expect this list to pass without a mention of the decade’s greatest new rapper (who I’ve never particularly loved), Kendrick Lamar. But, as the default winner from the decade’s weakest music year, 2018, “All The Stars” does indeed deserve a fairly high spot on the list. SZA is the song’s highlight, but overall the thing just works. Must be the well-hidden Flume sample...

19. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey- "Closer" (2016): I don’t care what the charts said, this was the biggest hit of 2016 (the end-of-decade chart backs me up, though, for the record). It was also the most ubiquitous, talked about song of that year or of many others, it felt to me. I think the key, as I said at the time, was the specificity in the lyrics, particularly in the chorus. Even though that specific situation has never happened to any of us, we could all plug in our own specifics and make it feel like it applied to us too, in a way that we can’t when the lyrics are just something like “I miss you, baby.” And of course, we all like to believe we ain’t never gettin’ older, either.

18. Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna- "This Is What You Came For" (2016): I never thought the sequel to “We Found Love” would wind up so much higher on my chart than the original, but as I went back and listened, this is just a much better song from where I sit today. Maybe I’ll feel different 10 years from now, but in the moment, this feels like it deserves its high placement. It’s ice-cold in sound, but obviously red-hot in, you know, being a hot track.

17. Coldplay- "A Sky Full of Stars" (2014): Yes, Avicii helped produce this track, and yes, I think that’s a large part of what makes it so great. It may not be the showiest song, but it’s a song that never, ever gets old, and it crescendos into something truly beautiful by the end. And yes, the video is, like all great Coldplay videos, adorable and utterly bizarre at the same time. If you’ve ever seen one of those wearable music contraptions in real life, you know they don’t make a sound nearly as beautiful as the video makes it seem.

16. DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber- "Let Me Love You" (2016): Here’s another one from that “consortium” I mentioned earlier. This one, for whatever reason, wound up growing on me more and more over the years than “Cold Water” ever did. And man, the real-life-video-game music video must have been fun to shoot. I can’t say the sound is as timeless, though, so it’s possible my enjoyment of this one will fade over time, but I can’t be worrying about that right now.

15. Sam Smith & Normani- “Dancing With A Stranger” (2019): This was my most recent top-ranked song, topping the list in 2019 by a fairly wide margin. It’s also definitely the best song by Sam Smith, although he has some pretty decent ballads in his catalog as well. It was produced by Stargate, who I’m guessing has quite a presence on this list. Maybe I’ll do a research project at some point to see who has the most credits in this top 50. My top guesses would be him, Dr. Luke, or Calvin Harris...

14. Calvin Harris featuring Florence Welch- "Sweet Nothing" (2013): And here it is, the highest heights Calvin Harris was able to ascend to in the 2010s. He’s on six tracks here, but none of them were better than this one (that qualified for the list, anyway). Florence Welch definitely helps take this one over the top, but Calvin’s production is on absolutely top form here. The chorus takes me away every single time, even now six or seven years after its release. It’s a great one, all right.

13. Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams- "Get Lucky" (2013): OK, I know this joke is getting old, but still: What, you thought I would forget to put a song called “Get Lucky” at #13? Get outta here. Also, it’s worth such a high ranking in my opinion. Daft Punk, along with Avicii (who we’ll hear from in a bit), helped EDM discover, or rediscover, its analog roots in 2013 to great success. You could argue the rise of tropical house, deep house, and genre-bending music that have come since all owe a bit of a debt to their ability to break out of the progressive-house and dubstep boom of the early 2010s. Or maybe I’m overthinking it, but still, it’s a great disco song, so enjoy and reminisce. 

12. Zara Larsson and MNEK- "Never Forget You" (2016): This is a fantastic song, the breakout single for Swedish pop sensation Zara Larsson, but it’s also an even better video. I mean, come on- a little girl’s relationship with a mythical beast and her stuffed teddy bear that evolves over the years? Backed by this song as a soundtrack? How can anyone not love that? That, plus how much I wore out this song over the last few years, made it an easy choice for such a high ranking.

11. Imagine Dragons- "Radioactive" (2013): I know I said earlier that Imagine Dragons were undoubtedly one of the most-hated bands of the 2010s, so I imagine that this inclusion will anger many who reach this far in the list. And to that I say, obviously, I don’t care, this is an incredible song, and it allows for a back-to-back combo of videos featuring stuffed animals. These ones get to be heroes, though, so I have to give them the nod and land them all the way up at #11.

10. Rihanna- “Rude Boy” (2010): Time for the first of three huge throwbacks as we enter the top 10. My thoughts when I hear this one are that I can’t believe it’s been TEN years since this came out. It feels like yesterday. I think the sound still plays today, so in that sense it was ahead of its time. My other thought is that I really wish Rihanna could make some more music like this in 2020 so that I can have something to look forward to. But I’m not holding my breath.

9. Lady Gaga - "You And I" (2011): Most of you have probably forgotten Lady Gaga’s brief, one-song foray into blues/country/roots/rock music, or whatever you want to call it. I didn’t. I still think this one stands the test of time as one of the best standalone epics of the entire decade, or any decade really. I recognize that Gaga is just doing her vamping/playacting thing, and that none of this is even remotely authentic. To me, it doesn’t matter- musically, it shines, and if anything, the fact that she’s merely putting on a costume gives it a tongue-in-cheek aspect that propels it far past anything that was “authentic” in any of those genres in the 2010s. So there, long live Gaga, long live “You And I,” long live...Nebraska, I guess.

8. Owl City- “Fireflies” (2010): Bwahaha, I hope the haters are FURIOUS right now that I put Owl City ahead of all kinds of gritty, anguished, relevant hit songs from the 2010s. Well, let me tell you about a little thing called guilty pleasures. Every year, I try and include a few, and I often stick them at number 8, which happens to be my personal favorite number. So, what was my guiltiest pleasure of the entire decade? All things considered, it has to be “Fireflies.” So naturally, I’m gonna drop it in at number 8 for the decade. Like I’ve said before, if you’re mad, go make your own list, and I probably won’t read it. Cheers! Now onto the top 7, all party music ahead, and all #1’s from their respective years.

7. David Guetta feat. Sia- "Titanium" (2012): I could be wrong, but I believe this was the song that introduced us to Sia. Glad that pairing worked out! This one, much like any good EDM track, helped me power through so many big moments throughout the decade, whether it was schoolwork, real work, working out, or trying to turn up at the club, it was always there for me. To me, that’s what a truly great song does.

6. Major Lazer & DJ Snake Featuring M0- ”Lean On” (2015): This was one of the first big songs that helped/was helped by the rise of Spotify. Like any song to go into such massively heavy rotation, in order to not grate the earbuds, it needs to be just right- not too fast or too slow, and super pleasant sounding. In my opinion, it does all of those things. It may not be a party-starter, but it should stand as one of the all-time great party-continuers, if that makes sense.

5. Mike Posner- "I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Seeb Remix)" (2016): Mike Posner has had a bizarre decade, and the rise of this song back in 2016 was perhaps the most bizarre chapter. It started as a slow, acoustic lamentation, and then was remixed into a JAM that still preserved its soul (in my opinion) and became his second worldwide #1, thus disproving its own subject matter. It’s made even more poignant by the death of Avicii, the person Posner claims he was trying to impress when he took the aforementioned pill. The whole thing is bizarrely meta, yet the byproduct is a one-off collaboration that works absolutely perfectly, and deserves a top-5 billing.

4. Rihanna- “Only Girl (In The World)” (2010): Now onto the last of our true throwbacks. There’s no real reason that this one has stood the test of time. I get the sense that Rihanna would disavow it now, and if she ever toured again, I highly doubt it would make the set list. But damn, is it an all-time party jam. It’s the kind of song you play at the absolute peak of the night. It’s not a song for every occasion, but on the right occasion, it works better than almost any other. And it also caps an impressive amount of entries from Rihanna on this list, especially since she took the last 3 years of the decade off.

3. Avicii- "Wake Me Up" (2013): Let me get something out of the way here- “Levels,” the breakout 2011 track from Avicii, did not qualify for this list because it somehow, despite its ubiquity, never made a year-end Billboard Hot 100. An injustice, to be sure. That said, his followup effort, the boundary-breaking “Wake Me Up,” left no doubts about his staying power on the charts. We all mourn his loss, and his tragically short career, but we should take a moment to appreciate just how great his one transcendent single was- one of the few this decade to go #1 in nearly every country on Earth, while also being a top-quality jam that stood the test of time. RIP, Avicii. You will be missed. 

2. Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne- "Rather Be" (2014): Clean Bandit had possibly my favorite album of the decade, 2014’s New Eyes, and they came oh-so-close to having my favorite single as well with this one. It’s one of the rare songs that I loved with all my heart the very first time I heard it, and never stopped loving. The combination of the piano, house beats, violin, and powerhouse vocals from Jess Glynne are a combination that really just can’t be topped. It put them on the map, but they’ve never been able to top the feeling they captured with this one, although admittedly that would be hard to do. Only one song wound up topping them in the 2010s...

1. The Chainsmokers and Coldplay- "Something Just Like This" (2017): Wow. We’ve made it to the end. Like, the actual end. The #1 best song from the entire decade. After this, it’s over- time to turn the page to the 2020s. Let’s go out with a bang. This song’s journey started unassumingly. I liked it, didn’t love it. But over time, it just kept growing and growing on me. It’s such a positive song, and it builds throughout the track to an incredible crescendo at the end. It has no harsh sounds, it’s all good vibes. And in the end, it was the song I kept coming back to, more than any other. So even though I expected the top spot to go to Avicii or Clean Bandit, I was left with no choice to award it Coldplay & The Chainsmokers. Their excellence in pop song composition is truly unrivaled. Let’s end the decade on a high note and hope for the best from the 2020s.

The 20 Best Songs of 2019- Billboard Hot 100 Edition

Image courtesy the music snobs at NPR

In the immortal words of Post Malone, “Wow.”

We made it through an entire decade of Billboard Hot 100 hits. To answer your most burning question, yes, there will be a list of the 50 best hits of the entire decade coming later this month. For now, though, let’s turn our attention to the year we’ve just completed, 2019. It was a big year for Ed Sheeran, newcomer Lizzo, and many others, but you won’t find them on this year’s list. Instead, here are the 20 best songs from this year’s Billboard Year-End Hot 100, released this year on December 5. Definitely a top-heavy group of songs this year, in my opinion. Let’s get into it:

 *Programming Note: YouTube/Vevo have gone back to not allowing official-video embeds, so the link to each music video can be found in the title of that song, if you want to watch before reading. If you want to skip all my writing, you can find a Spotify playlist of the whole list embedded at the bottom of the blog. *

20. Pinkfong- “Baby Shark”: Nahhh, just kidding. But can you imagine if I actually thought this was one of the 20 best songs of the year? It did somehow qualify for the year-end Hot 100, though, coming in at #75. Uncharted, uh, waters for a song intended for the 3-and-under set. And not a good sign for the music biz. Let’s give it our first-ever “Honorable Mention.”

20. Post Malone- “Wow.”: Now time for the actual 20th best song of 2019. Look, this isn’t Post Malone’s best work, nor will it be his most memorable song when it’s all said and done. The accompanying video is also mostly just tour footage, plus one random bearded dude who can absolutely break it down. But overall, it’s unobjectionable enough, and did well enough on the charts, for me to give it #20, mostly just because nothing else leapt out at me enough. Moving on!

19. Blueface- “Thotiana”: Let’s get this out of the way early. This song is objectively, aggressively terrible. Blueface appears entirely disinterested in flowing along with the beat, preferring to basically just talk over it instead. But at the end of the day, the word “Thotiana” is hilariously genius. Who knows how he came up with it, but he eternally cursed any girl named Tatiana to schoolyard taunts, which I guess isn’t that funny but when you consider the randomness of it all, well, it kind of is funny to me. I guess I’m just a terrible person…

18. Sheck Wes- “Mo Bamba”: Next on our list of viral rap sensations, we have “Mo Bamba.” Not the still-developing Orlando Magic prospect, oh no- the simplistic ode to him written by his old Harlem friends. This was the hit of the year on college campuses, it seems- watching any football or basketball game, it was prominently featured on the PA system to fire up the fans, and even graduated to being played by student bands. I can only imagine how it was received every time it played at the college bars I used to go to. I hope Sheck Wes was able to bank some of that viral fame, because I’m sure he’ll need it a lot more than the actual Mo Bamba ever will.

17. Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus- “Old Town Road”: This was the #1 song of the year on the actual Billboard chart. Surely you’re not surprised, right? Since it stayed at #1 for NINETEEN straight weeks this year? And sparked a nationwide discussion about what, exactly, counts as country music? Here’s my (extremely-delayed) take: of course this isn’t a true country song. Many experts have opined that Lil Nas X only classified it as Country on Soundcloud because it would have gotten lost on the overstuffed Rap category. That being said, it’s still a jam and it is a delightful crossover of the two different genres (particularly the more high-effort remix with Billy Ray Cyrus). And, inadvertently, it may finally be leading to the final breakdown of the barriers between these two genres, which I’ve pointed out many times are more similar than they are different. We’ll see what happens in 2020.

16. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper- “Shallow”: Man, remember when “A Star Is Born” came out? If it feels like forever ago, that’s because it was back in 2018, which is, like, over 365 24-hour news cycles ago. I might be among the only people who went into the theater having no idea that this was a modern take on an old film, with a basic plot structure that most people already knew. Suffice it to say, when the big TWIST happened at the end, I was completely unprepared. A great film overall, though, and this song certainly deserves a spot on the list.

15. Bazzi Featuring Camila Cabello- “Beautiful”: Bazzi made an appearance on last year’s list in a similar spot as this one, with “Mine.” I guess the bottom half of the top 20 is a spot where he feels comfortable being. This continues the ongoing run on slow, downtempo songs in this part of the list. Funny how these things work out. This duet is a slight improvement on the original version with just Bazzi, but both are genuinely enjoyable love songs.

14. Dan + Shay- “Tequila”: Wanna talk old songs? The official music video for this one came out last February. Talk about a slow burner! That describes this song in more ways than one. It’s been a few years since what I would classify as a country song made it onto my list, but this one rose above. For a country song to rise above, it takes a superior concept, superior composition, and superior execution, and this song had all three. The emotional music video only helped its case, although country has always done those better than other genres.

13. Khalid & Normani- “Love Lies”: Wow, another slow jam released last February. This trend is getting a little silly now. Khalid has probably released, or been featured on, more above-average hits than anyone in the past year or two. Both he and Normani will be heard from again on this list. Here, they team up to question each other about a troubled but torrid relationship. After watching the video, I have to say, their relationship seems a little inefficient, but if that’s what works for them, who am I to judge?

12. Ava Max- “Sweet But Psycho”: Ah yes, torturing and murdering your date! Then burning the house down! So fun! Ava Max is doing her best to set a good example for all of her adoring fans who are drawn to her because of her unique haircut and catchy debut single. We’ll see how popular she remains after their parents get a load of this (I hope) revenge-fantasy video. My bet- she will not break out in the same way as her pop diva predecessors Bebe Rexha and Dua Lipa. But we’ll see!

11. Taylor Swift Featuring Brendon Urie- “ME!”: Yes, this song is super silly and relentlessly cheerful, and more than a little corny. But it’s Taylor Swift (and Brendon Urie). What did you expect? It’s not one of her best-ever efforts, but it’s still more than good enough to clear most of the trash that cluttered the charts this year. If it doesn’t put a smile on your face, you ought to take yourself a little less seriously. That’s an order!

10. Post Malone & Swae Lee- “Sunflower”: Here’s Post Malone (and Swae Lee) doing their best to keep it PG-rated for the theme song to the Spiderman movie. This may have been one of the most overplayed songs of 2019, but if you can dial it back to the first several times you heard it, you probably actually have fairly fond memories of it, don’t you?

9. Khalid- “Better”: Do you like Vocoders? I hope so, ‘cause this song throws it back to the days before Auto-Tune, when you could actually really tell when someone was using vocal effects. The video being set in LA really brings back vibes of Roger Troutman Vocoding his heart out on “California Love.” I’m OK with this being a trend that comes back in 2020.

8. Post Malone- “Circles”: Post Malone, seen here apparently dressed as the Bud Light knight, has called this song his best effort to sound like...Fleetwood Mac? Wait, what? This is the same guy rapping about his legendary tour exploits back at #20? It’s as confusing to me as it is to you, I promise. It’s hard for me to take him seriously at any style of music where he isn’t bragging about how drunk/high he is. I think it’s the face tats. Yes, it’s definitely the face tats. Nonetheless, this is actually a pretty great song. Posty has plenty of talent hiding behind that “Always Tired” script scrawled across his cheekbones.

7. Billie Eilish- “Bad Guy”: This is the hottest beat of 2019. I didn’t even know it was a Billie Eilish song for an embarrassingly long time, but once I realized, my appreciation of her went way up. I had only heard songs from her that left me cold, because I’m not an angsty 17 year old girl, but “Bad Guy” smashed all that away. She’s still weird as the day is long, but now I see it in a fun way instead of in a “Kids today” way. And all it took was a hot beat and a quick “Duh!”

6. 5 Seconds Of Summer- “Youngblood”: Australia’s hottest boy band makes a shocking appearance here, with a song that (I’m sensing a theme here) is good if you can just ignore where it’s coming from. I guess pop music in 2019 was about accepting that good things can come in strange, or nontraditional, packages, and that it’s what the music sounds like the counts the most. Look at me, being so accepting! Particularly about heartthrob boy bands, one of the world’s most historically marginalized peoples…

5. Jonas Brothers- “Only Human”: The Jonas Brothers went reggae-ish, and it worked well enough to get them into the Top 5 best songs of the year. I still can’t believe we have back-to-back boy bands this high up on the list, but like I said before, good music is good music, regardless of the package it comes in. And in the case of this video, the package appears to be a vintage one from the...late ‘70s? Early ‘90s? Your guess is as good as mine, all I know is they tried really hard to make it look old-school, and mostly succeeded.

4. Khalid & Disclosure- “Talk”: This is not just one of 2019’s better songs, it’s miles ahead of the songs below it on this list, and one of the best Slow JamZ (always with a Z) of the decade. In fact, the top tier of music in 2019 stacks up pretty well against that from any other year this decade. This one is helped tremendously by the icy-cool smooth beat from Disclosure, and Khalid’s always-wondrous vocals made it one of the songs of the summer. I’m not sure he can make a song better than this, but I welcome the chance to find out in 2020.

3. Ariana Grande- “Breathin”: Some people loved the more controversial Ariana Grande songs in 2019. You know, the ones where ex-lovers get called out by name. Me? I like to keep it simple- lush, midtempo electropop is where Ariana shines most, and it’s where she’ll always find a happy home towards the top of my list. The video being set in a train station didn’t hurt its spot, either.

2. Lewis Capaldi- “Someone You Loved”: No doubt about it, Lewis Capaldi was the breakout star of the year for me. If you only ever heard him speak, or only ever heard him sing, you wouldn’t think the two personas could belong to the same person. His soulful music and golden pipes don’t seem like they could come from the humble, goofy Scottish rogue who always shows up in interviews, but somehow, it all adds up to one of the most exciting new singers to come around in several years. Capaldi has chafed at being called the “male Adele,” but honestly, that’s what his ceiling could be if he continues to make songs as moving as this one.

1. Sam Smith & Normani- “Dancing With A Stranger”: We made it folks, all the way to the #1 best song in the last year of the 2010s. No pop song got more heavy rotation for me this year, and in fact, it was my most-played song of the year overall, so it’s about as worthy a #1 as you could possibly get. The beat is somehow sad, beautiful, and uptempo all at the same time, and Sam Smith and Normani skillfully bring us into the story of a couple driving each other to new partners- it’s harder than you think to make dancepop with a soul, but they manage to do it. It was an easy choice for #1 in the end.

And that’s how the decade ended! Here’s the Spotify playlist for you to jam with for the first few months of 2020. Keep a lookout for that best 50 songs of the decade list coming soon, and find out which songs from this year made the list, and where! Enjoy!

Looking Back at Avicii's Top 30 Greatest Hits

Last week, the team behind dance-music legend Avicii released his final album, a little over a year after his tragic passing. The album was about 90 percent finished before Avicii sadly took his own life, and his frequent collaborators and fellow producers were brought in to finish the job he started. All net proceeds from the final album, called Tim, are being donated to the mental health awareness charity started by Avicii’s parents, and it’s great to see such a horrible moment be turned into something that has the potential to make a positive impact in the lives of others who are suffering.

Now that Avicii’s amazing discography can be presumed to be complete (despite many leaked tracks still sitting in a vault somewhere), it seems like the right time to run down a list of his Greatest Hits and, appropriately, rank them in order of Greatest-ness. This is done mostly on the basis of my personal preference, but some additional weight is given to songs that made a greater impact on the EDM and music worlds at large. While we may never get to hear any new Avicii music, with this list, we can at least remember how great the music was that we did get to hear throughout the last decade. Spotify playlist at the bottom. Let’s get into it!

30. “Heart Upon My Sleeve” (2013/2019): This song was originally leaked in 2013 with the vocals of Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds, but then officially released on Avicii’s debut album True without the vocals. Now, in 2019, six whole years later, the original version has finally been released with vocals on Tim. It’s indicative of the twin issues that vexed much of Avicii’s otherwise brilliant career: his own perfectionism, and the meddling of his team and the industry as a whole. Many of Avicii’s songs had been tinkered with within an inch of their lives by the time they were released, often stripping away some of the infectiousness they carried when they were first leaked, and many more collaborations remain sealed behind closed doors, unable to be released due to label interference and obstructionism. Fans can only hope they continue to trickle out, but hoping for that seems futile at this point.

29. “Fades Away” (2019): If there are never to be any more posthumous Avicii releases, then “Fades Away” stands to be the last track we ever hear for the first time, as it closes his final album, Tim. Vocalist Noonie Bao provides a haunting melody that flits above an orchestral beat that, indeed, fades away to darkness, not-so-subtly indicating that this is it, the last we’ll ever hear of Avicii’s music.

28. “SOS” (2019): With respect to Chris Martin, Aloe Blacc (of “Wake Me Up” fame) probably provides the best vocals of anyone featured on Tim with “SOS.” That, plus the enormous worldwide success of “Wake Me Up,” is probably why “SOS” was chosen to be the lead single off Avicii’s final album. It certainly doesn’t pack the same punch as their previous collaboration, but it’s one of the better tracks from the album, for sure. And the lyrics are as haunting as any you’ll hear, if you stop and think about them.

27. “Pure Grinding” (2015): Back to better days here. I don’t think this is Lil Wayne on vocals here, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it is. This track takes a bit to grow on you, but it will keep you motivated to do whatever needs doing in your life, even if it never quite crescendos and achieves liftoff the way that I want it to.

26. “Can’t Catch Me” (2015): This one actually does feature Wyclef Jean, even if it’s uncredited. It’s another one from the back half of Stories, and another one I wanted to build up to a little bit more than what it winds up building to. But nonetheless, it’s a welcome blend of Swedish piano and Caribbean sounds that leaves me guessing as to what season it’s meant for, which is fun for me.

25. “The Days” (2014): Norwegian EDM superstar Kygo hit the scene in 2015, and cites Avicii as his #1 inspiration. Mid-tempo string/piano/thump blends like this sound like they were the most influential Avicii songs to Kygo’s sound, which has continued to endure and generate hits right up until now. So while “The Days” doesn’t jump off the page as anything special, just exceedingly pleasant, it may have been more influential than we initially thought, so it deserves some credit there.

24. “Hope There’s Someone” (2013): This is actually a cover of a song by the same name by a band called Antony and the Johnsons. It led off Avicii’s 2013 hourlong promo mix, and was a perfect choice for that playlist because it takes FOREVER to get going, but once it finally does, you are ready to absolutely rage for the next 56 minutes.

23. “Dear Boy” (2013): Synchronicity here- “Dear Boy” followed “Hope There’s Someone” on that legendary 2013 mix, and so it follows here as well. This one features M0, a Swedish singer who’s become a star in her own right since this came out. It keeps the party going, for sure.

22. “Lay Me Down” (2013): Adam Lambert provides guest vocals here on a track that doesn’t try to do too much. It’s a true-to-form disco anthem with a modern (for 2013) twist that gives it a little extra EDM oomph.

21. “Addicted To You” (2013): Avicii’s initial foray into country/bluegrass in 2013 included this footstomper, as well as more well-known tracks like “Wake Me Up” and “Hey Brother.” This one deserves more recognition because it’s almost as good as those chart-toppers.

20. “Fade Into Darkness” (2011): Our first way-back song on this list, but far, far from the last. This is what original Avicii sounded like. Pure piano, uplifting but simple lyrics, male vocals (Avicii displayed more of a preference for male vocalists than most current producers, I’ve noticed), fog-machine sound effect, and enough of a beat to keep you dancing all night long. It’s a tried-and-tested formula, people.

19. “Feeling Good” (2015): OK, I admit this is the least original entry on the list. Like, everyone takes a stab at this song. There was no need for Avicii to add his spin on it to the canon. But when you listen, you won’t be sorry he did. This rendition is simply outstanding. Slow sultry, patient buildup, satisfying reward, and frequent collaborator Audra Mae provides spot-on vocals. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s truly excellent. And yes, it was done for a Volvo ad, I’m aware. Still great.

18. “Without You” (2017): More than almost any other, this one breaks my heart, as it was Avicii’s last big single before his passing. It makes me sad because I didn’t appreciate as much as I should have when it came out. It deserves to be right where I’ve ranked it, mentioned in the same sphere as some of Avicii’s best work. I took it for granted, because I thought there would be so many more great songs still to come. I can’t take that back, but I can appreciate it now. So that’s what I’m doing.

17. “City Lights” (2015): This is one of the few true club tracks on this list, the kind where you have to skip to 1 minute into the song to get to the real music. Once it gets going, though, it’s a classic Avicii track, the kind that he definitely strayed away from later in his career as he looked to branch out into other sounds and get away from his progressive-house roots. It’s got the twinkles, Vocoder vocals, and a melody that will bring the house down in the right circumstances.

16. “True Believer” (2015): Here’s another one, also from 2015’s Stories, that takes awhile to get going. This is a weird one, because the original leaked vocals unmistakably featured Chris Martin, but then the final version seems to only include him as a harmony in certain parts, while the lead vocals went to...apparently, Avicii himself? No idea what happened there, but I assume it was another combination of endless studio tinkering and perhaps label interference. It’s disappointing, because this had the makings of an all-time collaboration, but it sort of fizzled due to totally preventable reasons. Nonetheless, the final product is still surprisingly pretty great, thanks to its strong bones.

15. “You Make Me” (2013): This is an interesting one, as it sort of straddles the line between Swedish progressive house and elements of the more rootsy feel Avicii sought on True. Ultimately it stays more on the Swedish, rather than Appalachian, side of things. Strangely, though, the sound works, and it was one of my favorites on the album, behind only the 2 standout chart-topping hits.

14. “My Feelings For You” (2010): This may the farthest-back Avicii song that we have on this list. This one’s from way back in 2010, and it is striking in its simplicity. It lacks a lot of the flair and flourishes that would come to define Avicii’s sound even a few years later, but it is still pretty unmistakable. I think the simplest thing about it has to be its lyrics- just one phrase, repeating, an old EDM trick that Avicii outgrew pretty quickly by 2012 or 2013.

13. “I Could Be The One” (2012): Avicii teamed up with his friend and occasional collaborator Nicky Romero on this one, and the uncredited vocals are done by Noonie Bao, who also sang much later on “Fades Away.” This was a tweener track, released after the megahit “Levels” but before the next megahit “Wake Me Up,” and its style skews much more towards Avicii’s early sound, rather than the more rootsy sound he would tend towards later on. It’s pretty much pure energy, all the way through.

12. “Liar Liar- Avicii by Avicii Remix” (2014): This is a weird one, for sure. “Liar Liar,” the regular version, was a non-standout track from 2013’s True. But Avicii went back and took a melody he’s used before on some other unreleased tracks and stapled it onto this one, and suddenly it became a top-notch progressive house party track. Does it flow perfectly? No, probably not. Is it largely unknown to the general population? Absolutely. But it’s an awesome listen, and I never get tired of it, so here it is anyway.

11. “Hey Brother” (2013): Remind you of “Man Of Constant Sorrow” from O Brother Where Art Thou? Well, that’s because it features vocals from the same man who sung that classic ballad, Dan Tyminski. He even sings “Oh, brother” several times in the bridge! This one may have been the most bluegrass of all the tracks on True, but it still had a beat with some classic Avicii sounds that kept its Swedish heart beating underneath. The whole thing from start to finish is a piece of pure ingenuity.

10. “Blessed” (2011): In my interpretation, this song is about the joys of creating music. As such, it’s a fitting intro to the top 10 Avicii songs. He made it very early on in his career, and you can feel the enthusiasm permeating the whole thing. Props to guest vocalist Shermanology as well, for doing the best she can with a pretty limited vocal sample.

9. “Drowning- Remix” (2011): I went back and forth about whether to include remixes in this list, but ultimately there were a couple early Avicii remixes that were too good for me to ignore. “Drowning,” originally by fellow EDM heavyweight Armin Van Buuren, was one of them. Avicii’s remix strikes all the right notes, setting you up with trancey verses sung by Laura V, and then hitting you with a an uplifting melody and rhythm following the chorus

8. “Seek Bromance” (2010): For all intents and purposes, this was Avicii’s debut single. It was, at least, the first song he released that captured anyone’s attention, way back in 2010. It’s actually a mashup of Avicii’s own instrumental track “Bromance,” with uncredited vocals from a different song called “Love U Seek,” which is indicative of the slapdash nature of his early career, when he was just another bedroom DJ looking to make a name for himself. It’s safe to say, after this one, he was able to move out of the bedroom, and away from mashup tracks like this one.

7. “Waiting For Love” (2015): This is another Avicii track with a bizarre story surrounding its vocals- originally they were sung by John Legend, and it sure sounds like Legend on the finalized, released version, but apparently the vocals are sung by frequent collaborator Simon Aldred, who must’ve been doing his best John Legend impression, because the resemblance is uncanny. Also, this is a collaboration with Dutch superstar producer Martin Garrix, so it’s safe to say there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen for this one, but the final version is exceptional enough to secure its place in the top 10 here. I guess you could say it succeeds almost in spite of itself. Guess I won’t be headed to church on Sunday...

6. “Dancing In My Head” (2012): This is a relatively obscure track that never got near the amount of love it deserved. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know, but this is an excellent, excellent song. The melody will get in your head and stay there, and you just won’t mind at all. Vocalist Eric Turner may be hard to pick out of a lineup, but his vocals work perfectly here. But really, all the credit has to go to Avicii, for knocking it out of the park here.

5. “Heaven” (2019): Honestly, this entire list came about largely because I couldn’t decide how high “Heaven” should go on the pantheon of all-time Avicii songs. You can read all about my thoughts on this one here. There’s not much more to say, other than that we should feel extremely blessed to have gotten one more top-tier Avicii song included on his final, posthumous, album. Ultimately, number 5 seems fair for a song that was so eagerly anticipated by so many for so long, and yet still managed to live up to expectations. I for one will be bumping it all summer and well into the future.

4. “Silhouettes” (2012): This was maybe the second Avicii song I ever heard, and as such, it may have been the one that confirmed for me that he was an artist who had staying power beyond one breakout hit. The vocals by frequent collaborator Salem al Fakir are pretty great, and the melody puts you into the perfect state of mind, no matter what your mood was before. It definitely falls into the category of songs that I always enjoy hearing, anytime it comes on. And ultimately that’s what puts it into the top tier here.

3. “Wake Me Up” (2013): I could write pages and pages about “Wake Me Up” and the impact it had on the music world. When Avicii played it at Ultra 2013, it drew boos from the puzzled audience that had come to hear progressive house hits like “Levels.” Six months later, it was #1 around the world and proved that EDM could crossover in more adventurous ways than just provide backing beats to low-grade pop and hip-hop songs. It showed, along with Daft Punk’s disco-analog reemergence that same year, that EDM could still have a soul, or perhaps, that it had gained the soul it was always lacking. Although “Wake Me Up” spawned a thousand imitators, though, none could ever match Avicii’s ability to spin a gorgeous original melody in with a retrofuturistic sound that tugged at your heartstrings while still making you want to dance. It was a one-of-a-kind talent, and truthfully, it was a sound that he spent the rest of his brief career trying to recreate with varying degrees of success.

2. “Levels” (2011): What is there to say about “Levels” that hasn’t been said already? It’s maybe the most impactful, most ubiquitous song to come out of the entire EDM era, if you want to call it an era. It was inescapable in 2011-2012, and for me anyway, I never wanted to escape it. It was the song that put Avicii on the map. In fact, it did more than that- it established him as a cut above all the other DJs out there, even though it was the first track many of us had ever heard by him. The Etta James sample is perfectly placed, and every element of the composition is truly perfect. It would be impossible to have a conversation about Avicii without “Levels” being pretty much the first song mentioned. To this day, bros will still fist-pump when this comes on in the club, and I hope they continue to for the rest of time. But, somehow, “Levels” gets beaten out by an even better Avicii song when it comes to my personal favorite...

1. “Rapture- Remix” (2010): I’ll admit I’m cheating a bit. “Rapture” was a hit from 2002 by iiO featuring Nadia Ali, and that was a great song. But when Avicii came out with his “New Generation Remix” in 2010, it took the whole thing to another level. From a purely musical standpoint, this is the greatest Avicii song of all time, and maybe the greatest remix of all time. Even more than “Levels,” “Silhouettes,” or “Heaven,” I can promise I will never, ever, EVER get tired of this one. It’s 3 minutes, 42 seconds, of absolute blissful musical perfection. But that’s just my personal preference. Take us out, Nadia...

*RIP Tim Bergling, 1989-2018*

On Avicii, "Heaven," The Passage Of Time, And Posthumous Album Releases

Four years ago this spring, EDM superstar Avicii released his 2015 Ultra Promo Mix, which was a remastered, studio-quality version of the hourlong set he had performed at that years Ultra Music Festival in Miami. It was complete with fake audience cheers and a woman's voice every couple minutes that reminded you it was "Avicii, live from the main stage of Ultra!" The last 20 or so minutes contained the part that I was looking for, though: the teasers of all the new music Avicii had been working on and that would be released on his upcoming album, later titled Stories.

I was a 24-year-old recent grad, living with my parents, temping, trying to make a long-distance relationship work. I didn't have a lot going on in my life, and I was pretty aimless, trying to hang on to college days even as the world around me looked increasingly less like the one I had left behind 2 years prior. But that spring, I found a song about 48 minutes into the hour that promised that good days could still be ahead for me. That song was "Heaven," and though it was uncredited at the time, it clearly featured Coldplay's Chris Martin on vocals. It was vintage Avicii, and I couldn't wait for it to be released officially so that I could jam out when I heard it at bars, clubs, on the radio, and on my nascent Spotify account.

Needless to say, "Heaven" never got released as a single. I don't know why- other songs on the 2015 promo mix got released as singles, or as part of Stories. But "Heaven" never got its moment in the sun, so to speak. I slowly gave up hope. My life moved on, though. I moved out of my parents' house and in with my old college friends. I ended my long-distance relationship, tried to go out and have a good time and forget her. I applied to, and ultimately got into, a grad-school program. I finally finished temping, started "interning" again, and got myself into a new, short-distance relationship. I was on track to graduate my grad program and was starting to look into real, full-time jobs in the spring of 2018.

Periodically, though, I would still check in on "Heaven," though, and let it take me back to that time in my life when I was trying to figure myself out. There were various bootleg copies floating around on Youtube, and even as Avicii's sound took him away from that type of song, I still held out hope that maybe someday, as improbable as it sounded, it could get its own release. I sat in the airport, holding hands with my girlfriend as we waited for a flight to New Orleans for a long-weekend getaway, when I heard the news. Avicii was dead of a suicide at 28.

It's still the hardest celebrity death for me to cope with. Avicii was my life's soundtrack, more than anyone else. His music got me through the second half of college, and had been a reliable source of inspiration for me throughout my 20s. He was still releasing great music, and had his whole future ahead of him. At the same time, though, it felt like an era had ended. The era of carefree, feelgood mainstream EDM, if it was still kicking at all, felt like it was over. The part of my life where that was what I wanted to hear felt like it might be over too. It felt like I was destined to become the type of guy who only listens to stuff from "back in my day." And, of course, it meant I'd never get to hear an official version of "Heaven."

But life goes on, as it does. I wrapped up my Master's degree, got a job, moved in with my girlfriend, and made her my fiancee, set a wedding date (next June 6th). I turned 28 myself, and found plenty of other good music to listen to, even new stuff. But I couldn't let go of "Heaven," no matter what I did. Again, though, as I sat with my now-fiancee, waiting for a show to start, holding her hand, I got more news that I was never expecting: There would be one more Avicii album, coming out this June 6th.

I waited and waited, and sure enough, it was confirmed that "Heaven," miraculously, would indeed be on the new album, titled Tim. Finally, today rolled around, and I got to listen to it on Spotify, totally legally, for the first time.

It's been four years since I first heard "Heaven." My life has changed in so many ways since then. I was a lost kid, and now, I guess, I'm a reasonable approximation of a grown man. But I never lost that feeling. When Chris Martin started singing to me, I felt it just the same as I did four years ago. I couldn't help but smile, wipe away a tear, and tap my foot all at the same time. The fact that I'm getting married in exactly one year from the album's release date feels fitting. It'll help me always remember the day when I heard new Avicii music for the last time.

As for the rest of the album? It'll take more listens, but I don't think it's my favorite of Avicii's work. His style has changed a lot since 2015. But it barely matters. "Heaven" is on it, and my impossible dream somehow came true. If it doesn't go to #1 on the chart, I'll know that America's tastes aren't as good as mine, but either way, I get to enjoy it for the rest of my life, and that's all right with me. Long live Avicii, and long live "Heaven"- the eternal jam.

Personal Favorites of 2018

Welcome to the world of what I was REALLY listening to in 2018. While I enjoy writing my list of Billboard favorites, it's skewing further and further from the playlist of songs I actually listen to on a daily basis. And, those songs are skewing closer and closer to each other in terms of their sound as well. This list might as well be called, The Best 25 Melodic Deep House Tracks of 2018. But technically, it's personal favorites, so there is a bit of variation in there. The only rule is that these songs couldn't be eligible for the list I made last week.

This list is in alphabetical order by artist. The Spotify playlist is at the bottom if you don't care what I write and just wanna listen. Sit back and enjoy the jams!

Alex Ross- "Deep In Your Heart":


 I honestly can't believe we're sampling "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige for house tracks now. I was, like, a full-grown adult when that song came out. That is not a soul classic. But you can't tell the difference here in this excellent remix. I guess I'm old now.

Anne-Marie- "2002 (Kream Remix)":



While the song itself was one of the year's best pop songs (especially for someone else who was 11 in 2002), this remix is what took it way, way over the top and made it one of the year's best tracks, period.

ARTY- "Tim":


 Here is one example of a song that doesn't quite fit the mood of the playlist as a whole. I had no choice to add it in, though, because it may be my only chance to properly eulogize the artist who has had more of an impact on my music preferences than any other- no, not ARTY. Avicii, of course. Avicii, otherwise known as Tim Bergling, passed away this past April at the age of 28, and his death hit me harder than any other "celebrity" death ever has. I still remember where I was when I heard "Levels" for the first time, and there is no one else whose music defines that period of my life more than Avicii. His passing felt like the end of an era for me, an era when I was as passionate as ever about discovering new music. With his death, I felt like I turned backward a lot this year in remembrance of his music as well as other music from what I call the Golden Age of EDM (2010-2016ish). So, while there is no Avicii music on this year's list, ARTY's tribute song will have to stand in. here's hoping for some posthumous releases in 2019.

Becky Hill- "Sunrise In The East (Fred V & Grafix Remix)":


 Love Becky Hill's vocals on the original, but this deep-cut remix was even better. These guys did an amazing remix of Sub Focus' "Endorphins"  back in 2013, and they reprise their skills here. Could listen to it all day.

Blonde feat. Bryn Christopher- "Me Myself & I":


 This is just a great song, with a nice message too. Mostly, though, it's all about the sound, which just never gets old for me. Definitely a party jam, though, so only listen when you want to be in that mood.

Calvin Harris feat. Sam Smith- "Promises":


I think this song must have just missed the cut for the Billboard list because it is quite a big hit. It would have probably been in the top 2 or 3 had it made the cut. Piano keys, Sam Smith singing, it's got all the ingredients. Pretty classic Calvin sound.

Disciples- "48 HRS":


Disciples kills it here, as usual. They may be #1 on my list of acts I'd like to see live right now, after seeing Gorgon City in concert this year (more on them in a little bit).

Deadmau5 & Rob Swire- "Monophobia":


Wow, I would NOT have guessed that I'd see Deadmau5 in this list in 2018. But respect where it's due, this song perfectly harkens back to his career-defining tracks like "Strobe" and "Ghosts n Stuff," so here he is, super-weird video and all.

Flight Facilities feat. Nika- "Need You":


Similar to the last song, I would never have expected Flight Facilities to make a list in 2018. The last time I listened to them was a dubstep remix in probably 2012. But quality is quality, and this one here is very high quality. Love the apparently original footage from the Dating Game in the video as well.

Gorgon City feat. Naations- "Let It Go":



Gorgon City may have messed around and made the best album of 2018. The best part of it was the end, though, when they slowed things down and made tracks like "Let It Go." This was such a great song to vibe to at any moment this year. And it was awesome to see live. Did I mention I saw them live? Cool.

Gorgon City feat. Kelly Kiara- "Night Drive":


This was the best song on Gorgon City's new album, and was definitely one of the best songs of the year. It's a little slow, but if you slow yourself down as well and appreciate it, it will be worth it, I promise. They made a great choice to close out the album with it.

Just Kiddin- "Body Talk":



I only heard this song in December, late December at that, and i had already pretty much made up my list. But I had to add this in, and kick another song out, because it was too good to ignore. It incorporates every single element of a perfect song, practically purpose-built to appeal to me. If it was vinyl, I would have worn out the vinyl in just a few short weeks. Too good.

Lizzy Land- "Sweet Melodies (Schier Remix)":



This is just purely luscious sounds. It may not be the most inventive, but it's so delightful to listen to. I probably heard on a Spotify playlist somewhere, since that's apparently where we all find new music now. Seems like a deep cut, so enjoy.

Low Steppa feat. Ayak- "No Love":


According to Spotify, this was my top-streamed song of 2018. I kind of can't believe that, but I do agree that it goes hard. And if it is true, then I guess I like to be pumped up as much as possible. Let's keep that vibe going into 2019, I guess.

Matoma feat. Noah Cyrus- "Slow":



Who knew Miley's little sister had pipes? And was down to do a guest feature on a Norwegian house track? Me neither, but I'm sure glad we found out this year what such a collaboration could sound like. This is some of Matoma's best work since "Old Thing Back."

MK, Jonas Blue, & Becky Hill- "Back & Forth":



Not only was this one of the best pure house songs (with another incredible Becky Hill vocal), but it actually has a real music video! So click play and enjoy! I'm glad I'm able to embed videos again this year but it's much more technically difficult than it used to be so appreciate it!

SeeB feat. Dagny- "Drink About":



Nice to hear again from SeeB after their breakthrough back in 2016 with their Mike Posner "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" remix (#1 that year). Their trendsetting sound led to an abundance of vocal-gymnastic drops, but they remain the best in the business, as proved by this standout track.

Silk City & Dua Lipa- "Electricity":



No idea how this didn't make the Billboard Year-End Hot 100, but I guess it just missed. Silk City (Mark Ronson and Diplo) employ the vocal talents of Dua Lipa for their first big single, which uses the very memorable NYC blackout of 2003 as its background for its video. Found footage from a nostalgic time when I was (checks notes) already 12 years old? Love it. I'm ready for the 2000s nostalgia. Let's do it, people. (Also, the MK remix of this song is amazing in its own way).

SZA- "The Weekend (Funk Wav Remix)":



The song says "Funk Wav remix" but don't get it twisted- this is Calvin Harris, through and through. Just a classic Calvin sound. He made the track his own. And yes, it came out in December '17, but if Billboard would count it as 2018, so will I.

The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren- "Side Effects":



2018 wasn't quite as big for The Chainsmokers as 2016 or 2017 were, but they still hit it big with songs like "Side Effects," which may have missed the year-end chart but was still a smash hit in its own right. Bizarre video, though. I guess Riley just quit her job after her all-night dance party? Unclear.

The Knocks feat. Sofi Tukker- "Brazilian Soul":



I still don't know quite how The Knocks have never gotten bigger. Album after album they deliver jams that would have everyone dancing if they heard them, but they never quite seem to break through into the mainstream. Maybe they prefer it that way, though. Every interview I've read, they seem to relish their authenticity, so I guess they're totally happy to do what they love for those who appreciate it. I just wish I heard songs like this spilling out of more car windows. Maybe in Rio!

The Knocks feat. Foster The People- "Ride Or Die":



The Knocks again with another killer collaboration. This one took a little longer to grow on me, but it actually speaks to me personally more than the exotic sounds of "Brazilian Soul." Another great summer party track that I'll probably still be jamming to in 2019.

Yellow Claw & San Holo- "Summertime":



Kind of cheating due to the lyrics, but no song defined summer 2018 for me more than this one. Even though the video is actually set in the winter. Ignore that though. It's a summer song if I say so.

Yellow Claw feat. Valentina- "Villain":



Yellow Claw again (lot of double-hits on this year's list, but no triples). Subject material notwithstanding, this was a great song to listen to in almost any mood this year. I love songs that are so versatile. Although I'd prefer if they didn't tell the tale of a broken relationship.

ZHU & Tame Impala- "My Life":



ZHU always goes with the most theatrical videos. Nonetheless, a 5-minute epic is a perfect way to close out 2018. Enjoy the sounds of the odd pairing of ZHU and Tame Impala and I'll see you in 2019.