This year has been nothing short of a boxing match for me. I know bashing 2016 has almost become a cliche at this point, but there’s a reason for it. Has anyone had a great year? Despite the ups and downs, this has been my favorite year for music that I can remember. Perhaps as some kind of penance, God blessed the world a ton of great music. Here, I try to sort through it. As with all of my lists, I don’t claim to choose the best songs of the year — simply my favorites. Instead of choosing 50 songs, a Top 40 has always felt right to me.
If you’d like a Spotify version, check at the end of this post.
[Note: I’ve written about a few of these songs before, so very small portions of this list have been lifted from earlier pieces about my favorite albums of the year and songs of the decade.]
40. Isaiah Rashad — 4r Da Squaw →
It may not be “Heavenly Father” or “Webbie Flow” from early Rashad days, but it’s the pinnacle of The Sun’s Tirade. And, in classic Rashad form, it sounds hesitant to be that. Listen to just about any of his music and it’s hard to imagine him performing live without being kicked back in a La-Z-Boy recliner. Isaiah gives thanks to the music industry for allowing him to turn his talent into financial security and to his newfound sobriety for allowing him to be the man his family deserves. Also, I won’t publish a list of my favorite music videos of 2016, but “4r Da Squaw” would top it.
39. Hamilton Leithauser & Rostam — A 1000 Times →
This collaboration between underrated musical forces was a highlight of 2016 for me. Think Watch The Throne with none of the hype but 100% of the success, if not more so. “A 1000 Times” speaks of unrequited love and the invisible, cosmic strings that tie us together. Leithauser’s impassioned performance stirs the heart. “I found your house, I didn’t even try! They’d closed the shutters, they’d pulled the blinds!” The songs reminds me of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad, which is a novel in the same vein that I can’t recommend enough.
38. Noname — Yesterday →
Drenched in the warmth and optimism of a late spring morning, “Yesterday” chips away at the edges of 2016 in a refreshing way. Like #40 on this list, it scoffs at materialism and points to simple truths in life. “My devil is only closer when I call him back,” Noname raps. She sings about how she leans on the memory of her late grandmother when life gets tough. “When the sun is going down, when the dark is out to stay, I picture your smile like it was yesterday.”
37. The xx — On Hold →
The xx’s self-titled debut was an exercise in minimalism. Since then, it seems that the group has been slowly branching out to more flourished music. Coexist built things up, but disappointed me in its seeming abandonment of what made The xx special in the first place. “On Hold” is their debut single from Album #3. Things aren’t quite minimalistic, but they’re more in line with that magical debut. It’s a song about a relationship on its last legs, and it beautifully samples Hall & Oates for its enchanting chorus.
36. Jeff Rosenstock — Festival Song →
If there’s one fantastic project the mainstream overlooked in 2016, it’s Jeff Rosenstock’s WORRY. “Festival Song” is the lead single and it features the classic “screw the man” punk mission statement, at least as it pertains to the music scene itself. “They wouldn’t be your friend if you weren’t worth something,” Rosenstock sings about, evidently, festival organizers. I need to hear this performed live.
35. Lady Gaga — Million Reasons →
“Million Reasons” is Lady Gaga at her absolute best. She can sing like an angel, yet only seeks to prove it on rare occasions. This one is a powerful ballad that lets the pop icon flex her pipes as she sings about how bad relationships can drag on if you’re the type of person that only sees the best in people — even those that hurt you. “I’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away. But baby, I just need one good one to stay.”
34. Pinegrove — Old Friends →
Pinegrove is a new group on my radar this year. Cardinal surprised me in its critical acclaim, and “Old Friends” is the opening track. The band is from New Jersey, but singer Evan Stephens Hall has a kind of southern twang that comes out in spurts that gives the track a homey vibe that suits it well. It discusses loss and relationships in a style of songwriting that I absolutely love. “My steps keep splitting my grief through these solipsistic moods. I should call my parents when I think of them. I should tell my friends when I love them.”
33. Anderson .Paak — The Bird →
“The Bird” is sweet, soulful, and autobiographical. Paak sings of his youth and the struggles he faced. “I’m repping for the longest cycle. My uncles had to pay the cost. My sister used to sing to Whitney. My mama caught the gambling bug. We came up in a lonely castle, my papa was behind them bars. We never had to want for nothing, said all we ever need is love.” Between the classic guitar licks, the warm horns, and the rich vocals, it’s all a bit overwhelming on the first listen. Fortunately, it’s still great 100 listens later.
32. Bon Iver — 00000 Million →
Bon Iver is the first place anyone should turn for an understanding friend in hard times. He has all the street cred in the world when it comes to sad music, and “00000 Million” is no different. The short Fionn Regan clip in the “chorus” seems to put a bow on 22, A Million as a whole, while the song is about finally succumbing to life’s trials. “Must’ve been forces, that took me on them wild courses. Who knows how many poses, that I’ve been in … If it’s harmed, it’s harmed me, it’ll harm, I let it in.”
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31. Major Lazer — Cold Water (ft. Justin Bieber & MØ) →
It may not have had nearly the commercial success of “Where Are U Now,” but it has the same kind of bounce to it, and I’m proud to admit that Justin could drop 100 more of these before I finally got sick of them. “Cold Water” felt effortless and cast-off, yet was still one of my favorite radio tracks of 2016. He makes it sound easy.
30. Richard Orofino — I Heard You Were Looking Like The Moon →
Orofino is an 18-year-old artist from NY/Boston who has unloaded a deluge of projects via his Bandcamp page. Between February and November of this year, he managed to reel off eight projects (by my count), so he had pretty good odds of ending up here somewhere. Like much of Orofino’s music, this one is hazy and wistful, and has something built into it that makes you want to keep listening over and over. I nearly put “Stay” on this list, but gave the edge to “I Heard You Were Looking Like The Moon” because it’s been stuck in my head more recently.
29. Wilco — If I Ever Was A Child →
I love my Wilco either exceedingly weird or the exact opposite. After a string of projects that managed to split that gap, Schmilco returned to Jeff Tweedy’s stripped-back Americana roots. This one’s sparse and beautiful, and Tweedy finds himself realizing his own world weariness. “Can my cold heart change, even out of spite?” Like much of the band’s music, it’s like a baseball glove — you have to break it in a little to fully appreciate it.
28. Car Seat Headrest — The Ballad of the Costa Concordia →
“The Ballad of the Costa Concordia” is simultaneously a testament to both Will Toledo’s ambition and his sense of humor. It’s an eleven-and-a-half-minute ballad that sees Toledo see life from the perspective of the captain that ran a cruise ship ashore on the coast of Italy. Somewhere around the six minute mark, things start to break loose. “How the hell was I supposed to steer this ship?! It was an expensive mistake…” Ninety seconds later and the song is on a downhill sprint. The whole thing is incredible and fascinating.
27. Kevin Abstract — Empty →
American Boyfriend (and “Empty” itself) is about a kid just trying to grow into his own skin. “I hate my yearbook photo, I hate my passport, I hate my last name, I hate everything it stands for,” raps Kevin Abstract. Adolescence is weird and so are the romantic relationships we explore during it. Things can boil down to a firestorm of hormones. Kevin’s simply trying to navigate. “I’ll be right outside your front door on my 12-speed. I got your emotions tattooed on my sleeve. I think about you all the time. I’ve waited for you all my life.”
26. Conor Oberst— Mama Borthwick (A Sketch) →
“Mama Borthwick” is Conor Oberst — ahem — ruminating about how frustrating and silly humanity can be, and he uses the works of Frank Lloyd Wright as the lens. “It costs twenty dollars to visit Fallingwater. It’s a perfect house where no one lives.” As an idiot who’s always admired Wright’s work from afar and questioned humanity from up close, “Mama Borthwick” nailed a weird place in my heart. Plus, any song with soulful harmonica is a winner in my book.
25. Beyonce — Hold Up
It may not be a showstopper like “Sorry” or “Formation”, but “Hold Up” is a Lemonade favorite much like “XO” was for me on Beyonce’s last album. In the landscape of the concept album, this one sits at the beginning, just as Bey is beginning to suspect her lover’s transgressions. The production is flawless in the way it slinks around while Knowles seductively saunters in and out of singing and rapping. Not sure why more people don’t love this like I do.
24. Bon Iver — 33 “GOD” →
The number 33 is in the title, and is the age of Jesus at the time of his death. The song was released 33 days prior to the debut of 22, A Million and clocks in at 3:33 seconds long. Frilly symbolism aside, this is the closest Bon Iver got to a radio single with their latest effort, and it’s pretty fantastic. I always enjoy their singles because they usually don’t require as much effort to dissect as their rest of the album, and this song is no different. The instrumentation is beautiful. “These will just be places to me now.”
23. Japandroids — Near To The Wild Heart of Life →
I’ll admit that I’ve never listened to Japandroids before this. “Near To The Wild Heart of Life” was something I gave a cursory listen at the urging of a lot of folks on Twitter, and I ended up falling in love. It’s an upbeat, riotous number that rages for a full five minutes. It’s anthemic and I’ve had it in steady rotation. Since discovering the band, I’ve gone back and explored Celebration Rock. Mostly, I’m just excited for their next album, which figures to weasel its way into my 2017 year-end list.
22. Lady Gaga — Sinner’s Prayer →
It’s 2016, and Lady Gaga released a (good) song that sounds like it can and should be square danced to. That’s not something any of us imagined in 2009 but it’s something I welcomed this year with open arms. Joanne had its highs, lows, and lukewarm mouthfuls, but “Sinner’s Prayer” was a refreshing change of pace and a welcomed step outside Gaga’s boundaries. Hopefully she dives in now that she’s successfully tested the waters.
21. The Hotelier — Two Deliverances →
As I said in my year-end list, there’s an album or two that I liked more than Goodness in 2016. However, I’m not sure any have held up as well as Goodness has. We’re on the doorstep of 2017 and my love for this hasn’t quelled at all. “Two Deliverances” is a lyrical tour de force from a band that’s always been poetic. Here, they dissect a room like only they can. “A drapery of clashing fabrics in every corner of your room. They hung like lace on the whitewashed face of the walls that are begging you to move.” Like all of their music, it perfectly ebbs and flows, playing with emotions like a yo-yo. There aren’t supposed to be this many good songs on one album.
20. Signals Midwest — At This Age →
At This Age somehow managed to be one of my most anticipated albums of the year and also the most divinely appointed. Usually when an album perfectly sums up your current place, it comes out of nowhere to do so. I waited years for this, only to find that it was a mirror to where I was in 2016. “At This Age” is a flawless examination of the foyer of adulthood. “Always thought at this age I would be settling in to a major city. Always thought at this age I would be further than I am now.”
19. Frank Ocean — Solo
On “Solo” Frank rides alone while the world burns itself to the ground. Despite the flames, Ocean remains irreverent and his bravado remains stronger than ever. “I’m skipping showers and switching socks, sleeping good and long. Bones feeling dense as f*ck, wish a n*gga would cross.” Rarely have I know Frank to be the type to weave a flawless chorus, but “Solo” is new territory in that regard. There’s hell, fire, bulls, and matadors. It’s enchanting in the same way that Ocean always has been.
18. Wilco — Normal American Kids →
“Normal American Kids” seems like the type of ditty that was half-heartedly plucked out for the first time in the backseat of a cloud-filled hippie van on Route 66 in 1973. It’s even sleepier than “If I Ever Was A Child”, which is saying something when you look at Wilco’s recent history. Tweedy seems to slip in a reference to late Wilco member Jay Bennet in the midst of a hazy brainstorm. “All of the time, holding a grudge, ‘fore I knew people could die just because.” This belongs on a movie soundtrack somewhere.