An annual tradition on my blog – My Top 100 Songs of the Year.
To further explore amazing music, here are my Top Songs from 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 (click “Follow” at the top of Spotify if you want to add any of the playlists to your sidebar of playlists)
There weren’t any clear “song of the year” candidates in 2016. I like every song in the top 8 equally.
2016 was the year of experimental/weird indie pop – with Yeasayer, Animal Collective and M83 all turning in a slew of great songs. Also really liked Phantogram’s album. But really, 2016 was Twenty One Pilots‘ year. By FAR my kids’ top album of the year. And as much as I’m a hipster music-snob and pretty much hate anything that is on the radio, I begrudgingly REALLY like Twenty One Pilots. Easily the best album of the year. Every song is different and good. Those two dudes have a knack for crafting perfect pop songs. AND their lyrics are super solid – with most songs referring to God.
Despite my hipster tendencies, my top 100 songs are actually really fun to listen to. If you follow indie music at all, you’ll find that most “Top Songs of The Year” are trying really hard to be cool and prove their hipster-ness. My Top Songs list is Indie Music for the Masses — Indie Music that’s actually enjoyable to listen to (not grating avant-garde or sleep-inducing-singer-songwriter).
Most of these songs are Indie-pop, Indie-rock, or Indietronica.
Here are my 100 favorite songs of 2016 (click to play individual tracks or here to play the full list in Spotify):Â
100 Â Â Â Â Family And Genus — Shakey Graves
99Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Swim Against the Tide — The Japanese House
98Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Moment — Tame Impala
97Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Arizona — Frances Cone
96Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Everything All At Once — Local Natives
95Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Crazy Eyes — Brother Moses
94Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Strangers — Psychic Twin
93Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gemini Feed — Banks
92Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Waving Goodbye — Sia
91Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sunday Love — Bat For Lashes
90Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Do You Remember — St. Lucia
89Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Prophecy Gun — Yeasayer
88Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gold – Jorgen Odegard Remix — Imagine Dragons, Jorgen Odegard
87Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Dead Alive — The Shins
86Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Wings of Love — LIV
85Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Time — Mint Royale, Tom Cane
84Â Â Â Â Â Â Â LIFE — HEALTH
83Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Drifting — On An On
82Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Way To Go — Empire of the Sun
81Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Never Going Back — Caveman
80Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Cheap Thrills — Sia
79Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Sound — The 1975
78Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Silly Me — Yeasayer
77Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I Can Only Stare — Sleigh Bells
76Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Human — Caveman
75Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Free — Broods
74Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 80 West — Caveman
73Â Â Â Â Â Â Â All in My Head — Porcelain Raft
72Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Club Aso — Palmistry
71Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Two Vines — Empire of the Sun
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I Was Wrong — A R I Z O N A
69Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Celestial Creatures — Wild Beasts
68Â Â Â Â Â Â Â For U (feat. Charli XCX) — Miike Snow, Charli XCX
67Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8 (circle) — Bon Iver
66Â Â Â Â Â Â Â May I Have This Dance — Francis and the Lights
65Â Â Â Â Â Â Â A 1000 Times — Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
64Â Â Â Â Â Â Â High And Low — Empire of the Sun
63Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ablaze — School Of Seven Bells
62Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Choose Me — James Blake
61Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Bird Set Free — Sia
60Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Don’t Let Me Down — The Chainsmokers, Daya
59Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Broken Glass — Sia
58Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I Feel The Weight — Miike Snow
57Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gone — Day Wave
56Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Way Back Home — Cameron AG
55Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Here’s To Us — Ellie Goulding
54Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Lane Boy — Twenty One Pilots
53       22 (OVER S∞∞N) — Bon Iver
52Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Easier — Mansionair
51Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Conrad — SOHN
50Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tear In My Heart — Twenty One Pilots
49Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I Need A Forest Fire — James Blake, Bon Iver
48Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Same Old Blues — Phantogram
47Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sledgehammer — Rihanna
46Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mother Emanuel — Local Natives
45Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Turning a Hand — Francis
44       Past Lives — BØRNS
43Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Run Run Blood — Phantogram
42Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Past Lives — Local Natives
41Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Burn the Witch — Radiohead
40Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Radio Silence — James Blake
39Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Get Right — Jimmy Eat World
38       American Money — BØRNS
37Â Â Â Â Â Â Â River — Bishop Briggs
36Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Heathens — Twenty One Pilots
35Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I Need Your Light — Ra Ra Riot, Rostam
34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Turn It Around — HAERTS
33Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Warrior — AURORA
32Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Doubt — Twenty One Pilots
31       Friends (feat. Bon Iver) — Francis and the Lights, Bon Iver – favorite part= “I’m Francis!”. Worth watching their goofy music video featuring Kanye
30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Chariots — Paper Route
29Â Â Â Â Â Â Â In a Black Out — Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What Is Left to Solve — Rogue Wave
27Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Cruel World — Phantogram
26Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Golden Gal — Animal Collective
25Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Divine Simulacrum — Yeasayer
24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â If You Should See — Wye Oak
23Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hocus Pocus — Animal Collective
22Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Trouble — TV On The Radio
21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Fairly Local — Twenty One Pilots
20       33 “GOD” — Bon Iver - pretty disappointed with Bon Iver’s album, overall. But a few solid songs.
19Â Â Â Â Â Â Â You’re Mine — Phantogram
18       Malachite — Lydia Ainsworth – Lydia opened for Yeasayer when we saw them this fall in Tulsa and had some great songs. Eagerly anticipating a full length album from her.
17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Loan Shark Blues — Yeasayer
16Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ride — Twenty One Pilots
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Warning Call — CHVRCHES
14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Lying in the Grass — Animal Collective
13Â Â Â Â Â Â Â You Don’t Get Me High Anymore — Phantogram
12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Polarize — Twenty One Pilots
11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Used To — Mutemath
10       Watching the Waiting — Wye Oak – got to see Wye Oak in Kansas city this summer. She’s super talented and amazing live.
9       Fountain Of Youth — Local Natives - this song reminds me of the crazy election season with it’s lyric “I have waited so long, Mrs. President”.
8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Go! (feat. Mai Lan) — M83, MAI LAN
7       I Am Chemistry — Yeasayer – you’ll never hear a better song about the gas C4H10FO2P (sarin gas) and other toxic chemicals
6       Dream Awake — LIV – an early single from one of my most anticipated albums for 2017 from supergroup LIV – made up of two of  my favorites, Lykke Li and Miike Snow
5       Do It, Try It — M83 – give this song a chance. Super weird at first progressing to what M83 does best – epic soundscapes
4       FloriDada — Animal Collective – another super weird song. But you can’t help but have a smile on your face and tap your toes as you listen to it. And surprisingly deep song on the Dadaism and the elite’s snobbery toward Floridians.
3       Take Me Home — Phantogram – easily the best cover song this year. Who knew Phil Collins could be so cool?
2       Hometown — Twenty One Pilots – a great song from the best album of 2016. They did a smaller concert in NW Arkansas (which is an absolute miracle – NO ONE comes to Arkansas). I took all 5 of our kids to the show and they LOVED it (It was a few days after we got back from our summer in East Asia so we didn’t have tickets – we just scrounged up a few at the gate!). Those two dudes are legit entertainers and great musicians. My kids wouldn’t let me play anything but Twenty One Pilots in our van ALL fall. Seriously. “DA-AAD, can you put on Twenty One Pilots – this music is boring!”
1       Cold Night — Yeasayer – we got to see Yeasayer in concert in Tulsa and they were absolutely amazing – cementing their status as our #1 alltime favorite band. I thought their new album was pretty disappointing – but still a few gems on it.