I have discovered so many great songs this year that I want to share them so you can check them out too. This list is not hipster friendly. I don't apologize for embracing some of the most sold out, mainstream product out there. It's what I like!
Last year was the year of Slacker and Pandora. In the Spring this year I finally got a Spotify account and it has been worth every penny. Spotify has taken over as my main source of music. Some friends of mine also introduced me to more country and punk music this year.
Punk
I was introduced to all kinds of punk and ska bands I had never heard of before - Something Corporate, Finch, Snow Patrol, Mest, Save Ferris. Here are some of my favorites:
Angels and Airwaves - "Secret Crowds" I downloaded a whole Angels and Airwaves I-Empire album. It's a work of art.
Lit - "Zip Lock" Remember Lit with "My Own Worst Enemy?"
Goldfinger - "Counting the Days" 99 Red Balloons got me into them now I can't stop listening to this one.
Mest - "Cadillac" My friend Kim introduced me to this gem. If I hadn't been so into strictly radio music when it came out I wouldn't have missed these smaller punk bands.
Something Corporate - "I Woke Up In a Car" The song puts you where the artist is taking you.
Fall Out Boy - "Where Did the Party Go?" Download this entire album and play it from start to finish. Stadiums have been playing that "Mighty Fall" song all year.
Blink 182 - Download the entire Neighborhoods album from 2011. The song "After Midnight" is excellent. The bassist gives a short commentary prior to each song that makes the album more interesting.
Brand New - "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knew"
Sublime - "Cisco Kid" This is from the incomplete (and underrated) Robbin' the Hood album. The song is unusual because it mixes tracks from an old radio/TV western in a clever way. The album gives you a better appreciation for the rest of their work. It feels like you're listening to behind the scenes demo tapes. I have also listened to "Garden Grove" and "Jailhouse" from the self-titled album a lot this year. These are songs I knew about but it has been fun to revisit.
Less Than Jake - "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" Speaking of "My Own Worst Enemy."
Pop
Avril Lavigne - "Sippin' On Sunshine" from the self-titled album that came out last month. Avril Lavigne could be in the punk category because she is punk at the core. She has deftly adapted her style as she has gotten older. She even raps on this album! There is something for everyone here. Download the whole damn thing!
Avril Lavigne - "Smile" Don't recall this one ever being on the radio. Like many of her songs, some of the hidden gems are the ones that don't get radio time. "Things I'll Never Say" and "My World" did not get playing time from the Let Go album because they were smothered by "Complicated" and "I'm With You."
Lady Gaga - "G.U.Y." Haters are going to hate. There has been much ado about how unsuccessful the Artpop album has been. This album will put you in a dream world.
Katy Perry - "This is How We Do" This album would never top her previous one. It doesn't have to because it's an album you can put on at a party and let run all the way through. I would hate to give Ke$ha credit for popularizing a new sound we have gotten used to on mainstream pop radio. Perhaps there is another explanation for it, but the in-your-face, loud lyrics mixed with heavily overproduced electronica is permeating everyone's pop music these days. If you listen to this Katy Perry album along with the Gaga and Avril albums you will hear some similarities. I'm convinced this is a sound that will define the 2010's decade.
Justin Timberlake - "Don't Hold the Wall" from the 20/20 album. Dem chipmunks.
Milli Vanilli - "Baby Don't Forget My Number" I apologize for NOTHING! There was some documentary on this group that sparked my interest. So many catchy songs to name. They got taken off of Spotify some time this summer.
Hip Hop & R&B
Finatticz - "Don't Drop That Thun Thun" (you know you want to)
Drake - "Own It" From the Nothing Was the Same album that came out in September. Drake sounds great on this album. Some of his tracks are quiet, almost to the point of being spoken word.
Kanye West - "Yeezus" (Album) Yeezus, this album is strange! It is an abstract painting on a wall that makes you feel a little uncomfortable. I paid attention to it because the late Lou Reed praised it. Who knew Lou Reed, an old rocker, would praise something so distant from his style. I think Kanye West is sacrificing the easy profit from mainstream rap hits for the sake of producing something innovative.
Jay Z - "Tom Ford" This album was big because of the Holy Grail song. The first time I listened to the album I got into Tom Ford for its 8-bit Nintendo sounds. Turns out it made it to the radio.
Aaliyah - "Down With the Clique" Old school!
Ciara - "Body Party" Could this go down with Kelly Rowland's Motivation as one of the sexiest songs of the new century?
Naya Rivera, Big Sean - "Sorry" This is Santana from Glee
Rock
Staind - "Epiphany" I know, I know. I should have heard it.
David Bowie - "Where Are We Now?" This song broke out with an odd video. The Next Day is Bowie's first album in a long time. Read up on Bowie and you find a true artist, someone who did everything his way.
Bush - "All Night Doctors" From the 2011 album. Gavin Rosdale's voice is still strong enough to pump out excellent sound. This is a mellow, piano-based song with very little guitar.
Mainstay - "Become Who You Are" A Christian rock song from '07
Red - "Lie to Me (Denial)" They sound a lot like Anberlin
Alice in Chains - "Shame In You" Such an old song but didn't hear it until this year!
Anberlin - "Innocent" This song and "Modern Age" are from their 2011 Vital album. The whole album is solid. I prefer Innocent because it gives the album a chance to mellow out in the middle. Most of their riffs are very fast and distorted. Anberlin has an album out in 2013 called Devotion featuring songs from Vital plus live versions of older tracks.
Electronic
Skrillex - "With You, Friends [Long Drive]" Discovered on Spotify electronica station
Haim - "My Song 5" This was an album reviewed on some NPR show. This song is cool the way Lorde's "Royals" is cool.
Daft Punk, Tron Reconfigured - "Derezzed (Remixed by The Glitch Mob)" If you liked the Tron soundtrack you will like this.
Daft Punk - "Something About Us" I imagine a dark, comfortable lounge with led stars on the walls, lots of attractive people, women in short sequin dresses, this song being a soundtrack everybody's night.
Gotan Project - "Queremos Paz" Loungy. From Spotify electronica
Country
Carrie Underwood - "Wasted"
Little Big Town - "Pontoon"
Blues
B.B. King - "Losing Faith In You" This song is beautiful. Sounds a lot like Ray Charles' style with the brass in the background.
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