I made some rules for myself with this ranking, which basically boiled down to not flooding the list with any one artist by limiting everyone to one song and being truly honest with myself. That made this all somewhat embarrassing, but also a lot of interesting. I’ve been listening to basically every major release this year that even mildly interests me, so that is the scope of this list.
Before I begin…yes, I did listen to the Gracie Abrams album. She’s not on the list. I wish the human embodiment of the word “Brunette” the best.
Also, by my own rules, I accidentally disqualified Victoria Monet. Just know she’d be in the top ten otherwise.
Shall we begin?
20. Femme Fatale – G-Eazy ft. Coi Leray and Kaliii
HERE ME OUT!
Look, the name of my entire online presence is an accurate descriptor. I am not an arbiter of the deepest or most intellectual media. My interests are generally what is popular. Which may surprise you, considering this is a G-Eazy song.
I obviously stand with Halsey in the grand B Tier 2010s Power Couple Breakup, but the truth is, I have always had a soft spot for this man’s music. Not enough to check out a full album at any point, but I usually like the singles. The man has a knack for finding a decent hook, and this JLo sample is no exception.
It’s standard sex bragging from all involved, and everything here has been done better elsewhere, but the end result has an appeal to it.
19. Espresso – Sabrina Carpenter
I am proud to say that I got Sabrina Carpenter before the majority of people, and not because I cared about her as a Disney girl. In many ways, what I’ve always liked about her is the antithesis of Espresso. ‘Paris’ is my favourite song of hers, and it’s a slinky little track that sits oddly against the Doja Cat-lite of ‘Espresso’.
But while this isn’t the mode that I prefer my tiny blonde pop princess in, the catchiness is undeniable. So much of being a pop star is presence behind the mic, and Carpenter manages to completely dominate the song without raising her voice above a coy murmur. The hooks pile up in chorus and verses, and all in a bubbly package.
In retrospect, this may get replaced with the oddly dominate ‘Please Please Please’ in the cultural memory as the year comes to an end, but I doubt it. While the Antonoff-produced track twists the formula ‘Espresso’ perfected into something a little darker (a Carpenter staple ala ‘Nonsense’ to ‘Feather’), it just doesn’t have that immediate sugar rush. It’s the song of the summer and safely earned its place here.
18. Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
I can’t tell if this is on here because I like it, or because I respect exactly what this represents. Then again, I’ve never bought into hype for it’s own sake. Kendrick Lamar tends to make Good Music© that I don’t care about very much. He’s had some undeniable hits, but I’ll never pretend he’s making onto my Spotify Wrapped. But in his fury over Drake, he tapped into something special.
The actual content is not particularly…unique. They’ve both traded increasingly verbose insults at each other, and I still think Lamar apparently falling for a fake second hidden child is at least somewhat embarrassing. There’s also the alleged spousal abuse that nobody seemed to take seriously. But in both cases, it seems that nothing has actually mattered. People hate Drake. Maybe they always did. And now we’ve got people across the globe gleefully singing about how he’s an alleged paedophile.
Over the best beat of the year, bar none.
17. Nowhere to Run – Kings of Leon
This is the fourth single off of the latest Kings of Leon album and it somehow ended up on my list. It’s a classic piece of Garage Rock that just does something right, in a musical landscape that has dozens of people imitating this very sound.
You’ve heard this sound on every wannabe “rock” release in the past decade. But whereas the Steve Lacy clones are amateurish and often bad, Kings of Leon were smart enough to partner with Kid Harpoon, a producer who makes shit sound great. He produced the biggest hit of last year in ‘Flowers’, the best rock tracks of 2022 in ‘Want Want’, ‘That’s Where I Am’, and ‘As It Was’, and at a low point he also produced a Shawn Mendes album. But this might be the distillation of what he does best.
It’s perfect balanced; a song that sounds organic without feeling sloppy. Any cleaner and the track slips into advertising music territory. Any rougher and the wistfulness slips into the morose.
Anyway, I really like Kings of Leon again.
‘Radical Optimism’ is better than you’ve heard, but worse than you want it to be. So much of the record feels like it’s in the eery mid-point between dated and nostalgic that will likely become the sound of generic pop in the upcoming few years. Where ‘Future Nostalgia’ met pop where it was heading just early enough to ride the wave, I fear RO has jumped the gun on Europop as a radio staple. And also ‘Training Day’ was garbage.
With that being said, Illusion is by far the best single on the album, and probably the pinnacle of the album. The stutter of the hook should annoy me, but instead it melts into the instrumental. If it has a fault, it’s that Dua Lipa is maybe overselling it in her vocal performance. But then again, I’m not going to complain too hard about a pop star putting some energy into their performance.
It's a shame that this might be the end of Dua Lipa as a central figure in pop. Like I said, I think this is pre-empting a shift in pop and she’ll be vindicated in the end. But even if she isn’t, ‘Illusion’ is the undeniable record she deserved.
I want to go on record that, in the midst of a growing negative sentiment, I still really like ‘Cowboy Carter’. Not enough for a Beyonce song to crack this list’s top ten, but enough that I am still actively streaming. It’s the messiest album she’s released in well over a decade and that’s fine.
‘YA YA’ is the song of the album for me. A brassy introduction to the final third that did what she set out to do – genre blend in a way that felt distinctly Beyonce. So much of the album simmered where ‘Renaissance’ had boiled, and it was refreshing that we got something with a bit more kinetic energy. If Mrs. Knowles-Carter has a gift for anything, it’s performing, and ‘YA YA’ is a song that sounds like you’re at the live show. Not just in the direct evocations of crowd work, but the way it builds upon itself and the Nancy Sinatra sample into one glorious experience.
It does in itself what ‘Summer Renaissance’ did on the previous record, and that’s why it’s my favourite.
For those who remember, I was decidedly warmer on the second of Taylor Swift’s dual album release this year. If I went back to listen, I probably still would be. But only one song from the entirety of that colossal chunk of music stayed with me, and it was the bitter track that I saw as clearly about Olivia Rodrigo.
To be clear, ‘Clara Bow’ is a song that feels sourly reflective of Swift’s entire career. That entire album/s felt like a woman grappling with a flurry of conflicting emotions that are grinding her down to nothing. In truth, the stuff that spoke to me on ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ was the increasing disdain for her own audience, and nothing spoke to that more than a track in which she compares herself to Stevie Nicks and, importantly, Clara Bow. The biggest star in the world who gave it all up because the adoration of strangers wasn’t worth it.
My only real speculation is that this flurry of Taylor Swift albums has come almost directly with her thirties. I’m not going to call her old, because she isn’t, but stardom in general is a game for the young. It may have stung, directly after ‘Lover’ represented her first real stumble and the pandemic killed her planned tour, to see a teenaged star be immediately embraced by both critical and commercial masses while being compared to her.
That being said, I can’t prove this song about phasing in and out of the public eye and the cyclical nature of fame was inspired by Rodrigo.
What I will say is…it certainly wasn’t Gayle.
13. I, Carrion (Icarian) – Hozier
I think I’m bored of Hozier. Nothing outside of this spare little song driven by acoustic guitar actually worked for me off his surprisingly huge album. He got a number one single in the USA and I don’t think I could hum a single note on purpose.
‘I, Carrion (Icarian)’ is beautiful and wistful and likely utter horseshit. It scans like the poetry of a man begging his hook up to wait for him while promising nothing in return. It mixes up the Icarian imagery and the general bird metaphor in a way that says to me that he had the title before the concept.
But while I am not particularly invested to this folksy frat boy, the truth is that the song itself is haunting. His voice remains distinctive and lovely, particularly when men on the radio either holler or squeal, which sells so many shallow lyrics. The album is so much romantic posturing from a man I wouldn’t trust to date anyone, but this song almost convinces me that he would probably be harmless.
Hozier, stay the fuck away from my sister.
This girl might be the one for me. Not in a romantic way (we have never met and never will), but as a sonic soulmate. Lenae has yet to make a track I don’t adore, and ‘Love Me Not’ is probably the best thing in her discography.
Not a second goes to waste. It’s a full song at three minutes and thirty-two seconds, and in many ways reminds me of the music I love by Maggie Rogers. She sounds amazing and utilizes vocal filters to enhance the brightness of her tone, which pairs well with the playful lyrics. The breakdown at the end is coherent to the rest of the track – a surprising rarity as songs either get shorter or extend their runtimes by tacking on totally unrelated and often unnecessary outros (not you Tinashe) to seem more complex than they are.
The fact this missed the top ten for me is a testament to how many individual songs I’ve loved this year.
11. I think about it all the time – Charli XCX
‘BRAT’ is the first interesting Charli XCX album I’ve understood.
Maybe I’m being influenced by hype, but the “future of pop” has rarely made music that interests me. ‘Pop 2’ and ‘Charli’ both failed to impact me, and the distaste people had for ‘Crash’ felt strange when it was the first album in a decade where she’d been accessible. Which was probably the problem for everyone else but made sense for me.
Experimentation needs to mean something for me to care about it. A song being weird without a point is just not worth it. But the self-consciousness of ‘BRAT’ is oddly refreshing (when it isn’t exhausting), and the haunting ‘I think about it all the time’ probably wouldn’t work for me if I wasn’t beginning to feel the anxiety that the endless youth I’ve been existing in will shortly come to an end.
Look, I really considered swapping this out for ‘Von Dutch’ or ‘Guess’, the two club bangers on the album that feel a lot more my speed. Charli has never worked for me in this hyper aware and fussy mode. But the performance of vulnerability here actually sits in my stomach. The party songs will likely be what I listen to through the year, but I can never forget that feeling of listing to this song for the first time.
10. A Bar Song (Tipsy) – Shaboozey
I am so happy someone got a real hit out of ‘Cowboy Carter’. Shaboozey had my favourite feature on the album (not SPAGHETTII), and clearly the world agreed with me by making him a country star.
This is probably the most basic version of itself and that’s perfect. I don’t need this star-making performance to get bogged down with a dark undertone or some sort of deep lyrical purpose. An undeniable chorus and a good fiddle. What more do you need?
9. Busy Girl – Tove Lo, SG Lewis
So…this song could have been in ‘Saltburn’ and you wouldn’t have blinked.
2022’s ‘Dirt Femme’ had the standout track ‘Call On Me’, and the entirety of the ‘Heat’ EP takes that energy and gives it even more. While it’s all great, ‘Busy Girl’ was an instant classic to me. It’s the type of track that is built to stick in your head for days – which is absolutely did. I might actually be addicted to this track.
A repetitive club track that is all hook, it really does sound like a sex robot malfunctioning in the best way possible. Tove Lo’s discography has trended more and more sex-focused since her debut, and while nothing has quite reached the vaunted depravity of ‘disco tits’, she’s come very close to heaven again with this.
8. Good Luck, Babe! – Chappell Roan
The moment that clip of Chappell Roan at Coachella singing the bridge of ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ went viral, I knew she was about to be a star. It has been thrilling to watch someone in real time establish themselves as a person of note on a global scale, and this was the perfect song to do it. Roan’s talent for music that takes up space without just sounding loud is something pop has been missing for a hot minute. It’s music you should scream along to.
I didn’t get that Roan hype early in her career. There was always something missing, and clearly that wasn’t just a me-problem. This whole explosion is the truest definition of “third time lucky”, and whereas a lot of music has either been too campy or too morose to click in for the general public (and me), she finally found the balance. A song that manages to be tragic in an enjoyable way.
She’s been compared to Gaga, and in many ways, this is her ‘Bad Romance’. An unquestionable pop song about a disaster of a relationship. Something everyone can enjoy.
It’s so exciting, I hope she doesn’t have an ‘Artpop’ in her.
Ever since the City Girls became a recurring duo in hip hop, people have been begging JT to go solo. She was undeniably the better rapper, even as Yung Miami held their brand together during her stint in jail. But despite the hype, so much of what she did on her own failed to impact. Until ‘OKAY’ hit streaming, and my life changed forever.
At some point in the past few years, there’s been a shift away from pop and pop-adjacent choruses in hip hop, which is a skill not everyone has. JT proved she could do it here. This song is maybe my favourite in this 2000’s throwback style – maybe because it reminds me of Remy Ma. There’s something so appealing about her laid back dismissals on the hook, which is delivered perfectly.
This is the closest thing JT has had to a hit on her own, and there’s a reason for that.
6. Jump – Tyla ft. Gunna and Skillibeng
The Tyla moment has been fascinating to watch. A beautiful singer with infinite amounts of charm, making catchy music, which somehow is a mystery to those who claim to love pop music. Twitter is a generally terrible place to gauge the public response to upcoming artists, but it’s been particularly confused and harsh on the South African pop princess.
Because when you step away from the discourse about race and culture that I am neither equipped to talk about or interested in explaining, you’re left with good music. Her self-titled debut was a little monotonous at times, but the hits are unmistakable, and following the smash that was ‘Water’, and the underrated track ‘Truth or Dare’, her latest single ‘Jump’ feels like yet another step in the right direction.
The song is packed with little hooks and sticky moments that remain in your head. She sounds marvellous behind the mic, working with her accent rather than flattening it to something allegedly more palatable. Tyla makes music that sounds good on the first listen and remains good with repeated plays – a goal that most radio fodder fails to reach.
5. What A Devastating Turn of Events – Rachel Chinouriri
I described Ravyn Lenae as my music soulmate earlier. While that is true, Rachel Chinouriri is the artist I am most excited to see go forward and make music from this year onwards. I’m not going to say there’s nobody else making pop music like her, but she’s the one who does this whole sound the best.
I had a wealth of music to choose from here, and what I’ve been drawn to is the heartbreak of the album’s title track. Chinouriri delivers something the narrative of this song perfectly. The final minute and a half of the song describing the death of the subject dying from complications following an at-home abortion/suicide attempt actually gave me full body chills the first time I heard it.
If I am going to recommend this album to you, might I suggest going for something a little lighter as your introduction. ‘It Is What It Is’ would probably be a strong introduction, and you’ve probably heard the hook for ‘All I Ever Asked’ on TikTok at some point. They’re in her top tracks for a reason.
I knew she had it in her!
For devotees to Tinashe, the past few years of independent releases have been excellent, but also a struggle. She’s so talented, so charismatic, it feels odd that she isn’t the biggest star in the world. Her music has “inspired” an entire foreign industry, but she herself hadn’t charted in almost a decade. I personally was fine enjoying her as the actual “future of pop”, but then…vindication.
‘Nasty’ is both an obvious hit and still undeniably Tinashe. The song feels like a natural follow up to 2023’s ‘Needs’ – both being hot, radio friendly records that bend current sounds to her whim, and not the other way round.
Is it her most experimental track? Obviously not. But it goes off in almost every context.
As someone who’s been matching her freak since the beginning, this feels right.
That new Billie Eilish album kind of came and went, huh? The tight ten-track record exploring her sexuality and heartbreak mostly lacked obvious radio hits (outside of the undeniable ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’), which continues the trend of her music becoming increasingly personal.
With each successive record, a layer of the artifice found in the 2017 EP ‘don’t smile at me’ has been dropped. The appeal of Eilish has always been the juxtaposition of her haunting delivery with her hip hop inspired production, but 2021’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ suggested a future where her music didn’t always need to sound like a movie soundtrack.
People have rightfully criticised the new album for being messy and chaotic in production, but this little acoustic ballad is far from that. The vocals mix is probably the best on the record. And this is probably the best writing of her career. ‘WILDFLOWER’ is a ballad about a complicated situation. She describes falling for her ex’s ex. The guilt of crossing that boundary. The jealousy of knowing exactly who you’re being compared to. The fear you’re not the only one feeling that way.
The album is still a success, but ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ feels like the walls are slowly coming down at the expense of the dead-eyed appeal of her early work. I get people who didn’t love the album. But this song? A classic.
I like it.
Is there anyone out right now having as much fun as Doechii?
Since ‘Persuasive’ launched her into that bubbling-under mainstream status that a whole slate of talented future-stars exist in, she’s been steadily amassing a discography that many of her peers would be envious of. ‘Alter Ego’ is her latest attempt to cross over into something bigger than opening act status, and it’s maybe the best thing she’s ever done.
There really isn’t much else I can say here. The song is just a fucking hit. The production is chaotic and catchy, the verse from JT is memorable, and Doechii is a star. I think it was probably released too early in the year to be a hit, but I’d love to see people prove me wrong.
Special Mentions:
This was a hard cut. The song is gorgeous. But I might just be SZA’d out. I’m sorry you got edged out by G-Eazy.
Madison Beer is being penalized by the world for being beautiful. Or being. Maybe both. But the song is extremely catchy, so I’m on her side.
The Baddest – Joey Valence & Brae
This song is stupid. I love it.
Woman Commando – Arya Starr ft. Anitta and Coco Jones
Another song it hurt to cut.
“Jesus walked on water / I got ice boiling though” is my favourite bar of the year.
Tell Your Girlfriend – Lay Bankz
It’s just too catchy to ignore, even if it’s also music for 14-year-olds to feel grown to.
the boy is mine – Ariana Grande
The only song off of ‘eternal sunshine’ I actively listen to. The music video was fun!
I like this mode on her.
Far Away (DJ LHC Remix) – Kelela ft. DJ LHC
This is how you do a remix album!
Video – KAYTRANADA ft. Ravyn Lenae
I kept tossing up whether this or her solo song would go on the list, and while I love KAYTRANDA’s production, the answer was obvious.
Never Going Home – Maggie Rogers
You’re all too hard on her.
She’s a hitmaker, your honour.
This song set the tone for the year.
Hip Hop is awash with good, bad, and often mentally unstable diss tracks at the moment, but we must acknowledge the first and the best. Less a “diss” and more a wiping of the slate for Megan Thee Stallion, ‘Hiss’ took her exhaustive list of legitimate enemies and shot them down one by one. Only one person was stupid enough to put a name to a bar in the follow up, but we all know which people this all was about.
Megan went to number one with this off more than just shock factor. It’s just a great song. It’s best produced track on her latest album, her lyricism is the best it’s ever been, every time you think it’s close to being over, she heightens the tension. The world heard her loud and clear, and while everyone else has moved on, I’m still here.
Extremely angry at Drake.
But at the end of the day, aren’t the real winners the fans?
Hmm…nope. It’s Megan.