100. WHEN UR SOBER, Tayá featuring Yxng Bane
99. TROUBLE, Sam Outlaw
98. KITTY GIRL, RuPaul
97. LAST DANCE, Rhys
96. SKY WALKER, Miguel featuring Travis Scott
95. BLOOD UNDER MY BELT, The Drums
94. PHASES, Alma & French Montana
93. TAKE ME, Aly & AJ
92. CITY LIGHTS, Blanche
91. SORRY NOT SORRY, Demi Lovato
90. MOTOR SPORT, Migos, Nicki Minaj & Cardi B
89. SAY YOU DO, Tei Shi
88. RENEGADES, Thomas Rhett
87. I'M STUCK, Noah Cyrus
86. DO YOU WANT TO GET INTO TROUBLE?, Soulwax
85. WHAT DO I TELL MY FRIENDS?, Bree Runway
84. GIRL CRUSH, Harry Styles
83. PAPER LOVE, Allie X
82. THERE'S NOTHING HOLDING ME BACK, Shawn Mendes
81. DUSK TILL DAWN, ZAYN featuring Sia
80. POWER, Katy Perry
79. AIRBORNE, Cut Copy
78. HOLIDAY, Girls' Generation
77. CRAVING YOU, Thomas Rhett featuring Maren Morris
76. (RE) RELEASE ME, Oh Laura
75. THE LOUVRE, Lorde
74. LADY POWERS, Vera Blue
73. MISS YOU, Gabrielle Aplin
72. MIDNIGHT, Jessie Ware
71. 1-800-273-8255, Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid
70. AMY, Little Jinder
69. NO LOVE IN THE JUNGLE, Harper
68. ISSUES, Julia Michaels
67. MARQUEE SIGN, Sara Evans
66. CONTROLLER, Hercules & Love Affair featuring Faris Badwan
65. SUPERCUT, Lorde
64. PLOT TWIST, Sigrid
63. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, Rhys
62. STRANGERS, Halsey featuring Lauren Jauregui
61. DON'T LEAVE, Snakehips & MØ
60. YOU CAN CRY TOMORROW, Betty Who
59. LOST MAPS, Marnie
58. WAITING, BETSY
57. MOUTH TO MOUTH, Sophia Somajo
56. FAULT LINE, Michelle Branch
55. MERMAID, Skott
54. ANYMORE, Goldfrapp
53. TEASE, Ralph
52. CRYBABY, Paloma Faith
51. DISCO TITS, Tove Lo
50. WATERFALLS, Luke Christopher
49. FLASHBACKS & FUTURES, Frida Sundemo
48. MODERN WOMAN, Tennis
47. BEND, Ria Mae
46. ALL FALLS DOWN, Alan Walker, Noah Cyrus & Digital Farm Animals
45. SLOW HANDS, Niall Horan
44. LOVING IS EASY, Rex Orange County
43. BAD LIAR, Selena Gomez
42. TWO GHOSTS, Harry Styles
41. TOO MUCH TO ASK (CEDRIC GERVAIS REMIX), Niall Horan
40. THAS MY GIRL, Swet Shop Boys
39. POP, Soto Voce
38. DON'T KILL MY VIBE, Sigrid
37. ANYWHERE, Rita Ora
36. CUT TO THE FEELING, Carly Rae Jepsen
35. OUAGADOUGOU, BC Unidos featuring Shungudzo
34. COPYCAT, Billie Eilish
33. BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA, P!nk
32. NOW, Grace Mitchell
31. BODY, LÉON
30. DON'T RECALL, K.A.R.D
29. NEW RULES, Dua Lipa
28. INSTRUCTION, Jax Jones featuring Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don
27. ALPHAGIRLS & ALPHABOYS, Whales & This Lake
26. BACK TO YOU, Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha & Digital Farm Animals
25. 1UL, Danny L Harle
24. BOYS, Charli XCX
23. WANTED MORE, BETSY
22. AS I LAY ME DOWN, Wiktoria
21. DREW BARRYMORE, SZA
20. REDBONE, Childish Gambino
My peanut butter chocolate cake with Kool-Aid
Nearly a year after its release, I'm still nowhere near sick of hearing Gambino's slick, sexy, gorgeous-sounding, surprising earworm of a song.
19. LEMON, N.E.R.D & Rihanna
The truth will set you free/But first it will piss you off
As with the Nicki and Cardi verses on "Motor Sport" further down this list, the killer, 59 second Rihanna verse--sounding even more untouchable than she usually does--sandwiched between two Pharrell raps is the only reason anyone cared about this song.
18. ROCKABYE, Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul & Anne-Marie
All on her own, no one will come/She's got to save him
The best dance song about a single mom doing whatever she can to support her child since City High's "What Would You Do."
17. BOY, K.I.D
Tell me why you hesitate, don't you love me yet?
"Boy," the highlight from K.I.D's incredible Poster Child EP, is proof that she is the fresh new popstar we desperately need but probably don't deserve. When so much of the indie pop sound in 2017 was dominated by wispier-sounding fare, K.I.D's aggressive, punch-to-the-dick attitude was a fresh change of pace. I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for her.
16. DISCONNECT, Clean Bandit & Marina & The Diamonds
Feel my battery running low/I don't want to be alone
As we are living through the best and the worst of the Smartphone Era, it's increasingly evident how intertwined our emotions and technology can be. Given how we have a president who threatens nuclear war over an app best suited to discussing Shonda Rhimes shows in real time, 2017 was a breaking point of sorts for us all. Evidently written a couple years ago, it's amazing how prescient "Disconnect" is, as Marina and Clean Bandit felt and processed our collective exhaustion before we even realized how tired we were.
15. FEEL IT STILL, Portugal. The Man
Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, now
I have to give credit where credit is due and shout out my boyfriend for introducing me to this song months before it became a Top 40 hit. Whenever I hear "Feel It Still," I still think of the silly dance he did to it, which sold me on it as much as the song itself did. It's kind of a shame Portugal. The Man are such pricks about doing "real" music with "real" instruments, but it's hard to argue with the results here.
14. PRAYING, Kesha
Some things, only God can forgive
The old Ke$ha can't come to the phone right now. Why? Because she's dead. And with "Praying," Kesha has been resurrected. A transcendent, thoughtful meditation on moving forward after trauma, going high when many in her position would have gone low. The entire final verse, as well as the Big Note, still gives me chills every time I hear it.
13. LUST FOR LIFE, Lana Del Rey & The Weeknd
There's no more night/Blue skies forever
The La La Land we all deserved. During the darkest moments of the year, it was Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd, of all people, whose optimism kept me going. I mean, if Lana is telling you to keep the hope that things will get better, you kinda have to believe her.
12. REGGAETÓN LENTO (REMIX), CNCO & Little Mix
Just get a little closer, baby, let go
A desperate "Despacito" cash-in that is infinitely better than "Despacito."
11. LIABILITY, Lorde
She's so hard to please but she's a forest fire
This is the moment Lorde cemented her status as this millennium's Kate Bush. Deceptively simply, yet a profound self-assessment. Lorde's way with a lyric is simply unmatched right now.
10. BODY BOUNCE, Lao Ra & Konshens
Think it's been years but I'm still feeling lonely
"Body Bounce" is my ideal summer song: a bright, shimmery, light surface barely concealing a dark core. Retains the edge Lao Ra brought with "Jesus Made Me Bad" while pushing her sound in a different direction.
09. SCARED OF THE DARK, Steps
Just say you're mine and stay by my side
If ABBA somehow reunited, despite decades of saying they wouldn't do it for any sum of money, I imagine their comeback single would sound like "Scared of the Dark." The Steps reunion continues to surprise in ways I never imagined possible.
08. DON'T TAKE THE MONEY, Bleachers
Somebody broke me once/Love was a currency
Between the Lorde album and the highlights from the Bleachers album, Jack Antonoff had a hell of a 2017. With a brilliant push into a chorus that leaves me breathless both emotionally and physically (you simply must scream the entire thing), the dude knows how to write a pop song.
07. XO TOUR LLIF3, Lil Uzi Vert
All my friends are dead/Push me to the edge
Nihilism as a catchy rap song. I don't think this would have worked--or at least have been as big of a hit--even as recently as last year.
06. LET 'EM TALK, Kesha featuring Eagles of Death Metal
I've decided all the haters everywhere can suck my dick
"TiK ToK" announced Kesha (née Ke$ha) as the messiest good-time girl you've ever met. "C'Mon" sharpened that image as she matured, a little wiser, a little more cognizant of herself in this world. In "Let 'Em Talk," Kesha has realized what real freedom is for her. It's not simply drinking in excess, having sex with everyone, partying until dawn--it's doing all that and truly not giving a fuck what anyone says about you. And, after the hell she has been through with the Dr. Luke assault, why would she? A perfect conclusion to this unofficial trilogy.
05. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOURSELF, Austra
You're indifferent/You're a stranger to what makes you feel good
A cloud of mystery shrouds this dance ballad from outer space. Does the protagonist love their partner more than they love themself because their partner is depressed and withdrawn due to some unspecified mental health issue or because they're simply not as into the relationship as the protagonist is? Is it a combination of both? I find it easy to lose myself in this song, as if in a dream, standing in a forest as a thick fog begins to clear.
04. BOY LIKE A GIRL, Stockholm Noir featuring Ofelia
I might be a dreamer/And I dream of you
A gay disco fantasia. The sort of song you imagine playing in the background when you spot your future partner dancing without a care across the room and immediately fall in love.
03. BODAK YELLOW, Cardi B
If I see you and I don't speak/That means I don't fuck with you
Helping get Cardi B to number one for two glorious weeks was, in all seriousness, one of the highlights of the year for me. For a moment, when we all needed it the most, it felt like anything was possible. Cardi B's ascent from stripper to reality show star to rapper, the American Dream come true before our very eyes, has been well documented and made her enormous success feel even greater. "Bodak Yellow" confidently introduces us to Cardi; does it feel like anyone else but her, with her inimitable flow, could pull this song off? So far, it's looking like this Cinderella story won't end in 2018 with her new Bentley (which she can't and doesn't drive!) turning into a pumpkin. This is the start of a brilliant career.
02. SIGN OF THE TIMES, Harry Styles
Will we ever learn?/We've been here before/It's just what we know
I knew Harry Styles was going to have a huge solo career. What I didn't expect was "Sign of the Times," a six minute long, out-of-nowhere, 1970s rock ballad throwback. Harry has always had a great voice, but what surprised me most about his vocal performance is how emotional it is. The final 90 seconds still gives me chills, the raw sadness aching through every repeat of "We've got to get away," as if he has to give everything he's got before it's too late.
01. GREEN LIGHT, Lorde
She thinks you love the beach, you're such a damn liar
Why wasn't this as big of a hit as "Despacito"? The fact that it barely peaked in the Top 20 is one of the biggest travesties of 2017 (and, honestly, 2017 had its fair share of travesties). Lyrically, it's the kind of mature pop dance jam most artists Lorde's age would kill to record. Sonically, it pushes both Lorde and pop music in general forward ten years--its influence probably won't be felt until the next generation of popstars begins their careers. The piano crescendoing through the bridge is the musical moment of the year. "Green Light" is triumphant, a joy to hear, a joy to feel deep in your bones, the kind of song you want to sing out of the sun roof of a car at 3 am in New York City. It conjures up so many specific feelings yet its message is universal. Everything about "Green Light" made 2017 a little less terrible. Thank the Lorde.
A handy Spotify playlist for you all to enjoy:
