#100 - "Summer Bummer" by Lana del Rey & A$AP Rocky & Playboi Carti
I was torn between including this or Coachella/Woodstock in my Mind. In the end this won out! Lana del Rey is very much someone I've kept at arm's distance away from me since her great breakthrough singles, and suffers a lot from treading out the same singles every album campaign, but this was something a little bit different and I enjoyed the production of it a lot!
For fans of: scowling at beaches during July, pouting, clutching a bottle of Jack Daniels that you don't really want to open


#99 - "Crybaby" by Paloma Faith
I'm trying my absolute best to keep myself from going "I preferred their earlier material!" too often during this list but Paloma is definitely such a person. The Architect, however, was far more diverse than the two albums that proceeded it and this almost accidentally sounds like Drake's "Passionfruit" which I've only just noticed now and is by no means an insult! Her best single since 'New York' by a clear margin! Also, the music video: someone's been watching Stranger Things!
For fans of: roller-discos, singing the backing vocals AS WELL AS the lead, sequins.


#98 - "Not My Baby" by Alvvays
A Cults album came out this year and I briefly reflected on that period of the late 00s and early 10s where great indie-pop was made and seemed to be in abundance. The Cults album this year was not an example. This one was though! And thank you Jake for introducing me to them. Her voice is quite lovely.
For fans of: Shoegaze pop, waving your arms at the back of a bus like you're in an E4 teen dramedy, leaving children at orphanages.


#97 - "Sweet F'in Love" by Alicia Keys
Released at the very start of January, Kaytranada produced this and was very much a key part of the things I enjoyed about 2016. Alicia Keys has one of those voices that's best accentuated by minimal productions and this is a good example.
For fans of: Rolling around in bed with a framed photograph of Jason Momoa, whispering sweet-nothings to garden gnomes, tickling yourself with feathers.


#96 - "Loving Life" by Rationale
Sometimes I wonder what the point of radio is - mostly whenever Heart is on and I'm not allowed to change the channel. But this was one of the year's best random discoveries that made me take my phone out and jot lyrics down so I could look it up later. I don't know much about Rationale but this should've been a lot bigger.
For fans of: 90s-vignette video footage of complete strangers having fun in a park, v soulful vocals over chilled house beats, generally loving life I guess!


#95 - "All Stars" by Martin Solveig and ALMA
The VASTLY superior and top-quality 'Places' was released in the blurred territory between 2016 and 2017 that made it impossible for me to feature it in either list, so I'll make up for that by including the much underrated (I say that but he's not really that far behind Guetta is he?) Solveig's main contribution to 2017. 'All Stars' is a stupid music video but great fun and showcases ALMA's big voice nicely.
For fans of: Cheap green-screen music videos, Certified Bangers, gentle reminders that All Stars season 3 of Drag Race should kick 2018 off nicely.


#94 - "Prom" by SZA
Sadly not a musing on a 16 year old's formal dance, SZA instead makes a bunch of promises to a partner who's getting impatient. One of those songs that feels like it's over a lot quicker than it should be, which one can only presume is a good thing.
For fans of: super-80s synths and guitar hooks, Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion basically


#93 - "745" by Vince Staples
Big Fish Theory is one of those albums I really love yet still can't quite pinpoint a major highlight of it: '745' is the only track I feature in this countdown and I guess that's because I'm a sucker for a bassline.
For fans of: BMWs, very specific pick-up times and a joyless relationship


#92 - "Havana" by Camila Cabello & Young Thug
I guess much could be made of the caricatures of latin-Americans in the music video and I guess much could be written of the Fifth Harmony beef but that'd all be far too much energy spent on what is essentially just a super-catchy and super-obvious pop song that I should hate myself for falling for... but don't.
For fans of: charts


#91 - "Amar Pelos Dois" by Salvador Sobral
There were a whole host of kinda-condescending and snobby interviews from Sobral in the build-up to his landslide Eurovision win that alienated a lot of the die-hard gays Eurovision fans, but on the flipside of that, there are a whole bunch of annoying music fans in general that won't actually listen to anything unless it's got an EDM beat and a female vocal, so **** the lot of yas! This was a genuinely adorable song and 100% the sort of thing you could picture being used as a background song for a moving Pixar sequence (I'm thinking a Ratatouille sequel where the chef the rat controls falls in love with a restaurant critic? Idk I didn't watch the first one more than once). Also his voice is...actually perfect?
For fans of: Swaying side to side slowly, sighing wistfully over foreigners, upsetting gays everywhere.

#90 - "CPR" by Cupcakke
"I think we should **** up in every zipcode, it would make my pussy wetter than a fishbowl". :clap1:
For fans of: slurping noises that make you want an ice lolly, porn.


#89 - "Hell to the Liars" by London Grammar
A lot of the second (and indeed first) album from London Grammar felt quite stagnant and it was frustrating, but their third this year felt that the songwriting had improved drastically. Her voice is pretty magical.
For fans of: raising toasts, filling in the void that Florence + the Machine can so frequently leave


#88 - "Sweet" by Little Dragon
Another solid album from Little Dragon should, really, mean that they become a favourite band of mine... they tread the line between pop and hipsterism a little too dangerously for either party to fully embrace them I think. 'Sweet' is a catchy, weird little single.
For fans of: musicians who drive around in a Renault Modus, 8-bit noises, music videos with more LOOKS than there need to be


#87 - "Don't Pass Me By" by Laura Marling
It sounds like a reworking of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and that's obviously a good thing.
For fans of: female folk musicians who release pretty much the same album every other year.


#86 - "Bodak Yellow" by Cardi B
Didn't really feel right including this at first because I haven't even got it in my library, but the (many) times I've crossed its path it's left me with a lot of confusing thoughts. Namely: why is the first solo US hip-hop #1 for a woman on her own, going to someone best known for reality TV? I'm not even sure I like it! Why have I put it here? I just don't know. It's important I guess.
For fans of: songs about Louboutins


#85 - "Witness" by Zola Jesus
It sounds a LOT like the stuff Max Richter did for the 'Arrival' soundtrack and whilst I'm sure that's more than enough for all of you, she's also as imperious as ever and the track's a powerful message to a relative of hers who attempted suicide. "We see your shine more than the dull you fear / You're a rare kind / If you could see from the outside" seems like a wonderful dedication.
For fans of: intensely personal lyrics set to rich orchestral STUFF


#84 - "1-800-273-8255" by Logic & Alessia Cara & Khalid
Speaking of which, Logic's super-successful warning against suicidal thoughts came with the intention of making its song title - the national suicide prevention helpline - that little more prominent and available. It's been a strong year for all 3 musicians involved in this, and this was one of the year's strongest musical statements.
For fans of: musicians coming together for something worthwhile and not veering into corniness.


#83 - "Chained to the Rhythm" by Katy Perry & Skip Marley
I know 2017 has been a giant middle finger up to Katy Perry and with fairly good reason (the album, and all other singles after this one, were shit), but I feel like this - Witness' lead single - is much-maligned and is certifiable as a catchy bop!
For fans of: Dystopian music videos, unnecessary guest features, #wokepopstars


#82 - "Call It What You Want" by Taylor Swift
You are absolutely correct in assuming I've put her just ahead of Katy for cheap drama. Both Perry and Swift released underwhelming albums this year, but this - one of only 3 songs I've kept from Reputation - kept a little kindling of 1989's fire and is a sign of what could have been.
For fans of: obnoxious popstars who leave their best material on the album and proceed with a string of self-aggrandizing deluded singles instead.


#81 - "Midnight" by Jessie Ware
It sounds like the sort of thing you'd hear on a Frank Ocean album, but Jessie Ware's voice on this comeback single is phenomenal.
For fans of: bold declarations of love/lust, Sade.

#80 - "Enter Entirely" by Cloud Nothings
Please don't ask me to go back to the start of 2017 and explain why this made an impression on me because *a lot* has happened since then and upon re-listening to it, it sounds perfectly nice.
For fans of: pretending the Smashing Pumpkins are still culturally relevant (sorry LemonJam)


#79 - "Scared to be Lonely" by Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa
I have had just about enough of Spotify-dominating wibbly-wobbly synths this year (well, the past three years, really) so I'll just tuck this under the doormat and hope it'll appease the Dua stans. But in all fairness this is a lovely little song.
For fans of: being in the position to actually "have someone to hold" and still question it, ungrateful little bitch


#78 - "Madiba Riddim" by Drake
I don't really need to sell Drake to anyone do I? 'More Life' was ok! Not his best but ok! This was my 2nd favourite of the lot!
For fans of: Drake, I guess


#77 - "1 Night" by Mura Masa & Charli XCX
Look, I don't really know what Charli XCX is doing any more either. One minute she's an indie darling, next she's BREAKING THE RULES and BEING A REBEL for American schoolkids, now this year she's working with gender-queer PC music god SOPHIE and experimenting with all sorts of dance music. She is an untameable object and I guess that can be fun when the music is good. At least this one was! Also credit to Mura Masa for releasing one of the year's better debuts :clap1:
For fans of: not-quite-A List popstars collaborating with not-quite-A List electronic acts


#76 - "Take Me Inside" by Sampha
I'm not at all enjoying the frequency with which I'm failing to find studio recordings on YouTube, because Sampha is the sort of musician best enjoyed alone and in quiet. His voice on this track has a certain Nina Simone quality that is just gorgeous.
For fans of: being an adult and looking past the song title


#75 - "True Love and a Free Life of Free Will" by Japandroids
The lyrics are pretty lovely and cute, and it all just feels very feelgood.
For fans of: Springsteen


#74 - "Get Lost" by Washed Out
The music video comprises a bunch of newspaper clippings cut out and transformed into a joy ride through paradise and the song itself is not unlike paradise either.
For fans of: Italian house


#73 - "Lost in Your Light" by Dua Lipa & Miguel
The most beautiful man and woman in music teaming together to slay our p/bussies!
For fans of: popstars who still fly in their music videos in 2017


#72 - "Heatstroke" by Calvin Harris, Young Thug, Ariana Grande & Pharrell
This 100% should've been the #1 smash that 'Feels' would later turn out to be, because this is a hell of a lot funkier.
For fans of: incredibly straightforward summer anthems.


#71 - "Distraction" by Kehlani
This song had me at 'DOYADOYAWANNABE?'
For fans of: not-terribly-subtle "come **** me" jams.

#70 - "I'm Better" by Missy Elliott & Lamb
It is not Christmas without Shaun trying to flog the hell out of an underperforming Missy Elliott comeback that happened some time this year.
For fans of: steampunks pulling off interesting choreography, fashion darling fashion


#69 - "Big For Your Boots" by Stormzy
*Louis Walsh voice* you look like a popstar, you sound like a popstar! The UK really need to pick up their phones and get behind... *checks card* Stormy!
For fans of: poor chicken-shop etiquette and hygiene practices


#68 - "Dream Daddy" by Baths
aka the only tolerable thing that Baths released this year :sad:
For fans of: trying to make The Sims as gay as was possible


#67 - "How Can I Tell Him" by Jens Lekman
I was not really ready for Jens Lekman putting into words pretty much EXACTLY how I felt roughly ten years ago but I'm happy he did because this was fun in retrospect. In the "messy, heartbreaking, gross" sort of way.
For fans of: falling for straight friends x


#66 - "Blissing Me" by Björk
I will defend to the death the pretentiousness and difficulty with which one has to 'access' a Björk album, because there have been a LOT of excellent ones... but 2017's Utopia was not one of them :( This was a gorgeous intro that is essentially the only effort worth keeping around.
For fans of: Nina Bo'nina Brown finally making a mainstream friend


#65 - "XO Tour Llif3" by Lil Uzi Vert
Whilst the "fuzzy 90s filming style" music video is as tired as LeatherTrumpet in a train carriage full of Sikhs, Mr. Uzi Vert had the good grace to interpolate it with some Japanese horror and gothic influences that made it as unplaceable as the song itself. It's weird and I like it.
For fans of: things that turn up in Dezzy's avatar


#64 - "Falling" by Fever Ray
I remember when I started trying to be a hipster that I didn't really 'get' The Knife, the Swedish electronic pioneers on hiatus that featured Fever Ray. Chuck in the fact it's been nearly 10 years since her first and only other album, and the mystery about her recording process is matched only by the darkness and layered creativity about what she puts out. Here she sounds almost angry falling for another girl - "SHE'S MAKING ME FEEL DIRTY AGAIN" its refrain.
For fans of: suddenly realising you're a lesbian in a steelworks factory.


#63 - "911 / Mr. Lonely" by Tyler, the Creator
A lot of the attention received by Tyler for this year's album centred on him supposedly coming out years ago but for me the biggest revelation was that he could actually make a contender for album of the year. '911/Mr. Lonely' has all the multi-instrumental funk of Thundercat and all the laid-bare vulnerability of Frank Ocean: Tyler's arguable two greatest peers.
For fans of: not knowing what to do with your newfound riches


#62 - "Third of May / Ōdaigahara" by Fleet Foxes
I know I've just said it was a near-decade wait for a new Fever Ray album but the gap between 2011's Helplessness Blues and this year's Fleet Foxes album was almost unbearable. If you are unfamiliar, think of them as Mumford and Sons for adults. Pure unadulterated joy through means of folk music with gorgeous vocals. It's like they never left :love:
For fans of: stuff that is super-uplifting for a change?


#61 - "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man
I assumed this would be 'that song' that Benjamin would've posted the thread for 5 months before it becomes absolutely HUGE a la Gotye/Foster the People/Nico & Vinz etc. Because it was hovering around the bottom of the charts for a while but never quite had the kick into superstardom. Which is a shame because it's excellent!
For fans of: confusing countries with individual people, I guess?

#60 - "J-Boy" by Phoenix
Another in my series of "disappointing comeback but at least there was this" moments in 2017 :shrug:
For fans of: songs whose titles are acronyms for the chorus lyrics, French synthpop


#59 - "Don't Delete the Kisses" by Wolf Alice
It wasn't an initial favourite from Visions of a Life but it grew quite a bit and I guess that's why it's crept into this list, isn't it?
For fans of: emotional tube journeys with impossibly good-looking boyfriends


#58 - "Standing in the Middle of the Field" by Cut Copy
Cut Copy are forever putting out loveable world-disco records but rarely do they make singles as immediate and catchy as this. The chorus is like opening your curtains now and it suddenly being mid-summer.
For fans of: v 'visual' music videos, fun


#57 - "Younger Now" by Miley Cyrus
Once the world had given up being outraged with Miley Cyrus' BANGERZ era and pretending to be surprised that a former-child star would have a rebellious and overtly sexually-liberal phase, Cyrus would release her worst material to date with the help of the Flaming Lips. That Dead Petz album was atrocious, even if it did launch Drag Race queens into awards show performances. A deep detox (yes, that's a pun) was needed and out emerges the clean-cut, child-friendly (and dare I say it, Madonna-looking) Miley with a stripped bare vocal and some lovely sentiments. Her best single of the year is still to come, here.
For fans of: ventriloquism, 50s diners


#56 - "All About Me" by Syd
Taking a break from her band The Internet, Syd's debut solo album was... pretty good actually?
For fans of: blue lighting


#55 - "On My Mind" by Jorja Smith & Preditah
Hopefully the BRITS Critics Choice starts to mean something again and 2018 will see her enjoy great success, because if this teaser is anything to go by it'll be richly deserved.
For fans of: a nice tracksuit and pretending garage didn't die


#54 - "It's Okay to Cry" by SOPHIE
Probably the year's biggest musical surprise was the visual reveal of just who SOPHIE is: through this music video. The sort of thing that'd make LT furious. Go rub her beautiful cheekbones all over his tedious face!
For fans of: acceptance ballads with explosive endings


#53 - "Something to Remember Me By" by The Horrors
The album between Skying and V - I genuinely cannot be bothered to look up what it was called - was SO disappointing that I didn't have much hope for this, their fifth. Probably their house-iest song to date, the Horrors seem one of the few bands who are genuinely capable of both revitalising themselves AND keeping the quality consistent. Bar the 4th one. Shush.
For fans of: British dystopian visuals (aka Black Mirror)


#52 - "oh baby" by LCD Soundsystem
Their hiatus after 2010 sort-of allowed Arcade Fire to steadily impose themselves as the world's greatest band at the moment. 2017 was a pretty resolute decider between the two. This is essentially all the atmospherics of Joy Division but with a far happier resolution.
For fans of: just... anything, really.


#51 - "Die 4 You" by Perfume Genius
Every album cycle of his I get to play the "I saw him when there were only two albums" game like every other smug dickhead and it's all the more fulfilling because: 1) I've only seen two bands live and 2) he somehow keeps going from strength to strength. You thought Britney Spears was iconic with a chair? Sweetie. No.
For fans of: OPULENCE, DARLING

#50 - "Anywhere" by Rita Ora
In a year's time this may well indeed be a disposable piece of 2017 nostalgia that, by then, was overplayed and irritating, but for now it's a sky-reaching pop song and that's a rare thing for anyone, let alone Rita Ora, to achieve nowadays.
For fans of: replying to this thread with a name you have actually heard of


#49 - "Cool Your Heart" by Dirty Projectors & D∆WN
The video is essentially 'edging' in visual form but that's fine, because the song is super quirky and not quite the collaboration I was expecting from 2017.
For fans of: good jackets


#48 - "Ascension" by Gorillaz & Vince Staples
I was hard-pushed to name a stand-out track from Humanz but I guess this one just about wins. The Gorillaz comeback seemed to be a little more subdued than I expected it to be, but I guess that was because they embraced the likes of Staples (both him and Mavis), Popcaan and Zebra Katz rather than the likes of Beyonce. Any terrible band can get Beyonce, lately.
For fans of: shouting


#47 - "Skim" by Torres
Whilst not technically as immediately slaying as 'Strange Hellos' or 'Honey', the two lead singles from her previous albums, 'Skim' makes up for it with SHEER LESBIAN ENERGY. Yara Greyjoy's anthem? Perhaps.
For fans of: cleavage


#46 - "Sugar for the Pill" by Slowdive
I wasn't actually properly aware of Slowdive before this 20-year comeback and now this has got me wondering what other majestic phenomena I'm still yet to discover.
For fans of: being very quiet and just looking out at scenery whilst listening to this on a motorway


#45 - "New York" by St. Vincent
St. Vincent seemed to be 'that musician' who would always be doomed to being the one I 'didn't get'... until 2017. This album is fantastic and of course releasing a dedication to her hometown that simultaneously mourns the loss of David Bowie is always going to be an easy ticket to my heart.
For fans of: outstanding aesthetics, simple and poignant contemplation of loss


#44 - "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee (and or without Justin Bieber)
I mean, it's a record-breaker that was inescapable and for the most part of its peak earwormness was at least "foot-tappably" good. Started a movement of everyone trying to catch up for the rest of the year. For better or worse.
For fans of: not bothering to look up what the lyrics actually mean


#43 - "What About Us" by P!nk
It defies belief, really, that amidst all of the squabbling and accusations of FLOP! that pop queens' fans immerse themselves in, it would be P!nk that is the only one able to stand next to Beyonce in terms of longevity. P!nk is indeed a modern marvel: a popstar still capable of delivering emotional and catchy bangers.
For fans of: overt vulnerability

#42 - "Smile" by Jay-Z & Gloria Carter
The damage done by 'Lemonade' to the credibility of Jay-Z, certainly from the stance of The Gays and most women (ie TiBB) might have been irreversible and I know that, without a visual or sound prompt BECAUSE OF ****ING TIDAL, I might not be able to change that, but if Jay-Z's own mother coming out as a lesbian on what might be the year's most positive and uplifting track can't heal a reputation then I don't know what can really!
For fans of: adding another one to the list of lesbians I am going to reference in this countdown


#41 - "Chasing Highs" by Alma
Another of 2017's "almost-but-not-quite" hits, 'Chasing Highs' is one of the year's most assertive and indomitable anthems and a must-have for any playlist.
For fans of: Finland doing something worthwhile after Lordi