Songs 100 – 91 90 – 81 80 – 71 70 – 61 60 – 51 50 – 41 40 – 31 30 – 21 10 – 1
10. I Found Out, The Head and the Heart
“I Found Out” is about allowing yourself to love again, and being open to the possibility that love is always out there. The world ‘found out’ just how great The Head and the Heart were back in 2011 with their hit “Lost in My Mind,” and in return the band repaid us with brilliant music steadily throughout the decade, “I Found Out,” being one of their very best.
9. The Hype, Twenty One Pilots
Due to the commercial popularity of Twenty One Pilots, I tried to not believe the ‘hype’ over their latest track, “The Hype,” but it is just too damn good to ignore.
8. Harmony Hall, Vampire Weekend
The groovy, “rolling country-soul” of Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall” has often been compared to legendary rock band, The Grateful Dead. It was the lead single on their 2019 album The Father of All, which is nominated at this year’s Grammy Awards for Album of the Year.
7. The Party, The Strumbellas
The Strumbellas could release every one of their tracks as singles and I am confident they would be huge hits. However, “The Party” is not only the best “unreleased single” of the year, it also holds a strong case for “best unreleased single of the decade.”
It’s that good. If you give the song a listen and do not think it is spectacular, maybe you’re reading the wrong end of the year countdown.
6. Freaking Out, The Wrecks
When I heard there was a new The Wrecks single released this year, I was all jazzed up. Then I heard the first 30 seconds of “Freaking Out,” and said out loud “what the hell is this?”
… then I heard the remaining 2:50 and was thoroughly impressed and quite relieved.
If you need to get pumped up in a jiffy, I recommend throwing on “Freaking Out” and The Wrecks will get you from 0 to 100 real quick (after the first thirty seconds of course.)
5. The Killers, Land of the Free
The Killers have had some of the most anthemic songs of the past 20 years, but “Land of the Free,” which lead singer, Brandon Flowers began writing the morning after the school shootings at Sandy Hook school, is perhaps the most defining song of the year; not only a ‘killer’ song, but will be an audio time capsule for generations to come.
4. In Love With a Camera, The Struts
People throw around the term “rock music” way too loosely these days, myself included. But The Struts are a prime example of the way modern rock should sound. “In Love With a Camera,” being a prime piece of evidence.
3. 100 Bad Days, AJR
Not only did AJR give us tremendous music this year, but they also helped cut back on many a psychiatrist bill by teaching people how to accept their bad days and turn them into a positive. AJR are Jacks-of-all-trades, and “100 Bad Days” will forever be the first song I put on whenever I am having a not so great day.
2. I Really Wish I Hated You, Blink 182
I don’t care who Blink 182 hates or doesn’t hate, or wishes they hated. All I care about is that they continue to come out with bangers like this to let us all know how they feel about people.
1. I’ll Wait, The Strumbellas
If you have been following along with the countdown closely, you will not be surprised to know that The Strumbellas are my band of the decade. When looking back at the music of the 2010’s the first band that will come to mind is The Strumbellas, and “I’ll Wait,” is just a drop in the bucket in their impressive list of songs that are on repeat in my car, at work, or at home.
‘I’ll wait’ as long as I need to for a new album from them in the 2020’s, but here’s to hoping it won’t be that long.
Thanks for following along with the tenth annual countdown. Hope you all have a happy and healthy new year, and hope the 2020’s are your best decade yet! See you in 2020!