Best Songs of 2016

As I have done for the past three years, in 2016 I resumed my project of publishing Best Songs lists for 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 years ago, along with a list for this year. My favorite part about this process isn’t so much the end product (though I do love sharing it), but the act of making the lists, for in doing so I am able to discover new artists and new songs along the way.

For lists like this one, created in the year when they are published, everything is new—even those songs from familiar artists. Additionally, this journey to 100 songs is very different from the other lists in another crucial way: rather than assembling a mix of 100 tracks, my lists for the past few years have been culled from playlists more than 50% larger.

This means that for the third consecutive year, I forced myself into a crowded corner, where I had to make difficult choices to edit my way out. Some songs I truly enjoyed were thus cast aside, tarnished only by their inability to relate themselves to the whole. And yet, that whole was pieced together more organically than this, for I made that giant playlist as the year went on. This, the so-called “best of the best” was somewhat hastily (if carefully) collated and curated in the final months of the year.

That larger list from which I studiously selected these 100 tracks was one I revisited as often as possible throughout 2016. As it was last year, my goal in collecting these songs was to summarize not only my listening year, but my year as a whole. The only way to do that is to listen to these songs as frequently as I could, in as many situations as I could, in an attempt to attach them to my memories of the year (and vice versa).

In 2016, that meant they travelled with me, on trips to Hawaii and Morocco. They backed summer drives to and from Hood Canal. They soundtracked walks around Seattle, in search of hoops and unexplored territory. They played for friends and family, were shared across social media, text messages and in-person conversations. They too, were suggested by friends, introduced by podcasts and radio, and experienced in a live setting.

With a (slowed, but) ever-growing music library, to listen to these songs—and, for that matter, all my other Best of lists published this year—as often as I did meant from time to time I shut myself off from a large chunk of my music collection. Because of that, I can safely say that these songs (and to a lesser extent their five-year-interval counterparts) truly represent my music listening year. I hope you enjoy them nearly as much as I do.

For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify and Apple Music. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available, but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

Show Grid

Dancing on Glass

St. Lucia

Matter

Columbia

via past experience
Dying to Know

Tegan and Sara

Love You to Death

Warner Bros.

via past experience
What’s It Gonna Be?

Shura

Nothing’s Real

Interscope

via past experience
Call Me Out

Ra Ra Riot

Need Your Light

Barsuk

via past experience
The Sound

The 1975

I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it

Interscope

via Saturday Night Live
Silly Me

Yeasayer

Amen & Goodbye

Mute

via past experience
Cold Light

Operators

Blue Wave

Last Gang

via past experience
Human

Caveman

Otero War

Cinematic Music Group

via past experience
Secrets

Deep Sea Diver

Secrets

High Beam

via past experience
Everybody Wants to Love You

Japanese Breakfast

Psychopomp

Yellow K

via Cody Goins, Fluxblog
Radius

Hater

Radius

Pnkslm

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Clean Slate

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Talk Tight

self-released

via Cody Goins
Human Performance

Parquet Courts

Human Performance

Rough Trade

via past experience
Soft Animal

The Hotelier

Goodness

Tiny Engines

via Celebration Rock
Apple Cider, I Don’t Mind

Modern Baseball

Holy Ghost

Run for Cover

via past experience, Celebration Rock
Lost (Season One)

Camp Cope

Camp Cope

Poison City

via Cody Goins
Young Hearts

Beach Slang

A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings

Polyvinyl

via past experience
Outta My System

The I Don’t Cares

Wild Stab

Dry Wood

via NPR First Listen, past experience (Paul Westerberg)
Cleaning Up the Dog Shit

Tim Heidecker

In Glendale

Rado

via Julia Paleski
Can’t Stop Fighting

Sheer Mag

III

self-released

via past experience
Warts

Hinds

Leave Me Alone

Mom and Pop

via someone on Spotify?
Jelly

Magic Potion

Pink Gum

Pnkslm

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Hollow Home

Woods

City Sun Eater in the River of Light

Woodsist

via past experience
Kind Things

LNZNDRF

LNZNDRF

4AD

via past experience (The National), Pitchfork
Yr Face

Yuck

Stranger Things

Mamé

via past experience
Let Me Get There

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions featuring Kurt Vile

Until the Hunter

Tendril Tales

via past experience
A 1000 Times

Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam

I Had a Dream That You Were Mine

Glassnote

via past experience
Get Out

Frightened Rabbit

Painting of a Panic Attack

Atlantic

via past experience
Watching the Waiting

Wye Oak

Tween

Merge

via past experience
Cinco de Tomorrow

Damien Jurado

Visions of Us on the Land

Secretly Canadian

via past experience
Outlaw

The Staves

Sleeping in a Car

Nonesuch

via past experience
Madness

Lucius

Good Grief

Mom and Pop

via past experience
Perfect OK

Hey Marseilles featuring Reggie Watts

Hey Marseilles

Shanachie

via past experience, Julia Paleski
Endless Supply

Rogue Wave

Delusions of Grand Fur

Easy Sound

via past experience
Both Hands

David Bazan

Blanco

Barsuk

via past experience
Everything Is Happening Today

Flock of Dimes

If You See Me, Say Yes

Partisan

via past experience
Salt

Trixie Whitley

Porta Bohemica

MRI

via past experience
F.U.B.U.

Solange

A Seat at the Table

Columbia

via past experience
30 Hours

Kanye West

The Life of Pablo

Roc-A-Fella

via past experience
Free Lunch

Isaiah Rashad

The Sun’s Tirade

Top Dawg

via Alli Adamonis
Lyk Dis

NxWorries

Yes Lawd!

Stones Throw

via past experience (Anderson .Paak)
Pink + White

Frank Ocean

Blonde

self-released

via past experience
Untitled 06 (06.30.2014)

Kendrick Lamar featuring Cee-Lo Green

Untitled Unmastered

Aftermath

via past experience
Am I Wrong

Anderson .Paak

Malibu

OBE

via Julia Paleski
Bullets

Kaytranada featuring Little Dragon

99.9%

XL Recordings

via Julia Paleski
Phenomenal Woman

Laura Mvula

The Dreaming Room

RCA

via past experience
All I Got

Santigold

99 Cents

Atlantic

via past experience
Alaska

Maggie Rogers

Alaska digital single

Debay Sounds

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Radio

Sylvan Esso

Radio digital single

Partisan

via past experience
Body Language

Carly Rae Jepsen

E•MO•TION Side B

Interscope

via past experience
Baby Give Up on It

Junior Boys

Big Black Coat

City Slang

via past experience
Fever

Roosevelt

Roosevelt

City Slang

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Colours

The Avalanches

Wildflower

Modular

via past experience
Wow

Beck

Wow digital single

Capitol

via past experience
Nobody Speak

DJ Shadow featuring Run the Jewels

The Mountain Will Fall

Capitol

via past experience
Happy

Mitski

Puberty 2

Dead Oceans

via Cody Goins
Wish

Cymbals Eat Guitars

Pretty Years

Sinderlyn

via past experience
Mr. Startup

Wolf Parade

EP 4

self-released

via past experience
Desert Island Disk

Radiohead

A Moon Shaped Pool

XL Recordings

via past experience
Time of the Blue

The Tallest Man on Earth

Time of the Blue digital single

Dead Oceans

via past experience
Embers of Midnight

The Dead Tongues

Montana

601610 Records

via opening for Phil Cook
No Regrets

Karl Blau

Introducing Karl Blau

Raven Marching Band

via Cody Goins, Jonathan Zwickel
Twentynine Palms

Carter Tanton featuring Sharon Van Etten

Jettison the Valley

Western Vinyl

via past experience
No Woman

Whitney

Light Upon the Lake

Secretly Canadian

via Cody Goins
Take It Easy (Ever After Lasting Love)

White Denim

Stiff

Downtown

via past experience
Nobody But You

Charles Bradley

Changes

Daptone

via past experience
One More Night

Michael Kiwanuka

Love & Hate

Polydor

via past experience
Heavy Sails

Steve Gunn

Eyes on the Lines

Matador

via past experience
The Roundabout

Ryley Walker

Golden Sings That Have Been Sung

Dead Oceans

via past experience
Atomic Number

case/lang/veirs

case/lang/veirs

Anti

via past experience
Judey on a Street

Okkervil River

Away

ATO

via past experience
Heart Shaped Face

Angel Olsen

MY WOMAN

Jagjaguwar

via past experience
Brace for Impact (Live a Little)

Sturgill Simpson

A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

Atlantic

via past experience
Doing It to Death

The Kills

Ash & Ice

Domino

via past experience
Astonished Man

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

A Man Alive

Ribbon Music

via past experience
Two Versions of Tomorrow

Eleanor Friedberger

New View

French Express

via past experience
Why Did You Separate Me From the Earth?

ANOHNI

Hopelessness

Secretly Canadian

via past experience (Antony & the Johnsons)
I Need a Forest Fire

James Blake featuring Justin Vernon

The Colour in Anything

Polydor

via past experience
8 (circle)

Bon Iver

22, A Million

Jagjaguwar

via past experience
Pink and Green

Gold Panda

Good Luck and Do Your Best

City Slang

via past experience
Simple Lessons

Manatee Commune

Thistle EP

Bastard Jazz

via past experience
Close

Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo

Last Year Was Complicated

Safehouse

via The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Rising Water

James Vincent McMorrow

We Move

Burning Rope / Faction

via past experience, NPR First Listen
Best to You

Blood Orange featuring Empress Of

Freetown Sound

Domino

via past experience
Reichpop

Wild Nothing

Life of Pause

Captured Tracks

via past experience
Town & Country

Bibio

A Mineral Love

Warp

via past experience
Waves (Tame Impala Remix)

Miguel

Rogue Waves

RCA

via past experience
Exes

Bloc Party

Hymns

BMG

via past experience
Death of a Salesman

Kweku Collins

Nat Love

Closed Sessions

via Alli Adamonis
Blk Girl Soldier

Jamila Woods

HEAVN

self-released

via Alli Adamonis
No Problem

Chance the Rapper

Coloring Book

self-released

via Julia Paleski, Cody Goins
The Space Program

A Tribe Called Quest

We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service

Epic

via past experience
Pain

De la Soul featuring Snoop Dogg

and the Anonymous Nobody

AOI

via past experience
Dang!

Mac Miller featuring Anderson .Paak

The Divine Feminine

Warner Bros.

via Fluxblog, Julia Paleski
Yesterday

Yumi Zouma

Yoncalia

Cascine

via Alli Adamonis
Love Me Like That

The Knocks featuring Carly Rae Jepsen

55

Big Beat

via Julia Paleski
Can’t Stop the Feeling!

Justin Timberlake

Trolls soundtrack

RCA

via past experience
Moth to the Flame

Chairlift

Moth

Columbia

via past experience
Same Old Blues

Phantogram

Three

Republic

via past experience
Freedom

Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar

Lemonade

Columbia

via past experience