Top 50 Songs of 2010: 50 - 26

I've done the tabulations, calculated the masses, and mixed and matched bubbling chemicals in test tubes to finally arrive at the 50 best songs of the year! I've never done such a song-ranking experiment, and it was not without arduous list making, checking it twice, thrice, etc. But while my methods ultimately aren't scientific, and more weight should be given to ordering in, say, the top 25, this list represents the best songs of 2010 I've had the pleasure of listening to. First are songs 50 to 26.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
"Go Outside" by Cults
"Chinatown" by Wild Nothing
"Mirror, Mirror" by Dr. Dog

50. "Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate) ft. Gyptian"

Major Lazer & La Roux 
Lazerproof

An unexpectedly moving finale to an underrated mixtape.

http://tinyurl.com/2aer2lr



 
49. "In the Sun" 

She & Him
Volume 2

The chorus really doesn't have to be "in the sun", but it's not important, and that's the point. This is simple, innocent, charming pop. And Zooey certainly doesn't hurt.

http://tinyurl.com/yano58c 


48. "Daisy" 

Fang Island
Fang Island 

Fang Island likes to think that no matter what age we are, there's a sugar-crazed 10 year old inside of all of us.

http://tinyurl.com/ya2sm5y

47. "Imagination (I Want You to Know)" 

Miami Horror
Illumination 

Unpretentious dance pop that's South Beach-dreamin'.

http://tinyurl.com/2g3s2yj 

46. "If You Want It"

TV Girl
TV Girl EP

A song about featuring drunken bedroom antics, it's a pleasant surprise that "If You Want It" is so carefree and bursting with life.

http://tinyurl.com/233vxhd

45. "Some Kind of Nature"

Gorillaz
Plastic Beach
  
Alternating between a bouncy pop song and a foreboding bass-heavy tune, "Some Kind of Nature" is one of Plastic Beach's most replayable tracks.

http://tinyurl.com/33lvefc 



 
44. "Limit to Your Love"

James Blake
James Blake (out February 7th, 2011)

Although this has yet to see a proper album release, it was impossible to ignore this absolutely breathtaking cover that beats the Feist original.

http://tinyurl.com/27enj53 


 

43. "I Want to Be Well"

Sufjan Stevens
The Age of Adz

A unpredictable odyssey-within-an-odyssey that exhibits Stevens' bold new course into electronica on Age of Adz.

http://tinyurl.com/2eucs6t




42. "Am I Real?" 

Nite Jewel
Am I Real? EP
 
The budding 80s-style synthpop artist turns out a polished gem with groove and intellect.

http://tinyurl.com/27c9w72



 
41. "Waterfall"

The Fresh & Onlys
Play It Strange 

A easy, rambling jam that lovingly pays homage to 60s garage pop and psychedelic rock.

http://tinyurl.com/2fss3ut


 
40. "My Chariot"

The Depreciation Guild
Spirit Youth 

Beautiful shoegaze pop that makes no hesitation in embracing the latter.

http://tinyurl.com/23lm8vg


 

39. "I Don't Believe You"

The Thermals
Personal Life

I may not be liking the Thermals' recent move towards a slower pop-punk style, but as long as they can still drop a fist-pumping powder keg like this, I'll be looking for them on tour.


http://tinyurl.com/23jx98u

38. "Jesus"

Dom
Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP

A bite-sized nugget of sparkling, riff-drenched pop.

http://tinyurl.com/2c4r8sv

37. "Post Acid"

Wavves
King of the Beach

While Wavves is now more pop punk than fuzz-times-10 punk (Wavvves), he still has legions of haters. You can buy or pass on the snappy melody of "Post Acid", but whatever you think of him, he may be thinking the joke's on you: "I'm just having fun with YOOOUUUUU!"

http://tinyurl.com/2w86cba

36. "Jackie Wants a Black Eye"

Dr. Dog
Shame, Shame

Dr. Dog's easygoing, nostalgic pop rock is on full display on Shame, Shame's penultimate song.

http://tinyurl.com/y8koqeq

35. "Dark Trance" 

Free Energy
Stuck on Nothing

Heartfelt power pop with powerful words of wisdom: "But if you wait too long...you might miss that song, you might never meet that girl..."

http://tinyurl.com/2boybly


 
34. "Written in Reverse"

Spoon
Transference

Don't piss off Spoon, or they'll make a song like this that will almost literally kick your ass.

http://tinyurl.com/28qap4s

33. "Home"

LCD Soundsystem
This Is Happening

In an album of solid long-running songs, "Home" feels the most impactful and complete. Don't miss the music video, as it's easily one of the year's best.

http://tinyurl.com/2caltcb

32. "Excuses"

The Morning Benders
Big Echo

Swirling in a beautiful collage of cinematic strings and earthy drums, "Excuses" is one of the year's best album openers.

http://tinyurl.com/y9btdoe 

31. "Round and Round"

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Before Today 

For all its dimensions (aged-sound, modern sound, avant-garde, catchy), what's most impressive about "Round and Round" is that all those seemingly contradictory traits coalesce seamlessly into a lovably quirky pop song.


http://tinyurl.com/yjcwzje 

30. "Valley Hump Crash"

No Age
Everything in Between

Not one of Everything in Between's more hyped tracks, but "Valley Hump Crash" simply wins you over on a ridiculously strong guitar riff.

http://tinyurl.com/23ywdzs

29. "Can't Stay Awake"

Cloud Nothings
Turning On

Turning On bursts open on this jangly lo-fi firecracker from a promising bedroom pop artist.

http://tinyurl.com/23am4cz

28. "Giving Up the Gun" 

Vampire Weekend
Contra

One of Contra's most fully realized singles is a head-turning showcase for a band that's only getting better.

http://tinyurl.com/ycf627a

27. "Book of Stories"

The Drums
The Drums

Perhaps 2010's best 80s-aping band, The Drums have a capture a beautiful melancholy on the catchy "Book of Stories".

http://tinyurl.com/2vtd72d 

26. "Rhinestone Eyes"

Gorillaz
Plastic Beach

Stark synths deliver a solid groove and alarming melodrama that drips with cool.

http://tinyurl.com/2uc5soc