Fred's Top/Bottom 20 Songs of 2010-2015

[Joe Biden]

Yes, it's a Top 20 because I like to go farther than The Nostalgia Critic.

 

I was planning to post these on the decade-end topic but I figured that would be a little too much so instead, I'm gonna make a topic for it instead.

 

Yes, I will be ranking every song on the year-end charts through years 2010 to 2015. Hopefully, with all the repeat songs in the years after 2010, I'll have this project finished faster than you can say "dirty bit".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2010

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2011

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2012

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2013

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2014

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2015

[Joe Biden]

Yeeeeeeeah, so this won't be coming out for a while, so much for my decade-end project.

 

I'm still working on it at the moment, but I've been slacking on it a bit lately. I'm still at the beginning of fuckin' 2011, probably one of the best years of that decade, and I still haven't found the time to rank it due to my job. To make up for it, here are some of my thoughts on songs that I either like or dislike that haven't made it onto the year-end charts of these years but are still worth a mention.

 

Spoiler

Adele - Skyfall (2012)

 

If there's any song of Adele's I would call "the best Adele song", it would definitely go to this. We'll see if Billie Eilish can top Adele in 2020 but so far, this has been the best Bond theme I've heard in the decade, sorry, Sam Smith.

Spoiler

Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better (2014)

 

Pop-wise, 2014 may have not been a good year, but it was definitely a great year concerning the alt-rock genre. Of course, some alternative acts like Bastille, KONGOS, or Hozier would also cross over to the pop charts eventually but if we're gonna discuss groups or songs that haven't, it would be Bleachers and "I Wanna Get Better".

 

Lead singer of Bleachers and former band member of fun. stated that this song was inspired by the most tragic events he's ever experienced in his life like his sister's death in 2002 and his cousin's death during the Iraq War that following year. And really, this song is just a huge cry of optimism. My life really sucks too and I really wish that someday, it will indeed get better, and it's fun and optimistic songs like this that help me get through it all. Between choosing this or "Rollercoaster" to be my favorite song from them, I think it's clear that "I Wanna Get Better" is definitely the better (better, better) song out of the two.

Spoiler

The Chainsmokers - #SELFIE (2014)

 

Meanwhile, I'm very glad this never made the year-end charts of 2014. Then again, why would it? It barely qualifies as a song and sounds more like two white girls having a conversation while the DJ tries to drown them out. Let's be honest: I would've done the same thing.

 

Thank God the Chainsmokers got better (or at least, more listenable) a few years later. Still can't erase this song from their resume though.

Spoiler

Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker (2013)

 

If you know me, I love me a catchy whistling tune (or rather, a good catchy whistling tune) and that's exactly what we have here. Fitz and the Tantrums are that type of group you're looking for when you need a great throwback to soul music in today's times and this one may be their most popular of them all. So popular that it's been used in a lot of commercials ever since it's release. Because who wouldn't want a song this infectious to play in this commercial?

 

And believe it or not, I did know these guys before the song was released. Check out "MoneyGrabber" and "L.O.V." for the two most prominent examples of their 2010 work. They're both really just as great as this one.

Spoiler

And if we're to discuss songs that never made a year-end chart, we have to save the best for last. Ladies and gentlemen, "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.

 

....featuring Kendrick Lamar.

 

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (feat. Kendrick Lamar) (2014)

 

While Lamar's guest spots on "Bad Blood" and especially "Don't Wanna Know" aren't great enough to save those songs, his out-of-nowhere verse near the end of this version took the original one and made it even better. And I'll be perfectly honest: This version would crack my Top 10 had it actually charted on the year-end for 2014.

 

This collaboration probably wouldn't work well today with Imagine Dragons making terrible rock sludge and Kendrick just being there by association, but back in their prime, it was the perfect time for this to be released. Also, just a reminder that their 2014 Grammy performance is still awesome so if you haven't watched it at all...

....please do it now. That's all I have to say.