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| Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff |
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50 The Fresh & Onlys – Waterfall
Gloomy guitars jangle flawlessly as angelic voices call out of the tugging wind and darkness, pleading with singer Tim Cohen to deliver hazy, yet romantic vocals.
[buy the album] [more from The Fresh and Onlys on Speakers]
49 Cowboy Junkies - Remnin Park
After over twenty-five years, there is still something magical about Margo Timmins' voice and Michael Timmins' writing. We guess there always will be.
[buy the album] [more from Cowboy Junkies on Speakers]
48 Peter Wolf Crier - Crutch & Cane
Filled with tambourine hits and a hint of piano-laced chorus, "Crutch and Cane" impeccably echoes those summer nights of which it was born.
[buy the album] [more from Peter Wolf Crier on Speakers]
47 Suckers - A Mind I Knew
"A Mind I Knew" from Brooklyn's Suckers starts with steady pacing and builds into a frenetic epic centerpiece to the debut LP, Wild Smile.
[buy the album]
46 Kele - Everything You Wanted
It's a song that literally everyone in the world can identify and have someone in mind while listening. Simple. Beautiful. Powerful.
[buy the album]
45 Avi Buffalo - What's In It For?
"What's In It For?" is saturated with swatches of Built to Spill's guitars and tone but laid down with Beulah's SoCal pop approach.
[buy the album] [more from Avi Buffalo on Speakers]
44 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way
"I Learned the Hard Way" proves that won't won't kill us will only make us stronger. Every few bars, the song alternates between syrupy Mary Wells-esque vocals and menacing brass accompaniment in the minor key.
[buy the album] [more from Sharon Jones on Speakers]
43 Kanye West feat. Raekwon and Justin Bieber - Runaway Love (Remix)
Yanked from Kanye's "G.O.O.D. Fridays" series leading up to the release of his new LP, "Runaway Love" is a party jam in full effect with a steady Kanye verse, Bieber expertly channeling early New Edition, and Raekwon making us yearn for those early Wu-Tang records.
[buy the album]
42 The Love Language - Brittany's Back
If a song has ever been written to soundtrack an evening in North Carolina, outside with friends, possibly passing some sort of alcohol around a fire, this would be first on our list. "Hallelujah, thank God I'm alive!"
[buy the album] [more from The Love Language on Speakers]
41 Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
Like his father before him, JTE knows his country music. The good kind, of course.
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40 April Smith and The Great Picture Show - Colors
"Colors" has a Bourbon Street feel that makes us long for Mardi Gras year-round, and Smith's pristine voice echoes another favorite indie femme fatale, Jenny Lewis.
[buy the album] [more from April Smith on Speakers]
39 Delorean - Real Love
Spanish synth-poppers, Delorean, weave a complex and multi-layered (but listenable and danceable) audio tapestry.
[buy the album]
38 Matt & Kim - Good for Great
Strings, synth, and glorious hooks. Some may argue that Matt & Kim's new album Sidewalks is not as strong as their last, but we counter with "Good for Great." It's pure indie-pop bliss.
[buy the album]
37 Sarah Jaffe - Clementine
If you don't know Jaffe's music yet, trust us, you will soon. She's spunky like Kathleen Edwards, sweet like Jill Andrews, and "Clementine" proves it.
[buy the album] [more from Sarah Jaffe on Speakers]
36 Cold War Kids - Audience
On this track, lead vocalist, Nathan Willett, asks, "You need a record you can move to?" Well, look no further than "Audience."
[buy the album] [more from Cold War Kids on Speakers]
35 GAYNGS - Faded High
"Faded High" is as fast paced as the GAYNGS collective gets, and the track is a perfect slow build of keyboards and wailing guitars for these spaced-out rockers.
[buy the album] [more from GAYNGS on Speakers]
34 Jonsi - Go Do
Swear to God, if angels made music, it would sound like "Go Do." It's actually more orchestral and complex that Sigur Ros' stuff, and it's packed with more energy than the band's past three albums combined. Simply gorgeous.
[buy the album]
33 Laura Marling - Rambling Man
We interpret the message in this song to be: Don't feel sorry for yourself; instead, do something with your life. That's why we love Laura Marling.
[buy the album] [more from Laura Marling on Speakers]
32 Cotton Jones - Somehow To Keep It Going
Michael Nau's lo-fi vocals sit heftily on top of poignant organ chords that persistently take stabs at our hearts.
[buy the album] [more from Cotton Jones on Speakers]
31 Robyn - Dancing On My Own
With this single dance-pop masterpiece, Robyn shows how transcendent truly great pop music can be and exposes the detestable nature of most commercially viable pop.
[buy the album] [more from Robyn on Speakers]
30 Of Montreal - Sex Karma
Quite possibly the most unlikely duet featuring PG-13 rated lyrics, "Sex Karma" is one of the year's biggest surprises. It's catchy as hell and makes us blush (in a good way). "You look like a playground to me." Indeed, Solange Knowles. Indeed!
[buy the album]
29 The National - Terrible Love
We'll scream it for you: "It takes an ocean not to break!" Wow, that felt good.
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28 Tift Merritt - Things That Everybody Does [listen]
Merritt wrote this in one sitting, and that kinda makes us jealous. We have trouble writing an e-mail in one sitting, let alone one of the best songs of the year.
[buy the album] [more from Tift Merritt on Speakers]
27 Dr. Dog - Shadow People
The juxtaposition of this four-minute rollicking crescendo, complete with bluesy piano, and its inherent solemnity is quite profound.
[buy the album] [more from Dr. Dog on Speakers]
26 Dom - Burn Bridges
Dom's Sun Bronzed Greek Gods is jam packed with killer synth grooves and "Burn Bridges" is a perfect representative of a near perfect debut record. If the sun is shining and Dom is on, you'll be happy.
[buy the album] [more from Dom on Speakers]