WHAT A YEAR, WHAT A YEAR. We were blessed. So I made a list. Again.

Why should you trust me? You shouldn’t. But I love this shit. So reconsider.

The formula stands from past years, weighing initial shock over interest over time, considering we’d naturally be biased towards more recent releases.

initialShock² × lastingAppeal + #ofTimesSongGotYouLaid

The rules:

• No two songs from the same artist AND album are allowed (unless the artist is featured on the second), to maintain a bit of variety.
• The song’s individual release date, not respective album, has to have been in the year 2017.
• The list has been sorted using the pairwise comparison algorithm, written in Python, to ensure ranking accuracy. More on that here.
• I’ve embedded every song, just click “Show Embed”. Please listen to them, front to back, without skipping through.

Check out 2016’s list here.

Best Weed Anthem

Jhené Aiko ~ Sativa (feat. Swae Lee)

Swae Lee is really the star on this track. He’s a melodic genius, but Jhené holds her own in this woozy, purp-infused track.

Best Side-Bitch Anthem

SZA ~ The Weekend

SZA’s shameless cheating anthem did it for me. The hysterical lyrics about being a side-bish and smooth production make for an incredible aural combination.

Best Broward County Performance

Sabrina Claudio ~ Used To

6LACK took Sabrina on tour with him as his opener, so I knew I had to check her out. Then I found out she grew up in Broward, so that throws her up there with Kodak Black and Ace Hood as people I’m proud of from home. Her debut album was phenomenal, and I had a difficult time choosing one standout record, but this was it.

Snoh Aalegra ~ You Got Me

I discovered Snoh Aalegra through Drake’s sampling of her addictive melody “Time”on “Do Not Disturb.” After seeing how stunning she was, I needed to see if the rest of her music lived up to “Time.” FEELS is her debut album and is worth many listens through-and-through, and “You Got Me” is a song about loyalty (an undeniable theme this year, across the board), that blew me away.

Best Song for Nighttime Driving

Majid Jordan ~ Gave Your Love Away

The kings of modern synthwave. These guys proved Toronto could hang with the rest of /r/outrun. On their opening track, Jordan’s keys and drums come together with a force that requires your head to bob. The track elevates as the chorus comes around, and the drums skip a couple beats. This minimalist track requires a listen going 80 MPH down I-95 in a white Lamborghini Countach, or else you won’t feel the full effect.

Best Pregnancy Anthem

Travis Scott ~ Butterfly Effect

This is truly the song that made me love Travis. I was always skeptical until Virgil played this in Brooklyn and the crowd knew every word. I’ve been addicted to it, seeing him live multiple times since.

Best Superhero Theme Song

Jaden Smith ~ Batman

Jaden is an icon living, and this song extremely strange subject nature makes me love him even more. The video

Best Song About My Birth Year

Pvrx ~ ‘94.

This relatively unknown young rapper from Toronto made a smooth-as-fuck melodic rap track that was on repeat this year for me.

Best Song Based on a Simile

Frank Ocean ~ Chanel

“I see both sides like Chanel.” A genius metaphor about his bisexuality that evolved into his best song out of several 2017 Frank loosies. They’re all fantastic, but this was the standout.

Best Proof of Versatility

Future ~ Use Me

Future’s FUTURE was the album his fans wanted him to make, but HNDRXX is the album that he wanted to make. Use Me is the pinnacle of the album, with an untraditional structure and highly evident passion on the first line. This song proved to me that if Future really tries, he can make some cutting edge shit. An incredible music video to boot, where they somehow found Future’s child doppleganger.

Best Song about Purity Rings

Kehlani ~ Everything Is Yours

Another beautiful track about the things you’d do to make it work.

“My ring is yours, everything is yours.”

Best Pseudo-Politcal Song

Miguel ~ Told You So

This was my favorite video of the year. Hearing this jovial melody and production on top of an apocalyptic setting was heart-wrenching. Nothing better than telling someone “I told you so”…

Best Album Intro

Vince Staples ~ Crabs In a Bucket (feat. Justin Vernon & Kilo Kush)

Vince always brought something fresh to the table, and his intro track to Big Fish Theory was no exception. He merged modern rap with UK Garage and threw in Bon Iver himself.

Best Use of Sampling

A$AP Ferg ~ Plain Jane

Growing up, Three Six Mafia’s “Slob On My Knob” was an absolute favorite. I was strictly a rap fan back then, and discovering the hilarity that was Juicy J’s verse and chorus combination forced me to show the song to all my friends. Decades later, the song is remade, with honors, by A$AP Ferg.

Best Prince & George Michael Tribute

Ruthven & A.K. Paul ~ Evil

The Paul’s came back this year, in Property Week Magazine nonetheless. Shortly thereafter, they dropped two songs via their SMS service, and this one with AK Paul floored me.

Best Smash-Hit-Follow-Up

Lil Uzi Vert ~ The Way Life Goes

“XO TOUR Llif3” was many periodical’s SOTY, and it’s impact was irrefutable. This follow-up pushed my even further into his fanbase.

Best Song by a Convicted Murderer

Tay-K ~ The Race

Tay-K is a 17-year-old kid who basically killed a couple people and was placed under house arrest while being investigated. On March 26th, 2017, he decides he cuts his house arrest anklet and tweets:

Now a fugitive, Tay-K decides to taunt the feds further by recording a song and dropping a music video about being on the run for murder. An undeniably savage move that will go down in history forever.

Tay-K was arrested the day after the video dropped. #DontFreeTayK

TRAVIS SCOTT on Twitter

DO THE DASH THEN GO OUT THE WAY

Best Song by a Convicted Human Trafficker

Baka Not Nice ~ Live Up To My Name

Sketchy criminal history. 60fps music video. Undisputed banger. Who is this guy and how does he talk? That’s Baka!!! He’s a no-long-talker!!!

Best Boozy-Brunch Anthem

Drake ~ Signs

I love More Life, but “Signs”, a commissioned track by Louis Vuitton just took his ever-evolving dance sound to a new stratosphere. It flew relatively under the radar, but this song has the most pages on KTT of any new track ever. The Boy never fails me.

Best Club Banger

Playboi Carti ~ Magnolia

Another track that proved the worth of the artist. Joshua Lee preached about Carti for years, but I never believed he’d make it. “Magnolia” changed that with Pierre Bourne’s addictive production. Hilarious lines, incredibly easy dance move, fun-to-scream producer tag, inventive libs–all the makings of a banger.

Best Song in 2017, Period.

Kendrick Lamar ~ LOYALTY (feat. Rihanna)

Kendrick did it all for me this year with the Rihanna assisted “Loyalty.” DAMN was great, and this was it’s crown.

✅ song about loyalty
✅ unexpected (dope) feature
✅ collaboration with interwinding verses
✅ sample an annoying song and make it great
✅ unbelievable music video
✅ hardest drums ever
✅ “I’M A SAVAGE”

[Sponsored by Inca Kola]

This year sucked — but the music did not. Let’s make 2016 the year of aural pleasure, and unfortunately nothing more.

The formula stands from past years, weighing initial shock over interest over time, considering we’d naturally be biased towards more recent releases.

initialShock² × lastingAppeal + #ofTimesSongGotYouLaid

The rules:

• No two songs from the same artist AND album are allowed (unless the artist is featured on the second), to maintain a bit of variety.
• The song’s individual release date, not respective album, has to have been in the year 2016.
• The list has been sorted using the pairwise comparison algorithm, written in Python, to ensure ranking accuracy. More on that here.
• I’ve embedded every song, just click “Show Embed”. Please listen to them, front to back, without skipping through.

Check out 2015’s list here.

A.K. Paul ~ Landcruisin’

As we wait for his big brother Jai Paul’s first official release, we can comfortably settle with the sounds of A.K. Landcruisin’ is a funky first release from the Paul Institute, that fully satisfied my desire for Jai’s sound after his leak.

Listen to 2014’s So Good too, because apparently nobody did.

Migos ~ Bad & Boujee

An undisputed banger, first introduced to me by this hysterical animation. Offset really took the crown here, and I can honestly say this is the first Migos track I’ve adored since Versace.

Tinashe ~ Company

Naming your song “Company” is your best bet to ensuring a banger (read: Justin Bieber, Drake). In this case, we have the lovely Tinashe describing her true intentions for intimacy. It’s a rare case of a hit-it-and-quit-it desire from a female artist, and it works incredibly. She even gives you the satisfaction of bragging to your friends:

You could say you had it all — no strings

Big Sean ~ Bounce Back

Might be the first time a rapper admitted to taking an L, but Sean walks away with a W for this track. He successfully steals Drake’s “6 Man” flow and walks away with my favorite Big Sean track throughout his entire career.

Young Thug & Travis Scott ~ Pick Up The Phone

Lyrically, this song evidently places Thugga and Travis in a position lacking power. They’re desperate for whatever woman they’re trying to court, hence his demand for her to pick up the phone, and Thugga’s prayer-like addition:

Never will I cheat on you, never will I commit treason

French Montana & Kodak Black ~ Lockjaw

Kodak is a rising star that everyone should keep an eye out for. French hops on the fave by getting his best feature yet, and results in the only time I’ve seen validation in French Montana. Calling this is a feature is an understatement, as Kodak and French take turns spitting every few bars. It’s my favorite style of collaboration. Peep the music video above, filmed in the 954.

Rihanna ~ Sex With Me

Like Solange, I had little-to-no expectations from Rihanna’s ANTI. She’s never released a compelling album, and I sort of see her as a white-label singer with a Carribean twang. ANTI changed all of that, with an incredible selection of A+ tracks from the best producers in the industry. Granted, she probably had nothing to do with the album creatively, but whoever did put together a fine body of music, and the bonus track — Sex With Me, is the best. Penned by the brilliant PARTYNEXTDOOR, and produced by the dream team Boi-1da, Vinylz, and Frank Dukes; Rihanna goes as far to admit that sex with others may actually feel decent:

Sex with me is amazing / With her it’ll feel alright

MADEINTYO ~ Uber Everywhere

Rapping about a hot new startup that represents attainable wealth? Commercial genius. Travis Scott’s remix adds a fantastic verse as well. My favorite song to hear in the club.

Public transit is old news, Uber-fucking-everywhere.

Majid Jordan ~ Small Talk

A beautiful track about potentially reigniting a burnt flame, Small Talk’s chorus’ melody flows like a wave. Listen to it so you can understand what I’m saying. It’ll be stuck in your head for hours.

Future ~ Xanny Family

Future at his best — talking about drugs and women while inventing new words. It’s impossible not to bob your head to this beat, and his lyricism is so savage that the song becomes as addicting as the Xanax itself.

Welcome to the Xanny Family, woah-oh.

PARTYNEXTDOOR ~ Joy

PARTYNEXTDOOR’s debut album was the best debut of all time. His follow-up, PND2, didn’t hit the same high notes, but this year’s PND3 certainly comes closer. Joy is an odd moment during the record where we hear entirely organic instruments, playing a smoker’s lounge type melody, and Jahron belts his most passionate lyrics since Kehlani’s Freestyle. When the climax finally comes around, you can’t help but feel joy.

Solange ~ Don’t Touch My Hair

Everybody told me to listen to this album. I was skeptical. I’m not a Beyonce fan, I’m not interested in the thought of listening to a woman potentially sing about the struggles of living in Bey’s immense shadow —

…but I was wrong. Solange’s A Seat at the Table is objectively one of the best albums of the last five years, and blows Beyonce’s own work out of the water. It’s impeccably produced, written, the flow is addicting with interludes between each and every track; and Don’t Touch My Hair is the standout track, with a beautiful feature from Sampha during the chorus. Watch the music video, embedded above.

The Weeknd ~ Reminder

This song is legitimately stuffed with classic lyrics. Every re-listen I discover a new, hysterical, visceral one-liner. It’s pinnacle Abel & Doc McKinney (the original producer on House of Balloons) with a modern spin, and that ambiguous scratching sound that happens every 8 seconds is the icing on the cake.

Got a sweet asian chick / She go lo-mein

Frank Ocean ~ Nights

Best song on the album — ‘nuff said. Kumbaya shit with a beat switch. If you haven’t heard this already, you’re fucking up.

Kanye West ~ Ultralight Beam

(feat. The-Dream, Kelly Price & Chance The Rapper)

The first thing we hear on Ye’s follow up to Yeezus. If you were one of the millions who signed up for a Tidal trial just to watch him premiere this during his fashion show, you realize the power of the track. The next day, all the artists featured on the track come together to perform is live on SNL, and it was mesmerizing. One could argue this is a Chance track, but in any case, this is a special piece of music that deserves to be on everybody’s lists. Kanye has a history of incredible album intros, but he topped them all with this.

Ariana Grande ~ Knew Better / Forever Boy

Beat switches might be my favorite part about music. Guiding a listener down one path and then just fucking their ‘ish up with a switch up is elegant and incredible. I can’t really describe my adoration for this song, it just hits all my marks for a fantastic piece of music. It’s cocky, layered, and beautifully sung.

Well done, Ariana.

Chance the Rapper ~ Summer Friends

(feat. Jeremih & Francis & The Lights)

Chance, Francis, and Jeremih put together his best track ever. In fact, this is the song Chance ends his tour shows with, and he performs it twice. I’m tired from typing and I got a new mechanical keyboard and I’m not really used to it so I’m done with this paragraph but just fucking listen to this song and all the songs but really this is the best song on coloring book bye

Drake ~ U With Me?

‘9’ ends and a phone rings. At this point, everyone knows the best Drake begins with a phone call (e.g. Marvin’s Room, Star67). Ambiguous chords begin playing, some distorted vocals — suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, we hear that famous line from DMX:

What these b*****s want from a n***a?

Anybody who truly knows me, knows that DMX was my first love in music, so my hype was at an all time high. The chorus came through, and I noticed it was a down-pitched version of X’s How’s It Goin Down? Drake and Kanye (who produced this track) pulled a Practice, an R&B interpolation of a classic hip-hop record, again for the Views era. Brilliant. The song was an instant favorite, further solidified by a spurious falsetto in the last verse, that blew every listener away.

Honorable Mentions

• Post Malone ~ Cold
• Mac Miller ~ We (feat. Cee-Lo)
• Maggie Rogers ~ Alaska
• Roy Woods ~ Menace

Music Video of the Year

So I made a list.

You’re probably thinking, “Who is this jive turkey? What credentials does he have to be making a list of the best music?”

Well, none actually. I’m just a fan, and I’ve been doing this annual list on Facebook for a couple years now, and basically I’ve always wanted to write something on Medium, so I find myself here. I’ve probably photographed most of these artists at one point or another, but at the end of the day, I’m a lover of their work, primarily because I’ll never be able to work my way to their level of talent. So let’s get right to it!

initialShock^2 × lastingAppeal + #OfTimesSongGotMeLaid

This is the formula I’ll be following. It’s meticulously designed by yours truly because it’s important to never overlook one’s first head-bob to a specific track. Music tends to lose luster over time, so we mustn’t favor newer music simply because it feels fresher. Always keep that in the back of your mind as you make your own list.

The rules:

• No two songs from the same artist are allowed (unless the artist is featured on the second), to maintain a bit of variety.
• The song’s individual release date, not respective album, has to have been in the year 2015.
• I’ve embedded every song, just click “Show Embed”. Please listen to them, front to back, without skipping through.

Wale ~ The One Time In Houston

Let me start by saying I am not a Wale fan, but this song changed that. The Seinfeld intro. The pitched-down H-Town+DJ Screw chorus. Three different verse structures. This song is reminiscent of the music I adore, but intricate in it’s own unique way. Brings me back to the Wale of back in the day.

Justin Bieber ~ No Sense (feat. Travis Scott)

Let me start by saying that Purpose comes nowhere CLOSE to Journals, an album overlooked primarily because it was released during the peak of Justin’s fuckboi phase. But this song is great, and deserves recognition. We all feel Justin when he sings “I’ve driven almost every car / It ain’t the same when I’m without you.” I feeeeeel you, brih.

Rae Sremmurd ~ This Could Be Us

First off, the production recycles the same sample from a classic favorite of mine, Blackalicious ~ Deception. The piano chords strike with a viciousness that builds anticipation for a hit of drums, which finally make their classic MikeWillMadeIt appearance in the first chorus. The background vocals by an anonymous assistant stating “Money make the world go ‘round, money make your girl go down.” assist with an ignorant contrast to Swae Lee’s playful lyrics. Fortunately for us, the playfulness doesn’t stop there. Sremmurd’s addicting immaturity comes full force during the bridge, when we, the listeners, find ourselves involved in a game of spin-the-bottle with Rae Sremmurd. Clearly, a participating female forgot it’s her turn to spin, and is now left choosing between truth…or dare. #sremmlife

Roy Woods ~ Get You Good

Another 19-year old singer from Toronto on the list. Sorry, but there’s something in the water across the border. Roy’s voice is crazy strong, and I’d shamelessly compare it to Michael Jackson’s.

Snakehips ~ All My Friends (feat. Tinashe & Chance The Rapper)

I want to marry Tinashe, but in the meantime, I just visit her subreddit. Snakehips out of the UK teamed up with her and Chance to make another beautiful track about introversion. Tinashe’s lyrics are beyond strange, but it adds to the luster…

Ramriddlz ~ P2P (iii)

The Sweeterman saga. If you don’t know, read up on it. Basically, a nobody named Ramriddlz made a hidden gem as a joke, with a hilarious music video. Fact is, it caught important people’s attention, and he knew he needed to make a follow up, so he rushed out the P2P EP (yes, it stands for pussy too pink…) Regardless, this is the intro track, and it’s actually really great. People were surprised, and very impressed. Give it a listen to understand his genuine appeal. Keep an eye out for this kid, he’s going places and he didn’t even know it.

Ty Dolla $ign ~ Know Ya (feat. Trey Songz)

Ty Dolla $ign still hasn’t amassed the fanbase he deserves, but the man can make music. There’s a reason why industry giants are enlisting him for help (see: Kanye West ~ Fade). Know Ya starts off with a hysterical intro, describing a place we’ve all been before. Metroboomin’s production shines brighter than ever before, he uses a fucking harp! Please listen to this in the context of the album, Ty$ has given us a masterpiece. If you don’t bob your head when the beat drops, email me at barron@barronroth.com and I’ll give you a full refund for your time.

Future & Drake ~ Jumpman

This tape made me love trap. This tape taught me how to dab. This tape lessened my fear to drink Robitussin when I catch a cold.

This song isn’t significantly better than the rest (they’re all fantastic), but it’s the easiest one to turn up to.

PARTYNEXTDOOR ~ Things & Such (Kehlani’s Freestyle)

No chorus, all love. Neenyo’s production subtly compliments PND’s melodic brilliance. The lyrics are cute a.f. too. For the first time ever, we feel PARTYNEXTDOOR in a full state of love, an unusual departure from his traditional “i’ve got bishes” sound. Originally titled Kehlani’s Freestlye, he would refuse to answer questions during interviews about his relationship with Kehlani, and finally in mid-autumn, he changed the track name on Souncloud to Things & Such. I guess they broke up 😕

Miguel ~ …goingtohell

The moment this track comes on, I feel like I’m hopping on my Harley Davidson and driving down PCH straight into satan’s homeworld. Drums hit hard, guitar riffs wildly, and Miguel’s multi-layered voice makes me feel like Hell will be tolerable, as long as he’s there with me. Then, the chorus comes, slowing our journey down with a rhythm I haven’t felt since Wicked Games. Give this one a listen at full blast.

The Weeknd ~ Can’t Feel My Face

You can’t deny the power of this track. It single-handedly threw Abel into the center of the universe. I’ll never forget the night it leaked, I had to lie to the pregame DJ that I had a “new Kygo+Michael Jackson remix” that I needed to play, just so he would let me get the AUX cord for a couple minutes. The party’s reaction was something I’ll never forget — for the first time in history, people were dancing, not fucking, to The Weeknd.

Honorable Mention: The Weeknd ~ Tell Your Friends

Post Malone ~ White Iverson

Another newcomer to the music industry, Malone was just a regular kid in Texas who made a fun song about basketball and got propelled into stardom. The wildest part? This was his first song he ever released. He may be the ugliest man on the list, but that’s not stopping him from becoming a force in music.

Alessia Cara ~ Here

Another superstar hailing from Toronto, Alessia (at 18!) wrote this song herself about being introverted, hating parties, and being sick of typical social bullshit. The lyrics are phenomenal, the pacing is impeccable, and she sampled Portishead beautifully.

Bryson Tiller ~ Don’t

Bryson was a nobody before Don’t, which really breaks the mold for a traditional song. There is very little structure, and the song’s appeal lies in that fact. Bonus points because he bought the beat off of Soundclick.com and made the rest himself.

dvsn ~ With Me

dvsn dropped two tracks out of the blue, both were incredible, and had the world calling him the next D’Angelo. Fast forward a week later, and turns out it’s the alter-ego of Nineteen85, producer of Hold On We’re Going Home, Hotline Bling, 0–100, and a barrage of other hits. Producer first, then decided to put out his vocals… & they’re fucking beautiful.

Majid Jordan ~ Too Far

“Too Far” is the fan-given title for the first few minutes of [|], a 20-minute mix released by the Toronto duo. The mix is comprised of mostly re-works of tracks from their previous EP, A Place Like This, but the beginning is entirely new music, with over two minutes of build-up & anticipation, Finally, at the 2:22 mark, the beat drops harder than Skrillex at Ultra 2012. Majid’s voice is a gem, and luckily for us, it’s at full work on Too Far.

Drake ~ Know Yourself

We first heard it on JUNGLE, the short film released out of the blue the day before the 6th anniversary of So Far Gone. Since then, Instagram’s most popular caption this year has been some variation of the declaration:

“I was running through the 6ix with my woes”

This song had a massive cultural impact, and there was no simpler way to feel important than to bump it while driving down Collins Ave. The rest of the alb — mixtape, isn’t to be overlooked though.

Honorable Mention: Drake ~ Back To Back

Top 9 Albums of 2015

1. Drake, ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’
2. Ty Dolla $ign, ‘Free TC’
3. Future & Drake, ‘What A Time To Be Alive’
4. Jeremih, ‘Late Nights’
5. Miguel, ‘Wildheart’
6. Vince Staples, ‘Summertime ‘06’
7. Wale, ‘The Album About Nothing’
8. The Weeknd, ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’
9. Justin Bieber, ‘Purpose’