Also, my goal for my countdowns this year is to have less songs by the same artists. Some variety is needed.
Same here! I'm sure your list will be great even if it has lots of songs by the same artists, though - you always seem to have pretty similar taste to me so I'll definitely enjoy this countdown.
I'm still busy for the next 2-3 days with other events, though. I will begin planning all of this on Mon, & hopefully start posting my countdown by Tuesday.
The first one I plan to do is the Top 100 tracks of 2014. I'm gonna do 20 a day.
Some of the album tracks off of Talk Dirty (the album) have been my favorite "guilty pleasure" jams of 2014, including this... which went on to become more than an album track. In fact, it went Top 5 on the Hot 100 for multiple weeks this past summer! While the lyrics are stupid, they are nonetheless fun. The atmosphere of this song is entirely carefree, making it the ideal track to beckon the listener to take themselves a little less seriously for three and a half minutes. The beat is extremely hot, and Snoop Dogg's feature adds a nice, consistent touch to it all (since his image matches the song perfectly). A lot of people hate this song, but in my opinion, this is the better version of Anaconda.
99 Maroon 5 - Animals
Funnily enough, I didn't like this song much when I first heard it back during the end of August. To this day, I am avid supporter of It Was Always You and want it to be released as a single from V. At the time, It Was Always You seemed like the most logical choice for second single. They threw me off by releasing this instead, leaving me initially confused and disappointed. While this song is still nowhere near as good as IWAY, it is a good track on its own. The lyrics are rather cliche, but the beat and chorus are, as Maroon 5 usually is, irresistibly catchy. Adam's falsetto range really shines here, especially during the final chorus on the wolf-esque cry (a cool touch). It sounds nice on the radio.
98 Ariana Grande - Cadillac Song
This is one of Target exclusive bonus tracks off of My Everything. Like her 1st album, Yours Truly, the song has a distinct throwback R&B sound that fits with her absolutely gorgeous vocals. She is purposefully restrained here, letting her voice glide over the beat. I enjoy the song for its overall simplicity compared to the huge pop beats on the rest of the album. It makes me feel nostalgic, which I'm sure was intentional. CS will take a couple of listens to grow on you if you are just listening to it now for the first time, so don't judge it early.
97 Drake - 0 to 100 / The Catch-Up
I wasn't expecting Drake to drop anything related to new music this year, so 0 to 100 was a really nice surprise for me. I'm not sure what purpose this song is serving related to his 4th album, but it's really good when you consider it's most likely just a buzz track. His rapping voice continues to get huskier, more snarling, and more confident. On top of that, this song alone is proof of how much he's grown lyrically since So Far Gone & Thank Me Later. I absolutely love how the song switches up to The Catch-Up near the end, as that part adds a lot to my love for the track. Can't wait for Views from the 6 in Spring 2015!
96 Taylor Swift - Style
Unfortunately, Taylor and BMR have made it too difficult to find the song anywhere on YouTube. However, that won't be a problem in 3- months when its video goes viral, breaks some kind of record, and helps the song to hit #1 on the Hot 100 for weeks. This is 1989 era Taylor we're talking back, and she's unstoppable. Style, in Taylor's hands, is carefully controlled pop radio domination, running along with Max Martin's recent trend of 80s throwback synth pop. It sounds like the type of song you would play on a warm summer day in Miami (hence why it sounds like a Miami Vice song). I like this direction for Taylor, and hope this song helps on the road to many #1s with 1989.
95 Ella Henderson - Ghost
Surprisingly, this is another song that I didn't like at all when I first heard it. I wrote it off as a Rolling In the Deep rehash. I've since discovered I was foolish; Ella Henderson is one of the brightest potential new artists on the market right now. I expect her popularity to absolutely explode in 2015. This song is big, bluesy, and soulful, with the instrumental perfectly supporting her astounding voice. Unbelievably, this girl is less than 20 years old. Her voice leaves me in awe. She's the woman in my current avi, by the way.
94 Taylor Swift - All You Had to Do Was Stay
I would say that this is the most underrated album track on 1989. Why? It's shamelessly catchy, industrial pop, and everything I wanted from a full on pop record from Taylor. Although it's too overlooked to make a good single choice from the album... hypothetically, it has a lot of hit potential. It's better than most of the MM offerings on her previous album, Red (besides IKYWT), a testament to the fact that her taste in pop music continues to get better. New York must have some great influence on pop artists.
93 Sam Smith - Not In That Way
In the Lonely Hour is literally an entire album filled with slow ballads. Almost too many that end up cannibalizing each other and competing to stand out and differentiate themselves in some way. Two ballads specifically stand out to me the most on ItLH: Stay With Me and this. I think, if anything, this song best summarizes the sound of a heart breaking. We can all relate to that feeling of loving someone, but them not loving you back. It hurts, and Sam's voice really captures this. I love it when men are willing to really willing to put their feelings out there and turn it into a passionate song. It's too often men are encouraged to bottle up their feelings, so kudos to Sam breaking the stereotype.
92 Fergie L.A. Love (La La)
If you all would've known me eight years ago, I bet you would've known I was a totally loyal Fergie fan. The Dutchess is one of the first albums I remember getting as a gift, and I played it obsessively. Fittingly, I still play it a lot today, as it's truly one of the best pop albums of the last 10 years. Because of this, I was anxiously awaiting her return for years and years, eventually giving up hope she'd ever actually return. At long last, the dutchess is backm and in top form! This song doesn't try to be an epic comeback, and it allows Fergie to naturally maneuver herself into the streaming age of music. While it has the classic DJ Mustard sound, the beat isn't a clone, like some of his other ones. Fergie clearly brought her A game to the studio, and she definitely got the best out of Muzzard. I need her 2nd album in my life ASAP.
91 Ariana Grande - My Everything
I overlooked this song when My Everything first came out... even though it's beyond gorgeous. It's oddly haunting and dark to me. The song is about wanting someone to be your everything, but them going away and you missing them. My favorite lyric especially is the opening line, "I cried enough tears to see my own reflection in them, and then it was clear, I can't deny, I really miss him". She is basically accepting that love only exists when their is pain... a sad truth of life. I relate to it a lot and it's become one of my favorites on the album.
I can't believe you put 'My Everything' ahead of 'Style' or 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' but it's your top and I just hate with all my power that cheesy song. 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' is probably Taylor's best song