Adele Florence Clarkson! I typed that as one person. Imagine that? Like when all those things would morph together on Power Rangers into the big red thing. Imagine a singer that had all three of their talents into one person. It would be the greatest singer ever!
The worst part about this is that this is exactly the joke that I was going to make! And SOMEONE BEAT ME TO IT.
Three strong albums. Get it? "Strong"? Heh heh. I kill myself.
30. The Concretes - "My Ways"
- Simple video... simple song... simply love.
29. Yuna - "Come As You Are"
- Cover and remixes made my year, apparently. This is a cover of Nirvana's "Come As You Are" by a super soft/delicate voice that makes it sound like a completely different song. The video was pretty sincere from what I could tell too, and it was just a nice surprise enjoying the song and then realizing that it's a cover... by Nirvana, which was a great song itself!
28. Beastie Boys– "Make Some Noise"
- So, I was a complete fool and forgot about this great song, great video... great artist. I'm not kidding but sometime this year, I just completely forgot that they had a new album and new singles, yes plural. Either way, I made some last minute adjustments to put this in after realizing this huge mistake but it worked out well. Since I sort of forgot about it but it was still super great when I first heard and saw it, I figured it should be somewhere around here.
27. Karmin - "Crash Your Party"
- Karmin is a great band that does wonderful, fun covers... and now, they've released their first own single! The leading lady from Karmin continues her cute lyrics with "You can kiss my oh my gaww." It'd probably be tons higher if it wasn't for the late discovery (it did come out few months ago!) and the somewhat average hook, lyrically and music (It's like Miley Cyrus + mainstream pop lyrics compared to the rest of the song... actually, that probably adds a bit too the fun, as well). What makes it this great is the fact that it is Karmin, I LOVE them as a team, and it's just a fun song (with a fun rap near the end!). Okay, fine, there's a bias, but it just makes me feel so good. There'll be more songs that just make me feel good, haha.
26. Chairlift - "Amanaemonesia"
- I know, I'm at fault for not fully checking out the Chairlift album but this single stuck out to me when I first heard it. Actually, I heard it when I saw the video... and it's just one ridiculous video. I knew Caroline had a sense of humor but I did not expect this retro-feeling exercise psychedelic video. Yet, what was more surprising is how it fit the song, in some weird way.
25. Santigold ft. Karen O - "Go"
- Blame me for forgetting about the new stuff, again (she had a great single with Beastie Boys too!); however, there will be another Karen O song later, or higher rather, at least!
24. Grieves - "On the Rocks" TIED Mac Miller - "Knock Knock"
Not going to lie... these are guys that just seem like I wouldn't befriend them BUT there's something damn catchy about these songs. I'm not hating on the two at all but the chillness of the songs just almost make the songs too alike but I know they're different and both have their own special catchy appeal. I think I've had both on repeat for days at different days. Either way, worth listing... and I actually had forgotten about KK even though I played it so much!
23. Coldplay - "Paradise"
- Speaking of songs that make you feel good, this song has been sung to me in a silly tone way too often to just forget about it. I know, it's ridiculous that it's this high just because of covers but the song itself is pretty great, I mean it's Coldplay! It's just, it never stuck out to me on it's own (hence why it's here and not on the top albums list). The video is SUPER adorable though and I really liked their performances on SNL. "Para-para-paradise!"
22. Marina and the Diamonds - "Radioactive"
- Blame me for forgetting about the new stuff, again. It's really sad because had I realized this sooner, this would be much higher. I cannot wait for the new album! I just hope I remember it.
21. Cults - "Go Outside"
- I was pretty obsessed with this song when it first came out. I mean, the video has Dave Franco and Emma Roberts. It just came off as the cutest song, and the video just made it better. It had to be super close to the top 20. Their following single was checked out only because of how much effect this song had on me... maybe it was more of the video than the song. Regardless, it's wonderful.
Lots of songs in that list I know I should know, but I don't. So thank you for giving me some songs to look forward to - particularly Karen O/Santigold - how did I miss the boat on that one?
Plus - love your write up on "Paradise". Indeed, it is Coldplay after all! No further explanation needed.
Ke! Nice to see you are doing write-ups. I always appreciate getting to know why someone enjoys the songs/albums on their list, and yours is a good example of it. Nice job.
I love the Beastie Boys, Coldplay songs. I'm with Roger in saying I had no idea about this Santigold/Karen O song, so that's something I definitely need to check out. I've seen that Come As You Are cover pop up a couple times on these lists, and it intrigues me, so I will check that out, as well. I believe I actually have heard that Mac Miller song (I heard it in that HBO NHL 24/7 series they've been doing), and it is really quite catchy.
07.Ximena Sariņana - Ximena Sariņana
Build Finalized: August 2, 2011 | Crucial Unit: "Echo Park"
- Okay, so I would not know about this artist at all if it wasn't for ATRL's own TC. He mentioned "Different" on his twitter and since I can usually trust his musical judgement, figured I'd check it out. Well, it was adorable and totally worth it! It was so good, it made me curious to check out her album, which actually continues to be just as catchy, relaxing, fun, and adorable. I know, adorable is not usually a compliment for people, but I definitely mean it as a good thing and it was always a good album to listen to in full. I think it's amazing when artists can have an innocent feeling behind their music or lyrics, sort of just having fun with whatever the case. In her video for "Different," she does just that and she continues to through the album. If you listen to some of the lyrics, they are quite silly, but I tend to appreciate it a lot with her style. It's sort of sad that she cancelled her local concert because I feel like she'd be great to hear live. Either way, I'm definitely glad TC mentioned this on his twitter.
08.Britney Spears - Femme Fatale
Build Finalized: March 25, 2011 | Crucial Unit: "Inside Out"
- I know, I can't believe Femme Fetale is this high either but blame it on "I Wanna Go." It made me realize how I really liked that and "Till The World Ends," but I kept holding off because I figured the rest of the album was like "Hold It Against Me." Well, thankfully, it wasn't... though, why would you make songs like "Criminal"? I guess I'm just tired of innuendo songs "If I told you I wanted your body, would you hold it against me?" Ha ha, get it? Hold it against me? Double meanings? Yeah, okay, yes, see, it's not that fun. However, what had me love the album was the amazing beats and how they use her voice with the music. It's why I loved Hillary Duff's album and it's why I loved this one. It also helped that I had friends who seemed to enjoy the music just as much I did, if not more. It really makes me miss last year... which I guess carried over to the starting of this year, while still being a good reminder of the fun people in my life now. I just wish she'd try more with the lyrics...
09.SONOIO - Red
Build Finalized: June 21, 2011 | Crucial Unit: "Can You Hear Me?"
- I like how every year there is at least one album that I can contribute to my friend who took me to see Nine Inch Nails in 2008. Ever since, I've been a huge fan of his suggestions and always make sure to check out whatever he recommends, if I manage to remember. Thankfully, SONOIO already had an album out and was offering some tracks from Red for free on the website. Well, there's a weird Radiohead-esque feeling to the vocals and the music itself works well with Trent Reznor's work... probably because SONOIO is Alessandro Cortini, who was part of NIN's live band for four years and helped with their Year Zero Remixed, Ghosts, and The Slip. Well, it all really shows and if you enjoy NIN, I'd highly recommend checking SONOIO. I just know that for me, I'd always have to be in the mood for such music, which is why this is not in the top five.
Ximena!! I'm loving seeing her pop up on these year-ends. That's a great album, and we both discovered it the same way haha. Really nice write-up on it, as well. I totally get what you mean, in terms of sounding adorable on a record, which I don't think is a bad thing at all.
I need to listen to this SONOIO album, since i've seen it mentioned a couple times. The NIN connection interests me.
Props for taking the recommendation to heart with Ximena. She's fabulous.
I struggled with Britney. I really enjoyed all her singles from Femme Fatale but the rest of the album really grated, I thought. It was just hard to listen to. Lots of filler. That's why I left it off my top 40.
previous algorithms
I've been to a Coldplay forum and they hate this song. I mean they think it's a weak song. It's amazing. 
