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JakeKills Presents: Finale! (4 Post Update)
Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Wrecking Ball and its iconic music video  love that song!
Still Into You one of my fave songs too! but my #1 from this set is "Team"  My 2nd favorite song from Lorde, she's awesome!
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 56,234
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Wrecking Ball, Clarity, Still Into You, 22, Are We All We Are, Hard Out Here, Problem, Team, Young And Beautiful... so many amazing songs! 
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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Still Into You,Clarity,22,+ If I Lose Myself 
great set of songs listed 
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Member Since: 10/5/2009
Posts: 137,162
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Mmm I love these graphics  And these song selections so far are ace. #39-36 are all spectacular and it's a shame they're this low. 
The Phoenix, Wrecking Ball, Still Into You, Clarity, 22, Team, Young & Beautiful 
If I Lose Myself, Are We All We Are 
Hard Out Here
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Member Since: 4/25/2011
Posts: 41,661
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Clarity is amazing. That exact line is my favorite.
Team, 22 and Still Into You as well
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Member Since: 9/22/2010
Posts: 12,763
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LOVING the descriptions and your taste is flawless as I expected.
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Member Since: 6/20/2011
Posts: 18,905
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Like about everything you've posted so far
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/24/2009
Posts: 70,975
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9/20
Nice set!
The Phoenix, Still Into You
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Member Since: 12/21/2010
Posts: 51,088
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Flawless per usual. Am glad Steve Grand got a mention.
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Member Since: 8/1/2008
Posts: 52,761
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15/20
Very nice update.
I like Next To Me, If I Lose Myself and One More Sleep the most
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Member Since: 3/5/2011
Posts: 30,130
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Great to see recognition for Wrecking Ball
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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I was fully expecting one of "Clarity" or "The Next Day" to be my highlight of this set, and then I saw "Atlas"! That song just broke me, man. It's the most beautiful song Coldplay has made since "Fix You".
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Member Since: 11/9/2011
Posts: 12,849
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Bowie!
I only use Tiësto remix of "Clarity," can't be bothered by the original.
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Member Since: 10/3/2009
Posts: 35,844
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Still Into You and 22 are the ones I like the most. Can't wait for your Top 20. 
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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 | 20. Carry On
May the past be the sound of your feet upon the ground
fun's "Carry On" failed to live up to the success of last year's "We Are Young" and "Some Nights," but it's just as good as those songs. Like those songs, "Carry On" manages to take not so happy topic and make a song that sounds like an inspirational anthem. In this case, the singer and his friends are drunk and talking about heartbreak and death, while the chorus tells us that we must persevere in spite of these things. |  | 19. Come & Get It
This love will be the death of me, but I know I'll die happily
"Come & Get It" is a mixed bag. On the one hand, whoever added the Bollywood influence is a genius. It's the one element of this song that makes this song so great. On the other hand, "Come & Get It" feels a bit stagnant; there's something missing (perhaps in the vocal performance?) and the song kinda falls flat. "Come & Get It" is supposedly a Rihanna reject, but it works better for Selena anyways. |  | 18. XO
Nobody sees what we see
Beyoncé absolutely threw a wrench in my countdowns. Initially, "Blow" and "Drunk In Love" were announced as her new singles, and I had the latter charting on this list. Then "Blow" was swapped for "XO" so "Drunk In Love" was removed in favor of "XO." A mess. This Ryan Tedder produced love anthem should prove to be a big hit for Mrs Carter, which is exciting because she hasn't had a top 10 single as a lead artist since last decade. Pray for a Grammy performance. |  | 17. Just Give Me A Reason
We can learn to love again
"Just Give Me A Reason" was one of 2013's most ubiquitous songs, and is arguably the best of the year's #1 hits. As a fan of Pink, fun, and producer Jeff Bhasker, this song is basically a match made in JakeKills heaven. Lyrically, "Just Give Me A Reason" is structured as a conversation between a couple who are trying to hold onto a relationship that appears to be fading. |  | 16. Brave
I wanna see you be brave
I'm not sure what the Grammy committee was thinking when they nominated the dreadful and cliche laden "Roar" for Song of the Year instead of this much more original and refreshing pop song. "Brave" is clearly the empowerment anthem of 2013, and it's a truly great offering from Sara Bareilles. She performed this song with Taylor Swift when the RED Tour stopped in LA, and I fell in love with it instantly. I wanna see you be brave! |  | 15. Everything Has Changed
All I know is a new found grace
This Taylor Swift duet with Ed Sheeran ranks high out of necessity. It was Taylor's best single choice of 2013, which doesn't say much when "22" was the competition. Ed and Taylor are an interesting pair of unequally talented songwriters, but the outcome of a collaboration between the two should have been better than this. Nonetheless, "Everything Has Changed" remains a sweet and inoffensive song about falling for someone after being hurt by a previous relationship. In that sense, it sorta reads as a sequel to the vastly superior "Begin Again." |  | 14. Royals
We aren't caught up in your love affair
"Royals" is the breakthrough smash of that wonderful seventeen year old girl from New Zealand who we all love. The song is a wise-beyond-her-years rebuke of the opulence and luxury of pop culture, and one can hardly help but imagine how Lana Del Rey or Kanye West would react to condemning them for focusing so much on expensive beer, expensive cars, jewels, and whatnot. |  | 13. C'mon
Feeling like a saber toothed tiger
"Cmon" was like a gateway drug for me. It was the first Kesha song that I could ever admit to liking, so of course it flopped. Kesha delivers an anthemic party track with her typical flair, inserting inane lyrics like "feeling like a saber-toothed tiger" that somehow make sense if you don't think about it too much. |  | 12. Let It Go
I'm too relieved to grieve
I have to admit that I was skeptical upon hearing that Demi Lovato of all people would be involved in the Frozen soundtrack. Then I heard her version of "Let It Go." This is, in every way, on par with the finest single versions of Disney soundtrack songs from the golden age. This is almost Celine Dion singing "Beauty & The Beast" level of goodness. The song's uplifting lyrics and chilling vocal performances from both Demi and Idina make "Let It Go" as close to classic as a song from an animated Disney film has come in years. |  | 11. I Love It
I DON'T CARE.
Icona Pop's sole hit "I Love It" was written by teen star Charli XCX. This wacky song fuses dance pop with the feeling of reckless abandon to disastrously outstanding results. If there's anything better than sing-shouting "I DON'T CARE" as loud as you can, I haven't found it yet. I was already a fan of this song before attending Taylor Swift's RED Tour, where this song was blasted through the sound system just minutes before She took to the stage. Imagine a stadium full of millennials screaming in unadulterated bliss the moment that they hear this song begins and you will understand what makes "I Love It" so undeniable. |  | 10. Slow Down
If you want me, I'm accepting applications
"Slow Down" is one of three truly great pop songs from Selena Gomez's first solo effort, Stars Dance. Selena is hot, single, and ready to mingle. She is accepting your applications to practice some hot and heavy mouth to mouth resuscitation. "Slow Down" is more or less a perfect pop song, and my gut is telling me to call it the "Till The World Ends" of 2013, so I will do so. |  | 9. King & Lionheart
As the world comes to an end, I'll be there to hold your hand
"King & Lionheart" was a near-hit on alternative radio earlier this year. The song isn't as addicting as last year's "Little Talks" but it's a great offering from the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. "King & Lionheart" describes a relationship between two people who must work together in order to overcome the challenges that they face. |  | 8. Closer
All you dream of lately is getting underneath me
Like Sara Bareilles's "Brave," Taylor Swift introduced me to Tegan & Sara's "Closer" when She performed it with them at a concert in LA. Tegan says that she wrote this song about the relationships she had when she was younger. Back then, it was exciting for her just to connect with someone and get close to one another without this necessitating a physical relationship. "Closer" is a deliriously infectious pop anthem. |  | 7. All I Know
All I know is I did you wrong
A friend introduced me to Fenech-Soler's electro-pop masterpiece "All I Know." This song describes a relationship in which it was the narrator's fault that the relationship came to an end. I don't really care for any of the other songs on Fenech-Soler's most recent album, Rituals, but that's alright because "All I Know" is unforgettable. |  | 6. Madness
Some kind of madness has started to evolve
It was ATRL's Best of the Best 2013 that introduced me to Muse's "Madness" earlier this year. "Madness" is the longest running #1 of all time on the alternative charts. "Madness" was inspired by a fight that the songwriter had with his girlfriend, which prompted him to question their relationship and realize that he was to blame. The song is tied together with the background vocals stuttered "ma-ma-madness" echoing throughout the song- and through listeners' minds for hours at a time. |  | 5. Applause
Suddenly the Koons is me!
I only just decided to place Gaga in the top five with the lead single from ARTPOP (it switched places with "Madness." Sorry, Muse). I've seen a lot of fans say that "Applause" is a bad song, or that it should have been left off of the album in the first place, but I couldn't disagree more. "Applause" is the one song on ARTPOP that undeniably delivers the adrenaline rush that Gaga promised with this album. Somehow, "Applause" simultaneously manages to provide genuine insight into Gaga's relationship with her fans while also coming across as a parody of her own love of attention. If that's not enough, "Applause" has the Taylor Swift seal of approval... which Gaga told me herself on twitter. |  | 4. Stay
Not really sure how to feel about it
As recently as October, Rihanna's "Stay" had fewer than 20 plays on my iTunes. Around that time, however, something about this song finally clicked with me. Now, it's amongst my most played tracks of the year, and it's well on its way to being among my top 5 most played Rihanna songs. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for piano ballads, but "Stay" really is something special. I was a huge Rihanna fan back in 2010, but I've been increasingly disappointed with Rihanna's output from Loud onwards. Simply put, I need Rihanna to stop making her ratchet crap and put out more "real music" like this. Rhenna pls. |  | 3. Saturday Night
I'm a ****ing teenage tragedy
When Natalia Kills dropped the poignant "Saturday Night" numerous internet sites praised the song and called it her best work to date. It very well could be. The track embodies many of the themes found on Trouble, complete with references to her broken family, her father's stint in prison, and her lost childhood. All of this is tied together by a resounding chorus of "It's just another Saturday night" - a line delivered with chilling apathy. |  | 2. Carry You
Don't ever say you're lonely
Union J came onto my radar after they performed Taylor Swift's "Love Story" on The X Factor UK. It was by pure coincidence, however, that I happened to be awake at 3 in the morning when they premiered their debut single "Carry You." The song is upbeat and never grows old for me. While the rest of the world was suffering through "Blurred Lines" over the summer, Union J was dominating my weekly countdown with this song. "Carry You" was a perfect lead single for George, Jaymi, JJ, and Josh, and part of the song's appeal comes from their distinctly British voices. |  | 1. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
I hope they live forever
I have a friend on twitter who is a huge Bowie fan, so I checked out "Where Are We Now?" and "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" when they were released. While "Where Are We Now?" was not so attention grabbing, my love for "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" was immediate. The lyrics, production, and vocal delivery combine to make an utterly spectacular song- and the video featuring Tilda Swinton is amazing as well. "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" is amongst my most played tracks of 2013, and it's my most played rock song ever. Unsurprisingly, "The Stars" is about fame. According to Bowie, our celebrities are "drunk, shamed, broke, scared" but, like the stars in tonight's sky, we hope they live forever.
And in case you were wondering, this song was the origin of the name of this year's Best of... The Stars of 2013. |
Up next: Top 20 Albums of 2013, likely debuting Sunday evening!
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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Oh man, THAT #1. And "Madness", BUT THAT #1! I mean, I know you liked it a lot based on your title, but I didn't know you liked it THAT much.
Gosh, this top singles list wound up being pretty badass! 
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Member Since: 7/15/2005
Posts: 27,703
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14/20.
Come & Get It, Slow Down
Everything Has Changed, Stay, Just Give Me A Reason, XO, Applause
I like Carry You, but #2?? 
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Member Since: 12/21/2010
Posts: 51,088
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This list is literally perfect and I h8 you for that.
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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Madness,Carry On,Just Give Me A Reason,Brave,Everything Has Changed,Royals,C'mon,+ Closer
great top 20
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Member Since: 7/22/2009
Posts: 13,429
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Carry You Top 2 
fun. 
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