My Favorite Songs of 2010

Since some of these artists had more than one song that really resonated with me this year, I will rank the top 10, and then follow it with a list of truly special songs that all passed the test in one form or another. Make of it what you will.

1) ROBYN--"Dancing On My Own" So much has been said about this song already, and if you've heard it, you know why it rests at No. 1. Here's hoping Robyn can continue the magic for a bit.
2) KYLIE MINOGUE--"Get Outta My Way" I really don't get the backlash this song had, which kept it at a peak of number 11 in the UK, as I felt it was Kylie's most pure poptastic offering since "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" almost ten years ago. Maybe nobody wants to talk about the fact that Kylie is now in her 40's, but this song always made me happy when it came on.
3) CEE LO GREEN--"F**k You" The true test of a great song is whether or not its a great song without the lure of an expletive, and this one is. I'll be singing this when I'm 80!
4) TAKE THAT--"The Flood" Or when they finally proved to me their worth. An epic song with amazing performances by all involved. So anthemic, how could it not move you?
5) ALPHABEAT--"DJ" Poor Alphabeat. That sophomore slump hit them like a cod in the face. Still, they cranked out some of the best pop tunes nobody cared about. I thought this was a great little song--maybe the best song about losing one's self to a DJ's talents ever? Maybe people will listen next time, but I sure hope you don't change direction too much. This was a better fit than the debut.
6) SCISSOR SISTERS--"Invisible Light" While the album wore on me a bit (but was still better than Ta-Dah), this song is pure magic. I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had the Sisters gone full throttle Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And Jake-y, that piecing falsetto is getting O-L-D. You are not Jimmy Somerville, and that's one reason this song works so well. Keep exploring your lower range. Also contains the best spoken word bit since La Roux's "Tigerlily" last year, courtesy of Gandalf McKellen.
7) KELIS--"Acappella" I have to admit this collab with David Guetta was the best thing I've heard from Kelis EVER. Uplifting lyrics, a great beat, and some excellent visuals--I think she's onto something. The album didn't sell all that well, due to some rather half-written songs, so hopefully she can make a more fully formed artistic statement next time around, but DO NOT LEAVE THE CLUB. It suits you.
8) GOLDFRAPP--"Alive" Also called "Love Song From a Vampire" (not really). The most pure pop moment from Goldfrapp ever, and catchy too. Another song that got passed over by the marketplace...what the hell were people buying this year? Certainly not much good, as you can see thusfar...
9) JANELLE MONAE--"Tightrope" This song was absolutely addictive for me, as was the video, and MTVU played it literally every 15 minutes this summer. I can't believe this diva is from Kansas City--I mean, a black girl into hip hop and Metropolis? I LOVED the whole album, which is stylistically diverse, yet shows just how broad Monae's talents are. This was the standout single.
10) PET SHOP BOYS--"Together" Celebrating 25 years together with a song containing underlying elements of group suicide is rather grim, yet PSB pull it off with an electro-waltz in 3/4 time. Epic and beautiful, "Together" wasn't a big hit, but should have been.

Other great songs of 2010:

A-HA--"Butterfly, Butterfly"
ADELE--"Rolling in the Deep"
ALPHABEAT--"Heat Wave", The Right Thing"
ARCADE FIRE--"Half Light II", "Modern Man", "City With No Children"
BECK & BAT FOR LASHES--"Let's Get Lost"
BELLE & SEBASTIAN--"I Didn't See It Coming"
BRANDON FLOWERS--"Only the Young", "Crossfire"
BROKEN BELLS--"The Ghost Inside"
BRYAN FERRY--"Heartache By Numbers"
CARL BARAT--"Carve My Name"
CEE LO GREEN--"Bright Lights, Big City", "Old Fashioned", "No One's Gonna Love You"
CHROMEO--"Don't Turn the Lights On"
COLDPLAY--"Christmas Lights"
COURTEENERS--"You Overdid It, Doll"
DAN BLACK--"Symphonies"
DELPHIC--"Halcyon"
DESTROYER--"Chinatown"
DIVINE COMEDY--"At the Indie Disco"
DRAGONETTE--"Volcano"
DRUMS--"Let's Go Surfing"
DURAN DURAN--"All You Need is Now"
ELLIE GOULDING--"Starry Eyed", "Under the Sheets", "Your Biggest Mistake"
FLORENCE & THE MACHINE--"Heavy in Your Arms"
FOALS--"Total Life Forever"
FREEZEPOP--"Strange", "Hypothetically"
FUTUREHEADS--"Heartbeat Song", "Christmas Was Better in the 80's"
FYFE DANGERFIELD--"Faster Than the Setting Sun"
GABRIELLA CILMI--"Hearts Don't Lie", "Love Me Cos You Want To", "Robots"
GOLDFRAPP--"Rocket", "Dreaming", "Head First"
GORILLAZ--"Stylo", "Doncamatic", "Melancholy Hill"
GROOVE ARMADA--"I Won't Kneel", "History"
GRUM--"Can't Shake This Feeling"
HOT CHIP--"One Life Stand", "Alley Cats"
HUMAN LEAGUE--"Night People"
HUNDRED IN THE HANDS--"Pigeons"
HURTS--"Wonderful Life", "Stay", "Sunday", "All I Want for Christmas is New Year's Day"
INTERPOL--"Lights"
JANELLE MONAE--"Cold War", "Say You'll Go", "Babopbye Ya"
JONSI--"Tornado"
KANYE WEST--"Runaway", "All the Lights"
KELE OKEREKE--"Everything You Wanted", "Yesterday's Gone"
KIM WILDE--"Real Life"
KYLIE MINOGUE--"All the Lovers", "Better Than Today", "Aphrodite", "Too Much", "Can't Beat the Feeling"
LADY GAGA--"Alejandro", "Telephone", "Monster"
LAURA MARLING--"Devil's Spoke"
LAURIE ANDERSON--"Only An Expert"
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM--"I Can Change"
LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION--"Faculty of Fears"
LIKE--"Wishing He Was Dead"
LUCKY SOUL--"Up In Flames"
M.I.A.--"Xxxo", "Tell Me Why"
MARC ALMOND--"The Exhibitionist", "Variete"
MARINA & THE DIAMONDS--"I Am Not a Robot", "Oh No!", "Obsessions"
MARK RONSON--"Somebody to Love Me", "Record Collection"
MASSIVE ATTACK--"Paradise Circus"
MATTHEW DEAR--"You Put a Smell On me"
MAXIMUM BALLOON--"If You Return"
METRIC--"Eclipse"
MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS--"Lifeblood Flow"
MONARCHY--"Phoenix Alive"
MYSTERY JETS--"Flash a Hungry Smile"
NATIONAL--"Conversation 16"
NEON TREES--"Animal"
OMD--"Sister Marie Says", "History of Modern Pts. 1 & 2"
PATRICK WOLF--"Time Of My Life"
PENGUIN PRISON--"Golden Train (Royal Palms Mix)"
PIPETTES--"Stop the Music", "Need a Little Time"
PLAN B--"Love Goes Down", "She Said"
ROBYN--"Time Machine", "Fembot", "Hang With Me", "Indestructible"
ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL--"Stop/Start/Synchro"
SADE--"Soldier of Love"
SAINT ETIENNE--"No Cure for the Common Christmas"
SCHOOL--"Is He Really Coming Home?"
SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS--"Windstorm"
SCISSOR SISTERS--"Fire With Fire", "Any Which Way"
SHAKESPEAR'S SISTER--"It's a Trip"
SHRIEKBACK--"Loving Up the Thing", "Simpler Machines"
SIA--"You've Changed", "Clap Your Hands", "My Love"
SILENT FILM--"Driven By Their Beating Hearts"
STARS--"Fixed"
SUFJAN STEVENS--"I Walked"
TAKE THAT--"S.O.S.", "Kidz"
TRACEY THORN--"Hormones", "Why Does the Wind?"
UNDERWORLD--"Diamond Jigsaw"
VAMPIRE WEEKEND--"Giving Up the Gun", "Horchata"
VIOLENS--"Acid Reign"
V.V. BROWN--"Shark in the Water"
YEASAYER--"O.N.E.", "I Remember"
ZOLA JESUS--"Night"

Who says there isn't good music out there anymore? Bring on 2012!