Category: Top 100 Songs of 2019

The Top Songs of 2019 (70-66)

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be revealing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 70-66.

Go back in time to picks 100-96

Go back in time to picks 95-91

Go back in time to picks 86-90

Go back in time to picks 81-85

Go back in time to picks 80-76

Go back in time to picks 75-71

70. Petrov – Divine Wine

Petrov is another one of the great bands to come out of North Carolina, this time Charlotte. With the addition of Mary Grace McKusick as the primary songwriter and lead vocalist, an added Post-Punk attitude was developed giving the band a bit of a harder edge. With a passing resemblance to the Police song “Message in a Bottle”, this is the sort of song that might be what Janis Joplin would have been recording.

69. Tiny Ruins – School of Design

It is hard to imagine that a chance wandering into the library of a school of design to kill some time would yield such elegance, but imagine no more. This sparse pastoral beauty finds beauty in simple things like the well-designed clocks all ticking in time.

68. Bryan Adams – Whiskey in A Jar

Listen closely, as you likely will never see this sentence written in this space ever again. This new Bryan Adams song is really cool, and unironically so. Playing things acoustically safe Adams’ gargle with razor blades voice seems to be perfectly suited to this Thin Lizzy rocker. Sure, he goes all Rod Stewart unplugged on the arrangement, but hey, it is sort of good to see the guy relevant again in this new Millenium.

67. The National – Light Years

As you work your way through the highly excellent new National L.P., I Am Easy To Find, and the 16 songs presented to you, there, at the very end, the last track on the record is “Light Years.” It seems like a simple song, starting off with a piano melody morphing into the hushed vocals of Matt Berninger. Simple it may be, but it is a beauty.

66. Anderson . Paak – Make It Better (feat. Smokey Robinson)

This one is clearly the bedroom, between the sheets, jam of the year. Who among us wouldn’t want to rekindle a bit of romance by getting jiggy with it in a motel room just like you used to do? With Smokey Robinson in fine form, this one could have come right from a 1972 hot tub time machine.

 

 

 

 

 

The Top Songs of 2019 (75-71)

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be revealing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 75-71.

Go back in time to picks 100-96

Go back in time to picks 95-91

Go back in time to picks 86-90

Go back in time to picks 81-85

Go back in time to picks 80-76

75. Ezra Collective (feat. Jorja Smith) – Reason in Disguise

There is more than a little bit of Talking Book era Stevie Wonder vibing going on with this highly groove-able jam that features Jorja Smith providing the vocals fronting the Progressive Jazz ensemble Ezra Collective.

74. Illiterate Light – Carolina Lorelei

The band Illiterate Light is one of our under the radar bands of the year. Blending the ethos from Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, and Fleet Foxes, these guys produce soaring, psychedelic Indie Rock of the highest order. “Carolina Lorelei” is a love song wrapped in a sweater of Rock and Roll.

73. Josh Ritter – Old Black Magic

A touch of Petty, a bit of Dylan, there is a lot of coolness going here that is made even hipper with Jason Isbell’s crackin’ band The 400 Unit backing Josh Ritter on this one. The album, Fever Breaks, is one of the best of the year.

72. Karen O & Danger Mouse – Turn The Light

With a bass line that would make Bootsy Collins blush, this mid-tempo Funk soong is hipper than an episode of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy After Dark. The entire album, Lux Prima, is well worth a serious listen.

71. Mandolin Orange – The Wolves

The band Mandolin Orange is slowly creeping into our list of favorite bands. This North Carolina band has a lot to say and on “The Wolves” they tackle the handling of grief and coming through that tunnel to brighter days. Andrew Marlin has a real Jason Isbell tenor to his voice and can stand quill for quill with him on the songwriting front, and Multi-Instrumentalist Emily Frantz brings to mind Allison Krause and Amanda Shires.

 

 

 

 

 

The Top Songs of 2019 (80-76)

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be revealing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 80-76.

Go back in time to picks 100-96

Go back in time to picks 95-91

Go back in time to picks 86-90

Go back in time to picks 81-85

80. Marcus King Band – Carolina

Marcus King and his band are one of several new groups that are gaining popularity with their fan forward live shows, superb musicianship, and stellar songwriting. Recorded at RCA’s Studio A in Nashville and produced by producer du-jour Dave Cobb, the six-minute slow roll sort of a song features the soaring vocals and stinging guitar courtesy of the bandleader and namesake, Marcus King.

79. Bill Callahan – What Comes After Certainty

With a voice so low and slow it would make Leonard Cohen proud, this delicate love song sort of strays around to from professing his love to the woman of his dreams all the way to signing Willie’s guitar without The Red Headed Stranger knowing he was doing it and surfing in Kaui on his honeymoon. True love is not magic, it’s certainty.

78.  Billie Eilish – Bad Guy

959,703,699 (make that 959,703,700) plays on Spotify can’t be wrong, can they? The song has an infectious driving down the highway at 120 miles an hour driving beat with a distinct essence of Krautrock wafting in the air. The song is about people that expend a lot of hot air telling you what kind of person they are when, in reality, they are someone totally different. Pretty ambitious for a 17-year-old.

77. Black Keys – Low/High

The Black Keys, Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach, are back and better than ever. Their latest record, Let’s Rock, very much lives up to its billing, and the best song in this barrel of pickles, “Low/High” is a T-Rex by way of Ty Seagall stomper with a little touch of The Sweet thrown in for good measure.

76. Ex Hex – Rainbow Shiner

While Ex Hex may be somewhat of a supergroup featuring members of Wild Flag, Aquarium, and Fire Tapes, what they really are is one hell of a Rock and Roll Band. “Rainbow Shiner” very well could have been the B side of The Runaway’s “Cherry Bomb” from back in the day.

 

 

The Top Songs of 2019 (85-81)

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be revealing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 90-86.

Go back in time to picks 100-96

Go back in time to picks 95-91

Go back in time to picks 86-90

85. The Cactus Blossoms – Desperado

When the guitar kicks on at about the 1:30 mark you can pretty much close your eyes and picture yourself sitting in a bar in North Beach S.F. listening to the Everly Brothers play a set just before the last call. This song is some sort of devil hybrid of The Righteous Brothers, The Everly Brothers, and Simon and Garfunkel. To add to the sweetness here, the record was produced by Rock is the New Roll favorite, Dan Auerbach.

84. Cherie Currie, Brie Darling – The Motivator

What do you get when you combine a favorite Runaway, Cherie Currie, along with the drummer from the 70’s all-girl band Fanny, Brie Darling, with a covers album of under the radar and over the radar hits? A cool as hell record, that’s what. The best of the lot on this highly listenable album is the outstanding cover version of the T Rex classic, “The Motivator.” Glam respects Glam.

83. Dale Watson – Call Me Lucky

When all is said, as the old school Honky Tonk singers are one by one carried by six white horses to the pearly gates, Dale Watson just might be the last sawdust dance floor crooner standing. On his latest record, Watson isn’t reinventing the stetson, he’s just doing what he does best. “One on the right, one on the left one is a blonde one’s a brunette if you don’t know my name I bet that you can guess, they call me lucky.”

82. Durand Jones & The Indications – Cruisin’ To The Park

Duran Jones along with his band, The Indications, has released quite probably the Soul record of the year, American Love Call. With retro-coolness inherent in everything they do, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye all come back to life right before our very ears. “Cruisin’ To The Park” is not from their 2019 release, it is a surprise throw-out single, but don’t sleep on it. This one should be your slow jam get jiggy with it in the boudoir song of the year.

81. Flying Colors – Love Letter

A supergroup of sorts consisting of members culled from Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, and The Dixie Dregs, this one is for fans of ELO, Queen, 70’s era Beach Boys, and Pre-“Show Me the Way” Peter Frampton. Soaring harmonies, crisp melodic instrumentation, and skin-tight drumming courtesy of maestro Mike Portnoy all adds to the fun. Don’t let that slight wafting of progressive rock courtesy of the bong smokers in the corner steer you away from this one.

 

The Top 100 Songs of 2019 (90-86)

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be revealing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 90-86.

Go back in time to picks 100-96

Go Back in time to picks 95-91

90. Caamp – Peach Fuzz

The bouncy rhythm on this one slightly brings to mind The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” which is, in and of itself, somewhat mind-bending since nothing in this band’s background indicates that they would be fans of Lou Reed. The love story inherent in the song is pure “first couple of love rodeos” sweetness where you are sitting in the corner pouring yourself some punch while the current love of your life is in the kitchen cutting up a rug.

89. The Talbott Brothers – Run No More

This road warrior anthem is a slow-burn aural cinematic wonder. This set of rural Nebraska brothers on their 2019 record, Ghost Walker, delivers songs made for the wide-open prairie.

88. Midland – Mr. Lonely

Definitely riding the Hony Tonk Hot Tub time machine, “Mr. Lonely” definitely leans into the dirt floor, dance floor ethos inherent in places like Billy Bob’s and Gruene hall on a Saturday night. With dust bowl nods to Dwight and Buck, this one is a nostalgic winner.

87. Ingrid Andress – Lady Like

She’s on the list of women to watch in Country music, and if this song is any indication, paying attention to this up and coming artist should be no problem. “I drink tequila straight/haven’t brushed my hair in days/and i’ll kiss on the first date if I’m feelin’ It,”  the opening lines from “Lady Like,” tells you all you need to know about where this intoxicating new artist is coming from. A self-described unframeable, untameable Mona Lisa.

86. Kassi Ashton – Violins

The scorned lover song of the year, forget everything you thought you knew about Pop Country, most certainly dismiss the fact that you only have a passing interest in the genre, and check this song out. A banger of a song that calls out an ex-lover that is yearning for redemption as she proclaims “You can lay it on all night long but you don’t stand a chance, it’s the same old song and dance.” The video for this song is worth the price of admission alone.

 

The Top 100 Songs of 2019 (95-91)

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be revealing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 95-91.

Go back in time to picks 100-96

95 – Highwomen – Highwomen

The sister song to Jimmy Webb’s version of “Highwaymen” made famous by the Mount Rushmore of country music, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. This version focuses on the fairer sex with a supergroup formed by Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby, and Amanda Shires. Taking you back  300 years in the women’s movement, the message sent lamenting the complete dismissal of women in country music should not be ignored. And, thanks to this song, their new album, and these women, the message is signed, sealed, and delivered.

94. Better Oblivion Community Center – Dylan Thomas

Any collaboration between former Bright Eye Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers is warranted to be on any list, and here, on one of the more upbeat songs on their debut album, the twangy guitars and the witty songwriting make this a collaboration worth celebrating.

93. Cherry Glazerr – Wasted Nun

Underneath the fiery, harsh guitar crunch and the stinging guitar licks is a wasted nun bursting to come out. This one is a female empowerment anthem for the new age.

92. Haim – Summer Girl

Singing in a Sunday morning voice with her head close to yours on adjoining pillows as you make plans for a California sunny day, the new Haim single is the laid-back summer jam of the year.

91. Hunny – Saturday Night

Contractually obligated to include any song that name-checks Echo and the Bunnymen, in this case, we are happy to oblige. Lifted from their highly excellent July release, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,, this song is perfect for that random pop-up dance party.

 

 

The Top 100 Songs of 2019

There have been a lot of really great songs released in 2019. This year, we will be releasing our top 100 songs five tunes at a time all the way to number one. Here are our picks for 100-96.

100. Terry Allen- Death of the Last Stripper

It has been a while since this underrated Texas troubadour has released a new song. Another master class in storytelling.

99. Van Morrison – Early Days

From Three Chords and the Truth Van Morrison takes us back to 70’s Van and the early days of Rock and Roll.

98. Ruen Brothers – A Million Things

2018 favorites The Ruen Brothers continue to sparkle on their new record for 2019.

97. Kurt Baker Combo – No One’s Home

Frequent winners of Little Sten’s Coolest Song in the World in The Underground Garage, Kurt Baker and his combo delivers on a template of Indie tinged Garage Rock.

96. The Limboos – Where Did She Go

The genre defying Limboos with their 2019 release, Baia, combine Surf Rock, Soul, and good old Rock and roll for a record that just might be your party album of 2019.