7. Flume - "Never Be Like You"

Flume, the solo project of Harley Edward Streten, has always had a niche audience, leaning on its more experimental side to build a loyal fan base. With Skin, Flume attempts to move into the mainstream realm calling on help from artists like Vince Staples, Raekwon, AlunaGeorge and Beck. But arguably the best track and the most playable on the radio waves was “Never Be Like You,” a choppy but beautiful track led by the vocals of no name artist Kai, who has had only a few appearances on other songs by Childish Gambino and Jack Ü. What makes this track great, however, is that it plays to all of our inner emotions about past relationships which couldn’t get past the superficial outer layer. The lyrics are simple, relatable, and easy to sing along to, and the instrumentals by Flume match perfectly the ups and downs of our emotions as we wrestle with ourselves and what we want in our relationships and dreams. Kai’s vocals come across passionately and realistically and you can’t help but put yourself in her shoes as you listen along.  

6. Gucci Mane - "Back on Road"

There’s an argument to be made that no one had a better 2016 than Gucci Mane. Released from federal prison in May, he has since released 3 full length albums, proposed to his long-time girlfriend at an Atlanta Hawks game, and remained sober all while crafting and refining his flow and lyrics to brand new heights. He even appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, performing stripped down versions of several songs with long-time friend and producer Zaytoven. Gucci is the king of trap rap and “Back on Road” is his boastful return anthem which makes clear his intentions now that he is free. “If you wasn’t there for me when I was all alone, then bitch don’t expect no love when I’m back,” Drake sings in the catchy chorus which helped this track reach mainstream success (despite he and Gucci’s past beefs). “I'm on an island by myself I'm my only competition so I'm battling with myself, facing prison, drug addiction It's like I'm battling with myself, I done shook up all my demons, now I'm back to myself” Gucci makes it clear that if you weren’t there when he fought his way back against himself, he’s not coming back for you and he doesn’t care what happens, he’s focused on getting better and those who have supported him through his lows. There’s a lot to love from the new Gucci and what he’s become and “Back on Road” shows us just that while being one of the most replayable trap rap songs of the year.

5. Frank Ocean - "Ivy"

“I thought that I was dreaming when you said you love me,” Ocean croons as he opens the solemnly nostalgic track “Ivy.” It is a tale of a failed relationship, sprinkled with many recollections back to his time with Odd Future, the Los Angeles collective led by front man Tyler, The Creator. Frank Ocean has come a long way since the days he would drive his BMW X6 to Syd’s (Sydney Bennett aka Syd The Kyd) to work on projects with other Odd Future members Left Brain, Hodgy Beats and Mike G. Five years later after the release of Nostalgia, Ultra, Ocean finds himself climbing the charts effortlessly as he has become arguably the most successful mainstream member of Odd Future to date with Channel Orange debuting at number two on Billboard in 2012 and Blonde debuting at number one on Billboard in 2016. Where on Channel Orange, you could still feel Ocean holding back on his lyrics and emotions for more mainstream hooks, Blonde leaves nothing behind and “Ivy” is a clear standout. It has excellent production coming from the mind of Rostam Batmanglij, a former member of Vampire Weekend, who left to make a name for himself producing tracks for artists such as Charli XCX, Solange Knowles, Carly Rae Jepsen and Santigold to name a few.  

4. James Blake - "I Need a Forest Fire"

Another musician who consciously altered his sound was James Blake. (In between working on Lemonade with Beyonce) Hoping to become more outgoing and aggressive with his music, he reached out to artists like Kanye and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon for help. Vernon would appear on “I Need a Forest Fire,” a clear standout from Blake’s The Colour in Anything. Looking to break away from his melancholically shrouded lyrics, Blake employed Vernon to take the chorus which emerges beautifully among a solid, hip hop inspired beat. In many ways the track represents Blake’s new approach on The Colour in Anything as his new sound is born out of the fire and beams throughout the album.

3. Whitney - "Golden Days"

If I could put this entire album on this list, I would. Choosing just one track proved to be quite a challenge as I sat down to reflect on 2016. Whitney is the solo project of Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich, former members of the wispy indie pop-rock band Smith Westerns who announced their breakup back in 2014. And while the Smith Westerns were great in their own respects, Whitney has taken all the best aspects of the band and refined them into a wonderful package. “Golden Days” encapsulates everything there is to love about the duo’s rookie album, breezy and catchy guitar rifts backed by the seemingly effortless but perfect falsetto vocals of Julien Ehrlich (also the group’s drummer). “Golden Days” slowly builds to which an exploding horn finale that will make you yearn for those hazy carefree summer days of the past. Ehrlich even tweeted that both he and Kakacek sent the song to their ex-girlfriends who called back crying the same day. What better way to test the impact of your music? Surely they weren’t the only ones who felt that way listening to “Golden Days” and the rest of Light Upon the Lake, and we can only hope Whitney can match this debut in the years to come.

2. Kanye West - "Ultralight BEam"

Kanye is nothing, if not controversial. But through the weeds and distractions surrounding his personal life, he has continued to put out album after album of the best music in the 21st century. We must not forget Kanye’s gift of music, but he makes it all too easy with tracks such as “Bound 2,” which encompasses some of the worst writing and rhymes in the history of rap. However, on “Ultralight Beam,” Kanye truly gives us his best, appealing to both our ears and our emotions as he works through his own religious beliefs and world views, anchored by a poetic verse by Chance the Rapper that will be playable for years and years to come. If you have heard the original version of “Waves” Chance and Kanye worked on together, you will immediately recognize Chance’s influence on this track as the The-Dream and the choir deliver beautiful harmonies forcefully backing Kanye. In a year that will be seen infamously in history, “Ultralight Beam” delivers hope to keep moving forward whether religiously or not.

1. The xx - "On Hold"

The xx have not been quiet since their last album Coexist (2012). Jamie Smith, under his alias Jamie xx, released his first solo full length album In Colour (2015) which featured both other members of The xx trio, guitarist and vocalist Romy on “SeeSaw” and the popular single “Loud Places,” as well as bassist and vocalist Oliver Sim on the track “Stranger in the Room.” And just this month, Romy announced her engagement with designer Hannah Marshall.  With “On Hold,” the first single from their upcoming album due in 2017, The xx find themselves channeling a brighter sound while maintaining their more subdued lyrical tone. This new sound has obvious influences from Jamie’s solo projects as it uses a Hall and Oates sample with the post-chorus. This sample is heavily tweaked and hardly reflects the original track “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” but is euphoric, rewarding, and without a doubt catchy following the building layers of the chorus.  Critics of The xx mostly found their previous music too dark and withholding, but it’s clear with “On Hold” and their masterful performance of it on Saturday Night Live, that The xx are ready to burst back into the limelight.

Hailing from the burbs of Philly, contributor Bobby Van Leer found his musical taste from albums such as The Blue Album by Weezer and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco. After graduating from Gettysburg College and his college radio show Losing My Edge in 2016, Bobby is eager to make the switch from the airwaves to the internet and continue where he left off in exposing the world to his favorite music, from indie rock, pop, shoegaze and chill wave, to R&B, electronic and trap rap.