Usual disclaimer, as always - these are all songs that have had some sort of mainstream release; no b-sides or non-single tracks from albums. These are the ones that the labels and artists saw fit to push the most, and that I personally saw fit to invade my ears on repeat throughout the year.
Want to listen through it all? Check out the Spotify playlist I created (first fifteen in artist name order, last 10 in countdown style).
As per tradition, on this New Years Eve, let's kick things off with 15 Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order by artist):
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10. Goodbye June - "Oh No"I bet you thought that I'd give up tonight, oh no
I first heard this on commercials for WWE events and would find myself getting super into the whole 30 seconds it was playing. Then Spotify put it on a Release Radar list. They I started getting asked if I had heard it. All roads pointed to needing this rock number in life this year, and it still kills.
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9. Macklemore feat. Skylar Grey - "Glorious"We gon' be alright, put that on my life
Another one that sort of came out of me WWE viewing habits, but in general I find that just about any song Skylar Grey is featured on turns out to be pretty great. Not to mention - if you watch this video - Macklemore took his Grandma out for the day to do anything she wanted. Sure the song is great for feeling great, but you have to admit that little tidbit addition is so perfect.
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8. Gary Clark Jr - "Come Together"One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
My sad confession is that I have yet to see Justice League. BUT, this song is still amazing. And it's Gary Clark Jr. And it's The Beatles. What an absolutely rocking adaptation of this classic and incredible song
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7. Kelsea Ballerini - "Legends"What everyone wondered, we never questioned
Kelsea put out what was probably my most listened-to album this year with "Unapologetically" and this lead single? Could not get enough of it. It's nostalgic to the max, and lovely and will make you celebrate life and cry for the past all in one chorus. It's truly an incredible song on a wonderful album.
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6. Florida Georgia Line feat. Backstreet Boys - "God, Your Mama, and Me"Never gonna run dry, never gonna come up empty
Do I love that BSB has officially made it to the country charts? Sure. But it's also pretty obvious that this girl who lost her mama is pretty much a puddle being sung to like that love is going to come back around from someone else.
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5. Old Dominion - "No Such Thing As A Broken Heart"Cry when it hurts, laugh when it's funny
I know, I'm sensing the theme of perseverance and working at happiness this year too. We'll summarize later though. For now, Old Dominion is singing about ignoring the bad and pushing on through. You can't look at everything like it'll go wrong, because, well, there's always a chance it won't.
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4. Linkin Park - "One More Light"The reminders, pull the floor from your feet
Losing Chester shook me more than I ever thought it could. I must have listened to Linkin Park solidly for a few weeks, and they've made an appearance just about every playlist I've put together since. In a heartbreaking loss this year, we'll always be grateful for the short time and abundance of music we got.
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3. Rag'n'Bone Man - "Human"Some people got the real problems
Shout outs to my longest time best friend, Jess, for reminding me of this song. I had heard it and loved it all year, and did not have the title in my head at all. But then, magic, Jess. It's so good, so deep, and please, watch this video because this guy is deceptively wonderful and completely proves it here.
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2. Ed Sheeran - "Castle On The Hill"Found my heart and broke it here
This was my first favorite song of this year, and has kept going strong throughout. I don't need to tell you what an incredible comeback this gentleman made this year, because the sales, lists, and everything else have spoken that for me. My two cents? Divide is the best album he's done yet and every one of those accolades is well deserved. 2017 was undeniably the year of Ed.
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1. Hanson - "I Was Born"
Everybody's betting on the big guy
But don't underestimate the sting of the butterfly, oh
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I was born to do
I was born to go
I was born to be someone
No one's ever been, no one's ever been before
Hanson has been around for 25 years, and strong in it. If you're going by radio success, please, we should all know better than that at this point. Think about it - how many of your favorite bands actually get decent radio play? They guys have garnered success from a loyal fan base for a quarter of a century.
This song was the only new one (outside of fan club releases) this year, and it encompassed everything. This was a call to do more with your life - to adventure, live, and love. There's so much opportunity if you can approach the world with the right attitude, which I get - super easy to say and unbelievably hard to live by. I'm not good at it myself. But songs like this, and clearly so many other on this list, are all about getting up and kicking ass at life. It's possible. Just believe - you were born to do, go, and be everything.
PSA over. Blog over. Year over. Feeling just fine about it all, and hope y'all are too.
Love y'all very much and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!