As all of you know, no matter how good the one hundred best songs released in a single year are, at least a hundred more are just as good. But here it is, the final say. The songs from 2021 you really should have heard at least once – a day.

Don’t forget to read all the interesting song stories, shared exclusively for this list by more than 30 out of the 100 artists featured.

A huge thanks to all of you who contributed for giving us this unique insight to your magnificent art.

Spotify playlist at the bottom of each page.

Class of 2021 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1

100. Genesis Owusu “Waitin’ On Ya”
(from Smiling With No teeth)

99. Home Is Where “Assisted Harakiri”
(from I Became Birds)

98. Bonobo “Tides (feat. Jamila Woods)”
(Single)

97. Lana Del Rey “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”
(from Chemtrails Over The Country Club)

96. Joy Crookes “19th Floor”
(from Skin)

95. Cloud Nothings “Open Rain”
(from The Shadow I Remember)

94. John Grant “Country Fair”
(from Boy From Michigan)

93. The Weather Station “Separated”
(from Ignorance)

92. Remember Sports “Out Loud”
(from Like A Stone)

91. Holly Humberstone “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet”
(from The Walls Are Way Too Thin EP)

90. PinkPantheress “Just For Me”
(from to hell with it)

89. Matt Berry “Summer Sun”
(from The Blue Elephant)

88. Little Simz “Introvert”
(from Sometimes I Might Be Introvert)

“…we really tried to capture different sounds to keep it interesting and exciting. I’m not sure the chorus could be bigger than this one…”

87. Pip Blom “I Know I’m Not Easy To Like”
(from Welcome Break)

“I really like the contrast between ‘Different Tune’ and this one. This song feels angry, even aggressive maybe. We had so much fun recording this one. We really had to give our everything to make it as energetic as possible. We used different set-ups for the drums to be able to make it go from really small to really big in one track.

It’s all about the dynamics in this one, what we’re playing is not changing that much, but we really tried to capture different sounds to keep it interesting and exciting. I’m not sure the chorus could be bigger than this one haha. The switch at about 3/4 of the song might feel a bit weird at first, but I love how it feels when the final chorus comes in after that bit. Like a massive release.”

– Pip Blom

“I recorded myself singing it on the kitchen floor at night with my laptop cam. I found the video about a year later, and could barely recognize the person singing…”

86. Indigo De Souza ”Kill Me”
(from Any Shape You Take)

”I wrote ‘Kill Me’ sometime in 2018 when I was really tired and fucked up in a lot of ways. I was deeply consumed in a big crazy love and coming to terms with the reality of living with mental illness. I recorded myself stream-of-conscious singing it on the kitchen floor at night with my laptop cam. I found the video about a year later, and could barely recognize the person singing.

It was such a strange feeling watching the video because I couldn’t remember writing the song, but little bits and pieces of it felt familiar to me. It felt like it had been a lot longer than a year. The song didn’t have a chorus when I found it. For a while it was just run on verses. I later added a chorus and started playing it live.”

– Indigo De Souza

“…the production is meant to make you feel motivated regardless if you are stuck at that job working towards a bigger dream…”

85. Dijah SB “Overtime”
(from Head Above The Waters)

“The song is about the trials and tribulations of working overtime at a job you don’t want to be at, being liberated and being able to work on your own terms and not somebody else’s, the production is meant to make you feel motivated regardless if you are stuck at that job working towards a bigger dream.”

– Dijah SB

84. Brandi Carlile “This Time Tomorrow”
(from In These Silent Days)

83. serpentwithfeet “Hyacinth”
(from DEACON)

82. Maya Jane Coles “Show Me Love (feat. Claudia Kane)
(from Night Creature)

“…growing up for girls means coming to understand that there are no safe spaces; not our elevators, sidewalks and parking garages…”

81. Grace Pettis “Any Kind Of Woman (feat. Dar Williams)”
(from Working Woman)

“Especially before ‘#MeToo’, growing up for girls means coming to understand that there are no safe spaces; not our elevators, sidewalks and parking garages, our churches, or even our own homes. To be female is to be afraid. But we are not alone, because this is happening to all of us. Women share common struggles, across our socioeconomic and racial divides. And though these struggles are astronomically harder for women of color, for queer women, for differently-abled women, and for poor women, they are also, undeniably, a common thread. That’s the statement ‘Any Kind of Girl’ is making. We have been up against this stuff for a long time. It’s time to change things, for our mothers, our daughters, and for ourselves. Making the world better for ‘any kind of girl’ is a fight for all of us: female, male, and non-binary.

Dar Williams was one of the first artists to cut one of my dad’s songs, ‘Family’. So I grew up hearing her voice and understanding what an honor that was and how it helped propel him forward in his career. I was so thrilled to hear that Dar was willing to add her voice to one of my songs too. Her gorgeous, warm vocals add so much to this track. She gives ‘Any Kind of Girl’ a beautiful multi-generational dimension and artistic depth. I’m so grateful to her for that gift.”

– Grace Pettis

#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1

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Well, what a year this was.

Thankfully, we had the music. Not in the way that we usually have it, but we had it. So the Class of 2020 list is here again, and almost 40 of the artists included share the full story behind their song exclusively for Songs for Whoever. The past couple of months have been a lot about calculating timezones and using modern technology.

We managed to meet a few artists in Stockholm before things went haywire, but when the artists had to stop coming here, we instead went to the artists. To Los Angeles, London, Toronto, Christchurch, San Francisco, Cornwall and wherever. Through Facetime, Zoom, Whatsapp, Skype, telephone and e-mail.

And here we are. With a list chock full of so many fantastic stories to read, and even more brilliant songs to hear.

I wish for 2021 to be as great as 2020. In terms of released music, that is.

The rest of it can fuck right off and never come back.

Now dig in!

Spotify playlist at the bottom of each page.

Class of 2020 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1

100. Shermanology “Sunshine”
(Single)

99. The Secret Sisters “Nowhere, Baby”
(from Saturn Return)

98. Wet “Come To You”
(Single)

97. White Denim “I Don’t Understand Rock And Roll”
(from World As A Waiting Room)

96. Fontaines D.C. “A Lucid Dream”
(from A Hero’s Death)

95. Rina Sawayama “Bad Friend”
(from SAWAYAMA)

94. Laura Marling “Only The Strong”
(from Song For Our Daughter)

93. Yves Tumor “Strawberry Privilege”
(from Heaven To A Tortured Mind)

92. Stevan “Rock N Roll”
(from Just Kids)

“…we talked about how we could write something together that felt like French electro but would still fit into my style…”

91. Nicole Atkins “Domino”
(from Italian Ice)

“One summer while touring, my band and I got really into listening to French electro music. It’s the perfect kind of music to drive to for long hours at night. Back at home in Nashville, I turned my friend Dex Green onto some of it while we were recording for my other project with Jim Sclavunos of the Bad Seeds. Dex caught the bug and got into it too and we talked about how we could write something together that felt like French electro but would still fit into my style. A few days later he sent over a drum and keys track and we finished the song from there fairly quickly.”

– Nicole Atkins

“…it satisfies the rhyme of job and kebob and advocates for ‘the secret’. I named it after myself to be cheeky but it is an accurate expression…”

90. Clem Snide “Ballad Of Eef Barzelay”
(from Forever Just Beyond)

“I think we always feel like we’re falling through life? Desperately grabbing at whatever little snappy branch we can but if there is no ground then there is no fear and then we’re flying or least floating… And in the end, a leap of faith is inevitable. Like the song says ‘to live is to fly’.

Also, it satisfies the rhyme of job and kebob and advocates for ‘the secret’. I named it after myself to be cheeky but it is an accurate expression of what I believe.”

– Eef Barzelay

89. Jessy Lanza “Lick In Heaven”
(from All The Time)

88. Matt Berninger “Serpentine Prison”
(from Serpentine Prison)

87. Moses Boyd “Shades Of You (feat. Poppy Ajudha)”
(from Dark Matter)

86. Local Natives “Lemon (feat. Sharon Van Etten)”
(from Sour Lemon EP)

85. beabadoobee “Care”
(from Fake It Flowers)

84. International Teachers Of Pop “Don’t Diss The Disco”
(from Pop Gossip)

83. Perfume Genius “Describe”
(from Set My Heart On Fire Immediately)

82. Empress Of “Bit Of Rain”
(from I’m Your Empress Of)

“…oddly our two closest neighbours were pro spoon-bender Uri Geller and coffee pod whore George Clooney, who looks really old in real life…”

81. Vienna Ditto “Dose Of The Salts”
(from Flat Earth)

“‘Dose of the Salts’ was written when I was still living in a very clapped-out narrowboat on the river Thames, about 40 miles West of London. I’d left town and been lured out to the countryside – which I hate – by my own lustfulness, haha! It was the middle of nowhere (oddly our two closest neighbours were pro spoon-bender Uri Geller and coffee pod whore George Clooney, who looks really old in real life), it was freezing cold that winter, the boats were only accessible via a very muddy track, and I was miserable.

I had insomnia and – I later realised – was suffering from low-level carbon monoxide poisoning, so I was very tired all the time. I also became obsessed with ghosts and the various meanings of the word ghost. I felt like a fucking ghost. I made it back to town and wrote pretty much the whole thing in the pub, just in the time it took for my mate to go to the toilet. Funnily enough, with my feet by the fire, I fell asleep straight after.”

– Nigel Firth

#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 |#1

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My friend Daniel, the editor-in-chief at GAFFA Magazine, often repeats one word as some kind of recurring mantra: context. And he’s right. Music is very much about context. Maybe not in all cases, because there should also be some room for the listener to do their own math, give a song a little afterthought or leave it open for interpretation. Maybe there’s simply not much to tell.

Either way, certain songs admittedly come out in a different light when given some background. Hence the theme of this year-end list, where almost 40 artists once again have been kind enough to share their personal stories behind their songs, both musically and lyrically.  All of them exclusively for the Songs for Whoever Class of 2019 list.

A tradition held since 2013. Let’s keep it going into the new decade, shall we?

Spotify playlist at the bottom of each page.

Class of 2019 – The 100 greatest songs of the year!:
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#2 | #1

100. Priests “The Seduction Of Kansas”
(from The Seduction Of Kansas)

99. Mikal Cronin “Fire”
(from Seeker)

98. Hand Habits “can’t calm down”
(from placeholder)

97. Boogie “Silent Ride”
(from Everythings For Sale)

96. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib feat. Yasiin Bey & Black Thought “Education”
(from Bandana)

95. Tempers “Peace Of Mind”
(from Private Life)

94. Miguel “Funeral”
(Single)

93. Drab Majesty “The Other Side”
(from Modern Mirror)

92. Kindness feat. Robyn “Cry Everything”
(from Something Like A War)

“The song is written about a run in with an old friend who I had a falling out with, and my frustration with the fact that they acted like nothing was wrong…”

91. Briston Maroney “Small Talk”
(from Indiana)

“The song is written about a run in with an old friend who I had a falling out with, and my frustration with the fact that they acted like nothing was wrong. They listed off their achievements, newfound health routines, and peace found in sobriety like it was a competition, and that growth was something that was easy, clean, and fun. It made me pretty mad. Like dumb mad. I went to my friend Lexi’s house and wrote it all down and out came this song.”

– Briston Maroney

“People are constantly tied down to money, materialistic things, jobs and more. It was a song that helped me release and realize that it’s okay to not have a job…”

90. GRMLN “Skeleton”
(Single)

“I wrote and recorded ‘Skeleton’ in my garage by myself. It was a song about being free in this life. People are constantly tied down to money, materialistic things, jobs and more. It was a song that helped me release and realize that it’s okay to not have a job, to not make a lot of money. Just as long as you’re happy with yourself.”

– Yoodoo Park

89. Stats “Lose It”
(from Other People’s Lives)

88. Ex Hex “Tough Enough”
(from It’s Real)

87. Judah & The Lion feat. Kacey Musgraves “Pictures”
(from Pep Talk)

86. SOAK “Knocks Me Off My Feet”
(from Grim Town)

85. Heather Woods Broderick “White Tail”
(from Invitation)

“…it wasn’t really an idea for us to release that first, it wasn’t like we felt this was the best song or anything like that. Lee had an idea to do the video in Algiers because he thought it was best suited…”

84. Algiers “Dispossession”
(Single)

Franklin: ”Music wise it’s more akin to The Underside Of Power, it’s about a year and a half old. Sometimes you get in the zone and want to write a song and this was the result of that. Sonically and how it was recorded, that’s a whole other story.”

Ryan: “It was recorded basically by Franklin and Randall, it wasn’t really the rest of the band. This record is really the first record we’ve done that’s actually been produced in traditional terms where they set the schedule. We brought the songs but they said what they wanted to work on and set the entire sonic framework. Normally we do that. Of course we fed into it, there wasn’t ‘get out of our way’, but it was definitely their plan and that song is most indicative of our limited interaction with it. So it wasn’t really an idea for us to release that first, it wasn’t like we felt this was the best song or anything like that. Lee had an idea to do the video in Algiers because he thought that song was best suited to have a video shot there, and then we ended up switching and doing it in Paris. He was much more interested in the visual accompaniment than anything else about the importance of the song.”

– Franklin James Fisher and Ryan Mahan

83. Pedro The Lion “Clean Up”
(from Phoenix)

82. Calexico and Iron & Wine “What Heaven’s Left”
(from Years To Burn)

81. Sheer Mag “Hardly To Blame”
(from A Distant Call)

#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#2 | #1

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