top 50 of 2022 | 10-1

10. Computerbandit - "Lose Control"

Computerbandit is probably my favorite currently-active synthwave band. I just love their icy production and the way that his vocalists match his energy.

9. New Constellations - "Hot Blooded"

New Constellations taps into the softer, synthpoppier side of synthwave, and they're very, very good at it. The singer's voice is like clouds!

8. MUNA - "Anything But Me"

MUNA released one of the best songs of the previous decade, so it was great to hear them release something awesome as the lead single off their follow-up this year.

7. Baby Queen - "Want Me"

This song actually came out two years ago, but broke through in 2022 thanks to its inclusion in my favorite TV series of the year: Netflix's Heartstopper.

6. Winnetka Bowling League & The Knocks - "I Like To Hide In The Bathroom At Parties"

Jona Lewie may have preferred the kitchen, but Winnetka Bowling League are opting for an even more reclusive hiding spot. Fantastically relatable lyrics in a toe-tapping little pop song.

5. The Impliers - "Stigma"

I don't know if it's entirely appropriate to call this Goth Rock, but I'm choosing to do so because it feels correct. This is just such a cool song, and it'll be on my Halloween playlists from now on!

4. Rina Sawayama - "This Hell"

Rina's been around for a couple of years, but this year was undoubtedly her breakthrough. Her sophomore album is a front-to-back delight. Every queer person on Earth will relate to these lyrics.

3. Bret McKenzie - "If You Wanna Go"

I had heard of but have never watched Flight of the Conchords, so I had no context on this fella's career when I first heard this, but I was immediately in love. Go figure, the album it's from is called Songs Without Jokes. It's just a perfect little pop song!

2. Myylo - "Being Born Kinda Sucks"

When this came out back in February, I preemptively declared it my song of the year, and I was almost correct! It's certainly another one that queer people and millennials will find especially relatable, but from a production perspective it's one of those pop rock songs à la the late '90s that you just wanna yell along to.

1. Ava Max - "Maybe You're The Problem"

I am begging -- BEGGING -- my fellow queers to start respecting this woman. She's put out nothing but floorfillers and bangers and you guys act like she doesn't exist! The album is coming in a month or two, and I better see it sail up the charts like it deserves to!

top 50 of 2022 | 20-11

20. Bananarama - "Favourite"

Hell yeah, a brand new Bananarama banger in 2022!! That bassline is absolutely filthy.

19. Khalid - "Satellite"

Most people probably know Khalid from his collab with Logic a few years ago. I had no idea he had such a nice voice and a knack for spry soft pop!

18. John Cote - "It Comes Today"

This most be the most true-to-form new wave synthpop song made since its glory era in the early 1980s. An absolute banger!

17. Whitmer Thomas - "Rigamarole"

A great little pop song about burnout and the feelings of mania, FOMO, exhaustion, and hopelessness that accompany it. This guy is apparently a comedian, but you'd certainly never know that listening to this. I love it!

16. Night Rider ft. Affiance - "Running Up That Hill"

It's very rare for me to include a cover on my year-end lists, and funny enough this is the second time a cover of this song has made it (after Meg Myers' wonderful version a couple years ago). I never realized how badly this was begging to be made into a synthwave song, and man, these guys just nailed it, even incorporating some mid-2000s hard rock stuff that should not work, but absolutely does.

15. Now Ex - "Impossible To Love"

As soon as that opening synth line hit I knew I was going to love this. The vocals are perfection for this style of music!

14. Empress Of - "Dance For You"

Definitely my favorite dance track of the year! This got a lot of reps on my runs. Solid production, excellent clean vocals.

13. Purple Disco Machine and Sophie & The Giants - "In The Dark"

Magnificent vocals over production so slick you could slide across it! Let's face it, put a clap sample in your dancepop song and I'll probably love it.

12. The Aces - "Girls Make Me Wanna Die"

I think this is the closest thing to a pure rock song on this year's list. It's still poppy as hell, and I am here for every bit of it.

11. Tove Lo - "2 Die 4"

It's honestly nothing short of amazing that Gershon Kingsley's "Popcorn" is still being sampled in pop music in 2022, but that shows you what an absolute musical genius he was. This is Tove Lo's first time making my list, but since we now all know how to pronounce her name, it felt like it was time!

top 50 of 2022 | 30-21

30. Miles Arnell - "You Had Me At Goodbye"

Okay, yeah, it's obvious he came up with this title and then wrote a song around it, but it's a good song. I love the vocal melody!

29. Mezhdunami - "Drive"

Killer synthwave with a really cool sax line that sounds like a riff on modern club music vocals.

28. The 1-800 - "This Might Be It"

How great is this band name?! It would have been such a shame if they wasted a good band name and made crappy music. Thankfully, they make very cute music, including this wonderful little new wave pop rock track!

27. Louis La Roche - "Some Way"

I discovered Louis a few years ago when he collabed with my beloved Mylo on what may be the best club song of the previous decade. This is apparently the first single from his fifth album! How prolific!

26. Low Island - "Kid Gloves"

The combination of the lead synth voice and the singer's vocal melody on this is just synthpop perfection.

25. Rosalía - "Bizcochito"

This is one of those songs that starts and you know immediately that you're about to hear something amazing. Which is fitting, because it's basically a song about how she's the shit. And I don't disagree. Check out the metric fuckton of sass with which she performs this live!

24. Sandor Gavin ft. Eileen Jaime - "City That Never Sleeps"

Sandor Gavin is a name I hadn't heard in many many years; I first (and last) heard of him in the mid 2000s when he released a cover of the Bananarama song "Cruel Summer" (which has apparently vanished from the internet). The real star of this track, though, is the absolutely gorgeous vocal performance by Eileen Jaime, who perfectly sells this synthwave.

23. Fuse - "Propeller"

A video that leans fully into synthwave aesthetics, but isn't a synthwave song -- rather it recalls some of Daft Punk's best nu-disco work.

22. Ellur - "Close To You"

A track that builds so gently and subtly that it pretty much sneaks up on you. Really great stuff!

21. Ekkstacy - "I Walk This Earth All By Myself"

Absolutely gorgeous new wave track that leans heavily into the synthpop side of the genre, and takes a turn toward the end that really sticks with you.

top 50 of 2022 | 40-31

40. Paper Twins - "Neon City Funk"

Funny enough, I came across this one when a YouTuber I follow used it as bed music in one of his videos. I loved it so much I Shazamed a part that he wasn't talking over. Absolutely killer chord progression and groove!

39. OITU - "Leave A Light On"

Ha, I didn't even notice until just now that these two instrumental tracks ended up next to each other on this year's list. That wasn't intentional!

For a musical act that named itself after a Coldplay song, they certainly don't make shitty married millennial pop like one would expect. This is just a fluffy, glowing little synth bop.

38. Magdalena Bay - "Dawning Of The Season"

Magdalena Bay seems to have had quite the year. They're one of those bands that I'd never heard of, and then suddenly all my friends seemed to be fans one day. And for good reason! They're making some damn fine pop music.

I must also mention their incredible and very Web 1.0 website.

37. Kind Regime - "The Deep End (Reimagined)"

Ah, our first synthwave track of this year's list. No secret that I love this stuff, even when the vocalist sounds like he's sounds like he's riffing on Family Guy's bit about '90s singers.

This is a retooling of the artist's own track, and I definitely prefer this new version!

36. Meresha - "Enter The Dreamland"

Reminds me of some of the cool dance music that was coming out of Europe in the mid 2000s, but with far more interesting production. Love these vocals!

35. McCone ft. Benedikte - "All The Answers"

Straddling the line between synthwave and indie pop ballad, this beautiful little song combines minimal production with a gorgeous vocal performance.

34. LOOME & Oktae - "Talking To Strangers"

I turned on the song "Drinking In L.A." for a Gen Z friend a few months ago and he described it as "vibes." I think that's a pretty apt descriptor for this one, too.

33. Little Image - "Lungs Burn"

Really odd little song with a weird video to match but I really like it. Lead singer is a mega cutie!

32. Mehro - "Pretty Kids"

Making a song about youth party culture (and perhaps one's feelings of exclusion from said culture) is certainly nothing groundbreaking, but this song is just so cute. The lyrics and song structure are both interesting enough to elevate this to something special.

31. Band Of Silver - "Machine"

I love songs about technology. I love that idea that people get excited enough about gadgets to write songs about them. This is not to the level of say, Jane Child's "DS-21," but it's still dorky as hell and I love it.

top 50 of 2022 | 50-41

50. Night Cap - "Eileen"

I love that people are making genuine new wave rock songs again. This absolutely has modern indie sensibilities, but is undeniably a new wave song in structure and melody.

49. Kygo ft. DNCE - "Dancing Feet"

Kygo keeps making my lists, and he'll continue doing so as long as he keeps making quality beats like this. It's borderline corny-ass nu disco à la Timberlake/Mars, but manages to stay on the correct side of that line thanks to his careful production and the barely-not-too-dramatic vocal performance of the DNCE fellas.

48. They Kiss - "Feeling With You"

Don't let the horrific cover art fool you, this is a very cute new wave synthpop track from what seems to be a still new-ish musical due. According to their bio on their website, "The name for their band THEY KISS came from their friend who said, 'Well you two are in a relationship, so you should call yourself THEY KISS cause you guys kiss.'" Can't argue with that, I suppose.

47. Dolorous - "Deep Neural Patterning"

According to their Instagram, Dolorous appears to be more of an artistic collective than exclusively a musical act. I really love this cute little track because it expertly employs cute little monophonic synth melodies behind a pleasantly soft indie pop song.

46. The Dropout - "Scream And Shout"

I heard the first two lines of this song in an Instagram story and was immediately sold. Admittedly, I'm also a sucker for shouted lines that aren't corny. The vocal delivery is a bit of an odd match for the production, but it somehow comes together into a funky lil ass shaker.

45. Mightmare - "Easy"

Was definitely not expecting this to have an anime music video. Wow.

Anyway, yeah, not much to say here: This is just a cute little modern indie pop song.

44. Dreamers - "Body Language"

Another great indie pop jam with obvious new wave influences and a very cool music video.

43. Foxes - "Sister Ray"

Absolutely beautiful vocals on this dancepop banger that recalls some stuff I really loved in the late 2000s. It's also undeniably British.

42. Shania Twain - "Waking Up Dreaming"

I honestly can't believe it's taken this long for Shania to release an unabashedly pure pop song, and judging from its lyrical content and music video, it's something she's probably wanted to do for a long time. And it was worth the wait! This is the leadoff single from a new album that's due out in February.

41. Tiny Ghosts - "Grasp Of Me"

I was fooled by the opening bars of this the first time I heard it. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, beause it goes from what sounds like a run-of-the-mill pop rock track into a beautiful vocal performance with heavy reverb on the production and subtle but tight electronic drum samples.

top 30 of 2021

For a few personal reasons, I haven't been motivated to post my annual top songs of the year list until now. And although I have no idea how much I'll feel like writing about these, I at least wanted to archive my list because there are some really great songs here.

30. Himera - "Good Night, I Hope The Future Brings You Only The Best!"

Super cute and interesting instrumental track! Absolutely love the way this starts almost like a soft lullaby and crescendos into what feels like a bunch of warm soft blankets and pillows tucking in to surround you.

29. Troye Sivan - "could cry just thinkin about you"

The Prince of Gay Pop does it again, this time with a muted ballad that allows him to show off his beautiful voice and lyrics.

28. New Constellations - "Hot Blooded"

Gorgeous electropop jam with modern vocals, a juxtaposition that I really love when it's pulled off well.

27. Vincint ft. Tegan & Sara - "Getaway"

Really nice bouncy little dancepop tune.

26. Plasmic - "Female Fascination"

Bit of a strange little song, this one, but there's something that kept pulling me back to it. The vocals have a kind of bitchy '90s quality, and they work really well with the brilliantly catchy vocal melody of the chorus.

25. Del Water Gap - "Ode To A Conversation Stuck In Your Throat"

I feel like every year a song like this makes my list. It sounds straight out of 2005, something I'd have played on college radio. I guess part of me thinks it's cool that there are still bands making music that sounds like this, even if I only actually enjoy one out of every 10,000 or so songs. Fuckboy lyrics, but it's a cute song.

24. Years & Years - "Starstruck"

I want to love Years & Years more than I do (mostly because Olly is such a cutie!) but they tend to lean a little too heavily into that corny post-disco sound that just doesn't do a lot for me. I don't blame him, though, he's British.

23. Rasmus Seeback - "Så Længe Vi Danser"

A sad song that sounds super happy! But I don't speak Danish, so fuck it, let's dance.

22. Nius X - "Gamers"

Not much to say here, just some cute pop rock with nerdy new wave vocals!

21. Little Mix ft. Saweetie - "Confetti"

Saweetie had quite the year, didn't she? Years from now when someone is like "remember when celebrities had their own McDonald's meals?" hers is the name I'll think of first, and I'm not sure I can say why. Supremely bizarre video ft. Drag Race UK girls and also the Little Mix gals as drag kings -- not sure why this didn't hit in the US!

20. Agnes - "24 Hours"

I still can't figure out whose voice Agnes reminds me of, but it's quite powerful and I can't resist a solid dancepop diva track.

19. Superchunk - "Endless Summer"

Exactly what I wanted out of a Superchunk song release in 2021 that I wasn't even expecting!

18. Planet 1999 - "Party"

A friend sent me this and said "I know you love an open snare," and what can I say? He's correct.

17. Computerbandit - "You Are Digital"

A driving track that straddles the venn diagram of synthpop, new wave, and dancepop. Love the vocal effects!

16. Jessie Ware - "Please"

Jessie Ware continues to turn out bangers, and also to be completely absent from the Billboard Hot 100. I do not understand.

15. Rebecca Black - "Girlfriend"

This one crept up on me. I thought it was fine when I first heard it, but I found myself humming it again and again and returning to listen again. It's just a great little pop song!

14. Primo The Alien - "Do It Again"

I first learned of Primo from her vocal feature on Sunglasses Kid's "Fixing Me With Love," so I was very pleased to hear a solo track that I also loved! Her voice is so silky.

13. Kero Kero Bonito - "The Princess And The Clock"

I fuckin love KKB and you can expect to see them on this list any time they release music in the target year.

12. Cannons - "Bad Dream"

The production really sold this track to me. It's a beautiful modern synthpop track with perfect sample choices.

11. Kim Petras - "Coconuts"

Kim certainly knows what she's about these days, and I respect the hustle of releasing a summer song in December.

10. Lorde - "Solar Power"

Speaking of summer songs! The kids talk an awful lot these days about "vibes," so yeah, uh this song is all vibes.

9. The Birthday Massacre - "Dreams Of You"

TBM's 2005 album Violet might be my favorite album of that decade. It was really nice to see them return to that sound with this single!

8. The Parity Complex - "Move On Song"

What a jam!!!

7. Florrie - "Street Lights"

Not much to say here, just a pretty perfect little pop song! I do love a good prechorus.

6. Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen - "Like I Used To"

We don't get enough good pop duets these days, but maybe that just makes the really good ones that we do get even more special. I hadn't listened to either of these artists prior to this release, but they certainly seem made to work together. This is a great song!

5. The Linda Lindas - "Racist, Sexist Boy"

Early last summer, a video of a band comprising four teen girls singing in their local public library about a racist, sexist boy at their school took the Internet by storm, and I was absolutely one of the many who were captivated. These girls are fantastic and I look forward to seeing where their career takes them.

4. Ralph - "Tommy"

The dancepop jam of the year??

3. BTS - "Butter"

The most impressive thing about this is that it's only their second English-language single.

2. Thrillchaser - "Fantasy"

Synthwave remains one of my top genres these days, and this was my favorite track in that genre from last year. Absolutely fantastic!

1. Holly Humberstone - "The Walls Are Way Too Thin"

I usually know my song of the year the first time I hear it, and this was no exception. I love it from top to bottom, front to back! Everything pop music should be!