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Ryan Drake's Top 20 Songs of 2016

State of the Art and The Dates of Our Lives host Ryan Drake shares his 20 favorite songs of 2016:

20. Charlie XCX ft. Lil Yachty - "After The Afterparty"

I don’t believe in guilty pleasures but I do believe that I am ashamed of how many times I have listened to this song in the last two months. (Also I love/hate the way she says “baby” in the first verse. I can’t explain myself.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7xtmOlgBmM

19. The Skins ft. D.R.A.M. - "Bury Me"

Two of the most promising young voices in music combined, and hopefully a preview of the genre-bending theatrics that we will be getting from Big Baby in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X883vD10TN0

18. Pink Slip - "Panama City Beach"

The closest thing to Skrillex I’ll ever admit to listening to. Excellent production and dynamics that make the drops really pop. The last 90 seconds of this track has probably been my favorite thing to listen to in the car all year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RiAoZkX5Eg

17. The Weeknd - "Secrets"

Hard to believe that Daft Punk didn’t have their hands all over this track. My favorite song from Starboy and [hot take] better than the Romantics song that shares the same chorus.

16. PARTYBABY - "I Don't Wanna Wait"

My favorite new rock band of 2016. Fills the FIDLAR-sized void left in my heart from last year. Unfortunately not a Paula Cole cover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgoZeEY4AS8

15. Solange - "Cranes In The Sky"

Solange made one of the most underrated/sexy albums of 2016, and the layered harmonies at the end of this song are the things that Frank Ocean probably dreams of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qrinhNnOM

14. Bishop Briggs - "Pray"

I will 100% cop to the fact that I first heard this song when it was featured duting the most dramatic moment of MTV’s Scream reboot, but it’s stuck with me all year. Bishop Briggs is eventually going to be a massive star and reminds me a lot of classic Charli XCX.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrr8H8tw3PY

13. D.R.A.M ft. Lil Yachty - "Broccoli"

Welcome these two back to the list. It was impossible to escape this song over the summer (for a good reason), and it’s on one of the most surprising albums of the year. Yachty dropped a much better feature this time around that launched him into stardom and probably made the stock price for MetroPCS go through the roof. D.R.A.M & Yachty are going to be in the upper tier of the rap scene for a long while and I hope they collaborate 100 more times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsZR6JBSr8M

12. Springtime Carnivore - "Face In The Moon"

Greta Morgan was the vocalist for The Hush Sound throughout the mid-00’s, but she now performs solo under the name Springtime Carnivore and has a much more lowkey, Zooey Deschanel-esque vibe to her music. Her whole record is excellent, but this is the standout song and it’s just one quirky romcom away from breaking out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbyCKqNVFcM

11. Joey Purp ft. Chance The Rapper - "Girls @"

Wins the award for “best non-Pharrell produced Pharrell track” because it sounds exactly like something he would do. Chance shines on this song (as he does on pretty much every song) with a verse that is so casual, effortless, and fun. Also, watching him ride on the hood of the car in this video is the best visual of 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPR0ZcFtSZQ

10. Anderson .Paak ft. Schoolboy Q - "Am I Wrong"

Anderson .Paak was the breakout star of 2016 and gives me serious Bruno Mars vibes. It was hard to just pick one song from Malibu but I went with “Am I Wrong” because I really can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvPeJLcK2Lk

9. Beau Jennings & The Tigers - "Back In Town"

An obvious outlier on this list as it’s the only track by a local artist, but I'll be damned if this song doesn’t make me feel nostalgic for a place I've never left. I refuse to become the guy that is still in his twenties but likes Bruce Springsteen way too much, so thankfully I have Beau's music as an outlet for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYwIow7ypU

8. Chance The Rapper ft. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - "No Problem"

SONG OF THE SUMMER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkkYlQNmbc

7. Lady Gaga ft. Florence Welch - "Hey Girl"

We didn’t deserve these two voices on a track together. I’m convinced that a lot of the bad stuff that happened in 2016 was due the universe was karmically correcting itself for this collaboration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5VCp4yIhh4

6. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey - "Closer"

One of my favorite memories of 2016 will be watching so many of my friends on Snapchat singing along to this at various bars/clubs during the months of August and September. Halsey might never make a bad song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2_F-1esPk

5. Beach Slang - "Punks At A Disco Bar"

I wrote about Beach Slang a year ago and said they would probably be my favorite band of 2016. It would have been true if Mark & Travis hadn’t got the band back together (see #3). They called their new album A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings, and it makes me feel like any other record of the early 2000’s that had an equally emo title. I listened to nothing but this song for the first nine days it was released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O1s1JbBKjE

4. Kanye West - "Real Friends"

The most emotional song on The Life Of Pablo and a telegraph of what was to come. I previously wrote about this song in February and called it a #FirstWorldProblems anthem, but seeing how Kanye’s year is ending, it’s obvious that we should have all taken this a bit more seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4flyJgyyHk

3. Blink 182 - "No Future"

It’s gonna be so hard to not write 700 words about this so I will just say that my number one favorite thing that happened in music this year was that Blink 182’s comeback was so successful, Matt Skiba is an absolute treasure, and California has a spot reserved at the top half of their discography. This song showcases all three members really well and the first time I heard the beginning of Skiba’s verse it really hit me that he’s the guy now, and it all fit together so perfectly. I may have gotten a little dusty over a dumb pop-punk song. Seeing them perform at the X Games this summer was one of the most emotionally rewarding, nostalgic experiences I had all year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcFdX9MBcpY

2. Kaytranada ft. Craig David - "Got It Good"

The best track from the best album of the year. Never would have thought that Craig David would be making any appearances on any of my lists, but here we are. 2016 was so weird.

1. Justin Timberlake - "Can't Stop The Feeling"

Honestly not even that close. JT didn’t release a new album this year, but we got a song with enough staying power to last us until he does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru0K8uYEZWw

Stream all of Ryan's list on Spotify:

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