Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this list to happen. I have votes tabulated from 73 different participants, with a total of about 1,107 different songs. So, I hope there isn’t anything important that I’m missing at the moment.
Here are the top 100 songs of 2009 as voted on by Metacritic members. The songs are ranked by total score, but the total number of votes is shown as well to give you an idea of the power of the song (average score), as well as the popularity (number of votes). The format is as follows:
#. Artist - “Song Name” (Votes:Score)
1. Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal" (28:218) 2. Bon Iver - "Skinny Love" (21:169) 3. Deerhunter - "Nothing Ever Happened" (20:149) 4. MGMT - "Time To Pretend" (17:148) 5. Hot Chip - "Ready for the Floor" (17:136) 6. Portishead - "The Rip" (16:118) 7. M83 - "Kim & Jessie" (14:110) 8. MGMT - "Kids" (15:110) 9. The Walkmen - "In The New Year" (14:103) 10. Frightened Rabbit - "The Modern Leper" (13:102)
11. Blitzen Trapper - "Furr" (11:92) 12. Animal Collective - "Water Curses" (11:85) 13. Fleet Foxes - "Mykonos" (9:83) 14. Beach House - "Gila" (11:82) 15. Sigur Ros - "Gobbledigook" (12:81) 16. The Dodos - "Fools" (12:77) 17. TV On The Radio - "Halfway Home" (12:76) 18. Ra Ra Riot - "Ghosts Under Rocks" (11:75) 19. The Hold Steady - "Constructive Summer" (9:75) 20. Hercules & Love Affair - "Blind" (10:74)
21. Vampire Weekend - "Oxford Comma" (12:72) 22. Deerhunter - "Agoraphobia" (9:67) 23. The Dodos - "Red and Purple" (9:66) 24. Fleet Foxes - "Ragged Wood" (8:64) 25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! " (9:64) 26. Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines" (9:64) 27. Blitzen Trapper - "Black River Killer" (7:63) 28. Fuck Buttons - "Sweet Love for Planet Earth" (8:63) 29. Man Man - "Top Drawer" (9:63) 30. No Age - "Teen Creeps" (10:63) 31. TV On The Radio - "DLZ" (8:63) 32. Plants & Animals - "Bye Bye Bye" (8:62) 33. Sun Kil Moon - "Lost Verses" (7:62) 34. Vampire Weekend - "Walcott" (8:62) 35. Why? - "Fatalist Palmistry" (8:62) 36. Wolf Parade - "Kissing The Beehive" (7:62) 37. Portishead - "Machine Gun" (7:60) 38. Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk" (8:59) 39. Cut Copy - "Lights and Music" (8:58) 40. TV On The Radio - "Lover's Day" (7:57)
41. Bon Iver - "RE: Stacks" (7:56) 42. The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Don't Haunt This Place" (8:55) 43. The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Edmonton" (6:55) 44. Hercules & Love Affair - "You Belong" (8:54) 45. Shearwater - "Rooks" (8:53) 46. Titus Andronicus - "Titus Andronicus" (7:52) 47. The Dodos - "Jodi" (8:51) 48. The Hold Steady - "Slapped Actress" (7:51) 49. Cut Copy - "Hearts on Fire" (7:50) 50. Fleet Foxes - "He Doesn't Know Why" (6:49)
51. Frightened Rabbit - "Keep Yourself Warm" (6:49) 52. My Morning Jacket - "Touch Me, I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2" (7:48) 53. Santogold - "L.E.S. Artistes" (8:48) 54. Sigur Ros - "Inni mer syngur vitleysingur" (6:48) 55. Spiritualized - "Soul on Fire" (6:46) 56. TV On The Radio - "Dancing Choose" (6:46) 57. Fleet Foxes - "Blue Ridge Mountains" (4:45) 58. TV On The Radio - "Golden Age" (6:45) 59. Horse Feathers - "Curs in the Weeds" (4:43) 60. The Last Shadow Puppets - "Standing Next to Me" (6:42)
61. The Tallest Man On Earth - "The Gardener" (6:42) 62. War on Drugs - "Arms Like Boulders" (4:42) 63. British Sea Power - "Waving Flags" (5:40) 64. Devotchka - "The Clockwise Witness" (6:40) 65. Magnetic Fields - "California Girls" (7:40) 66. Of Montreal - "An Eluardian Instance" (5:40) 67. Air France - "Collapsing At Your Doorstep" (5:39) 68. Deerhunter - "Never Stops" (4:39) 69. TV On The Radio - "Love Dog" (5:39) 70. Elbow - "One Day Like This" (5:38)
71. Vampire Weekend - "M79" (5:38) 72. Laura Marling - "Ghost" ( 5:37) 73. Okkervil River - "Starry Stairs" (6:37) 74. Santogold - "Lights Out" (5:37) 75. The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound" (5:37) 76. Born Ruffians - "I Need A Life" (3:36) 77. Coldplay - "Lost?" (6:36) 78. The Tallest Man On Earth - "Pistol Dreams" (4:36) 79. DevotchKa - "Transliterator" (5:35) 80. Lil Wayne - "A Milli" (4:35)
81. TV On The Radio - "Family Tree" (4:35) 82. Kanye West - "Love Lockdown" (4:34) 83. M83 - "Coleurs" (5:34) 84. She & Him - "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (5:34) 85. Drive-By Truckers - "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife" (4:33) 86. Elbow - "The Loneliness of the Tower Crane Driver" (4:33) 87. MGMT - "Electric Feel" (4:33) 88. Shearwater - "Snow Leopard" (4:33) 89. British Sea Power - "No Lucifer" (5:32) 90. Cut Copy - "Far Away" (5:32)
91. Los Campesinos! - "Death to Los Campesinos!" (5:32) 92. The Walkmen - "Red Moon" (3:32) 93. Wolf Parade - "Language City" (5:32) 94. Bon Iver - "Flume" (4:31) 95. Coldplay - "Viva la Vida" (4:31) 96. Of Montreal - "Id Engager" (4:31) 97. Crystal Castles - "Crimewave" (5:30) 98. Elbow - "Grounds For Divorce" (5:30) 99. Lil Wayne - "Dr. Carter" (5:30) 100. Why? - "The Hollows" (4:30)
Halfway through I posted an update showing “White Winter Hymnal” as being tied with “Ready For The Floor” in the top position. I guess some people took offense at that because “Ready For the Floor” ended up getting trounced by MGMT, Deerhunter, and Bon Iver, while “White Winter Hymnal” sky rocketed to completely unbelievable levels of hyperbole. Consider the fact that the number one song of the year, is actually double the total score of the 7th best song of the year. I won’t be the one that comes along saying Hymnal is a bad song, but it’s hard to believe it’s hands down the best of the year, but there you have it.
Most of the top 10 songs of the year completely overshadowed the other songs on their respective albums, in terms of total score except, of course, for “Time to Pretend” which shares a top 10 placement with “Kids”. However, MGMT should be embarrassed to know that only the first 5 songs on their album were listed. The back half of their album was pretty much ignored. Maybe it’s because there weren’t any trippy hot videos for those songs?
How about other Artist and Album turnouts? Here’s a statistic I found interesting.
Average Score per Song (for artists with at least 5 different songs listed.) 1. Born Ruffians 8.33 2. Blitzen Trapper 8.29 3. Fleet Foxes 8.12 4. Bon Iver 7.98 5. MGMT 7.90 6. Frightened Rabbit 7.85 7. The Walkmen 7.82 8. Hot Chip 7.75 9. Kanye West 7.64 10. M83 7.61 11. Shugo Tokumaru 7.50 12. Deerhunter 7.49 13. The Mountain Goats 7.47 14. Portishead 7.45 15. The Hold Steady 7.44 16. TV On The Radio 7.42 17. Elbow 7.32 18. Department Of Eagles 7.23 19. Laura Marling 7.20 20. Crystal Castles 7.18
Note that a score above 8 means it averages as a top 5 song placement using our current scoring method. Only one Born Ruffian songs made the final top 100. Check out “I Need A Life” ranked at 76th with only 3 votes, along side songs with 5 or 6 votes. There were 5 Born Ruffians songs listed in total, and they were typically listed fairly high. Blitzen Trapper achieved its high average with 5 songs as well, but 3 of those only received one vote each. Blitzen Trapper has such a monster high average because of the 7 votes for “Black River Killer” and the 11 for “Furr” which were all on average, in the 8-9 point range. Fleet Foxes high average is surprising since there were 11 total songs listed from the band, and these songs were voted on 66 times (Nearly once on every list). The fact that they could keep such a high average with so many votes says things about the band that I would not typically agree with. But hey, can’t argue with science right?
And while we are on the subject of arguing with science, Dear Science by TV On The Radio received full representation for its 11 songs, each of which were voted on at least twice (so you know it wasn’t a rigged fight). The most voted on track from that album? “Halfway Home” with 12 votes, followed by “DLZ” with 8, “Lover’s Day” with 7 and “Dancing Choose” and “Golden Age” doing their job as singles, tying with 6 votes each.
Wolf Parade was held back from full representation by “An Animal In Your Care” (Did anyone listen to the end of that song?). Anyway, who wins in the war between Boeckner and Krug? Boeckner – 71 total points, Spencer – 29 total points. However, it’s all fair since the highest ranking song on the album is “Kissing The Beehive”, which they both share the honors for.
Here are some other albums that missed the full monty award. Fleet Foxes self-titled missed being fully present on the list thanks to the absence of “Heard Them Strings” and “Meadowlark”, Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago due to “Team” and The Hold Steady’s Stay Positive because of “Both Crosses”. You are the weakest links, Good-bye. However all the other songs on the album are listed, and we all know it’s a sign of a strong album when people can’t agree on the best song, so good for them none-the-less.
I have a feeling these albums would have had more points if we hadn’t limited the voting to two songs per artist/album. But then we wouldn’t know the weakest songs on the album, right?
Also, we would have had less of these songs: The 766 songs that only had a single vote! That’s right. Out of the 1,107 songs listed, a full 70% of them were never voted on by more than one person. Here’s a brief list of some of those songs that were only voted on once, but listed high.
Nine Top Ranked songs that were never heard from ever again Darkestrah - "Inner Voice" Eddie Current Suppression Ring - "Which Way To Go" Frightened Rabbit - "Fast Blood" Little Boots - "Stuck on Repeat" Rihanna - "Disturbia" Subtle - "ExcitingARM" The Dø - "Stay" The Hold Steady - "Yeah Sapphire" The Mountain Goats - "How To Embrace A Swamp Creature"
And Here’s a Few of the highest ranking songs that only 2 people listed The Last Shadow Puppets - "My Mistakes Were Made For You" Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait for the Others" The Wave Pictures - "I Love You Like A Madman" Beach House - "You Came To Me" Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" Oasis - "I'm Outta Time"
So incase you haven’t ever heard Vampire Weekend’s cover of Fozzy Bear’s “Cape Cod Wacka Wacka” yet, maybe you should. Apparently there were a couple of people that liked it a lot.
Also, expect to see more votes for Grizzly Bear on next year’s list, since some of us don’t watch Conan.
So there you have it. I hope everyone enjoyed ranking their songs. I know this was the first year I tried it, and it was a major undertaking to put my favorite tracks in order. So thank you to everyone that contributed. I would like to give the following people “I Have Voted” stickers so people can openly congratulate them for their patriotism and democratic spirit.
Please let me know if I missed you on the voting. And I apologize massively if that has happened.
Also, and this is a BIG also. A lot of work went into keeping track of this information, and I want it to have maximum effect. There are tons of other great tidbits of data and great songs to be discovered from my master list. If anyone really wants to have a copy of the spreadsheet program I used that has all the songs and the individual lists, just send me a PM request and I will see about getting it to you. Putting this all together is a service I have done for the community, and I want to share it with the community as much as possible.
Thank you all again.
Here is the original opening post for this thread, which outlines the rules for voting, and the scoreing system used.
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This is your chance to post your FINAL list of your choices for the best songs of 2008. Here are some guidelines to follow:
• Deadline for lists will be 11:59 PM on January 9, 2009. • Membership requirements are: 3-month membership or 30 considerate posts, to make your list count. • By vote we have decided to limit user lists to at most two songs by any artist. Although there are a million whatifs, and loophole situations, the intent is for our list to be as diverse as possible. Please respect the wishes of the board on this issue. I encourage everyone who would like to post more than 2 songs by an artist to post these songs below their official list so people can still know to check them out, but I appologize that they will not be counted. • You can list as many songs as you like but only the top 30 will be scored.
Feel free to post your list in one of two ways:
1. You may order your list from 1 to 30, with one being your pick for the best song of the year and 30 being your pick for 30th best song.
2. You may post your choice of of the 30 best songs unranked (do not include numbers in your post), in which case they will all recieve the same amount of points, and you will avoid the risk of offending one of your favorite songs.
If possible, please follow this format when posting songs:
Artist - "Song Title" Tiny Tim - "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips" Mannheim Steamroller - "Baby Got Back (cover)" DJ Food - "Cookin'" etc...
01. Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor 02. The Hood Internet - When the Last Time I Left You 03. TV on the Radio - Crying 04. Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep 05. Lil Wayne - Mrs. Officer 06. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal 07. Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire 08. Usher - Love in this Club 09. The Magnetic Fields - California Girls 10. No Age - Teen Creeps 11. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash 12. Girl Talk - Shut the Club Down 13. MGMT - Kids 14. Shugo Tokumaru - Parachute 15. Flight of the Conchords - The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room) 16. Lil Wayne - Mr. Carter 17. The Tallest Man on Earth - I Won't Be Found 18. Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook 19. T.I. - Swagga Like Us 20. Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma 21. Cut Copy - Feel the Love 22. Lost in the Trees - For Leah and Chloe 23. Why? - The Vowels Pt. 2 24. The Dodos - Red and Purple 25. The Notwist - Good Lies 26. Love is All - A More Uncertain Future 27. Beach House - Gila 28. M83 - Graveyard Girl 29. Okkervil River - Starry Stairs 30. Jamie Lidell - Where D'You Go
Holy crap is this a real song. If it is I bet it rules way too hard
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
Posts: 2706 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
Sadly the song was less about culinary pursuits than I expected
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
Posts: 2706 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
Originally posted by BContrat: 01. Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor
Glad to see your high rating for this giddy, witty, joyous song. It'll definitely be in my top five.
However, only one song this year immediately announced itself, from the moment it was released, as the Single of the Year, a classic anthem about youth and modern culture (while at the same time cleverly condeming both), with a killer melody and buckets of attitude. So that song will, I'm afraid, be claiming my top spot.
Just a quick update on the official standing of the 2008 Metacritic top 30 songs of the year list. The list is exactly the same as BContrat's list from earlier.
So, if anyone else wants to post a list, so the number 2 song of the year doesn't remain The Hood Internet's "When The Last Time I Left You", please feel free.
---------------------------- There's an ember in the rafters and it's gonna burn this whole thing down.
I guess I might as well post my top 30 since favorite songs change so frequently there's no way i'll be completely satisfied with my list regardless of when I post it, and posting it now gives me a chance to not study for exams... I tried to stick to one song per artist, but some albums i enjoyed too much i had to throw in two songs.
1. Black River Killer- Blitzen Trapper 2. Kissing the Beehive- Wolf Parade 3. Family Tree- TV on the Radio 4. Hayloft- Mother Mother 5. Mykonos- Fleet Foxes 6. Go on, Say It- Blind Pilot 7. Stay Positive- The Hold Steady 8. Sax Rohmer #1- THe Mountain Goats 9. I Won't Be Found- The Tallest Man On Earth 10. California Dreamer- Wolf Parade 11. Edmonton- The Rural Alberta Advantage 12. Not Your Lover- Blitzen Trapper 13. Runs in the Family- Amanda Palmer 14. Skinny Love- Bon Iver 15. The Dethbridge in Lethbridge- The Rural Alberta Advantage 16. Ragged Wood- Fleet Foxes 17. Keep Yourself Warm- Frightened Rabbit 18. I'll be Glad- Bonnie "Prince" Billy 19. Undeclared- The Dodos 20. Rooks- Shearwater 21. The Backseat- The Gaslight Anthem 22. Terminal Romance- Matt Mays & El Torpedo 23. Brandy Alexander- Ron Sexsmith 24. Sentimental Heart- She & Him 25. Starry Stairs- Okkervil River 26. Always A Friend- Alejandro Escovedo 27. Next Messiah- Jenny Lewis 28. Mister Jung Stuffed- Man Man 29. Goodbye Service- Sons and Daughter 30. Dream Girls- Neon Neon
____________________ I'm still swinging on the cross of St. You
Posts: 228 | Location: London, ON | Registered: 03 October 2008
Great lists guys. I was teasing you about The Hood Internet by the way BCon. And, your mentioning of Girl Talk's "Shut the Club Down" reminded me that I could list my favorite moment off of Feed the Animals also. I could listen to "Throw Some Ds" running over top of "Girl/Boy Song" for hours. Good stuff.
So, out of two 30 song lists we have a total of 58 unique entries. Which means there are already two songs that have been voted on twice. And one artist with 3 separate songs listed. Which means we are well on our way to consensus.
---------------------------- There's an ember in the rafters and it's gonna burn this whole thing down.
Originally posted by thecosmos: 18. I'll be Glad- Bonnie "Prince" Billy
I like this choice a lot. Although it is a cover, it sounds so much like one of his originals. The choir voices really make it that much sweeter and it's great to hear him sounding joyful and in touch with God.
Great choice.
----- Never say you miss her, never say a word. And do everything she'd never do.
Posts: 6632 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
Originally posted by thecosmos: I guess I might as well post my top 30 since favorite songs change so frequently there's no way i'll be completely satisfied with my list regardless of when I post it, and posting it now gives me a chance to not study for exams...
I like all of the songs you included on the list a LOT.
Originally posted by thecosmos: 18. I'll be Glad- Bonnie "Prince" Billy
I like this choice a lot. Although it is a cover, it sounds so much like one of his originals. The choir voices really make it that much sweeter and it's great to hear him sounding joyful and in touch with God.
Great choice.
Thanks, I'm not actually a huge fan of that album but often I'll listen to the album just so I can get to that song, it always gives me chills. Although i'm not a particularily religious person, there are often songs with religious messages that I absolutely love. I guess there's just something about people's faith and belief that brings out beauty and emotion.
____________________ I'm still swinging on the cross of St. You
Posts: 228 | Location: London, ON | Registered: 03 October 2008
I can't see my songs list changing much. I'm gonna sit on my albums list for a while still though:
1. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos 2. Wolf Parade - Kissing The Beehive 3. Cut Copy - Lights & Music 4. Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor 5. TV On The Radio - Lover's Day 6. Young Jeezy - Put On 7. MGMT - Electric Feel 8. Lil Wayne - Dr. Carter 9. Hercules and Love Affair - Raise Me Up 10. The Bug - Poison Dart 11. Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains 12. The Hold Steady - Slapped Actress 13. Girl Talk - Play Your Part (pt. 1) 14. Portishead - Silence 15. Beck - Modern Guilt 16. Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened 17. Flying Lotus - Camel 18. Black Mountain - Stormy High 19. Sigur Ros - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur 20. Death Cab For Cutie - Bixby Canyon Bridge 21. Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses 22. M83 - Kim & Jessie 23. Los Campesinos! - Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks 24. Kanye West - Paranoid 25. Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul 26. Dodos - Winter 27. The Cool Kids - Bassment Party 28. Coldplay - Lost! 29. Atlas Sound - Recent Bedroom 30. No Age - Teen Creeps
---------------- I'm a troll.
Posts: 557 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 27 February 2008