50 Songs I Liked in 2019

On December 29th, I'll be starting off my end of the year lists with my 20 favorite albums of 2019.  But there's so much great music out there that my album post will only cover a very tiny portion of the stuff that's worth listening to.  So this list is an additional rundown, one that highlights songs from albums that won't be appearing on the top 20 in a few days.  I'm including songs from my five honorable mention albums, so if you see something on here from an album you love, who knows, maybe that album is ranked somewhere between 21 and 25 for me!  Even this doesn't fully cover the quality that the year had to offer, but it's a good representation of what I generally liked this year.



Aldous Harding - "Damn"

Aldous Harding's strange, beguiling album Designer was a record that took me a while to figure out, but it has stuck with me longer than I imagined it would.  "Damn" is a lovely and devastating song.

Anamanguchi - "Sunset By Plane"

I had completely forgotten that this album existed and that I still hadn't listened to it until I started writing this list, so I haven't listened to it enough for it to qualify for my top 20.  But on first listen my favorite is "Sunset By Plane," which blends chiptune music with more organic instrumentation to create something that sounds epic.  (I don't know much about chiptune music so if anybody knows bands that sound similar to Anamanaguchi and won't give me a headache, please recommend!)

Anderson .Paak - "Come Home" (feat. Andre 3000)

I'm choosing not to think to much about how Andre 3000's verse reminds me of modern day Eminem.

Billie Eilish - "wish you were gay"

I'm still not entirely convinced of Billie Eilish's whole thing -- her debut album's vibe becomes a drag after a while, her lyrics are dull -- but there's enough in her music that I think she could become something special.  This song, which has those bad qualities I mentioned before, slaps anyway.

Blu & Oh No - "It Never Rains in South L.A."

I used to really love Blu around the Below the Heavens days but fell off after he started noodling around with more lo-fi music.  It's nice to hear him back to business, sounding as good as ever over that Oh No beat.

Brockhampton - "SUGAR"

Ryan Beatty needs to join Brockhampton full time because this is the best hook of the year.

Broken Social Scene - "Boyfriends"

Broken Social went small this year and released a pair of EPs instead of a full album.  And buried in there was this gem, which feels like it could've fit comfortably on You Forgot It in People.

Carly Rae Jepsen - "Everything He Needs"

Flipping a song from the 1980 Popeye soundtrack is an absolute queen move.  People slept on Dedicated.  It's not Emotion, but it's got bops on it.

Caroline Polachek - "Ocean of Tears"

My confession is Caroline Polachek's voice grates on me after a while, but this song is gorgeous.

CHAI - "I'm me"

I tried hard to get into the CHAI album from earlier this year, hoping it would give me Kero Kero Bonito vibes, but it was largely confounding to me.  This song is wonderfully cute and catchy though.

Chance the Rapper - "We Go High"

Sure, Chance the Rapper is a complete cornball, but he can still rap better than almost anybody out there.  The third verse on this song is nuts.

Chromatics - "On the Wall"

A few weeks ago I made it my mission to finally get into Chromatics, as I completely missed the boat on them, and whenever I sample songs it never grabs me.  I'm still digesting their newest, Closer To Grey, but my favorite so far is this eight-minute beauty.

Deerhunter - "What Happens to People?"

I never thought I'd say this but Deerhunter is underrated at this point.  While their latest album has a bum track or two, most of it is dreamy, gauzy pop like this.

Denzel Curry - "P.A.T." (feat. PlayThatBoiZay)

My friend once smoked weed and rapped with Denzel Curry and I will bring this up every time Denzel Curry comes up.  It's probably blasphemy to say this as a Floridian, but I never really understood why people go nuts for this guy.  The parts of Zuu I've heard have softened my stance, to the point where I consider myself a fan.  Turns out he just needed to make an album full of loud, raucous bombs.

DIIV - "Blankenship"

The guitar on this song is one of my favorite sounds of 2019.  This band always puts me to sleep when I listen to a whole album, but "Blankenship" is some Sonic Youth-channeling gold.

Empath - "Hanging Out of Cars"

Empath's brand of shambling garage punk softens a little on "Hanging Out of Cars," and it's a great look on them.

FKA twigs - "Cellophane"

FKA twigs is one of those "I respect it, but don't love it" artists for me, but this song (and the video!) is pretty great.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - "Palmolive" (feat. Pusha T and Killer Mike)

Pusha T gets the award for Best Rap Verse of 2019 (Non-Sada Baby Edition)

Girlpool - "Lucky Joke"

A part of me will always miss the stripped-down version of Girlpool, but this fuzz-rock phase is pretty good too.

Great Grandpa - "Digger"

I don't know if anybody else agrees with this reference point, but on Four of Arrows Great Grandpa reminds me of Rilo Kiley.  Nobody's making big choices like the way the lead singer says "that's why I hate you" in the chorus anymore.

Hand Habits - "jessica"

Don't you love it when a folk song suddenly lets a beautiful guitar solo rip like this?

Hatchie - "Without a Blush"

After really being into her Sugar & Spice EP last year, Hatchie's debut album disappointed me a little.  There are still some moments of swooning bliss though, like "Without a Blush."

The Hold Steady - "Star 18"

The Hold Steady are still reliably churning out literate, dense, boozy rock music. "Star 18" is my favorite off of their uniformly excellent Thrashing Thru the Passion.

Injury Reserve - "Jailbreak the Tesla" (feat. Amine)

When it's just the guys in Injury Reserve rapping, their self-titled album can feel a little lacking, but thankfully they invited a dexterous rapper like Amine to guest on "Jailbreak the Tesla," the best beat on the album.

Jamila Woods - "GIOVANNI"

The way Jamila Woods passionately sings "there's must be a reason why" is on my shortlist for favorite little music moments of the year.

Jay Som - "Tenderness"

I thought Jay Som's second album was a tiny step back from her debut, but the soft and catchy "Tenderness" is as good as anything she's ever written.

Julia Jacklin - "Don't Know How to Keep Loving You"

This is such a raw and simple song, it could go on forever and I don't think I would get tired of it.

Kanye West - "Follow God"

This is everybody's favorite song on the much-maligned Jesus is King, so I thought about going with another track just to not be boring.  For instance, I love the high-pitched organ sound on the Pi'erre Bourne-assisted beat of "On God."  But ultimately, this is everyone's favorite for a reason.  It's the best song on this (honestly not that bad) album.

Kehlani - "Morning Glory"

90s R&B is alive and will never die.  That's a good thing.

Kero Kero Bonito - "Battle Lines"

Not sure if I want KKB to pivot in this slightly harder direction for the long term, but this song is a fun little holdover until their next full album.

Kevin Abstract - "American Problem"

I've always thought Kevin Abstract was one of the weakest rappers in Brockhampton, but the last verse on this song is fantastic.

Lana Del Rey - "Venice Bitch"

I still haven't spent much time fully digesting Normal Fucking Rockwell! but I remember being blown away the first time I heard this spacey, lumbering beast of a song.

Mark Ronson - "True Blue" (feat. Angel Olsen)

Mark Ronson and Angel Olsen feels like an odd combo on paper, but they come together for a sad banger.

Maxo Kream - "Meet Again"

Maxo Kream's talk-rap style is perfect for a detail-heavy song like this.

Megan Thee Stallion - "Realer"

Behind DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion was the biggest sensation in rap music this year.  And when you hear the way album opener "Realer" bounces, it's easy to understand why.

The National - "Rylan"

The National fans have been waiting for ages to get a studio version of "Rylan" and it doesn't disappoint.  I still enjoy recent albums from the band but hearing a song that sounds so much like Boxer really does put things into perspective.

The New Pornographers - "Dreamlike and on the Rush"

Carl Newman should be put in jail for being able to toss off great power pop songs at will like this.

Nilufer Yanya - "Melt"

2019 was the return of the sax.  It sounds so silky and smooth on this song.

Orla Gartland - "Why Am I Like This?"

I can't remember if it was this year or last year that I really got into Orla Gartland's cover videos on Youtube, but her original songs are good as well.

pronoun - "sadie"

I'll show you stronger is a wonderful album that more people should've been talking about this year.  "Sadie" is a great encapsulation of everything pronoun does well.

PUP - "Free At Last"

This year I finally pulled the trigger on getting into PUP, and I very much enjoy the loud, scrappy punk music they make.  Plus, the lead singer sounds like the dude from The Hives.

Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats - "Big Titties" (feat. Earthgang)

Kenny Beats is one of the most exciting producers working right now, and he's always linking up with great rappers.  His collab album with Rico Nasty was a perfect example of two great tastes that are even better together.  People on Rap Twitter are always drooling over the Earthgang guys and while they sound like a low-rent Outkast to me, they're wonderfully in the pocket on "Big Titties."

(Sandy) Alex G - "Gretel"

Alex G is such a chameleon that you never know what you're going to get from him on a track-to-track basis while listening to House of Sugar.  Even after multiple listens, the heavy bass notes on "Gretel" make my teeth rattle.

Sir Babygirl - "Cheerleader"

It sort of got forgotten as the year went on, but I loved Sir Babygirl's album Crush On Me when it came out back in February.  It's an extremely extra album, but it's too catchy and weird to ignore.  "Cheerleader" is the album highlight, for sure. The high drama they incorporate in the chorus, the way actual cheerleader chants kick in towards the end -- it's everything that makes Sir Babygirl one of a kind.

Shura - "flyin'"

I loved Nothing's Real so much and there's no nice way to say this: Shura's follow-up was a complete misstep in almost every way.  I do think "flyin'" is pretty good though.

Solange - "Binz"

I think most people would agree that "Binz" is the highlight of When I Get Home, the truest expression of the patchwork, sketch style Solange was going for on the album.

Tove Lo - "Really don't like u" (feat. Kylie Minogue)

It feels like Tove Lo should be more than a mid-tier pop star.  She had a brush with Top 40 stardom with "Habits (Stay High)," but since then she hasn't really had anything blow up like that.  That's a shame too, because whenever I hear one of her songs it sounds better than most of the pop that gets played on the radio.

Wilco - "Everyone Hides"

I like how low-key the most recent Wilco album is -- despite finding the similarly low-key Schmilco a snoozefest -- so I feel bad picking the most upbeat song on the record, but you have to admit "Everyone Hides" is a lithe, breezy blast.

YBN Cordae - "Bad Idea" (feat. Chance the Rapper)

YBN Cordae feels like a disciple of the J. Cole School of Rap, so a little goes a long way with him, but "Bad Idea" is one of the songs that displays how good he can be in small doses.  Plus, you can always count on Chance the Rapper to give a great guest verse.

Young Nudy & Pi'erre Bourne - "Gas Station"

To the untrained ear, a Pi'erre Bourne production sounds like your run-of-the-mill trap beat.  But close your eyes and listen to "Gas Station" closely and you'll hear all of these incredible little details and countermelodies.


If you want to listen to all of these songs in one place, they can be found in the Spotify playist below.