As I point out every January, these are my ten favorite songs of the previous year. Other people who have written for TSL over the years may have very different favorite songs of the year. In fact, check out Necromoonyeti’s list of his 35 top albums!
Anyway, here are my ten favorite songs of the previous year. For the most part, my musical tastes tend to run the gamut from EDM to More EDM. That said, I think there’s perhaps a bit of variety to this year’s list as opposed to previous years. Or maybe not. Who knows? I’m typing this up at one in the morning so, to be honest, I’m lucky that I can even keep straight which year I’m writing about.
Every January, I list my fourteen favorite songs of the previous year and, every January, I include the same disclaimer. My fourteen favorite songs are not necessarily the fourteen favorite songs of any of the other writers here at the Shattered Lens. We are a large and diverse group of people and, as such, we all have our own individual tastes.
If you ever visited the TSL Bunker, you would be shocked by the different music coming out of each office. You would hear everything from opera to death metal to the best of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. And then, of course, you would reach my office and you would discover that my taste in music pretty much runs the gamut from EDM to More EDM.
Now, usually, I do try to listen to a variety of music. You can go to my Song of the Day site — Lisa Marie’s Song of the Day — and see that I do occasionally listen to other types of music. But, I have to be honest. 2016 was not a year that inspired me to really leave me comfort zone. If anything, music provided me with some much needed consistency in an otherwise chaotic year. 2016 was a year that made me want to dance until it was all over and, for the most part, my favorite songs of the year reflect that fact.
Before I list my 14 songs, I should make something else very clear. These are my 14 favorite songs of 2016. I’m not saying that they’re necessarily the best songs of 2016. I’ll leave that debate for others. Instead, there are the songs that I found myself listening to over and over again. These are the songs made me dance. These are the songs that made me sing. A few of these songs relaxed me when I needed to be relaxed. One of the songs made me cry but I’m not going to say which one.
It might make you cry too.
Or it might not.
That’s the beautiful thing about art. Everyone experiences it in their own individual way.
Here are my 14 favorite songs of 2016:
14) David Bowie — Lazarus
13) Afrojack & Hardwell — Hollywood
12) Cedric Gervais (ft. Juanes) — Este Amor
11) Matoma (ft. Becky Hall) — False Alarm
10) Radiohead — Burn the Witch
9) Gorgon City (feat Vaults) — All Four Walls
8) Penthox — Give It Away
7) Britney Spears — Clumsy
6) Martin Garrix (feat Mesto) — WIEE
5) Tiesto, Oliver Heldens (feat Natalie LaRose) — The Right Song
Through the Shattered Lens 