I could call this list "The Songs I Love To Drive Around With." More often than not, these 2016 songs set you up for a brilliant climax, often an unforgettable chorus. And I found a wide variety of artists that made songs with that memorable character, artists ranging from barely 20 years old to a reflective 82, from Niger to Nashville, from British hip-hop to yearning falsetto. I'd be thrilled to turn on a radio and hear this broad world of sound represent the Top 40.
Bob Boilen's Top 40 Songs Of 2016
The 1975, "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it"
Aurora, "Conqueror"
Jaye Bartell, "Tuesdays"
Big Thief, "Masterpiece"
Bombino, "Timtar (Memories)"
Bon Iver, "22 (OVER S∞∞N)"
David Bowie, "Blackstar"
Charles Bradley, "Changes"
Car Seat Headrest, "The Ballad of the Costa Concordia"
Leonard Cohen, "You want it darker"
Lucy Dacus, "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore"
Fantastic Negrito, "In the Pines (Oakland)"
Free Cake For Every Creature, "First Summer in a City"
Angelica Garcia, "Orange Flower"
Margaret Glaspy, "You and I"
Heron Oblivion, "Beneath Fields"
Iggy Pop, "Gardenia"
Japanese Breakfast, "In Heaven"
King Creosote, "You Just Want"
Cate Le Bon, "What's Not Mine"
Let's Eat Grandma, "Rapunzel"
Mitski, "Your Best American Girl"
Kevin Morby, "Singing Saw"
Mothers, "Too Small For Eyes"
Agnes Obel, "Stretch Your Eyes"
Conor Oberst, "Tachycardia"
Frank Ocean, "Pink +White"
Angel Olsen, "Never Be Mine"
Parquet Courts, "Dust"
Radiohead, "Burn The Witch"
River Whyless, "Baby Brother"
L.A. Salami, "The City Nowadays"
Sturgill Simpson, "Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)"
Adam Torres, "Juniper Arms"
Adia Victoria, "And Then You Die"
Weaves, "Tick"
Weyes Blood, "Used To Be"
John Paul White, "Black Leaf"
Wilco, "Normal American Kids"
The Wild Reeds, "Everything Looks Better (In Hindsight)"
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