My first blog post in nearly three years is, of course, monumental in nature. My end of the decade recap of the best songs the 2010s had to offer. What could be more exciting? Why 125? Basically that's when I got tired of ranking them 😄
Most of these songs will continue to get airplay...in my car. Most of them were not commercial hits to begin with, but a few were. There are 11 cover songs, a Fozzy, an Ozzy, 3 songs about praying, one that made it to Broadway, 9 artists with 3 or more entries on the list, including one with 8, a little country, a little rock, a little singer-songwriter, a little hair metal, a little Christian rock, 8 former lead singers, and 1 sister.
Here are the first 25 selections. Click on the links to listen. Enjoy.
125. Minute of Your Time - First Signal
124. We Belong - Def Leppard
The Leps have long been my favorite band of all-time. This one from their most recent studio album doesn't come close to their work from the 80's and 90's, but it does add a touch of originality. It's the only track they've ever recorded featuring lead vocals from every band member. Cool enough to warrant a spot on my list.
123. Words As Weapons - Seether
I stupidly overlooked a couple stellar Seether songs when I compiled my best of the 00's list. Not to make the same mistake this time around, I included seven entries from the South African rockers on this list. It starts with this one from 2014's Isolate and Medicate.
122. I'm Not Your Suicide - Michael Sweet
121. Nothing More - The Alternate Routes
120. Crash - Cavo
119. Don't Got One - Hailey Knox
I saw Hailey perform live with her sister, Samantha, when they were pre-teens. Now, 20, Hailey's been signed by a major label, recorded an EP and a mixtape, appeared on The Today Show, sung the national anthem at Madison Square Garden, and opened on tour for Charlie Puth. What are you doing with your life?
118. Down By the Water - The Decemberists
117. This Moment Now - Tyrone Wells
116. Right Now - Fire From the Gods
Keeping rock alive in 2019, this is the first entry from the last year of the decade.
115. Would I Lie to You - Mike Tramp
Former lead singer of 80's hair band, White Lion, Tramp has put out a surprising amount of solo material in the years since the group called it quits.
114. Cry - Kelly Clarkson
113. She is Getting Away - First Signal
112. Million Reasons - Lady Gaga
Overall, I'm not a humongous fan of Lady Gaga's music, but I do think she's one of the more extraordinarily talented pop stars of this generation. In a sea of banal choreography, lip-synched and auto-tuned garbage-churning, plastic tabloid fodder, Stefani Germanotta stands out as someone who can actually sing. This one caught my attention during her stellar performance at Super Bowl LI.
111. Lullaby Singer - Anna Nalick
A disappointing album for my tastes, 2017's At Now did spawn a couple of gems. This was the best of the bunch. Catch her live show if you can.
110. Love Shines - Ron Sexsmith
109. Warrior - Evaride
Evaride is a trio of interesting origin - a singer who starred on Broadway in the Green Day-inspired "American Idiot," a guitarist who's played alongside Jennifer Lopez and Demi Lovato, and the former touring drummer for One Direction. I don't know much about their music, other than this anthem-esque track that blared through my TV repeatedly during Yankee game commercial breaks, in the ad for the RBI Baseball '19 video game. It's an earworm.
108. All In - Lifehouse
107. Animals - Maroon 5
106. Days Go By - The Offspring
105. Last of My Broken Hearts - First Signal
Harry Hess is a Canadian producer/singer who has released a boatload of albums with his band, Harem Scarem. I'd never heard a single song they'd done when I accidentally stumbled across his more recent project, First Signal, on Spotify a couple years ago. Sounding like they were beamed directly out of the 80's AOR scene, FS actually released their first album in 2010. The real classic is their follow-up - 2016's One Step Over the Line, which featured two of the songs already noted on this countdown, as well as one still to come. "Last of My Broken Hearts" is actually their latest single, and the second song from 2019 to make an appearance on this list.
104. Here and Now - Seether
103. Broken Over You - Vertical Horizon
102. We Ain't Telling - Dan Wilson
One of my favorite songwriters dating back to his days fronting Semisonic, Wilson has recently shunned the traditional album format in favor of releasing a string of individual singles. This is the most memorable of that effort to date.
101. Same Damn Life - Seether
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