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Posted by: jimwatts 6th January 2024, 08:25 PM

Jim's EOY top 100 of 2023
time to get this started


Welcome to my first EOY thread on Buzzjack!

I ran my own personal chart throughout 2023, posting a top 40 in each of the 52 weeks in which I charted a total of 417 songs. I've used the tried-and-trusted system of 40 points for a week at #1 down to 1 point for a week at #40 to bring my favourite moments into a top 100 which I'll be counting down. Not sure exactly how long it'll take me or whether I'll have finished by the time people lose interest in it or EOY stuff altogether, but I'll give it a good go!

Before I start, a few honourable mentions of songs which were unlucky to miss out...

Posted by: Jade 6th January 2024, 08:27 PM

Looking forward to this!

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 6th January 2024, 08:34 PM

Sounds good! Interested to see which songs pop up here.

Posted by: k👠th 6th January 2024, 08:42 PM

Posted by: jimwatts 6th January 2024, 09:53 PM

Songs which would have made the top 100 if my entire chart history had been included

#101 Bugzy Malone and TeeDee - Out Of Nowhere (155 points) [[09-14]-11-09-12-17-21-26-36]
#108 Pixey - Melody (From You To Me) (145 points) [[12-11]-13-13-16-21-24-28-31-37]
#118 Gretel Hänlyn - Drive (128 points) [[13-16]-17-17-19-23-25-29-32-38]

I started my chart on 22 December 2022, though the first two weeks were only a top 20 before I expanded to a top 40 for the first week of 2023. I've excluded any points from those two weeks for the purposes of this top 100, however this has meant a few songs have dropped from where they might have ranked across the entirety of the chart's history, and these three have dropped out. Bugzy Malone and TeeDee end up at the unlucky #101 position, a shame as it's rare for me to enjoy a rap song so much, with the garage production and 'Wile Out' sample, in a similar vein to AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove, working a treat. The other two are bursts of indie adrenaline for female artists - Pixey spells out the emotional rush punctuated by "watch me go" over sparkling looped guitar, while over grittier guitar Gretel Hänlyn offers the car keys to the object of her affections even as she senses there might be consequences because it's what she's been searching for.



Highest peaking song not to make my top 100

#111 The Beatles - Now And Then (134 points) [02-04-11-18-36]

Songs with longest chart runs not to make my top 100

#126 Sam Girling - Ankerklause (Is The Feeling Only Strong) (116 points) [30-28-26-24-22-26-32-40-XX⁽⁸⁾-28-38]
#148 Jengi - Bel Mercy (85 points) [38-37-33-32-29-27-26-28-35-40]

All 19 songs which made #1 on my chart and 10 of the 11 which peaked at #2 made this top 100, but the one which misses out is none other than the anticipated final piece in the jigsaw for The Beatles to finish off the trilogy of John Lennon recordings set into life with the full band which started with 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love' in the 90s Anthology series. Hype aside, the high peak was genuine (it was my joint most played song in November) and I wouldn't say its charms wore off, maybe it was just difficult to gauge against other songs in a chart dominated by recordings entirely from the current decade, but I do still enjoy it and maybe another week or two in the top 20 to propel it into this EOY 100 would have been merited. Sam Girling was an Electronic Track of The Week discovery for me, and although I narrowly voted for another song then, its pitched up vocal and frantic house/trance energy had real staying power, with BJSC lifting it back for a further fortnight. Jengi had a low peak, but every time it came on, the sampled vocal powerhouse meshing with the beats, bleeps and bloops has never been anything less than a delight.

I'll begin the top 100 tomorrow!

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 6th January 2024, 10:01 PM

Nice to see Now and Then make an appearance just outside your Top 100 - the song grew on me as I listened to it and really good to see them get a final Number 1! Ankerklause was a fairly decent BJSC entry as well.

Posted by: jimwatts 7th January 2024, 08:19 AM

#100 -> #96

#100 The Weeknd - Less Than Zero (156 points) [11-08-12-18-20-28-34]
#99 Aran Burn - Titan (156 points) [08-07-09-14-23-29]
#98 Allie X - Black Eye (157 points) [33-32-30-26-25-23-21-19-21-23+]
#97 Olivia Rodrigo - vampire (162 points) [15-13-16-19-22-26-33-32-31]
#96 Pharmacist - OVERDO$E (162 points) [07-06-08-13-22-28]

The Weeknd begins the countdown - I was familiar with the song in early 2022 as a standout track from Dawn FM but it had fallen off my radar a bit, until I started doing my own weekly charts and held it back as a potential future single, then when 'Die For You' got the single treatment instead I gave it a belated run. It really should have been a real world hit with its melancholy and treacle synths á la 'Save Your Tears'. Two songs from BJSC 157 land here, both from the opening salvo of off-the-wall bangers which set the tone for semi final 2 (not that I'm blaming them for DNQ-ing with my own song in that semi, even if I sort of am haha). First is Aran Burn which got my eventual bronze in that contest (and takes #99 ahead of Abel by virtue of having peaked a place higher on my weekly chart) - it doesn't let up in its 6 minutes of dark techno beats, screams, Vengaboys-esque woops and chopped vocals. Allie X was a slow-burner on my chart, but it's a fantastic build of 80s-synthy pop with a vow to pick herself up and dance on. I was looking forward to hearing what Olivia Rodrigo would come back with and she didn't disappoint, the fears of 'drivers license' mk II quickly dispelled with the drama building to a huge chorus that pays off with the "blood sucker..." lines and heavy production that pushes right to the end. The other aforementioned BJSC 157 entry was Pharmacist which got my eventual silver then and is the best successor to Kordhell - Murder In My Mind that I've yet heard in the phonk subgenre, with chiming bells and sped up vocals going ten to the dozen.

Posted by: Jade 7th January 2024, 11:45 AM

My favourites to appear so far are: 'Drive', 'Now And Then' and 'Ankerklause (Is The Feeling Only Strong)' outside the top 100 plus 'Less Than Zero', 'Titan' and 'vampire' within it, nice start! I totally agree that 'Less Than Zero' is a missed single opportunity and fantasise that one day it'll get its 'Save Your Tears' moment too Love that Aran Burn's commentary includes dark techno beats plus Vengaboys-esque woops, two things I didn't think I'd ever see together but I get what you mean

Posted by: jimwatts 7th January 2024, 08:33 PM

The Beatles scoring a #1 in 2023 was incredible, and I felt the song lived up to the moment the more I replayed it!


Will join you in wishing for 'Less Than Zero' to get its flowers as a single eventually! Haha yes it's those identically sounding woops in 'Up And Down', we love to see Vengaboys impact in 2023

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 7th January 2024, 08:36 PM

#95 -> #91

#95 Hallan - The Colline Gate (166 points) [36-26-18-15-15-16-20-25-32]
#94 Vicetone, Jordan Powers, Bekah Novi - Animal (166 points) [19-13-15-15-19-23-28-30]
#93 Maggie Rogers - Shatter (171 points) [[17]-15-14-14-16-20-22-25-31]
#92 Lanterns On The Lake - Real Life (173 points) [15-19-17-09-10-17-27]
#91 Alan Walker, Daya - Heart Over Mind (176 points) [25-13-10-09-16-18-20+]

I discovered the Hallan song from RabbitFurCoat's chart and was taken in by the shimmering guitar among synth blasts and disco-like pulse, before the gothic vocals began, joined by the loops of "it's too late" in the chorus, recalling some of the best of 80s indie and maybe Working Men's Club too. I know little about Vicetone, Jordan Powers and Bekah Novi but discovered the song from another personal chart and it's a fun energetic tune (albeit from 2021) with flashes of Icona Pop's one big hit but without the revenge and with a bit more progression in the verses. Maggie Rogers entered my chart the week after the Pixey and Gretel Hänlyn songs which just missed out, but its guitars and Maggie's vocals are similarly charged, ratcheting up to the emotion of the chorus: "I could break a glass just to watch it shatter" and an even tenser middle eight in which everything spills over before picking up again - I had no idea she usually has more of a country sound! Lanterns On The Lake gave me my third BJSC entry with a song which is still to come, and despite said entry DNQ-ing, I was sufficiently invested to check out their other new material - including this song which showcases their typically atmospheric guitars but at a galloping pace, yearning for better days to come: "all that I fantasise will be colourised", before a swooping chorus. Alan Walker and Daya appeared separately on two of my favourite Top 10 hits of 2016 and collaborated here, but the golden element is the winding synthesised riff that sounds naggingly familiar.

Posted by: k👠th 8th January 2024, 04:14 AM

Great to see 'Titan' and Pharmacist make it in here. Both are right stompers from that contest I hosted. Promise I never purposely ordered semi 2 like that

Posted by: Tafty³³³ 8th January 2024, 12:48 PM

Hello Jim! My faves and some comments so far:

#100 The Weeknd - Less Than Zero (156 points) [11-08-12-18-20-28-34]
#98 Allie X - Black Eye (157 points) [33-32-30-26-25-23-21-19-21-23+] > A bop! Reminds me of 'Bad Guy' by Billie in some ways! <
#97 Olivia Rodrigo - vampire (162 points) [15-13-16-19-22-26-33-32-31]

The rest aren't here because... I haven't heard them [/outoftouch]

Posted by: Roba. 8th January 2024, 12:56 PM

'Titan' making someone's eoy top 100 makes up for not making mine a manic tune though!

'vampire' is of course lovely even if I have begun getting a little tired of it now lol.

Posted by: LewisGT 8th January 2024, 04:24 PM

It does feel crazy that The Weeknd never released 'Less Than Zero' as a single. It sounds like something that would have been massive. It's a great track.

Although it wasn't my favourite from the album, I really love 'vampire' as a comeback single from Olivia. She didn't play it safe and it worked out for her.

Posted by: JosephChalamet 8th January 2024, 08:15 PM

Justice for the banger that is Out of Nowhere! Glad to see vampire made it though

Posted by: jimwatts 8th January 2024, 10:00 PM

Haha I know, random.org had a field day there, those were stomping discoveries anyway!


Hi Jonjo! Cool to have another fan of 'Black Eye', ah yes those restrained vocals in the verses of 'bad guy', I can hear some of that. Intrigued to find out who sent it to PFSC!


'Titan' sure is manic with everything thrown into it! For me, 'vampire' has actually survived overplay and could be just as strong for me in its second year as 'good 4 u' was.


'Less Than Zero' does sound like it could have taken off as a post-album single, aside from 'Die For You' maybe The Idol got in the way? Agree 'vampire' was a brave comeback and it worked a treat.


I know, poor brave Bugzy, the perils of being an intra-year hit. Still a banger though!

Thanks all!

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 8th January 2024, 10:05 PM

Quite the fan of Real Life! I've not heard too much else from them but this one definitely stuck with me, certainly the sort of song to get you thinking.

Posted by: Ansel 8th January 2024, 10:08 PM

Like everyone else has said, Less Than Zero must be one of the biggest "singles that should've been" ever! There must be a thousand parallel universes where it's one of his biggest hits - manifesting a Die For You moment any day soon.

Posted by: jimwatts 8th January 2024, 10:08 PM

#90 -> #86

#90 Sergey Salekhov, DJoy - Nocturne (179 points) [16-11-10-11-15-19-26]
#89 BLACKSHAPE - ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL (181 points) [07-06-09-13-19-23-29]
#88 Weyes Blood - Hearts Aglow (184 points) [20-18-18-18-19-21-24-24-28-36]
#87 Olivia Rodrigo - ballad of a homeschooled girl (187 points) [17-11-11-11-11-15-24]
#86 Lana Del Rey - A&W (190 points) [40-32-15-14-15-14-12-19-26-33]

This group begins with two Dan(æviia) entries to song contests in 2023 - Sergey Salekhov and DJoy got my top score in the Club Bizarre 'big drops' edition for this trance tune which breaks down from a full-pelt start to a wistful piano sequence, before gradually building back up to the aforementioned big drop and energetic finish. Of a different genre, the BJSC entry from BLACKSHAPE is an epically proportioned post-rock song with the drama carried by the building and receding guitars over four minutes, until the vocals in the final two minutes match the emotion through the few words initialised within the title. Of a similarly grand length, the song I've taken to the most from Weyes Blood is the partial title track of her album And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow, her voice landscaped by a stirring arrangement with beautiful lyrical imagery about where love can take you - as if carrying a giant illuminated heart, like the woman in the Roger Sanchez - Another Chance video, lighting her way through the night, up on ferris wheels and over black water, but with a fear of falling. The second and highest Olivia Rodrigo song from GUTS, her sophomore album with a pleasingly rocky progression to her sound, is where she cuts loose the most and belts cathartically above the high octane accompaniment about her social anxiety. Olivia's first song was the only one to chart officially so far in this countdown, but it's now joined by Lana Del Rey with the masterful second single from her latest era, albeit lumbered with a frustrating official chart peak of #41, in which Lana recalls an innocent childhood turning to adulthood and becoming in her words "an American whore" - the third verse is particularly hard-hitting, but as an exit the song switches to a trippy beat, ushering a succession of "Jimmy Jimmy cocoa puff" intonations before signing off.

Posted by: Ansel 9th January 2024, 10:36 PM

Olivia and Lana are very welcome here, big fan of both songs - Olivia going more rocky and Lana really switching things up unexpectedly! I was so surprised when I first heard Weyes Blood, she has such a classic-sounding voice I really couldn't believe it was brand new!

Posted by: jimwatts 9th January 2024, 10:53 PM

Oh I'm delighted to hear that! I wasn't aware of them before their song which became my BJSC entry (still to come here), but I agree, very thought-provoking from those I've heard.


Couldn't agree more about 'Less Than Zero' - bring it in from one of those universes! Olivia and Lana delivered with the switch ups (Lana mid-song) in 2023, and Weyes has a gorgeous voice that helps give her music a classic feel.

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 9th January 2024, 10:55 PM

#85 -> #81

#85 MUNA - One That Got Away (193 points) [34-17-14-12-13-12-15-24-35]
#84 Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oh, Lover (195 points) [13-10-11-10-13-17-26-33]
#83 cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada (196 points) [30-23-25-23-22-24-22-21-23-21-26-36]
#82 CHVRCHES - Over (202 points) [29-24-18-16-16-16-16-19-24-30]
#81 Aexhy - I Had A Dream (202 points) [29-27-22-20-12-11-11-16-19+]

I'd heard a lot about MUNA without being able to name anything by them until this song came out, and then the hype made sense with the late 80s-styled electropop and a chorus which turns the angst of the verses on its head. Röyksopp have a couple of songs to come eventually, and on the back of discovering those I revisited the entire 2022 trilogy of Profound Mysteries albums with this song being a standout - frequent collaborator Susanne Sundfør recalls a lover no longer with her, layering the passion and sorrow within her vocals over the spacey production. The third song in this countdown to chart officially is also the only one that didn't make my weekly top 20, and it's quite a marmite moment - step forward cassö, RAYE and D-Block Europe - I'm no fan of the original 'Ferrari Horses' collaboration of the latter two (and I'm one for whom D-Block Europe are generally a hard sell), but something just works in this sped-up form which drops in the right places and gives RAYE's chorus an anthemic feel. I can see how it jars with her backstory as a pigeonholed dance singer and long road to artistic freedom, fortunately her song which was central to that triumph is still to come. CHVRCHES released their poppiest single in a long time and it sparkles brightly, with a chorus that should have been blasting out of radios everywhere. I was impressed with a couple of earlier songs from Aexhy as Electronic Track of the Week discoveries but this one, which I found directly from Kath's chart, is a jittery techno thumper whose dark heart (similarly to Kathaldazia's BJSC entry at around the same time, L.S.G. - Hearts) became a slow-burning hit for me.

Posted by: Roba. 10th January 2024, 12:28 AM

'ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL' did continue to grow through the contest for me. 'Prada' is good as well but hasn't made my eoy though lol.

Posted by: Sergej 10th January 2024, 01:56 PM

Hi Jim!

Really like this from your list so far:

#100 The Weeknd - Less Than Zero (156 points) [11-08-12-18-20-28-34]
#97 Olivia Rodrigo - vampire (162 points) [15-13-16-19-22-26-33-32-31]
#91 Alan Walker, Daya - Heart Over Mind (176 points) [25-13-10-09-16-18-20+]
#87 Olivia Rodrigo - ballad of a homeschooled girl (187 points) [17-11-11-11-11-15-24]
#83 cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada (196 points) [30-23-25-23-22-24-22-21-23-21-26-36]
#82 CHVRCHES - Over (202 points) [29-24-18-16-16-16-16-19-24-30]

Really hope to get into mine soon!
Great list so far!

Posted by: jimwatts 10th January 2024, 10:01 PM

Same for me with BLACKSHAPE, but glad it did and let to a well-earned AQ!


Hi Sergej, glad you like several of these, and I see you've started your EOY now which is great!

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 10th January 2024, 10:10 PM

#80 -> #76

#80 LOWES - Game Of Love (203 points) [36-24-18-15-12-07-14-22-25-34]
#79 Samia - Honey (204 points) [10-01-05-10-15-20-25-38]
#78 ROSALÍA - LLYLM (205 points) [16-06-04-07-09-17-23]
#77 Dani Sylvia - She Swam Higher (206 points) [12-09-09-11-13-16-22-30]
#76 Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You (208 points) [[07-06]-10-10-11-13-17-19-23-26-32]

LOWES open with the best mention of detergent in a song since Kursaal Flyers - it's actually an inventive use of breakable or disposable plates as a metaphor for relationships that can't be fixed or are short-term, over skittering DnB production that fleshes out in the chorus. I discovered and charted this a few weeks before its BJSC entry and although it was my eventual 15 pointer, it had racked up enough weeks pre-contest to outdo the 18 pointer here. Speaking of BJSC, here is the first of 8 of my own entries to land in this countdown from a possible 10 - and no way were the two which DNQed the worst as they both make it, Samia having one of those. It's also the first of 19 which reached #1 on my chart, not entirely coincidentally as the DNQ did take the shine off a bit for me, but I've come back around to its charms. Over minimal guitar, she paints an idyllic picture of a life of freedom, but as it gently builds she explains she can only fantasise about it, and the feeling of her being trapped is enhanced by the video, but it's a double-edged sword because she's making people happy, and repeats the "it's all honey" of the chorus over and over in a thrilling finale. Stepping away from BJSC for a moment, I'd be looking out for new music from ROSALÍA after 2022's 'DESPECHÁ', so a song with a chorus in English this time was a big deal, but her sensual vocals are as on point as usual and the flamenco-styled middle eight is a highlight. We return to BJSC and a rare in-contest discovery for me in this countdown for Dani Sylvia, whose rich vocals tell a short story which could actually narrate a short animated film, with its themes of survival and redemption. Stephen Sanchez brings the number of chart hits in the countdown to four, and been aware of it since autumn 2022, but was most pleased when it properly broke through, with the 60s stylings of the 6/8 time balladry and shimmering guitar backing his unique vocals and those fabulous harmonies.

Posted by: Jade 10th January 2024, 10:26 PM

Hey Jim, my favourites to appear since I last commented are:

#89 BLACKSHAPE - ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL
#88 Weyes Blood - Hearts Aglow
#87 Olivia Rodrigo - ballad of a homeschooled girl
#86 Lana Del Rey - A&W
#84 Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oh, Lover
#78 ROSALÍA - LLYLM
#76 Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You

Post-rock entries do seem to be high point magnets for me more often than not in BJSC and 'ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL' was no exception

Weyes Blood and Röyksopp both provided some of my favourite albums of last year, glad that you checked out the whole trio from the latter *.*

My first listen of 'A&W' was a casual one while on a walk during my lunch break and I was *floored* by that beat-switch, felt like Lana's most experimental release in a little while.

Love to see ROSALÍA appearing in a few countdowns I was a bit concerned that 'LLYLM' would be an underwhelming sell-out English language moment, but instead a Spanglish delight.

Posted by: Chez Wombat 10th January 2024, 10:34 PM

Hooray, I'd hoped you'd finally do one of these x

Weyes Blood's album was a fantastic, gorgeous experience this year, God Turn Me Into a Flower is my highlight, but all of the album including Hearts Aglow is great too. Nice to see Over in someone else's list too as that one went a bit under the radar.

Some good BJSC picks too - She Swam Higher turned into a real highlight thanks to its video and gothic lyrics and BLACKSHAPE was a deserved high pointer from me too.

Posted by: jimwatts 12th January 2024, 12:11 AM

Hey Jade, yes the Röyksopp trio of albums was a treat - such a burst of creativity from them, although the third one is my favourite! 'A&W' is certainly more experimental than I'd been used to from Lana, but she really pulled it off - guessing it'll be top 3 for you? Glad you've so many other favourites here - if you haven't already heard them, I think you might also like 'The Colline Gate' at #95 and 'I Had A Dream' at #81.


Hey Chez, yay with a year's worth of charts, the data was all there for me to do this! I gave Weyes' whole album a listen and it's quite lovely and moving - I can see why 'God Turned Me Into A Flower' is a favourite too. 'Over' did go a bit under the radar as I think some of CHVRCHES' later charting songs did, but they've definitely still got it. Pleasing that both those BJSC songs finished second, great to see them appealing to fans of different genres in the contest too.

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 12th January 2024, 12:24 AM

#75 -> #71

#75 TDJ - Save Me (210 points) [30-29-28-27-26-25-24-23-22-21-20-25-30-35-40]
#74 Let's Eat Grandma - Happy New Year (211 points) [02-03-05-10-12-18-26]
#73 Ava Max - Dancing's Done (214 points) [[09]-05-07-09-15-14-17-21-27-40]
#72 Leony, Niklas Dee, VIZE - I Can Feel (216 points) [17-10-10-10-15-16-19-23-33]
#71 THUS LOVE - Repetitioner (218 points) [40-27-16-09-07-13-14-19-22-25]

TDJ got my second Electronic Track Of The Week for this song which, as the chart run shows, became the ultimate sleeper hit - something else stuck each time I heard it, like the break beat at the start, the gentle builds and drops, the dreamy piano lines, the looped vocal effects near the end, and her gorgeous singing voice. I liked the Let's Eat Grandma song when it came out at the start (appropriately enough) of 2022, but hadn't kept it on my radar, so after reacquainting with it in BJSC's The Best Of (TBO) 2022 and giving it my top score, it got a belated chart run - the wall of synths and lyrics recounting friendship are a delight, while the fireworks around a minute before the end may be a gimmick but one I can't help but love. Ava Max didn't have the best album rollout for Diamonds & Dancefloors, but the song she released just before Christmas 2022 more than hit the mark with ABBA-like synth trills and an alluring, handclap-assisted chorus. The collaboration between Leony, Niklas Dee and VIZE came up on my Release Radar on the back of a song higher up, and has quite an infectious drop - not sure which subgenre I'd put it in, but it certainly slaps. THUS LOVE were a discovery from Jade's chart, and as I mentioned in her EOY thread this song brought to my mind 80s/90s indie band The House Of Love, with the slightly nonchalant vocals and wistful but sparkling guitar.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th January 2024, 10:18 AM

Vampire and Till I Found You feature in my top 100 of 2023, with Prada peaking now in 2024 so in with a hot for this year, and a copule of others I like too

Posted by: CoolHand501 12th January 2024, 01:18 PM

Vampire will definitely be featuring in my countdown.

Posted by: Sergej 12th January 2024, 08:24 PM

Hi there Jim!

Here are my favourites from your list:
#78 ROSALÍA - LLYLM (205 points) [16-06-04-07-09-17-23]
#76 Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You (208 points) [[07-06]-10-10-11-13-17-19-23-26-32]
#72 Leony, Niklas Dee, VIZE - I Can Feel (216 points) [17-10-10-10-15-16-19-23-33] (Surprised to see this here so early!)

Great list so far!
Will be excited for the next songs!

Posted by: Roba. 12th January 2024, 08:45 PM

'Game of Love', 'She Swam Higher', 'Happy New Year', 'Dancing's Done' all good and 'Until I Found You' is fab. Pleased it was a hit although would've loved it to have gone top 10 and not stalled momentum!

Posted by: jimwatts 13th January 2024, 12:45 AM

Glad to see the officially charting songs in my countdown have been popular so far!


Hi Sergej!
Glad for a few more of your favourites in the last ten and the shout out for 'I Can Feel' - not sure if you're surprised it's this high or thought it would be higher, though one of them has another song to come. Thank you!


Glad you approve, and yes 'Until I Found You' appeared to stall very quickly both times it went Top 20, though at least it made the official EOY top 40 and became generally well known!

Thanks all!

Posted by: jimwatts 13th January 2024, 12:54 AM

#70 -> #66

#70 Hard Target, Clouds, Tommy Holohan - Echoes (219 points) [35-27-24-11-06-03-02-01+]
#69 The Blessed Madonna - Serotonin Moonbeams (222 points) [30-16-13-14-13-14-13-19-23-33]
#68 Dua Lipa - Houdini (226 points) [10-08-08-08-08-10-09+]
#67 Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk (227 points) [01-01-02-04-05-06+]
#66 Sheryl Crow - Alarm Clock (230 points) [11-06-04-04-06-11-15+]

This section begins with my final #1 of 2023, and still my current #1 by default since I've yet to post a chart in 2024 :/ The Hard Target collab with Clouds and Tommy Holohan was another discovery from Jade's chart that's taken on a life of its own for me, a six-minute dark banger with a pulsing beat and riff undercut by ominous bass and an eerily pitched vocal repeating: "this is the cure for being alone, these are my friends and this is home..." - all of which speaks to me. A less heavy electronic delight comes next from The Blessed Madonna punctuated by the bouncy riff and joyous chorus "hit you with that bad bitch thunder lightning super frightening, yeah", with some funky retro-sounding samples dropping in towards the end. The next three songs were all still in the top 15 of my last weekly chart too, and it's no surprise that the era starter for Dua Lipa appears in many of these EOYs - a song unmistakably in her identity, and like 'Don't Start Now' the chorus is slightly angular with the verses taking most of the melody, yet there's a grittier 80s-influenced production which truly shines in the final minute. Chelsea Wolfe delivered my final BJSC entry of the year - I was hooked on first listen with the suitably dusky production which whistles and grinds along, while her voice carries the emotion and fiery imagery, until the three-minute mark when it all explodes behind her with guitar and drums unleashed. Sheryl Crow has been having hit albums as long as I've been following the charts, and while I wasn't really looking out for her latest lead single, which has some subtle electronics but is very much in her trademark sound, I'm glad I checked it out as the chorus was a sure-fire earworm from the start, with its all-too-relatable sentiment of real life getting in the way.

Posted by: Jade 13th January 2024, 08:07 PM

Just checked out your recommendations of 'The Colline Gate' and 'I Had A Dream' and both were fab so thanks for that - added them to my shuffle playlist *.*

Some great stuff since I last posted - I'm thrilled that you got a great discovery out of 'Repetitioner' from my chart <3 heard it on 6Music and fell in love straight away. 'Houdini' was also a love at first listen experience, I went in totally blind and was so pleased with how that final minute progressed too. 'Dusk' is of course one of my favourite BJSC entries of last year so thanks again for that discovery! A third Chelsea song has made my weekly chart now in quick succession, 'Tunnel Lights' another intense experience from her.

Posted by: LewisGT 13th January 2024, 08:35 PM

ballad of a homeschooled girl and Houdini are my favourites from your last few sections.

I always love the fun, rockier efforts from Olivia and I'm really intrigued to hear what direction Dua is going to go with the rest of her album as it's always going to be difficult to follow-up such an instant classic. Houdini is a promising start though.

Posted by: jimwatts 13th January 2024, 10:52 PM

You're welcome, glad to hear *.* Whenever I've tuned into 6Music it's been a bit hit and miss for me, but I've heard of many songs I like being discovered there so I should give it more of a try. Delighted that 'Dusk' became such a favourite for you! I'd heard both the other Chelsea songs last year and really should have given 'Tunnel Lights' a few more plays as it sounds captivating on another listen!


I appreciate the rockier side to Olivia too. Agree it will be difficult for Dua to top Future Nostalgia but I like that she's going in a slightly different direction with the lead single and eagerly await what will come next!

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 13th January 2024, 10:54 PM

#65 -> #61

#65 Kesha - Eat The Acid (235 points) [40-30-20-14-14-14-14-16-18-22-27-32-37]
#64 Snow Strippers - Under Your Spell (240 points) [36-29-09-07-08-09-11-12-20-29]
#63 MUNA - What I Want (242 points) [07-06-07-06-10-12-18-23-38]
#62 Shygirl - Firefly (244 points) [25-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-25-24-30]
#61 Fanera - Euforija (247 points) [03-02-03-02-07-13-22-29+]

I may be repeating myself from other EOYs, but I hadn't heard any hype for a comeback from Kesha and nor had I anticipated it, when it popped up midway through New Music Friday and I was immediately intrigued by the dark sounds and repeated "you don't wanna be changed like it changed me" line - later in the song, the choral effects after "hate has no place in the divine" and trippy shift at the end add to the impression that she may be recounting some of the dark places she has gone to as a result of her public ordeal. Two BJSC songs appear in this section and I gave 18s to both - I discovered Snow Strippers from Kath's chart and gave them a run myself before realising it was indeed a Kathaldazia entry, but it's a thumping tune with sultry vocals sporadically clipped as if spellbound, and a towering synth riff that reminds me of what Neil Tennant once called the "ice rink sound" (which I've since associated with the central motif of 'It's A Sin') - pleasingly it won BJSC, however there are a couple more winners still to come. Having been impressed by the earlier MUNA appearance, I came back around to what's probably their best regarded song of 2022 and realised what a joy it is, exemplified by the bridge: "but now, I'm gonna make up for it all at once". Another song I belatedly came around to is from Shygirl but once that plucked strings and fleeting piano loop had worked its way into my head, it wasn't going anywhere, as she sings and flexes about unrequited attention: "not just one but two of us could be lovers". Fanera got my other 18 BJSC points in this section and is my favourite in-contest discovery of the year, with the Lithuanian singer delivering what could be a clubbed-up Eurovision entry with a spoken word breakdown in the middle, but in the final two minutes the titular word in the chorus is elongated, the pace picks up, and suddenly the production pitches the whole thing up ready for a drop, except then there's a random 1 second instrumental snippet, before we go back in and everything gets faster and higher, and just when you thought it couldn't, it does so again, until it abruptly breaks up.

Posted by: Roba. 14th January 2024, 01:24 AM

Some more great tracks here in 'Houdini', 'Dusk', 'Euforija' and 'Under Your Spell'!

Posted by: k👠th 14th January 2024, 11:49 AM

88 Weyes Blood - Hearts Aglow
86 Lana Del Rey - A&W
84 Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oh, Lover
81 Aexhy - I Had A Dream
79 Samia - Honey
75 TDJ - Save Me
70 Hard Target, Clouds, Tommy Holohan - Echoes
69 The Blessed Madonna - Serotonin Moonbeams
68 Dua Lipa - Houdini
67 Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk
65 Kesha - Eat The Acid
64 Snow Strippers - Under Your Spell
62 Shygirl - Firefly
61 Fanera - Euforija

Jim, here's my faves since I last commented!

Brilliant write up for 'Save Me' there And what a chart run it had for you despite the #20 peak *.* Speaking of TDJ, nice to see some love for Aexhy's 'I Had a Dream' from TDJ's outstanding SPF INFINI 3 which is so stacked with trance gems. I think I've charted almost the entire album by now Not sure if you've seen the hour long visual for it yet, but I highly recommend giving it a watch



Samia and Chelsea Wolfe were both great alternative BJSC choices from you that deserved better. I recall having 'Echoes' penciled in for a ETOTW poll but removed it at the last minute. Really cool to see that go #1 for you. Is a banger! Great to see 'Houdini', 'Under Your Spell' and 'Firefly' - all 3 were huge number ones on my chart. 'Firefly' made number 5 on my EOY for 2022.

Looking forward to the rest of the countdown x

Posted by: Sergej 14th January 2024, 02:54 PM

Nice to see "Houdini" and "Alarm Clock" in your Year-End list, recently discovered "Alarm Clock" at the start of 2024!

Posted by: jimwatts 14th January 2024, 11:30 PM

Very glad you were a fan of 'Dusk' and those other BJSC songs are dance bangers!


Hey Kath, wow that's quite a list! 'Save Me' is really impressive from TDJ, 'Miles Away' also came close to making this 100 for her too - I had 3 songs from SPF Infini 3 back to back in my top 20 at one point with that, the Panteros666 song Leww has entered to the current BJSC, and 'I Had A Dream', though it was the last of those which really took off for me along with 'Echoes' - there's something about those dark bangers! Thanks for the visual, will give a watch at some point Glad those BJSC entries were to your liking - Chelsea did quite well, and Samia might have done better in the other semi but hey - and 'Under Your Spell' winning by over 100 points was a moment *.* Pleased to have discovered 'Firefly' eventually from either yours or Ansel's EOYs for 2022!


Yay a hat-trick of 'Houdini' love, and great to see another fan of 'Alarm Clock', it's as catchy as anything!

Thanks all!

Posted by: jimwatts 15th January 2024, 12:09 AM

#60 -> #56

#60 Noah Kahan - Stick Season (248 points) [30-29-20-17-17-17-15-15-15-14-14+]
#59 Gusted - Jet Plane (249 points) [26-20-15-15-15-15-17-21-21-21-26-31]
#58 Rema feat. Selena Gomez - Calm Down (252 points) [[05-07]-07-08-10-12-15-18-20-21-22-27-39]
#57 Ash - Race The Night (254 points) [24-15-09-07-06-11-13-18-23-30]
#56 RAYE feat. 070 Shake - Escapism. (260 points) [28-20-08-06-06-08-12-14-20-28]

Three of these songs should need little introduction, not least the current official #1 from Noah Kahan which is spearheading something of a folk revival and had yet to fall in 11 weeks on my chart - 'Dial Drunk' had a decent run for me too, but some fine lyrical imagery gives this the edge. The song from Gusted is a dance banger with plenty of untz untz and some trancey builds and instrumentation - I had it in mind for several song contests, but eventually sent it to Club Bizarre and it got vetoed, so that was that. I enjoyed the solo Rema version of his astoundingly huge afrobeats hit (which I still haven't tired of and was reluctant to push down my chart while it was still doing so well officially), but Selena Gomez transforms it with her one and a half verses. Ash came back with a song which sounded like they'd beamed in from about 20 years ago, brimming with high octane energy and ascending melodies. In the song which sealed an incredible chart-topping triumph for RAYE after years of striving for independence, she confidently throws down her verses while showing a more vulnerable side in the chorus, with the cameo for 070 Shake giving her some time to reflect before a stunning final chorus and outro - much has been said about it in these EOYs already, although that won't be quite the end of the story for it in this one...

Posted by: Roba. 15th January 2024, 12:12 AM

'Race The Night' of course a great return from Ash *.* and 'Escapism' is fantastic as well, will be in the mix somewhere for my song of 2023!

Posted by: Sergej 15th January 2024, 11:11 AM

Very happy to see "Stick Season", "Calm Down" and "Escapism." on here!

Posted by: jimwatts 16th January 2024, 09:44 PM

Yeah as mentioned at the time, I may have discovered 'Race The Night' from your chart, so great taste!


Glad you approve, two of the biggest hits of 2023 and surely one of the biggest of 2024.

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 16th January 2024, 10:52 PM

#55 -> #51

#55 Schak feat. Kim English - Moving All Around (Jumpin’) (260 points) [[10-08]-06-06-06-10-12-16-16-20-24-34]
#54 Mitski - My Love Mine All Mine (264 points) [16-15-14-13-12-11-10-13-16-26]
#53 Queens Of The Stone Age - Paper Machete (269 points) [05-02-03-03-05-11-16-24-31]
#52 Sølv - Past Life (271 points) [14-09-06-04-08-11-13-17-23-34]
#51 Dagny - Same Again (For Love) (274 points) [24-13-09-11-13-14-15-16-17-21-30-35]

Level on points with 'Escapism.' and with the same peak but for one week longer, Schak takes 55th spot with his update of Kim English - Bumpin' & Jumpin', adding a kicking bass riff in the chorus to push the energy up - the sound and spontaneous dancing video feel like they came straight out of the mid-00's, but a welcome throwback. Mitski getting not only a UK hit but a Top 10 was one of the best chart stories of the year, thanks to the song taking off on (huzzah!) TikTok - it's such a captivating two and half minutes, and while the parent album The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We is consistently great, this is the track I've been the most compelled to return to. As much as I like 2002's 'No One Knows' by Queens Of The Stone Age I hadn't been looking out for their new material, but once again halfway through NMF, the choppy guitar, crunching drums and Josh Homme's vocals jumped through the speakers and I had to replay it straight afterwards - it was a highlight of their Glastonbury set too, and even earlier today when I'd been feeling a little exhausted, this song revived me in seconds. Sølv was a discovery from another Spotify playlist, and her high voice over a minimal, spacey production felt like it had drawn me into an unknown universe - she became my BJSC 154 entry with the most sensual song I've sent to date. Dagny got my silver medal in the latest PFSC ahead of Allie X in bronze (so spoiler alert about who is still to come), but I knew her song well, embedded in a dazzling Scandi-pop production, and if there's been a more glorious arms-aloft chorus in 2023 then I haven't heard it yet.

Posted by: Sergej 17th January 2024, 11:12 AM

Really like seeing "Moving All Around (Jumpin')" on here, as well as "My Love Mine All Mine", ever since "The Only Heartbreaker", I've been liking her stuff as of late.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 18th January 2024, 09:05 PM

Happy New Year is a fab song, always nice to have another song about the new year and this one really works. My Love Mine All Mine was something different in the charts as well which was nice, and Calm Down is quie the earworm as well!

Posted by: jimwatts 18th January 2024, 10:28 PM

Good to hear, and I've been smitten with 'The Only Heartbreaker' since hearing it a couple of years ago, so was excited for new material from Mitski!


Agree, it's a positive thing for these cold January days. Mitski storming the singles chart was surreal at first, but showed there'd been a mainstream audience for her if the right song got the right exposure. 'Calm Down' just doesn't get old for me!

Thanks both!

Posted by: Jade 18th January 2024, 11:05 PM

Hey Jim congrats on your award win once more *.* have just had a catch-up (oops this week has been so busy), here are my favourites since I last popped in:

#65 Kesha - Eat The Acid
#64 Snow Strippers - Under Your Spell
#62 Shygirl - Firefly
#61 Fanera - Euforija
#56 RAYE feat. 070 Shake - Escapism.
#54 Mitski - My Love Mine All Mine
#52 Sølv - Past Life

Two of my favourite chart moments of the year appear in this section! 'Escapism.' at #1 was a satisfying moment for RAYE and I still can't quite believe that Mitski has a hit single to her name I wonder what surprises the chart will have in store for us this year. I guess Sophie, Mason and Natasha are already a good start...

I think I would've first come across Shygirl via BJSC but 'Firefly' is a solid introductory point too! So excited for Club Shy to come out <3

'Past Life' was an instant highlight for me in BJSC, god bless the playlist you found it on! Definitely in my top 3 entries of yours alongside Chelsea and MRD, hoovering up my medals already looking forward to seeing what the contest will bring this year.

(btw the first time I tuned into 6Music I was a bit unsure but was hooked from one year of their Mercury coverage onwards, I most commonly listen to breakfast with Lauren Laverne!)

Posted by: jimwatts 18th January 2024, 11:56 PM

#50 -> #46

#50 Tove Lo - I like u (283 points) [32-29-18-11-09-08-10-12-15-19-25-30-32]
#49 Temples - Cicada (289 points) [31-12-11-08-08-08-12-14-17-22-27-33]
#48 Depeche Mode - Ghosts Again (289 points) [30-22-14-10-07-06-05-09-13-17-29]
#47 Wet Leg - Angelica (289 points) [09-08-04-05-05-06-12-16-24-32]
#46 Sub Focus & Dimension - Ready To Fly (295 points) [[13]-08-05-05-08-10-10-14-16-19-25-36]

Into the top half of the 100 now, and my top scoring song from the latest PFSC appears straight after runner-up Dagny, also being the first of two entries for Tove Lo - an enthralling build in the verses, as the music ascends and distorts beneath her longing vocals, giving way to full-on dance in the chorus with the infectious hook of the "la-la-la" extended title. Temples were #2 in Jade's EOY and I talked about the song there, but it's a psychedelic jaunt with Arabic instrumentation and an infectious chorus (yep, which does sound a bit like Girls Aloud - The Show) which goes harder still the second time around as the strings continue, until there's a twinkly coda as if awaking from a dream. Depeche Mode were reduced to a duo following the sad passing of Andy Fletcher in 2022 (RIP) which looms large over their first single since, as Dave Gahan reflects on their loss and the fleeting nature of life over mournful yet hopeful synths - I hadn't prepared for how incredibly moving this could be. Wet Leg gave a second push to a few singles from their self-titled 2022 album, but this one truly stuck with me on its 2023 repromotion and ousted 'Chaise Longue' as my favourite of theirs, with its jangly guitars and party backdrop of the lyrics giving way to something darker as the music turns almost alarm-like over the bridge. Sub Focus & Dimension had teamed up before on 'Desire', but this time they pleasingly crashed the Top 40 with this storming tune that seamlessly goes from piano-assisted D'n'B to hardcore on a burst of energy.

Posted by: Danuary 19th January 2024, 11:46 AM

hey Jim, here's my faves of the list so far:

#90 Sergey Salekhov, DJoy - Nocturne -> this one ended up doing better in your chart than mine then, glad you enjoyed it
#89 BLACKSHAPE - ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL -> yay for this appearing in another year-end list too
#84 Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oh, Lover
#83 cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada
#80 LOWES - Game Of Love
#76 Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You
#74 Let's Eat Grandma - Happy New Year
#69 The Blessed Madonna - Serotonin Moonbeams
#68 Dua Lipa - Houdini -> this could end up fairly high in my 2024 year end list, it's a really great lead for her
#64 Snow Strippers - Under Your Spell
#61 Fanera - Euforija
#60 Noah Kahan - Stick Season
#58 Rema feat. Selena Gomez - Calm Down
#56 RAYE feat. 070 Shake - Escapism
#55 Schak feat. Kim English - Moving All Around (Jumpin’) -> I do much prefer his new one 'Mama Used To Say' (which is another remake of course)
#54 Mitski - My Love Mine All Mine
#50 Tove Lo - I like u
#46 Sub Focus & Dimension - Ready To Fly

Posted by: Sergej 19th January 2024, 01:09 PM

Like to see "Ghosts Again" in the top 50, nice to see a Depeche Mode comeback this year!

Posted by: jimwatts 19th January 2024, 10:00 PM

Hey Jade - thank you for all the support, it's still sinking in! *.*

Those were fantastic chart moments for sure hope to witness some more on that scale in 2024, but we can enjoy some of the better 2000s hits returning for now I think 'Cleo' was the first Shygirl song I heard, but 'Firefly' is such an earworm - anything from her new album that sticks with me nearly as much would be fantastic. Yay for the 'Past Life' appreciation - "The Other List" on Spotify is where I found it and had it installed as my next BJSC entry pretty much straight away - the Jadakissnia support has been immense, I'm delighted to have come up with some favourites of yours! I'll be sure to give Lauren's show a few goes as my morning listening too.


Hey Dan - yes a great back-to-back of your entries to different contests there! 'Houdini' has been something of a revelation in how well it's holding up with repeated plays, I think it'll appear on many 2024 year ends too. I'm a little more familiar with earlier versions of 'Mama Used To Say' so that probably works against it for me, glad you also like his remake of the Kim English tune anyway.


Great to see, it was a fantastic comeback and probably my favourite song of theirs since the 90s!

Thanks all!

Posted by: jimwatts 19th January 2024, 10:04 PM

#45 -> #41

#45 MRD & Narciss - Midsommar (309 points) [28-19-17-15-12-11-10-13-14-16-18-20-31]
#44 HighSchool - Colt (312 points) [35-26-17-13-13-13-13-15-15-14-13-16-25-34]
#43 Metric - Who Would You Be For Me (322 points) [14-09-07-07-05-01-01-01-02+]
#42 Lucia & The Best Boys - Burning Castles (325 points) [24-18-11-11-11-11-07-06-09-13-18-28]
#41 Vandal Moon - Sweet Disaster (325 points) [14-12-07-05-09-11-09-09-13-19-26-33]

Crossing 300 points now with the first song I heard from MRD - a collab with fellow producer Narciss which I described in Kath's EOY as "New Order on a trance trip", although maybe it's more of a techno trip, but anyway... it ticked just about every box going for me, and might well have been higher had it not been for another track on the same EP which I would send to BJSC. The highest song in this countdown not to have reached my weekly top 10 is a similar fusion of up-my-street genres from HighSchool and it even features some very 'Blue Monday'-esque drum breaks and basslines, but the best moment comes at 3:12 when that all drops out and the synths go up against the deep-in-the-mix vocals instead. Next is the first of three entries for Metric - all of which topped my weekly chart, and this in quick succession after my current BJSC entry, so we'll see how that goes, but regardless this was another delight of a tune packed with memorable lines from them. Speaking of BJSC, there's another of my 18 pointers higher up and also another contest winner, but the highest which achieved both comes from Lucia & The Best Boys as I was won over by the dramatic mid-tempo production with her voice scaling highs and lows and a huge Erasure-like chorus. Vandal Moon have my token discovery from 2022 in this section - I didn't realise a synthesised encapsulation of 80s goth was something I wanted, but I wouldn't be without it now!

Posted by: jimwatts 20th January 2024, 09:07 PM

#40 -> #36

#40 Leony - Holding On (327 points) [28-21-14-10-06-07-08-10-12-15-18-25-32]
#39 SZA - Kill Bill (328 points) [34-32-28-22-18-12-08-06-07-09-13-19-23-29-33-35]
#38 Picture Parlour - Norwegian Wood (335 points) [01-01-01-01-04-05-07-16-22-29-31-39]
#37 Broosnica - Enter The Energy (336 points) [33-26-21-17-13-09-10-08-09-07-08-13-23]
#36 Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle (336 points) [04-03-03-04-03-05-08-13-19-24-29]

I knew nothing about Leony and her history as a BJSC winner when this song came up towards the end of NMF, with a synth riff which sounded a deliberate homage to 'Bad Habits' and therefore 'Smalltown Boy', and a pop song that's catchy as the hell she'd rather keep on going through "if hell is where I can be close to you". SZA released SOS at the end of 2022 and her biggest hit from it took its time but gradually usurped 'Nobody Gets Me' as its best unreleased track for me, and now rivals 'Good Days' as my overall favourite, as she lays down thoughts of revenge over the finest of musical earworms - the shift from "jail" to "hell" in the final chorus hits particularly hard. The second half of NMF comes up trumps again with Picture Parlour whose song I had to replay straight away, as Katherine Parlour's cathartically delivered vocal and every chord change went straight to my gut - maybe some lyrics are a little on the nose, and I felt like it could be polarising as a BJSC entry but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't send it, and happily it found some other dedicated fans who helped it to a top half finish. Broosinca were one of my first ETOTW discoveries with 'Neocity', then a few months later came this single where the energy certainly does enter, and proceeds to stomp around the place for some of the finest 3 minutes of techno I've encountered. Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding surely need little explanation, a lot was at stake with two such big names and their collab history, but thankfully this was the perfect reimagination of all those classic trance hits of the 90s/00s, and a full-on revival of the sound in the charts was underway.

Posted by: jimwatts 22nd January 2024, 12:05 AM

#35 -> #31

#35 070 Shake - Black Dress (339 points) [06-05-06-07-09-06-08-09-12-16-28]
#34 Röyksopp - Me&Youphoria (343 points) [[02-01]-01-01-03-04-07-09-11-13-17-20-27-36]
#33 Madame - ARANCIATA (350 points) [36-23-18-20-18-18-14-09-06-04-09-13-18-23-36]
#32 Armin van Buuren - Lose This Feeling (351 points) [17-04-03-03-03-06-07-12-14-18-22-32]
#31 Ofenbach feat. Norma Jean Martine - Overdrive (355 points) [24-14-04-03-04-03-04-06-10-18-23-24+]

The story of 'Escapism.' continues, except it's featured vocalist 070 Shake who has the highest appearance in this EOY with this mesmerising discovery, yet again from halfway through NMF, which I'm amazed had so little traction elsewhere - I did consider it for BJSC, but as she finished 3rd and 6th fairly recently I thought a veto was likely. My first weekly #1 of 2023 (and my last of 2022) comes from Röyksopp whose chiming and bubbling synths set the scene beautifully while the smooth soaring vocals from the uncredited Gunhild Ramsay Kovacs complete the sense of the titular euphoria. Madame was a name I recognised when I discovered her song from Sergej's chart which proved a slow-burning hit for me, with a heavily processed vocal but stunning range and an earworm of a tune, which I came to appreciate even more once I'd seen a translation of the Italian lyrics. The trance revival continues with something of a veteran in Armin van Buuren and in my mind an absolute stormer of a tune with pitched up vocals and speedy builds, but which again appears to have made little impression generally. Speaking of euphoria in its many spellings, 'Euforija' took my top score in BJSC 159 ahead of another song yet to come, which like the song that took my bronze in that contest from Ofenbach and Norma Jean Martine is one I already knew, hence it having a pre-contest run helping it to a higher placing here, as I'd already been swept along by the Kim Wilde - Cambodia interpolation and sheer joyfulness exemplified in the lyrics and delivery.

Posted by: jimwatts 27th January 2024, 01:59 PM

#30 -> #26

#30 Tove Lo - Borderline (360 points) [28-12-08-11-11-09-08-10-11-13-17-20-25-32-40]
#29 Patrick Topping feat. Raphi - Whisper (369 points) [08-04-02-02-02-06-08-10-14-20-24-28-36+]
#28 The Lathums - Turmoil (371 points) [[03-02]-02-03-02-03-05-05-07-10-16-15-21-32]
#27 Cameo Blush, Pretty Girl - Millennium Fields (386 points) [24-21-16-16-16-13-15-15-14-09-05-05-08-11+]
#26 Sam Fender - Angel In Lothian (390 points) [04-04-03-02-02-02-04-06-09-16-23-27]

Co-written by Dua Lipa, the second and highest Tove Lo song in this countdown comes with plenty of verve and bounce. The final BJSC 159 entry from Patrick Topping took my silver but it was already on a good run pre-contest as it followed another of his songs still to come, with cutesy vocals from Raphi and 80s synths popping up around them. The Lathums must be one of the most unknown bands to have had two #1 albums in the 2020s, but belied the indie chancers tag with this tender ballad about sharing emotional flaws with a loved one. I knew a few songs by Cameo Blush and Pretty Girl before their ETOTW collab gave both a debut hit in my chart, and just when I thought it had peaked in the low top 20 it carried on keening upwards like the music with the dreamlike vocal clippings drifting about, creating numerous stickable moments without there being any hook to speak of. Current Top 40 hit 'Seventeen Going Under' was my most played song of 2022, and from the previous year's album of that name, in the absence of new music from Sam Fender last year, I recalled my favourite non-single track from it one random morning and played it afresh to realise it was even better than I remembered, a saxophone and piano homage to Bruce Springsteen as Sam recounts losing the comfort of youth.

Posted by: Jade 27th January 2024, 04:11 PM

Hello again Jim having a bit of a catch-up now, these are my favourites to appear since I last commented:

#44 HighSchool - Colt
#42 Lucia & The Best Boys - Burning Castles
#41 Vandal Moon - Sweet Disaster
#37 Broosnica - Enter The Energy
#36 Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle
#34 Röyksopp - Me&Youphoria
#30 Tove Lo - Borderline
#27 Cameo Blush, Pretty Girl - Millennium Fields

Pleased that 'Colt' has the honour of highest placing song to not make your weekly top 10! Forgot it registered so many weeks at #13

Still so delighted that you took to 'Sweet Disaster' a lot, indeed that gothic and electronic fusion is wonderful ❤️ yay for BJSC exposure since albeit with different material.

'Miracle' didn't quite make my top 100 (would've qualified for a top 200 placing though if my countdown had been double the length) but definitely appreciate it nevertheless, what a fabulous return of trance music in the top 40 (all the way at #1 at that!) and it reminds me of some happy memories.

Some great less commercial electronic stuff here too - 'Me&Youphoria' is absolutely lush <3 Broosnica was an ETOTW discovery for me too, with 'Enter The Energy' the best I've heard from him to date, what a banger. Cameo Blush and Pretty Girl are two reliable names so were bound to deliver together, enjoying 'Z' by the former right now also.

Posted by: jimwatts 30th January 2024, 07:27 AM

Hey Jade, happy to see so many you like here, and I'd guess that's not counting the #50->#46 region which included 'Cicada' amongst others 'Colt' has so many enjoyable elements that revealed themselves over repeat listens with the song itself a little buried in the mix, and of course 'Sweet Disaster' was a fantastic rediscovery from your EOY last year. 'Miracle' sealing the return of trance music as a commercial force was such a treat with a callback to some 90s/00s classics. Glad you're a fan of those less commercial electronic ones - 'Enter The Energy' and 'Millennium Fields' both peaked over two months into their runs for me, and it's part of the fun to find out what will end up sticking - look forward to more of these in 2024, and 'Z' is a great start.

Thanks for your continued interest! I'll get this finished eventually - the ideal window for this sort of thing does appear to be closing now, but I'm keen to stay true to the spirit of the countdown, so will carry on as and when I have time.

Posted by: jimwatts 30th January 2024, 08:35 AM

#25 -> #21

#25 Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana (391 points) [29-14-12-10-12-10-12-10-12-10-12-14-16-21-30]
#24 Billy Gillies feat. Hannah Boleyn - DNA (Loving You) (391 points) [18-05-04-02-01-03-06-07-11-14-16-22-33]
#23 ARXX - God Knows (393 points) [29-11-10-06-07-06-07-09-11-13-17-20-23-27-30-37]
#22 Lanterns On The Lake - The Likes Of Us (394 points) [02-02-02-02-04-07-10-12-16-16-23-27-25-32]
#21 Audio Bullys - As We Step (395 points) [07-05-05-05-05-05-05-05-07-14-20-25-30+]

The third and fourth highest placed commercial hits in this countdown appear level on points, with Peggy Gou coming in lower thanks to that chart run of mine (the many #10 peaks echoing her multiple climbs to #5 officially), but the timeless quality of the sun-drenched production and nod-to-ATB guitar shone through in the end. Billy Gillies having a commercial hit capped the return of trance as a charting force, with the powerful vocals of Hannah Boleyn setting the emotion (and some random drink-pouring sounds making it into the production) - it may have peaked some time ago for me, but its ascent to the official Top 10 earlier this month was most welcome. The next three songs were all NMF discoveries for me - ARXX had my backup entry for about four BJSC contests, a fine rock/pop hybrid with androgynous vocals, handclaps and a killer chorus - I eventually sent it to PFSC but the less said about that the better. The biggest song contest heartbreak came earlier though, as Lanterns On The Lake had caught my attention with this ode to aiming for glory against the odds, helmed by the Florence-esque vocals and atmospheric guitar and strings - I had it down as a BJSC entry straight away, and despite it being my first DNQ, "I won't let this spark die in me" proved prophetic as it came mightily close to topping my chart while up against one of my top favourite songs of the year. No such song contest stigma for Audio Bullys whose return with this collage of old school styles amid minimal vocal samples seems to have gone very much under the radar, with all those weeks at #5 my best attempt to keep a lid on what just might be a low key modern gem.

Posted by: Jade 30th January 2024, 08:54 AM

Oops sorry not sure how I managed to miss that section! I charted 4/5 of them ('Cicada' , 'Angelica', 'Ghosts Again' and 'I like u') so wholeheartedly approve *.*

Great to see Peggy Gou now appearing also <3 and justice for Lanterns On The Lake </3 I gave that a silver medal in the semi and also lost my 12 pointer, a brutal month!

Posted by: k👠th 30th January 2024, 07:15 PM

Hey Jim 👋 enjoying the write-ups so far. I like all of these:

#56 RAYE feat. 070 Shake - Escapism such a huge moment for RAYE, got me really excited for this new chapter in her career but everything since has sadly been meh
#52 Sølv - Past Life This was a nice subtle moment from Bronzil
#50 Tove Lo - I like u
#47 Wet Leg - Angelica
#45 MRD & Narciss - Midsommar expecting 'Last Dance' and 'Memories of You' to be very high here. I got really excited when he popped up on my release radar the other week but then it turned out to be a cover of Feel So Close by Calvin Harris
#44 HighSchool - Colt this was a bit unlucky on my chart as well, stalling in the 20-30s section, but the best HighSchool track I've heard to-date, and happy got sent to a contest on here
#43 Metric - Who Would You Be For Me I lost interest in Metric for years now but was really surprised by how good 'Days of Oblivion' was (thank you for sending it to BJSC btw!). It really struck a chord with me on 2nd listen, and this is great too. I need to give the album a spin it seems
#41 Vandal Moon - Sweet Disaster
#39 SZA - Kill Bill
#37 Broosnica - Enter The Energy This is such an addrenalin rush. Ideal for an early morning run
#36 Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle
#34 Röyksopp - Me&Youphoria
#30 Tove Lo - Borderline I saw Dua and Tove having drinks together on Instagram stories recently. Wonder if they have another song in the works
#29 Patrick Topping feat. Raphi - Whisper super catchy and quite tastefully produced for a mainstream dance track
#27 Cameo Blush, Pretty Girl - Millennium Fields I was really happy to see this smash on someone else's chart. It sounded exactly how I envisioned a Cameo Blush, Pretty Girl collab would sound like. Light and dreamy but with a hypnotic, building tension
#25 Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana That 10-12 chart run oh my! Probably my favourite mainstream dance hit of the year.

Hoping your weekly charts will be back soon x

Posted by: jimwatts 31st January 2024, 08:55 AM

No problem haha, thought that section would be to your liking! Yeah that was a brutal semi - Lanterns On The Lake got 40 points, half of them from you and Colm, which would have been enough to qualify some months, but The Dare were especially unlucky not to qualify with 60!
Thanks Jade


Hey Kath, glad to hear - thank you!

Yeah I agree on RAYE, only the slower tracks have interested me at all really, 'Escapism.' aside. You may well be right about those MRD songs I had that 'Feel So Close' cover on my Release Radar too 'Colt' is the best I've heard from HighSchool too - I was on holiday during Nuggets so didn't enter, but was tempted to vote and give it a 12. Very happy to see so many of the Bronzil entries were up your street! I thought 'Days Of Oblivion' might be vetoed but eventually decided it was worth a go - first listen was OK, but on second I thought wow this is really good, and it convinced me to check out the album where I found WWYBFM - they do pack a lot into some gorgeous melodies.

'Enter The Energy' really is that adrenaline rush. Oh cool, here's hoping for another Dua / Tove song, 'Borderline' is fab! Glad you approve of 'Whisper', a lot of the commercial leaning dance doesn't do a lot for me, but that one worked a treat. Yay for ETOTW as a launchpad for 'Millennium Fields' your description is spot on and I was hoping something from both artists would click from the start as it did, but it's most pleasing when a discovery blossoms into something bigger for me and it's rightly up here! Yeah I know re that Peggy chart run must have been on the 3rd or 4th visit to #10 that I realised there's something timeless here!

Thanks may be sooner than you think (in some form x)

Posted by: Danuary 31st January 2024, 08:37 PM

here's my faves since:
#45 MRD & Narciss - Midsommar
#43 Metric - Who Would You Be For Me
#42 Lucia & The Best Boys - Burning Castles
#36 Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle -> yay for this showing up here as it was my fave hit single of the year
#34 Röyksopp - Me&Youphoria -> this was one of their handful of singles that were hits for me too
#31 Ofenbach feat. Norma Jean Martine - Overdrive
#29 Patrick Topping feat. Raphi - Whisper
#25 Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana -> and yay for Peggy and Billy too, both big standouts of the UK chart hits this year
#24 Billy Gillies feat. Hannah Boleyn - DNA (Loving You)

Posted by: jimwatts 31st January 2024, 08:57 PM

#20 -> #16

#20 The Killers - Your Side Of Town (397 points) [01-01-01-01-01-04-08-09-12-16-21-29-32]
#19 hemlocke springs - heavun (406 points) [09-07-04-04-04-04-06-09-11-14-16-22-27-31]
#18 Sky Ferreira - Don't Forget (406 points) [07-04-02-03-04-05-06-10-13-15-20-22-26-31]
#17 Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Wuh Oh - Hypnotized (411 points) [08-04-03-05-05-07-05-09-11-14-16-21-28-34-34]
#16 Rosa Linn - Never Be Mine (425 points) [12-06-02-01-01-01-04-10-10-12-15-21-25-30-40]

The Killers had the first song to enter at #1 on my chart in its week of release with the synthesised switch-up evoking many of their influences, especially Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Depeche Mode, a winning combination if ever there was one. More homage to 80s synth pop follows, as I'd previously charted three songs from hemlocke springs - two of them BJSC entries, including the 'sever the blight' before its entry to BJSC 155 was revealed which it went on to win - before she released the one which surpassed the rest for me, the bubbliness of the music and gutsy vocals undercut by the feelings of fear and desperation in falling for her crush, with an echo of 'I Feel Love' as she trills "ah recover, recover the remnants of my pride". In one I discovered from Jade's 2022 EOY, synths come to the fore again, albeit louder and fiercer, as Sky Ferreira creates a thrilling firestorm of revenge for her wrongdoer, making it plain: you cross me at your peril. Also from 2022 but still impacting my chart long before Saltburn came Sophie Ellis-Bextor where I believe she surpassed even the evergreen (and currently a bigger #2 smash then ever before!) 'Murder On The Dancefloor' in this collab with Wuh Oh that came with a spiralling synth line and the most danceable of earworms as she dismisses her ex, playing neatly on the "zed" within the title. As much as I admired 'SNAP' and its post-Eurovision redemption for Rosa Linn as a viral hit, I wasn't particularly awaiting a follow-up, but when it turned out to be such an intimately written and performed heartbreak ballad, I really couldn't pretend to ignore it, as every word and every chord hit me deep in the guts.

Posted by: jimwatts 6th February 2024, 09:38 PM

That's quite a decent haul - 'Miracle' was immediate for me and ends up the 5th highest Top 100 hit here just as in the official EOY. It was fantastic to see the commercial success for Peggy and Billy too. Röyksopp were on a roll at that point and have another song still to come.

Thanks Dan

Posted by: jimwatts 6th February 2024, 09:46 PM

#15 -> #11

#15 Metric - Days Of Oblivion (427 points) [01-01-01-01-01-02-03-03-02-04-05+]
#14 Patrick Topping feat. Might Delete Later - Make Me Happy (431 points) [23-05-03-03-03-03-05-08-11-14-14-17-22-28-31-35]
#13 Milky Chance - Living In A Haze (502 points) [23-21-13-08-06-03-03-05-04-04-06-08-11-14-19-21-32-35]
#12 DJ HEARTSTRING - It Ain't Over (514 points) [21-09-03-02-02-02-03-03-03-05-07-10-12-14-19-27]
#11 Panteros666 feat. Zorza - Ultra Ray (527 points) [28-18-13-10-07-06-08-06-07-06-07-09-09-06-10-15-18-28]

When a new Metric song came up on my Release Radar in October, I didn't have any expectations of it being on a level with 'Doomscroller' or another song of theirs which is still to come, so when it properly hit me on second listen, it was almost magical and made for an immediate #1 - over six minutes, the mood shifts from fear of oblivion to facing it head-on in the chorus, then to an almost dreamlike acceptance in the final coda. The Patrick Topping collab with Might Delete Later was his first song to chart for me and quickly lodged itself in the top 3, packed with infectious energy, a huge earworm of a chorus, and even my favourite song by The Killers getting a random mention. A big jump to beyond 500 points finds Milky Chance who also hit a ceiling at #3, but amidst a huge run as one of the surprise hits of the year for me, with spindly guitars and infectious hooks all the way as the sadness of the lyrics are disguised by an impressive homage to disco. DJ HEARTSTRING (actually two people) have the highest placed song to get my 18 points in BJSC, virtually unchallenged as it had already made it to #2 in my chart, a neat techno / house hybrid with the vocals coming in after a minute and energy set to high throughout. Just missing my top 10 are Panteros666 and Zorza with the second highest placed song not to reach #1 in my weekly chart, despite getting no higher than #6, a peak it scaled four times as the dreamy techno and vocals refused to sound anything but fresh and uplifting, centred on an endurably stickable instrumental bridge.

Posted by: Jade 6th February 2024, 10:19 PM

Love how synthtastic the #20-16 section is, both 'Your Side Of Town' and 'Don't Forget' are big favourites happy to have introduced you to the latter!

'Ultra Ray' is my favourite in that latest post. Both Panteros666 and Zorza seem promising from what I've heard - was cool to see the former popping up in BJSC.

Looking forward to the top 10

Posted by: Popchartfreak 7th February 2024, 10:21 AM

Some personal classics in your list so far already, Stephen Sanchez, Depeche Mode, Miracle, Burning castles, Houdini, Killers, and goodies like Hypnotised, Peggy Gou, Overdrive, and more. Expect to see some of these in my year-end Top 100 whenever I get round to it (just waiting for some to drop out my charts for a full total of chart "sales")

Posted by: jimwatts 8th February 2024, 11:52 PM

Yeah, can't really go wrong with synths 'Don't Forget' is immense, very grateful to have been introduced to it - hope there's more to come from Sky!

I've also liked most of what I've heard from Panteros666 and Zorza, though 'Ultra Ray' will be hard to top for me - they combine so well on it.


Glad to see so many of these appeal to you too, and quite a varied selection! Look forward to seeing your EOY top 100 when it's ready

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 9th February 2024, 12:30 AM

#10 -> #06

#10 Hannah Laing & RoRo - Good Love (533 points) [27-06-02-02-02-01-01-01-02-03-07-11-18-22-25-23-27-31-35]
#09 Geo22 - Magic (562 points) [27-17-12-09-06-05-07-05-03-03-01-04-06-05-08-14-17-27]
#08 Metric - False Dichotomy (568 points) [15-04-03-01-01-02-02-05-05-07-08-10-11-11-16-21-24-31-34]
#07 Loreen - Tattoo (575 points) [17-11-05-04-04-04-03-02-02-04-05-07-08-12-14-16-21-24]
#06 Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Stay Awhile (618 points) [[04-04]-04-04-04-01-01-01-01-03-03-04-06-08-14-13-17-20-21-23-27-34-38-37]

The second highest official chart hit in this EOY opens the top 10 - I can't often claim to be ahead of the curve, but as the sole voter for Hannah Laing & RoRo in the Dance Track Of The Week when they appeared, I thought there was quite a tune here with the pitched up vocals and retro-trance energy, and it jumped into my top 10 a few days before it made its first top 200 appearance on Spotify. Geo22 have the top BJSC entry that I didn't send - I'd discovered it weeks earlier from Kath's chart and was instantly hooked by the sugary vocals and minimalist techno that recalled half-remembered video games and sounded perfect in the summer sun, so as her BJSC 156 entry it was bound to be high in my votes, and only an 80s classic I've known since 2010 kept it from getting my 18 points, but no matter as it swept to a second Kathaldazia victory in three contests. The highest Metric song is one I'll still call my favourite, from the same 2022 album as 'Doomscroller' but powered by high-octane synths and a catchier chorus than such smart lyrics have any right to, before the distorted "hate... love..." thrillingly plays it out. Loreen has the highest commercial hit in this EOY as well as the highest not to reach #1 on my weekly chart - I first heard it months before Eurovision and within a couple of listens all thoughts of a retread of 'Euphoria' were dispelled with her soaring build to the huge chorus, with further listens only confirming its winning potential - so when it did triumph on the night, I was riled by the accusations that the juries had simply colluded to a safe winner, as I knew it would find a wider audience than usual for Eurovision who would go on to embrace it like I did. Missing out on the top 5 by just 2 points, whereas if I'd included the first two weeks of my chart in 2022 it would have been #4, comes the highest entry for Röyksopp with vocals from one of them as the spacey production gently orbits, but enters another dimension when the vocals of Susanne Sundfør arrive for the second verse, with echo effects heightening the sense of risk and reward in what's being proposed, before both parties duet on the final chorus.

Posted by: Roba. 9th February 2024, 02:52 AM

'Burning Castles'

'Magic', 'Tattoo', 'Good Love', 'It Goes Like..', 'Miracle' and 'Hypnotized' are great/fab!

Posted by: Cody Cranston 10th February 2024, 01:16 AM

yay Good Love being so high

Posted by: jimwatts 10th February 2024, 08:30 PM

Lucia was bound to be here somewhere, an excellent BJSC winner Glad you're a fan of all those songs - I checked out 'Hypnotized' after seeing it at #10 in your EOY for 2022, it had passed me by before that!


It's so good it came on the radio one day late last year after I hadn't heard it for a while and sounded as fab as ever.

Thanks both!

Posted by: jimwatts 10th February 2024, 08:33 PM

#05 -> #03

#05 MRD & TDJ - Memories Of You (620 points) [19-18-07-06-05-04-03-02-01-02-02-05-05-05-07-10-17-20-26-36]
#04 ACRAZE & Aviella - In A Dream (664 points) [22-13-09-08-08-08-08-08-04-03-02-02-01-02-04-08-11-12-13-21-31-40]
#03 LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Time Is Not A Healer It’s A Fuel For Resentment (665 points) [[01-03]-03-02-01-02-02-03-02-01-02-01-03-04-06-07-10-16-19-22-26-33-36-36]

Funny how quickly you can become invested in new discoveries - a collaboration between MRD & TDJ would have passed me by at the start of 2023, but when it appeared in May I'd already been taken in by their other songs in this countdown so it was an exciting prospect, and despite a similarly slow climb it didn't disappoint - a 7 minute melancholy techno banger true to both their production styles, with lyrics reflecting on a fractured relationship sung from both artists' perspectives - the break for the middle eight with both their vocals is particularly gut wrenching. I didn't particularly rate the ACRAZE Top 10 hit remake of Cherish's 'Do It To It', but this cover of a late 90s song by Rockell with a tranced-up production and the smooth vocals of the belatedly credited Aviella was very much up my street, and after growing on me over a couple of months, I put it forward for BJSC 158 where, just as here, it wound up in fourth place and missed out on the top 3 by just 2 points, however I was blown away by that and by just how much support it had from 35 voters, so I gave it the honour of the tenuous pun in this thread's subtitle Another Bronzil entry takes the bronze medal in this countdown - for my second BJSC, I took the song by LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER which had convinced me to start posting my personal chart before 2022 was over, topping my inaugural chart within a couple of weeks of my first listen courtesy of NMF when the hooks hit me before I’d registered that 10-word title, and its endearing DIY aesthetic with a semblance of a message beneath the cascade of self-played synths - if I could make vaguely marketable music, I’d aspire that it wouldn’t sound a million miles from this.

Two songs remain - both spent 27 weeks in my weekly chart, including 5 weeks at #1, and both have passed not only 700 but 800 points - so who will come out on top tomorrow?

Posted by: Jade 10th February 2024, 08:59 PM

Ooh very good start to the top 10 so far! I think I charted almost everything there last year *.* 'Doomscroller' was of course my favourite from that Metric album but 'False Dichotomy' was still a highlight nevertheless. 'Magic', 'In A Dream' and 'Time Is Not A Healer It’s A Fuel For Resentment' are all very good BJSC entries <3 have you heard 'Desperado Vespa' by the latter artist? That was how I first discovered LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER via an Aelandor entry several years back

Posted by: jimwatts 11th February 2024, 03:22 PM

Ooh yay for the taste *.* Metric have certainly been a huge find for me as I was only vaguely aware of them before 'Doomscroller'. Love the support for those BJSC entries can't remember if I'd sought it out before, but 'Desperado Vespa' sounds pretty good - several of his songs have come up on my Release Radar, including 'Night Or Day' which I also charted.

Thanks Jade now for the conclusion of this countdown!

Posted by: jimwatts 11th February 2024, 03:26 PM

#02 -> #01

#02 MRD - Last Dance (804 points) [24-12-09-05-03-02-01-01-01-01-01-02-04-05-07-06-08-10-11-15-15-18-21-21-25-35-40]

The MRD song which takes the runner up spot comes from the same EP as 'Midsommar' and similarly infuses his deep vocals with layers of synth riffs and post-punkish guitar, however the expansive danceable production, bassline, and the little elements like a panpipe midway through lift it to another place - once I considered its potential crossover appeal, I sent it to BJSC 155, but never would have guessed it could finish as high as 3rd so a long chart run before and after that highpoint of my BJSC participation to date brings it to one place higher in this particular rundown!



#01 Rose Gray - Ecstasy (838 points) [06-02-01-02-01-01-01-01-02-03-03-05-07-06-04-06-08-09-10-13-16-19-22-22-31-31-37]

However my song of the year belongs to Rose Gray - I'd already charted her 2022 release 'Promise Me' (#112 in this listing; her later release 'Happiness' is at #110) with a similar 90s-festival-friendly dance vibe, when this took a hold of me with its huge danceable riffs and builds and Rose's hedonistic vocals, and the titular metaphors of the lyrics are pure genius - so by a margin of 34 points (less than a quarter of the gap between 3rd and 2nd), she takes top spot for the year congratulations Rose!

Posted by: jimwatts 11th February 2024, 03:31 PM

My full EOY top 100 of 2023 looks like this:

01 | 838 | Rose Gray - Ecstasy
02 | 804 | MRD - Last Dance
03 | 665 | LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Time Is Not A Healer It’s A Fuel For Resentment
04 | 664 | ACRAZE & Aviella - In A Dream
05 | 620 | MRD & TDJ - Memories Of You
06 | 618 | Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Stay Awhile
07 | 575 | Loreen - Tattoo
08 | 568 | Metric - False Dichotomy
09 | 562 | Geo22 - Magic
10 | 533 | Hannah Laing & RoRo - Good Love

11 | 527 | Panteros666 feat. Zorza - Ultra Ray
12 | 514 | DJ HEARTSTRING - It Ain't Over
13 | 502 | Milky Chance - Living In A Haze
14 | 431 | Patrick Topping feat. Might Delete Later - Make Me Happy
15 | 427 | Metric - Days Of Oblivion
16 | 425 | Rosa Linn - Never Be Mine
17 | 411 | Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Wuh Oh - Hypnotized
18 | 406 | Sky Ferreira - Don't Forget
19 | 406 | hemlocke springs - heavun
20 | 397 | The Killers - Your Side Of Town

21 | 395 | Audio Bullys - As We Step
22 | 394 | Lanterns On The Lake - The Likes Of Us
23 | 393 | ARXX - God Knows
24 | 391 | Billy Gillies feat. Hannah Boleyn - DNA (Loving You)
25 | 391 | Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana
26 | 390 | Sam Fender - Angel In Lothian
27 | 386 | Cameo Blush, Pretty Girl - Millennium Fields
28 | 371 | The Lathums - Turmoil
29 | 369 | Patrick Topping feat. Raphi - Whisper
30 | 360 | Tove Lo - Borderline

31 | 355 | Ofenbach feat. Norma Jean Martine - Overdrive
32 | 351 | Armin van Buuren - Lose This Feeling
33 | 350 | Madame - ARANCIATA
34 | 343 | Röyksopp - Me&Youphoria
35 | 339 | 070 Shake - Black Dress
36 | 336 | Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle
37 | 336 | Broosnica - Enter The Energy
38 | 335 | Picture Parlour - Norwegian Wood
39 | 328 | SZA - Kill Bill
40 | 327 | Leony - Holding On

41 | 325 | Vandal Moon - Sweet Disaster
42 | 325 | Lucia & The Best Boys - Burning Castles
43 | 322 | Metric - Who Would You Be For Me
44 | 312 | HighSchool - Colt
45 | 309 | MRD & Narciss - Midsommar
46 | 295 | Sub Focus & Dimension - Ready To Fly
47 | 289 | Wet Leg - Angelica
48 | 289 | Depeche Mode - Ghosts Again
49 | 289 | Temples - Cicada
50 | 283 | Tove Lo - I like u

51 | 274 | Dagny - Same Again (For Love)
52 | 271 | Sølv - Past Life
53 | 269 | Queens Of The Stone Age - Paper Machete
54 | 264 | Mitski - My Love Mine All Mine
55 | 260 | Schak feat. Kim English - Moving All Around (Jumpin’)
56 | 260 | RAYE, 070 Shake - Escapism.
57 | 254 | Ash - Race The Night
58 | 252 | Rema feat. Selena Gomez - Calm Down
59 | 249 | Gusted - Jet Plane
60 | 248 | Noah Kahan - Stick Season

61 | 247 | Fanera - Euforija
62 | 244 | Shygirl - Firefly
63 | 242 | MUNA - What I Want
64 | 240 | Snow Strippers - Under Your Spell
65 | 235 | Kesha - Eat The Acid
66 | 230 | Sheryl Crow - Alarm Clock
67 | 227 | Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk
68 | 226 | Dua Lipa - Houdini
69 | 222 | The Blessed Madonna - Serotonin Moonbeams
70 | 219 | Hard Target, Clouds, Tommy Holohan - Echoes

71 | 218 | THUS LOVE - Repetitioner
72 | 216 | Leony, Niklas Dee, VIZE - I Can Feel
73 | 214 | Ava Max - Dancing's Done
74 | 211 | Let's Eat Grandma - Happy New Year
75 | 210 | TDJ - Save Me
76 | 208 | Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You
77 | 206 | Dani Sylvia - She Swam Higher
78 | 205 | ROSALÍA - LLYLM
79 | 204 | Samia - Honey
80 | 203 | LOWES - Game Of Love

81 | 202 | Aexhy - I Had A Dream
82 | 202 | CHVRCHES - Over
83 | 196 | cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada
84 | 195 | Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oh, Lover
85 | 193 | MUNA - One That Got Away
86 | 190 | Lana Del Rey - A&W
87 | 187 | Olivia Rodrigo - ballad of a homeschooled girl
88 | 184 | Weyes Blood - Hearts Aglow
89 | 181 | BLACKSHAPE - ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL
90 | 179 | Sergey Salekhov, DJoy - Nocturne

91 | 176 | Alan Walker, Daya - Heart Over Mind
92 | 173 | Lanterns On The Lake - Real Life
93 | 171 | Maggie Rogers - Shatter
94 | 166 | Vicetone, Jordan Powers, Bekah Novi - Animal
95 | 166 | Hallan - The Colline Gate
96 | 162 | Pharmacist - OVERDO$E
97 | 162 | Olivia Rodrigo - vampire
98 | 157 | Allie X - Black Eye
99 | 156 | Aran Burn - Titan
100 | 156 | The Weeknd - Less Than Zero

Thank you to everyone who has commented or followed this thread, or otherwise help shape my musical preferences during 2023 - it's a pleasure to be able to put such a comprehensive EOY together and to have come into contact with so much great music generally. As my weekly charts are currently on hold, I'll need a slightly different methodology for a 2024 EOY, but I'll definitely have something to count down here when that time comes!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th March 2024, 10:26 AM

Sorry I've not got round to checking this chart out yet Jim (and most of the others in the thread, sadly!), but you've got a sale out of it - I hadn't focused on the Rose Gray track till I saw it on your top spot, and it's rather good! Charting it soon-ish

01 | 838 | Rose Gray - Ecstasy
07 | 575 | Loreen - Tattoo
17 | 411 | Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Wuh Oh - Hypnotized
20 | 397 | The Killers - Your Side Of Town
25 | 391 | Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana
31 | 355 | Ofenbach feat. Norma Jean Martine - Overdrive
36 | 336 | Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle
42 | 325 | Lucia & The Best Boys - Burning Castles
48 | 289 | Depeche Mode - Ghosts Again
60 | 248 | Noah Kahan - Stick Season
66 | 230 | Sheryl Crow - Alarm Clock
68 | 226 | Dua Lipa - Houdini
76 | 208 | Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You
83 | 196 | cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada
97 | 162 | Olivia Rodrigo - vampire
100 | 156 | The Weeknd - Less Than Zero (number 2 biggie in 2022 for me)

These are the main ones I charted and bought, but a huge chunk of your chart I haven't heard, or at most have heard once, so that isn't in any way a reflection of whether I like them or not - I just havent heard them! On new releases I tend to focus on familiar names to give a spin on my phone, beyond that it's down to what I come across elsewhere, usually radio two or BJSC

Posted by: jimwatts 28th March 2024, 11:59 PM

Delighted to hear you enjoyed 'Ecstasy' enough for a sale! Well she's had two in a day as I'd been thinking I should actually buy some of these, so in fact I bought all my top 6 here. Glad to see you several others of these made your chart. I know there's some obscure ones here too - many of them are just from listening to playlists or songs others have charted and seeing what sticks! Thanks John