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So many tunes! Is It Love was such a brilliant follow-up to Tattoo but like you said, needed a little more time to grow into something really special. Violet Chemistry is a recent Miley fave and of course can't forget Kylie blessing us with a Padamic!

Think the two Declan songs are the only things I know here - both great, love the Beatles-y vibe of Sympathy and Nothing Works is also a big tune!

60. DOGTOOTH - Tyler, The Creator DOGTOOTH's chorus is probably not ideal family fare given the specific action Tyler doesn't want anything in return for, but overall it's a song where Tyler brags about his own superiority and success, to the point he might buy his neighbour's house just to turn it into a garden. Tyler does not miss and it's been great watching him grow into a big chart name over the last few years! 59. Sun Comes Up - Rose Gray Sun Comes Up is less uptempo than some of Rose's recent dancey stuff, but still feels like a really atmospheric late night track and feels indebted to 00s British pop like much of her work. 58. Ohne Benzin - Domiziana Another BJSC discovery, this time via Pupok. It's really interesting that this was such a big hit in Germany (even getting to #1 there!) as I can't imagine it doing the same in the UK (obviously language barrier aside). It's firmly techno-pop with a hint of hyperpop and a huge banger. 57. Flowers - Miley Cyrus Considering how big this song was everywhere, even on my chart, it feels unfair to place it so low here. But in all honesty, it's been so overplayed I'm a bit sick of it! I remember just after it came out, one of my classes was listening to some English music so I put this on for them. For the rest of the year, any time those kids heard it they'd excitedly point out it was "my song" and while it was very cute, I felt a little guilty about passing off the biggest song in the world as something I'd found especially for them :lol: 56. Shy Boy - Carly Rae Jepsen Carly launched The Loneliest Time with this silky disco number. The instrumentation and vocal delivery feel very live - it's easy to imagine this on stage, possibly helped by her amazing Glastonbury performance. If further proof was needed that Carly can do anything, she even samples Midnight Star's Midas Touch which adds to the songs jam-like feel. 55. Whenever I Want - Mura Masa This song is deceptively simple, with just one vocal line repeated ad nauseam. But you'll soon be dancing along, with chopped vocals transforming that one line throughout the song. 54. PLUSH - Simona You may be familiar with this as a Pestolian BJSC entry, which made 34th place as part of a recent stint around the 30s for us. I discovered this song through a friend, who was staying with me for Primavera Sound in Madrid and so this song would play as we were getting ready to go out. Because of that it's become a real hype song, with dramatic campy lyrics about being "your pop star, porn star, dealer, your baby, your angel, your devil, your mother and father too". Just look at the range! 53. Prada - Cassö ft. RAYE & D-Block Europe Buzzjack will love this: yesterday I got an email from Spotify to tell me I'm one of D-Block Europe's top fans :lol: and that's ENTIRELY from this song, which is a huge tune and absolutely goes off on a night out. I saw a video comparing the tune of "pull up in the Bentley, I want Christian, I want Fendi" to the sound of the points going down on Pointless which I can't unhear but it doesn't affect the song being an absolute tune! 52. I Might Be Fake - Master Peace ft. Georgia This song was promoted on TikTok pre-release by pretending it was a 00s Calvin Harris song and asking people if they remembered it. In all honesty, I was almost convinced - Georgia's vocals are giving La Roux and it could totally be a lost 00s gem. 51. Black British - V V Brown V V Brown wasn't a name I was familiar with before (I knew of Shark In The Water but not who sung it, although this song is miles away from that), so this song was a great introduction to her. As you can probably guess from the title, it's a song that celebrates the Black British identity and calls for both education and liberation. There's a distinct 00s/early 10s flair to it but it still feels fresh and new. YheR9ME1r_U

Glad you're a fan of both! ^_^ Oops I forgot it came from BJSC, my bad as that's where I would've first heard it! 2023 was definitely a great year for BJSC discoveries for me.

70. Tears can be so soft - Christine and the Queens Bringing in a trip hop sound over a Marvin Gaye sample, this song talks about loss and healing. It's understated but really effective. 69. LA CHAMBA - Arcángel ft. Peso Pluma I struggled with Peso Pluma for quite a while but I'll make an exception for this song. Lyrically I guess it's quite clichéd, all about coming from humble origins and working hard, but it's a good message. Like with Arcángel's previous #1 La Jumpa which featured Bad Bunny, having a featured artist definitely helps as I've struggled to get into any of Arcángel's solo stuff. 68. Aeroplanes - Carly Rae Jepsen Aeroplanes is definitely one of the odder songs on The Loveliest Time - every part of the melody takes you by surprise, and the next note is never the one you expect. But I think it's a beautiful song and really leans into the beachy chilled vibe of the Loneliest/Loveliest dual era. More of this please Carly! 67. TRACCIÓN - Rakky Ripper TRACCIÓN is a huge banger which became an immediate fave when I watched Benidorm Fest early last year. Seeing hyperpop on primetime TV was so refreshing, although it didn't fully translate live and definitely works better in studio form! 66. Full of life - Christine and the Queens Pachelbel's Canon in D is one of my favourite classical pieces, and due to some personal family connections to the piece it's always been a very emotional listen for me. But equally I'm aware it's been hugely overused in modern music. Chris really puts a beautiful spin on it, letting the original score do most of the heavy lifting with emotionally charged lyrics layered on top. It goes from pain to anger to vulnerability - in all honesty and without being too dramatic it's almost a religious experience, surprising even me by becoming one of my 2023 #1s. 65. SOS - Domiziana ft. Blümchen One German BJSC queen met another German BJSC queen and together maximised their joint slay by releasing this song! It's a fun techno-pop (I think x) tune which even sneaks in a snippet of Blümchen's Herz an Herz at the very end. 64. Back To December - Taylor Swift Another one that's not *really* a 2023 song but also kind of is. Speak Now deserves its moment in the spotlight and Back To December is absolutely one of the jewels in its crown, a mature track blending longing and regret in a formula that built the foundations for another Taylor classic years later, 'tis the damn season. 63. The Bend - King Princess This track was released without much fanfare on an NME/Bose compilation album but definitely deserves attention. It's a gentle guitary song with varying intensity that really does make you feel like you're "getting over the bend" along with the lyrics. 62. I Been Young - George Clanton I Been Young has all the hallmarks of a 90s British boyband single - you can hear Take That all over the chorus. In recent years there's been a lot of revivals for older sounds (mostly 80s) but I think this very specific sound hasn't been one of them, so it's quite a bizarre listen! 61. Out Of Time - Slayyyter Out Of Time fits firmly into Ava Max territory in all honesty - but it works really well and sees Slayyyter giving full main pop girl energy. The pulsing synths and carefully curated melody sample in the chorus make this an absolutely stomping pop tune. piYsFZWmM18

Summericia smashery :clap: such an incredible entry, so glad you introduced us all to it! Agreed it was definitely not what I expected from Kesha - but all the better for it! So excited for whatever's next from Dua! Loved Nabihah's album too, This World Couldn't See Us was great in a similar vein to Zone 1 to 6000 but I loved the chilled vibes of songs like Sunflower too.

Like you've said, Escapism is a great piece of storytelling - so nice to see RAYE continuing to do well after all the label troubles she had, and with something that sonically stands out so much! Seven Swords was a great Kathaldazia banger too, as expected.

Dancing's Done is brilliant, Ava really has nailed that slightly dark pop sound! I think it's a shame she didn't have a bigger era because there's so many great pop gems on the album.

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!

80. Muñekita - Kali Uchis ft. El Alfa & JT Muñekita is the lead from Kali's upcoming album (out this Friday!), which is a return to Spanish-language after a mostly English album. I don't listen to quite enough reggaeton to tell if this is ripping off BIZCOCHITO or just making a common production choice, but it's certainly a fun track! JT from City Girls feels like a slightly bizarre feature choice but she fits in really well. 79. I Wish You Roses - Kali Uchis A less upbeat Kali song now - I Wish You Roses actually didn't catch my attention until I fell in love with the following single Moonlight. But this is a really smooth R&B song with gorgeous shimmering production. 78. Never Ending Song - Conan Gray Never Ending Song is heavily 80s - it sounds like it's straight off the Stranger Things soundtrack. Conan uses a deeper part of his register which he doesn't usually show off in his songs, but I think it works really well here! 77. RUIDO - Rakky Ripper ft. Rizha RUIDO is one of my favourite Rakky Ripper songs because it's just upbeat and fun. The energy is dialed up and lyrically it talks about the bright lights and loud noises of the city, comparing this chaos to a past relationship. 76. Houdini - Dua Lipa Dua racked up 4 weeks at #1 with this, so it may seem a little low but that's only because it's just come out! Houdini isn't that far from the disco-pop sound that Future Nostalgia made into Dua's trademark, but it's infused with quirkier elements like the synth breakdown that transforms into something Daft Punk / The Weeknd esque. I'm very excited for whatever this new Dua era brings! 75. Not Strong Enough - boygenius I have to say I've struggled a bit to get into boygenius despite loving Phoebe Bridgers' solo stuff, but Not Strong Enough is a clear highlight. The lyrics are really quite devastating, but hearing "I don't know why I am the way I am" over such an uplifting instrumental is strangely reassuring. 74. Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd - Lana Del Rey Spawning a million memes about Lana's iconic long titles, this song feels like another career great. The orchestral production feels so classic and cinematic, and her lyrics about wondering how she'll be remembered are hugely emotional. In recent years, Lana is definitely at her best when she gets self reflective and this is no exception. 73. Zone 1 to 6000 - Nabihah Iqbal Not really a 2023 song, but BJSC gives me an excuse to put this here! The English Lit student in me loves that this is basically a modern retelling of William Blake's poem 'London', borrowing the original's lines and rhythm by applying them to the city as it stands today, with commuters and weekend parties. I've had to study this poem a ridiculous amount of times so I'm glad it led to this, one of my all-time fave BJSC wins! 72. ghosts - yeule ghosts is a really beautiful little song that really surprised me. The processed vocals and extremely slow pace give it an eerie feel (as well as the fact that it's about ghosts!). 71. Kiss Me - Empress Of ft. Rina Sawayama Empress Of and Rina coming together was not necessarily top of my collab wishlist, but it really delivers! The end result feels very 00s, with chilled production and a lyrical sense of yearning. When it first came out I remember posting on my story that it reminds me of Frou Frou's cover of Holding Out For A Hero for the Shrek soundtrack, and a fair few people agreed - hopefully some of you hear it too? fXAj54d8vSY

Glad you liked Promise Me! A lot of what she's done in the last year or so definitely fits that festival vibe. Thank you for voting for Alizzz too! I have to agree, Plastic Hearts blows Endless Summer Vacation out of the water by a fair few miles! But I think River is a good indication of what could've been. Yay glad you liked 'Pierdo el sentido' too 😎 as series go The Hunger Games definitely has one of the best soundtracks, they've chosen perfect artists for it! And re Sufjan - forever thankful for living so close to a Rough Trade store 🙏

+18 Troye Sivan - One of Your Girls +15 Taylor Swift - Enchanted (Taylor's Version) +13 The Weeknd feat. Playboi Carti & Madonna - Popular +12 Kylie Minogue - Tension +11 Taylor Swift - You're Losing Me +10 Harry Styles - Satellite +09 Olivia Rodrigo - Can't Catch Me Now +08 Miley Cyrus - River +07 Taylor Swift - Karma +06 PinkPantheress feat. Central Cee - Nice To Meet You +05 Taylor Swift - Hits Different +04 Jorja Smith - Little Things +03 The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride +02 Taylor Swift - All of the Girls You Loved Before +01 The Weeknd feat. Future - Double Fantasy

So many faves in the last few posts but loving anything Sugababes/Kylie/Eurovision/etc! From the songs yet to come I'm hoping for both Troye songs to smash, as well as Padam Padam and Satellite.

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.

From the recent tracks you've posted, still loving Cha Cha Cha! Huge dose of energy and it really stood out in Eurovision. One Of Us is great too, Ava really knows how to make a solid pop bop. And of course Rush has become such an anthem :music:

Little Things is great, always here for slightly more pop Jorja! Speed Drive was a real Barbie highlight for me and it's been great watching Charli get a BIG smash again after so long. Solo is a bop and kinda iconic, echoing the love for Addison's EP, it's a great bit of quick fun pop!

Kelela is a great choice, really enjoyed her album at the start of last year (although I sort of forgot about it, oops!). Rush, Lovin On Me (if anything was gonna block Houdini I'm glad it was this!) and Popular are also great!

Favourites from that last section have to be Sufjan and Rosalía! Also loved seeing Kacey Musgraves get such a big hit (even if it is as a feature), definitely a fave from the recent country hits.

90. River - Miley Cyrus I feel like River got a bit overshadowed at the time, but it really was the perfect follow-up to Flowers. I wish the entire album sounded more like this, with a fun synth line and a really quirky delivery on the verses from Miley. 89. Running Out Of Time - Paramore Running Out Of Time is on the poppier end of This Is Why - it's fun and catchy, and we can all relate to not having enough time sometimes! 88. Is It Love - Loreen Is It Love doesn't fall into the trap of sounding too similar to Euphoria/Tattoo, which I think is a great choice. Instead it blends Middle Eastern and Spanish flairs with a soaring chorus. It could be a little longer, and I'm a bit disappointed it didn't manage to ride on Tattoo's success to chart, but it's still a stunning follow-up track. 87. Eat The Acid - Kesha Kesha deserves much better than the horrors she's had to deal with, and on her latest album she really lays that bare. Eat The Acid is a song about drugs, religion, self-introspection, and its brooding dark production makes it a really interesting listen. 86. For Granted - Yaeji For Granted starts off relatively chilled, eventually transforming into energetic drum and bass. To quote the title of its follow-up single, it Passed Me By at the time but actually massively grew on me with repeat listens! 85. Sunset - Caroline Polachek Sunset was #26 on last year's countdown, and doesn't quite scale the same heights this year. It's very Legend of Zelda meets flamenco, and goes off live with everyone joining in the wailing! 84. Affirmations - Hannah Diamond Hannah Diamond finally returned with a new album, led by Affirmations. It could be horrendously cheesy, with a spoken word section of literal affirmations, but Hannah is able to make it work with glistening pop perfection. 83. Psychedelic Switch - Carly Rae Jepsen Psychedelic Switch is a futuristic disco-house song that doesn't feel out of Carly's comfort zone but is definitely a slight slide into a new sound for her. It works great, although it is one of the more conventional tracks on the album and some of the less predictable fare is yet to come. 82. Sanity (demo) - Paramore Leaving Sanity off such an already short album feels like an odd choice, but it does give me a reason to return to the remix album. It's a song about anxiety and loneliness, but is still super catchy and features stunning vocals from Hayley as ever. 81. Goodbye Evergreen - Sufjan Stevens Goodbye Evergreen is almost cinematic, starting off quiet and understated before transforming with the addition of grand electronic production. I went to a pre-release listenthrough for the album and this was *the* track I couldn't wait to hear again, it reminds me a lot of Planetarium which is one of my favourite Sufjan projects. It's the first song on Javelin and makes perfect sense as an introduction. tfOURyD7ljc

Thank you guys for all your comments :wub: So good!! Absolutely iconic, I need her to do a full lecture series :cheeseblock: Really glad you're a fan of all those too! Absolutely agree on Summer of 99, it sounds so single-worthy and lyrically would've made perfect sense to sum up The Lost Tapes! Olivia absolutely knows how to choose a single, even if Guts wasn't as big as Sour she definitely made the right choices! And a Shakira comeback, let alone in Spanish, absolutely wasn't what I expected for 2023 :lol: Taste! Definitely a Madonna overload but this year was the first time I'd listened to most of her albums so a huge revelation for me. The Timbaland one definitely sounds of its time but I kinda love that about it :lol: definitely recommend the Sugababes album!! I definitely didn't expect to enjoy a 2023 Sugababes album so much (no shade to them at all!), but it's so good! There's one more song on the way from it still.

⬆️0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟⬇️ TOP 100 SONGS OF THE YEAR ⬇️🔟9️⃣8️⃣7️⃣6️⃣5️⃣4️⃣3️⃣2️⃣1️⃣0️⃣⬆️ (Hope the emojis display properly for you because they're not for me x) 100. Pierdo el sentido (YUNG PRADO Un Kiss Remix) - Alizzz It would be wrong not to include this song somehow - 'Pierdo en sentido' gave me my first song contest win! I really didn't expect it as this doesn't really sound like the sort of thing that would set the pop forum alight, but the pitched up vocals and powerful beat have made it a perfect party anthem. 99. Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53 - Bizarrap & Shakira Again, I couldn't not include this - I was living in Spain when this came out and it was just unavoidable. At the school where I worked, the kids would sing this all day (one teacher even set her class the task of translating it into English in the hopes they'd get bored of the song!), then I'd hear it on the bus home, and then I'd play it myself :lol: 98. get him back! - Olivia Rodrigo As I said before, something I really liked about Olivia's album is that she doubled down on the rockier sound of 'deja vu' and 'brutal' rather than focusing on ballads. This song is a great example of that, with a shouty chorus and talk-sung verses. Importantly it doesn't take itself too seriously, and is screaming out to be sung along to. 97. Boys - Sugababes Boys is the first of 3 Sugababes songs to come - I think I was drawn to this because it's exactly what you expect from the Sugababes, pure pop fun. On an album balancing pop bops with more serious sounding fare, this definitely stood out to me. 96. Promise Me - Rose Gray Promise Me actually reached #75 on last year's countdown, but it did well enough at the start of this year to earn itself a repeat! Promise Me, as I probably said last year, reminds me a lot of Madonna's Ray Of Light with soaring vocals over a dance beat making for a hypnotic combination. 95. Can’t Catch Me Now - Olivia Rodrigo Olivia has had a big year, and she topped it off with an appearance on the latest Hunger Games soundtrack! Regardless of recent events and manufactured drama that may or may not (emphasis on the latter) exist, Olivia has often mentioned Taylor's Speak Now as a favourite album of hers, so it seems like a full circle moment for her to replicate the Eyes Open / Safe & Sound soundscape in her own way. I might not have seen the film in question, but the bridge is so dramatic and cinematic it's surely a perfect fit for the movie. 94. Summer Of '99 - Sugababes Apparently it's not been long enough since I talked about the Sugababes, so here they are again! Summer Of '99 is a fast-moving pop song but equally reflective on the band's early years. If I'm going to compare it to anything else they've done, the production feels a bit About You Now-y, with the same sort of catchy chorus and singability. 93. Dang - Caroline Polachek Dang is a great encapsulation of how Caroline fits an offbeat sense of humour into her music. It's hugely catchy but equally about nothing at all, and its biggest selling point is a frankly iconic performance on American primetime TV where she turned the entire thing into a lecture - I need the slides in PDF form asap. 92. VOLVER - Tainy ft. Skrillex, Four Tet & Rauw Alejandro VOLVER is a great example of what makes Tainy's album so good, mixing futuristic electronic production with artists usually known for reggaeton. Skrillex/Four Tet deliver an instrumental worthy of A.G. Cook's PC Music work, with Rauw Alejandro (who will never be forgiven no matter how good the music is, Team Rosalía x) on lyrics. 91. COLMILLO - Tainy ft. J Balvin, Young Miko, Jowell & Randy Straight back into Tainy (without spoiling anything you won't hear from him for quite some time, but he will be back) - this song was originally left off the album but later re-added. It's club-ready and features a fair few vocalists (including Young Miko, who also added a great guest feature to the remix of Bad Gyal's Chulo). 6UsIcDivsls

Yay I'm glad you enjoyed those albums too! And ugh definitely feel like I've been missing out by not getting into Ray Of Light til now, what an album!

Favourites from that last section for me are definitely Samo mi se spava and The Sea. Serbia are killing it recently with Konstrakta and then Luke Black, more of that this year please! And the chilled dance sound of The Sea is gorgeous, such a perfect late summer song.

Before I start on the songs countdown proper... fancy another one? 📟📠☎️🔌💾🖨️⚖️🧮📚🗞️📇⏳🕰️🗝️ RETRO COUNTDOWN 🗝️🕰️⏳📇🗞️📚🧮⚖️🖨️💾🔌☎️📠📟 I've deemed "retro" as anything pre-2021/2022 (I think the newest thing here is 2019?) so don't worry, I'm not trying to call anyone old! This is just the songs I've streamed the most this year which won't make my countdown, despite soundtracking my year heavily. 20. Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You 19. Sal Solo - San Damiano 18. Madonna - Swim 17. Madonna - La Isla Bonita 16. Madonna - Skin 15. Gustavo Cerati - Engaña 14. OBK - El cielo no entiende 13. When In Rome - The Promise 12. Madonna - Drowned World / Substitute For Love 11. All Saints - Pure Shores 10. Madonna ft. Anitta - Faz Gostoso 9. Madonna - Nothing Really Matters 8. Lana Del Rey - Radio 7. Timbaland ft. Katy Perry - If We Ever Meet Again 6. Madonna - Don't Tell Me 5. Madonna ft. Lil Wayne - Revolver 4. Kylie Minogue - Some Kind Of Bliss 3. Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix) 2. Fiction Factory - (Feels Like) Heaven 1. Madonna - Beautiful Stranger My biggest "retro" song of the year is Madonna's Beautiful Stranger - in fact it's my #1 song of the year according to Spotify! It might seem rather random but I've spent the year really delving into Madonna's catalogue (hence the amount of her here). Beautiful Stranger features on my cooking playlist so that's been a staple throughout the year, Revolver (don't judge x) is a pre-drinks staple (my flatmates are definitely not sick of it), and La Isla Bonita is pretty much the central piece of my dissertation! Other specific songs to draw attention to are the gorgeous (Feels Like) Heaven, and Gustavo Cerati, another artist I fell in love with (especially his Bocanada album). 💻💳🥽🔬📦🕘🎛️🎙️🎹📸🎮✈️🚀🛸🚆🚅🏍️ RECENT COUNTDOWN 🏍️🚅🚆🛸🚀✈️🎮📸🎹🎙️🎛️🕘📦🔬🥽💳💻 And a second countdown - these are songs from before 2023 but a little more recent, mostly having charted before the cut-off in January. 10. Beyoncé - PURE/HONEY 9. Central Cee - Ungrateful 8. Charli XCX - Used To Know Me 7. Sebastián Yatra - Tacones Rojos 6. Shygirl - SLIME 5. Bizarrap & Villano Antillano - Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 51 4. Carly Rae Jepsen - Western Wind 3. ROSALÍA - DESPECHÁ 2. Charli XCX - Hot Girl (Bodies Bodies Bodies) 1. Bizarrap & Quevedo - Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52 The big winner here is Bizarrap - I love the summery feel of his Quevedo collab and Villano Antillano really shows off her personality on her track (she was also incredible live, everyone was jumping to this song!). Elsewhere, Charli's Hot Girl really grew on me with its tongue-in-cheek vocal-fried lyrics, and a friend introduced me to Central Cee's Ungrateful which turned out to be a revelation.

Lana and Nabihah :wub: kind of iconic that Nabihah made a comeback so soon after her BJSC win, she must've been stalking the site :lol: