2010 was an intriguing year for pop music, as dance sounds continued to gobble up the center and indie bands with echoey vocals came on strong from the fringes. My favorite single of the year, Lyfe Jennings’ “Statistics” was a monster R&B hit that, sadly, never crossed over to the pop charts. Beyond that, big melodies and even bigger vocals dominate my list: R Kelly and Bruno Mars channeled the sounds of doo wop; Lauren Pritchard and Miranda Lambert came on like latter-day Bobbie Gentrys; and the intersection of rap and melody was seemingly everywhere. I hope you enjoy my list of the 30 Best Songs of the Year.

As usual, I have not included any S-Curve releases on my list, out of fairness to artists not fortunate enough to be on our label. But We The Kings’ “We’ll Be A Dream“, Diane Birch’s “This Corrosion“, Andy Grammer’s “Keep Your Head Up” and Care Bears On Fire’s “Girls Like It Loud” ep (which just received an “A” from the Dean of American rock critics, Robert Christgau) can stand toe to toe with anything on my list. I encourage you to check them out. Enjoy!

1. Statistics / Lyfe Jennings
2. Tighten Up / The Black Keys
3. Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore) / B.o.B
4. What’s In It For / Avi Buffalo
5. All My People / Portugal The Man
6. When a Woman Loves / R. Kelly
7. The High Road / Broken Bells
8. Somewhere In Brooklyn / Bruno Mars
9. Rill Rill / Sleigh Bells
10. Painkillers / Lauren Pritchard
11. The Show Goes On / Lupe Fiasco
12. The House That Built Me / Miranda Lambert
13. I Need a Dollar / Aloe Blacc
14. Crazy for You / Best Coast
15. Rolling In the Deep / ADELE
16. Just a Dream / Nelly
17. Pretty Girl Rock / Keri Hilson
18. Angel / Akon
19. Run Run Se Fue Pa’l Norte / Francisca Valenzuela
20. Big Wave / Jenny and Johnny
21. We No Speak Americano / Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup
22. Enter the Ninja / Die Antwoord
23. Islands (The Blue Nile Remix) / The XX
24. Northern Skies / I Am Kloot
25. Barbra Streisand / Duck Sauce
26. Jar of Hearts / Christina Perri
27. Dirtee Disco / Dizzee Rascal
28. The Bike Song / Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.
29. Dry Your Tears (feat. Winston Francis) / Prince Fatty
30. Alors on danse / Stromae

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