The Best Songs of 2010
No introduction needed. 2010 was a great year for music. Here's 18 songs to prove it.
18. I Do My Thing (Produced by Dr. Dre)- KiD CuDi (ft. Snoop Dogg)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Possibly the most underrated Cudi song of 2010, "I Do My Thing" came early (March) and has been seemingly forgotten since. What's not to love about a vintage Dr. Dre beat, Snoop on the second, and a hard Cudi verse to tie it all together? I have no doubt that this jam would of been a hit on Cudi's fall album Man on the Moon II.
17. Reckon A Superstar (ft. Lupe Fiasco, 6th Sense)- RockPaperScissors
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Another hidden gem of '10, RockPaperScissor's "Reckon A Superstar" got little hype when it was released on the self-titled mixtape back in July and never gained the respect it deserved.
16. Run Away- Telephoned
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A little piece of advice for ANY major player in the music industry: the first record label to enlist Telephoned to produce their next Lady Gaga/Beyonce/Rihanna-esque album will not only have a platinum record on the wall but could also be bringing home a Grammy for female artist of the year, guaranteed. Telephoned's provocative mixing and vocal support is unrivaled in the game right now.
15. Ray Ban Vision (ft. CyHi Da Prynce)- A-Trak
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Ray Ban Vision" was a great song in 2010 but the reason it made the "Best Of" list was for the precedent it set. A top DJ like A-Trak working in the studio with a hip hop newcomer like CyHi? A deadly combination. 2010 was a year of abnormal genre-crossing and the result was an exciting forecast into the future of music.
14. Problems- J. Cole
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Problems" is J. Cole's mark of potential superstardom. Best lyrics of the year.
13. Bulletproof (Nancy Remix ft. Matt Hemerlein)- Major Lazer & La Roux
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
La Roux's "Bulletproof" has been remixed by everyone but Major Lazer's 2010 rendition sits at the top. The addition of a Matt Hemerlein violin loop was pure genius.
12. Hold Yuh (Major Lazer Remix)- Gyptian
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Major Lazer added the golden touch to Gyptian's reggae hit "Hold Yuh" and created the year's dance track.
11. Monster- Kanye West (ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, & Nicki Minaj)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Kanye's '10 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was full of firepower but "Monster" stood out as the album's black swan. Uncomfortable but addictive, this song builds off three verses from hip hop's heavy hitters and then is completely floored by Nicki's knock-out punch that leaves the listener gasping for air.
10. Shutterbug- Big Boi
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Club anthem 2010.
9. Ticker Tape Parade- Carlos St. John
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
St. John spins Kanye's Runaway into near perfection. The year's best sample track.
8. Sail- AWOLNATION
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
My interest in AWOLNATION's "Sail" is something of musical rubbernecking. This song is like a car wreck and I can't stop listening.
7. Go Outside- Cults
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Cults, the mysterious boy/girl duo from NYC released a three song EP in 2010 that immediately caught fire with it's illustrious track "Go Outside".
6. Flying Overseas (ft. Devonte Hynes & Solange Knowles)- Theophilus London
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Theophilus London was 2010's rookie of the year. An emcee with a distinct style and voice, Theo dropped a solid mixtape (I Want You) that had an artistic edge that even the most recognized veterans couldn't rival and "Flying Overseas" is the perfect example of Theo's dexterity. The track starts with a warm-up verse that works beautifully against a breezy hook and the angelic voice of Solange Knowles but Theo's second verse makes the song. Give it a listen, it speaks for itself.
5. Tightrope (Wondamix)- Janelle Monae (ft. Bobby Ray & Lupe Fiasco)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Janelle Monae is my dark horse for 2011. She had a great showing in '10 and has the voice, creativity, and respect within the industry to rise quickly. Keep an eye on Janelle Monae.
4. Home- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Home" was the soundtrack to the summer of 2010. Enough said.
3. Fuck You- Cee-Lo Green
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
First it was Goodie Mob, then Gnarls Barkley, and in 2010 Cee-Lo gave us his latest solo project, The Lady Killer. Of course, like everything Cee-Lo touches, The Lady Killer was musical genius and "Fuck You" was a testament to the fact.
2. No Love- Eminem (ft. Lil' Wayne)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Drank Sinatra tries to provide a wide variety of music for our readers but it seems like our musical taste gravitates toward hip hop. And it is due to the our hip hop influenced ear that Eminem's "No Love" found its place at #2. Simply put, Em's verse in "No Love" was the best rap verse of the year. But did this verse put Eminem at the top of the rap game? Quite possibly. I have never been big into Eminem but I can appreciate the significance of his "No Love" verse. The control of his voice and intonation accompanied by a perfect rhythmic delivery is a flawless lesson on how to spit bars. Move over Hova, there's been a changing of the guard.
1. Deuces [Remix] (ft. Drake, T.I., Kanye West, Fabolous, Rick Ross, & Andre 3000)- Chris Brown
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(f. Drake, T.I., Kanye West, Fabolous, Rick Ross & Andre 3000)]
In hip hop, 2010 was the year of collaborations. Everyone in the rap game who released material in 2010 was dropping collaborations or jumping on someone else's tracks and in the year of collaborations, Chris Brown's "Deuces" remix reigns supreme.
Download the entire Best of 2010 as one .zip file below.
Drank Sinatra Best of 2010| Download
DJ Earworm- United States of Pop 2010 (Don’t Stop the Pop)
Every year DJ Earworm squeezes Billboard's Top 25 Songs of the year into a single party infused mash-up track. I considered 2010 a great year for music but listening to Billboard's Top 25 condensed into a 5 minute musical flashback was slightly concerning. 2010 had a lot more to offer than Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Bruno Mars. Unfortunately, the year will be remembered by the charts and "United States of Pop 2010" is an added reminder that better music will fall wayside to "Tik Tok" and "California Gurls".
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"United States of Pop 2010 (Don't Stop the Pop)" - DJ Earworm | Download (Mediafire)
Ratatat- Gettysburg
Off their 2006 album, Classics.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Gettysburg" - Ratatat | Download (Mediafire)
Amadou & Mariam- Sabali
After a brief holiday hiatus, Drank Sinatra is back with an arsenal of tunes to finish out 2010 and welcome 2011. We have considered 2010 a huge success but have no doubts that 2011 is going to be our break out year. Stay tuned for big changes.
Amadou and Mariam, a blind couple from Mali, released their hit song "Sabali" in 2008. Although "Sabali" gained some impressive recognition in the U.S. after the release (reaching #15 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 of 2008), the song has been a major player in 2010. Damien Marley & Nas, Miike Snow, and Theophilus London have all had their turn to spin the African-influenced soul track into their own gem. Which is your favorite?
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Sabali" - Amadou & Mariam | Download (Mediafire)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Sabali (Miike Snow Remix) - Amadou & Mariam | Download (Mediafire)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Patience" - Damien Marley & Nas | Download (Mediafire)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"GREY X SAGE" - Theophilus London | Download (Mediafire)
Ellie Goulding- Under The Sheets (Bright Light Bright Light Boys Club Remix)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Under The Sheets" (Bright Light Bright Light Boys Club - Ellie Goulding | Download (Mediafire)
Kidz In The Hall- Flickin’
Off the 2009 Professional Leisure Tour Mixtape.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Flickin'" - Kidz In The Hall | Download (Mediafire)
Curren$y- Audio Dope II
Friday Night.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Audio Dope II" - Curren$y | Download (Mediafire)
Christmas In Harlem- Kanye West (ft. Cam’ron, Jim Jones, CyHi Da Prynce, Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, & Musiq Soulchild)
Kanye gets in the Christmas spirit.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Christmas In Harlem (ft. Cam'ron, Jim Jones, CyHi Da Prynce, Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, & Musiq Soulchild) - Kanye West | Download (Mediafire)
Madcon- Helluva Night (ft. Ludacris & Maad*Moiselle)
The multi-platinum Norwegian pop duo Madcon recently released their fourth album CONtraband. "Helluva Night" is a European version of a Black Eyed Peas song--a driving beat with a bubbly chorus.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Helluva Night" (ft. Ludacris & Maad*Moiselle) - Madcon | Download (Mediafire)
Robotic Pirate Monkey- Northface Giggles (ft. The XX & Lupe Fiasco)
An XX classic mixed with with Lupe's biggest hit.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
"Northface Giggles" - Robotic Pirate Monkey (ft. The XX & Lupe Fiasco) | Download (Mediafire)
