1. Kanye West ft. Pusha T– “Runaway”

There are a lot of people who seriously freaking hate Kanye West. Strangely, however, in this song, no one hates Kanye West more than Kanye West. Kanye’s bravado comes tumbling down here, with Kanye wailing cathartically about everything awful about himself. At the same time, however, Kanye shoves this song in everyone’s faces. “Let’s have a toast for the scumbags”, he says, without just a touch of that good old Kanye bravado. In essence, this song shows us that, no matter what, Kanye will always be Kanye– and it is awesome. Taylor, I’mma let you finish, but Kanye wrote one of the best songs of all time.

2. Cee Lo Green– “F*** You”

Yes, it’s hilarious. But Cee Lo’s ode to gold diggers is so much more: nostalgic, poignant, unabashedly honest. It is a 70s song in form, but lyrically, “F*** You” is a secret ode to the 2010 economic crisis: “If I was richa/ I’d still be with ya”. Cee Lo shows that he is not afraid to tell us what’s up with his life and, more importantly, our own. We hear you Cee Lo.

3. Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy– “Not Alone”

Mavis says it best when, at the beginning of the song, she moans “What’s that song/ Can’t be a song by two”. Yes this song was written and performed  by two people, with one voice and one guitar. But this song, played beautifully at Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear”, calls out to millions in America who are suffering nowadays. Mavis, in her sultry contralto, tells all those who are scared that there are others out there in pain. “Not Alone” is simultaneously a platitude and a call to action. So listen to these two; they know exactly what they are talking about.

4. Katy Perry/ Glee Cast– “Teenage Dream”

Katy Perry’s been everywhere this year, from her well-publicized marriage with Russell Brand to her platinum album to her Sesame Street controversy. Somewhere in the middle of it, Perry came out with this gem of a song, her unabashed homage to love and teenage sex, which embraces the topic in a lovingly elegant manner that is absent in today’s pop music. Of course, the only thing more beautiful than Perry’s ode to her first love is the Glee version, featuring Darren Criss Blaine, accompanied by Dalton Academy’s Warblers, serenading Chris Colfer’s Kurt.

5. Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi– “Tightrope”

Janelle Monae lives up to her reputation as the brainchild of James Brown and David Bowie in this funktastic throwdown. Assisted by ex-Outkast member Big Boi, Janelle sings and dances furiously over staccato guitar and drum beats that recall the good-old days of soul in a way that is completely modern. At the end of the song, every listener should be left wondering, “Why  isn’t all modern music this exciting?”

6. Eminem ft. Rihanna– “Love the Way You Lie”

Slim Shady has always been a bit… well, shady. He’s creeped out listeners since 2001’s “Stan”, but there was always a sense that Em could see a light at the end of tunnel, that he had learned something and would grow from it. This time, Em is solely looking back. He reflects morbidly and violently on his torturous years with ex-wife Kim, with lines about steel knives in his windpipe and burning the house down. Rihanna’s eerie hook adds a touch of sadness, especially when reflecting on her relationship with Chris Brown. For a few minutes, Em and Rihanna wallow together, and the listener is forced to remember all of the pain that the two have been through.

7. Kanye West ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver– “Monster”

“Runaway”, and most of “Dark Twisted Fantasy”, showed listeners the introspective, melodic side of Kanye West’s music. For “Monster”, however, Kanye  shares his discontent with some equally discontented friends and together, they turn said discontent into a ferocious, expletive-filled 6-minute rant. Jay-Z, Kanye and Rick Ross are all in perfect form here, but the real star is Nicki Minaj, who raps like a woman possessed for a full 31 bars.

8. Broken Bells– “The Ghost Inside”

Broken Bells, the collaboration between Shins singer James Mercer and Brian”Danger Mouse” Burton, hit it big with “The High Road”. The real hit from their debut album, however, should have been “The Ghost Inside”, a melodic, space-age alt-pop song, in which the two mesh perfectly.

9. Arcade Fire– “We Used To Wait”

Like all good Arcade Fire songs, “We Used To Wait” is a bittersweet ode to the end of peace. Singer Win Butler moans, “Now our lives are changing fast/ Hope that something pure can last”. At the same time, he calls us to action: “I wanna walk again gonna move through the pain”. In a time in which the world seems to slipping through our fingertips, Arcade Fire give us a fiery orchestral serenade, to tell us to keep going, keep pressing on, keep “screaming that chorus again”.

10. Black Keys– “Everlasting Light”

With its throbbing, primal backbeat and silky smooth falsetto vocals, “Light” sees Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney teaming up to assault listeners with sexuality. On top of that, this bad boy is damn sentimental. What girl wouldn’t want to hear, “Let me be your everlasting light”?

11. My Chemical Romance– “Na Na Na”

Not only does this song give listeners the best dose of post-apocalyptic emo-punk this side of “The Black Parade”, it also has a chorus consiting entirely of the word “na”. Brilliant.

12. Wavves– “Post Acid”

There is an interesting juxtaposition of surf rock and punk rock in Wavves, and their lead single, “Post Acid”, reflects just this. It is what punk rock would sound like if punk rockers rode surf boards and smoked pot.

13. No Age– “Glitter”

Bouncy drum beats mix perfectly with mesmerizingly dissonant guitar in No Age’s “Glitter”. Add to the mix subtle, forlorn vocals, and you get a lo-fi classic.

14. Eminem– “Not Afraid”

“Love the Way You Lie” may have been lyrically disconcerting for Em fans, but the rapper shows everyone that he is more than ok with “Not Afraid”. In the song, Em shows his fans that Kanye is not the only one who can turn personal hell into hip-hop genius, by morphing his failed last record, prescription drug addiction, and perpetual struggle with fame into a clarion call for the opressed.

15. Florence + The Machine– “Dog Days Are Over”

Rock and roll was pretty streamlined throughout most of 2010, with most indie rockers leaning toward garage rock, synth-pop or surf-punk. Heck, even Arcade Fire took it down a notch. However, Florence Welch and co. reminded everyone, with this harp-infusing, timpani-smashing epic, that rock can have a huge sound and still be a huge hit.