After thinking long and hard about our 107 best songs of the year, we decided to make a playlist celebrating some of the jams that didn't end up there—the ones you might have overlooked for one reason or another. Some of these songs popped off, and some were definitely slept on. But they all made 2015 a little more tolerable, and we're grateful for that.
1. Two of Nigeria's biggest stars, Davido and Olamide, get lavish on "The Money."
2. Fekky and Skepta's low-key ode to paring down the nonsense: "Way Too Much."
3. Wiki's "Living With my Moms," which makes us wanna smoke a blunt out the window of our childhood home, for old-time's sake.
4. dvsn's mysterious, sweetly layered, 1990s-channeling "With Me."
5. "Angels of Porn (II)" by Grimes' tour-mate Nicole Dollanganger, a gorgeously upsetting rock song.
6. Oakland human-to-watch Kamaiyah's bouncy and replayable "How Does It Feel," which fills us with so, so much joy.
7. Tyler, the Creator's "SMUCKERS," which happens to contain the best Kanye verse of the year.
8. Lil Durk and DeJ Loaf's loved-up earworm, “My Beyonce.”
9. "Darker" aka Shamir's most heart-wrenching vocal performance to date.
10. Lil Mama's Vine-referencing comeback "Sausage," which came with one of the year's most batshit videos.
11. New York singer-songwriter Emily Yacina's sweet, drowsy "Bruise."
12. Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment's sunny reminder to be yourself, "Wanna be Cool."
13. Speedy Ortiz's vividly drawn metaphorical daydream, "The Graduates."
14. Abra's "Roses," which could almost be a mid-’80s Janet Jackson demo.
15. G.L.O.S.S.'s intensely cathartic "Outcast Stomp," an anthem for oddballs like us and you.
16. "Carolina," a passionately sung bit of soul-punk by Australian heroes Royal Headache.
17. "Yeen Heard," a great Migos song from a Soulja Boy tape.
18. Spencer Radcliffe's warm and weird underground rock favorite, "Yankee".
19. Swedish rock quintet Makthaverskan's huge, gloomy "Witness."
20. Yung Lean's very grim, very grown-up "Hoover."
21. Faze Miyaki's frosty, Inga Copeland-featuring “Ice Cold,” one of the year's secret best drinking songs.
22. Sicko Mobb's "Kool Aid," a giddy ode to their rainbow colored riches.
23. Them Are Us Too's "Us Now," a truly beautiful, "Plainsong"-paced dreamy pop gem.
24. Elysia Crampton's gorgeously disorienting "Petichrist," which features sounds that might have been pulled from the FX board of a deranged Saturday morning cartoon.
25. London O'Connor's lament on the disconnected state of the modern world, "Nobody Hangs Out Anymore."
26. Future Fambo's "Bloodclaute Song," which is basically the dancehall song Busta Rhymes always wished he could make.
27. Christopher Owens' "Selfish Feelings," a bouncy return-to-form that’s probably about scoring hard drugs.
28. Lontalius's "Comfortable," another atmospheric shy-guy ballad.
29. “Young Latin and Proud,” a simply strummed, beautifully delivered, pride-filled message from Helado Negro.
30. Elvis Depressedly's soft-strummed highlight"Wastes of Time," which is sort of a country song.
31. Cuushe's "Tie," a droning, layered pop song so pretty it makes us tear up.
32. Toian's "Love It," spunky pop that sounds like 106 & Park-era Rihanna.
33. London trio Real Lies' Balearic beat-spiked sad guitar jam, "Blackmarket Blues.".
34. Ratking beatsmith Sporting Life's glitchy solo instrumental, "Badd".
35. ANOHNI's apocalyptic-sounding "4 Degrees," which was produced by Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never.
36. Jaala's "Salt Shaker," an artsy rock tune about getting the hell out of your hometown.
37. Katie Dey's caffeinated "Unkillable," a berserk and unforgettable bedroom pop nugget.
38. Prurient's uneasy "Greenpoint," a track that's as bleak (and beautiful) as winter time in New York.
39. Destruction Unit's breathless "If Death Ever Slept," a dusty highlight from their loud-as-hell 2015 LP.
40. London-based Georgia's rapid-fire, percussively perverse "Move Systems."
41. Fred Thomas' stream-of-consciousness protest song "Cops Don't Care Pt. II” echoed in our heads a lot this year.
From The Collection:
The Year In Review 2015
