The 100 best songs of 2015

Mack ’n’ Ryan’s not-so-subtle tribute to Mark ’n’ Bruno, ‘Downtown’ swapped the cokey sheen of ‘Uptown Funk’ for goofy honks and weirdly endearing power-balladeering.

Sizzling, upbeat Afrofunk fuelled by bounding, bouncy pop hooks – all from a former backing singer who was always going to steal the limelight.

The perfect soundtrack to that ‘looking out of a train window in the rain’ scene from any indie rom-com, courtesy of folk scene stalwart Rozi Plain.

Norse disco giant Todd Terje flexes his cosmic muscles on this total voyage of a remix.

While Time Out in no way endorses the view ‘anyone from London, fuck off out’, this amazing retooling of early ‘90s hardcore rave by Bristolian producer Borai kicks Jamie XX’s ‘Gosh’ well into touch.

A song that proves you don’t need a big budget to make sweet soul music: just talent, great songs and Matthew E White’s phone number.

The bonus track from Drake’s surprise album ‘If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late’ is a glorious sequel to ‘9am in Dallas’ and ‘5am in Toronto’.

If you only enjoy one neon-coated post-heartache pop banger from 2015, make it this one.

A transcendent, quarter-hour jazz-funk exploration by Kendrick Lamar’s favourite sax visionary.

A slinky showcase for the Australian four-piece’s tricky soul-jazz grooves, taken from their genre-hopping epic ‘Choose Your Weapon’ album.

The godfather of grime refuses to rest, reminding all those swept along in the genre’s new wave just exactly who the boss is.

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Scott’s debut ‘Rodeo’ features appearances from Kanye West, Pharrell, The Weeknd and the shape-shifting Bieber, but it was this entirely solo and insanely catchy ode to the joys of narcotics that provided the real stand-out.

Which do you prefer in the morning? R&B Adonis Miguel is more than happy to serve up either or both on his hyper-impassioned comeback single.

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A lifetime in a day, a yearning study of age and ennui, and the only piano ballad this year to come with its own laugh track.

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Bristol’s Sam Binga and Manchester’s Chimpo make music you might not instantly recognise as D&B, splitting the 174bpm tempo in half and dragging in influences from dancehall, hip hop and beyond. This recent link up with legendary MC Trigga for Toddla T’s imprint is as explosive as it is innovative.

A dreamy foray into the outer reaches of jazz, rooted by Seb Rochford’s precise percussion.

Further proof that Josh Martin (aka DG) isn’t just a pretty face and a baritone croon: this new wave-edged track suggests he’s a sharp songwriter too.

In the year that gender politics entered mainstream media like never before, Ezra Furman stuck up two fingers at heteronormativity with this joyful glam rock groover.

Listen hard and you’ll hear a cool summer breeze whistling through this lovely synthpop track from our favourite Finnish producer.

A punchy star track from ‘Ivy Tripp’, the latest album by Katie Crutchfield’s DIY grunge project.

Loneliness, pollution and eating chips on the beach: it’s all fodder for the apocalyptic climax from Barnett’s album ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit’.

JoGru’s frontwoman Alanna McArdle quit the band shortly after they released their latest LP. Here’s a perfectly formed indie-pop micro-drama to remember her by.

Not every track on B&S’s new record ‘Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance’ was a winner, but this heartbreaking synth epic shows they’ve still got heaps to offer.

North London’s hottest young rhymer set out her stall magnificently on this highlight from her album ‘A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons’.

The super-stylish synthpop collective channel disco and ’80s synthpop on this stylish instrumental preview for their new album.

Caned by tastemaking DJs like Benji B and Gilles Peterson, Amsterdam-resident Hunee’s ‘Rare Happiness’ is an infectious deep house earworm that’ll stay with you long after 2016 is over.

A standout track from the London five-piece’s underrated debut album, ‘Land Gone’ is the perfect showcase for Novella’s old-school psychedelic wig-outs and ultra-cool vocals.

Late Of The Pier’s Sam Eastgate returns, with all the weird vibes and squelchy synths of his old band plus a nimble new approach to songcraft.

We had our socks knocked off by this new London band’s first full-length track – and by full-length we mean seven and a half hypnotic minutes including the sax solo.

‘Never underestimate creative people and the depths to which they’ll go’: true wisdom from the ex-Moloko singer on this downbeat floor-filler.

Ultra-talented teenage MC Novelist drops rhymes and jaws, with breathtakingly minimal production from Mumdance.

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Despite the iffy video (the artists gyrating in India like they’d never even heard the words ‘cultural appropriation’), this was a certified banger with one of the year’s biggest dance hooks.

Baroque pop single ‘Feel You’ may have been radio-rinsed, but it’s this harrowing, Nick Cave-ish ballad that stole the show on Julia Holter’s ‘Have You in My Wilderness’ album, with no more than those rising and diving strings and Holter’s haunting voice.

The follow-up to ‘Chandelier’ was the catchy electropop hit we’d been craving, with a bonus controversial video starring Shia Labeouf.

Dissolute, debauched and decadent, with a bellowing bassline any trap banger would be proud of, this single from The Weeknd’s ‘The Beauty Behind The Madness’ signalled a glorious return to filth-mouthed form.

Björk-approved artist Kelela showed the R&B hordes how it’s done with this sweet-but-spiky number, reminding us when made properly, R&B can be absolutely banging.

Our favourite Liverpool lasses switched up their style in 2015, as exemplified by this sweet synth treat.

The Macca riff that opens and closes ‘All Day’ may date way back to 1969, but the whole dizzying track makes Ye sound more than ever like an emissary from the future.

A killer freestyle, a viral hit and a treatise against bad dental hygiene – all in a day’s work for Solihull spitter LL.

This was the year the world was forced to ask itself: is Justin Bieber cool now? Based on this tropical-house hit, the answer is yes. Deal with it.

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The brilliant Nadine Shah gives an ex-boyfriend a tongue-lashing on this thumping single. Feel the burn.

One of several tracks from the London D&B producer that would definitely scare your gran, but leave dance floors in rapturous awe.

Slow, smoky, seductive funk, given a further lift by Syd Tha Kyd‘s treacly vocals and a bassline that winds itself wickedly around your brain.

Haven’t come across this offbeat French singer? The massive chorus here is a perfect introduction.

Yannis Philippakis is the conduit for some wyrd energy on the opening track from Foals’ new album, also called ‘What Went Down’. This one starts huge and only gets bigger.

Janelle called in her Wondaland family for this unforgettable protest song, sending a shiver up the spine with its righteous anger against racist police brutality.

A trip in so many ways: Kevin Parker’s psych crew return with a steady seven-minute freak-out that goes to some weird places.

Young London producer RWJ shows his hooky side on this slippery synth-funk track.

Wonky psych guitar and funk bass anchor this one (despite the wacko lyrics) until the sublime chorus hits.

Deep in the digital dump that was the free, Flaming Lips-assisted ‘Miley Cyrus And Her Dead Petz’ album, this heartfelt ’80s-style ballad stood out like a beacon.

Montreal producer Kaytranada surpassed himself on this sublimely chill R&B track, but it’s Syd Tha Kid’s smooth and unfussed vocal that makes it essential bedroom music.

The West Coast king gives hope to the masses on this bass-heavy war cry from 'To Pimp A Butterfly'.

An oceanically deep highlight from the pair’s ‘What a Time To Be Alive’ mixtape. It’s so good, Skepta had to jump on the beat for a freestyle.

A one-off release written for Lena Dunham’s ‘Girls’, this delightfully wistful dose of Annie Clark is made of equal parts nostalgia and floating synths.

Has there been a classier bit of digital soul all year? We think not. Take a bow, Mr Bashmore.

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Remember jungle? As his reworking of the DJ Monita 1992 classic shows, Fracture’s not prepared to let anyone forget. ‘Luv Ta Luv Ya’ plunders the past to create something startlingly fresh.

Who were the only act this year to rhyme ‘jet ski’ with ‘Emile Heskey’? Six-strong grime syndicate Section Boyz, that’s who.

It’s hard to pick from the beautifully sad and intimate songs on Stevens’s latest LP, but ‘No Shade…’ edges it with an unshakeable melody.

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Blur at their most… well, Blurry. Welcome back, gents!

Seriously scary shit from Ri, spitting that vocal hook over a rattling trap beat and stunning everyone waiting for ‘Anti’ into awed silence.

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JME assembled a cast featuring his brother Skepta, Frisco and Shorty to discuss Twitter etiquette on this massive track from his Top 20 album ‘Integrity’.

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Never mind that it samples Iggy Azalea – Janelle Monae’s dapper protégé goes one better with a synthy debut single that keeps it classy.

An itchy, groovy, utterly compelling workout by Manchester producer Julie Campbell. This one comes with brains and a beat.

South London MC Michael Omari samples ‘Eastenders’ and his iPhone, shouts out Wiley and proves why he’s fronting grime’s new wave.

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The epic high point of Wolf Alice’s ace debut: huge but tender with a big, beating heart.

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Is he saying ‘boat race’ or ‘Homebase’? Who cares – Four Tet’s production gives our Rodney a new lease of life here.

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An ebullient disco-house highlight from Shamir’s ace debut ‘Ratchet’.

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Was there a purer, more infuriatingly catchy example of sugary pop mastery released in 2015? We really, really, really, really, really, really, really doubt it.

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Some time after putting it out as a standalone track in March, Grimes apparently changed her mind and decided to include this bizarre banger on her ‘Art Angels’ album after all. We say: good call, Claire.

Though it was originally released in 2004, this slow-burning electronic dreamscape was one of the biggest club tracks of 2015.

Ever spent a night at an awful party, counting down the minutes until it’s polite enough for you to leave? ‘Here’ is a brilliantly honest account of that experience – with a banging Isaac Hayes-sampling beat.

With summery riffs and party vocals to burn, this was on the soundtrack to every barbecue and festival afterparty this year.

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Melbourne’s answer to Patti Smith showed off her self-deprecating wit on this dry-as-the-Outback garage rock hit, with a swirling riff to boot.

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This unforgettable banger dropped in early 2014, but it took a year for its unstoppable thrust, tight beats and love-and-crime narrative to make Fetty Wap briefly the biggest rising star in hip hop.

A creeping funk beat, a mesmerising flow with refs to Chinua Achebe, Richard Pryor and Michael Jackson, and the root of 2015’s most asked question: ‘What’s the yams?’

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Stood astride a Swegway in the video, the queen of hip hop swooped in right at the end of the year to remind us she’s still the boss.

As well as the video that launched a thousand memes, Drizzy’s megahit came packing at least three unshakeable hooks. No wonder it’s become scientifically impossible to leave the house without hearing it.

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So what if this globe-conquering hit ripped its Skippy-smooth grooves from the ’80s funk scene? It’s unforgettable and unignorable.

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A scorchingly fiery highlight from one of the albums of the year, Flo’s mighty ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’.

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What a year it’s been for grime – and what a year it’s been for Skepta. With the sound he helped build over a decade ago suddenly resurgent, the Boy Better Know founder’s YouTube views have gone from the thousands to the millions in a year that’s seen him on stage with Kanye West, in the studio with Drake and on the radio with Pharrell. And – as the head-jerking rhythms and fiercely witty bars of his summer smash ‘Shutdown’ prove so neatly – he’s done all this without once compromising the gloriously British street-level sound and style that typifies grime at its very best. ‘This ain’t a culture, it’s my religion’: preach, Skeps.