Now that the year is just about behind us, we thought it might be fun to present the year’s highest rated songs as voted on by the site’s visitors. I think it’s a credit to our readership how diverse the offerings here are–OTM’s visitors are interested in a wide range of styles and sounds, and that open-mindedness makes this list a fresh listen filled with surprises and divergent textures.
Click on any artist photo or song title to view that song’s full post. Click here to download all 10 songs in a .zip file.
Without further ado, here are the 10 best songs of 2010 (as voted on by you)…
10: Reporter “Click Shaw”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.37
9: Pallers “The Kiss”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.44
8: Stornoway “Zorbing”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.44
7: Richard Walters “Brittle Bones”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.45
6: Dylan LeBlanc “If Time Was for Wasting”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.46
5: Sarah Jaffe “Better Than Nothing”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.47
4: Trentemøller “Sycamore Feeling”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.52
3: Emily Jane White “Liza”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.52
2: Junip “Rope and Summit”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.56
1: The National “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
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[ download ] | [ read more ] | Rating: 9.56
There you have it–your favorite tracks from 2010. Do you think they’re good selections? Vehemently disagree? Let us know what your favorite song of the year was in the comments below!
If you’re hungry for more, check out Honorable Mention tracks which just missed the cut by Adam Haworth Stephens, Chali 2na, Wait. Think. Fast., and Doug Burr.
(33 votes, average: 6.48 out of 10)
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December 31st, 2010 at 11:34 am
Zzzz…. WHERE’s THE DIVERSITY?… of music and races??
December 31st, 2010 at 11:48 am
Anybody who reads the site regularly knows that the scope of featured songs is one of the site’s main draws. South American hip-hop, eastern bloc gypsy-pop, tracks from ’70s African reissues–it’s all been covered.
I think that musical diversity is undoubtedly evident on this list, too, even if some of the middle section is in a similar vein. It would be hard to argue that the Richard Walters track sounds like The National, or that Reporter and Dylan LeBlanc are similar sounding.
In terms of racial diversity, I hear you on that one. A large part of that has to do with the fact that we don’t receive too many submissions from hip-hop labels, which is something we’re looking to improve on in 2011.
And hey, if you actually want to do something about it, send your favorite label an email and tell them they should be sending stuff to OTM so that 2011′s list will be even more diverse.
January 2nd, 2011 at 8:21 pm
When I need a break from mainstream, overplayed pop, and when I need to hear a new song, or maybe just sound cool because I know about a band my friends haven’t heard of, I come to one track mind. By far, the best music website I have found. Thanks for the music, the inspiration, and of course the free downloads.
January 7th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
This list is completely amazing!
January 14th, 2011 at 6:58 am
fucking hipsters
January 14th, 2011 at 10:22 am
I know right? Fucking hipsters and their good music that you don’t know about. What a pain!
Anon . . . if an internet list like this makes you lose your shit you should really reexamine your priorities in life.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Sasha, I don’t really think Anon had “lost his(her) shit.”
Maybe you shouldn’t lose your shit over someone else supposedly losing their shit. There’d be a lot less shit lost.
January 14th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I agree with Anon. This is dem damn hipster non sense. Best song of 2010 The National? Ha! It’s all about Rhianna and Eminem. Actually Eminem’s “Recovery” album should hold all the spots.
January 14th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
@Jorjay: This isn’t the MTV.com list of 2010′s best singles. It’s a list of (A) the highest rated songs which were (B) featured on this website (C) in 2010.
As much as you love the boy from Eight Mile, he would never be featured on this site. Wiz Khalifa? Definitely. Fashawn? For sure. But nobody on the planet needs to be told who Eminem is.
January 20th, 2011 at 10:05 am
omg this website rocks!! really never seen something like this before
thanks to all of u that work to keep us updated with the best music!
=D
pd if theres any mistake in the spelling or grammar it is because i speak spanish and im currently learning sorry
kisses
January 24th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
soooo many hipsterrrrrssssssss
January 27th, 2011 at 7:56 am
There’s really no diversity here. I’m not ragging on the music, I really enjoyed this list, but the ‘credit to our readership how diverse the offerings here are’ is laughable.
January 28th, 2011 at 6:27 am
Oh man, check out all those white people.
January 28th, 2011 at 6:33 am
But seriously. Pretty good list.
January 28th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
I liked the first one (#10) because I enjoy electro songs, while the others did not appeal to my tastes. Does not mean they are not good, just that I am not interested. The thing is, this list has very little reason to be diverse. It is based on songs rated by the users. The largest group of similar demographic users are “Hipsters”, and if they are vote for similar songs, then they will dominate the ratings. And also this site probably has a large number of its submissions from labels or independents who appeal to “Hipsters”. So if the songs are for hipsters, and the voters are hipsters, then of course the highest rated songs are going to be those that Hipsters like. And as to whether these titles are diverse, it is a matter of scale. Yes, they are all alike if you contrast them to the diversity that exists, but to people who listen to this or similar styles of music, each of these expresses styles within the genera.
January 28th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Hahaha, I almost said, “But hey, at least they are not being sponsored by American Apparel.”, but after posting I saw the ad at the top of the screen was from AA. This just solidifies their target audience.
“Fucking Hipsters”
January 28th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
@jjj: That’s too funny about the AA advert… But hey man, we gotta pay the bills!
February 18th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
With the exception of Stornoway the rest are a load of tripe!
The only positive I can give you about your list is that at least it omits any of the purile RnB dirge which seems to make up most of 2010′s popular music.
March 2nd, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Put it this way, music is not something you can claim to be the best of, because it’s all a matter of opinion anyways
March 5th, 2011 at 1:21 am
How very hipster! I’ve only heard of The National… otherwise not a clue!
March 10th, 2011 at 12:25 am
the link for the Sycamore feeling remix is busted. I had to go trolling the interwebz looking for it recently when I couldn’t find it here, where did it go?
March 10th, 2011 at 12:34 am
And as for this site being a hipster site, it probably deserves the label. Honestly, that is the appeal of the site though. Usually, I haven’t heard the songs posted on this site (cuz its so hip… ster), and it provides an awesome place to go check out new music. Rap is underrepresented here too, but I do love me some splashwoman by megaran. Final word: keep up the good work!
March 10th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
@cameron: Thanks for letting us know about the Trentemoller link; it’s been fixed!
March 10th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Hipsters are the cool kids.
March 22nd, 2011 at 2:18 pm
I’ll be honest, these aren’t bad songs, but for how consistently flat they are, it’s a little boring. The National really isn’t that interesting of a band at all, and certainly bloodbuzz ohio has a few interesting ideas in it, but it really doesn’t do much. Unfortunately, that’s the problem with alot of the independent music being circulated. It’s flat. Rope and Summit sounded like it was scared to get off the tonic, and, I mean that’s cool for a restricted loop piece or background music, but shit, it’s not that interesting. Liza has some cool chords in it and builds for parts of the song. It’s closer. That’s an above average song. Does it deserve a top 10 for the year? Eh, maybe. Maybe not.
The fellows from Kashmir, for example, released a song called Melpomene a few years back. It starts very slowly, and eventually through the song, progresses to tell a story. The music and the lyrics flow together, progress together. Remember the Bohemian Rhapsody? That’s an incredible example. And granted, it’s tough to come up with more than 2-3 main musical ideas in a piece. It takes time and effort. But when it’s done right, it’s levels beyond anything on the radio or the majority of this list. In terms of musical diversity, that’s where the list goes wrong.
March 24th, 2011 at 10:21 am
Wow, I got a warm fuzzy feeling when I realised I hadn’t ever heard of these songs or the groups that recorded them – I must have been doing something interesting instead!
March 29th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Snooze-fest.
June 1st, 2011 at 10:44 am
Well, supposedly credible, but shait!!! Care about taste more than image mate…
July 16th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
I wish the people here had a bit more decency then call us f***ing hipsters. We like what we like, as do you. Sorry you don’t like it, but I am going to continue to enjoy and support this great website.
Thank you One Track Mind for making me come back day after day! Love the website. Also, For all of you out there saying there is no diversity, who cares? Find a song you like and enjoy the free download. If you only like one, who cares what song is next to it.
Oh and by the way, how many of you who say there is no diversity voted for one of these songs? Just wondering.