best songs of 2016 (so far)

By Ryan Byrd

favorites, recommendations, music you should know, popular culture, culture, music, lists, mixtape, reviews
0 Comments

believe it or not, as of a couple days ago, we’re officially halfway through 2016.

2015 was a stellar music year and i’m glad to report that 2016 has been even better. (i can’t seem to find the link to the recent article i read, but…) some have suggested that this is the best music year we’ve had in the past 20 years. it’s hard to make an objective argument for that, but no doubt, there’s a been a lot of good stuff.

anytime someone asks me when the best era for music was, i tell them ‘now’. much like technology, music constantly pushes forward with new ideas and new perspectives. increasingly, there’s so much good music that’s so different and blurs genre lines. i feel like this year, that’s as true as ever. my list of best songs of 2016 (so far) has a little bit of everything — from rap to folk to “top 40” to indie pop.

so let’s do this. here’s the best songs of 2016 (so far):

ojai

it was you (baby come back to me)

black honey

skipping stones (ft. jhene aiko)

desperado

if it’s your way

buckshot (ft. krs-one & dj premier)

move me

let’s run away

freedom (ft. kendrick lamar)

brad pitt’s cousin (ft. XP)