It's time to commence the end-of-year list-making here on The Search... and we'll start with my picks for the best songs of the year. I've opted not to put them in any sort of order (except alphabetical), because it takes too much time to arbitrarily decide whether Neko Case (pictured above) should be #11 or #18. So here they are... 50 songs that you should definitely think about downloading!
Andrew Bird, “Tenuousness” Animal Collective, “Brothersport” Animal Collective, “Graze” Animal Collective, “My Girls” Atlas Sound & Panda Bear, “Walkabout” Bat For Lashes, “Daniel” Beyonce, “Sweet Dreams” Bibio, “Ambivalence Avenue” Bon Iver, “Brackett, WI” Camera Obscura, “The Sweetest Thing” Clipse and Kanye West, “Kinda Like a Big Deal” David Bazan, “Curse Your Branches” Dirty Projectors, “Stillness is the Move” Fleet Foxes, "False Night on the Road" Future of Forestry, “Slow Your Breath Down” Grizzly Bear, “While You Wait for the Others” Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes, “Empire State of Mind” Jay-Z, “Young Forever” Julian Plenti, “Only If You Run” Karen O and the Kids, “Worried Shoes” Kelly Clarkson, “I Do Not Hook Up” Kid Cudi, MGMT, Ratatat, “Pursuit of Happiness” Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance” M.Ward, “For Beginners” Memory Tapes, “Bicycle” Monsters of Folk, “Dear God” Mos Def, “Quiet Dog” N.A.S.A. (ft. Kanye West, Santigold, Lykke Li), “Gifted” Neko Case, “Middle Cyclone” Neon Indian, “Deadbeat Summer” Peter, Bjorn & John feat. Wale, “Nothing to Worry About” Phoenix, “Lisztomania” Phoenix, “1901” Raekwon, “House of Flying Daggers” Real Estate, “Snow Days” St. Vincent, “Marrow” Sufjan Stevens, “You Are the Blood” Sunset Rubdown, “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” Susan Enan, “Monoplain” The Antlers, “Two” The Books and Jose Gonzalez, “Cello Song” The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, “A Teenager in Love” The Very Best, "The Warm Heart of Africa" Thom Yorke, “All For the Best” U2, “Magnificent” Vampire Weekend, “Horchata” Washed Out, “Feel it All Around.” Wilco, “Solitaire” Yacht Club, “Psychic City” Yeasayer, “Tightrope”