150. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist (ft. Rick Ross) – “Scottie Beam” (2020)
Gibbs’ collabs with The Alchemist rivaled his beloved ones with Madlib, and when you add prime Rick Ross to the mix, it became permanently on the rotation.
149. Avalon Emerson – “Dreamliner” (2023)
After a decade of singles and EPs, this German artist released one of the most exciting indietronica debuts in some time with & the Charm and the mostly-instrumental “Dreamliner” is its best track.
148. Beth Orton – “Friday Night” (2022)
The UK journeywoman achieved her most critical acclaim with the folky jazzy Weather Alive and its best song, a Proust-referencing song on remembrance.
147. billy woods & Kenny Segal (ft. Danny Brown) – “Year Zero” (2023)
For a song where billy woods proclaims humanity “poisons everything we touch,” it’s hard not to think about how he has the greatest Midas touch in alt-rap this decade.
146. ANOHNI – “It Must Change” (2023)
There’s an unwavering resolve to ANOHNI’s lyricism that even with a wistful arrangement like this, there’s still a direct earnestness that listeners are forced to confront.
145. Dry Cleaning – “Scratchcard Lanyard” (2021)
Few bands can claim they’ve pushed indie rock to more interesting, stranger places this decade, but Florence Shaw’s vocals and lyrics are just so damn deadpan and riveting.
144. Animal Collective – “Royal and Desire” (2022)
That Animal Collective are still making good music over twenty years into their legendary run is incredible, but the Time Skiffs closer with a rare lead vocal by Deakin is a blissful progressive pop revelation.
143. Ethel Cain – “American Teenager” (2022)
The meme stereotype of Ethel Cain as a shut-in Christian goth is questioned by her best single, a euphoric tale of high school suburban self-determination.
142. Special Interest (ft. Mykki Blanco) – “Midnight Legend” (2022)
The standout single of Endure fully embraces the dance portion of dance-punk with a rap feature and a spare percussive sound ready for any indie club playlist.
141. Four Tet – “Three Drums” (2023)
When the longtime master of percussion in IDM explicitly mentions drums in the title, it’s a must to drop everything you’re doing, and this mellow slow build belongs near the top of Kieran Hebden’s discography.
140. Turnstile – “Mystery” (2021)
If we’re simply talking music that can open up the pit, this Baltimore punk band would be at the top of this list.
139. Magdalena Bay – “Secrets (Your Fire)” (2021)
This synthpop duo are quickly gaining cult status, and this Mercurial World single is their most bouncy and accessible.
138. Saweetie – “Tap In” (2020)
After “My Type” introduced Saweetie to everyone, this equally-fun single took a Too $hort classic and arguably improved upon it.
137. DJ Python – “Angel” (2022)
This Latin-American producer had one of the best runs in electronica this decade, but this long EP cut is the definitive statement in his ambient techno style.
136. Japanese Breakfast – “Be Sweet” (2021)
Jubilee brought Michelle Zauner’s band properly into the critical and cultural zeitgeist, and “Be Sweet” remains the best access point into her catalog.
135. Arooj Aftab – “Mohabbat” (2021)
Aftab adapts a poem from Urdu artist Hafeez Hoshiarpuri on wanting to be someone’s sole lover and performs it for maximum heartbreak.
134. Rachika Nayar (ft. Maria BC) – “Heaven Come Crashing” (2022)
The title track to this ambient artist’s breakthrough album features a drum and bass breakdown for the ages halfway in that will have you buying into the celestial, spiritual collision of its namesake.
133. Koffee – “Lockdown” (2020)
One of the biggest trends in 2020 was releasing songs titled “Lockdown”, but this reggae artist’s stab at quarantine reflection is still an exciting listen in ’24.
132. Run the Jewels (ft. DJ Premier & Greg Nice) – “ooh la la” (2020)
Taking a sample from Greg Nice’s iconic opening verse on “DWYCK”, the RTJ duo exhilaratingly trade braggadocious verses we always love them for.
131. BAMBII (ft. Lady Lykez) – “WICKED GYAL” (2023)
If this EP cut is any indicator, the Jamaican-Canadian DJ will utilize dancehall, house and rap for maximum club jubilee and be a producing force for the rest of the decade.
130. The War on Drugs (ft. Lucius) – “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” (2021)
As Adam Granduciel’s project becomes more transparently heartland rock, one would hope he maintains this cathartic reflective spirit as he sings of dancing to “Desolation Row”.
129. City Girls (ft. Doja Cat) – “Pussy Talk” (2020)
May JT and Yung Miami never mature over talking about money, sex, and screwing men over, for there are fewer artists more reliably entertaining on the most basic level.
128. Faye Webster – “I Know I’m Funny haha” (2021)
Webster’s lyrical approach on this title track is so conversational that you immediately sink in and empathize with her tale of landlords and awkward family hangouts.
127. Helado Negro – “Gemini and Leo” (2021)
Even after the great This Is How You Smile, Helado Negro remains one of the most underrated indie pop artists working, and “Gemini and Leo” is further proof that his choruses, drums, and ambient tones are unmatched.
126. Tinashe – “Bouncin'” (2021)
“Nasty” has pushed Tinashe into her biggest fame yet, but she’s been releasing sexy R&B bangers like “Bouncin'” for nearly a decade.
125. Jlin – “Embryo” (2021)
You know a Jlin song five seconds in because you’re inundated with the most complex tactile footwork sounds to rival Aphex Twin this century.
124. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Western Wind” (2022)
CRJ has been defined by Emotion and similar club-influenced pop jams for nearly a decade now, but this spacious alt-pop single offers a new path into “breezy” pop rock that dominated the early aughts charts.
123. Burna Boy – “Last Last” (2022)
The Nigerian afrobeats great was on the periphery of stardom with standout awards show appearances before this platinum-selling single, his first charting song in the US.
122. Adele – “To Be Loved” (2021)
This 30 deep cut and its heart-stopping chorus is purely a display of Adele being the greatest singer in this pop era.
121. Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit” (2022)
The alt-R&B guitarist from The Internet surprisingly attained mass commercial success without sacrificing any of his eccentricities on this Billboard number one single.
120. Wet Leg – “Chaise Longue” (2021)
This silly deadpan sing-along rocker was one of the most successful indie rock debut singles in the decade.
119. Dehd – “Loner” (2020)
The Chicago band attained a indie cult status for Flower of Devotion and especially for this dreamy surf-guitar driven standout.
118. Destroyer – “Cue Synthesizer” (2020)
One of Dan Bejar’s most sonically dense and funky jams doesn’t prevent him from writing instantly quotable lyrics.
117. MJ Lenderman – “Knockin” (2023)
The newly-touted savior of slacker indie updated his 2021 DIY EP cut with fresh production to rebirth the song into a proper classic.
116. Cindy Lee – “Flesh and Blood” (2024)
It’s difficult to ascertain what single track could stand out on the 2-hour hypnagogic pop rock masterpiece Diamond Jubilee, but this with its delightful harmonic chorus and garage band freakout outro has the best argument.
115. Phoenix (ft. Ezra Koenig) – “Tonight” (2022)
In retrospect, it’s silly not to expect that the band with maybe the most pop rock bangers of the 21st century still had one more all-timer in the chamber.
114. Angel Olsen – “Big Time” (2022)
A purely country sound fit Angel Olsen’s aesthetic perfectly on this title track, a jaunty-but-cathartic love song.
113. L’Rain – “Find It” (2021)
This Fatigue cut is the strongest display of pop bliss in L’Rain’s truly unique blend of soul, psychedelica and orchestral ambience.
112. illuminati hotties – “Mmmoooaaaaayaya” (2021)
Somewhere between comical power pop and vengeful political art punk, this Let Me Do One More standout is the LA band’s most notable release.
111. Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul – “It Hit Me” (2022)
This track from the French-Belgium synthpop duo examines the fucked up nature of sexual awakening before it’s societally reasonable to experience.
110. 100 gecs – “Hollywood Baby” (2023)
10,000 gecs definitively proved that 100 gecs are a cultural juggernaut here to stay, and “Hollywood Baby” is probably the safest bet in their hyperpop catalog to put on a party playlist.
109. Justin Bieber (ft. Daniel Caesar & GIVĒON) – “Peaches” (2021)
Bieber’s ’20s catalog is replete with whiffs but “Peaches” is a smooth soul banger with a star-making guest vocal appearance from Daniel Caesar.
108. Mandy, Indiana – “Pinking Shears” (2023)
For experimental music fans, Mandy, Indiana has been the most exciting new artist of the decade, and as shown on a song like this, harsh tones and percussions are in service of digestible beats and hooks.
107. Soccer Mommy – “circle the drain” (2020)
On every one of the Nashville indie rocker’s albums, there’s at least one all-timer primed for college radio rotation and critical adoration, and this was the one for color theory.
106. 070 Shake – “Guilty Conscience” (2020)
GOOD Music signee 070 Shake isn’t the universally-known artist that this song should’ve made her, and it’s a wonder why the sole producer of the track — Myles Williams — has so few credits following it.
105. Mannequin Pussy – “I Got Heaven” (2023)
The Philly punk band has built good will and improved upon each album for a decade now, and the title track to their newest is as equally anarchic as it is hook-laden.
104. Victoria Monét – “On My Mama” (2023)
In classic Grammys fashion, they awarded Monét Best New Artist after a decade of solid EP work, but this flexing R&B jam was certainly a name-making one.
103. Kim Gordon – “BYE BYE” (2024)
The Sonic Youth legend threw her hat into the alt hip-hop circuit with lyrics that read like an iPhone notes travel checklist but with a noise rock backbeat and an unquestioned cool vibe, Gordon struts like a champ.
102. Ice Spice – “Munch (Feelin’ U)” (2022)
Ice Spice quickly became just about bigger than anyone else in rap and a backlash feels imminent, but this breakout single is still evidence of an untouchable monotone swagger she displays at her best.
101. Aldous Harding – “Fever” (2022)
This muted chamber pop Warm Chris standout has grown in stature on repeated listens as every horn blare, snare hit and lyrical turn proved to be so effortlessly calculated.
Bitter Melodies 