by Billboard Staff |
December 13, 2011 4:05 EST
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2011 was the year Beyonce counted down to 1, Frank Ocean tried to numb the pain, Bon Iver knew he wasn't magnificent and Adele tried to find a suitable replacement for an old flame. It was a year of magnificent songs, and these 20 tracks represent a gorgeous pastiche of veteran artists and talented newbies. Check out the Billboard.com staff's picks for the top 20 songs of 2011, and tell us your personal favorite tracks of the year in the comments section.
The Best of 2011: Year-End Charts & More | Critics' Picks: 10 Best Albums of 2011
20
We Found Love
Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
- • 11 total weeks on the Hot 100 -- six at No. 1
- • Features Calvin Harris, who opened for Rihanna on European dates this year
- • Dancefloor bliss, and music video might be the best of the year
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19
Midnight City
- • Best surprise synch of the year - a Victoria's Secret ad, since nothing sells bras like gratuitous amounts of synth and sax
- • Which brings us to... So. Much. Sax. -- and in this, the Year of the Sax
- • This song may or may not make you feel like you can fly
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18
Hell On Heels
- • Trio features an up-and-coming singer named. . . Miranda Lambert
- • One of four songs on the album to feature all three singers on lead vocals
- • Handclaps at 2:40 = badass, somehow
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17
I'm On One
- • Topped R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for 11 weeks
- • Lil Wayne goes Andre The Giant (Big Wayne?)
- • Seven months later, that beat is still filthy
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16
Wildfire
- • Single from self-titled LP features Little Dragon
- • SBTRKT is pronounced like "Subtract"
- • Drake liked beat so much that he jumped on a remix
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15
Take Care
Drake feat. Rihanna
- • Drake-Rihanna collabo number two, following "What's My Name"
- • Check out source material: "I'll Take Care Of You" by Gil Scott-Heron
- • Rihanna's most nuanced vocal performance yet
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14
Beat Of My Drum
- • Nicola = former Girls Aloud singer
- • Squelchy synths courtesy of Diplo
- • Satisfied our M.I.A. craving for 2011
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13
Lotus Flower
- • The best of the electronic mess that is "King of Limbs"
- • Erratic hand-clapping
- • Thom Yorke's "This be my jam"-dance moves in the video
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12
Countdown
- • Is there anyone on the planet who says the word "boo" better than Beyonce?
- • "Still love the way he talk, still love the way I sing" -- Just a reminder that this song is about Jay-Z
- • The Bob Fosse fever dream that is the utterly fantastic "Countdown" video
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11
Whirring
- • Four solid minutes of instrumental crescendo culminating in gnarly guitar feedback
- • Dave Grohl's pick for song of the year
- • Quintessential Joy Formidable: hard (feedback) vs. soft (pop melodies)
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Text by Jason Lipshutz and Jillian Mapes
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Up for Discussion