50 Best Songs of 2010 (2024)

December 14, 2010

• Ke$ha, “We R Who We R”

  

  Over Dr. Luke's arena-electro beat, Ke$ha takes stupid-savvy pop to bombastic heights.

  • Video: Ke$ha on Ke$ha: Pop's Party Animal Asks Herself the Tough Questions

• Elizabeth Cook, “El Camino”

  

  A twangy, hilarious vignette about a schoolgirl who becomes powerless against the charms of a mulleted, El Camino-driving skeezeball.

• Das Racist, “hahahaha jk?”

  

  NYC trio transcend joke-rap status by making a song about transcending joke-rap status, set to a finely stoned beat.

• Kid Rock, “Born Free”

  

  Rock throws on a fringed jacket and cuts a Seventies-rock anthem that's perfect for cruising in a vintage Chevy — or just pumping your fist.

  • Video: Exclusive Clip from Kid Rock: Born Free

• MGMT, “Congratulations”

  

  The psych-pop jokers let down their guard and rip off the Band for a hazily pretty singalong about fast fame.

  • Video: Checking in With MGMT

• The Rolling Stones, “Plundered My Soul”

  

  An expertly reconstructed track from the Exile on Main Street sessions, with Keith Richards' damaged licks crying across the years.

  • Gallery: Photos from the Making of Exile on Main Street
  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Neil Young, “Love and War”

  

  "I've been in love, and I've seen a lot of war": Young wrestles with his two biggest topics — and meditates on his entire career.

  • Gallery: Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield and More Play the 2010 Bridge School Benefit

• B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars, “Nothing on You”

  

  A nearly perfect pop-rap ballad, with the Atlanta MC telling his one and only, "You the whole package, plus you pay your taxes."

  • Gallery: B.o.B., Bruno Mars and More at the Grammy Nominations Gallery

• Surfer Blood, “Floating Vibes”

  

  Florida guys combine a Beach Boys-style surf tune with Nineties alt-rock riffs. Why didn't anyone think of this before?

  • Video: Breaking: Surfer Blood

• Junip, “In Every Direction”

  

  Pale-voiced Swede José González kicks up the volume for a supremely pretty folk swirl.

  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Kanye West, “Power”

  

  The first sign of how crazy Twisted Fantasy would be: 'Ye goes all schizoid while sampling King Crimson.

  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• The Gaslight Anthem, “The Diamond Church Street Choir”

  

  Brian Fallon triangulates doo-wop, Bruce Springsteen and New Jersey emo. Result: a finger-snapping ode to basem*nt gigs and lost love.

  • Video: Gaslight Anthem Live at Austin City Limits 2010

• Spoon, “The Mystery Zone”

  

  2010's most mesmerizing guitar groove — a dark, dubby burner with lyrics about basem*nt gigs and lost love.

• Lloyd Banks feat. Juelz Santana, “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley”

  

  Two New York badasses team up over the year's rawest beat to celebrate paying way too much in car insurance.

• Drake feat. Nicki Minaj, “Up All Night”

  

  One of the year's great driving songs, with Minaj "doing doughnuts in a six-speed."

• Massive Attack feat. Hope Sandoval, “Paradise Circus”

  

  The U.K. trip-hoppers call in guest moaner Hope Sandoval for a narcotic ballad that's both surreal and unnervingly erotic.

  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Gorillaz feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack, “Stylo”

  

  Your favorite cartoon primates cook up a disco jam that's sexy enough to make Donna Summer sigh with pleasure. And that synth-bass line? Unstoppable.

  • Gallery: Gorillaz Bring Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Bobby Womack On Stage With Damon Albarn in Boston

• Wavves, “Post Acid”

  

  The San Diego trio turn in a sweetly psychedelic punk nugget: part Buzzco*cks, part acid-damaged beach rock.

• Die Antwoord, “Enter the Ninja”

  

  The year's freakiest rap song: Three South Africans mix machine-gun flows with warped hooks, suggesting Eminem's "Lose Yourself" on mescaline.

  • Gallery: Die Antwoord Plays HARD NYC Festival

• Gil Scott-Heron, “I’m New Here”

  

  The long-lost Seventies rap pioneer rasps his way through an acoustic version of a Smog ballad. He turns indie-rock melancholy into the darkest, deepest country blues.

• Jakob Dylan, “Nothing but the Whole Wide World”

  

  Dylan delivers a roots-folk lullaby with a hushed melody James Taylor would kill to have written.

  • Video: Jakob Dylan Performs with Neko Case in the Rolling Stone Offices
  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “The Trip to Pirate’s Cove”

  

  A classic Petty road story, outfitted with black-ice organ and sneering guitar.

• Band of Horses, “Laredo”

  

  A country-rock ballad about needing to get away, built around shimmering guitars that go on for miles.

• The National, “Bloodbuzz Ohio”

  

  "I still owe money to the money to the money I owe," croons Matt Berninger, singing so seductively you'll want to toss him a few bucks.

  • Video: The National Live at Bonnaroo 2010

• Robyn, “Dancing on My Own”

  

  The Swedish diva spots her beloved with another girl — then turns her sadness into sparkling pop, perfect for solo freakouts.

• Nicki Minaj, “Did It On’em”

  

  A hazy, synapse-butchering throwdown. Nicki: "If I had a dick, I would pull it out and piss on 'em."

  • Gallery: Nicki MInaj's Best Looks
  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Eminem, “Not Afraid”

  

  Em opens up about sobriety, disses his last album and pledges to be a better dad. His most inspiring song ever.

  • Gallery: Eminem: A History in Photos

• Jamey Johnson, “Macon”

  

  Johnson rolls slow and steady on this rough diamond of Seventies Southern rock.

• Rick Ross feat. Styles P, “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)”

  

  Ross flows like the Barry White of white powder on this lush drug-lord fantasia.

• Sleigh Bells, “Infinity Guitars”

  

  A classic girl-group tune set against skull-rattling guitar fuzz that hurts so good.

  • Gallery: Sleigh Bells Bring Hot Jams to HARD NYC Festival

• Best Coast, “Boyfriend”

  

  A heartbreaker about a lonely summer — imagine Brian Wilson as a sensitive stoner girl.

  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• The New p*rnographers, “Your Hands (Together)”

  

  The indie-rock collective harmonizes about silver bullets and piles on the classic-rock guitars. Result: bizarro pop that's hard to shake.

  • Video: The New p*rnographers Live at Lollapalooza 2010

• Jenny and Johnny, “Scissor Runner”

  

  Power pop finds its own George Burns and Gracie Allen. Her best borscht-belt joke? "I'll forgive you/If I outlive you."

• LCD Soundsystem, “I Can Change”

  

  The year's best Depeche Mode song is also its best Smiths song. James Murphy shows off a great falsetto while expressing pain with wild humor.

  • Video: LCD Soundsystem Live at Austin City Limits 2010

• Cold War Kids, “Coffee Spoon”

  

  SoCal kids hallucinate about the high life, turning "ascetics wring their hands" into a killer chorus.

  See Also

  The Top 100 Tracks of 2010

  • Feature: Cold War Kids Grow Up on Mine is Yours

• Drake, “Over”

  

  Drake rhymes about how stardom is both terrifying and awesome. With a huge, clattering beat, it's also irresistible.

  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Big Boi feat. Cutty, “Shutterbugg”

  

  OutKast's brawnier half throws an electro party, coaxing players to the dance floor with a nasty ghetto-tech bass line.

  • Feature: Inside Big Boi's Hit Solo Debut

• The Dead Weather, “Hustle and Cuss”

  

  Jack White and Alison Mosshart howl over the dirtiest riff of the year, generating ungodly amounts of sexual electricity.

  • Video: The Dead Weather Live at Bonnaroo 2010

• Mark Ronson and the Business International feat. Q-Tip and MNDR, “Bang Bang Bang”

  

  Ronson turns a French kiddie tune into a Technicolor hook on this synth-pop fire starter.

  • Video: Mark Ronson on the Making of Record Collection

• The Black Keys, “Everlasting Light”

  

  A steady-grooving blues-rock ballad, with Dan Auerbach's falsetto floating over craggy funk like some beautiful ghost.

  • Video: The Black Keys Live at Lollapalooza 2010

• Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver, “Monster”

  

  On this rumbling id-fest, Minaj delivers the cameo of the year, switching personae and voices like she's rap's Meryl Streep. Kanye has the good sense to let her go on for 31 thrilling bars.

  • Video: Kanye West's Surprise Visit to Rolling Stone
  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Broken Bells, “The Ghost Inside”

  

  This noirish jam mixes Danger Mouse's steely funk with a creepily addictive chorus from the Shins' James Mercer. Bet you loosen your collar.

  • Video: Watch Broken Bells' clip for "The Ghost Inside"

• Janelle Monáe feat. Big Boi, “Tightrope”

  

  Sister-from-another-planet Monáe delivers a ferocious, horn-splashed burner that mashes up Cab Calloway, hip-hop, James Brown and art-pop wackiness.

  • Feature: Artist of the Week: Janell Monáe

• Vampire Weekend, “White Sky”

  

  Synth foam, perky digital rhythms, joyful whoops and African-flavored guitars. The sound of a young band discovering how much is possible.

  • Video: Vampire Weekend Talk the Making of Contra

• Mavis Staples, “You Are Not Alone”

  

  A modern hymn, written by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and sung with maternal assurance by the voice that once told you to "Respect Yourself."

• Arcade Fire, “We Used to Wait”

  

  "Now our lives are changing fast," sings Win Butler, spooked and sleepless. But his empathetic croon — and his band's orchestral- rock wallop — make high anxiety sound almost sublime.

  • Gallery: Arcade Fire Rock Madison Square Garden
  • Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more

• Katy Perry, “Teenage Dream”

  

  Co-written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke, this buoyant electro-pop singalong is 2010's catchiest tune. As for that "teenage dream," Perry doesn't mince words: "Let's go all the way tonight."

  • Gallery: Katy Perry's Best Looks

• Sade, “Soldier of Love”

  

  Nobody knows where Sade disappears to for years at a time between hits, but "Soldier of Love" proves she knows how to make a hell of a re-entrance. She sings about emotional devastation over a beat that mixes quiet-storm synths with acid-damaged riffs straight out of TV on the Radio's playbook. It's as close as she's ever come to blowing her cool.

• Cee Lo Green, “F**k You”

  

  The title alone would have guaranteed hundreds of thousands of Web clicks. But Cee Lo didn't just say "f*ck you" — he said it with humor and serious panache. Despite the bummed-out lyrics, the Motown-style beat is DayGlo-bright, and Cee Lo's lovelorn lament doubles as an anthem for lean times: "If I was richer/I'd still be with ya/Ha, now ain't that some sh*t?"

  • Video: Cee Lo's Official "f*ck You" Video

• Kanye West feat. Pusha T, “Runaway”

  

  It takes a special kind of dark, twisted genius to raise the white flag of surrender while raising a middle finger. Kanye West is that genius. "Runaway" is Kanye's musical response to the Taylor Swift affair, but it's much more than that: a nine-minute meditation on romantic failure and public infamy. Kanye creates a huge, eerie beat out of thunderous drums and plinking piano, and he turns the phrase "Let's have a toast for the douchebags" into a refrain nearly as catchy as "She loves you — yeah, yeah, yeah." In 2010, no other song was so crazily epic or jaw-droppingly gorgeous — not on the radio, not anywhere. Now, everyone raise your glasses.

  • Gallery: Kanye West's Career Highs — and Lows