Back To The Future could be a good theme for how 2015 ended up musically. Some 30 years from now, we could look back and marvel at just how amazing 2015 was for music. Yet as the year ends, we are all collectively scratching our heads wondering what the hell happened between last year and this year.
The same thing happened at the end of 1985, when the American Top 40 chart was fairly lackluster, pure rock music had suddenly faded, and a mediocre blend of ballads and Rock 40 was now being matched by freestyle dance music, crossover funk and R&B, and an evolving modern rock scene that suddenly incorporated industrial sounds with Casio keyboards.
As we look back on 2015 as a whole, across genres and nations, in this ARJ HOTTEST 100 countdown, the music produced during this 12 month period is quite impressive. It took hours of effort, however, and listening to songs for the first time in mid-November. But, it’s no 2014.
The year in music for 2014 was quite simply the finest seen in nearly two decades, with tremendous singles across a variety of formats. This year, songs released in 2014 still warranted high airplay well into fall 2015; the abundance of quality singles simply wasn’t there. Eurodance soundalikes came one after the next; no country tracks or straight R&B make a strong impact. Hunting high and low on global Shazam charts proved to provide a wealth of terrific tunes.
Still, there was concern by Halloween that a top 100 list would be impossible, given the high level of recurrents still in power rotation on the radio and on my iPod playlist – the “scientific” gauge of rankings seen here.
So what’s on top? Adele. No. Surprised? Of course not. There were other songs released in 2015 prior to this masterpiece.
There are few surprises. Justin Bieber is on the list. Seriously. Merle Haggard is on the list. Seriously. So is Birdy. And people you’ve probably never heard of, like J Boog. And, there are lots of “hits” based on where they were released. Yes, “Shut Up and Dance” is on here. I hate this song. But, I couldn’t escape it so it’s here.
So here we go … The ARJ Hottest 100 of 2015. You may not agree. You may wonder what the heck is wrong with me. Again, this is a chart based on total iPod spins in combination with exposure from radio station streams consumed during the entire year, and radio stations in Maui, Los Angeles, New York’s Hudson Valley and Miami-Fort Lauderdale.
https://player.spotify.com/user/12148775063/playlist/5YyVUBTnlOqDnZBZ5iHl3P
Note: The ARJ Hottest 100 Spotify playlist is not a comprehensive audio accompaniment, as several songs listed are not on Spotify. These songs can be found individually on YouTube.
1 OMI Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
2 MAJOR LAZER X DJ SNAKE f/MØ Lean On
3 FEDER f/LYSE Goodbye
4 ANNA NAKLAB & ALLE FARBEN & YOUNOTUS Supergirl
5 ADELE Hell0
6 KYGO f/CONRAD SEWELL Firestone
7 ROBIN SCHULTZ f/ FRANCESCO YATES Sugar
8 TWENTYONE PILOTS Tear In My Heart
9 LOST FREQUENCIES Are You With Me?
10 JR JR Gone
11 NICKY JAM & ENRIQUE IGLESIAS El Perdón
12 THE WEEKND Can’t Feel My Face
13 DEAR ROUGE Black To Gold
14 DISCLOSURE f/SAM SMITH Hotline Bling (Radio 1 Live From Maida Vale)
15 ELLE KING Ex’s & Oh’s
16 AVALANCHE CITY Inside Out
17 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Black Sun
18 COLD WAR KIDS First
19 BAIO Sister of Pearl
20 MARK RONSON f/BRUNO MARS Uptown Funk
21 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Ghosts of Beverly Drive
22 ALVARO SOLER El Mismo Sol
23 UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Necessary Evil
24 BECK Dreams
25 RAURY f/Tom Morello Friends
26 NEW ORDER Restless
27 EL VY Return To the Moon
28 SEINABO SEY Younger
29 BLEACHERS Rollercoaster
30 ROBIN SCHULZ f/ILSEY Headlights
31 KYGO f/PARSON JAMES Stole The Show
32 NATALIA LAFOURCADE Hasta La Raíz
33 FUTURE ISLANDS Seasons (Waiting on You)-BADBADNOTGOOD Remix
34 GARRETT DOUGLAS f/LEONARD AGUON Bad Or Good
35 SIA Elastic Heart
36 SABINA DDUMBA Not Too Young
37 JOSEF SALVAT Open Season (Une Autre Saison)
38 JAMIE LAWSON Wasn’t Expecting That
39 LOUANE Avenir
40 COMMON KINGS Since I Woke Up
41 WOLF ALICE Bros
42 CULTURA PROFETICA Saca, Prende y Sorprende
43 KURT VILE Pretty Pimpin
44 ED SHEERAN Thinking Out Loud
45 ELLIE GOULDING Love Me Like You Do
46 CESARE CREMONINI Lost In the Weekend
47 DISCLOSURE f/SAM SMITH Omen
48 BORNS Electric Love
49 MADCON & RAY DALTON Don’t Worry
50 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE Ship To Wreck
51 LOST FREQUENCIES f/JANIECK DEVY Reality
52 DIPLO & SLEEPY TOM Be Right There
53 J BALVIN Ginza
54 BIRDY + RHODES Let It All Go
55 MATT SIMONS Catch and Release (Deepend Remix)
56 NELSON FREITAS Miúda Linda
57 J BOOG Let Me Love You (Country Bus Riddim)
58 ALESSIA CARA Here
59 JESS KENT Get Down
60 KUTIMAN Intergalatic Lovers
61 CALVIN HARRIS AND DISCLIPLES How Deep Is Your Love?
62 SLIGHTLY STOOPID The Prophet
63 COMMON KINGS Ain’t No Stopping
64 CHVRCHES Leave A Trace
65 COLOURS Monster
66 JOSE GONZALEZ Let It Carry You
67 ROYKSOPP I Had This Thing
68 JUSTIN BIEBER What Do You Mean?
69 X AMBASSADORS Renegades
70 AGES f/JOHANNES EDER Chances
71 MODEST MOUSE Lampshades On Fire
72 LOW What Part of Me
73 DUKE DUMONT Ocean Drive
74 JAMIE XX f/ROMY Loud Places
75 ANDREW MCMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS Cecilia and the Satellite
76 MAGIC! No Way No
77 SILVERSUN PICKUPS Nightlight
78 ROBERT DeLONG Long Way Down
79 THE ARCS Outta My Mind
80 MS MR Criminals
81 SIDO f/Andreas Bourani Astronaut
82 CATFISH & THE BOTTLEMEN Cocoon
83 EAGLES OF DEATH METAL Save A Prayer
84 SEINABO SEY Hard Time
85 MORGAN PAGE f/Lissie Open Heart
86 JAILL Getaway
87 COLEMAN HELL 2 Heads
88 SIX60 Purple
89 SIGALA Easy Love
90 NAMIKA Lieblingsmensch
91 YEARS & YEARS King
92 WILLIE NELSON & MERLE HAGGARD Alice In Hulaland
93 ATLAS GENIUS Molecules
94 TOR MILLER Carter & Cash
95 BRONZE RADIO RETURN Light Me Up
96 OLLY MURS f/DEMI LOVATO Up
97 WALK THE MOON Shut Up and Dance
98 DAVE GAHAN & SOULSAVERS All of This and Nothing
99 ST. LUCIA Dancing On Glass
100 CLASS ACTRESS More Than You
