Ranking my Year End Number Ones from 1997 to 2024
By MEGAMIXDOTCOM
Updated Friday, October 10, 2025
It was on New Year’s Eve 1997 that I had the idea to do my own little countdown of songs that I had enjoyed over the 12 months previous. I grabbed a pen and paper, busted out a stack of cassettes containing the monthly mixes that I had made since January of that year, and got to work. The rewind and fast forward buttons on my stereo got a heavy workout as I bounced around my mixtapes looking for the perfect order of songs.
The result of that first list was a bit of a mixed bag. A couple of old Spirit Of The West tracks sprinkled amongst a pretty hefty handful of alternative rock staples from 1996 and 1997. I added a song by my friend’s band. And for some reason, I decided to include “C’mon N’ Ride It (The Train)” by the Quad City DJ’s. Like I said, a mixed bag.
My Year End Top 30 remains a tradition that never ceases to inspire a combination of satisfaction and awkwardness. What if people don’t like it? I often think to myself. Does this list out me as a musical fraud? As an exercise it’s fun, but also extremely nerve-wracking.
These lists of mine would never get over with the fine folks over at Pitchfork. They wouldn’t impress /r/music. I’m pretty sure even my closest pals would rib me for a lot of my choices over the years. But instead of hiding them away two levels down here on my website, let’s bring them right to the forefront.
So here they are, laid bare for the world to judge. Every number one song from each of the past (now) 28 years, ranked from worst to best.
Enjoy!
28. Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal” (2001)
Ugh. What a way to kick this off. This nü-metal bullshit cover of a Michael Jackson classic is easily the worst track on this list by a very, very large margin. This might very well be my biggest musical regret – well, apart from that time I paid actual money for a Sprung Monkey album.
27. Matthew Good Band – “Rico” (1998)
Look, “Rico” isn’t a bad song. But it’s clearly the worst song off Underdogs and there are literally 12 other tracks from that album alone that could have claimed the top spot in 1998. And that’s if you ignore the true #1 of that year: Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.” This was just a straight up miss and it still stings a little.
26. Cold War Kids – “Louder Than Ever” (2011)
In March 2011 our son was born – and suddenly, seeking out new music didn’t seem as important to me anymore. My Weekly Top 20 ended without fanfare two months later and it took me two full years to finally start compiling mixes again. Songs from this era just feel like background noise. A soundtrack to a quieter life that was less rock and more Rockabye Baby.
25. Matthew Good – “Put Out Your Lights” (2004)
You’re going to see a lot of Matt Good on this list. The dude was a goddamn machine between 1995 and 2013. But “Put Out Your Lights” is by no means his best output. 2004 had a number of better tracks to choose from, but at this time my superfan instinct simply overtook common sense.
24. Kings Of Leon – “Radioactive” (2010)
At the time, I was doing that Weekly Top 20 gimmick in place of creating monthly mixes. So when it came time to compile my year end lists during this era, I would lean on hard data to extrapolate a definitive ranking. But taking feel out of the equation doesn’t hold up upon review. Looking back now, I would definitely choose something else over this fairly middling Kings Of Leon track.
23. The Tea Party – “Temptation” (1997)
The first ever Year End Top 30 was topped by this seminal Tea Party track. My favourite band for a spell in the mid-90’s, the Tea Party flipped the script on their fourth album Transmission, incorporating samples, loops and keyboards to back their traditional hard rock sound. “Temptation” hit hard back in the day and remains a fun listen.
22. Matthew Good Band – “Jenni’s Song” (1999)
Like with “Rico,” this one just isn’t up to the soaring standard set by the rest of the album on which it appears. Matthew Good Band’s Beautiful Midnight is an absolute beast of a record and there were so many other tremendous tracks on there that could have claimed 1999’s top spot. Not to mention all the tremendous output that year from other artists.
21. Phoenix – “1901” (2009)
The top song from a year full of fantastic tracks, “1901” suffers because there are at least five others I now feel could have been number one instead. That said, it’s still a stellar song so I won’t hold this against the 2009 version of me.
20. Matthew Good Band – “The Workers Sing A Song Of Mass Production” (2002)
The Matthew Good Band fell apart during the recording of 2001’s The Audio Of Being and what came out of it was a glorious album. “Workers” is the highlight for me, and while 2002 had other songs that could stake the claim to #1, this one still wins the sentimentality vote.
19. Tool – “The Pot” (2006)
For some reason, the 2006 list only featured 20 songs. No matter, because the number one is a total monster and is the first one on this list that will not be questioned. One of Tool’s more accessible songs, “The Pot” takes a giant riff and just runs with it.
18. Death Cab For Cutie – “Cath . . .” (2008)
Straddling the monthly mix era and the Weekly Top 20 era, “Cath . . .” was a strong candidate by the time the end of the year rolled around. It beat out several high quality songs to grab the top spot and is still a joy to listen to 14 years later.
17. The War On Drugs feat. Lucius – “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” (2021)
At this point, we’re well into the realm of the slam dunk number ones. In 2021, the War On Drugs released I Don’t Live Here Anymore, and its title track was a thing of beauty. A plodding lament punctuated by cascading guitars and an absolutely wonderful chorus.
16. Matthew Good – “Arrows Of Desire” (2013)
2013 marked the end of Matt Good’s dominance of my Year End lists, but the dude went out in grand fashion with this one. I’m going to be totally honest – it’s all about the chorus here for me.
15. Fickle Friends – “Love You To Death” (2022)
“Love You To Death” is a serious bop constructed with layers upon layers of hooks, samples and loops – all held together by a killer screaming guitar riff.
14. Babygirl – “Overbored” (2017)
Toronto duo Babygirl’s dreamy pop goodness is on full display on “Overbored.” My 2017 list was a tough, tough one to top, but this one did it with ease. A delightfully sparse arrangement allows for Kiki Frances’ amazing voice to pierce through.
13. Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye” (2007)
Coming directly from the American Eagle store playlist, “Lazy Eye” took me by surprise in early 2007. 11 months later, I made it my number one track of the year and with good reason – it’s layered and ethereal while at the same time crunching and powerful. A delicious combination.
12. Taylor Swift – “Karma” (2023)
I was not at all a Taylor Swift fan until my wife convinced me to attend a screening of The Eras Tour concert film at our local movie theatre together. I was genuinely impressed by not only the spectacle – but by the depth of songwriting in a catalogue of with I had previously been wholly unfamiliar. “Karma” in particular stuck with me for months afterwards and continues to sparkle in the periphery of my musical vision.
11. The Aces – “Going Home” (2020)
The Aces’ Under My Influence was released smack in the middle of a global pandemic and this deep album cut was the perfect song to accompany a summer filled with loneliness, longing and lockdowns. In a year that for me was defined by not only by COVID-19, but by a battle with emerging and crippling anxiety, “Going Home” was a comfort that continues to resonate to this day.
10. JAWS – “Anyway, Now’s Not The Time” (2019)
The 2019 Year End list was shaping up to be an interesting problem to solve. That is, until November 1st, when JAWS released their “Anyway, Now’s Not The Time” single seemingly out of nowhere. This song saved me a lot of time, friends.
09. The Strokes – “You Only Live Once” (2005)
2005 was a super important year in my life and having “You Only Live Once” as part of it is awesome. Everything about this track rules – the riff, the jaunty percussion, the vocals . . . it all just fits perfectly.
08. Muse – “Panic Station” (2012)
Like “Louder Than Ever,” Muse’s “Panic Station” came out during a more subdued, infant-focused era in my life. But while I would consider the former a fairly pedestrian afterthought, the latter remains a bombastic bullet of a track that holds up extremely well.
07. Pearl Jam – “Of The Girl” (2000)
PJ is one of my all-time favourite artists, so it’s really satisfying to have them as a part of this. “Of The Girl” bubbled up from the depths of 2000’s Binaural and sank its teeth into my soul. I still feel its sting every time it plays, even 22 years later.
06. Softcult – “Spiralling Out” (2024)
Toronto, Ontario twin duo Softcult is possibly the raddest band to make their debut in the 2020s and “Spiralling Out” is an absolute masterful melding of current shoegaze and 90s alt rock. The monster key change at 2:22 alone vaults this into the Top 10.
05. Best Coast – “California Nights” (2015)
California Nights might be the greatest album of the past 15 years and its title track plays no small part in this. I’m struggling to put my feelings into words, but “California Nights” is probably a good enough description. An absolutely beautiful song.
04. Matthew Good – “Near Fantastica” (2003)
I didn’t lie earlier when I stated that there would be a lot of Matt Good on this list, but it really doesn’t get any better than this. The third single off his debut solo album Avalanche, “Near Fantastica” is an alt-rock masterpiece that just swells with percussive energy, godly wordplay and indulgence.
03. JAWS – “What We Haven’t Got Yet” (2016)
I first heard “What We Haven’t Got Yet” in late 2015 and knew right then that it was the front runner to be my #1 song of 2016. A year later my prediction was confirmed as it topped a ridiculously good list of tracks. The defining song of a strange and trying year.
02. The Aces – “Stuck” (2018)
An artist that I was super late getting into, the Aces were a random Bandcamp discovery that quickly became one of my favourite groups. With a wicked sound honed over 10 years to that point, “Stuck” is the Aces’ trademark track – an infectious pop blast with a driving backend and swirling lead guitar. Absolutely wonderful.
01. Sky Ferreira – “You’re Not The One” (2014)
Honestly, this Top 5 is pretty much interchangeable, but there must be a winner – so I’m going with the song that changed everything. Musically, I had been seeking something for a long time – I can’t fully explain what, but “You’re Not The One” was it. After decades of going back to the alt/indie rock well over and over, I found a new source of musical sustenance. And it was glorious.
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