Best Songs Of 2016 (So Far) | Year in Review Playlist

Six months have passed in 2016.  What does that mean? It means it’s time to compile mid-year best-of-lists! Previously, The Musical Hype issued their 25 Best Albums of 2016 (So Far), crowning Beyoncé’s Lemonade as the crème de la crème.  Now, it’s time to analyze the best songs of 2016 (so far).  We chose 50 best songs overall, analyzing the top-30 selections (“the crème de la crème”) and listing the final 20 (“the best of the rest”).  Here are the best songs of 2016, so far!

The Crème de la Crème  

1. Kanye West featuring Chance the Rapper, Kelly Price, The-Dream and Kirk Franklin, “Ultralight Beam”

[The Life of Pablo]

The best song from Kanye West’s oddly rolled-out The Life of Pablo is also the year’s best.  “Ultralight Beam” is minimalistic yet epic, featuring the chilling vocals of a gospel choir, the spiritually rousing Kelly Price, and the fiery, ‘pitch-perfect’ rhymes of Chicago’s rising Chance the Rapper.  It’s a bummer The Life of Pablo was never made available for purchase in traditional digital outlets (beyond West’s website). “Ultralight Beam” would’ve been a big seller for West.

2. Lukas Graham, “7 Years”

[Lukas Graham]

When a meaningful pop song comes along, it’s really big.  “7 Years” manages to be catchy but also give the world a song that has some depth and some substance.  It also doesn’t hurt that frontman Lukas has a distinct voice  perfectly suited for this reflective cut. “7 Years” is realistic, hypothetical, and captivating all-in-one.

3. Rihanna featuring Drake, “Work”

[Anti]

When Anti came out, first hearing “Work” definitely made my eyes roll.  Is Rihanna really seriously releasing a song where half the words are slurred and unintelligible? It turns out Rihanna was serious and as “silly” as the song seems, it’s also hypnotic and irresistible.  Rihanna seems to be wasted and the innuendo/lust factor is elevated to the nth degree.  It doesn’t eclipse the depth of “Ultralight Beam” or “7 Years” but it’s drenched in swagger.

4. Yo Gotti, “Down in the DM”

[The Art of Hustle]

Another dumb song happens to be among the best of the year? Yep! In a year where social networking has seemed to only expand, Yo Gotti takes perfect advantage on the hella catchy “Down in the DM.” Of course as Gotti “slides into your DMs” it’s all sexual innuendo.  He wants her to “Snapchat me that p*ssy…mood / or Facetime me that p*ssy if it’s…cool” and hates “when you get screenshot” because “b*tch that DM wasn’t for everybody.”  Oh and he “love the ‘Gram” and has “got a crush on Angela Simmons.” #epic

5. Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla Sign, “Work From Home”

[7/27]

Everyone loves a big heaping dose of innuendo, and that’s exactly what the girls from Fifth Harmony offer on “Work From Home.” The song is absolutely unreasonable and ridiculous, but who can get enough of it? The girls are lusting their men and essentially suggest to them “you can work from home,” with work being equivalent to sex.  Yeah, it won’t pay the bills, but all Fifth Harmony cares about is pleasure.