1. Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!
Ryan Gibbs: Yup, this is still the best song on this entire chart. Probably the best #1 since Mars’ own “Locked Out of Heaven” (although much love to “Blank Space”, which this dethroned from the top). Unorthodox Jukebox proved that Bruno is at his best when he emulates earlier music styles. Here, his and Ronson’s take on ’80s funk (e.g. Morris Day, Zapp, Cameo) is spot on and spellbinding. Every part of this fantastic and I doubt i’ll ever tired of it. A #1 for the ages. A+
Gabrielle Bondi: Best Song of Century (So Far) ((Okay, it might be too early to make that judgment, but it’s rare when we get a song this good.)) A++
Luciana Villalba: I wonder if Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars knew when they were doing the song that it would be a hit for the ages? A+
Melody Rice: “Happy” done right, or at least “Happy” without a year’s worth of being overplayed. I’m not close to sick of it yet, which is a good sign. I’m also ready for another song to take the #1 spot, which isn’t. A
2. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
Gabrielle Bondi: Does anyone think this song sounds too much like a Jason Mraz song? I feel like it would be playing during someone’s wedding photo slideshow. “Thinking Out Loud” may be showing a softer side of Ed, compared to his past two singles “Don’t” and “Sing,” but it doesn’t showcase the edge I love from Ed. C+
Ryan Gibbs: An incredibly boring throwback to when Ed Sheeran wasn’t cool. This is going to be his biggest hit by chart peak, but will anyone remember it in five years? D+
3. Maroon 5 – Sugar
Ryan Gibbs: For the first time in years, the erstwhile Kara’s Flowers actually sound like a real band instead of Adam Levine and a synthesizer. As retro-soul pop goes, this is okay, I guess? Wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it, but i’m glad to see that they’re putting actual effort in their stuff again. C+
Melody Rice: The best single they’ve released since their peak with It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, mainly because they sound more like an actual band and Adam Levine is a lot closer to sounding human. I’m still not sure I want them crashing my wedding, though. B
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4. Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
Gabrielle Bondi: It kind of bugs me that Ellie’s best songs never reach this high on the list. “Love Me Like You Do” is getting huge help for being one of the singles from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. It’s definitely not her strongest track, but it’s a pretty and sexy pop song. B
5. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
Ryan Gibbs: This is surprisingly meh for such an “event” record. Like, it’s cool to see Macca back in the Top 10, but I think this would have been a little better if he actually sang on the thing. Kanye is fine, Rihanna is also fine, but it feels like it could use something more. The stripped back style of the song certainly isn’t helping things. Kind of goes in one ear and out the other, and considering that this was basically engineered to be one of the biggest records of 2015, that’s not a good thing. Dave Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors had a hand in the songwriting, but you really can’t tell. The chord progression reminds me a lot of Ash’s “Shining Light,” though. C+
Kevin Montes: Musically, Kanye can do no wrong (Yeezus only works as work out album for me). And this song just adds upon that list of perfectly made music. Some of the verses are very generic but fit the mood. It has simple pop instrumental finalized with a soulful voice harmonized on top, as a guitar plays some rhythmic patterns as well. At first, I didn’t know how to describe this, still don’t but the track is absolutely great. Hell, so far, I can put this on one of my favorite tracks of 2015 thus far. A
6. Hozier – Take Me to Church
Ryan Gibbs: Despite its emotion and interesting subject matter (the Catholic church’s stance on homosexuality), this kind of does nothing for me musically. Don’t understand how this is an “alternative” song, since it’s more of a proggy soul thing. Only part I really like is right before the chorus where it briefly sounds like Pink Floyd’s “Hey You.” C-
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Melody Rice: “Is it even possible to be more f*cking boring than Sam Smith?” Joey asked during the Grammys. “Maybe if you’re Hozier,” I replied. D
7. Taylor Swift – Style
Gabrielle Bondi: “Style” is nowhere near as brilliant as her previous single, “Blank Space,” but it’s a fun and catchy pop tune, even if there’s nothing very distinctive about it. B-
Melody Rice: This was one of two 1989 tracks that made my top 100 songs of 2014, the other being “Blank Space.” I’m partly happy about it making the top 10, and partly not, considering how little I want to hear “Blank Space” these days. “Style” is so upbeat it might be less susceptible to this, but I’m a little worried. A-
8. Taylor Swift – Blank Space
Ryan Gibbs: Genuinely terrific. I love pop-crossover Taylor Swift, and this is probably her best single yet. Although, that “all the lonely Starbucks lovers” mondegreen that I keep hearing without fail, even though I know the actual lyrics, is a bit maddening. A
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Melody Rice: Great single, but I’ve gotten sick of it a lot faster than the best singles from Swift’s previous albums. A-
9.The Weeknd – Earned It
Luciana Villalba: To me, the best song of the Fifty Shades soundtrack, but at the same time, I kind of wish that The Weeknd’s first single to reach the top of the charts was “Wicked Games”, “The Zone”, or any other of his singles. Then again, Fifty Shades marketing is a force to be reckoned with, at least I’m glad this song will open more doors for him. A
10. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – Time Of Our Lives
Luciana Villalba: This sounds way too similar to “Give Me Everything” and I’m sure that was their goal with this song. Worked once, let’s try that again, right? But I think this song falls behind “Give Me Everything” and any other Pitbull party song. C-
Melody Rice: This is bad, even by Pitbull standards, with that phony, “Every day above ground is a great day” bullsh*t making an already awful song even worse. I could easily avoid this song if it weren’t on Ne-Yo’s otherwise very good album. Why, Ne-Yo? D-
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