Selecting 53 MP3’s to summarize an entire year sort of feels like picking 53 touchdowns that defined an NFL season or 53 scenes that defined a year of cinema (cue the “wtf is up with these metaphors” comment). But considering my 10 year career with ESPN and my honorable appointment to the Academy, the music selecting is a much more daunting endeavor.
While these songs certainly may have been the highlights, they’re but a snippet of what was an excellent year in music. Nonetheless, here are a batch of tunes to celebrate the New Year over.

• “Daydream” Beach Fossils | Beach Fossils
• “Silver Soul” Beach House | Teen Dream
• “Our Deal” Best Coast | Crazy For You
• “Wild Beast” The Bitters | East General
• “Sweetest Kill” Broken Social Scene | Forgiveness Rock Record
• “Pap Smear” Crystal Castles | Crystal Castles
• “King Kong” Curren$y | Pilot Talk
• “Nothing But Out Love” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. | Horse Power EP
• “hahaha jk?” Das Racist | Sit Down, Man
• “Hustle and Cuss” Dead Weather | Sea of Cowards
• “Revival” Deerhunter | Halcyon Digest
• “Shadow People” Dr. Dog | Shame, Shame
• “Let’s Go Surfing” The Drums | The Drums
• “Bhang, Bhang I’m a Burnout” Dum Dum Girls | I Will Be
• “Bombay” El Guincho | Pop Negro
• “Do the Astral Plane” Flying Lotus | Cosmogramma
• “Love Cry” Four Tet | There is Love in You
• “All I Know” Free Energy | Stuck on Nothing
• “Hannah” Freelance Whales | Weathervanes
• “Heartbreaker” Girls | Broken Hearts Club EP
• “Ancestors” Gonjasufi | A Sufi and a Killer
• “Someday Soon” Harlem | Hippies
• “Ready for the World” How to Dress Well | Love Remains
• “All I Want” LCD Soundsystem | This is Happening
• “Sleepless in Silverlake” Les Savy Fav | Root for Ruin
• “World News” Local Natives | Gorilla Mannor
• “Turn Off this Song and Go Outside” The Lonely Forest | The Lonely Forest EP
• “Congratulations” MGMT | Congratulations
• “Excuses” Morning Benders | Big Echo
• “Alsatian Darn” Panda Bear | Tomboy
• “Learning” Perfume Genius | Learning
• “Domestic Scene” The Radio Dept. | Clinging to a Scheme
• “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do” Robyn | Body Talk, Pt. 1
• “Gunbeat Falls” Shabazz Palaces | Of Light
• “Take It Easy” Surfer Blood | Astro Coast
• “Rill Rill” Sleigh Bells | Treats
• “King of Spain” Tallest Man on Earth | The Wild Hunt
• “Desire Be Desire Go” Tame Impala | Innerspeak
• “A More Perfect Union” Titus Andronicus | The Monitor
• “Blessa” Toro y Moi | Causers of This
• “Lady Daydream” Twin Sister | Color Your Life EP
• “Diplomat’s Son” Vampire Weekend | Contra
• “Set Your Arms Down” Warpaint | The Fool
• “Mickey Mouse” Wavves | King of the Beach
• “Icarus” White Hinterland | Kairos
• “Live in Dreams” Wild Nothing | Gemini
• “Mezmorized” Wiz Khalifa | Kush & OJ
• “What Did My Lover Say?” Wolf Parade | Expo 86
• “Eyesore” Women | Public Strain