top 5: avicii

#5: the nights 

Released as a double single with 'The Days", The Nights brings me back to my days in college, specifically with my fraternity. This song is quick but gets to the point rather fast with poignant lyrics, folktroncia and buttery beat drops.

#4: liar liar

It's hard to rank the songs off of True, Avicii's debut album which came in 2013. But this stands out for three reasons: the beautiful piano / screechy synth line in the chorus, the delicious binaries of the verses and chorus, and that epic bridge melody (lyrically: Well, we are, who we are, when we're all going under/ When the past with the last and will last until we're under)

#3: you make me

The chorus on this number really gets me going! The falsetto which comes in over a building crescendo of plucks...it's like Wake Me Up but on steroids, with 20% less guitar and 20% more EDM. I also love the ambiguity of the lyrics. You make me... what? You make me something, anything, this, that? Kind of beautiful if you think about it. 

#2: dear boy

An eight minute banger with Mø which comes off grandiose but really delivers smart lyrics revolving around a married couple who are looking to find the spark which ignited them in the first place. The lyrics are on point, Mø serves the perfect vocals and the breakdown is beautiful.

#1: pure grinding 

Talk about the song of a century regarding the 'grind' to get money! While Dear Boy is a mega-long dance number, this track is trap and hip, with pitch and small crystalline-like beats. I fell in love with this song when I first heard it, and can't deny it's my number one song now.