I could call this list "The Songs I Love To Drive Around With." More often than not, these 2016 songs set you up for a brilliant climax, often an unforgettable chorus. And I found a wide variety of artists that made songs with that memorable character, artists ranging from barely 20 years old to a reflective 82, from Niger to Nashville, from British hip-hop to yearning falsetto. I'd be thrilled to turn on a radio and hear this broad world of sound represent the Top 40.

Bob Boilen's Top 40 Songs Of 2016

  • The 1975, "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it"
  • Aurora, "Conqueror"
  • Jaye Bartell, "Tuesdays"
  • Big Thief, "Masterpiece"
  • Bombino, "Timtar (Memories)"
  • Bon Iver, "22 (OVER S∞∞N)"
  • David Bowie, "Blackstar"
  • Charles Bradley, "Changes"
  • Car Seat Headrest, "The Ballad of the Costa Concordia"
  • Leonard Cohen, "You want it darker"
  • Lucy Dacus, "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore"
  • Fantastic Negrito, "In the Pines"
  • Free Cake For Every Creature, "First Summer in a City"
  • Angelica Garcia, "Orange Flower"
  • Margaret Glaspy, "You and I"
  • Heron Oblivion, "Beneath Fields"
  • Iggy Pop, "Gardenia"
  • Japanese Breakfast, "In Heaven"
  • King Creosote, "You Just Want"
  • Cate Le Bon, "What's Not Mine"
  • Let's Eat Grandma, "Rapunzel"
  • Mitski, "Your Best American Girl"
  • Kevin Morby, "Singing Saw"
  • Mothers, "Too Small For Eyes"
  • Agnes Obel, "Stretch Your Eyes"
  • Conor Oberst, "Tachycardia"
  • Frank Ocean, "Be Yourself"
  • Angel Olsen, "Never Be Mine"
  • Parquet Courts, "Dust"
  • Radiohead, "Burn The Witch"
  • River Whyless, "Baby Brother"
  • L.A. Salami, "The City Nowadays"
  • Sturgill Simpson, "Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)"
  • Adam Torres, "Juniper Arms"
  • Adia Victoria, "And Then You Die"
  • Weaves, "Tick"
  • Weyes Blood, "Used To Be"
  • John Paul White, "Black Leaf"
  • Wilco, "Normal American Kids"
  • The Wild Reeds, "Everything Looks Better (In Hindsight)"
Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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