NEW YORK -- The top 25 songs of the decade, as determined by Associated Press Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu:
1. Robyn, “Dancing on My Own”: We’ve all been there — the one you want is dancing with someone else. For that exact moment, Robyn created “Dancing on My Own," so instead of awkwardly checking your phone, just dance to this tune.
2. Kelly Rowland featuring Lil Wayne, “Motivation”: Don’t ever sleep on Kelly Ro.
3. Alabama Shakes, “Gimme All Your Love”: Brittany Howard’s bluesy vocals plus psychedelic guitar-playing equals OMG.
4. Drake, “Passionfruit”: Drake can do so many things — rap, sing, sing-rap, rap in accents, and more. But my favorite performance of his this decade? His groovy nature on the dance-floor anthem “Passionfruit.” Here’s to hoping he finally releases a full-length R&B album of his singing.
5. Disclosure featuring Sam Smith, “Latch”: Speaking of dance-floor anthems, “Latch” was, and still is, the jam!
6. Jay-Z and Kanye West, “(Expletive) In Paris”: The Kanye we miss, and Jay-Z we’ve always loved.
7. Adele, “Someone Like You”: This song induces tears of sadness (breakups are hard!) and tears of joy (this song is just too good).
8. CeeLo Green, “(Expletive) You”: With Bruno Mars in the writer’s chair and CeeLo in the vocal booth, a classic song with a few curse words was born.
9. Gotye featuring Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know”: Gotye is somebody that we used to know. Like, for real. Where he has he been? We’re thankful he had a mainstream run because his Grammy-winning “Somebody That Used to Know” is a timeless track.
10. Beyoncé, “Run the World (Girls)”: No explanation needed.
11. Lady Gaga, “Alejandro”: Gaga’s “The Fame Monster” EP, released a year after she put out her multi-hit debut “The Fame,” was a piece of art, as Gaga elevated her radio-ready sound to newer, darker dimensions, especially on “Alejandro.”
12. Charlie Wilson, “I’m Blessed”: A feel-good jam that’s also a reminder to be humble, grateful and kind.
13. Justin Timberlake, “Strawberry Bubblegum”: The best song Timberlake put out this decade wasn’t even a single: this sexy number is so good it could almost make you forget Timberlake fumbled the ball with his last album.
14. Diplo, Skrillex and Justin Bieber, “Where Are Ü Now”: The song that helped Bieber gain adult male fans, even if they all didn’t want to admit it at first.
15. Nio García, Darell and Casper Mágico featuring Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam and Ozuna, “Te Boté Remix”: Close to seven minutes long, “Te Boté” is an addictive track featuring some of the best performers on the contemporary Latin music scene.
16. H.E.R. and Daniel Caesar, “Best Part”: Much like Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” “Best Part” is going to be played at weddings for years to come.
17. SZA, “The Weekend”: This is the definition of a situationship.
18. Frank Ocean, “Thinkin About You”: Ocean’s straightforward lyrics and vocal performance — especially that falsetto — make this song unforgettable.
19. Miley Cyrus, “Wrecking Ball”: Remember when Miley was putting out good music?
20. La Roux: “I’m Not Your Toy”: You may not know this song, but I promise you, it’s like a good piece of candy — short, sweet and will leave you craving for more.
21. Sufjan Stevens, “Mystery of Love”: Stevens’ vocals are dreamy and his lyrics are soft and direct.
22. Andra Day, “Rise Up”: Press play and be great.
23. DaVido, “Fall”: An Afrobeat adventure.
24. Jessie Ware, “Champagne Kisses”: This song is luscious and rich.
25. Willow Smith, “Whip My Hair”: Whip it real good.
