Every year, I compile a list of my favorite songs/tracks of the previous year. I’ve been meaning to blog this year’s list for the past two months; today I’m going to finally do it. Unlike last year’s list, this year’s is arranged roughly in order of preference, starting at the top:

My favorite song of 2012 is M Ward’s “Crawl after You”:

Ward’s 2009 album Hold Time was my favorite album that year, but this is the first time that one of his songs is my favorite. I love everything about this song, especially the thought that one feels compelled to crawl after the one you love and tell them who you are. It seems like an apt metaphor for life (or maybe just relationships). I also love the violin solo.

2. Mika’s “Origin of Love” is a close second on my favorites list this year:

It’s catchy and, like M Ward’s “Crawl after You,” a great love song. I guess maybe 2012 was a year of love for me! I  love the sentiment of pushing aside the crap that comes from what religion tells us about love and its origins. And the video is great — reminds me of  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

3. Number three on my list is Perfume Genius’s “Normal Song.” Here’s a live version from YouTube:

I love this song’s lullaby-like quality. It’s a tender and beautiful song.

4. Of Monsters and Men’s “Love Love Love” is number four on my list. This is also a live version YouTube:

I love this song’s treatment of forbidden love and desire. I haven’t really been in this situation, but I feel like this song would describe exactly what I felt if I were in this situation.

5. The fifth song on my list is Churchill’s “Change”:

Just a catchy, f-you kind of pop song.

6. Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin’ Bout You”:

I think this is a beautiful song about love in its early stages. And Ocean has a great sense of play and humor.

7. Bonnie Raitt’s “Not Cause I Wanted To”:

Nobody does heartbreak and regret like the incomparable Bonnie Raitt.

8. The Weeknd’s “What You Need”:

I think this song is so sexy.

9. Xelle’s “Queen”:

This is my favorite dance track of the year. And I love that the video stars the queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars!

10. “Starship” by Nicki Minaj:

While we’re in a dance mood, let’s keep it going with this crowd pleaser!

11. “I Want it All” by Jules Larson:

I think I first heard this song in a commercial, but I fell in love right away!

12. Although “Queen” is higher on my list, another alum from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Willam is probably one of the most promising drag queens from the show. His “She Doesn’t Know” is surprisingly good. I could only find a teaser on YouTube:

13. Going in a different direction is Boy’s “Little Numbers”:

14. Like almost everyone else in the world, I think Bruno Mars is one of the most talented pop singers around today. “Locked Out of Heaven” is typical Bruno Mars at his sexiest:

15. I heard Metric’s “Breathing Underwater” almost by accident. I like their music but don’t really keep up with them. Maybe I should!

16. One of the first albums I purchased last year was Beach House’s Bloom. My favorite track from the album is “Myth”:

17. I’m undoubtedly not in the target demographic for The 1975, but I like their song “Sex” regardless:

18. I love the groove of Clairy Brown and the Bangin’ Rackettes’s album Baby Caught the Bus and I especially like the title track:

19. Alt-Nation plays Mumford and Sons, a band I love, a lot, so it was inevitable that their single “I Will Wait” would grow on me!

20. Dan Croll is a new artist. I love how funky and chill his first single, “From Nowhere” is:

21. I saw the Punch Brothers on Austin City Limits, loved their music, and immediately bought their latest album. “Who’s Feeling Young Now” is my favorite track from it:

22. Atlas Genius is another band I hear on Alt-Nation a lot. I love “Trojans,” their first big single:

23. The Killers is one of my favorite bands, so I was really excited to hear their new album, Battle Born. My favorite track off the album is “The Way It Was”:

24. “Sifters” by Andrew Bird:

We saw Andrew Bird as part of the Nelsonville Music Festival last year. He is mesmerizing in person!

25. And last on my list this year is another song I first heard on a commercial: “Stuck on You” by Meiko:

That’s it for this year. There were another 20 songs/tracks that I loved this year but that didn’t quite make the list. It was difficult to choose just 25! Soon I’ll post my favorite albums and other assorted lists.