I decided to handle the Founder’s 100 list a bit differently this year. While there are clearly ten songs at the top, the rest of the list is a bit more ambiguous. Rather than try to rank all 100 songs, I’m just going to go more in detail for the top 10 and list the other 90 in alphabetical order. Find a playlist of these songs at the bottom of the article. As always, we hope you’ll give some new songs a chance.

Anderson .Paak – “Come Home (feat. Andre 3000)”

Angela Perley – “Let Go”

Angels & Airwaves – “Rebel Girl”

As Cities Burn – “Bright White Light”

The Band CAMINO – “What I Want”

BANKS – “Gimme”

Big Thief – “Forgotten Eyes”

Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”

Bummers – “80’s Men”

The Candescents – “Drink to Paradise”

Carriers – “Make It Right”

Cassadee Pope – “Bring Me Down Town”

Citizens – “Everything For Nothing”

CITY SILOS – “Just Like Her”

Clubhouse – “Lucky Soul”

Coldplay – “Church”

Comrades – “Fault Lines”

CONTACT – “Dreaming of You”

The Cordial Sins – “You Are A Weight”

Courtney From Work – “Dream Girl”

Coyote Kid – “Femme Fatale”

Danger Scene – “Everything”

Danger Scene – “Poison”

Death Therapy – “Feels Like Fiction (feat. Garrett Russell)”

Deep Feeling Magic Being – “Make Me Never Forget You”

Effee – “High On You”

Elle Azar – “Mess”

Empty – “Prototype For Breathing”

Empty Isles – “When I Met Penny”

The End of the Ocean – “jubilant”

The End of the Ocean – “desire”

Euvoia – “trippin”

Foals – “In Degrees”

Ghost Soul Trio – “Circles”

HÆLOS – “Deep State”

Hello Luna – “Sympathize”

Highasakite – “Hail of Bullets”

IOLITE – “Better to Remember (A Letter to My Kidnapper)”

The Japanese House – “Maybe You’re the Reason”

Jay Som – “Devotion”

Jimmy Eat World – “Criminal Energy”

Jimmy Eat World – “555”

Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers – “Evening Coffee”

John Van Deusen – “Social Sucker”

Judah & the Lion – “Over My Head”

Kanye West – “Selah”

Kings Kaleidoscope – “Naked Feet & Holy Fire”

LeTrainiump – “Go!”

Local Natives – “Café Amarillo”

Long Beard – “Monarch”

Michigander – “Poplar”

Mike Mains & the Branches – “Pouring Rain”

Mike Mains & the Branches – “Renegades”

Motherfolk – “Kill the Sun”

MUNA – “Never”

My Epic – “Black Light”

My Epic – “White Noises (feat. Cory Brandan)”

Nightbirde – “Girl in a Bubble”

Noah Gundersen – “Lover”

Post Malone – “Take What You Want (feat. Ozzy Osborne)”

Ride – “Kill Switch”

Secret Treehouse – “The Big Rewind”

SHAED – “ISOU”

Sharon Van Etten – “Comeback Kid”

Shogun with Adara – “Face In The Crowd”

Sleater-Kinney – “Reach Out”

Snarls – “Walk In the Woods”

Starflyer 59 – “Young In My Head”

Starset – “MANIFEST”

Stay Outside – “I Don’t Know”

Sucré – “Your Records”

Sum 41 – “Turning Away”

Switchfoot – “LET IT HAPPEN”

Switchfoot – “THE HARDEST ART (feat. Kaela Sinclair)”

Tank and the Bangas – “Nice Things”

Toro Y Moi – “Freelance”

The Twilight Sad – “Auge/Maschine”

Tycho – “No Stress”

Vampire Weekend – “Sympathy”

Vampire Weekend – “Sunflower (feat. Steve Lacy)”

VEAUX – “You Make My Heart Go”

Weeknight – “Falling In Line”

Weyes Blood – “A Lot’s Gonna Change”

White Collar Sideshow – “I Didn’t Come Here To Die”

Wilder Woods – “Feel”

The Worn Flints – “Daisy Cutter”

Zoo Trippin’ – “Come Correct”

10. Carriers – “Patience”: That reverb, then acoustic guitar, then driving drums layer in, and finally the bassline backing singer Curt Kiser’s first murmur of “Patience” is a buildup that’s enough to put anyone at ease. I need to make a playlist for when I’m suffering from anxiety—this song would definitely be on it.

9. The Cordial Sins – “Cruel”: The honor of one of the catchiest shoegaze-influenced tunes I’ve heard all year goes to The Cordial Sins with the lead single off their label debut. While not a happy song, it certainly elicits feelings of euphoria and thoughtfulness throughout. It is also one of The Cordial Sins’ most accessible offerings to date, and it serves as an ideal intro to the band for new fans.

8. half•alive – “Creature”: This is the magnum opus of the indie pop collective’s debut record. It muses on life and spiritual realities while being insanely groovy and reverent. The outro is insanely influenced by MUTEMATH and reminds me of their Armistice closer “Burden.”

7. Tiger Drive – “Watch Me Go Live”: If the words epic movie trailer song had their own definition, a link to this music video would be in the dictionary entry. “Watch Me Go Live” has layers of meaning beyond what the casual listener might hear, but one’s level of understanding does not affect the pure fun they are likely to experience while cranking this cinematic pop song all the way up.

6. Thom Yorke – “Not the News”: Putting this song on gives me the urge to sit in the dark and imitate Thom Yorke’s spastic dance moves. Each beep and bloop forms a creepy earworm of a melody. Of all the distinctly Thom Yorke electronica on the album ANIMA, this cut might be the most immediately recognizable. I might not recommend listening if you easily get anxious, but I do—and I still have this song in my top 10 for the year. So there you go.

5. Billie Eilish – “bury a friend”: Speaking of creepy (thanks Thom Yorke), Billie Eilish is the one who really brought the creep factor in an unexpected way into pop music and made it cool. While “Bad Guy” ruled the airwaves this year, I preferred “bury a friend” which sounds like it comes straight out of a horror film.

4. Michigander – “Misery”: As I sit here on my couch finishing up this article, I’m thankful for the ways the crappy days make me appreciate the songs with “feels” all the more. I still wish I didn’t have those days, but songs like this one get a new layer of meaning and feeling in that context. Plus, this is pretty much guaranteed to get stuck in your head.

3. Tycho – “Japan”: The addition of Saint Sinner’s vocals to the distinct chillwave of Tycho shines the most in this song. The overall feeling is pleasantly otherworldly and gives you a feeling of gentle adventurousness. When I allude to driving at twilight to a Tycho song, it’s probably this one that comes to mind.

2. Ghost Soul Trio – “Potassitorium”: Of all the songs I listened to this year, the distinctive drum beat that kicks off this song is probably the most irresistible to me. I also love the witty lyric video that goes along with it.

1. Bonelang – “Tidal Breathing”: I heard this song live at Steadfast Festival 2018 for the first time. Ever since then it was one of my most anticipated single releases from a band. I’m happy to report that it lived up to the hype for me. Crank it!