Given what a crazy year this has been, where would we have been without our favorite new songs? Sometimes, when things feel overwhelming, you just need to slip on your earbuds and fly away on the wings of your favorite new song. No matter what happens in the great wide world, music producers and singers (and even rappers as well) continue to put out great, genre-defying music — audio ecstasy that hits that special “sweet spot” between our ears, our hearts, and our brains. 2016 is the year that finally proved what we’ve long suspected: Pop music isn’t just for kids anymore.

From topical concept albums to candy-floss one-hit wonders, from Broadway hip-hop to grunge, this was the year pop music showed it can be as ambitious, textured, and masterful as the finest masterpieces of the Renaissance artists. In fact, it might be even better — because after all, when’s the last time you heard someone humming along to the Sistine Chapel ceiling? Ouch! Zing! Put that in your pipe and vape it! (Vaping is a new way of smoking)

One more point: Songs are one of the most effective units of music. That simple fact must be acknowledged.

Here are the TOP TEN SONGS OF 2016:

10. Great songs

9. The new songs everyone likes

8. Exciting songs

7. Rock ‘n’ Roll forever

6. Rap songs

5. “Is she singing or screaming? I can’t tell anymore — and I DON’T CARE”

4. Retro songs

3. Fast songs

2. Gotta love all these wonderful songs

1. Chart-topping hits