Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2021; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

1. No Hard Feelings, by Wolf Alice on Blue Weekend
2. Getting Older, by Billie Eilish on Happier Than Ever
3. Drivers License, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
4. Champagne Problems, by Taylor Swift on Evermore
5. Obedear, by Purity Ring on Shrines
6. Humankind, by Coldplay on Music of the Spheres
7. Natural Blues (Reprise Version), by Moby on Reprise
8. Don’t Go Dark, by Bleachers on Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
9. Deja Vu, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
10. Hard Drive, by Cassandra Jenkins on An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
11. She Used to Be Mine, by Jessie Mueller on Waitress – Original Broadway Cast Recording
12. Traitor, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
13. Black Hole, by Griff on One Foot in Front of the Other
14. Fallen Angel, by Erasure on The Neon
15. The Let Down, by Francis Lung on Miracle
16. Good Girls, by Chvrches on Screen Violence
17. Hero, by Weezer on Van Weezer
18. You Had to Be There, by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on When God Was Great
19. Made to Love (feat. Ronnie Wood, Gina Martin & Dr. Mos-Shogbamimu), by Imelda May on 11 Past the Hour
20. Happier, by Olivia Rodrigo on Sour
21. Let Me Love You Like A Woman, by Lana Del Rey on Chemtrails Over the Country Club

As you can see, Olivia Rodrigo is on here four times, and they are all deserving. What a talent! “Happier” is my favorite song of hers, and perhaps for this mix, though Cassandra Jenkins’ “Hard Drive” is such a delightfully oddball song…they’re both great.