Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield, who writes for the publication’s Pop Life blog, gave his picks for the Top 25 Songs of 2011, and there are some real head-scratchers in this bunch: Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” didn’t even make the Top 10, while Rebecca Black’s “Friday” came in at #9?! And as much as we love Britney Spears’ album cut “How I Roll” — which was honored as the top pick of the year — her official single “Till The World Ends” was still one of the 2011’s best jams. (Personally, when it comes to non-singles from Femme Fatale, our fave was bonus track “He About To Lose Me”.) Check out the full list below.
Sheffield’s list varies considerably from Rolling Stone’s previously posted list of the Top Singles of the year, with Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” in the top spot. We do have to give him credit for honoring Avril Lavigne’s underrated “What The Hell”, which may not have broken the Top 10 here in the States, but was one of Avril’s catchiest singles in years.
Though we’re mostly puzzled at the majority of this list, one thing is for sure — Sheffield is a big fan of Nicki Minaj, who appears on three tracks in his Top 25. Wonder if her “Stupid Hoe” will make his list in 2012?
1. Britney Spears, “How I Roll”
2. Big Sean feat. Nicki Minaj, “Dance (A$$) (Remix)”
3. Beyonce, “Countdown”
4. EMA, “California”
5. Bon Iver, “Beth/Rest”
6. Jay-Z and Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean, “No Church In The Wild”
7. Pistol Annies, “Hell On Heels”
8. Rebecca Black, “Friday”
9. Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass”
10. Stevie Nicks, “Annabel Lee”
11. Rihanna, “We Found Love”
12. Destroyer, “Kaputt”
13. Azealia Banks, “212″
14. Kurt Vile, “Runner Ups”
15. Adele, “Rolling In The Deep”
16. Radiohead, “Separator”
17. Neon Indian, “Fallout”
18. Thurston Moore, “Mina Loy”
19. The Horrors, “Still Life”
20. Xeno and Oaklander, “Sets and Lights”
21. Paul Simon, “Rewrite”
22. Avril Lavigne, “What the Hell”
23. Yuck, “Get Away”
24. Nicki Minaj, “Girlfriend”
25. Lady Gaga, “The Edge Of Glory”