Favourite Songs of 2015

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It’s hard to believe, but 2015 was ten years ago- a decade! That means we can look back at the songs of the time with something of a nostalgic eye. I still struggle to wrap my head around that my children were at primary school, now one’s at university, and one is in her matriculation year. Ten years!

So, what better way to think about that than to look back at the songs of 25 years ago!

These are my favourite songs of 2015!



Rules – one song per artist in the main list. Released first (on album or as a single) in 2015. Songs are listed in each section in alphabetical order of song title. And that’s it!

But, to start, a quick list of the songs that were in contention: ‘74 Is The New 24’ by Giorgio Moroder; ‘Bills’ by LunchMoney Lewis; ‘Black Magic’ by Little Mix; ‘California’ by Grimes; ‘Can't Feel My Face’ by The Weeknd; ‘Depreston’ by Courtney Barnett; ‘Ex's & Oh's’ by Elle King; ‘Fight Song’ by Rachel Platten; ‘Flashlight’ by Jessie J; ‘Hair’ by Little Mix; ‘I Need Never Get Old’ by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats; ‘Pedestrian At Best’ by Courtney Barnett; ‘Poison’ by Rita Ora; ‘Stressed Out’ by Twenty One Pilots; ‘The Legend Of Chavo Guerrero’ by The Mountain Goats; & ‘The Nights’ by Avicii.
Have to admit, that’s not a bad list of close calls!

So, to start this list of 25 songs, we’ll hit my favourite six cover songs of the year:


‘Elvira’ by Home Free And The Okay Ridge Boys

Home Free are a country-tinged acapella group (including awesome beat-boxer and bass singer) that I discovered very early on in the piece, and this track, with them joining with the song’s original singers, makes it seem like it was almost designed for no instruments.


‘Gimme Shelter’ by Stone Sour feat. Lzzy Hale

Lzzy Hale from Halestorm makes this track. Her voice just complements the Stone Sour guys so well, and lifts this to close to an equal of the Rolling Stones’ classic. Seriously.


‘Space Oddity’ by Chris Hadfield

Recorded by an actual astronaut in actual space, the gimmick is part of the allure, but he does a really strong version of this early David Bowie track. Apparently, Bowie really liked it as well.


‘The Sound of Silence’ by Disturbed

This track divided so many at the time. How dare heavy rock cover Simon & Garfunkel? Well, I reckon they do a damn impressive version of this song. I think the deep voice and slowed-down pace really make this work, then rising to that ending crescendo… yes.


‘Thunderstruck’ by Steve N’ Seagulls

A band renowned for their cover songs, Steve N’ Seagulls released two albums in 2015, a studio and a live album. Their bluegrass version of this AC/DC all-timer is actually really a load of fun.


‘Wildest Dreams’ by Ryan Adams

For whatever reason, Ryan Adams released his own version of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album. The whole album. Not every track hit, but this one stands out to me as the best in that collection.


Now we finish with the 19 original songs that made this year so good. They are in alphabetical order, except my favourite song of 2015, which is at the very end.


‘40oz On Repeat’ by Fidlar

I believe this was just released as a single, but I bought it as a digital download. Some clever lyrics and a great music track make this such a good song.


‘Cirice’ by Ghost

Some metal now, and a song that I only recently discovered won a Grammy award! This song stood out for me and I really don’t remember why, but it did encourage me to buy the album Meliora.


‘Elevator Operator’ by Courtney Barnett

Still my favourite Courtney Barnett song and I own all of her albums. I’m not sure why she hasn’t had more overseas success, to be honest. This one is fun, and has a truly weird video clip full of bizarre Australian cameos.


‘Fire And The Flood’ by Vance Joy

I found this song after 2015, to be honest. I discovered later songs that I really liked, so I went back through Vance Joy’s previous catalogue and found some more great tunes. Like this one.


‘Hello’ by Adele

If I had to rank my favourites from 2015, this would be number 2. Adele’s voice is glorious, the lyrics are sad, and this is close to a perfect pop song. But, really, her voice…


‘Heroes’ by Mans Zelmerlow

This is the song that won Eurovision 2015, and it has become not only my favourite song from that year’s contest but one of my favourite Eurovision songs ever. I really enjoy this one. I used the video from the show instead of the official, because that staging with the virtual stuff… wow!


‘Kill V. Maim’ by Grimes

I actually like a few of Grimes’ albums, but as for individual songs, only a few work outside of the album concept. She constructs her albums with care. Still, this is my favourite Grimes song. Insane art pop and like nothing else on this list.


‘Lazarus’ by David Bowie

David Bowie’s last ever single release, recorded and the video made when he knew he had limited time left, and yet it stands amongst the best of his canon. The guy just created music that is great for sixty years.


‘Lonely Town’ by Brandon Flowers

Solo album from the lead singer of the Killers, The Desired Effect was such a strong album, but this is its best track, and, again, if I was ranking, number 3 here for the year. First time I’ve heard the Gravitron mentioned in a song as well.


‘Rattle That Lock’ by David Gilmour

I am a fan of David Gilmour. Just as well he continually releases music of such amazing quality whenever he steps into a studio. This title track from the album he wrote when his son was incarcerated is a strong song.


‘Scream’ by Halestorm

No, this isn’t a repeat; Lzzy Hale was a guest in the last song; here, it’s her band. And this is the standout track on the Into The Wild Life album. The distortion on her voice and the percussion – yeah, that does it.


‘Secret Love Song’ by Little Mix feat. Jason Derulo

Yes, we go to a girl group from hard rock. I thought their Get Weird album was such a good pop album, so easy to get lost in, but this slower track is the one I picked. It’s very personal – I based a short story on it, and it made me a nice bit of money.


‘S.O.B.’ by Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats

Oh, man, choosing which Rateliff song to put in this list was so difficult! But this is the one because this is the song I still have on my gym workout playlist (great rhythm for battleropes). But ‘I Need Never Get Old’ was so close.


‘Speed Of Light’ by Iron Maiden

People tend to dismiss twenty-first century Iron Maiden albums, and I think that’s unfair. For example, this track from the The Book Of Souls album is just awesome.


‘The Nesting Song’ by DiElle

I discovered DiElle online, bought their back catalogue via Bandcamp, and get everything new they release. Why? Listen to this song and tell me that voice doesn’t send shivers down your spine.


‘Up’ by Olly Murs feat. Demi Lovato

No real idea who Olly Murs is, but I do know Demi Lovato. This song is another fun pop song to throw in here, and their voices work well together. Truth be told, I prefer the Wideboys mix, but all versions are good.


‘Waiting for Love’ by Avicii

Avicii was taken from us too soon, in 2018, and he released some of my favourite EDM music. I am not a huge fan of the genre in general, but Avicii broke through that barrier. He knew his way around a tune. And this has such a great message behind it.


‘When I Was a Boy’ by Electric Light Orchestra

ELO’s history is convoluted, and I think this version is technically Jeff Lynne’s ELO, but I don’t care. Great album, and this song was the best track from it, showing the very Jeff Lynne sound we came to know in the 80s and 90s.


And now we have my favourite song of 2015 and one of my top 20 favourite songs of all time.


‘Shut Up And Dance’ by Walk The Moon

Sing-along, fun pop-rock. I don’t know what else to say. Another song on my gym playlist, this is just such a good song. The whole album was surprisingly good, but this song – wow! Favourite of the year.


And there we go, my favourite 25 songs of 2015, ten years ago this year.

Music across most genres, something for everyone, so I hope you found something here you liked!

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