Beyond Radio Tim’s 2016 Personal Chart Review Part 1

Listen to/Watch all the songs featured on this pick list on this YouTube Playlist.

Or listen on Spotify.

Welcome to my year end mix. This list is a chronological recap of my personal #1’s, #2’s and 3’s starting in Dec. of 2015.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD    Smoke Break

CLARE DUNN    Move On

2015 ended and 2016 started with a pair of swaggering female country singers doing their versions of gritty country rock. Underwood always sounds good on feisty songs and Dunn is a guitar slinging newcomer. One made it to #1 on the country chart while the other barely reached the top 50. You guess which is which.

THE WOMBATS    Emoticons

After having 11 songs reach my personal chart yet never reaching the top 40, this Australian alt-pop band really got under my skin with this mid-tempo slice of perfection that becomes anthemic towards the end. Lyrically downtrodden but sonically uplifting. 

BROTHERS OSBORNE    Stay A Little Longer

RANDY HOUSER    We Went

RYAN KINDER    Tonight

I seem to go through country phases. It took almost 5 months of steady ascent up my chart this reach the summit for 2 weeks in January. The type of song where every time I heard it it elevated to a new level. Similarly Houser’s song reached #3 in Jan. after a 6 month rise. At the beginning of Feb. Kinder spent 2 weeks at #2 (and should have made it to #1). Love his voice. This song, while country enough, could have sounded good on AC or Adult Pop IMO.

SHINEDOWN    How Did You Love

3 DOORS DOWN    In The Dark

POP EVIL    Footsteps

Feb. was dominated by mainstream rock with perennial favs Shinedown holding down the top spot for the 2 weeks and 3 Doors Down the second 2 weeks. Pop Evil hit #3 towards the end of the month. In the past 15 years Shinedown and 3DD combined have reached my chart 58 times although this was Shinedown’s 8th #1 and 3DD’s 1st. 8 years ago these 2 songs would have reached Adult pop radio. I was late to the game  with Pop Evil, who reached #1 on rock radio in 2015.

MANIC BLOOM    One More Chance

The month of March was dominated by (as some of you may know) my fav indie band. They secured their 9th #1 since 2009 on a second chart run. The song had a chart run in the spring of 2015 when their was first released but was eclipsed by 2 other songs “Farewell” and “False Prophet”. Muse influenced alt rock with gorgeous production, soaring vocals, melodic and grand choruses, sometimes Christian-y and always fabulous. A travesty that they have been ignored by radio.