Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2014

2014 was a perfectly mediocre year. A lot of people would say this is a bad year, but I'd argue that wasn't the case. There was a lot of bad of course, but certainly enough good to average it out. Today, will be the best list. And since 2014 actually has a Canadian YE, be prepared to see some of my local favourites on this list. But besides that, let's stop wasting time and jump right into it. The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2014!



Right out of the gate, let's get the song out of the way that everyone agrees with.

No. 10: Don't - Ed Sherran (US: 52 / CA: 56)

Now I could go all day on how righteous and satisfying these lyrics are, but we've all went over the lyrics, heard others talk about the lyrics, and we all love them. Ellie Goulding was a cunt, and Ed slams her into submission, it's fantastic. What I want to talk about is how fantastic it sounds. Ed Sherran has always been good at finding solid melodies, but this song is something else. This is borderline perfect. The "ahlalalalalala"s sound beautiful, the layered guitar, saucy drums, and who can forget the backing piano line that pulls the chorus into action? It all sounds so, so good. There's no fancy words I can use to butter it up other than it just sounds so fucking good.

But of course, the main star of this song is Ed Sherran himself. Holy shit does he own this song. His flow is fantastic, his half singing/half rap shit sounds significantly less corny than it absolutely should be, and he matches the production and tone of the song perfectly.

So, after all this praise: Why is this song so low? Well, I have no idea. None at all. There's something about this that doesn't hit the mark, y'know? It's not a song I can just repeat on end unfortunately. But still, excellent song!


I'm sure a lot of you expected this song to be a lot higher, considering I've declared it No. 1 multiple times, and much recently top 5. But, it was pushed down for various reasons. But no matter how low I drop this, there's no changing how fucking awesome this song is.

No. 9: Come With Me Now - KONGOS (US: 88 / CA: 27)

Everything about this is fucking badass. The most apparent are these vocals. Fuck Way Down We Go, THESE are some rough fuckin vocals. It's weird, because this song actually came out in 2011 (as all of you already knew), but picked up traction in 2014 from being included in some commercial. I still to this day have no fucking idea what commercial in their right mind would play THIS, but am I glad they did. I'm not to big on indie music, but when indie rock is this powerful, gritty, and rough, while still maintaining a solid groove and melody? I absolutely adore it. The sleazy guitar, rough drums, and a fucking accordion of all things that keeps the whole song together all combine to make this monstrous wall of sound that just slams into you at various intervals and it's a goddamn experience.

The lyrics here are dark as shit. Straight as that.

"Afraid to lose control/And caught up in this world/I've wasted time, I've wasted breath/I think I've thought myself to death"

The man in this song is toying with death, the devil himself, and both of the said consequences. But at the same time, he knows all his efforts are all in vain, summed up by the line "I tried to sell my soul last night/funny, he wouldn't even take a bite". It's a miserable narrative but a powerful one nonetheless.

I fucking love this. How this made the pop charts let alone this high I have no idea. Never would I think I'd see a song on a YE list in the 2000s with a fucking harmonica solo, but this song fucking did it. Who would've thought?



I have no fucking idea how this made the list. It could be my bias towards the performer, but I don't know. There are some songs that just relax you, y'know? This was my ultimate relaxation song for all of 2014, so it's gotta take a spot somewhere.

No. 8: Beachin - Jake Owen (US: 91 / CA: N/A)

There's something about this song that's just so fucking charming. Because on the surface level, this should be terrible. The lyrics, production, and especially the tone are cheesy as all hell, and the hook is abysmal. But I think all those things are what I love about this song so much. It's dumb as rocks, but it's dumb in the fun way. The way that puts a smirk on your face. A lot of this comes down to Jake Owen's performance, which he of course kills. You can say how douchey this guy sounds, how he can't sing that well, and how nasally he can be at times, which are all absolutely true. But you gotta admit, the guys got charisma in spades. He can deliver straight trash lyrics and make it sound fantastic.

"We got 2-for-1s, we're at a margarita bar/Whatever happens happens/And there's a reggae band, full of dread heads/Just sittin' in the corner laughing"

This is one of the dumbest bars ever put in the mainstream, and yet out of Jake Owens mouth, it sounds great.

The production itself deserves a lot of the credit as well. A lot of what makes you ignore the lyrics is the pretty great sound and vibe the song has. Sunny guitars, pretty solid drums, and of course that classic fucking can opening sound that actually gets better and better the more you hear it. The tone overall is just perfect. I mean, the songs called fucking "Beachin", of COURSE it was going to serve as perfect beach fodder. And really, that's all I want out of my country music.


I'm so sorry. Like, I know you're expecting intro's like this at this point, but this choice right here is...something else. So, if you skip this entire section, I don't blame you. I have absolutely no clue how I'm gonna defend this song, but fuck it, I'll give it a shot.

No. 7: My "Homie" - YG ft Rich Homie Quan & Jeezy (US: 58 / CA: N/A)

To enjoy this song, you have to do 2 things first:

1) It's a Mustard beat. Take the name out of the song and just focus on the beat itself.

2) Ignore how they say ""buddy"" at the end of almost every single line. Yes, they say it 121 times, and that's pretty fucking hard to ignore, but try to.

Once you can do both of these things, this song is actually kind of incredible. What can I say about this beat: I fucking love it. Is it simplistic? Yes. But is it catchy & dope as hell? Absolutely. The eerie synth that just sounds great honestly, the staple disgusting bass Mustard is known for that foundations the entire song, the claps that are nowhere close to on beat but still somehow fit, it all sounds fantastic. The tone fits well with the aggressive lyrics and aggressive performances.


And the lyrics themselves...don't matter. They really don't. Are they bad? Not really, but they aren't spitting fire either. Standard brag rap shit and surface level loyalty "me and my crew" bars, with an actually solid verse from Jeezy. Although I gotta point out that this line

"Who got the yopper, who got the yola? Don’t matter, go figure"

Is delivered brilliantly. The way he slightly pauses but still keeps a quicker flow than expected sounds fucking awesome to me. In fact, what I like the most about this song is these 3 guys on here. They all give a lot of charisma and energy you wouldn't expect. It's not your standard energy you're used to hearing, but it's definitely there. All of them (especially Jeezy) ride the beat smooth as hell, and absolutely own their performances. I don't know what to tell you guys. I usually don't let minimalist hip hop like this slide, but this song does something for me. It clicks in a way I've never quite heard a song EVER do, and for that, I have to applaud it.


2014 was the year the Maroon 5 wannabe's started pouring in. And unsurprisingly, not a single one of them had a follow up hit. Out of all of them though, this is the group that stood out to me the most. Now all these groups were corny as all shit, but the difference here is that this group is the only ones that took this corniness and did it right. Congrats MKTO.

No. 6: Classic - MKTO (US: 51 / CA: N/A)

This entire song is dumb, juvenile, and cheesy in ALL the right ways. The guitars, synths, and even the fucking drums all sound so goddamn happy. The vocal melody? Happy. Performances? Happy as fuck. The lyrics? Possibly unbearable to most people but I find them absolutely fucking adorable.

"And they don't make you like they used to/You're never going out of style"

Awwwwwww!

"The way you save me/Who can blame me/When I just wanna make you smile?"

Awwwwwwwthatkindasoundslikeajohnmayorlyricbutwwwwwwwwwww!

"I wanna thrill you like Michael/I wanna kiss you like Prince"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT'S SO CUTE HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP UP A VAGUELY MANLY PERSONA WHEN I HEAR SHIT LIKE THIS C'MON.

MKTO white man kills it here, by the way. He can't necessarily hit many notes, nor hold many notes, but he has some charisma to him, and a dorky sort of charm that I can't help but smile at. This would've probably been top 3 if not for the rap bridge. It isn't BAD for say, but it's delivery doesn't really come off as well, it's missing the spark that the verses & chorus has. But still, this song is a ton of fun, and certainly a bright spot on the dark and dreary mood of most of the 2014 YE.


Now Classic got on this list for being so fucking adorable, and this song is on here for around the same reason. But why is this song higher? Well, I have a Canadian bias. Sorry.

Actually I'm not.

No. 5: Jealous (I Aint With It) - Chromeo (US: N/A / CA: 55)

Now in case you don't know (which you don't) Chromeo is a Canadian artist who has spent years trying to get a hit (not necessarily 15 years like Classified did, but pretty close). He finally got this smash hit in 2014, and I can only assume this happened because this song is slick as all hell. Slick as MY DICK OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH. That oily, funky guitar anchoring the entire groove, the striking drums, and a damn near perfect synth line that just kinda spasms in the back of the mix and sounds dope as hell. And Chromeo rides this beat SO fucking well. If I was a girl, his falsetto would just make me orgasm on the spot...ok that might have been a bit too far, but the point is, he kills it here.

I also quite like the narrative he's trying to convey here. He feels like complete shit after his girl dumped him, and now that she's with a new guy, he's trying to not look jealous (even though he totally is) just so he doesn't look "uncool" in front of her. Now, if someone like Chris Brown did this, it'd be fucking insufferable, but Chromeo puts it in a very playful, innocent light where no one is a dickhead, it's just him being dorky as fuck. Which is something I can really get into!

"I get a shiver when I see you with those other guys/Wearing the jacket I bought/I can't help but lose my temper and I don't know why"

He knows jealousy is shitty and doesn't want to be it, but he still can't help himself, which is a very honest and mildly respectable position to be in.

In short, this is a hell of a fucking jam. If you hated 2014 because none of the songs had a pulse to them, then give this shot, really fun track.


It's a good song.

No. 4: Rather Be - Clean Bandit ft Jess Glynn (US: 41 / CA: 47)

I have almost nothing to say about this one honestly. I fucking love it, but I have nothing really to say about it, it's just a really solid pop song. Jess Glynn has a magnificent voice, the production is a broken wreck that somehow all works out wonderfully in the end, and the lyrics are a jambled unfocused wreck. It's like how all great pop songs should be. Moving on.


I've always loved this song, but I've always noticed it's flaws, and it wore off on me fairly quickly. But now revisiting it, I realize I kinda fucking love this.

No. 3: Problem - Ariana Grande ft Iggy Azalea (US: 9 / CA: 18)

Never would I have thought a song by a white female rapper and a girl who was actually 21 but looks 13 make a song kick so much ass. This beat is damn near legendary.  The punchy drums, the absolute KILLER sax, bright and dreamy bass, with Ariana's beautiful voice absolutely slaying these verses. Then the song hits the chorus where everything stops for Big Sean's dumbass to provide a hook that bangs a lot more than it should. The entire song is such a journey to go through, so many jumps, cuts, moods, swings, and is just absolutely ridiculous. All building up to Iggy Azalea. Iggy fucking Azalea. And guess what? She fucking destroys her verse. No really, it's awesome. Her bars are tight and fierce, and her flows is smooth as hell.

Now as for the lyrics on the verses...I don't know. And I don't really care honestly. For a pop song like this, all I care is that they SOUND good, and do they ever. Ariana actually enunciates the words, she stretches them in all the right ways (feel free to take THAT sentence out of context) and her voice overall is just perfect here. Matches the lyrics, the tone, the production, all of it. An absolute pop powerhouse of a track, vastly overlooked honestly. I dig Dangerous Woman like everyone else does, but I'd love Ari a lot more if she pivoted back to stuff like this.

I didn't want to put ANOTHER Mustard track on here, I really didn't. But what do you expect me to do when he teams up with the Queen of RnB on her ONLY hit?

No. 2: 2 On - Tinashe ft Schoolboy Q (US: 65 / CA: N/A)

First off, let's discuss the title. A lot of people apparently have no idea what "2 On" is supposed to mean. And that's fair, considering how many layers deep the title actually goes. Firstly, at face value. Well, since I'm OBVIOUSLY a user of dem weeds and all those alcoholic beverages like any totally cool dude is (V A P E  N A T I O N  B O I S), I know EXACTLY what it means. Plus I just googled it in case I was nowhere fucking close (I was in fact right, which means Tinashe is contraction-ably obligated to marry me. Sorry, I don't make the rules). But "2 On" is supposed to mean being both high and drunk at the same time, which is what the song is obviously about. But, not only that, but 2 On also sounds a lot like "Two One" when said out loud, aka 21, which is not only the legal drinking age in America, but also Tinashe's age when she recorded this! So it's not necessarily just "Oh I'm drunk and high at the same time it's so much fun" which has been done multiple times sure, but it's more "I just turned legal for this shit, time to get fucking TRAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHEEEDDD", which is a much more interesting concept honestly.

Then we have the beat. Mustard strikes again. While I know a lot of people hate him, and a whole fuckload of people are indifferent to him, I hope we can all agree this beat fucking slaps. It's layered so well, surprisingly intricate for someone like the condiment man himself. But the beat almost gets overshadowed by Tinashe herself, because goddamn is this girl incredible. A legitimate voice of an angel (I'd say lips as well, but a) that's a bit creepy. And b) I don't want to hinder your enjoyment of this review *slaps knee*). She moves her vocals very well, hits notes at all the right times, and rides the beat like she rides dis dick lmao (god I wish). A diamond in the rough when it comes to talent, and she showcases it here brilliantly. But no ones arguing over Tinashe, she's a goddess and everyone knows that. People's problem with this songs has always been what MY problem used to be: Schoolboy Q.

Schoolboy Q is a rapper I have never gave a fuck about and will never willingly listen to, even after his pretty solid 2016 album. I only knew him from this song for the longest time, and that's probably why I ignored him for 2 years because I HATED this verse the first time I heard it.

"UH, pull your panties down from under you/Beat tHat pussy up, make you wanna Holla Q"

Yeah that's just fucking disgusting, not even in a clever or cool way either. Fortunately, he quickly recovers.

"Money, money, money, weed, fasHion/Draped up and dripped out, keep tHe trees passing/Girl toot tHat tHing up, fuck me, fuck rapping"

Sure these bars aren't THAT special, but his flow sounds fuckin clean, and he stays on topic way better than anyone would have thought.

Then comes in Tinashe with a soaring buildup and really passionate bridge that absolutely slays everything opposing it, and if you aren't in the vibe after that then your brain might as well not function. I fucking love this song, fuck I even respect it honestly. It's a club banger that's actually clever and has multiple layers to it. But solely for those first 2 lines from Q, I can't really put this at No. 1. So, what was? Well, here's a couple of songs that are NOT my No. 1, but still deserve some praise of their own.


H.M 1: Timber - Kesha ft Pitbull (US: 11 / CA: 4)

Yes, you read that right, I said this is Kesha's song, because it is. People only care about this songs hooks and it's a fucking incredible one. Wish Pitbull's verses were a bit better tho (first verse is pretty sloppy), but it's still a damn good track

H.M 2: 0 To 100/The Catch Up - Drake (US: 97 / CA: N/A)

Drake fucking OWNS this song. His performance is hype as hell, and his bars hit every mark. The beat is a bit too dry for my taste unfortunately. It's not bad, it nails the moody vibe it's going for, I'm just not a huge fan of it.

H.M 3: Do What U Want - Lady Gaga ft R. Kelly (US: 84 / CA: 44)

A surprisingly great duet. I mean it shouldn't be, both Lady Gaga and R. Kelly are well known as awesome performers, but I didn't think they would mesh that well. But oh boy, do they.

H.M 4: Shower - Becky G (US: 69 / CA: N/A)

I fucking love Becky G. Her childish delivery, pretty solid flow, and just happy as hell lyrics. She's not a seriously good rapper, nowhere near, but she's fantastic at making fluffy pop garbage like this. I'll take it any day of the week.

H.M 5: Habits (Stay High) - Tove Lo (US: 32 / CA: 41)

Smokey moody atmosphere, a great passionate vocal performance from Tove Lo, and lyrics that are actually interesting! A couple of lines don't hit their mark, but for the most part, they're great. Honorary No. 11.

H.M 6: Talk Dirty - Jason Derulo ft 2 Chainz (US: 6 / CA: 19)

I think I'm finally ready to admit I fucking love this? It's dirty, vapid, and sleazy in all the right ways. And the 2 Chainz verse is just the icing on the cake.

H.M 7: Show Me - Kid Ink ft Chris Brown (US: 43 / CA: N/A)

This beat is dope as fuck, it genuinely uses the sample better than the original, and Kid Ink's bars aren't half bad either! Too bad Chris Brown's dumbass fucks everything up.

H.M 8: Really Don't Care - Demi Lovato ft Cher Lloyd (US: N/A / CA: 99)

This song is actually garbage, I just wanted to mention how much I fucking love Cher Lloyd and her verse here.

Ok, with all THAT embarrassment out of the way, time for my top slot, the big one.


Love has been compared to drugs for decades now, it's one of the most overdone topics in pop music history. So, when that's a songs main selling point, you gotta do something really good to impress me. And fuck me did this song deliver. Not only am I happy this song just exists, but I'm even more happy that one of my favourite artists ever is the main dude behind it. Congrats Luke, you hit it out of the fucking park with this one

No. 1: Higher - Classified ft B.O.B (US: N/A / CA: 96)

I love everything about this, it's all perfect. First off, the sample. Classified twists the vocals of Otis Redding from the pretty solid track "Higher and Higher", which was about supporting your lover and how happy they make you when they're by your side and vice versa. It's a cute song. Class twists it ever so slightly to still keep the love meaning, but even looking 1 layer deep you can tell he's talking about smoking weed. Like I said earlier, this has been done many of times before, but not like this. Not as hard and committed as this. I'm not lying when I say that EVERY bar Class spits has a double meaning of being either about a beautiful girlfriend or relaxing weed.

"I was the one that said he's never going to do it but did it/Yeah your love is addictive without the hugging and kissing"

He practically says here that it's NOT about a girl, but you still probably wouldn't notice it the first time through.

"You got me breaking the bank, got me spending my dough"

Ahh yeah man, those gold digging whores just drain your bank accounts don't they? Amiright!

...god I'm so single.

"I love the way that you taste and leave your scent on my clothes"

Instead of perfume, it's the smell of weed, obviously.

"You take my breath away choked up, literally/My body felt the pain, those couple days when we broke up you killing me"

Lowkey going through the pain of addiction to drugs like it's nothing. I love it.

"We've been together for years I can't believe that it lasted/I'll love you 'till you're gone and you're nothing but ashes/You're smoking girl"

The comparison of the ashes when you're done a blunt and the ashes of your deceased girl? That's dope as hell to me. I know, I know, I sound like fucking Genius at this point, but I just can't really explain to you how much I fucking love these bars. They aren't overly complex, but it takes a tired overused subject and somehow brings it into a new and interesting light, plus still keeping some decent lyrical dexterity to your lines. It's the perfect bars to me. We got B.O.B here as well, and before he thought the Earth was flat, his 2013-2015 period was actually WAY worse than he was before or even now. So I'm pretty psyched he actually has a great verse here, expanding on the subject Class already killed.

This beat needs to be mentioned as well, because holy lord. Call it standard pop rap shit all you want I fucking dig it. A pretty piano line and some pressured drum machines is all you need to create a fantastic foundation for a rap song honestly. It gets even doper on the bridge with the funky synth breakdown and breezy electric guitar riff to switch things up, but still sound just as amazing, Combined together with a couple of classic Classified production touches like the sleazy record scratches scattered throughout the track which all sound fantastic, and the airy atmospheric effect right before the hook makes this an absolute pleasure to the ear.

Call me biased all you want, since for all my best list so far I've been giving the No. 1 to Canadian hits only, but I didn't mean to. The Killers deserved it in 2009, and I'd argue Classified & B.O.B deserve it here even more. Not only is it a brilliant track, but it defied all expectations and has a massive wide-spread appeal. For everything I said just now, Higher by Classified no doubt deserves to be called The Best Hit Song of 2014. Well, now that all this is done, I guess I should get to the worst list now, shouldn't I?