A Special Hits-1 Post -- The Top 45 Songs of 2011 as Ranked by Yours Truly

I pretty much decided to write this as soon as I found out Hits-1 was forgoing its top-45 countdown for the year.  In determining what songs to put on this list, I took into account whether they reached their peak in calendar year 2011.  I only considered songs that appeared on the Sirius XM Hits-1 Weekend Countdown, so no songs that were mainstream but didn't get played on the station, nor did I include any songs that made it just to Hit-Bound.  I also slightly considered how well the song did on the countdown, but this was a pretty minor factor.

Anyway, enjoy this if you're particularly bored.  I figured that I spend enough time every week bashing the songs that I don't like, so maybe this will give everyone an idea of what I actually thought was good.  Happy new year!

45) Pitbull Ft. Ne-Yo - Give Me Everything - The song that seemingly every Cleveland Indians player used as their walk-up music, this was one of those songs that I didn't like at first, got really popular on the countdown, and then I actually started to miss it as it made its exit.  There's a couple spots where the beat in this song is pretty lazy (one in particular toward the beginning, which kind of ruins it off the bat), which damaged its overall ranking.

44) Demi Lovato - Skyscraper - This was actually my #1 "Editor's Pick" one week this year, but I, like the countdown voters, got sick of it kind of quickly and DTHNOBbed it.

43) Big Time Rush - Boyfriend - This song was around during the interlude where we didn't have Hits-1 weekend countdown documentation on Wikipedia.  I think it has a catchy chorus, and the rest of the song is just decent.

42) Selena Gomez & The Scene - Love You Like a Love Song - Yep.  I got suckered in by the "re-peat peat peat peat peat" part of the chorus.  This is Selena Gomez's best song, and it isn't all that close.

41) Lifehouse - All In - Lifehouse is a band I've done a bit of an about-face on during 2011, as I used to not much care for them.

40) Jason Derulo - It Girl - Check please!  I thought that this was his best song since Whatcha Say.  I haven't much cared for In My Head (inexplicably #2 on last year's Hits-1 rankings) or the incredibly lazy Don't Wanna Go Home.  This one was definitely a win for Mr. Derulo, however.

39) Maroon 5 Ft. Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger - If anything, I am proud to say that Maroon 5 finally did something that wasn't exceptionally mediocre.  This song had a much quicker pace to it than most of their music, and it definitely worked.  Huge year for frontman Adam Levine.

38) Ultraviolet Sound - Girl Talk - I'm almost too embarrassed to put this song on the list.  It didn't last long on the countdown and certainly had obnoxious tendencies, but loved the beat and found it weirdly addicting for about a month.  Heh.  Guilty pleasure.

37) Bush - The Sound of Winter - The obligatory occasional minor-chord-y alternative rock song that appears on the countdown.  I thought this one was a pretty big winner.  So far, the countdown performance has disappointed a bit, but that's expected for a song that really wasn't meant to please all ears.

36) The Script - For the First Time - This is another band I did a complete about-face on during 2011.  I found their breakthrough single, Breakeven, to be pretty mediocre, but the three follow-ups, The Man Who Can't Be Moved, For the First Time, and Nothing were all pretty good.  Seeing this band perform live on TV made them a band I want to see in concert, and definitely convinced me that they're pretty talented.

35) David Guetta Ft. Rihanna - Who's That Chick - Totally a strange song.  David Guetta only sings 3 words in the song and Rihanna carries the rest of the load.  It's one of the songs that actually uses her voice effectively, and I'll thank Guetta for that.

34) Avril Lavigne - Smile - This was the lesser of the two pretty-good-not-great songs that have been put out there by Avril Lavigne this year.

33) Taio Cruz - Higher -  This song was a bit of a more acquired taste….I enjoyed Taio Cruz's other songs more easily right off the bat.  Eventually I came around on this one due to the chorus.

32) Plug In Stereo Ft. Cady Groves - Oh Darling - And here's the second of my true guilty pleasure songs on this list.  If anything, I appreciate this song for introducing me to Cady Groves, who has a pretty good voice.

31) The Band Perry - If I Die Young - I'm a much bigger fan of the non-acoustic version that played on Hits-1 than the one that played on the country / soft rock stations.  This is a pretty sad song but one that was extremely well written and sung exceptionally well.

30) Lady Gaga - Born This Way - This is Lady Gaga's lone entry on this list.  I found most of her new album disappointing and inferior to her previous work.  This song was the only big winner, and the lone #1 of the bunch, barring Marry the Night taking the crown in coming weeks.

29) Adele - Rolling in the Deep - Far and away Adele's best performance off of her severely overplayed new album.  This song's pacing is absolutely perfect.  Unfortunately, Hits-1 probably is responsible for beating this song all the way down to #29 on this list, as it got played until I absolutely could not stand it anymore.

28) Breathe Carolina - Blackout - I feel stupid for at one point thinking that this song would be a Hit-Bound lifer.  I couldn't have been more wrong, as it's currently one of the most tenured songs on the countdown, if not the most tenured song (will have to check on that!).  The beat is very good, and the interlude might just be my favorite part.

27) Jessie J. Ft. B.O.B. - Price Tag - Surprise!  B.O.B. is yet again the 2nd best artist in a top-40 song!  Jessie J had a pretty solid year.

26) Rihanna - Cheers (Drink to That) - It had me annoyingly singing "Cheeeeeeeeers to tha freakin' weekend" at parties pretty much all fall long.  'Nuff said.

25) Avril Lavigne - What the Hell - …….and this is the second of her two pretty-good-not-great songs.

24) Patrick Stump Ft. Lupe Fiasco - This City - This one grew on me more and more as the year wore on.  It just gets me thinking about Chicago, and how much I love living here.

23) Blake Shelton - Honey Bee - One of the biggest country tunes of the year, this didn't get anywhere near its due on the Sirius XM Hits-1 Weekend Countdown.  I'll be your Conway Twittaaaayyyyyy…..

22) Every Avenue - Tell Me I'm a Wreck - This is basically the poster child for good songs that get played on Hits-1 but don't appear on mainstream radio.  Surprisingly made it all the way up to #6 one week.

21) One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful - Or….maybe THIS is the aforementioned poster child.  Still riding the wave of this one.  Exceptionally catchy vocals.  But as I've mentioned before, don't watch the music video.

20) Ke$ha - We R Who We R - This was a top-10 mainstay in the early part of the year, and certainly a welcome one.  You might argue that it was a 2010 song, but you don't have any authority, because I am the one ranking the songs.

19) Chris Brown - She Ain't You - I guess "smooth" would be the best way for me to describe my feelings on this song.  Another good one that didn't really get it's due on this station.

18) Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts - I had never heard of Christina Perri before this song.  It's kind of a weird one, and is exactly the type of song I typically don’t like that much.  So I'm not sure why I did.  But for a few weeks earlier this year, it was always the one I would hope would get spun on Hits-1.

17) Nickelback - When We Stand Together - I suppose this is where I lose most of you.  I don't care.  Nickelback's lone song on the countdown this year was a pretty good one.

16) Jessie J - Domino - I like how my car displays the artist and name of the song currently playing, because apparently everyone thought this was Katy Perry the first time they heard it.  I didn’t really make the connection at first, but I would probably have been in that camp in the absence of that particular feature of my automobile.  Excellent upbeat rhythm, and Jessie J's best song.

15) Dr. Dre Ft. Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need a Doctor - I just thought this song was a pretty cool one for Dr. Dre to put out there, basically having Eminem call him out for his flaws.  It presented a pretty interesting view of the friendship of two pretty interesting rappers.

14) Wiz Khalifa - Roll Up - I thought this got DTHNOBbed way too quickly.  On tough days at work, I would listen to this on repeat to keep me going, as I love the (I guess you could call them) instrumentals in the background of the chorus.

13) Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks - I've probably talked more about this song than any other in 2011.  I just don't understand how a song like this found its way to the top of the pop charts, as it seems  way too weird for it to be mainstream.  Fortunately, there was something about the beat or the words or something that people just couldn't get enough of.  Excellent breakthrough song for Foster the People.

12) Sugarland - Stuck Like Glue - Another song blurring the line between country and pop, non-Taylor Swift division, this incredibly catchy melody was on my mind for much of the early winter months of 2011.

11) The Script - Nothing - I'm wondering if The Script will ever sing a song that isn't about a failing/failed relationship.  This is the best of the bunch that they've put out there.

10) Wiz Khalifa Ft. Snoop Dogg - Young, Wild & Free - Just my opinion, and I've stated it here before.  This is the best rap song, non-Eminem division, that has been on the countdown in recent years.

9) Jennifer Lopez - On the Floor - The beat of this song had me turning the volume way up in my car.  I wish it had a better tenure on the countdown.  It did far better on non-Sirius radio stations.  The DJ at my wedding played a pretty crappy version of this song, which I can tack on to the many, many reasons I was dissatisfied with him.

8) Iyaz Ft. Travie McCoy - Pretty Girls - Excellent tune from Iyaz, and possibly the best I've ever heard from Travie McCoy.

7) Nicki Minaj - Super Bass ­- Apparently I just start singing this song a lot when I'm drunk.  In any case, I would always get excited to hear this song at parties, on trolleys, or at bars.  One of the very best pop songs of 2011, and one that made me actually start to like Nicki Minaj a little bit.

6) Flo Rida Ft. David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me - Okay, I think this is probably the most lenient I've been with regards to including songs that were put out in 2010 on this list.  There were few songs last winter that I was more excited about.

5) Katy Perry - Firework - #1 for several weeks at the beginning of 2011, this song is one of Katy Perry's best.  It's a pretty uplifting song with an attached music video that I think is pretty cool.  Unlike a lot of stuff that gets put out on this countdown, it actually delivers a positive, socially responsible message to listeners.

4) JTX - Love In America - The longest tenured song of 2011 was also one of the very best.  I don’t think I ever really got sick of this one since its debut the first week of the calendar year.  It's just energetic and fun.

3) Katy Perry - Last Friday Night - I think I had a serious addiction problem with this song.  It seemed like I still loved it ages after people got sick of it.  It hit #1 on this countdown a record 7 times, so apparently I wasn't alone, and I will continue to get incredibly excited to hear this song at a party/bar/wedding.

2) Carlos Santana Ft. Chris Daughtry - Photograph - Usually covers just make me miss the original.  However, this past summer, this song was a mandatory roll-the-windows-down-and-blast-it tune.  I can't say enough about Chris Daughtry's vocals.  He simply has one of the best singing voices out there today, and he's flat out excellent in this song.  I came into this ranking thinking I would put this one at #1, but just when I went back for another listen to a lot of these songs, another one stole the show.

1) 30 Seconds to Mars - Closer to the Edge - When I first made this ranking, this was a bit lower, around #6.  Then over the past few days at work, I listened to it again.  And again.  And again.  And again and again and again to the point where there's really no contest.  This was my absolute favorite countdown song of 2011.  The music video helped me to fully appreciate it.  I would love to see this song played live someday with the crazy lighting that they used for the video.  It's one of the rare songs on the countdown that can't just be written off as "trashy pop".  It's much better than that.

Thanks for reading, and here's to a great 2012 on the countdown!