The Top 100 Songs of 2014: An Introduction

This is part of my Top 100 Songs of 2014 series. To see specific entries click on the following links:

Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

Another year is coming to a close. The music of 2014 was memorable for Taylor Swift's much-acclaimed transformation into pop, the emergence of Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor as superstars, Pharrell Williams' infectious "Happy", the country spending the majority of the year not Letting Go of the iconic Frozen melody and much, much more.

I have compiled a list of the top 100 songs of 2014, based on the top 30 songs in each Billboard Hot 100 weekly chart dated 2014 (the chart for January 4, 2014 counted even though it was released in 2013; similarly, the January 3, 2015 chart will not be considered although its release will be in 2014).

Each song received a point value based on its position in each week's chart (the No. 1 song received 30 points, the No. 2 song received 29 and so on down to No. 30, which  received one point). I compiled 52 weeks of data as such and ranked the songs accordingly after I considered each 2014 chart.

Starting with songs 100-91 Tuesday, Dec. 22, I will reveal my 2014 Top 100 list 10 songs at a time for 10 days, including personal notes about each hit. This will conclude with the biggest 10 songs of the year - and a Spotify playlist of all 100 songs - on New Year's Eve. Check back each day around 1 p.m. (EST) for a new post.

Have a blessed holiday season, and enjoy the music!

As a bonus, here are two songs that just missed the list.

102. Centuries - Fall Out Boy


Peak: 22 (September 27); Weeks on chart: 14; December 27 position: 26

"Centuries" debuted at No. 22 before dropping out of the top 30 for seven weeks. It bounced around between 25 and 30 for the last six charts of the year, finishing two points behind the No. 100 song of the year. This is one of the better underrated songs of 2014's latter half; Fall Out Boy's pop crossovers have always been pleasant surprises and "Centuries" is no exception.

101. Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran


Peak: 6 (December 27); Weeks on chart: 10; December 27 position: 6

If I do this again next year, I would expect this song to place somewhere in the 2015 Top 100. "Thinking Out Loud" entered the chart in the October 25 issue but only broke into the Top 30 in the penultimate chart of the year. Had it reached December 27's Top Five, "Thinking" would be Sheeran's third song on my year-end list. The redheaded singer-songwriter continues to show why millions have fallen in love with his music and prove that he will be a strong force in music for a long time to come.