The 25 Best Singles of 2012 (20-16)

20. Grizzly Bear -- Sleeping Ute

Hailing from Brooklyn, of course, Grizzly Bear had been quietly redefining psychedelic folk rock and transcending their hipster cred for quite some time, but in 2012 they truly hit their stride with this entrancing and mysterious track.



19. Grimes -- Oblivion

24-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Claire Boucher, who goes by the stage name Grimes, became the queen of electronic quirk with her latest album, Visions. The first single from the record summed up her overall approach: dreamy and a little silly, but thoroughly irresistible.



18. Odd Future -- Oldie

It was a good year for the seemingly endless and undefinable hip-hop collective Odd Future; they dominated more than a few forms of media and rose up out of the underground to create a metric ton of mainstream buzz, and with good reason. Nobody owns the alternative rap genre like these guys and this track was proof positive why.



17. Santigold -- Disparate Youth

The LES couldn't keep Santigold contained -- everyone knew that from the beginning. But in 2012, she truly reached her full potential with songs like this one.



16. Chvrches -- Lies

It takes a special kind of musical authority to come from out of nowhere and release a track that immediately sends millions scrambling to find a place to download it from. Glasgow's Chvrches did it with this. Dancefloor-ready and almost indescribably catchy, it was one of the best pop songs of the year.

Tomorrow: 15-11