2014 was the year of a thousand controversies: Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from Spotify, Sun Kil Moon started a feud with The War On Drugs, Jack White accused The Black Keys of ripping him off (again), and almost nobody went platinum. When you put all of that aside, however, what you're left with is a bunch of incredible songs, which is really what it's all about. Here are the 25 best songs from 2014, as determined by Music Times writers Ryan Book, Caitlin Carter, Joey DeGroot, Kyle Dowling, and Carolyn Menyes
25. A$AP Rocky feat. Gesaffelstein - "In Distress"
French producer Gesaffelstein's name has usually come with the follow-up association to Kanye West's "Black Skinhead," but we music writers might want to consider linking him with this gem from the Divergent soundtrack instead. Nothing about the industrial thump of "In Distress" suggests it makes any sense on soundtracks aimed at Top 40 listeners but—again, like Yeezy—A$AP Rocky has both enough studio smarts and street cred to make his hustle fit the dystopian world of the film. The Mockingjay soundtrack may be the best teen-lit-gone-Hollywood album of the year, but this track takes the song's trophy. Our only complaint: No uncensored version to be found on iTunes. —RB
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