My name is Dorrie, and this year I have developed a new taste for indie and alternative music. After finally talking myself in paying for Spotify Premium, it’s rare to find me without headphones in my ears. My favorite songs this year are a mix a mainstream pop songs with some alternative choices thrown in.

1. “Strange” – Louis the child: Strange is a versatile song. The song molds to your mood, surroundings and state of mind. The calming lyrics allow you to sprawl out on your couch and just listen; the occasional electronic pick-ups could get you hype at a music festival.

2. “Clearest Blue” – CHVRCHES: The vocals of CHVRCHES are incredible. The clarity and ability to vary pitch is memorizing. Short spurts of relaxed tempo are interrupted by resonating, fast pick-ups.

3. “Coffins” – Misterwives: In this particular track, Misterwives took a break from their usually vivacious melodies and high-pitched notes. “Coffins” takes a slower, mellower mood. The lyrics are enunciated more clearly, allowing you to fully absorb the weird song about life and death and everything that comes with it.

4. “Closer” – Halsey/Chainsmokers: The Chainsmokers tend to produce very hit or miss music, but this song was great. Detailing two young, reunited ex-lovers and their rendezvous in a rover, Closer is an up-beat song that makes you want to run around in the middle of the night.

5. “Say It” – Flume: This electropop jam will make you long for a decent bass and sound system to fully appreciate it. But no worries, its bass drops will still blow your mind and make your heart race even with just a fully-blasted car radio.

6. “Capsize” – FRENSHIP: The song explains the parting of two individuals by comparing it to a boat capsizing. It became inevitable and overwhelming, just like the beat starts off slow, lulling you into a false sense of security, and eventually becomes staggering.

7. “Be Together” – Major Lazer: The all too effective “beat-drop” comes to life again in this song. The lyrics describe the fate of two people throughout various catastrophes. The intense, booming beats perfectly match lines detailing celestial collisions.

8. “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” – Billy Currington: Everybody needs a little country. Whether this is your genre or not, this catchy tune will be stuck in your head for hours. Although it’s about a guy getting over a break-up, the song is fast-paced, not depressing.

9. “Broccoli” – D.R.A.M: Broccoli was one of those rap songs that everyone knows, even if they don’t listen to rap. The steady, chill beat puts you at ease, but it’s impossible to listen to this song without tapping your foot, swaying your head or embarrassingly dancing in a crowd.

10. “Lonely Cities” – Tigertown: Despite its bleak title, “Lonely Cities,” was a resoundingly cheerful Indi-pop hit. The lyrics are somewhat repetitive, which can get boring, but also allows for you to blare the song and scream as many words as you know.