The start of a new year always comes with a need to ruminate on the one that had just ended. We at Seoulbeats are no strangers to this, with annual discussions of the best albums, comebacks, MVs, dramas, and more. But then there is the one that tends to slip beneath the cracks, simply because the scale is too massive to truly tackle: the best songs.

There are cases where great albums are built on theme and cohesion, impressive in their unity but lacking a standout track. There are solid title tracks let down by subpar albums. And then there are the b-sides that far outshine the EP they are on. This playlist consists of my 15 favorite songs of 2019, the ones that provided a silver lining for this dumpster fire of a year. Cutting this list down got painful, and there are quite a few excellent songs I had to leave off.

So sit back, relax, and maybe curate your own list of just what were the best songs 2019 had on offer.