1. “I Can Be Afraid of Anything” — The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die

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Cutting “Harmlessness” from next week’s top 10 list goes on record as one of the most difficult decisions made in the Arts & Entertainment section this year. The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die have been a constant reminder of indie-rock’s ability to transcend and reflect. Regardless of “Harmlessness’” ranked in TWIABP’s discography, “I Can Be Afraid of Anything” is undoubtedly their career high. The song reaches terminal velocity midway through, and just continues to build and shift, a reflection of the growth the band has shown through years of honing and crafting.

2. “The Blacker the Berry” — Kendrick Lamar

2015 was a difficult year to watch the news. There were constant moments of heartaches and sadness concerning the state of racial reconciliation in this country, but one of the rarer moments of solace came from a “To Pimp a Butterfly” cut released over a month before the record. This is a different, bleaker aggression shown on “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City’s” title track, a reaction against racially slanted institutions, while simultaneously wrestling with Kendrick’s guilt about partaking in the very violence that he is appalled by. It is a momentary replacement of the transcendental free jazz the album draws from, to the cold, aggressive reality of violence.

3. “Cutting My Fingers Off” — Turnover

Turnover might have a penchant for the lyrically dramatic, but the earnesty that propels the first track off their fantastic 2015 record “Peripheral Vision” is impossible to ignore. Pulling in influences from traditional emo revivalism and post-rock, Turnover crafted an incredibly pop-focused record in terms of structure. “Cutting My Fingers Off” is the perfect indicator of this newfound direction, building to an incredible climax propped up by the lyrics “And every dream I ever had was of a better view and a 10 month summer / losing you was like cutting my fingers off.” Dramatic, sure. Brilliant? Of course.

4. “Let It Happen” — Tame Impala

Toward the end of the breakdown in “Let It Happen,” there is a moment where a record skip is used as a percussive instrument. This sort of rhythmic check makes sense in other areas of electronic music with a four on the floor backbeat, but Tame Impala use it to build the track up to critical mass. It is an opener that is undeniably revelatory, and arguably some of the greatest music in their discography. Later on in the track, Kevin Parker sings indecipherably, adding texture in a way far more nuanced than pretty much every other psych band out there.

5. “I’ve Been Waiting For Her” — Mac DeMarco

“Salad Days” was without a doubt my favorite record of last year, and I will defend its inherent longevity until the day I die. 2015 saw Canada’s finest release, “Another One,” and as the name implies the mini-LP follows in the footsteps of Mac’s sleepy odes to love and laziness. “I’ve Been Waiting For Her” stands out with some of the cleanest, slickest guitar work Mac has ever recorded. “Give up my life for the rhythm / for the beat of a heart / like hers.” No one will argue DeMarco’s songwriting has always been simple, but then again no one will ever question its effectiveness.