Jamie Woon – Lady Luck

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Jamie Woon has only recently broken out into the mainstream media spotlight, but has already made waves with his ability to bring whole genres together in his endearing, acoustic-based, thought-provoking tracks.

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying the sheer talent and production quality that goes into his music, something which can be a rare commodity these days, and that’s why Lady Luck is an obvious contender for top song of 2011.

Lana Del Ray – Video Games

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After teasing us last summer with the fantastic Diet Mtn Dew the pressure was on Lana Del Ray to come back in 2011 with something big, and boy has she delivered with a bang.

Video Games is possibly her finest work yet. Languorous, sinister and cathartic, it perfectly describes that feeling of being ignored by the person you love. Lana signed recently with a major label, so we can expect even more stunning work from her in the future.

Devlin – Let It Go

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Devlin might sound like just some badman from East London, but a great deal of what he does is to try to change the tarnished image of Britain’s youth. That’s commendable in itself, but he also makes some bloody good music.

Well thought through and entirely typical of Devlin’s sound, Let It Go features Syco’s possibly greatest signing, Labrinth, and comes together to produce one of the best songs in 2011 to date.

M83 – Midnight City

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3 years in the making, the tracks we’ve heard on M83‘s latest album are nothing short of impressive. The first single Midnight City is a masterpiece in itself, the feeling that you’re listening to a precisely crafted piece of music is overwhelming.

Every synth, every vocal, every honk and twinkle is impeccably placed and to be honest we didn’t expect anything less from a band with such a rich history. If we were only talking about the love and care that went into these songs, we’d have a winner.

Lykke Li – Sadness Is A Blessing

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Lykke Li does one thing very well, and that is to paint pictures through her music. Capturing a mood perfectly through every last nuance of the song, Sadness Is A Blessing is no exception. Definitely a unique brand of music amongst today’s popular styles, but a niche that she fills to the letter.

Dirty South & Thomas Gold – Alive

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Dirty South & Thomas Gold, 2 impressive dance music prodigies in their own right teamed up together in 2011 to deliver one hell of a club banger called Alive.

If you were in Ibiza this summer then there’s a very high chance that this tune is still resonating through your soul. Progressive house at its finest.

Chris Brown – Beautiful People

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Charismatic and talented as he is, Chris Brown never seems to be having a good time in the public eye. However, when he produces music of a high standard, everyone will forget his flaws and you can be sure it’ll be played until the cows come home.

Beautiful People is no exception to this rule, as it has mostly dominated every dancefloor since it was released in March this year. An R&B leviathan of Brown’s calibre, steel drums and Benni Benassi‘s trademark production are a surefire combination to clubbing success.

JLo – On The Floor

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Jennifer Lopez has been a strong image for Latin culture in today’s industry, and On The Floor is clearly still in line with that. Mixing that Latin feel with typical clubbing beats, Lopez has created a song which people will be associating with “that incredible summer in [hot country]” for years to come. We’ve picked the Pitbull-less version, because it’s hands down the better song.

Rizzle Kicks – Down With The Trumpets

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The new kids on the block, Rizzle Kicks, have a fresh sound and a youthful zest about their music. Obviously a pair that don’t take themselves too seriously, it’s a great break from the norm in the industry nowadays. Down With The Trumpets personifies them perfectly, and is guaranteed to put smiles on faces everywhere. An excellent way for the lads to ‘kick’ off a career in music.

Mord Fustang – Lick The Rainbow

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Making a name for himself rather quickly this year, Estonian producer Mord Fustang (yes, yet another example of spoonerism) has been dominating dancefloors over the summer with his high-energy creations.

Since January he’s dropped five singles for Miles Dyson‘s Plasmapool label, with Lick the Rainbow enjoying his highest placement on the Beatport Top 100 to date. If he keeps on producing straight bangers like this then expect him to get snapped by a larger label rather fucking quickly.