Best song of each year?

[SWE]

I don't listen to enough music to be able to do this, but 2017 was Blood in the Cut

[Leftbehind]

1993: Blind Melon - No Rain
1997: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
1998: The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
I might come back and change some of these.

These were also contenders for mine.

Went back and added a couple of years, because I couldn't bare to omit one of my all-time favourites.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This is my list for most of the early to mid-rock era from 1954-89, with a few later years added on.  Some of these are tough calls, since there are so many good songs from the same year.  (This is also by release dates, not chart dates.)

1954: Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
1955: Story Untold - The Nutmegs
1956: Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
1957: Party Doll - Buddy Knox
1958: Donna - Ritchie Valens
1959: Believe Me - The Royal Teens
1960: A Thousand Stars - Kathy Young & the Innocents
1961: Stand By Me - Ben E. King
1962: Hey! Baby - Bruce Channel
1963: Be My Baby - The Ronettes
1964: My Girl - The Temptations
1965: Do You Believe in Magic - The Lovin' Spoonful
1966: Lightnin' Strikes - Lou Christie
1967: Jimmy Mack - Martha & the Vandellas
1968: Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn)
1969: Down On the Corner - Creedence Clearwater Revival
1970: Gypsy Woman - Brian Hyland
1971: Sweet City Woman - The Stampeders
1972: Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce
1973: Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band
1974: TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) - MFSB with the Three Degrees
1975: Sister Golden Hair - America
1976: Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
1977: Barracuda - Heart
1978: Night Fever - The Bee Gees
1979: Let's Go - The Cars
1980: Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
1981: Working for the Weekend - Loverboy
1982: Africa - Toto
1983: Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar
1984: Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
1985: Power of Love - Huey Lewis & the News
1986: Take My Breath Away - Berlin
1987: Bad Boys - Inner Circle
1988: Simply Irresistible - Robert Palmer
1989: She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
1998: Start the Commotion - The Wiseguys
1999: Smile - Vitamin C
2000: Who Let the Dogs Out - Baha Men
2004: All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
2006: Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
2008: Viva La Vida - Coldplay
2011: Second Chance - Peter, Bjorn, and John
2014: Shake It Off - Taylor Swift

[DINGO Joe]

1981: Working for the Weekend - Loverboy

Yeah, I could see you rocking that headband.

I spent like half an hour narrowing 1970 down to 10 songs and I gave up.  Too hard.

[Kamala]

1930 - "Embraceable You" - Ginger Rogers
1931 - "All of Me" - Ruth Etting
1932 - "Night and Day" - Fred Astaire
1933 - "Shadow Waltz" - Bing Crosby
1934 - "Si tu n'étais pas lá" - Fréhel
1935 - "Cheek to Cheek" - Fred Astaire
1936 - Peter and the Wolf - Prokofiev
1937 - "Sweet Leilani" - Bing Crosby
1938 - "Heart and Soul" - Larry Clinton and Bea Wain
1939 - "Over the Rainbow" - Judy Garland
1940 - "You Are My Sunshine" - Jimmie Davis
1941 - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" - The Andrews Sisters
1942 - I feel as if ought to say "White Christmas" - Bing Crosby
1943 - "Paper Doll" - The Mills Brothers
1944 - "Rum and Coca-Cola" - The Andrews Sisters
1945 - "Let it Snow" - Vaughn Monroe
1946 - "La Vie en Rose" - Édith Piaf
1947 - "Love Somebody" - Doris Day
1948 - "Les Amants de Paris" - Édith Piaf
1949 - "Mona Lisa" - Nat King Cole
1950 - "La Vie en Rose (English)" - Édith Piaf
1951 - "Shanghai" - Doris Day
1952 - "L.O.V.E." - Peggy Lee
1953 - "Make Love To Me" - Jo Stafford
1954 - "Rock Around the Clock" - Bill Haley and His Comets
1955 - "Story Untold" - The Nutmegs
1956 - "Heartbreak Hotel" - Elvis Presley
1957 - "Everyday" - Buddy Holly
1958 - "Come prima" - Dalida
1959 - "Put Your Head on my Shoulder" - Paul Anka
1960 - "Non, je ne regrette rein" - Édith Piaf
1961 - "Can't Help Falling in Love" - Elvis Presley
1962 - "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - Brenda Lee
1963 - "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles
1964 - "My Girl" - The Temptations
1965 - TIE: "I Got You Babe" - Sonny and Cher, "Norwegian Wood" - The Beatles
1966 - "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles
1967 - "Respect" - Aretha Franklin
1968 - "Hello, Goodbye" - The Beatles
1969 - "Here Comes The Sun" - The Beätles
1970 - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Diana Ross
1971 - "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green
1972 - "Changes" - David Bowie
1973 - "Life On Mars" - David Bowie
1974 - TIE: "Waterloo" - ABBA, "I Will Always Love You" - Dolly Parton
1975 - "SOS" - ABBA
1976 - "Dancing Queen" - ABBA
1977 - "Hotel California" - The Eagles
1978 - "Wuthering Heights" - Kate Bush
1979 - "Chiquitita" - ABBA
1980 - "Call Me" - Blondie
1981 - "Bette Davis Eyes" - Kim Carnes
1982 - "I Love Rock n Roll" - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
1983 - "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
1984 - "Like A Virgin" - Madonna
1985 - "How Soon is Now?" - The Smiths
1986 - "Papa Don't Preach" - Madonna
1987 - "Push It" - Salt-n-Pepa
1988 - TIE: "Supersonic" - J.J. Fad, "Paradise" - Sade
1989 - "Like a Prayer" - Madonna
1990 - "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinéad O'Connor
1991 - "Losing My Religion" - R.E.M.
1992 - "No Ordinary Love" - Sade
1993 - "Loser" - Beck
1994 - "All I Want For Christmas Is You" - Mariah Carey
1995 - "Waterfalls" - TLC
1996 - "Wannabe" - Spice Girls
1997 - "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
1998 - "Across The Universe" - Fiona Apple
1999 - "No Scrubs" - TLC

2000: Independent Women Part I by Destiny's Child
2001: Fallin' by Alicia Keys
2002: A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion
2003: Crazy in Love by Beyoncé and Jay-Z
2004: Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson
2005: Cool by Gwen Stefani
2006: Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland
2007: Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood
2008: I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry
2009: Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus
2010: Your Love by Nicki Minaj
2011: Someone like You by Adele
2012: She-wolf by David Guetta and Sia
2013: Mirrors by Justin Timberlake
2014: Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde
2015: Elastic Heart by Sia
2016: Starboy by The Weeknd
2017: Green Light by Lorde

Total nominations:
The Beatles: 5
ABBA: 4
Édith Piaf: 4
Bing Crosby: 3
Madonna: 3
The Andrews Sisters: 2
Beyoncé: 2
David Bowie: 2
Elvis Presley: 2
Fred Astaire: 2
Gwen Stefani: 2
Lorde: 2
Sade: 2
Sia: 2
TLC: 2

Senior citizens of Atlas, feel free to judge me. I don't have the best music taste.

[HillGoose]

The 90s are tough for me.

1992 is "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure

1993 is "Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms

1994 is definitely "Round Here" by Counting Crows

1996 is a tie between "Machinehead" by Bush, "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis, and "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins.

1998 is a tie between "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, and "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies.

[Kamala]

bump because I like this thread

[Skunk]

Turns out me and Kamala have pretty similar musical taste. (For the record some are by Billboard's year-end Hot 100 lists and some are off of release date, I'm inconsistent ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

1970: I Want You Back by The Jackson 5
1971: Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves by Cher
1972: Superstition- Stevie Wonder
1973: You're So Vain- Carly Simon
1974: Waterloo- ABBA
1975: SOS- ABBA
1976: Rhiannon- Fleetwood Mac
1977: Knowing Me, Knowing You- ABBA
1978: Take a Chance on Me- ABBA
1979: (TIE) Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)- ABBA / Heart of Glass- Blondie
1980: Call Me- Blondie
1981: The Winner Takes It All- ABBA
1982: Gloria- Laura Branigan
1983: (TIE) Solitaire- Laura Branigan / Africa- Toto
1984: Self Control- Laura Branigan
1985: (TIE) Take on Me- a-ha / Dress You Up- Madonna
1986: How Will I Know- Whitney Houston
1987: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now- Starship
1988: Heaven is a Place on Earth- Belinda Carlisle
1989: Like a Prayer- Madonna

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

1970: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
1971: Riders on the Storm (The Doors)
1972: Rocket Man (Elton John)
1973: Bad Bad Leroy Brown (Jim Croce)
1974: Cat's in the Cradle (Harry Chapin)
1975: Love of My Life (Queen)
1976: More, More, More (Andrea True - FYI she was also a porn star so this song has crossover appeal for me)
1977: Cold as Ice (Foreigner)
1978: Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen)
1979: Ring My Bell (Anita Ward)
1980: Another one Bites the Dust (Queen)
1981: Don't You Want Me (The Human League)
1982: Dirty Laundry (Don Henley)
1983: Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
1984: When Doves Cry (Prince)
1985: What About Love (Heart)
1986: Who Wants to Live Forever? (Queen)
1987: I Want Your Sex (George Michael)
1988: Every Rose Has It's Thorn (Poison)
1989: Was it All Worth It? (Queen)
1990: Vision of Love (Mariah Carey)
1991: The Show Must Go On (Queen)
1992: You Don't Love Me Anymore ("Weird Al" Yankovic)
1993: Rape Me (Nirvana)
1994: I'll Make Love To You (Boyz II Men)
1995: Common People (Pulp)
1996: No Diggity (Blackstreet)
1997: Honey (Mariah Carey)
1998: The Boy is Mine (Monica)
1999: All Star (Smash Mouth)
2000: Stan (Eminem)
2001: Bootylicious (Survivor)
2002: Sk8ter Boi (Avril Lavigne)
2003: Shake Ya Tailfeather (Nelly)
2004: Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
2005: Gold Digger (Kanye West)
2006: Smack That (Akon)
2007: Umbrella (Rihanna)
2008: I Kissed A Girl (Katy Perry)
2009: I Know You Want Me (Pitbull)
2010: Your Love (Nicki Minaj)
2011: Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
2012: Starships (Nicki Minaj)
2013: Same Love (Mackelmore)
2014: Anaconda (Nicki Minaj)
2015: Hello (Adele)
2016: Lazarus (David Bowie)
2017: Bodak Yellow (Cardi B)

[SWE]

2018 is "Walking All Day" by Graham Coxon

[Crumpets]

Inspired by Kamala, here's my list for the pre-rock era:

1930: Ben Selvin and the Crooners - Happy Days are Here Again
1931: Cab Calloway - Saint James Infirmary
1932: Duke Ellington - It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
1933: Dmitri Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 1
1934: Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
1935: Cab Calloway - Keep That Hi De Ho In Your Soul
1936: Ethel Merman - I Get a Kick Out of You
1937: Benny Goodman - Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)
1938: Louis Armstrong - When the Saints Go Marching In
1939: Mikhail Isakovsky - Katyusha
1940: Glenn Miller - In the Mood
1941: The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
1942: Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad)
1943: Bing Crosby And The Andrew Sisters - Pistol Packin' Mama
1944: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happening Every Day
1945: (Champion) Jack Dupree Trio - Let's Have a Ball
1946: Edith Piaf - La Vie en rose
1947: Hank Williams - Move It On Over
1948: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head, I Hear Music in the Air
1949: Vaughn Monroe - Ghost Riders In The Sky
1950: Al Jolson and The Andrews Sisters - Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
1951: Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats - Rocket 88
1952: Little Willie Littlefield - Kansas City
1953: Silvana Mangano - El Negro Zumbon (Anna)
1954: The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman

[Cold War Liberal]

1970: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
1971: Riders on the Storm (The Doors)
1972: Rocket Man (Elton John)
1975: Love of My Life (Queen)
1977: Cold as Ice (Foreigner)
1978: Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen)
1980: Another one Bites the Dust (Queen)
1981: Don't You Want Me (The Human League)
1983: Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
1984: When Doves Cry (Prince)
1985: What About Love (Heart)
1986: Who Wants to Live Forever? (Queen)
1987: I Want Your Sex (George Michael)
1988: Every Rose Has It's Thorn (Poison)
1989: Was it All Worth It? (Queen)
1991: The Show Must Go On (Queen)
1994: I'll Make Love To You (Boyz II Men)
2005: Gold Digger (Kanye West)
2011: Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
2016: Lazarus (David Bowie)
2017: Bodak Yellow (Cardi B)

We have a somewhat similar taste in music, LOL

I would make my own but there are too many to choose from for most years.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

I will think of more songs later

1955: Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash
1969: A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash
1971: American Pie by Don McLean
1973: Dream On by Aerosmith
1980: Back in Black by ACDC
1982: Thriller by Michael Jackson
1988: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
1992: Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot
1997: Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious B.I.G.
1999: My Fault by Eminem
2002: Hurt by Johnny Cash (lots of good songs this year, was hard to chose)
2003: X Gon' Give It to Ya by DMX
2004: Yeah by Usher
2011: Wop by J. Dash
2014: Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars
2015: Hey Mama by David Guetta (not a very good year)
2016: Don't Mind by Kent Jones (hard choice this year, too)

Also 我是中国人 and Heute Habe Ich Geburtstag whatever year those songs came out.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

2000: Sky by Sonique
2001: In the End by Linking Park
2002: I'm with you by Avril Lavigne
2003: My Immortal by Evanescence
2004: Perfekte Welle by Juli
2005: Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
2006: All good things by Nelly Furtado
2007: Hometown Glory by Adele
2008: Just Dance by Lady Gaga and some unknown guy
2009: Heavy Cross by Gossip
2010: Somewhere over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
2011: Titanium by David Guetta and Sia
2012: Diamonds by Rihanna
2013: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
2014: Chandelier by Sia
2015: Hello by Adele
2016: Don’t Be So Shy (Filatov & Karas Remix) by Imany
2017: Believer by Imagine Dragons

[Joey1996]

2017: XO Tour Llif3 - Lil Uzi Vert