The Top 100 Local Songs of 2014.

Counting Down From 40 to 25.

Just as we have at the end of the last two years, the Central Track staff has once again spent the last week reminiscing and pouring pretty tirelessly over the best locally-tied songs of the year. By now, of course, most folks expect as much from their local culture publications. Unlike in previous years, though, we've decided to do things a little differently in 2014. For one, the influx of notable tunes this year prompted us to double the length of our list — from the Top 50 to the Top 100 local songs of the year. At the same time, we didn't want to overwhelm our readers with a huge list of 100 tracks to take in all once, either. To that end, we're going to roll the thing out in daily chunks, unveiling more songs every weekday through the end of the month. It should serve to make the thing a little easier to digest — and give you time to check out the embedded streams of anything you might have missed throughout the course of the year. Really, though, you should give each of these songs a spin. They all deserve at least that much.

Now that we're three batches into this slow reveal, our hope is that you've come to the same conclusion in consuming this song list that we did in producing it: This was a deep year for Dallas music.

And that's an interesting change, we think, from years past. Sure, those previous years saw copious standout songs roll out over the course of 12 months — that much is almost to be expected — but not this many, not this deep of a truly worthy consideration pool.

SEE ALSO:
• THE TOP 100 LOCAL SONGS OF 2014. // Counting Down From 100 to 81.
• THE TOP 100 LOCAL SONGS OF 2014. // Counting Down From 80 to 61.
• THE TOP 100 LOCAL SONGS OF 2014. // Counting Down From 60 to 41.

That's why we're unveiling this list as painstakingly as we are — so that you, just like us, can appreciate the vast leaps forward that Dallas' music world seem to take this year.

This batch, which chronicles songs 40 through 25 in out Top 100 countdown, should certainly provide you a means toward that end: An undeniably poppy grouping on the whole, these songs come from experienced Dallas musicians (Old 97's, Oil Boom, Spooky Folk) and fresh faces alike (Brandon Fxrd, Gollay), and are as boundary-pushing (Party Static) as they are delightfully straightforward (Cozy Hawks). But one thing's for sure: They're all pretty great.

Kinda makes you wonder what could possibly top these offerings, huh? Exactly. Now you see what we're doing here. — Pete Freedman

40. Madison King — “Saved By a Son of a Gun”

39. Ish D — “Keep Moving”

38. Wild Party — “Chasin' Honey”

37. Gollay — “Fight or Flight”

36. Blue, the Misfit — “Trillionaire”

35. Old 97's — “Nashville”

34. Party Static — “Poor Baby”

33. TEAM* — “I Like It”

32. Nayah — “Let it Go”

31. Oil Boom — “The Sneak Tip”

30. Spooky Folk — “Disheveled”

29. Parquet Courts — “Instant Disassembly”

28. Blackstone Rangers — “Frozen Echo”

27. Cozy Hawks — “L.A. Girl”

26. Brandon Fxrd — “Everything On Me”

25. Daniel Markham — “Disconnected and Flying”

100. Blank-Men — “Mole-Man Therapy”
99. Snow tha Product — “1 Time”
98. Goodnight Ned — “50,000 Years”
97. Pageantry — “Spine”
96. Lou Charle$ — “RiCH KiD$”
95. iill — “Surface Friend”
94. Ghost Image — “The Way”
93. County Lines — “City Between Two Cities”
92. B. Anderson — “Peer Pressure”
91. Wesley Geiger — “As the Crow Flies”
90. Somebody's Darling — “Bad Bad”
89. Radioactivity — “Danger”
88. Bobby Sessions — “Buckle Up”
87. This Will Destroy You — “Invitation”
86. Final Club — “No Regrets (M.U.R.P.H.Y.)”
85. Vincent Neil Emerson — “Hesitation Blues”
84. Lecrae — “Say I Won't”
83. Luke Wade — “The Runaround”
82. Convoy & the Cattlemen — “My Window Faces South”
81. Centro-matic — “Salty Disciple”
80. Bad Mountain — “Union Hill”
79. Dorrough — “Beat Up The Block “
78. The Longshots — “Me or California”
77. The Paychecks — “Prison Bars”
76. Dead Flowers — “I'm Leaving”
75. Birdflower — “Bish at the Beach”
74. Bad Beats — “Floor of Love”
73. Rigor Mortis — “Flesh For Flies”
72. Yung Nation — “Molly on My Chest”
71. Black Milk — “What It's Worth”
70. Fishboy — “Bury My Body”
69. Sugarfoote & Co. — “Long Gone Daddy”
68. Sexual Jeremy — “Square Eyes”
67. Blessin' — “Green Song”
66. Mink Coats — “Another Notch in the Bible Belt”
65. -topic — “Pocket Dialed the Queen”
64. Unconscious Collective — “Kotsoteka”
63. Hot Coffins — “I H8 Black Magic”
62. Cashmir — “Numbers”
61. Fever Dreamer — “A Month of Sunshine”
60. The Fox & the Bird — “No Man's Land”
59. Street Arabs — “Maltese Falcon”
58. Power Trip — “This World (2014)”
57. Zach Witness — “Amen Love”
56. Terrence Spectacle — “Futon”
55. Nighty Nite — “Temporary Custodian”
54. Bethan — “Low Expectations”
53. Baring Teeth — “Mountain”
52. Sealion — “Heavy Fizz”
51. Various Artists — “Dallas vs. Everybody”
50. Bummer Vacation — “Aye Mas Tiempo Que Vida”
49. Moonbather — “Stars From Planes”
48. Kacey Musgraves — “The Trailer Song”
47. Catamaran — “Weekdays”
46. Buffalo Black — “Bad Seed”
45. Mountain of Smoke — “Wise Owl”
44. Chambers — “Inner Room”
43. The Phuss — “Straight Line Impala”
42.Dripping Wet — “Yearbook”
41. Sarah Jaffe — “Defense”
40. Madison King — “Saved By a Son of a Gun”
39. Ish D — “Keep Moving”
38. Wild Party — “Chasin' Honey”
37. Gollay — “Fight or Flight”
36. Blue, the Misfit — “Trillionaire”
35. Old 97's — “Nashville”
34. Party Static — “Poor Baby”
33. TEAM* — “I Like It”
32. Nayah — “Let it Go”
31. Oil Boom — “The Sneak Tip”
30. Spooky Folk — “Disheveled”
29. Parquet Courts — “Instant Disassembly”
28. Blackstone Rangers — “Frozen Echo”
27. Cozy Hawks — “L.A. Girl”
26. Brandon Fxrd – “Everything On Me”
25. Daniel Markham – “Disconnected and Flying”
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Blackstone Rangers cover photo by Karlo X. Ramos.