The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015.

Sad Cops Is Best In Class At No. 1.

The North Texas music scene has really come into its own the past 12 months. There hasn't been a year in recent memory when so many local artists appeared on the Billboard charts, played Saturday Night Live and other late night television programs, or otherwise appeared in the national spotlight. Here, as we've done in years past, we're highlighting what we think are the 100 best songs locally-tied of the year. The thing is, as far as this list is concerned, we're judging the quality of the songs irrespective of the popularity of the people putting them out — meaning, you're just as likely to have a song by a Grammy-winning act sandwiched between a couple of high school bands. Hey, it's just more interesting that way. Also keeping with tradition, we'll be rolling out the list in smaller, more digestible portions every weekday through the end of the month, complete with embedded streams of each. We think that gives each of these more than deserving acts a little more shine, and it also gives you a little more time to really check out each of these high quality tunes — including, presumably, a few that you may have missed upon their initial release.

With age comes perspective.

The older one gets, the funnier it is to think back on the naivety of one's high school days and the way you just kind of figured that everyone who was your best friend in those days would kind of be in your life for the long haul.

Of course, for most of us, it takes all of a little time removed from high school to realize how ephemeral that reality truly was.

It's a whole other thing to be completely aware of the folly of youth while still a youth — which is precisely what makes the debut EP from 16-year-old Coppell High School student Grayson Harris and his Sad Cops outfit so remarkable. The young band's Best Friends EP is anchored by a title track that's full of the kind of astute perspective and self-awareness that most of us don't gain for a decade after graduation day.

See Also:
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 100 to 81.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 80 to 61.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 60 to 41.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 40 to 26.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 25 to 16.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2014.

The track opens with a particularly hard-hitting truth nugget from Harris that hits right in the feels; “Let's be best friends till we're 18 / Then we'll split up, play it safely / Go to college, get a degree / Something useless, like philosophy.”

Like I said: Right. In. The. Feels.

This song deftly tackles a universal truths that hits home for pretty much everybody past a certain age. But a clever line here or there would be nothing if not paired with catchy melodies, clever arrangements and a killer hook. Well, then: Check, check and check on those account, too.

In pretty much every area here, Harris shows off wisdom beyond his years.

I hate to keep harping on it, but after several dozen plays of this song over the past year it's still hard for me to believe a kid in high school made it, and pretty much all by himself, too. The borderline emo tune is just so tasteful and well-executed, it would make Oberhofer proud, jealous or maybe a bit of both.

The one thing we do know is this: Whether Harris and his bandmates do manage to keep in touch after finishing school, they'll be a force to be reckoned with in whatever field they ultimately decide to pursue. Hopefully for all of our sakes, though, they'll keep at the music thing.

They've certainly got a leg up in that department.

100. Terrence Spectacle — “King's Cup”
99. Tunk — “Scarface The Rapper”
98. Lil Ronny MothaF — “Circle”
97. Denim Wonder — “I Love My City”
96. Sin Motivo — “Sintomas”
95. Kevin Aldridge — “Winner Leaves Town”
94. Sarah Jaffe — “Vision”
93. Coach Tev — “Omens (ft. Drugs, The Model Citizen & Rei Altru)”
92. Bummer Vacation — “Silver Hands”
91. Danny Cainco — “In My Bed”
90. Dove Hunter — “Dream Catcher”
89. GHETTODSKO — “It's Like That”
88. Toadies — “In the Belly of a Whale”
87. 87. Sad Cops — “Allen Road Park”
86. Essay EyE — “Day Da Day”
85. Astronautalis — “Sike”
84. The Azealia Project — “Chameleons”
83. Rhett Miller — “Most in the Summertime”
82. Botany — “Jotu”
81. Ghoulfive — “Materialistic”
80. VIDEO — “New Immortals”
79. No Touching — “Any Minute”
78. Damaged Good$ — “FCKBOY JIHAD PT. 1”
77. Jarvis Hodges — “Ball Out”
76. Hate Your Friends — “Whooda Thunk?”
75. Blessin' — “Eileen”
74. Birds of Night — “Asleep in the Pine”
73. Parquet Courts — “No, No, No!”
72. Bobby Sessions — “Black Neighborhood”
71. Larce Blake w/ Masego & BeMyFiasco — “SwingInLove”
70. Sudie — “Van Morrissey”
69. Buffalo Black — “High Noon”
68. Zane Williams — “A Song tor the Folks That Stole Our Van and Trailer”
67. Colton Carlyle — “Stalker”
66. Smoke Paint — “Chastity Belt”
65. Pinkish Black — “Brown Rainbow”
64. KoolQuise — “Cupid's Handgun”
63. Nick Jonas — “Jealous”
62. Skagg Philips — “Problems in Japan”
61. Brave Young Lion — “Girls”
60. Plain Jane Francis and Tony Q — “Silent Sounds”
59. Valise — “Charlie Gray”
58. Siamese — “Savage High”
57. Vandoliers — “Runaway Sons”
56. Claire Morales & Jena Pyle — “Strange”
55. Rhett Miller & Madison King — “Feel Like Fallin' in Love”
54. Nervous Curtains — “Devastator”
53. The Outfit, TX – “All Bills Paid” ft. Devy Stonez
52. These Machines Are Winning — “Kuru”
51. St. Vincent — “Bad Believer”
50. Snow that Product — “AyAyAy”
49. Kacey Musgraves — “Pageant Material”
48. Neon Indian — “Slumlord”
47. War Party — “Nolo Mori”
46. Conner Youngblood – “The Badlands”
45. Radioactivity — “Silent”
44. Birds of Night — “Dark”
43. A.Dd+ — “The Rhyme and The Rhythm”
42. Color TV — “Cadillac”
41. LUWUM — “The Band”
40. The Outfit, TX — “Wild Turkey”
39. Doug Burr — “White Night — Black Light”
38. Jake Paleschic — “When it is Played”
37. Party Static — “Mr Sexypants”
36. Pearl Earl — “Karaoke Superstar”
35. Lower Dens — “To Die in L.A.”
34. Selena Gomez — “Good For You”
33. Brack Cantrell — “Corpus Christi”
32. Demi Lovato — “Confident”
31. Herrick and Hooley — “Skeletor vs He-Man”
30. Dripping Wet — “She's Not Mine”
29. Maren Morris — “My Church”
28. Andy Pickett — “Don't Bro Me”
27. Post Malone — “Tear$”
26. Leon Bridges — “Smooth Sailin'”
25. Pyramids — “In Perfect Stillness, I've Only Found Sorrow”
24. War Party — “Teenager On Drugs”
23. Vincent Neil Emerson — “East Texas Blues”
22. Shaun Martin — “One Big Party”
21. Telegraph Canyon — “Why Let it Go”
20. Felix — “Ain Afraid”
19. Neon Indian — “Annie”
18. The Warden — “Our Town”
17. St. Vincent — “Teenage Talk”
16. Erykah Badu — “Cel U Lar Device”
15. Dead to a Dying World — “The Hunt Eternal”
14. LEV — “Shadow”
13. G.U.N. — “Johnny Cage”
12. Jonathan Tyler — “To Love Is To Fly” (feat. Nikki Lane)
11. Picnictyme — “Burnin Up”
10. Radioactivity — “Battered”
9. Andy Pickett — “It Happens Every Night”
8. Reagan James — “Blue”
7. Demi Lovato — “Cool For the Summer”
6. Erykah Badu — “Hello” (feat. Andre 3000)
5. Post Malone — “White Iverson”
4. Leon Bridges — “River”
3. Bobby Sessions — “Peyton Manning”
2. Masego x Medasin — “GIrls That Dance”
1. Sad Cops — “Best Friends”