Music is art – and we all have our opinions. In 2014, I found dozens of new songs to call favorites. Some are quirky. Some are sad. And others just sound fantastic when you play them loud. It was a pretty good year for music – as a listener.

Music for me in 2014 was bookended by two fierce women in music, whose prowess (rather easily) convinced me to purchase their entire albums…What filled the bookends of my music exploration in 2014 includes some of the top pop hits of the year that you simply could not avoid and plenty of other songs perfect for dancing, singing and nostalgia.