Year in review: Best singles of 2013 (+playlist)

Singer, Justin Timberlake. Photo / AP

The Monster - Eminem + Rihanna
The Love the Way You Lie duo combined forces to repeat their chart-topping trick for Eminem's otherwise wayward new album, proving that, together, they make a great couple.

Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke (+ Pharrell + TI)
The song that launched a thousand parodies, the success of Blurred Lines was spurred by a super- catchy soul-laced chorus and an R18 video that featured topless models strutting their stuff.

Get Lucky - Daft Punk
Can 200 million YouTube views be wrong? Nope: Daft Punk's comeback single was a super-catchy, super-jaunty slice of robo-soul that made people want to hit the dancefloor every single time.

Roar - Katy Perry
Ignore the bonkers Tarzan-esque video: Katy Perry's comeback single was a dominating dose of pure pop perfection - so good that it made Lady Gaga's Applause look weird and lazy.

Can't Hold Us - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
"We did this our way," declares Macklemore on Can't Hold Us, the Thrift Shop pranksters proving once and for all that they're not going to be one-hit wonders like many predicted back in 2012.

22 - Taylor Swift
A euphoric anthem to being "happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time", to breakfast at midnight, falling in love with strangers, dreams, and dancing. Swift captures the sweet joys and disappointments of youth perfectly.

Take It Easy - Stan Walker
The single was originally released as part of the Mt Zion soundtrack, but it fast became a hit, with good reason. It's got all the hallmarks of a Kiwi classic - an easy strum, a huge heartfelt vocal performance, and a rousing, warm fuzzies chorus.

Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
In a year when rock music hasn't featured on the charts all that much, this pounding, dubstep-tinged, gigantor from rising American stars Imagine Dragons proved they do indeed have imagination.

Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
This year's answer to Cry Me A River, with Mirrors JT proved he's still the king of falsetto, and that being vulnerable can be the height of sexy.

Royals - Lorde
It almost feels redundant to include Royals, such was its ubiquity. If any other song spawned as many YouTube reimaginings, we'd love to know. Its clever message, and its uber-cool delivery struck a chord.

Listen to the Top 10 Singles of 2013 below

Warning: Some songs contain explicit language.

Follow nzherald_ent on Spotify for more playlists.

Follow @nzherald_ent on Twitter for all the latest entertainment news.

- TimeOut