The 101 Most Vital Tracks of 2014 | 40 - 31

It's not all pop hooks at the Calvin Harris studio after all. "Slow Acid" alludes to acid house through delightful slyness without being too bogged down by any allegiance to subgenre. It's a record produced with the confidence of a man whose salary/abs let him do whatever the fuck he wants. -ZM

This absolute clanger of a tune is all good times. That woodblock-snare and 90s-inspired video don't distract from the fact that there's actually a pretty little melody sittin' under all that chaos. -JK

In elevating the vocals of London Grammar's Hannah Reid to atmospheric heights, Sasha continues a lifelong trend of delivering eight minute dance journeys suited for both playa and Pacha alike. -OS

Equal parts James Blake, cold winter evening, and solemn breakup, "Artifice" was SOHN's strongest track of the year and an absolute treat. His BBC Radio 1 residency and production for artists like Banks were the first tip-off, now this LP is the second: SOHN is legit. -ZR

That Porter Robinson sang a duet with a robot tells us more about the future than we can ever understand with our human minds. The final song written for the album Worlds was never released as a commercial single but after months of touring, 100,000 Porter fans will tell you that this is their favorite cut and they'll just sing along to prove it. -ZM

If there's one artist that could propel Coldplay's "Midnight" even further into the euphoric stratosphere, it's the prog-ambient-techno mastermind Jon Hopkins. Having co-produced the original, Hopkis was well-positioned to revolving his remix around a hypnotic line of bells and synths, bringing us deeper and deeper by the minute. -DG

Two of the festival circuit's biggest names who have multiple names (heyyy aliases) got together earlier this year and —surprise, surprise— the results were banged to the floor at the world's best fests. The deceptively sweet beginnings of "Tell Me" are neither trick nor trap (pun intended), but a revelation that bass music is heavy, hard, but also beautiful.  -ZR

"I Can't Keep Up" was Tourist's defining song of the year. It elevated him from just another HypeM remixer (and one of the Disclosure brothers' closer personal friends) to one of the UK's most promising new talents. This track shows that the vocal house scene still has plenty of room to grow with the care of the right producer. -ZR

With very little authority, one could say this is the best record Jennifer Hudson has ever made. Yet Gorgon City's best would and could still be hotly debated ("Ready For Your Love," released in late 2013, is a definite contender). It's the unlikeliness and simultaneous wonder of this collaboration's existence that make it hard to compare but easy to listen and get down to. -ZM

Words by THUMP Staff: Zel McCarthy, Jemayel Khawaja, Michelle Lhooq, David Garber, Ziad Ramley, Josh Baines, Olyvia Salyer and Joel Fowler.

The 101 Most Vital Tracks of 2014 | No. 101 - 91 | No. 90 - 81 | No. 80 - 71 | No. 70 - 61 |
| No. 60 - 51 | No. 50 - 41 | No. 40 - 31 | No. 30 - 21 | No. 20 - 11 | No. 10 - 1 |