Some songs can really put a smile on our faces. We're talking about feel-good, upbeat tunes that just sound happy. But sometimes, catchy major-key melodies hide something more sinister.

Two songs by Chappell Roan highlight our list of 2024’s best songs, alongside an eclectic mix of musical gems.

A psychologist told Newsweek: "At funerals, music becomes especially powerful, amplifying an already emotionally charged environment." ...

Programming note: these songs were selected with our list of the 10 Best Albums of 2024 in mind, so to showcase a greater range of music, no artists appear on both.

That means we get 11 wonderful songs in the first part, including the chill-inducing “Defying Gravity,” the upbeat “Popular” and Erivo’s belting of “The Wizard and I.” Here’s how we ranked all of the ...