Ranking the 20 best singles of the year in Junos history
We look back at a half-century of the award show's winning songs
In honour of the 2025 Juno Awards in Vancouver, the CBC Music Top 20 has taken on the task of ranking the best songs to have ever won single of the year, from the category's inception in 1974 to the most recent winner, 50 years later.
Usually, songs that move up and down the weekly Top 20 chart are decided by listener votes, radio play and streaming numbers, but for this special countdown — which airs on Thursday, March 20, on CBC Music and Monday, March 24, on CBC Radio 1 and SiriusXM — we turned to our music-loving CBC staff from coast to coast to coast for an internal vote to decide the best of the best.
Over the years, single-of-the-year winners have included everyone from Bachman–Turner Overdrive to Barenaked Ladies, Nelly Furtado to Nickelback, Terry Jacks to Tate McRae, as well as the all-time leader in overall Juno wins, Anne Murray. But to see who made our all-time list, and which song ranks No. 1, take a look below, where you can also listen to the Top 20 special.
Let us know what you think via [email protected].
20. Echo Beach, Martha and the Muffins (winners: 1981)
This new-wave nugget was an international hit for Toronto band Martha and the Muffins when it burst out of Canada in 1980, going Top 10 in Australia, the U.K., and here at home.
19. Building a Mystery, Sarah McLachlan (winner: 1998)
This one was an immediate hit — and was the most-played song on Canadian radio in 1997. It won not only the 1998 Juno for single of the year, but also the Grammy for best female pop vocal performance.
18. Dangerous, Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon (winner: 2009)
One of only a handful of hip-hop tracks to win for single of the year, from Canada's hip-hop ambassador and the man who popularized the term T-Dot.
17. Wavin' Flag, Young Artists for Haiti (winners: 2011)
Dozens of Canadian pop singers came together in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics to record this all-star charity single of the K'naan hit Wavin' Flag, which raised over $1 million for earthquake relief in Haiti.
16. How You Remind Me, Nickelback (winner: 2002)
Long considered Nickelback's signature rocker, this song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the most-played song on U.S. radio in the 2000s by Nielsen Soundscan.
15. Ironic, Alanis Morissette (winner: 1997)
Morissette made Juno history when she became the first woman to win single of the year in back-to-back years — for songs on the same album, 1995's Jagged Little Pill.
14. Promiscuous, Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland (winners: 2007)
This was Furtado's first No. 1 hit on Billboard, and the first song by a Canadian woman to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Céline Dion did it seven years earlier.
13. One Week, Barenaked Ladies (winners: 1999)
This one is BNL's biggest hit south of the border, and, coincidentally, One Week went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for: one week.
12. Life Is a Highway, Tom Cochrane (winner: 1992)
One of the most recognizable choruses in Canadian music, Life Is a Highway was a major breakthrough and global smash for the former Red Rider singer.
11. Closer, Tegan and Sara (winners: 2014)
The Calgarian twins took a major career risk when they shifted their sound from their trusted indie rock to a more mainstream pop approach, but the gamble paid off big time: Closer is one of the biggest hits of their career.
10. Can't Feel My Face, the Weeknd (winner: 2016)
This song was everywhere in 2015: a global No. 1, and one of the biggest commercial hits to ever win single of the year.
9. Try, Blue Rodeo (winner: 1989)
This was the second single from Blue Rodeo's debut album, Outskirts, and to this day is considered one of the band's most beloved songs.
8. Complicated, Avril Lavigne (winner: 2003)
The debut single from the pop-punk singer, the instantly recognizable Complicated peaked in the top five in more than 20 different countries, making it a global hit.
7. Blinding Lights, the Weeknd (winner: 2021)
It's hard to paraphrase how big this song still is, but we'll try: Blinding Lights was the highest-selling global single of 2020, and hit No. 1 in more than 40 countries. To date, it is Spotify's most-played song of all time, and the first song to surpass four billion streams.
6. Bobcaygeon, the Tragically Hip (winner: 2000)
Possibly the most Canadian song of all time? It is certainly one of the Hip's most beloved and cherished songs, and has been covered by everyone from Blue Rodeo to Dallas Green to Pearl Jam.
5. I'm Like a Bird, Nelly Furtado (winner: 2001)
This song was a life-changer for Furtado. Before its release in 2000, very few people had ever heard of the B.C. singer. Then she released I'm Like a Bird and it took off, becoming a global hit — and the rest is history.
4. Crabbuckit, k-os (winner: 2005)
The first hip-hop track to ever win single of the year, ironically about the desperation of the music business, Crabbuckit saw k-os singing over a Ray Charles-inspired bassline that some people are willing to pull others down to try and reach the top — like "crabs in a bucket."
3. You Oughta Know, Alanis Morissette (winner: 1996)
Few songs ever released have created such a lasting conversation and mystery about its intended subject as You Oughta Know. The song marked Morissette's successful move from teen pop to alt-rock, and broke a bunch of records in the process — including, at the time, the longest run by a woman at the top of the Billboard Alternative chart.
2. Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen (winner: 2013)
Originally written as a folk song, Call Me Maybe was reworked as a pop single and caught the ear of fellow Canadian Justin Bieber, who helped send it to No. 1 around the world with one simple tweet: that Call Me Maybe was "possibly the catchiest song" he had ever heard. The planet agreed.
1. 1234, Feist (winner: 2008)
Smart, quirky, unique and deceptively simple, this feel-good classic single-handedly turned Feist into a household name — and solidified Canadian indie rock as a red-hot, tariff-free export. 1234, co-written by Australian singer Sally Seltmann, hit the Top 10 in Canada, the U.K. and the States. And who can forget the choreographed iPod Nano commercial that played a mega role in launching this song into the stratosphere? Or the star-studded indie performance on Letterman, above?
The CBC Music Top 20 with Grant Lawrence counts down the 20 hottest adult-alternative tracks heard on Mornings, Drive and Afterdark on CBC Music. Tune in weekly to hear the latest Canadian and international songs making waves right now and enjoy the show anytime on your CBC Listen app.
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