I have been a Justin Bieber fan since his days on YouTube and I am being very truthful about that. I vividly remember seeing his covers of Neyo’s “So Sick” or Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” months before he was introduced to the mainstream, so hearing “One Time” on AIM Radio in the summer of 2008 was surreal.

Since then, Justin has become my biggest inspiration in today’s crop of superstars, and I have been lucky enough to not only see him in concert three times (twice at MSG), but to have gotten a rare follow AND retweet from him on Twitter.

Justin has had good and bad days, and I pride myself on never once losing my faith in him. His music, in the midst of whatever he was going through, has always been pretty stellar in my opinion so it was really hard to narrow this down to 15. These are my own personal picks, not based off of hits or anything like that, just solely my opinion,

Honorable mentions: No Pressure, Memphis, We Were Born For This, She Don’t Like The Lights (Believe Acoustic version), U Smile, Next To You, Be Alright and Change Me

15. Down To Earth

Yep….starting off with old-school JB. While a majority of “My World” was mindless teen pop, “Down To Earth” is an arena-ready power-ballad type track that shows not only Justin’s vocal chops, but his early signs of raw artistry as well, as he had a hand in co-writing the emotional track about coping with his parents seperation. The acoustic versions allow the poignant lyrics to shine completely on their own; “Mama you were always somewhere, and daddy I live out of town. So tell me how could I ever be normal somehow”, but you can hear the pain in his young voice even in the original studio recording. He shows restraint in the bridge, before impressively belting to the stratosphere then ending the song on a quiet, saddened note. Not bad for a 15 year old.

14. Trust

A bonus track off of “Purpose” that easily could have replaced “Children” on the standard edition of the album. A fantastic slow-jam R&B-style track with trap influences in which Justin tries to convince a girl to stick with him, to not give up on what they have; “Giving up is immature. There’s so much more to live for. They don’t wanna see us together now cause we’re strong enough to endure.” He riffs, dips up and down and rapid fires with ease, showing once again that JB can truly sing anything.

13. Mistletoe

Original Christmas songs these days usually do not work, especially pop ones (we have Mariah to thank for that). So very rarely do people stray from the traditional when creating a holiday album, but Justin took a risk and created a near-classic. Justin was at the height of his powers when this song came out, but was still in his late teens and therefore had to cater to a young audience; another hill to climb. Luckily, “Mistletoe” shows Justin to be insanely charming, innocent and not at all creepy, maintaining a festive feel all while still sticking to his niche. “Santa’s gonna be making a list I know, but ima be under the mistletoe with you. Shawty with you.”, Justin sings….don’t even tell me it’s not cute.

12. Pray

Justin has always idolized Michael Jackson, and you can clearly hear an attempt at modeling this song after his idols work in this cut off of “My Worlds Acoustic” even without him having stated outright that he had the legend in mind while writing it. Rarely does he step away from songs of love and heartbreak and whatnot, but this was, while he was young, clearly done with good intentions even though he was so far removed from the turmoil he sings about; “Children are crying, soilders are dying, some people don’t have a home.” Just a really lovely track sung by a kid who just wanted to see good in the world.

11. I’ll Show You feat. Skrillex

While this was not a single, it’s probably one of the most well-received tracks off of “Purpose”. Skrillex’s production, even during the chorus, is atmospheric and dreamlike while Justin’s calm, breathy vocal just washes over you like a hot shower. Unfortunately, when you’re Justin Bieber, pop superstar, you live under a microscope. Everything you do is being judged by millions, and many have negative opinions. He claps back at those people, singing; “This life is not easy, I’m not made out of steel. Don’t forget that I’m human, don’t forget that I’m real. Act like you know me, but you never will. But there’s one thing that I know for sure….I’ll show you.” With this song, the “Purpose” album as a whole, and his mountain of success after, he did just that.

10. Sorry

Justin laid the groundwork for his comeback assisting Jack U on “Where Are U Now”, then returning on his own with the smash “What Do You Mean”, but it was really “Sorry” that cemented this new chapter of his legacy. Just a smash pop hit that you could not escape in the fall/winter of 2015 due to it’s infectious trop/house vibes and an even more infectious chorus that one could argue is one of the best of this decade; “Is it too late now to say sorry? Cause I’m missing more then just your body.” he belts out. Sure, the song is speaking to one person in particular, but many felt as if Justin was apologizing to all of us for his past wrongdoings. I wasn’t even mad at him, but if I was I’d hop right back on the bandwagon after hearing this.

9. Where Are U Now; Jack U feat. Justin Bieber

After negative headline after negative headline in 2013-14, Justin had reached a low point in his career. Then in early 2015, it was almost like he rose from the ashes. He got back into promo looking much healthier then the previous year, but had clearly still not fully recovered mentally. The song however, spoke for itself. Justin Bieber singing EDM!? Who would have thought? It worked tremendously well though, and not only introduced him to a whole new audience but seemingly restored the confidence in him to get back to work for himself. With emotion palpable in his voice, he sings about needing a lover to be there for him; “Couldn’t find you anywhere. When you broke down I didn’t leave you. I was by your side so where are you now that I need you?” Excellent return to form.

8. Nothing Like Us

A bonus track on “Believe Acoustic”, and one of Justin’s most poignant ballads. Accompanied by a gorgeous piano, he sings of missing a lover who has decided to move on; “Nothing can ever, ever replace you. Nothing can make me feel like you do.” He sings with such restraint, his voice lilting with the light piano in the latter half of the track. Some parts feel as if he’s singing right into this girls ear, as if begging. The song ends without us knowing whether or not she took him back, and you find yourself crying right along with him.

7. No Sense feat. Travis Scott

On an album with monstrous singles, “No Sense” is an absolute banger of a deep cut off of “Purpose” that is criminally underrated. Clocking in at just over 4 1/2 minutes, Justin glides around the slick trap track with ease, slipping in and out of his impressively smooth falsetto throughout. Lyrically, he’s missing a lover and admits that while he could do or have anything, none of it matter unless they’re with him; “Driven almost every car, but it ain’t the same if I’m without you. Been around a million stars, none of them shine brighter then you.” Travis Scott echoes Justin’s woes, spitting out bar after bar over an electric beat; “Time and time again I break a plan without you girl. I ain’t the man, could never be all I could be. You overstand, I’m incomplete apparently.”

6. Hold Tight

One of my absolute favorite cuts off of “Journals”. Production is minimal here, because the main focus should of course be on Justin and his R&B flavored vocal. Easily his most ambitious track sexually to date, it’s a surprise to hear him cry out lines like “When you got me in a gridlock, what a great spot. With a turned up kind of love and it just won’t stop.”, but he really makes it believable. He does it with a kind of swagger, and even though he does get swallowed up by R. Kelly later on in the record, it’s clear that there’s some experience in the bedroom. There’s no change in tempo, but vocally he builds, just as the sex he’s talking about would. The Purpose Tour version does not do it justice, as it feels too grand. Intimacy is key.

5. PYD feat. R. Kelly

Justin teams up with the legendary R. Kelly on this atmospheric banger off of “Journals”. Clocking in at well over 5 minutes long, it’s one of if not the longest song in Justin’s catalog, but, at least for me, builds exceptionally well. Lots of the material on Journals was way more explicit then what we’d heard from Justin before, but this is just the pinnacle of his wild-child phase. “Up the stairs to my bedroom. Light a few candles….are you ready? Ima put you down.”, Justin croons, his voice having matured exceptionally well but not enough to really command the type of sexual tension needed for a song like this.

R. Kelly is the master, and man he did reiterate the point. “After the club….in the parking lot. I don’t care, anywhere, you can pick the spot, whatever. Ima put you down”; he muses effortlessly. Sure, it is clear that the older and more experienced R. Kelly trounces Justin on this track, Justin held his own enough that the student/teacher angle is somewhat feasible.

4. Love Yourself

Has Ed Sheeran acting like he deserves all the credit for this hit off of “Purpose” as of late annoyed me? Yes, but to me, songs are all about the delivery from the artist performing it. In this case, it’s really simple. Justin does it better. Ed’s rendition is fine, but Justin performs the “I-don’t-give-a-f***” anthem with such an understated swag and such poise that even the most hardened anti-Bieber haters were floored by it. Accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, Justin sends a message to an individual who tried to take advantage of him; “My mama don’t like you and she likes everyone”, he sings candidly. His lyrics, as well as his vocal, are just cold as ice. It’s brilliant.

3. Believe

While songs like “As Long As You Love Me” and “Beauty And A Beat” were huge radio smashes, “Believe”, the last track on the standard edition of the album of the same name, is easily the standout. A huge gospel-tinged arena-anthem, the track is Justin’s “thank you” to all the fans who got him where he is; “Everything starts from something. But something would be nothing, nothing if your heart didn’t dream with me. Where would I be if you didn’t believe.” Again, he shows vocal flexibility and versatility, holding his own as just a teenager on a track that should have swallowed him whole. It’s a song I consider a “good luck” anthem, as I will sit and blast it over and over before a big audition, interview, etc.

2. Swap It Out

The most-played song in my ITunes library. Still. I just cannot get enough of this underrated deep cut off of “Journals”, which is easily the best track of the compilation vocally. While it’s along the same subject matter as “Trust” (I know it’s a different album but whatever) where he tries to convince this girl that things will work out if she sticks with him; “After all what do we have to lose? Nothing. Don’t separate out destinies by separating you from me. These are the terms that we’re made for each other.”, his vocals are just on another level in this one. If “All That Matters” and “Heartbreaker” were his first real attempts at R&B, then “Swap It Out” leaves no question that he’s on his way to mastering the genre.

1. Let Me Love You; DJ Snake feat. Justin Bieber

Between “Cold Water” and “Let Me Love You” on top of touring all around the US, last summer was quite good to Justin. While this isn’t my all-time favorite Justin track, I’m still blown away, almost a year later, by how mature he sounds here. Not just vocally, but even lyrically and sonically; “We go through the darkest of days, heavens a heartbreak away”, he belts with clarity. Sure, it’s another trop/house banger, but it’s darker and more mysterious then that of “Sorry” or “What Do You Mean”. And for me, it gives him a ton of edge which I feel like he could use more of in his music. Amazing track.