The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century [An Arbitrary List, #10-1] [Archive] - ThisisBigBrother.com

Shaun

27-02-2021, 07:08 AM

https://i.imgur.com/Z38R6cN.png

I've had this file sitting on my laptop since 2019, of songs that I considered to be the best of the century so far. As such: it's missing a lot of music from 2020... so I guess it could be interpreted as a "Best of 2000-2019"... twenty years of music, etc.

I've been chopping and adding to the list at random over the past year or two and - let's be honest - the whole thing is meaningless and not really concrete at all. There are a good 1000 other songs that, on a good day, could wriggle their way into this list because of personal attachment, objective banger status, or artistic merit. I also tried to keep the list pretty diverse: the most one particular artist will pop up in this countdown is thrice. Otherwise this pretty much becomes a Sufjan Stevens, Beyonce and Kanye West love-in.

All that preamble out of the way... we'll be taking this ten songs at a time! Feel free to share your thoughts on the songs... do they conjure nostalgia? are they complete unknowns? are your comments going to be unanswered because of the ignore list? So many mysteries! So many songs!

#250 - "Rock Star (Jason Nevins Remix)" by N*E*R*D
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Fresh off the back of producing one of the 90s' biggest remixes (Run DMC's "It's Like That"), Nevins loaned his hand to this random N*E*R*D single and set off a wave of copycat dance-rock bangers at the start of the century. Pharrell Williams actually sounds relatively cool here... or at least, in a 2002 "appearing on soundtracks for snowboarding and racing video games" kind of way.

#249 - "Watch The Sun Come Up" by Example
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There was actually a brief period where Example was capable of releasing extremely enjoyable singles! Emphasis on the brief. This song was one of a handful that defined 2009 for me... not necessarily in a good way, but... it's a pretty song.

#248 - "Be The One" by Dua Lipa
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As I've already mentioned, I composed this list waaay before Dua Lipa went and brought back disco in a major way last year... so I was working with scraps when it came to her pop material and this - her very first single, I believe?* - is by far my favourite. It's breezy, summery, seductive and wonderful. *It was her second. Well... ****.

#247 - "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes
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Both of BFL's best songs are titles consisting of just a person's forename, and it was really difficult to choose between this and the stunning ballad 'Laura'. This eventually won out for being more identifiable as her signature style: a slice of 2000s indie-pop that was released with a cover of The Cure's A Forest. A pretty good companion, sonically.

#246 - "Reptilia" by The Strokes
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Picking two Strokes songs for this list was pretty much impossible, since Is This It? and Room on Fire are so stacked with excellence... this was my pick off the latter since it's just got endless guitar highlights and a bassline that thuds away underneath in a captivating way.

#245 - "Open" by Rhye
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Perhaps now better known as "that song off the dating website advert" (I don't remember which one, sorry, but it always catches me off guard), this has been slowly ebbing away at me since 2013 and making me swoon and swell in slightly embarrassing ways.

#244 - "Style" by Taylor Swift
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I have to get her out of the way early because whilst there's no denying her impact since 2009, very little of her music has stuck with me in a significant way. As such: here's her best pop song, taken from 2014's 1989. Punchy lyrics, a richly melodramatic synthpop backing, and still just as catchy as it was seven years ago.

#243 - "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice
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For a brief period between 2005 and 2010, French act Justice had the world in their talented hands. Aside from their many, many remixes of hits from that period (Klaxons, Franz Ferdinand, Justin Timberlake, MGMT) they also released a hugely-successful album called † and set the world dancing.

#242 - "Let's Make Love And Listen to Death From Above" by CSS
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Brazilian band Cansei de Ser Sexy found unexpected success back in 2005 with their debut album: this single really encapsulated their appeal and set off around Europe and America thanks to their tours with Diplo (who himself pretty much defined a lot of 2000s alternative pop). The album was, sadly, very much a one-off - the band have released three others that are largely crap. But this was a wonderful time capsule of how indie really did take over the world, and is one of those immediately-recognisable hits from that era.

#241 - "Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)" by Freemasons & Sophie Ellis-Bextor
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Despite having a string of extremely enjoyable solo hits, Sophie Ellis-Bextor makes this list twice for collaborations she did with dance and electronic acts. Her voice really lends itself well to floorfillers, and this was no exception: the last of Freemasons' singles to hit the charts (and it apparently dominated in Europe for a while, which is lovely!) came at the tail-end of 2009, crowning off a stellar decade for both the producers and herself.

Ammi

27-02-2021, 07:31 AM

...:lovedup:...I love these type of lists that you do...there will be so many that I’m not familiar with and it always gives me the opportunity to do that and sometimes, to listen to artists more in depth...:love:...and also it reminds us to revisit great songs that we haven’t thought about for a while...

Smithy

27-02-2021, 07:33 AM

Omg I just added SEB to my AM the other day

A bop :dazzler:

Alf

27-02-2021, 10:36 AM

Seasick Steve wins.

Jake.

27-02-2021, 11:59 AM

Omg I just added SEB to my AM the other day

A bop :dazzler:

Same! Bittersweet is a banger

DouglasS

27-02-2021, 12:02 PM

Be the one by dua lipa is her best song I agree

Elliot

27-02-2021, 12:07 PM

Why do you dislike Taylor Swift so much? :(

Shaun

27-02-2021, 03:16 PM

she (and you for raising the question) is exhausting. NEXT.

Shaun

28-02-2021, 07:45 AM

240-231
#240 - "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
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Whilst there's certainly a thick layer of "corniness" about this song, there're few more unique and sing-along-able to come out of the past fifteen years and there's something just inherently sweet and nostalgic about it, from the very first whistle to the horns.

#239 - "Everybody Wants to Be Famous" by Superorganism
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One of the most recent singles that managed to argue its way into this list came from the little-known Superorganism. I love their whole sound, it's very The Go! Team, very CSS and a little bit of Gorillaz thrown in for good measure. This track really deserved to hit charts; it's just so effortlessly catchy and full of hooks.

#238 - "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls
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Picking one of the Pussycat Dolls' singles was a difficult task: in a sense they're all pretty much the same, and a lot of them were just annoying (I'm sorry, Stickwitu!) But back in 2008, they came back with a second album and this was its lead: a commanding pop banger that perfectly encapsulates the ridiculousness that was mid-2000s celebrity culture. The song is probably the most-performed drag queen number of all time, too.

#237 - "The Bay" by Metronomy
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The music video is literally filmed in my hometown and does a marvellous job of making it look like a nice place to live, so I had to include it by virtue of encapsulating my upbringing.... but it's also just a wonderfully groovy song and the whole album it came from is worth checking out.

#236 - "All Night Long" by Alexandra Burke
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Before embarking on a career in linguistics and introducing the UK to the concept of an "elephant in the room", Alexandra Burke had a fruitful string of hits at the start of the 2010s. This was her peak: a swooning club anthem that really didn't need a Pitbull feature but got one anyway.

#235 - "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks
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From one talent show discovery to another: American Idol didn't really launch many careers but there aren't many that could've competed with a pop-ballad as strong as this one. Most pop songs on this list will be very much cases of "songs that I think would be performed very dramatically on a Drag Race lipsync", and the vocal runs on display here are perfect.

#234 - "Young Blood" by The Naked and Famous
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I am struggling to recall a song that was used in more promotional material for BBC Three programming than this one: a wonderful time capsule of 2010's indiepop boom that saw the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Florence + the Machine become pretty much inescapable when channel-hopping. This song particularly stands out: a pretty simple hook, really.

#233 - "Unforgettable" by French Montana & Swae Lee
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There was a brief period in 2017 when it seemed like the dominant force in music might actually shift to dancehall over trap. Unfortunately, the wrong decision was made, because if the charts today were dominated with derivatives of this they'd be a ****ing ****-ton more tolerable. I can't say I've really followed either of their careers since this, but... this was one of the songs of the year and just... so, so catchy and understated.

#232 - "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane
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It is easy to forget just how huge Keane were in 2004 because it's the sort of stratospheric radio presence and chart domination that we would typically associate with Coldplay, Muse or U2. The band were often derided as being incredibly uncool, producing bland albums and boring everyone to tears who was forced to listen to BBC Radio 2 at work... but there's no denying they had a handful of wonderful songs. Ten years on, this would go on to top the charts with Lily Allen's John Lewis christmas advert.

#231 - "Move Your Feet" by Junior Senior
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I was twelve when this came out and even though I was raised on a diet of the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and Aqua... this is probably the catchiest thing I had ever heard at that point. Junior Senior were a Danish duo that never really matched the majesty of this #3 single, but then... how on earth would you? I did enjoy their follow-up "Rhythm Bandits" though.

Shaun

01-03-2021, 09:43 AM

230-221
#230 - "Closer" by Tegan and Sara
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Tegan and Sara have spanned the entirety of the twenty-first century (and a couple of years prior) trying their hand at a ton of different styles of pop, but fully embraced the cheese in 2012 with the build-up to their album Heartthrob. This was the twins' most raucous and earwormy single of all time, and is just explosive fun.

#229 - "Glowed Up" by KAYTRANADA & Anderson .Paak
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99.9% was one of my favourite 2016 albums (and that's saying something in a year stacked with Lemonade, Blonde, Blackstar, A Seat at the Table, A Moon Shaped Pool, Anti and Coloring Book)... and this was my favourite track from it. This eerie, extraterrestial-sounding, 808-heavy jam is a perfect backdrop for Paak to deliver his signature style and the whole thing is this alien experience that's fascinating.

#228 - "Feel So Close" by Calvin Harris
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Harris is, of course, known for collaborating with just about every huge popstar around over the past ten years. He's seen mega-hits with Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Ellie Goulding and Florence + the Machine, and many of those hits are fantastic indeed... but there's something about his singles where he displays his own voice that endear themselves to me more. This single, the follow-up to Kelis' wonderful Bounce, was pretty much everywhere during my time at university and it was just very euphoric.

#227 - "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" by The Libertines
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It honestly seems a lifetime away from the days where Pete Doherty would be plastered all over the tabloids for two hundred different crimes and drug sprees... and as a result his music can feel like something of a relic. This, his biggest hit with the Libertines, is pretty much synonymous with that whole 2000s indie-rock craze, and it's also impossible to think of Gavin and Stacey without hearing that intro fire up in your head.

#226 - "Thank You" by Jamelia
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This is a harder song to justify because the reason it stuck with me for so long (and still does) is so esoteric and random, lol - I remember having this CD/radio player that looked very futuristic and compact at the time (it was 2003), and would laze around on my new bunk bed (with a pull-out sofa bed underneath the top bunk) listening to it all the time. For some reason, this song sticks out as a fond memory... it's emotionally forthright, a fine vocal, and one of those embarrassing little instances of being a 13 year old and pretending to relate to emotional abuse and breakups :love:

#225 - "We'll Live and Die In These Towns" by The Enemy
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Basically the 2000s' version of The Jam's That's Entertainment!... but it certainly has its own charms and is a very pretty and poignant indictment of how futile British life can seem sometimes.

#224 - "Nothing In This World" by Paris Hilton
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The tabloids spent most of the 2000s trying their damnedest to ruin the lives of the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and this lady and whilst her appeal at the time was certainly questionable (no discernable talent, that awful "stop being poor" t-shirt), there is no denying that this is a fantastic pop song.

#223 - "Good Times Gonna Come" by Aqualung
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Okay, so I spent my latter teenage years growing up on the Skins soundtrack and as a result, this song sticks out like a sore thumb. This featured in the episode that centred around Maxxie's stalker "Sketch", and I guess I was fascinated by the bleak, emotionally-damaged melodrama of it all. Aqualung were a shortlived band best known for their single 'Strange and Beautiful' (which peaked at #7.)

#222 - "Misery Business" by Paramore
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For some reason, I didn't really 'get' Paramore at the time they were their hugest: back in 2007 this was absolutely everywhere and I guess I subconsciously associated it with all of the annoying girls who'd wear 200 wristbands and have xD </3 in their MSN usernames. Looking back... this was a cultural reset :love:

#221 - "Black and Gold" by Sam Sparro
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This sounded so ****ing cool in 2008, and honestly still does.

Jordan.

01-03-2021, 03:23 PM

Miz Biz :love:

Shaun

02-03-2021, 11:48 AM

220-211
#220 - "All The Things She Said" by t.A.T.u.
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Did lesbians even exist before this cultural landmark? I am transported back to the smell of smoke machines at school discos, where I wore jeans with chains on them and black shirts with flames. My hair was probably gelled to high heavens. We "moshed" to the likes of this and Sum 41. It was a simpler time :love: (I might've placed this higher, had it not transpired that the Russian duo weren't in fact lesbians, and one of them is actually pretty openly homophobic and repulsive. Stan the other one though!).

#219 - "Solo Dancing" by Indiana
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An entire music video full of euphemisms for masturbation, culminating in flicking a picture of Mr. Bean? Wonderful. The song is a dark house/pop banger and I often forget how good it is.

#218 - "New York" by Paloma Faith
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Since her breakthrough in 2009, Paloma Faith has pretty much trot out the same album four or five times and expected different results... Einstein penned that as the definition of insanity. For a brief moment though, her music was utterly charming and her voice was showcased on the best songs of her career: this was my favourite, by virtue of being impossibly beautiful and heartwrenching.

#217 - "Climax" by Usher
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As someone who has gone through a multitude of genre shifts since his early-90s days, it was kinda difficult to pinpoint a favourite Usher song. There were some real nadirs; remember 'OMG?' remember discovering Justin Bieber? But it came down to a toss-up between the anthemic 'Yeah!', the eurodance banger 'DJ Got Us Falling In Love' and this... I opted for this; a more recent, understated Usher that showcases his phenomenal voice with a lilting, ebbing electronic beat.

#216 - "Lush Life" by Zara Larsson
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One of many 2010s examples of an explosive pop debut by a promising new star followed up by teems upon teems of disappointment came in 2015 with this; Lush Life is one of those perfect pop songs where every different segment is as catchy and memorable as the last.

#215 - "Retrograde" by James Blake
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Having written off his debut record with a petulant and immature swipe, I don't really know why this (and its accompanying album) really changed my mind so suddenly. The synths in this are so hypnotic and mesmeric.

#214 - "Begin Again" by Purity Ring
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Speaking of perfect synths... I hadn't actually seen this music video before, and giving the song a visual of vampiric rituals of old/young sacrifice is a deft touch. I already just loved the song though: it pounds away menacingly.

#213 - "Danger! High Voltage" by Electric Six
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I am hard-pressed to recall a more bat**** insane moment in 2000s music. I don't understand how the band were allowed to get away with this music video... but the song itself is just this fantastic, camp nonsense (...gates of hell... Taco Bell!) that I've only just discovered features Jack White (of the White Stripes) as the vocal of the woman in the video.

#212 - "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou
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The early 2000s in Eurovision were heavily defined by this Turkish sound infiltrating into pretty much every entry.. and when done right, it resulted in perfect, indisputable winners like this. Greece's 2005 entry won by a landslide, and deservedly so.

#211 - "Bad Girls" by M.I.A.
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Without a doubt one of the coolest music videos of all time, and the song isn't far behind.

Smithy

02-03-2021, 11:54 AM

Adding loads of these bops that id forgotten about to my AM

Shaun

04-03-2021, 09:16 AM

Glad to be bringing up relics!

210-201
#210 - "Round and Round" by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
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I really enjoyed this album (and 'Mature Themes' too) so it was pretty disparaging to discover the creative force behind the band is a Trump supporting abusive dick :(

#209 - "Plug In Baby" by Muse
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I am now so entirely alienated from the idea of being a 'Muse fan' (they have been diabolical since 2009, and were for most of that year too) that it's very easy to overlook how fantastic the albums Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations were... but my favourite was always 2001's Origin of Symmetry. I was 11 years old and boys at school (and older brothers) were lapping them up, and this song sticks out as a particular highlight. I wanted to put 'Bliss' or 'New Born' in instead but they were later discoveries for me... but that run of singles from 2000 until 2007 is just... *chef's kiss*

#208 - "5 Dollars" by Christine and the Queens
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It was probably quite low down the list of probabilities that one of the musicians from the past decade that has the broadest appeal should be a French woman with a penchant for breaking gender norms. It still feels very much like she's very much on the ascent; every album seems to get better and her artistry is only getting more compelling. This track, from her last LP, is my favourite of hers... immaculately produced, heartily sung and full of emotion.

#207 - "Miasma Sky" by Baths
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I remember loving the hell out of Baths' 2012 album, but he seems to have gone completely off my radar since... so as a result, this track feels like something of a time capsule of electronic creativity. I'm now looking him up and vaguely remembering 2017's Romaplasm (but I believe I found it something of a let-down?) I don't know. I do know that this song is transfixing.

#206 - "Electric Lady" by Janelle Monáe and Solange
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I've loved Janelle Monáe since she danced her way onto our TV screens with coverage of 2011's Glastonbury festival (well, I loved the album before that, but shut up). Her performance of the hits from her breakthrough record 'The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)' really stood out and earned her a cult following that only grew and grew. 2013's The Electric Lady was a real event: a masterclass in funk, R&B and soul that boasted collaborations with Erykah Badu, Miguel and... oh, just Prince. This title track with Solange was just... so, so good. I just hope her burgeoning acting career doesn't hinder the music, because 2018's Dirty Computer, whilst very good, felt... a little less creative than we've grown accustomed to :worry:

#205 - "Love On My Mind" by Freemasons and Amanda Wilson
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I've already mentioned my infatuation with the Freemasons' grip on dance music in the 2000s, and it all started with this 2005 single. It would go on to create a tsunami of excellent singles, and infamous remixes of the likes of Beyonce, Shakira, Kelly Rowland and Kylie Minogue. This itself is a reworking of a 1979 disco hit, 'This Time Baby' by Jackie Moore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkYphmVoqOk) but given a contemporary lease of life and turned into a floorfiller. I... really miss that period of UK music :(

#204 - "Point of View" by DB Boulevard
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Every time this song comes on I am immediately transported back to 2001 and being an annoying ****ing child replaying the same songs, over and over, on my copy of Now! 51 on my walkman :love: This hit #3 in the UK, and turned Italian singer Monica Bragato (otherwise known as 'Moony') into an overnight star (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLdsGL5M1sQ). Pretty well deserved, because her voice on this is just honey.

#203 - "Crying Lightning" by Arctic Monkeys
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I had to whittle down the Arctic Monkeys to two songs in the end to make this list, and this is the first... I remember feeling somewhat disappointed with 2009's Humbug, so much so that for a while it really clouded my judgment of most of its contents. Its lead single was this, this insane lyric of rhymes that come out of nowhere and a menacing, pulsing guitar riff.

#202 - "Good As Hell" by Lizzo
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To many, she is the woman who took over the world with 'Juice' and 'Truth Hurts'. To the gays, she'd already conquered because of this.

#201 - "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" by Florence + the Machine
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I was in a pretty bad place, psychologically, in 2009, so I guess the idea of this Midsommaresque setting of pagan sacrifice tapped into a wandering and dramatic mind. Lungs was one of the year's biggest albums with good reason; it was just... unique. Some genres come and go, but no one made or makes music that sounds the same as her.

Shaun

06-03-2021, 07:44 PM

I just realised this thread is probably hella slow to load for people with dodgy internet connections, so I've put all the videos/placings in spoilers so people can open them at leisure without getting annoyed at Sam Sparro taking so long to load.

200-191
#200 - "My Love" by Justin Timberlake & T.I.
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Something about being a popstar called Justin makes you a bit of an insufferable asshole with more terrible output than good... but there was a brief period in the mid-2000s where Timberlake was definitely good. With Timbaland at the helm at the peak of his production powers, he released the genuinely-fantastic album FutureSex/LoveSounds. 'SexyBack', 'What Goes Around...' and 'Lovestoned' were all fantastic singles, but my favourite was this.

#199 - "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy" by Passion Pit
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Passion Pit have been a favourite band of mine for a long time (although the quality is starting to wane :worry:) because of their poppy sounds, their ear for a good hook, and their forthright and emotional lyrics; frontman Michael Angelakos has been upfront about his struggles with bipolar disorder and that sort of all culminated in this track towards the end of their second album, Gossamer. The song to me rings with this sense of trying to put on a good front whilst you're struggling, and happened to come out at a time when I was, so that was cathartic.

#198 - "Get Away" by Yuck
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The band Yuck recently announced that they were formally splitting ten years after the release of the self-titled album that featured this, but to be honest the band pretty much fell apart the second frontman Daniel Blumberg left in 2013. Still, the debut album was genuinely fantastic and full of singalong grunge/pop belters like this.

#197 - "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj
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The single that launched her into the stratosphere. It is hard to imagine a 2010s pop landscape that didn't begin with Super Bass... because it was so ubiquitous and wonderful, and defined a period of time. I don't know many times I tried to keep up with the lyrics when drunk with uni housemates. I did rather ruin the song for myself though when I tried to record a parody of it for TiBB (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XZ-2m9evNA) :worry:

#196 - "Time Of My Life" by Patrick Wolf
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I am a little worried as to where Patrick Wolf has actually gone, because I don't remember him releasing anything after 2011's Lupercalia :worry: this was one of my songs of that year, though; a wonderfully dramatic strings arrangement underpinning it all.

#195 - "Jealousy" by Will Young
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One of those sadbangers that still feels fresh every time I hear it. Very much in the same league as Robyn, and his voice lends itself well to electro-pop.

#194 - "Braveheart" by Neon Jungle
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The fact that the UK gave up on this girlband in favour of ****ing Little Mix remains one of the biggest injustices this side of the slave trade.

#193 - "Swimming Pools (Drank)" by Kendrick Lamar
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Truth be told, I still feel a tinge of disappointment when this comes on and it isn't the Mutya Keisha Siobhan cover of it, but the real magic behind the song is in its production so it doesn't matter too much.

#192 - "1901" by Phoenix
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French band Phoenix have been at the forefront of the whole indie-disco movement since the mid 2000s and haven't really gone off the rails at all. They hit their poppiest peak in 2009 with the release of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and this was one of their biggest singles.

#191 - "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys
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In spite of that bloody awful stint welcoming in the new year for 2021 on the BBC, Keys has a broad appeal and has endured whilst many R&B fads have come and gone since her breakthrough hit Fallin'. I struggled to pick a favourite song of hers because there are a lot of great ones, but this one is probably her best vocal masterclass.

Babayaro.

06-03-2021, 11:52 PM

Some solid choices :clap1:

Shaun

07-03-2021, 04:03 PM

cheers lad

190-181
#190 - "I Love It" by Icona Pop and Charli XCX
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Back in 2013, Charli XCX was fixated with topping the charts and briefly turned to releasing the cheesiest, poppiest crap imaginable... and I mean that as a compliment. Penning this for the Swedish pair finally saw that dream become a reality, and what a wonderful banger it was :love: Wherever Icona Pop are now, we light a candle for them. (But no seriously they released like 5 or 6 other wonderful bops and we should never have slept on them!)

#189 - "Let Love Be Your Energy" by Robbie Williams
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Williams' grip on the UK music industry's throats for nigh-on twenty years was something that may never really be replicated, but then that's probably because the idea of a male releasing genuinely fantastic pop songs for such a prolonged period of time is alien. It was difficult narrowing down his songs to just one, but I ended up picking one I loved then and still do... 'Let Love Be Your Energy' is an often-forgotten 'fourth single' that had the unenviable task of following up 'Kids', 'Supreme' and 'Rock DJ' but is just a radiant, relentlessly optimistic belter.

#188 - "No Church in the Wild" by Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and The-Dream
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Despite their numerous collaborations, and despite Kanye's penchant for releasing an album with just about anyone, there was only one feature-length project between him and Jay-Z and it was the excellent 2011 album Watch the Throne. At the very height of their shared powers, they tackled weighty subjects with wordplay and humour and the highlight (for me, anyway) was this; No Church in the Wild is a firecracker of a production.

#187 - "Coffee" by Miguel
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Okay, so on the surface it probably just looks like I love this because the music video is ridiculously sexy and turned Miguel into an instant pin-up... and yeah that is definitely what made me wake up and pay attention. But the song itself is a mix of pulsating beats and crooning vocals that combine to make something gorgeous.

#186 - "Everything is Embarrassing" by Sky Ferreira
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Not gonna lie, I'm still pissed off over her taking forever to follow this (and its album, Night Time, My Time) up. It's been 9 ****ing years, Sky! Anyway... this was wonderful.

#185 - "Apocalypse Dreams" by Tame Impala
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Another instance where I took a band that I love and struggled for a long time to hand-pick just the one song from them to make the list; Tame Impala have been kings of reviving psychedelic rock since 2010, and for me they really hit their peak in 2012 with Lonerism. This song is both urgent and relaxing; a real slice of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with a contemporary twist.

#184 - "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes
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It's impossible to accredit this song with its full impact: it wasn't enough being a fantastic rock record, it had to go on and literally change the way fans chant in a stadium, be they music or football fans. A lot of my list is obviously just personal preference, but if I were to compile a list of the 21st century's most iconic musical moments, this would feature far higher up the list. Also deserves a mention because Jack White is now busy boring music critics to tears with his 30 tedious side-projects rather than honing all of his ideas into something as majestic as this.

#183 - "Magic" by Ladyhawke
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When documenting the history of indie-pop artists and their takeover of the charts around 2005-2015, there's one who's often overlooked in favour of your La Rouxs and your Klaxons. New Zealander Ladyhawke released an album in 2008 and it was absolutely brilliant: spawning hit singles like 'Paris is Burning', 'My Delirium' and 'Dusk Till Dawn'. Magic however, remains my favourite.

#182 - "Merry Happy" by Kate Nash
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Topping the album charts in 2007 with Made of Bricks, Kate Nash divided the nation between those who were singing about holding onto the cracks in our foundations, and those who found her affected Cockney accent too grating. I'll admit that I found myself flitting between the two moods; perhaps recoiling from her inescapability at the time... but with hindsight, I loved this album and this viciously catchy closer.

#181 - "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by My Chemical Romance
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The year is 2004, and the emo trend amongst MySpace teenagers is born thanks - almost single-handedly - to My Chemical Romance and their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Although the band were yet to reach their biggest heights, they were still pretty ****ing massive (as evident with the budget of their music videos) and really tugging at the heartstrings of some very confused and angsty kids. This is the song that sticks out most to me from their heyday, but really... there's like 20 others that were all just as great as this.

Alf

07-03-2021, 04:06 PM

I'll come back to this in November, when maybe you've reached the top 10.

I'll also be posting 10 songs that you missed off this list.

Shaun

07-03-2021, 04:08 PM

and I won't be caring

Jake.

07-03-2021, 10:06 PM

and I won't be caring

:joker:

Janet Jackson

07-03-2021, 10:08 PM

I’m rooting for Nasty, or Together Again

Shaun

08-03-2021, 05:35 AM

Nasty? the Janet song from 1986? :worry:

180-171
#180 - "Body Party" by Ciara
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One of the 21st century's most underrated and enduring singers is Ciara, who's always been the media's second fiddle to Rihanna (a fact not helped by their public spats). There've been a ton of hits I could have picked for her - Goodies, Oh, 1 2 Step, Work, Love Sex Magic - but my favourite came a bit later than her 2000s prime and saw her turn down a more sensual, sexual route. The song interpolates a little bit of "My Boo" by Ghost Town DJs, to great effect.

#179 - "Thursday" by Asobi Seksu
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I mentioned earlier the impact that the Skins soundtrack had on my formative years, and the track that stands out with the most affection in my heart was this, which I believe featured on the premiere of the 2nd series. The song is a beautiful chunk of shoegaze, dream-pop, whatever you want to call it: the sort of song you'd see doing the rounds in a "best bits" compilation for a saccharine portion of a TV show.

#178 - "Real Love" by Florrie
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The majority of the 2010s (and, I should imagine, the 2020s as well) were or will be spent not at all understanding why certain popstars never really take off or land on the charts. Florrie has been chipping away at the British pop scene for well over a decade now, and this - from 2016 - is the best single of hers that I can recall... but god that's underselling it. This is a shot of adrenaline; a magnificent pop confection that rolls along with gusto.

#177 - "Acapella" by Kelis
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Having completely dominated the 2000s with a string of bizarre hits, you might have forgiven Kelis if she bowed out by 2010 with a "back to basics" album. Instead, she reinvented herself again and served up one of the decade's greatest dance records; Flesh Tone came along in 2010 with an insane amount of energy and this was its lead single. The video isn't surprising - she's always been fantastic with visuals - but dedicating a song to her newborn son whilst ushering in an EDM floorfiller? Iconic ****.

#176 - "On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull
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A far more literal floorfiller, you ask? Have this! I am fairly confident that I absolutely hated this song when it came out, and... I don't know what I was thinking (especially since I remember adoring its copycat follow-up, Dance Again, a year or two after this release). I suppose on the surface it's an autotuned nightmare, and Pitbull was a tyrant that would not be overthrown at the time... but it was the soundtrack of the summer of 2011 and with good reason; it's an undeniable earworm and an irresistible urge to dance.

#175 - "Always Like This" by Bombay Bicycle Club
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This is very much the dancing portion of my countdown, and I remember this one indie club in my hometown (now gone </3) always putting this on rotation at some point. As such, the song conjures memories of snakebites, piss-stained toilet floors, and putting together terrible dance routines with female friends that just embarrassed other attendees (and ourselves, probably). BBC are still going, but I firmly attach them to the period of 2009-2011 when I was still actually interested in a night out :eyes:

#174 - "The Bucket" by Kings of Leon
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Years before Kings of Leon went briefly stratospheric with the likes of Sex on Fire and Use Somebody, they were a thoroughly enjoyable band that didn't actually get on my tits! It's hard to imagine, now, but they were! This was the lead single from their 2004 album Aha Shake Heartbreak, and is a wonderfully pretty take on the band's brothers vowing to keep going and not kill themselves. I'm really not selling it but it's a song I remember fondly.

#173 - "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold
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The whole wave of 2006-onward alternative pop wasn't just going on in the UK; across the pond the likes of M.I.A. and this lady were really taking off. In 2008, Santigold released her self-titled debut and with it a slew of hits that corporations would later clamor to use in their adverts. There are few songs that sound truly unique to a particular artist, but this is definitely an example of a defining moment in 21st century music.

#172 - "Left Outside Alone" by Anastacia
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It's easy to forget just how huge Anastacia was (particularly in Europe, despite being an American) in the very early 2000s... this was the sixth highest-selling record of 2004 in Europe, and one of the biggest selling of the decade in Australia, and really confirmed her legacy as one of the best power-vocalists of a generation. Every bar on this sounds like the climax, her voice is that commanding and gifted.

#171 - "Naive" by The Kooks
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I think this was one of those songs that pretty much everyone in the country loved at the time, but not enough to keep the Kooks in their hearts for more than a couple of albums. 'Naive' was everywhere in 2006 :love:

Ammi

08-03-2021, 05:59 AM

...Bombay Bicycle Club...:lovedup:...I haven’t listened to them for such a long time...

Shaun

09-03-2021, 04:05 PM

they're still going, but their albums are always like... ":) this is nice i guess :)" just not a very exciting band lol but definitely a nice blast of nostalgia.

170-161:
#170 - "Feel It All Around" by Washed Out
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This was my ringtone for almost a decade (I recently changed it to a song that'll appear later). The theme tune to the wonderful sitcom Portlandia was at the peak of the chillwave movement around the turn of 2010, and is definitely one of those tracks that just conjure memories of beaches, sunsets and every other cliche good vibe.

#169 - "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira and Wyclef Jean
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There aren't really many better examples of a song that absolutely stole a summer than this. 2006 was the best summer of my life (I was 16, so, of course it was) and the music definitely shaped that; this was Shakira's biggest hit and... hell, do I need to explain Hips Don't Lie? You already know it, and already love it.

#168 - "I Got U" by Duke Dumont, Jax Jones and Kelli-Leigh
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I'm going to right some wrongs now and point out that Kelli-Leigh, despite not being credited as a featured artist on either of them, topped the charts twice in 2014 (the other time on SecondCity's I Wanna Feel) and that seems rude, doesn't it? It's a slight I'll quickly get over, because... oh my god these steel drums are wonderful and I don't know a better example of a summer anthem.

#167 - "Supercut" by Lorde
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When Lorde burst onto the scene in 2013 with Royals (and the album, Pure Heroine), I remember feeling flummoxed and uncertain of what the hype was all about. I still maintain most of the songs on that album were... just really boring :hmph: but the follow-up... may be one of the albums of the decade? It was difficult picking a standout Lorde track, including her collaboration 'Magnets' with Disclosure, but in the end I opted for this because it's a rush from start to finish and full of poignancy.

#166 - "Fourth of July" by Sufjan Stevens
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I really did try and keep the list of songs light-hearted and reflections of happy times but at the same time I couldn't deny that there have been songs and even entire albums that have had me on the verge of tears this century :worry: 2015's Carrie & Lowell was a dedication to Stevens' recently deceased mother, and as such the majority of tracks featured are heavy with grief. This, for me, was the favourite; yes, it's devastating and heartbreaking, but also so staggeringly beautiful and full of sweet nicknames for a mother's son.

#165 - "Love It If We Made It" by The 1975
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The 21st century's version of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire; a frenetic lyrical epic that touches on an infinite number of references to blights and political moments that have accumulated into the overwhelming sense that we, as a species, are doomed... whilst aiming to undermine that all with a determined optimism. Uh.... yeah I like the song?

#164 - "Is It 'Cos I'm Cool?" by Mousse T and Emma Lanford
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Turkish producer Mustafa Gundogdu had a string of hits in the late 90s and early 00s - most famously "Horny", and "Sex Bomb" with Tom Jones - but I remember this single coming out in 2004 and loving the hell out of it.

#163 - "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne
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I've always shrugged off the idea of a "guilty pleasure" but if I were to actually ever confess one I think it'd be this? The song is this over-the-top swag-rock nonsense, and I never liked Lil Wayne's rap career, but the two combined in 2008 to create this monster of a song that... I couldn't stop playing, and still find (to borrow an overused word from that time) epic.

#162 - "Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean
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Once I've gotten over the memory of that "a potato flew around" Vine, I am reminded of the fragility and the soul that Ocean displayed on Channel Orange back in 2012... the album was a huge moment in queer music; the first major-label, extremely cool and at the peak of his career, rap and R&B artist to come out of the closet. Ignoring all of the press about it though: the song is a beautiful vocal.

#161 - "Round Round" by Sugababes
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Forever the coolest girlband of all time, the Sugababes were at their cultural peak in 2002 and the hits were numerable and fantastic. This was one of their best: a bewitching drum-beat that sees the girls literally whip up a tornado of rhythm and sex. The special effects in this video were actually pretty impressive for the time, and make Avatar look like a huge waste of ****ing time! Keisha delivers a wonderful verse, but it's new member Heidi who gets the slowed-down, bizarre bridge and steals the show.

Daniel.

09-03-2021, 04:07 PM

I thought you hated Paramore so was pleasantly surprised to see Misery Business.

Shaun

09-03-2021, 04:10 PM

I thought you hated Paramore so was pleasantly surprised to see Misery Business.

I never really cared for them at the time Riot! came out, but when MB popped up on the soundtrack for a game (I think it was Saints Row 3?) I was like... "****, this was amazing actually"

Zizu

10-03-2021, 08:25 AM

I never really cared for them at the time Riot! came out, but when MB popped up on the soundtrack for a game (I think it was Saints Row 3?) I was like... "****, this was amazing actually"

I always wonder why people don’t have a gap between the last letter and an ! or a ?

So it would be Riot ! ... instead of Riot!

See what I mean ? ( see what I mean? )

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Shaun

12-03-2021, 08:04 AM

160-151:
#160 - "When a Fire Starts to Burn" by Disclosure
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2013's Settle LP was the home to a whole string of massive chart hits that made the year seem an exciting time for house and dance music; there was the breakthrough single "Latch" with Sam Smith, top ten hits "White Noise" and "You & Me", and other star names like Mary J Blige, London Grammar, Jessie Ware and Jamie Woon appeared to create something special. The record really sprang to life, though, thanks to the reworking of Eric Thomas' motivational speaking on this track. The production is immaculate.

#159 - "Chill Out" by RAY BLK & SG Lewis
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The winner of the BBC's annual "Sound Of..." competition is usually someone incredibly safe and white and in the 2010s there were only three that didn't become chart-toppers or festival headliners... they happened to all be black (Michael Kiwanuka and Octavian are the other two... the other 7 are Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, HAIM, Years & Years, Jack Garratt, Jessie J and Sigrid). But yeah... no racism in the UK :spin2: What's especially frustrating for me is that RAY BLK - demonstrably on this track, but on many others, too - has more heart and soul in her voice than the majority of those other winners combined. This video shines a light on the experience of trans and gay people in Jamaica, and the track is just so breezy and showcases both her singing and rapping.

#158 - "Flowers" by Sweet Female Attitude
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I haven't checked, but this might be the earliest-released song to make it into this thread... having dropped all the way back in April of the year 2000 :love: The song needs no introduction; it firmly established itself as a garage classic back at a time when your Craig Davids, Artful Dodgers, Mis-Teeqs and So Solid Crews were in full swing - but at the same time it doesn't suffer particularly from that dated feeling that some of its contemporaries might experience; there's an electronic poppy element to it that cements it as an immediate floor-filler, whatever the year.

#157 - "Monster" by Lady Gaga
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Narrowing down Gaga's discography to just the two tracks to feature in this list was an arduous effort, given the sheer number of hits and reinventions of herself. One I had to choose, however, wasn't even a single; "Monster" is hidden on her 2009 album The Fame Monster with a cold, slick, metallic production and a dark, cannibalistic lyric.

#156 - "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus
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As I've already said, this list was compiled long before I even knew what a Midnight Sky was, and as such it might feel a little dated... but I picked this track when there were other competitors like Malibu, We Can't Stop and Nothing Breaks Like a Heart on offer, and I am comfortable I made the right choice. Party in the USA is an iconic moment in pop: it's cheesy, it's camp, it's the catchiest thing you'll hear all day and it's one of the most joyous and sing-along-able songs released this century. **** the Star Spangled Banner, this is their national anthem :clap1:

#155 - "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
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Then again, maybe this is a more appropriate American national anthem. Foster the People came along and disappeared promptly in 2011 with this monolith of a hit that deploys an unmistakable cool. That its lyrics for such a cheery, foot-tapping song are the vows of a high school shooter to terrorise his classmates is remarkable; and the fact that this song endured such longevity despite being pulled from radio stations every time one such tragedy happens, is nothing short of an oddity.

#154 - "L.S.F. (Light Souls Forever)" by Kasabian
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At the height of their fame, Kasabian were one of the UK's most exciting bands to bother the charts; taking Oasis' remnants of Cool Britannia and adjusting them to a more electronic-friendly audience. Their self-titled debut album in 2004 is one of my favourites, and the psychedelic haze about this saw it become an indie classic.

#153 - "Down On My Luck" by Vic Mensa
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Mensa broke through in 2014 with this monstrously catchy hit that... sadly was never really followed up on. His album came three years later, and it was... bland and forgettable hip hop. Go back to deep house pls x

#152 - "Relax, Take it Easy" by Mika
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Before he went straight to the top of the charts with Grace Kelly, Mika dropped this song first and it was an instant shake-up of 2000s pop music. A queer immigrant from the Middle East commanding the charts felt like a real breath of fresh air, and it helped that the cheesy pop he was releasing was golden and full of joy.

#151 - "Time to Pretend" by MGMT
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Although best known for that inescapable synth hook on 'Kids', MGMT really made their first impact with this single in 2008. I suppose I loved the psychedelic element of the song and its aesthetics so much that I was able to suppress my queerness (and ignore the hotness of the lead singer, apparently, jesus christ I missed this one?!) But... jesus this song defines a wonderful period of time.

Ammi

12-03-2021, 08:11 AM

...I’m not sure why but Pumped Up Kicks always makes me think of Drew...:love:...Ray BLK...:lovedup:...

Smithy

12-03-2021, 08:20 AM

I always wonder why people don’t have a gap between the last letter and an ! or a ?

So it would be Riot ! ... instead of Riot!

See what I mean ? ( see what I mean? )

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Because that’s **** grammar and wrong

Smithy

12-03-2021, 08:21 AM

Omg yes @ monster :dazzler:

Zizu

12-03-2021, 09:31 AM

Because that’s **** grammar and wrong

I still prefer my way !

:)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Zizu

12-03-2021, 09:34 AM

Omg yes @ monster :dazzler:

I have no idea what this even means !

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

DouglasS

12-03-2021, 09:57 AM

I have no idea what this even means !

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I don’t blame you!

Smithy

12-03-2021, 09:59 AM

I have no idea what this even means !

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

...it’s one of the songs in the list....

Zizu

12-03-2021, 10:07 AM

I don’t blame you!

:)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Shaun

12-03-2021, 11:03 AM

...I’m not sure why but Pumped Up Kicks always makes me think of Drew...:love:...

well he is serving 22 years at Whitemoor for shooting up his local college

Shaun

14-03-2021, 12:32 PM

150-141:
#150 - "Alice Practice" by Crystal Castles
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The genre-shifting and era-defining music of Crystal Castles is a little overlooked now, perhaps because it's taken as a given, and perhaps because the duo's impact has been dramatically overshadowed by allegations of all kinds of abuse by one against the other... but I remember this song being absolutely huge in 2008 and my sensitive ears found it... completely alien, to put it kindly. Over time I've grown to appreciate it more and more; from Alice Glass' visceral performance on vocals to the manic, 8-bit production trickery.

#149 - "Higher Ground" by TNGHT
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Hudson Mohawke and Lunice only ever really released one EP as the duo called TNGHT, but they truly shook everything up and really ushered in a wave of new production styles to hip hop. This track was its stand-out; a bombastic, chaotic use of a tuba that's to be worshipped.

#148 - "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley
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A song that grew so big that Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse themselves had to take it off download stores. It was #1 for 9 weeks in the UK and could've been for so much longer, had they not taken that step. It was named the song of the decade by Rolling Stone, and... if you put aside whatever lingering, residual sense of "overplaying" there might be in the recesses of your mind, it's not undeserved. The song is massive in scale and success.

#147 - "Pale Green Ghosts" by John Grant
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I adored both PGG and the Queen of Denmark albums released by Grant at the turn of the 2010s, so it was difficult to choose just the one song... but I had to settle for the dark, electronic shift from his earlier (more acoustic) sound. In recording this (and the album), he worked and lived a lot in Iceland - and there isn't a greater example of a song that is best visualised with Aurora Borealis.

#146 - "Never Be Like You" by Flume and Kai
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This topped the Australian charts back in 2016 and was a huge hit in America, too, but... never really made an impact over here :( I'm not sure why. It's a slick, rattling production and has one of those vocal lyrics about being "****ed up and missing you" that formed the basis of dance hits from Cheat Codes, Hippie Sabotage and Oliver Heldens through the majority of the 2010s... but, eh. We rarely get things right on the charts.

#145 - "C'Mon" by Kesha
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Looking back on the career - and more specifically the chart domination - of Kesha is difficult since it's tinged with a hue of abuse, misogyny (she was the trashy girl, but LMFAO, Flo Rida and Lil Wayne were seen as party guys) and the misfortune of being all connected to Dr. Luke. Some purists would write off his music entirely, but I feel doing so raises two problems: one - it erases a huge part of pop history, and two - it discredits the work done by the popstars themselves. Kesha's pop appeal was always her own, and she gave a lot of us incredibly happy nights out and euphoric feelings. My favourite such track was "C'Mon", taken from Warrior. It didn't top charts like We R Who We R or Tik Tok, but... jesus what a banger :clap1:

#144 - "Katy on a Mission" by Katy B
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Dubstep brought us a lot of bad music. But filtered down through the best musicians and producers it could actually be listenable, and Katy B went stratospheric with the release of this single in 2010 and followed it up with solid albums. I still hold a soft spot for this above all, though... it was everywhere when I was at university :love:

#143 - "Your Protector" by Fleet Foxes
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Folk music as a genre seemed pretty much wrapped and dusted; impossible to expand upon, and pointless to venture into unless appreciating its classics. This was up until 2008, when Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes took it and ran. I'll get to the former later, but Fleet Foxes are just... incredible with building instrumentals and when paired with Robin Pecknold's gorgeous voice the end result is often beautiful. 2008's self-titled album is really flawless from start to finish.

#142 - "Starlight" by The Supermen Lovers and Mani Hoffman
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This music video is so deeply embedded in the back of my 2001 MTV and The Box-riddled brain that it is one of the most reliable forms of inducing nostalgia I can imagine. The French just had this endless list of electronic and dance producers during the 2000s and some stayed for decades (Daft Punk, David Guetta)... others produced one-hit-wonders (Stardust, this). What a song.

#141 - "Strict Machine" by Goldfrapp
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I will forever have time for Goldfrapp. They've been here since the year 2000 itself, so looking back on their discography encompassed the entire period of time I was looking at for this thread concept... and there was a lot to choose from (in the end I chose two, but we'll get to the other later!) In 2003, Strict Machine came along and stole the dancefloor with an electro-clash epic that can only really be compared to the like of Donna Summer's I Feel Love. It's a gay classic.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

14-03-2021, 02:10 PM

AM In LUUHHHVE

AM In LUUUHVE

AM IN LuUUHvE wih a striCT MACHINE

Shaun

15-03-2021, 03:31 PM

tea!

140-131:
#140 - "Still Life" by The Horrors
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The Horrors were pretty big during the 2000s but I didn't really give them the time of day until 2011's album "Skying", from which this is taken. I had sort-of pigeon-holed them as this indie/scene band with a greater emphasis on hairstyles and clothing than music, so this came along and hit me like a brick. The album - and most of theirs, actually - is great from start to finish and full of 80s new wave pop done right.

#139 - "Don't Lie" by the Black Eyed Peas
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The Black Eyed Peas were absolutely colossal for a long time; from their breakthrough with "Where is the Love?" to the never-ending summer where "I Gotta Feeling" was top of the charts. Between those two bookends, though, is where most of my favourite singles can be found, and I had a hard time choosing between Don't Phunk With My Heart, Pump It, Mas Que Nada with Sergio Mendes, and this... in the end, this seemed the summer-iest and evoked the most fond memories.

#138 - "Where I'm Going" by Cut Copy
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2011's album Zonoscope is a wonderful fusion of traditional glam rock instrumentation and a psychedelic, electronic filter, and the record kicks off with this triple-whammy of amazing club tracks that culminate in this. The song just evokes chill vibes, and an enrapturing warmth.

#137 - "Disparate Youth" by Santigold
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aka that song that was used to advertise about 40 different companies during the 2010s. Santigold was a lot more relaxed on 2012's Master of My Make-Believe than on the 2008 self-titled album, but both are honestly all-time favourites and full of this fascinating songwriting. I spent most of 2012 and 2013 finding this song a huge, calming presence.

#136 - "Freedom" by Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar
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Such is the global impact that Beyonce has made that I am writing this knowing full well that I've probably chosen the wrong two tracks to represent her. Since her poppier breakthrough and domination she's turned a hell of a lot more political, and taken control of critics as well as the masses in the process. 2016's Lemonade was full of incredible highs, but for me the standout was this: propelled by a marching drumbeat and Kendrick's incredible guest verse, it's one of the most powerful and stunning tracks released this millennium.

#135 - "Huddle Formation" by The Go! Team
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For a long time, the Go! Team were a Brighton unit full of incredibly exciting, multicultural, experimental music and had this output that was like nothing else being released. 2004 saw their debut Thunder, Lightning, Strike unleashed, and it's jam-packed with so many standouts... but I had to settle for this one. I think this song was featured on one of the LittleBigPlanet games, and I don't know a better suited form of media for it to marry up with: it's relentlessly optimistic, imaginative and creative.

#134 - "Some Kinda Rush" by Booty Luv
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If I were to take this a little less seriously, I could very convincingly make a case for each and every of the Booty Luv singles to make their way into this countdown... but in the end I spared you from staring too long at God and narrowed it down to one. I am known for worshipping their altar, and will be until the day I die. Their pop was... so, so good.

#133 - "Don't Take The Money" by Bleachers
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Jack Antonoff has become one of the most powerful producers and songwriters today thanks to his work on Taylor Swift's recent albums, Lana Del Rey's Norman ****ing Rockwell, Lorde's Melodrama, St Vincent's Masseduction and The Chicks' Gaslighter (amongst others)... but he's also the frontman for the littler-known Bleachers. In 2017, they released this single - with background vocals from Lorde herself - and it's still something I'm trying to unpack... it's so, so breathtaking and climactic. "You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it" indeed :love:

#132 - "Jerk It Out" by The Caesars
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Swedish band Caesar's Palace had to change their name thanks to a little bit of a threat from the Las Vegas casino, but to even get on the radar of a giant business you'd have to release a one-hit-wonder so phenomenal... and in 2003 they did! Jerk It Out made its way onto the FIFA 2004 soundtrack and became the favourite song of pretty much every football-loving teenager at the time, with one of the most catchy and unique hooks in rock of all time.

#131 - "Galvanize" by The Chemical Brothers
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They'd already cemented themselves as giants of UK electronic music in the 90s, but they had the kindness in them to dominate the 2000s as well, with this being their biggest hit of the decade. The song is a banger in every sense: hip hop giant Q-Tip guests as vocalist and keeps it lyrically tight, but I'd be lying if I said the track's main draw wasn't the reworking of an obscure Moroccan song's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ9aqtuwrik) strings.

Shaun

16-03-2021, 12:01 PM

130-121:
#130 - "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry
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Katy Perry's domination of pop music lasted for a solid 5 years at least, and at its height was 2010's Teenage Dream album. It gave us Firework, it gave us California Gurls, it gave us Teenage Dream and E.T. It was an album so big it required a re-release two years later with further singles to keep the momentum going. But the real highlight was this song... this glorious, irreverent nonsense that is jam-packed with The Hangover montage lyrics and a sax solo from Kenny G (in the video at least; not on recording). A lot of her singles from that period of time have endured because of their feelgood factor, and inspirational messages (Roar, Firework, etc.) but is there a song more joyous than this? I'd love to hear it.

#129 - "Who Knew" by P!nk
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Few would've believed back in 2000 that in a sea of popstars like Britney, Beyonce, Christina, Mariah and, um, Michelle Branch, it would be P!nk that is still capable of making the singles charts in 2021. The lady has shown an incredible staying power and whilst a lot of that is down to releasing the most boring pop music imaginable and the same album cycle (big **** YOU lead single, followed by 3 NO COME BACK ILY ballads!) since 2006, a lot of it has indeed been fantastic. The majority of it is buried back in the 2000s though, and my favourite song of hers is Who Knew, a gorgeous strings-epic from her I'm Not Dead! record. A lot of her songs can feel vague and general, but the emotional weight behind this (the song is about the death of a friend of hers to drugs) still gives me goosebumps from time to time.

#128 - "Touch" by Shura
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I've grown enamoured with Shura's soft, sensual electropop since 2014, with the release of this video of a diverse cast of actors making out. She's since goe and released three stellar albums, but when push came to shove I couldn't look past this early cut. Wonderful stuff :love:

#127 - "New York" by St. Vincent
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St. Vincent is someone who I had bookmarked as a little too pretentious and escapable for my tastes, but that flipped back in 2017 with the release of MASSEDUCTION. This ballad, penned as a death of a relationship had already touched me before she went and revealed it was also about the death and mourning of David Bowie, so that just ramped up a few more levels in the "god bless this woman" stakes.

#126 - "Perfect (Exceeder)" by Mason vs. Princess Superstar
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The 2000s were awash with a whole bunch of reworkings of 80s pop bangers into contemporary club/electroclash anthems and it was a daunting task, going back through all of the singles and floorfillers that I remember from my "being 16 year old and still trying to get into nightclubs" days (there were, surprisingly, more successful ones than not)... but in spite of that vast mass of Eric Prydz, David Guetta, Fedde le Grand, Armand van Helden, Alex Gaudino and Bob Sinclar, it was this that stuck out with the most pizazz. Combining the production of Mason's Exceeder with the tongue-in-cheek, no-****s-given vocals of Princess Superstar (best known then for her iconic Bad Babysitter single) was a masterstroke... promptly given your typical scantily-clad music video :love: a cultural reset.

#125 - "Around U" by MUNA
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The song's been out for almost five years now and still feels fresh and like a smack in the face with desperate sadness. The song is a breakup epic, powered along by this chorus that is simultaneously dancey and inducing wailing hysteria. The constant refrain of "I no longer revolve around you" feels both mournful and triumphant.

#124 - "Us" by Regina Spektor
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A song that became synonymous with the hugely popular film (500) Days of Summer but was already wonderful in its own right. I've adored Regina Spektor for a long time - so much so that there's another of her songs to come - and there's just such a unique, energetic arrangement of the track here that keeps you second guessing. It feels like a ballad, but it's far more folksy and beguiling. My heart honestly swells every time she does that drawn out falsetto on "living in a den of thieves".

#123 - "All Time Love" by Will Young
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I always believed that Will Young would've been a perfect candidate for a Bond theme, but it never happened... so he took the typical themes of a Bond movie and put them in this music video instead. I'm not picking this for the video, though; the song itself is so ludicrously gorgeous. His voice is honey here, but the composition is its main draw, swelling at every perfect moment with strings and falling back to that simple piano chord.

#122 - "It's Okay to Cry" by SOPHIE
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When I put the list together I had planned to talk about how she was one of the most exciting new producers and artists to keep looking forward to, but that's obviously now been tragically ripped away. She really changed pop music and gave a fresh lease of life to the genre; inspiring and collaborating with the likes of Charli XCX, Shygirl, Let's Eat Grandma and Kim Petras... but aside from her signature sound, she really stole hearts and brought an inestimable visibility to trans women everywhere; thriving as one of the most respected producers in the world whilst showcasing her identity in this video. Her death really stings.

#121 - "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener
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I've loved Eurovision since I was about 11 years old (just not to the extent that I am willing to find stream links for the semi-finals of the Norwegian song selection process). I ummed and ahhed over which song to put highest from the years of competitions this century, and in the end I felt this - the winner from 2003 - was the perfect embodiment of what the competition is all about. Showcasing other cultures (the Turkish really changed what would be a "stereotypical" entry for years to come with this) and allowing an unapologetic, feisty woman to steal the show. This song is just absolute fire, and I don't know if there'll ever be another winner like it. **** your Loreens and your Conchitas.

Braden

16-03-2021, 01:15 PM

Sertab Erener winning with Everyway That I Can changed Eurovision's trajectory in becoming the contest we know and love to this day. It could've been Dana International, but then we had that phase from 1999 to 2002 where the acts were more pop-based and fun, but the contest was still taken a bit too seriously.

Also, I love your work, hope you win, but I do have to defend Paris Hilton and say that the 'STOP BEING POOR' t-shirt is photoshopped :joker:

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

16-03-2021, 01:18 PM

The look the lips the hips the tits

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d051ebe6-15eb-4564-8aa0-a2e371b50a7c/dbdrkd5-5d1e5919-ef88-42ce-9e74-cd43a99c2ef2.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJ IUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjph cHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZDA1MWViZTYtMT VlYi00NTY0LThhYTAtYTJlMzcxYjUwYTdjXC9kYmRya2Q1LTVk MWU1OTE5LWVmODgtNDJjZS05ZTc0LWNkNDNhOTljMmVmMi5qcG cifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9h ZCJdfQ.QyLGA-Mc1ZT6h9MYb_LP4EFwySlv37cmsfNLbDGy-xg

Tony Montana

16-03-2021, 01:41 PM

A lot of great songs, some that I'd even forgotten about. :clap1:

Shaun

16-03-2021, 05:48 PM

Also, I love your work, hope you win, but I do have to defend Paris Hilton and say that the 'STOP BEING POOR' t-shirt is photoshopped :joker:

Who would do this to her? </3

Daniel.

16-03-2021, 06:11 PM

It would be interesting if you did it with albbums (if you've listened to that many)

Ammi

16-03-2021, 06:29 PM

#128 - "Touch" by Shura...:love:...

#122 - "It's Okay to Cry" by SOPHIE...:lovedup:..

Shaun

16-03-2021, 08:07 PM

It would be interesting if you did it with albbums (if you've listened to that many)

I have, but idk where to start lol

Smithy

16-03-2021, 08:09 PM

I’ll help you start

#1 ARTPOP

:)

Smithy

16-03-2021, 08:11 PM

Omg, Jewels N Drugs the #1 song and ARTPOP the #1 album?

Manifesting it now :clap1:

DouglasS

16-03-2021, 08:20 PM

What is artpoop? Who’s it by

Edit: my autocorrect :joker:

DouglasS

16-03-2021, 08:20 PM

Would be interesting to read an album 100 or something tho

Daniel.

16-03-2021, 08:21 PM

You could have at least said one of her half decent albums.

Dogeatdog

16-03-2021, 08:48 PM

Dogeatdog

16-03-2021, 08:54 PM

Starlight always reminds me of BB5 :laugh:

Loving that “Jerk It Out” & “Galvanize” are included. Love those songs they bring back some great memories :love:

Smithy

16-03-2021, 09:00 PM

You could have at least said one of her half decent albums.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZWXQqTKSm7WcMeoZ7k61BFMBf6bVET GVEDA&usqp=CAU

Daniel.

16-03-2021, 09:12 PM

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZWXQqTKSm7WcMeoZ7k61BFMBf6bVET GVEDA&usqp=CAU

Pretty easy to think it not a joke considering your obsession with Gaga and the fact jokes are meant to be funny.

Smithy

16-03-2021, 09:49 PM

Yes bc Jewels and Drugs is obviously the best song of the past two decades isn’t it

Clownery!

Jake.

16-03-2021, 09:52 PM

Pretty easy to think it not a joke considering your obsession with Gaga and the fact jokes are meant to be funny.

I’d say that the obsession with gaga lies elsewhere!

Jake.

16-03-2021, 09:54 PM

I wish Foster The People would become good again

DouglasS

16-03-2021, 10:04 PM

Yes bc Jewels and Drugs is obviously the best song of the past two decades isn’t it

Clownery!

Where’s the punchline or the funny element though? Jokes are meant to have that element - I think that’s what Daniel is getting at

Daniel.

16-03-2021, 10:13 PM

Yes bc Jewels and Drugs is obviously the best song of the past two decades isn’t it

Clownery!

I mean you probably think Chromatica is the best album of the last two decades so wouldn't shock me

Daniel.

16-03-2021, 10:13 PM

I’d say that the obsession with gaga lies elsewhere!

I don't mind her. I think she has two good albums.

Smithy

16-03-2021, 10:18 PM

I mean you probably think Chromatica is the best album of the last two decades so wouldn't shock me

https://media2.giphy.com/media/Fml0fgAxVx1eM/giphy.gif

Shaun

17-03-2021, 02:43 PM

ANYWAY

120-111:
#120 - "Queen" by Perfume Genius
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I went to see Perfume Genius at some small chapel concert in Bath back in 2013 and his sound had sort of confined itself to incredibly acoustic, minimalist balladry that - whilst excellent - is a mile away from the shenanigans he was set to unleash on the world in 2014 with this single. A trippy glam rock epic, and he's only grown in outlandish style since.

#119 - "I'm Not Alone" by Calvin Harris
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I already mentioned earlier in this thread that I have a softer spot for the Harris singles where he hasn't brought in a huge star to cover the vocals... and that's largely because of this 2009 banger. It definitely feels a little more dated than some of his other chart-toppers, but if there's a song that evokes that end-of-the-2000s party vibe better than this, I'm unaware of it.

#118 - "Gold Dust" by DJ Fresh
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Genuinely one of the most adrenaline-fueled songs ever released... the music is fire in and of itself, but the vocals from dancehall artist Ce'cile just give it an unmatched energy.

#117 - "You (Ha Ha Ha)" by Charli XCX
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The brief period of time where Charli XCX was likely to contend for the top tens of singles charts both sides of the Atlantic is sandwiched between two far more interesting cycles of her music. Nowadays she's more experimental, and releasing bedroom albums that're miraculously fantastic, but before she went huge with the likes of Boom Clap or Break the Rules, she was releasing music like this and it was wonderful :love: I could've just as easily chosen SuperLove or Nuclear Seasons, but in the end the sample from Gold Panda's "You" tipped this over the edge.

#116 - "Falling" by HAIM
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HAIM continue to grow in strength and are now positioned as festival headliners wherever they go, but whilst there have been some wonderful singles and albums since their breakthrough in 2013 - it's the debut album that contains my favourite song of theirs. Falling has a funky, Blood Orangesque bassline that serves as a stable backdrop whilst the guitars and twinkling electronics shine.

#115 - "Sleepwalking" by The Chain Gang of 1974
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Grand Theft Auto V was the biggest game of all time, and was the foundation for some of my closest friends today to be made, so it seemed only right to take the song that helped advertise it all and plonk it into the list. I've never checked out their other music, probably because this song is so closely associated with another form of media, but... god this is good.

#114 - "Where Are We Now?" by David Bowie
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There wasn't really any need for Bowie to come back after (seemingly) bowing out back in 2003 with Heathen; an entire decade of nothing new seemed well-earned. Let the man retire in dignity and all that (take notes, Paul McCartney x). So to get not one, but TWO albums before he succumbed to cancer in 2016 was a wonderful surprise, and both of them were fantastic - far better than some of the experimental nonsense he was tinkering with in the 90s. 'Where Are We Now?' was the lead from 2013's The Next Day, and it's a wonderfully appropriate feeling of confusion, isolation and dissatisfaction with the current state of the world, and wallowing on past glories.

#113 - "The Scientist" by Coldplay
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Everyone loves to hate on Coldplay. They've been huge since the year 2000 and have a frontman with an extraordinarily punchable face, and penchant for saying outlandish things. His music can verge on offensively dull. But for such a long period of time, Coldplay were the biggest band in the world because they were capable of writing beautiful songs and - back in the early 2000s - fantastic albums. 2003's A Rush of Blood to the Head is one of the century's best albums, and contains many highlights, but for me there's no song prettier, more bleak or heartbreaking, than The Scientist. It's rare for the music videos pushing a billion YouTube views to be decades-old ballads, so it must be good.

#112 - "Something Kinda Ooooh" by Girls Aloud
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The lyrics are absolute nonsense. Many of the best pop songs are. Girls Aloud are the best girlband of all time and this is one of the reasons why (more later!)

#111 - "I Could Be the One" by Avicii vs. Nicky Romero
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Avicii's music was deeply beloved by a lot of EDM fans and his suicide was an unmitigated tragedy for music as a whole. At his best, he was capable of conducting pure euphoria, and there wasn't a better single than this one: amazing video as well.

Ammi

17-03-2021, 02:56 PM

Where Are We Now?" by David Bowie..:love:..:love:..:love:....it’s an incredibly beautiful song and just sends chills all through...

Ammi

17-03-2021, 03:05 PM

...something kinda ooooo jumping’ on my tutu....something side a me, wants some part of you oo ooooo....

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

17-03-2021, 10:47 PM

Freak by shygirl is #1

Alf

17-03-2021, 11:14 PM

I request you to do the greatest 250 songs of the 20th century next.

Do you accept the challenge?

Shaun

18-03-2021, 02:46 AM

It's something I'd happily try, but would take a while to decide upon

Alf

18-03-2021, 06:35 AM

It's something I'd happily try, but would take a while to decide uponYou take your time. It will also be very educational for you while researching.

Shaun

18-03-2021, 11:08 AM

Mmm I'm already pretty knowledgeable but thanks for the condescension x

Shaun

18-03-2021, 03:12 PM

ANYWAY again

110-101:
#110 - "mOBSCENE" by Marilyn Manson
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Quickly slipping this one in here and out of the way before the full details of the abuse allegations ruin his music forever... but during the 2000s I was introduced to the dark side by a wonderful goth friend who looked upon me and my Now! CDs with disdain. Many bands flooded my library during this period of time (Placebo, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, A Perfect Circle, AFI, Avenged Sevenfold, and the like) but one of my favourites - perhaps for its extravagant presentation, for its absurd Satanism-dabbling rhetoric, or just because it was so viscerally jarring - was Marilyn Manson. This track was an eye-opener for me as a teenager and still slaps :love:

#109 - "Tell 'Em" by Sleigh Bells
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In 2010, noise pop fully took over thanks to M.I.A. and the debut from Sleigh Bells: their brash, unapologetic and explosive music really shook things up and probably ruined a million dodgy speakers in the process. Their debut album kicks off with this, and I can fully understand why 50%+ of listeners would recoil in horror and dismiss it as shrill and awful, but... it paved the way for two wonderful albums (and two crap ones) and kicked pop music in the ass.

#108 - "Losing You" by Solange
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Before Solange started releasing albums that would be incredibly overhyped and hailed as the second coming, she was resigned to dropping the occasional single that was utterly charming. In 2008, she teamed up with Freemasons to drop "I Decided", which was a swing-inspired masterpiece. Four years later, she teamed up with Dev Hynes to release this and an EP called True, and it was even better; the song is a summery, hazy masterpiece that just relaxes me in a way that few songs can.

#107 - "Gotta Tell You" by Samantha Mumba
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Ireland's Samantha Mumba was a huge popstar for such a brief period of time and it's absolutely criminal. This - her debut single - was a huge hit and even cracked America, reaching the dizzy heights of #4 at a time when Britney, Xtina and co. were dominant. Over here, it was only held off the top of the charts by Eminem's The Real Slim Shady. She was teasing a comeback at the tail end of 2020, and that's lovely, but I'm forever besotted with the year 2000 and this song being played on rotation on my Walkman :love:

#106 - "On a Night Like This" by Kylie Minogue
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I'm sure some purists will regard 1980s Kylie as her peak but... they are fundamentally wrong and everyone with a brain knows that she was truly at the height of her powers in the 2000s. In the year 2000 itself, she cemented herself as the queen of the gays by dropping Light Years, an album that contained not only Spinning Around, not only Your Disco Needs You, but also this latin-tinged dance anthem. Modjo's "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" held it off the top spot, which is fair, but I can't help but feel this should've been another of Kylie's many, many #1 hits.

#105 - "Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit
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I've already thrown in one of their later singles, but Passion Pit really took off and were taken to the hearts of many an indie fan thanks to this in 2008. Sampling the Irish singer and harpist Mary O'Hara's piece Óró Mo Bháidín (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U675ik8uBU) and turning it into something unrecognisable is firm evidence of their prowess at electronic experimentation during their early days. Sleepyhead sounds like absolutely nothing else; it is a thumping, eerie, unique masterpiece.

#104 - "Over and Over" by Hot Chip
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NME called this the song of 2006 and - in a pretty stacked year - it's definitely a contender. Hot Chip have been releasing fantastic music for almost two decades now, but it all started off with this (they did have a 2004 album but I've never listened to it, sorry x)

#103 - "Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sisters
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I'm still baffled by the Scissor Sisters' complete and utter domination of the UK charts from 2003-2010 and yet being completely ignored by their native US. I remember being so intrigued by frontman Jake Shears' style in this video (enough so to suppress the very obvious fact that he looked ****ing hot in it). The song channels Elton John so severely that the man himself would later go and provide a piano performance on another song (yet to come in this list :spin2:)... and it's just a wonderfully gay time isn't it?

#102 - "Ugly Heart" by G.R.L.
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So many songs I've picked for this have come with a heavy heart because of a suicide, and Simone Battle's just as this song was taking off and hitting the charts was especially devastating. 'Ugly Heart' is one of those perfect pop songs: catchy, rhythmic, full of fascinating different elements, and performed impeccably by all 5 girls... so perfect, of course, that paler imitations of it would happen a year or two later (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout_Out_to_My_Ex).

#101 - "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott
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I will never be able to put into words just how much Missy Elliott deserves the world. Her videography is truly up there with Michael Jackson's, and her production and singles are not far behind. In 2001, she took a bhangra sample and kicked off a rebirth of hits influenced by the genre (Punjabi MCs, anyone?), and - together with Timbaland - set about shaking up pop for the entire decade. I have one more song of hers I've placed higher, but the very idea of a song being better than Get Ur Freak On is laughable, isn't it? Thank god I only named 100 of them.

Ammi

18-03-2021, 03:26 PM

#101 - "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott
#102 - "Ugly Heart" by G.R.L.
#103 - "Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sisters
#106 - "On a Night Like This" by Kylie Minogue
#107 - "Gotta Tell You" by Samantha Mumba

...:lovedup:...

Shaun

19-03-2021, 03:15 PM

into the top 100 we go :worry:

100-91:
#100 - "Bags" by Clairo
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Clairo's debut album in 2019 was wonderful, but things were really brought to a boil on its standout single; Bags was placed in the top five or ten songs of the year for pretty much every major music publication. The song has this weird, distorted piano and guitar throughout that keeps it from being just another angsty grunge ballad, and features one of the HAIM sisters on drums. On it, Clairo waxes lyrical over the confusion of young, gay identity and a love interest who isn't sure if they're straight or not, and the end result is something utterly charming, tender and tentative.

#99 - "A Real Hero" by College and Electric Youth
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The release of the movie 'Drive' in 2010 definitely lit up the hearts of a generation of misanthropic, directionless youths but it was the soundtrack that had more of an impact; aside from the phenomenal Nightcall by Kavinsky, it spawned another cult classic here. Released at the height of the chillwave movement, it channels the likes of Giorgio Moroder and Gary Numan and other classic electronic musicians but gives them a modern, feminine tinge. You'll find an endless stream of YouTube comments attributing so many different emotions to this song and I suppose its greatest triumph is provoking such a reaction in so many.

#98 - "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse
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"I told you I was trouble," she warns on this, one of her most celebrated tracks, and that word "trouble" is definitely one way to put the very public life and problems of Amy Winehouse. That she was allowed to just play herself out so visibly and treated with little more than a knowing nudge and tabloid fodder remains one of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century. So many people failed Amy, and her death in 2011 was... absolutely soul-destroying. It must be common knowledge now that she is one of this century's greatest icons - and whilst so many of those icons like Hendrix, Cobain, Joplin end up in tragic endings - the timeless production offered by Mark Ronson on this, and many of the other tracks on Back to Black, means that there never will really be an ending to the phenomenon that she was.

#97 - "Seasons (Waiting On You)" by Future Islands
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I remember when Pitchfork named this the best song of 2014, and Ben (ukturtle) was flogging the hell out of it on here, I was initially underwhelmed and cautious... but with time the song's continued to grow on me and remains one of the decade's most fascinating tracks. Coupling the singer's howling and crooning with this incredibly futuristic backdrop is a feat that shouldn't work on paper - sort of like setting John Denver to a MGMT record - but it undeniably does. "I've been hanging on you" is delivered with such an ache and it's gorgeous.

#96 - "All Good Things (Come to an End)" by Nelly Furtado
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I've mentioned before in the write-ups about Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake tracks in this thread that Timbaland's production, for the majority of the 2000s, was really untouchable... so much so that I've cherry-picked not one but two tracks from Nelly Furtado's incredible album "Loose". The first is this; a panpipe-led ballad co-written by Coldplay's Chris Martin. All of the whistled parts and that gentle, lingering percussion give the track this dream-sequence feel; and as such the song feels like a hazy trip back to my latter school days of 2006 and 2007. Nelly Furtado is not given enough retrospective credit for how long she was a fantastic popstar.

#95 - "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Nate Dogg
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So many hip hop songs from this period of time have infiltrated the cultural psyche to such an extend that it's hard to keep track. "The Next Episode" is the direct source of that hold up meme that even made its way into songs like City High's What Would You Do?, but more than that, it's an instantly recognisable and iconic slice of music history. TECHNICALLY it was actually released in November 1999 if we consider it as a chunk of the album 2001, but... I showed a little lenience and allowed its single release date to take precedent :ninja2:

#94 - "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects
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The AARs were absolutely huge in America for a brief period of time, arriving fresh off the back of groundwork laid by the likes of Fall Out Boy, Green Day and Panic! at the Disco. Few bands really rode that pop-punk wave better than them, and there was a whole bunch of singles that I could've chosen ("Gives You Hell", "Swing Swing", "The Last Song" were all great). Frontman Tyson Ritter and his model good-looks serves as a fantastic focal point for an uncontrollable gush of melodrama on 'Move Along'. It's one of those tracks that immediately teleports me back to setting my MSN status as "busy" because I was ~feeling things~

#93 - "Dance, Dance" by Fall Out Boy
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A year before Move Along, though, Fall Out Boy reached through to chart status with Sugar, We're Goin' Down and this... and oh my god what a banger it was. Released at the same time when prom night was a big thing for me, it's just... yeah I'm reliving my teenage years, leave me alone x

#92 - "Stronger" by Britney Spears
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When it came to choosing a Britney song, there was obviously a lot of competition. I've never been the biggest Britney fan - I've always been more enticed by the bigger voices (Xtina), the better performers (Beyonce) or the better songwriters (the Cheeky Girls) - but to deny that her pop was stratospheric would be rewriting history. My favourite song of hers, in the end, was an easy decision: 'Stronger' is one of pop's biggest triumphs, an absolute explosion of a chorus and emotion that's so good it's been used as a Drag Race lipsync twice.

#91 - "Venus Fly" by Grimes and Janelle Monáe
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I'm still waiting for this to be used as a Drag Race lipsync. I loved this song long before it was given this breathtaking visual excavated deep from the mind of Björk. The song is a combination of my two favourite musicians from the 2010; taking Grimes' ethereal production style and smashing it with Monáe's gender-bending funk was the greatest discovery of a dream-collaboration since chocolate and peanut butter. And then there was that meme of some Russian kids voguing (https://www.instagram.com/p/BASBRjah-Ko/?hl=en) to this... cementing it deep within my imagination as a gay anthem.

Shaun

22-03-2021, 02:50 PM

i'll pretend i was busy over the weekend (it's just... this place isn't exactly a priority x)

90-81:
#90 - "The Apple" by VV Brown
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Way back in 2009, VV Brown burst on the pop scene with an excellent, summery album of songs that should've been hits. As it was: only one broke the Top 40 (the magnificent 'Shark in the Water', which hurt me to leave out of this list since it's the song from this century I've played the most, according to Last.FM) Pop charts are a cruel, and often injust mistress. Not to be deterred, Brown came back four years later with a darker aesthetic and a more artistic approach. The highlight was "The Apple", this incredible house-infused track that's full of scorn and power.

#89 - "Work" by Kelly Rowland and Freemasons
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I've already touched upon the incredible work done by production duo Freemasons over the 2000s so I'll instead turn my attention to Rowland. Forever pinned by the media as "in Beyonce's shadow", she still carved out a solid solo career full of many highlights ("Dilemma" with Nelly was a #1 for eons back in... 2002 I think? Plus other hits like "Stole", "Can't Nobody" and "Daylight"). The original release of 'Work' was somewhat understated, but this new lease of life in the remix made it a top ten hit and secured it as one of pop's finest moments - later going on to be a stand-out on the GTA V soundtrack. There've been a plethora of popstars releasing songs called "Work", but I'm sorry Rihanna, Britney, Ciara, Fifth Harmony, The Saturdays and Iggy Azalea... this one takes the cake. And it's not even close.

#88 - "Fluorescent Adolescent" by Arctic Monkeys
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There are a few songs from this century where everyone seems to know all of the lyrics in spite of them making very little sense. Up there with Mr. Brightside was this, a #5 single from their second album (and my favourite album of theirs) Favourite Worst Nightmare. The music video makes Joaquin Phoenix's oscar-winning performance look perfectly amateur. "Oh the boy's a slag... the best you ever had" :love:

#87 - "Monster" by Kanye West, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver
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Picking just the one song from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was an impossible task... because I've got two other hits of his from other records to come and I rate them as my two best Kanye songs. There really could've been any of them... the album is flawless from start to finish. But the song that seemed to make the biggest cultural impact was Monster... and it's an epic of biblical proportions. Rick Ross gets the ball rolling, Jay-Z is sneering and venomous, Bon Iver lends a soulful outro to the whole project... but the star turns are by Ye himself and Nicki Minaj. Whilst Kanye's is still quotable today, it was Minaj who really made a name for herself and dropped one of the most-respected and lauded verses of all time. The whole song can feel like a preamble to her scene-stealing performance, but it's genuinely exhilarating from the second it starts.

#86 - "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani
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Eve was one of the coolest artists when I was in my early teenage years; someone who the UK never really fully embraced but was huge across the pond. Out of her many hits ("Who's That Girl?", "Tambourine", "4 My People" with Missy Elliott) her most successful was this ridiculously good earworm featuring Gwen Stefani just as she was about to go solo from No Doubt. So good the Grammy's literally invented the "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" category for it.

#85 - "Giving Up The Gun" by Vampire Weekend
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Vampire Weekend are one of my all-time favourite bands thanks to their numerous excellent albums, but it took me until their second - Contra in 2010 - to fully hop aboard the bandwagon. This song and its infectious xylophone hook was pretty much on every night I went to indie bars, and I loved it. The video is odd... an indoor tennis tournament featuring Joe Jonas, Jake Gyllenhaal, RZA and Lil Jon. Okay. :unsure:

#84 - "Blockbuster Night Part 1" by Run the Jewels
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All of Run the Jewels' albums are perfect, but it was their second that really fired me up and inspired me. It kicks into gear for me with this nightmarish rumination on abuse of power, sexual predators at the top of every industry (a couple of years before the exposure of Harvey Weinstein), and the usual wordplay that just embarrasses the majority of current rap artists.

#83 - "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Spiller and Sophie Ellis-Bextor
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I kicked this countdown off with a dance anthem helmed by Ellis-Bextor and here we tackle the song that launched her career. One of the biggest dance records in the UK of all time, it was the subject of a media frenzy because it managed to fend off the #1 spot from a much-anticipating Victoria Beckham. Was the right decision made? Do you hear anyone listening to Out Of Your Mind? (No it was a perfectly fine song but, come on... there was no contest). 'Groovejet' is just effortlessly catchy and groovy and that it's now a part of pop history is... fitting, really.

#82 - "Run Away With Me" by Carly Rae Jepsen
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The sax intro that launched a thousand memes. I don't think much needs to be said on TiBB of RAWM... it won the Song of 2015 competition on here and deservedly so. The second that chorus kicks off I still get chills... it's just absolute perfection.

#81 - "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" by U2
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The Irish legends had a string of hits well into the latter end of the 2000s before finally buggering off and leaving us (and our iTunes libraries) alone. But before they became irritating... actually no that's a lie, Bono was hated well by 2005 when this song was released... they were dropping wonderful singles left right and centre. This hit #1 and whilst, on the surface, it isn't any more remarkable than other 2000s hits of theirs like Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights or Elevation, it was something that I had on heavy rotation around the time that my dad and brother died and I guess I felt some sort of catharsis in the track. "And it's you when I look in the mirror," indeed. The song was written for Bono's father, who died of cancer in 2001. :(

Babayaro.

22-03-2021, 03:32 PM

Enjoying reading these reviews :clap1:

Babayaro.

22-03-2021, 03:34 PM

Also, had never heard that U2 song, so thanks for that. Love it

Ammi

22-03-2021, 03:38 PM

...OMG..VV Brown, I haven’t listened to her in forever...:lovedup:..

Shaun

23-03-2021, 03:38 PM

i've confirmed my top 20 now, that was nice (i've just been eliminating 10 songs from the list at a time on a whim until now x)

80-71:
#80 - "Halo" by Beyoncé
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There could be a ton of arguments made as to why this isn't Beyoncé's best song, and I would be happy to agree with a lot of them, but when I pored over this decision I couldn't stop coming back to the resolution that Halo is the song in her discography that I played the most, that I have the most memories of friends with, and seemed to truly be a cultural shift in her career. It's the song that she encores concerts and festivals with; it's the song that fans took and ran with. A phenomenal vocal, a lyric of utter devotion and almost worship... there isn't a better allegory for Beyoncé's cult-following and long may they practice their craft :love: ALSO... Niamh parodied it to be about a potato, and that was nice.

#79 - "Don't Call Me Baby" by Madison Avenue
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This is another case of "well it charted in 2000 so I assumed it would count, but it was actually ****ing released in 1999 but it's too late now, Shaun, because you've eliminated 180~ other songs ahead of it". ****ing nightmare! ANYWAY. Australian house duo had a one-hit wonder back in 2000 :ninja2: with this sample of the irresistable bassline from McFadden & Whitehead's Ain't No Stopping Us Now. It reached #1 in the UK all the way back in May 2000, and has been on heavy rotation for clubs and wedding parties ever since. Like all great house classics, it's bold, feminine and unapologetic, and was embraced by the gays.

#78 - "Millionaire" by Kelis and André 3000
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I'd certainly been aware of her other hits that preceded this one (kids at school continually screaming "I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW" but that was mostly because I was bullied x (jk x)) but Millionaire was the one that converted me into a Kelis stan. Outkast's André 3000 features and kicks off the single phenomenally with his inimitable cartoonish delivery, and Kelis plays with lyrics rhythmically (I am rich, to he is rich, to she is rich, to we is rich :love:) but the reason it still turns me into a dancing maniac to this day is that instrumental... the rattling, buzzing and beeping is just so, so good.

#77 - "Some Girls" by Rachel Stevens
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Richard X was responsible for a whole lot of phenomenal pop music around the first half of the 2000s; he produced hits for Sugababes, Liberty X, M.I.A., Annie, Will Young and Alesha Dixon. My favourite work of his though was this throwaway third single off Rachel Stevens' debut album. She'd already made an impression with the fantastic Sweet Dreams My LA Ex (originally written for Britney Spears, apparently!) and so it didn't seem thinkable that a second or third single would match it; Some Girls did, literally. Both singles hit #2 on the UK singles chart. The song is definitely more than a little inspired by Goldfrapp's Strict Machine but it's its clever wordplay, tales of seedy music industry men and their "promise I'd get to the top" that set it apart. Few singers could make a song about giving label managers blowjobs ("the champagne makes it taste so much better") and get away with releasing it for Comic/Sport Relief.

#76 - "Seventeen" by Sharon Van Etten
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I named this my top song of 2019, meaning it's the most recent single to make the cut here. Van Etten is someone I'd ignored for a long time whilst bouncing away, presumably, to Rachel Stevens... but that Remind Me Tomorrow album was a shock to my system. So beautifully written, and full of bittersweet nostalgia like on this. A song about reflecting on your teenage years with a mixture of fondness and desperation to go back is pretty much the one overarching theme from putting this countdown together, so the song feels mad appropriate :unsure:

#75 - "Read My Mind" by The Killers
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2006's Sam's Town is probably the album I've listened to the most this century. Whilst it's certainly not the best album, it's something I and my friends grew up on, and I remember singing this song a lot with some of them and pretending that I definitely did not have a crush on frontman Brandon Flowers because I was obviously straight. The Killers were - and probably still are - huge for a reason: they had a fantastic grip on turning electronic-rock and nonsensical lyrics into stadium-fillers, and whilst they had bigger hits than this ("Mr. Brightside", "Human", "All These Things I've Done", "Somebody Told Me"), I just remember finding this song a wonderful tonic for introverts everywhere.

#74 - "The Mother We Share" by CHVRCHES
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Scottish act CHVRCHES burst onto the scene in 2013 with an arsenal of joyous electropop and it culminated in this mega-banger that, for some reason, I have closely affiliated with the Commonwealth games that were hosted in Glasgow a few years back. This song is just... begging to be screamed along to in a festival field; full of optimism and love.

#73 - "Weapon of Choice" by Fatboy Slim
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It's impossible to write about this song without acknowledging the music video: Christopher Walken's gravity-defying dance moves have already gone down in history as one of the greatest videos ever created, and that's just... not up for debate. But I'm ranking songs here, and it needed to be a great song to stand the test of time, because there were a lot of fantastic Fatboy Slim singles (even if the majority were in the 90s)... 'Weapon of Choice' uses the ridiculously cool Bootsy Collins' voice to give doctrine over this wonky, wobbly music that's just brilliant.

#72 - "Kiss It Better" by Rihanna
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Where to start with Rihanna's career? She's released, or been featured on, more singles than Tom Jones at this point. For me, there was a cruel irony in the fact that she's gone - for so long now - on hiatus after dropping her best ever album and best ever single. "Kiss It Better" was taken from 2016's Anti and is this dripping-with-sex belter that channels 1980s Prince; a guitar-heavy haze that's just irresistable. She had many, many bigger hits than this - but none of them were as good as this and I'll stand on that hill until I die.

#71 - "Mystery of Love" by Sufjan Stevens
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When I compile end-of-year lists of music I have a tendency to ignore film soundtracks because I figure if they were that good, I'd have heard them before the year pans out. As a result, back in 2017 I completely missed this masterpiece until it swelled my heart when I watched Call Me By Your Name in 2018. Stevens has forever been the subject of rumours about sexuality and has been deliberately vague about it, so the idea of contributing to one of the most gorgeous and tragic queer romances in recent years seemed like an overdue penance. Here he observes the classics as he so often does, ruminating on Hephaestion and Alexander the Great's relationship as he ponders love and uncertainty with such a charm that only Stevens is capable of.

Ammi

23-03-2021, 04:46 PM

#71 - "Mystery of Love" by Sufjan Stevens

#74 - "The Mother We Share" by CHVRCHES

#76 - "Seventeen" by Sharon Van Etten

...:lovedup:..

Mystic Mock

23-03-2021, 08:41 PM

Smithy

23-03-2021, 08:47 PM

Bey has much better songs :inamood:

Jordan.

23-03-2021, 09:38 PM

groovejet & millionaire :flutter:

Mystic Mock

24-03-2021, 02:25 PM

Some solid choices :clap1:

I like the fact that it feels like it is his genuine opinion rather than playing it safe like you can see with some lists on Youtube.

Shaun

24-03-2021, 04:48 PM

thanks all!

70-61:
#70 - "Into You" by Ariana Grande
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Grande's career doesn't seem to be showing any signs of stopping any time soon, which is fantastic for her and yet frustrating for me. The last two or three albums have been incredibly blah and it feels like everything post-Dangerous Woman has been the same mumbling tedium. Compare the likes of thank u, next with the hits she was churning out (Be Alright, Break Free, Problem, One Last Time) and it just feels like what was once a bright poppy spark has been dulled into the same trap-infused crap that everyone else is doing. She peaked with Into You, an urgent and passionate sex-banger that has been at the forefront of every gay with a performative aspect's mind for a good half decade now. That whistle tone during the final chorus? Changed lives. I'm bald now. Irretrievable.

#69 - "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake and Majid Jordan
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Speaking of musicians who've been dominating at the top of the charts long past their quality of output faded, Drake has been huge ever since the latter end of the 00s and has had an endless tirade of #1 singles and albums. The critical praise for the man has definitely faded over the last handful, but for a time he seemed inescapable. That nightmare was at least made bearable by the release of this phenomenal single in 2013. Hold On, We're Going Home is Drake at his best: emotional, vulnerable, honest and immaculately produced. Those synths swooning throughout... wonderful.

#68 - "I Dare You" by The xx
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Since their Mercury Prize-winning debut album in 2009, The xx have revolutionised the way bands and artists play with minimalism, and really paved the way for experimentalism to be more featured and prominent in mainstream pop. They truly carved out a niche; combining Jamie xx's gentle take on house and dance with Romy's sublime, aching voice and Oliver Sim's hollow, commanding drawl. I could've picked any of their songs to be honest; I've adored all three albums but I think I took to their most recent - 2017's I See You the most and thus I pick I Dare You. Those punchy, short lyrics give the track this sense of having to get it off their chests, and nothing feels more important. Millie Bobby Brown pops up in the video, too, which is odd.

#67 - "when the party's over" by Billie Eilish
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I've reflected a lot on the angsty, emo trends that dominated during my formative years with the occasional musical nostalgia in here, and it's that sort of teenage anxiety and uncertainty that is forever associated with those years of your lives. This generation's biggest star giving a voice to those sorts of feelings is Eilish, a woman whose star is almost certainly still on the rise even if she's already got two Record of the Year GRAMMYs to her name. Before she was being thrown opportunities like recording a Bond theme and mega-budget music videos, she was appealing to fans with these incredibly stripped-back songs and there wasn't one more laid-bare and vulnerable than When the Party's Over. Vocally, the song is haunting; layered with reverbs and echoes to such an extent that it's almost ethereal. Visually, the music video is so intensely unsettling and visceral that it's impossible to not feel moved by it. She's already released a lot of fantastic singles, but the one that really jolted me awake and made me pay attention to her artistry was this.

#66 - "Q.U.E.E.N." by Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu
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I've already explained my love of Janelle Monáe in here so I'll just jump straight on the song: 'QUEEN' was the lead single from her second album, The Electric Lady. I remember waiting for the music video to premiere because I knew it would be an event, and I was not wrong. There aren't many songs from the 2010s that are more powerful than this: it's a feminist and black anthem that harnesses so much in its lyrics that it's almost impossible to unpack here. Especially when the music is so compelling, full of funk and groove and the wonderful interruption of Badu's signature drawl. The spoken word outro, though, is phenomenal:

"Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to equations but they'll never make us equal
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel
So why ain't the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy
But when it's time to pay they turn around and call us needy
My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti
Gimme back my pyramid, I'm trying to free Kansas City
Mixing masterminds like your name Bernie Grundman
Well I'mma keep leading like a young Harriet Tubman
You can take my wings but I'm still gonna fly
And even when you edit me the booty don't lie
Yeah, I'ma keep sangin', I'mma keep writin' songs
I'm tired of Marvin asking me "What's Going On?"
March through the streets 'cuz I'm willing and I'm able
Categorize me, I defy every label
And while you're selling dope, we're gonna keep selling hope
We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope
Will you be electric sheep? Electric ladies, will you sleep?
Or will you preach?"

#65 - "Slow Burn" by Kacey Musgraves
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2018's Golden Hour is an album that demands to be listened to in the gentlest way possible. I cannot understate how calming and serene an experience it was to listen to the first time, and it only gets better with repeated listens. Its standout - for me - was Slow Burn, this picturesque snapshot of time and ecstacy that still gives me chills and probably will for years to come. I've never tried heroin but I'd imagine the high, that everyone addicted to it is chasing, feels something like this.

#64 - "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand
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One of the greatest intros to a rock song of all time, period. Franz Ferdinand burst onto the UK music scene in 2004 with Matinee and immediately followed it up with this monster, jam-packed with catchy guitar riffs and lyrics that are practically begging to be shouted along to in a packed pub. It's been a long time since the Scots put an album out, and truth be told they were petering out for a while, like most bands do, but god they were amazing in the 2000s.

#63 - "Bohemian Like You" by The Dandy Warhols
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The second that drumbeat kicks in and the organs fire up on the intro, I am immediately teleported back to 2001 and the feeling of effortless cool. There aren't many songs more iconic or universally loved than Bohemian Like You; a song that extended way beyond your casual rock fans into the hearts of just about everyone it reached through radio waves. Five years later it was re-released as a mashup with Mousse T's "Horny" and given a new lease of life, but honestly I think the song was already destined to go down as an all-time classic without it.

#62 - "Hung Up" by Madonna
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Nowadays whenever you hear about Madonna reinventing herself you can't help but grimace and brace yourselves for the onslaught of true cringe... but back in 2005 she did it with such a meticulous attention to detail and just the perfect list of ingredients to back her up. Confessions on a Dance Floor is my favourite Madonna album of all time, and I have no qualms putting it over her 1980s and 1990s masterpieces. She'd already confirmed herself as the queen of pop, and a queer icon, so why not go full disco and take an ABBA sample and ****ing run with it? Hung Up is a phenomenal song, and truly shook up pop and the idea that women of a certain age should retire gracefully and put the pink leotards away. WHAT a moment :clap1: iconic.

#61 - "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
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After winning the first series of American Idol all the way back in 2002, Clarkson quickly established herself as one of the most bankable popstars around. Teaming up with masters of the craft like Max Martin was a recipe for success, and in 2004 she came back with a second album led by this... this lightning bolt. She's had a lot of fantastic bedroom-karaoke moments, but for me the best was always this... those guitar licks and crashing drums all combining to create something truly cathartic and adrenaline-rushing.

Alf

24-03-2021, 05:06 PM

Take me out by Franz Ferdinand

:clap1:

Smithy

24-03-2021, 05:18 PM

I was waiting for SUBG but for one of the best pop songs of all time, for it to not even make the top 50?! :inamood:

Shaun

25-03-2021, 04:32 PM

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60-51:
#60 - "Honey" by Torres
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Since I found her in 2013, Torres has been steadily releasing fantastic lo-fi, emotional rock music and her albums are always there or thereabouts in my "end-of-the-year" lists. For me, she really made an impact with 2013's Honey... this slow-building, echoing and yearning rock ballad that feels like a forming storm. As her voice grows more distorted and struggles to resonate over the guitars, there's this breathtaking power taking over.

#59 - "There Goes the Fear" by Doves
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When I was 13 or 14, we had to write about this music video for some KS3 English class that didn't really make much sense to me at the time; I was more preoccupied with whatever Christina Aguilera was doing on MTV. As such, it took me until 2009 for Doves to really jolt me out of my poppy slumbers and make me pay attention to their material. In hindsight, There Goes the Fear is this dizzying, almost psychedelic trip into a world free from anxiety and sits right at a wonderful middle ground point, musically, between the nihilist misery of Radiohead and the silly multi-instrumentalism of the Rolling Stones.

#58 - "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
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I'm not writing anything nice about her because Smithy is annoying me lately and he was rude about SOPHIE. Take your iconic pop moment and **** OFF.

#57 - "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem
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Initially I found LCD Soundsystem through the use of "North American Scum", I think, on the Skins soundtrack... and the resulting lean towards their music has been frustratingly gradual on my part. I'm not sure what took me so long: their albums are all excellent, and full of these richly atmospheric, exhilarating songs. They are comfortable churning out dancefloor hits like Daft Punk Are Playing At My House, but I love them most when they're putting out 8 minute long, delayed-gratification epics that keep you on your toes and enjoying the buildup.

#56 - "Cellophane" by fka twigs
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Well, I've obviously messed up because I named Sharon van Etten's Seventeen the song of 2019 and this is from the same year. Well... times change. And the beauty behind this song, let alone the gorgeous music video, has obviously swayed me. The raspiness in her voice, the range from guttural moans to gasping falsettos, and those hissing sound effects as a deceptively simple piano chord plods along all combine to create a spell that's captivating.

#55 - "Flawless" by The Ones
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Okay so I've just discovered that the lead vocalist of this band died last year due to COVID complications, at the age of 50, so I'm definitely temporary pulled out of the heady, dizzying disco that this song immediately conjures :( The Ones were a trio of queer entertainers who - back in 2001 - had a one-hit-wonder with 'Flawless'. The song was later sampled by George Michael for his excellent single "Flawless (Go to the City)" and the song's irresistable funk was given another lease of life. I remember learning all of the rap on this ("worshipping you like a godde-like a goddess" :love:) as an eleven year old with no real grasp on my sexuality. It took me a long time to ****ing get there, but god bless you, The Ones, for showing me the ropes. ANTHEM.

#54 - "I Wish" by Mini Viva
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Right, I suppose I had better let go of my biases and realise that Mini Viva are never going to make any top 40 :( The UK's bittersweetly short-lived frolic with Mini Viva was, sadly, limited to the top-10 single Left My Heart in Tokyo all the way back in 2009. Whilst that debut single was indeed great, it was their second - this - that captured my attention. Sitting prettily between the poppy melodrama of Girls Aloud's The Loving Kind and Xenomania's signature electronica, the single might never have been destined to enter the charts, but it entered my heart :bawling: an iconic moment.

#53 - "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado
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I've already exhausted myself with praising Timbaland's production style throughout this list so I'll just say this: this was probably his best work, and one of the finest songs released in that decade. Furtado's voice is always piercing, but amplified here by those sweeping, hypnotic background synths.

#52 - "All The Small Things" by blink-182
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JUST scraping into eligibility for this list - it was released on the 18th of January, 2000 - are blink-182, pop punk's greatest success. All The Small Things needs no introduction: it is a timeless classic that is one of the most guaranteed ways to conjure waves of nostalgia and millions of people now in their 30s and 40s to sing along at the top of their lungs. From the ridiculous music video to its presence in every single teen movie for years to come, the song is now embedded in pop culture forever.

#51 - "Hey Ya!" by Outkast
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Another song with legend status is Hey Ya!, taken from 2003's incredible project Speakerboxxx / The Love Below. If I were to be writing this in an attempt to be objective, and name the greatest song of the century, this would definitely be much higher up: it's one of the most unique and incredible songs of all time and has absolutely obliterated everything you require to go down in history: the charts, the culture, the music video, the vocals, the memes and the radio airplay. The only reason it escapes my top 50 is because I was able to pick 50 songs I cherish more; this whole list is silly because all of the 250 songs I've named are likely to have me rolling around the floor screaming the lyrics like a confused seal. SHAKE IT LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE :clap1:

Babayaro.

25-03-2021, 11:25 PM

All My Friends :love:

Saph

25-03-2021, 11:34 PM

glad to see some iconic bops in the list so far!
Groovejet, Some Girls, Hung Up, Since U Beek Gone, Kiss It Better, Let Me Blow Your Mind :clap1:

Saph

25-03-2021, 11:36 PM

i can only assume leave (get out) by jojo is top 50

Mystic Mock

26-03-2021, 01:18 AM

Take me out by Franz Ferdinand

:clap1:

That was a nice surprise for my personal tastes.

Shaun

26-03-2021, 01:51 AM

i can only assume leave (get out) by jojo is top 50

I did put together a list of 10 songs that JUST missed out and Miss Jojo is on there! But... for "Too Little Too Late", unfortunately </3 queen of breakup bops.

Shaun

26-03-2021, 03:20 PM

we're close to the end now :omgno:

50-41:
#50 - "Midnight City" by M83
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I suppose I should be more annoyed that Made In Chelsea went ahead and made this their theme tune, but I think I'm leaning towards the idea that this should be the theme tune for absolutely everything. French band M83 have been releasing albums since 2001, but it was in 2011 that they went stratospheric with the release of Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. An album rich with childlike optimism, and a sense of wonder - all held together by this climactic track and its indescribable atmosphere.

#49 - "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + the Machine
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I already picked one of Florence's songs and have probably stated a million reasons why I - and so many others - love her and her artistry, so I'll just go on and explain the song that kicked it all off. 2009's Lungs was an album executed perfectly, full of knockout singles and bizarre, baroque album tracks that still keep me going back for repeated listens. But it was Dog Days Are Over that put her on the map: an incredibly brief, punchy combination of drums and harps that is as uplifting as it is catchy.

#48 - "Love at First Sight" by Kylie Minogue
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She really loved those weird robotic dancers with face shields, didn't she? I only just talked about On a Night Like This, and truth be told I had a hard time differentiating between the two... but I think I associate this song with more good times and it has a slightly more euphoric vibe to it. Kylie has a broad range of fantastic singles, but if pushed, I'd have to say this one is my favourite.

#47 - "212" by Azealia Banks and Lazy Jay
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Every basic white girl (myself included)'s immediate favourite thing at the end of 2011 was 212. Its monochromatic music video, its profane lyrics, that Mickey Mouse sweater and that flawless delivery were a shot of adrenaline to the music scene and - for a moment - it looked like we might have the best female rapper of all time in our hands. Banks went on to release a lot of fantastic music, but also a lot of... seemingly endless toxicity and is one of the industry's biggest disasters since Milli Vanilli. I'm not here to tarnish her reputation though (she did that herself): 212 is one of the greatest rap singles of all time and is guaranteed to fill floors even if it's with a bunch of people wondering if she's still cancelled.

#46 - "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey
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If you need a better indication that the ordering of this list is incredibly esoteric, then know that I was toying with throwing this song out of the running at the first list of ten videos :laugh: As I started to write about it, and Lana Del Rey's story, though, I knew that I was making a mistake and that this song had a far bigger impact than I was aware of. Her breakthrough in 2011 with this video - seemingly dropped on YouTube independently and promising this story of an impossibly-beautiful woman without a record label being capable of putting together this 1950s Americana-tinged nostalgia - was nothing less than huge. 'Video Games' shot straight into the top ten in the UK, and made her an overnight star. Her albums since have varied in quality, but now she's back in the public favour it seems we're indebted to the huge success of this debut.

#45 - "Yeah Yeah" by Bodyrox and Luciana
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This single hit #2 (held off by Fedde le Grand's Put Your Hands Up For Detroit) back in 2006 and for a long, long time (as a sixteen year old, mind) I considered it the best thing I'd ever heard. That production is just... like nothing else I've ever heard, such a grungy take on the dance music that was so dominant at the time. British-Italian singer Luciana was a guest on many hit singles around the time for Taio Cruz, Super Mal, Lethal Bizzle and Tiësto, but none were as big as Yeah Yeah and her signature punky style was perfect for it.

#44 - "Life in Technicolor II" by Coldplay
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I've already talked about Coldplay in this list so I'll just explain why this was my favourite song of theirs... actually I'm not sure I need to. Initially released as an instrumental to break up the action on their 2008 album Viva la Vida... or Death And All His Friends, the reception to it was so big that the band opted to put a vocal to it and release it as a single. Those vocals are indeed lovely, and it was nice to have something to sing along to, but if I'm honest the reason it took residence in my heart was because of that instrumental. I associate the song with a period of time in my life that was traumatic, and turned to songs bursting with radiance and optimism, and this was one of the more successful efforts. It still gives me chills :love:

#43 - "A&E" by Goldfrapp
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I've grown to love Goldfrapp for a lot of reasons, some of which have already been made clear in this thread. But my first introduction to them was on 2007's Seventh Tree; a far more folksy, baroque take on their sound than the electropop that had previously dominated their discography. Its standout was A & E... and Alison Goldfrapp's vocal on this song is perhaps the closest thing to heaven I've ever heard. For a song about taking an overdose and ending up in A&E to sound so magical and blissful is... bizarre.

#42 - "How It Ends" by DeVotchKa
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Little Miss Sunshine is one of my all-time favourite movies, and whilst that's largely due to its plot, its dark comedy, its unique take on familial relationships and incredible acting from Toni Collette, Steve Carrell, Alan Arkin and co., a significant reason is attributed to its soundtrack. Devotchka, a little-known Denver band, were responsible for the majority of it and its crux was How it Ends. The strings that kick in at the end of the song are so achingly beautiful.

#41 - "The Best of You" by Foo Fighters
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Foo Fighters have ONE better song than this, but sadly Everlong was released in the 90s and was therefore ineligible for this list. The band have been colossal for a long time now, and whilst the music hasn't been any good since, like, 2011, at their height they were fantastic. Dave Grohl's voice is always a tonic, but on this song it's something else... so strained, so visceral and so powerful.

Black Dagger

26-03-2021, 05:47 PM

What a list of 10.

I always forget how punchy Midnight City is. What a ****ing song.

Tony Montana

26-03-2021, 05:51 PM

Hold On, We're Going Home is my favourite Drake song. It's so underrated. Glad you included it.

Flawless, Say It Right, All the Small Things, Take Me Out, Hung Up, Since U Been Gone, Love at First Sight, Video Games and Best of You are all amazing. :love:

Hey Ya is an absolute classic. :love: Brings back so many amazing memories, the early 2000's were really something else. What I'd do to go back there. :bawling:

Shaun

27-03-2021, 03:14 PM

i am happy to provide a public service. Saph is at the back handing out pamphlets on how to join the church of taste x

40-31:
#40 - "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead
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It took me a long, long time to get into Radiohead. Their two best albums were released prior to the cut-off point of this thread, so that didn't help, considering I was ten years old and not really likely to bounce away to No Surprises or Everything In Its Right Place. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, though, and they've continued to throw out great albums well into the 21st century. 2001's Amnesiac was not one of the best, but it contained this - the best musical depiction of what I'd imagine it is like to see mirages in the desert. Those piano chords jab at you from all different angles, giving an incredibly alienating experience, but at the same time it's all so... serene.

#39 - "We Are the People" by Empire of the Sun
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2009's Walking on a Dream album was one of the weirdest and most visually and sonically appealing things I'd ever heard at the time. The Australians surfed in on the end of that wave of indie disco with an incredible eye for aesthetics and a handful of phenomenal singles. I was close to choosing the title track, which is also worth a listen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eimgRedLkkU), but in the end I had fonder memories of swaying along to this; its "I know everything about youuuuu" bridge is burnt into my subconscious.

#38 - "Frontier Psychiatrist" by The Avalanches
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Speaking of eccentric Australian duos, the Avalanches dropped one album in 2000 and its impact was so severe that it took sixteen years to follow it up. There've been two since 2016, and both are wonderful, but I would be lying if their biggest cultural impact - both on me and the world - wasn't... this. This song is almost unable to be described. The band received a lot of praise for innovating the way producers use samples, and along with DJ Shadow over in the US really created a new genre. I remember discovering this music video when I was about 14 or 15, so a good five years after it was released, and my friends thinking it was the coolest/funniest thing we'd ever seen. It is truly unique, and yet... SO incredible.

#37 - "The Fear" by Lily Allen
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One of the most divisive figures in music, Lily Allen has been releasing thought-provoking pop since 2005 and, unlike the majority of this list, I was at an age able to appreciate and digest it from the get-go. Her career's been fun to follow; whether she played it safe with the John Lewis Christmas advert or got called a racist for, um, having some dancers twerking on the video for Hard Out Here. It's her two first albums that I hold dearest to my heart, though, and in 2009 she hit the top of the singles chart with this clever, poignant reflection on the invasiveness of celebrity culture (it took me so long to realise "I'll look at the Sun, then I'll look in the Mirror... I'm on the right track, yeah I'm on to a winner" was referring to the tabloid newspapers and not just sungazing or looking at herself :skull: queen of wordplay!) She's released many brilliant songs, but this'll always be my favourite.

#36 - "American Boy" by Estelle and Kanye West
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That a song can almost be ruined not once but twice - first by the cringe scene in Gavin and Stacey between Sheridan Smith and James Corden, and later, now, with that ****ing Fortnite parody of the song - and STILL stand the test of time as... probably the greatest pop/rap collaboration of the century, is a miracle. The song is a wonderful time capsule of when Kanye West was still on the rise, and not above hosting Channel 4's The Friday Night Project... rather than... whatever he's become today. Estelle deserved more hits; her voice is gorgeous and her style is impeccable.

#35 - "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire
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You can't really mention this song on TiBB without reminding everyone of the incredible "Channel 4 Big Brother Best Bits" video put together by former moderator Rory on YouTube, so the song already has the home advantage on here... but I loved this song, and Arcade Fire, long before Big Brother's demise. The band are one of my all-time favourites... and there's no song more embedded in the fans hearts than Wake Up... that chanting chorus is one of the most comforting things in the world.

#34 - "I Still Remember" by Bloc Party
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One of the 2000s more interesting bands were Bloc Party, fronted by Kele Okereke and his eye (aka he's gay x) for something subversive. The band had this string of weird, chaotic singles that were a shock to the system... but I'm going to wimp out and pick one of their gentler songs. I was torn between So Here We Are and this... but I think the lyric for this just tipped it over the edge. It's such a romantic, beautiful song and the way mundane experiences are given such weight and personality is remarkable. "Every park bench screams your name" is such a silly lyric unless you're in the throes of a whirlwind romance.

#33 - "By the Way" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
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Another band more famous for dicks-out nonsense music than anything with much heart were the Chili Peppers... making the older generation tut since the late 1980s. Whether singing about ****ing in California, asking girls to "suck my kiss", or the very public heroin addiction plaguing Anthony Kiedis, they were always on the outskirts of what was acceptable to show on MTV... but by 2002, they'd calmed somewhat but still put out gorgeous songs. 'By the Way' is one that has this calming effect on me; something that makes you close your eyes and sing along as though an incantation. The track was sadly beaten to the #1 spot by Elvis vs. JXL's take on "A Little Less Conversation"... but I'm not going to let the UK's fixation with making Elvis still top the singles chart in the early 2000s bother me. I'm just not.

#32 - "Sea of Love" by Cat Power
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There was a fair bit of competition in terms of the cover song I could've placed highest... Scissor Sisters did a remarkable job reworking Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, Utah Saints did something good indeed with Kate Bush's Cloudbusting, and Eric Prydz sent shockwaves through the music video channels with his take on Steve Winwood's Valerie... but in the end I put away all of the dance hits and gave the title to this track from 2007's wonderful soundtrack for the movie Juno. On it is Cat Power's take on a 1950s crooner by Phil Phillips (who sadly passed away last year, RIP :love:) and both versions of the song are beautiful... but the twangs and ache in Power's voice on this 2000 version are just something else entirely. She took this love-song-by-numbers and gave it such a dark, eerie feeling... as though it could be from a siren, luring us to the rocks.

#31 - "Biology" by Girls Aloud
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One of the greatest pop songs of all time, period. I've already put in Something Kinda Ooooh and truth be told, I could've easily thrown in The Loving Kind, The Show, Sound of the Underground and Call the Shots too... no girl group will ever come close to their legacy, and whilst you can certainly worship the ones that preceded them... I am comfortable when I say that Girls Aloud were better than the Spice Girls, better than the Supremes, and better than... well who else is there? Biology is one of those rare songs where every. single. section. of. the. song. sounds like the chorus, such an incredible individual component, forming to create this monster of a song. Ignore the choreography.

Shaun

27-03-2021, 03:17 PM

i've finally put the remaining 30 in a concrete order :worship: of those 30 songs, only two are by the same artist. Three guesses as to who!

Smithy

27-03-2021, 03:19 PM

Jewels & Drugs and Come To Mama no doubt about it

Babayaro.

27-03-2021, 03:30 PM

Wake Up :love:

An absolute anthem and like you said, always reminds me of BB

Ammi

27-03-2021, 03:34 PM

...Cat Power..:lovedup:..

Ammi

27-03-2021, 03:35 PM

...it’s not the only great one in that section but I don’t want to be like a fan girl, mentioning all of the sensational includes...

Black Dagger

27-03-2021, 03:39 PM

Just crying at Wake Up

DouglasS

27-03-2021, 03:59 PM

i've finally put the remaining 30 in a concrete order :worship: of those 30 songs, only two are by the same artist. Three guesses as to who!

I’m gonna guess Robyn

Shaun

28-03-2021, 06:45 PM

we shall see!

30-21:
#30 - "Pyramids" by Frank Ocean
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Two segments in a row with the first song about pyramids. Weird. Anyway! If you can stomach the almost ten minute-long runtime, Frank Ocean's Pyramids is one of the most startling tracks of the century. Cut up into a futuristic epic of many chapters, the song sits shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest funk tracks of all time.

#29 - "Oblivion" by Grimes
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Grimes had a couple of albums prior to 2012's Visions but, truth be told, they are not very good and I find them inaccessible. So I treated this album very much as her breakthrough: and "Oblivion" was its standout. That childlike, breathy vocal almost teasing about being a physical threat herself is so, so good. The song is about Grimes' own experience as a victim of assault, and that never-ending fear that women experience when alone; so to take that and flip it, with a testosterone-fuelled music video full of frat guys, college football and night-time frolics, is somewhat magical. Pitchfork named it the best song of 2012, and the second best song of the entire decade... and that's fair! I just... am a whimsical slut!

#28 - "Someday" by The Strokes
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Probably the most cheerful-sounding guitar riff of the list. The Strokes started off with this unbeatable ability to craft these punchy, incredibly short tracks that shook up rock music to its core and popularised the indie genre.

#27 - "Romeo" by Basement Jaxx
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The UK was, for a long time, a hotbed of incredible dance music and I suppose, in ten or twenty years time, today's generation will still claim that the current wave is... but there really was no beating that 90s-2010 period. Basement Jaxx were one of the more dependable acts to put out an incredible song, and there were many: I tossed and turned over songs like Where's Your Head At?, Jus 1 Kiss, Bingo Bango, Good Luck and Red Alert but in the end I kept coming back to the memory of trying to copy the dance moves from the Bollywood-inspired Romeo video. There aren't many songs that provoke a bigger spark of joy within me.

#26 - "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera and Redman
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Over in her native US, the response to this music video and Xtina's sudden shift from the girl-next-door image that kept her sex appeal strictly PG (Come On Over, What a Girl Wants, Genie in a Bottle) was a huge controversy.. so much so that the release of this in 2002, the lead single from 2003's Stripped album, bombed on the Billboard charts. Over here? We sent it straight to number 1, babes. Sometimes the UK do things right. I remember 13 year old Shaun finding the music video an enigma: puberty was about to strike, and here was Miss Aguilera, dripping with sweat, fighting other girls in the ring and showering with them. I mean... I wanted to learn the choreo, too, but... wow, what a moment.

#25 - "Loud Places" by Jamie xx and Romy
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I named this my favourite song of 2015 and I am still resolute in that opinion. Two thirds of the XX reunited on Jamie xx's solo album to create something truly magical. The rattling of glass bottles is looped into something mesmerising... and as Romy's voice does its thing, the chorus builds into this sample of Idris Muhammad's 1977 single Could Heaven Ever Be Like This? that is just awash with love, devotion and reverie.

#24 - "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz
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Criminally held off the #1 spot by the nauseatingly-awful "Lonely" by Akon, Gorillaz's biggest hit is one of the century's most genre-defining and immediately recognisable. That bassline is forever embedded in everyone's head, and the song continues to rack up millions and millions of views. It's truly timeless, and one of the most incredible songs ever written. Credit too to De La Soul, for that insane laugh (and verses) that permeates the damn thing.

#23 - "Flashing Lights" by Kanye West and Dwele
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The sheer theatre of the intro to this is enough to warrant its place on the list, but to go ahead and surpass it with those phenomenal synths, playful vocal samples and that chorus... jesus christ this song was, and still is, so cool. 2007's Graduation album was a little bit of a disappointment to some, stood up to The College Dropout and Late Registration... but if it was the groundwork for West to step out of his hip hop box and turn to a more futuristic, electronic sound... then I think it paid off.

#22 - "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus
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Every time I am reminded of this I am absolutely thrown. WHAT. A SONG. There aren't many better examples of a song that absolutely begs to be screamed along to by everyone of all ages. The video cleverly takes two stars of late 90s teenage movies (American Pie's Jason Biggs and American Beauty's Mena Suvari) to act out one of those cliche romantic high school tropes of the time, and I am transported back to 2001 and singing along on the back of school coach trips :love:

#21 - "Somebody Else" by The 1975
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You might want to skip to 3:00 for the song to actually start. I remember hating the 1975's debut album, in spite of its string of relatively catchy singles... and then this came along and slapped me in the face. I wasn't experiencing a heartbreak at the time or anything, but the song is so masterfully created to be timeless that it calls back on every one you've ever had. Those echoed cries in the background... the verses sounding like an attempt to sober yourself up and say what you really want, before the chorus comes along and reduces you again to a drunken, sobbing mess. Wonderful! (Don't worry I'm fine! Really!)

Ammi

28-03-2021, 06:51 PM

...I recall the first TiBB top song that I followed on the forum and Pyramids/Frank Ocean was the winner....:lovedup:../...TiBB nostalgia...

...I adore Frank Ocean’s version of Moon River, I maybe love it equally as much as I love Audrey’s....

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

28-03-2021, 06:51 PM

Janelle

Ammi

28-03-2021, 06:54 PM

...and Grimes...:love:..

DouglasS

28-03-2021, 07:05 PM

I reckon it’ll be Kanye actually now (who places twice in the top 30) mainly because he’s just appeared now :laugh:

Legrand

28-03-2021, 10:43 PM

Oblivion is great!

Shaun

30-03-2021, 07:21 PM

WELL... I should be posting the top ten tomorrow. Until then...

20-11:
#20 - "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire
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By 2013 I was already a full convert to the church of Arcade Fire, so for them to come back with a layered masterpiece, that is packed with so many things going on that David Bowie chanting towards the tail end of the song isn't even one of the standouts, felt very much like overkill. Around 3 minutes the song kicks up several gears and turns into a sonic wall of incredulity that I'm still getting my head around... it's just a track that inspires so much excitement in me.

#19 - "Pure Shores" by All Saints
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One of the most perfect and understated singles ever released by a pop group, 'Pure Shores' washed up in February of 2000 and has been a source of serenity ever since. Shaznay Lewis was always the best member of the band and is credited as the sole member who actually wrote this, along with mega-producer of the time William Orbit (who enjoyed other hits such as P!nk's "Feel Good Time" and Madonna's "Ray of Light" and Blur's "Coffee and TV"). It also featured on the soundtrack for Danny Boyle's "The Beach", which was apparently not a great film but that didn't stop this hitting the top of the charts :love:

#18 - "Love is a Losing Game" by Amy Winehouse
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Winehouse's appeal was and is timeless. Her talent and ability were so undeniable and universal that some of her songs felt like they could've been on rotation in the 1940s, 1970s or 2020s... and I don't think there's a better example of this than Love is a Losing Game, this brief cut from her mega-album Back to Black. The lyrics are so bleak and yet so beautiful, and delivered in a way that's so heartbreaking, that it appeals to everyone regardless of age, gender and social status. I don't know if there's ever going to be another story of a talent's demise that breaks me as much as Amy Winehouse's did in 2013, but I sure ****ing hope not because this one was devastating.

#17 - "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn
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I'm a little annoyed that the music video has a version of the audio with twinkling effects that I don't think really add anything to the darkness of the song, but it's really not that serious. I don't know a more iconic song. Trying to picture the 2010s without this absolutely flooring everyone on a gay club's dancefloor isn't worth imagining. The combination of raucous electropop and pleading, desperate lyrics is genius. Even someone as monotonously tedious and bland as Calum Scott couldn't ruin it.

#16 - "Samson" by Regina Spektor
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A long time ago, Ben (ukturtle) and I had a game on here to find the best song of the 2000s and I think this came pretty close to winning because we were voracious with our campaigning for it. It's still one of the most starkly beautiful things I've ever heard; this tale of a boyfriend who was dying from cancer ("not much hair left on his head/ he ate a slice of Wonderbread and went right back to bed"), themed around the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah and dealing with that metaphorical loss of power and love.

#15 - "Holocene" by Bon Iver
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Bon Iver's self-titled 2011 album came out at the time I was heading off to university, and I would spend the train journeys to and from whenever there were holidays listening to it in its entirety, sometimes twice. The whole thing is beautiful but its standout was Holocene... just this really gentle, comforting and yet at the same time ominous, wonder.

#14 - "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens
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I did say I loved the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack! Sufjan Stevens' 2005 Illinoise album is one of the most experimental and grand things ever executed, and its centerpiece is this love letter to his neighbouring state. It's almost overwhelming, how much is going on in this track and how much there is to unpack, but even as a culmination it's just so good... I'm really running out of superlatives here. I should've just stuck with 150. Damnit.

#13 - "Freak Like Me" by Sugababes
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I know it's technically just two songs mashed together ("Freak Like Me" by Adina Howard and "Are Friends Electric?" by Gary Numan) but it's such an incredible combination that it makes cheese and wine look pathetic. Kicking off a new era following the departure of Siobhan Donaghy, the girls launched straight to #1 with this and it's genuinely one of the coolest songs I've ever heard.

#12 - "Digital Love" by Daft Punk
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Daft Punk have a whole range of incredible songs and its two members have had so many other side-projects - some of which I've included in this list, some of which were a year or two too early (like Stardust's Music Sounds Better With You) - that I gave myself a difficult challenge with just picking one Daft Punk single... but in the end it was not really a contest, because Digital Love is one of my all-time favourite songs. So incredibly feel-good and catchy.

#11 - "Comptine d'un autre été, l'après-midi" by Yann Tiersen
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You're probably thinking that this sticks out like a sore thumb in a list like this, and you'd be right, but I was in a somewhat esoteric mood and there's only so much I can rely on my iTunes library to be accurate with. There have probably been a million other examples of film scores and sheetmusic from this century that I've adored, but I guess I never made the effort to go and download them. Tiersen has soundtracked two of my favourite movies; 2003's "Good Bye Lenin!" which was released in Germany, but more famously 2001's French masterpiece "Amélie", from which this is taken. This is an extremely short piece, but it's one that makes me yearn for the ability to play the piano... because it's just one of the most beautiful things ever recorded. On another day this'd be a #1 in this list, because it really does something to me that's inexplicable.

Marsh.

30-03-2021, 07:29 PM

The Beach is an underrated gem. :nono:

Shaun

01-04-2021, 07:07 PM

I've only heard bad things :worry:

Right then, the end of the list. Obviously this is just my opinion, these aren't the objective ten best songs of the century, but.. they kinda are! Turns out when I said "only one artist has two songs in the top 30" I was wrong... because there were two :( Both feature in this top ten.

Thanks all for reading.

10-1:
#10 - "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott, Ciara and Fatman Scoop
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Probably a choice that raises a few eyebrows because Elliott has songs that are definitely regarded more as "classics", but for me there was nothing more weird and exciting than this 2005 single. The music video more than matches its chaotic energy, with choreography that closer resembles a demonic possession than street/hip hop, but all three artists featured are the main attraction and giving 100%. Fatman Scoop's barking serves as the drill sergeant whilst Ciara gives the track layers of hooks.

#9 - "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
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I hadn't put anything else by Yeah Yeah Yeahs in the entire list because the grim reality that nothing else really comes close to 'Maps' had long ago set in. Not to say that they're underwhelming - throughout the 2000s they released album after album of exciting and feminine rock that saw them on the cusp of mainstream success - but Maps is just so perfect a song that nothing compares to it. Combining relentless romanticism with a yearning, agonising delivery makes it somewhat heartbreaking, and those drums are just incredible. The song would later go on to give Beyonce a hit, sampling the chorus refrain in "Hold Up".

#8 - "Ultralight Beam" by Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, The-Dream, Kirk Franklin and Kelly Price (and others)
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I am by no means a man of faith or religion, but when Kanye dropped this in 2016 I had second thoughts. The man is a parody now, and provokes immediate feelings whether negative or positive, but just before he went all Trumpy he was, thankfully, capable of putting together this incredible song. Kelly Price's vocal is jaw-dropping, Chance's rap is maybe his best, but it's the featured choir that just ascends the track to another level. It's impossible to listen to it without getting chills.

#7 - "Hometown Glory" by Adele
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I was torn between putting this or 'Make You Feel My Love' this high, but in the end plumped for the one that Adele wrote herself. Probably the song that put her on the map, 'Hometown Glory' is a phenomenally bittersweet ballad that showcases everything that made Adele the incredible star that she is: a deft touch for relatability in her lyrics, an agonising and beautiful vocal, and very little else to distract you from those qualities. The piano work is fantastic, though, and this song will forever endure as a song of the 00s generation.

#6 - "When You Were Young" by The Killers
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What, not Mr. Brightside? No... a lifetime of terrible nights out ending with that definitely ruined its appeal for me, though I can definitely still appreciate it for the anthem it is (I believe it's just celebrated its 260th week in the UK Top 100 singles... which really is incredible when you consider the second song, Chasing Cars, only managed around 160). For me, the Killers' best single was always the one that kicked off their second album, Sam's Town. Those guitars, as soon as they rev up, get me going and the chorus is just... heroin.

#5 - "Song 4 Mutya" by Groove Armada and Mutya Buena
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Anyone who really knows me will know that I regularly espouse that this is the greatest song of all time, and sometimes I am serious in that assertion. I might only be placing it fifth here, but... I did say it was arbitrary! Fresh off the back of leaving the Sugababes, Mutya Buena put out a pretty great solo album and then teamed up with dance giants Groove Armada (previously best known for Superstylin', I See You Baby (shaking that ass), and At the River. The end product was Song 4 Mutya... this sugary-sweet reminder that Buena was always the soul and the voice of Sugababes, and without her the band tanked. I never even interpreted the lyrics to this as a middle finger to her former bandmates and label though ("that's who has replaced me? What a diss") until a year or two after its release.

#4 - "Paper Planes" by M.I.A.
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Just... one of the best songs ever written, period. So unlike anything else ever released, which is remarkable since it literally is a sample of the Clash's "Straight to Hell" given the contemporary rework by Diplo. The song is a punk, political commentary on the West's attitude to immigrants, and those from the Middle East and South-Asian parts of the world in general, based on M.I.A.'s own experiences trying to get a permit to work in America... and there's definitely a malevolent, bitter undertone to the song, but is there anything more American than "all I wanna do is ... take your money"?

#3 - "Hope There's Someone" by ANOHNI (formerly Antony & The Johnsons)
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I don't even know where to begin describing the beauty of this song... so fragile, insecure, frightened and poetic. It's so bleakly emotional and forthright, stating, "Oh I'm scared of the middle place between light and nowhere, I don't want to be the one left in there, left in there" with a voice that honestly channels Nina Simone. The track closes with this prolonged wailing that... only seems fitting after such a heartbreaking confession.

#2 - "With Every Heartbeat" by Robyn and Kleerup
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I still think it's something of a miracle that this hit the top of the UK charts all the way back in 2007, because the charts were dominated by either superstars backed by mega-labels like Leona Lewis, Rihanna and Kanye, or overtly safe and tedious British acts like Take That and Kaiser Chiefs. For one magical week in the summer, though, Swedish superstar Robyn made the comeback of all comebacks and cemented herself in my heart as the greatest popstar of all time. This song is so masterful... breaking up the electronica with strings segments and that repeated song title thudding away with a literal heartbeat. Genuinely magical, but then what else do you expect from Robyn?

#1 - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by Scissor Sisters (and Elton John)
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There was an inevitability to me placing this at #1, because since 2006 it's been at the forefront of my mind and one of the most reliable tracks to raise my spirits and get me dancing. The Scissor Sisters were often likened to Elton John when their debut album circulated, so it seemed a natural response to get the man himself to provide a piano performance for them on the comeback single from their second album. I had the pleasure of seeing them perform this at the O2 back in 2007 (and got soaked by Jake Shears spraying his bottle of water over the crowd :love:) and it's just such a joyous, phenomenally catchy monster that will catch me off-guard all the time and make me want to dance.

So I did think the answer was Robyn, so well done Douglas, but turns out there was another Kanye song as well, oops!