[Shaun]

20. MGMT - Time to Pretend
The American duo shot to fame in 2008 with the help of some lovely folks at Gossip Girl and Skins featuring this track in their series finales. The track, which fantasises about the Rock and Roll lifestyle, only peaked at #35 in the UK but their indie following was undeniable.

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19. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
There was a period in 2006 where this song was everywhere. You couldn't escape it. Big Brother fans remember it fondly as the song of Big Brother 7, and it spent a colossal 130 weeks in the UK Top 100 (despite only peaking at #6). Selling 505,000 copies, Snow Patrol's most successful release is also their most beautiful.

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18. Madonna - Hung Up
The Queen of reinvention surprised us all in 2005 with her disco-pop rebranding, which has proved to be one of her most successful eras. Sampling ABBA's hit "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme", Hung Up was an instant phenomenon - the shocking and iconic video with the purple leotard helped to secure the song a Number#1 position in more than 45 countries around the world.

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17. Eminem (feat. Dido) - Stan
The third single from the Marshall Mathers LP saw Eminem collaborating (perhaps unpredictably) with easy-listening artist Dido. It's one of 3 songs from this decade on the Rolling Stones' "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" (I've mentioned Outkast's Hey Ya! as one, the other was Eminem's "Lose Yourself) - and the fictional obsessive fan's angry demise is easily his most powerful song to date.

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16. Muse - Time Is Running Out
Taken from their Absolution album, Muse's highest entry on this chart was also their first top-ten entry on the UK Singles chart in 2003. Demonstrating what they do best, the song's a slowly building and passionate track. And I've just realised I've made a huge mistake - I didn't include anything from their Origin of Symmetry album because I thought it was released in the 90s. It was 2001. FML. Plug In Baby and New Born would be (pretty highly) on this chart too.

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15. Robbie Williams - Let Love Be Your Energy
One of the man's lesser-known songs, the 4th single from "Sing When You're Winning" peaked at #10 back in 2001. With a cartoon video with Williams on the run in search of love, the song is one of his most euphoric, and full of energy (har.)

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14. Adele - Hometown Glory
Adele's breakthrough in 2008 was almost outshone by Duffy's to my great annoyance, given the latter's irritating voice. But her debut single was released in October 2007, and reportedly took 10 minutes to write after her mother tried to persuade her to leave London for University. Elton John's "Your Song" was written in this same amount of time. It's amazing what you can do with 10 minutes. But anyway yes, this is her best song and a little more than poignant for the stage of life I'm currently in.

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13. Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
Winning awards for best breakthrough video and pop collaboration at the VMAs and Grammy's respectively in 2005, The Gorillaz teamed up with De La Soul to make one of the year's most significant records. I want to go on that flying windmill island.

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12. Mika - Grace Kelly
His breakthrough in 2007 was immense. This is without a doubt the best pop debut I have heard that I can think of. I remember my 17th birthday when this was just coming out, and I was in Pizza Hut with hot friends and a bunch of helium balloons...and we sung this with high-pitched voices. Fun times.

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11. DeVotchKa - How It Ends
Few of you will recognise the music, even fewer the name. If you're one of these categories, it was used in the soundtrack to the film "Little Miss Sunshine". If you're still confused...listen. It's honestly brilliant. I prefer the shorter version with no vocals (sometimes called "The Winner Is...") and the strings are perfect. Seriously, listen. It's beaut. I want to travel around America with it playing...

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