The Decade: A Retrospective The Best Songs 25-11

"We Belong Together"
Mariah Carey
The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)

Mariah Carey spent the 90s as its invincible chart diva, scoring No. 1 singles at will. The first half of this decade wasn't as kind and following several flops, Carey was in desperate need of a hit. Enter "We Belong Together", her monster smash that spent 14 weeks atop the charts. The rapid-fire verses name drop Bobby Womack and Babyface with Carey displaying uncharacteristic restraint in her anxious appeal to reunite with her lost love.

"Mr. Brightside"
The Killers
Hot Fuss (2004)

It started out with a kiss and ended up with a trans-Atlantic hit. The Killers went from being an 80s glam revival flash in the pan to a certifiable rock phenomenon with "Mr. Brightside", their second single as well as the most vivid description of that sick feeling you get in your stomach imagining the love of your life with another man. "She's touching his chest now, he takes her dress off now," Brandon Flowers sings. "Let me go!"

"Black and Gold"
Sam Sparro
Sam Sparro (2008)

Church music used to be nothing but organs and choirs until someone decided you could use guitars and voila, the contemporary Christian genre was born. Few have mastered the art of religious dance music however, but Sam Sparro is the exception. Sparro isn't singing about his true love in "Black & Gold", he's actually wondering what life would be like without God as he sings, "If you're not really here, then the stars don't really matter." Deep.

"Such Great Heights"
Postal Service
Give Up (2003)
"Such Great Heights" lives up to its name. The Postal Service made music that was lighter than air, shining beautiful laptop music that could instantly transport the listener to another dimension, far removed from the stress of normal life. "Everything looks perfect from far away," sings Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard. I'd like to think that if you went inside an iPod, this is what it would sound like.

"The First Single"
The Format
Lullabies and Interventions (2003)
There are few things as life affirming as listening to the Format's apply titled first single. The 60s guitar pop and hopeful lyrics make sticking it to the man more optimistic that ever thought possible and proving your critics wrong more fun than you thought it could be. "Let's make a list of who we need, it's not much if anything, then we'll throw it away 'cause we don't need anyone." Couldn't have said it better.

"If I Ain't Got You"
Alicia Keys
The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003)
Alicia Keys has always been a classy lady. Plucked from obscurity by Clive Davis and plopped at a piano to make classy tunes for millions of consumers to buy, "If I Ain't Got You" is the classiest thing she's done. If Frank Sinatra were alive today, this is the type of song he would sing. Sure, some people do want it all, but what's the point if they don't have their true love? Keys croons this sentiment, disavowing diamond rings and the fountain of youth for simple and pure love, something more people should agree with during a recession. Thank you Alicia, for giving us the decade's classiest song.

"Idioteque"
Radiohead
Kid A (2000)
"I laugh until my head comes off, woman and children first," sings Thom Yorke in Radiohead's most disturbing track. The lyrics all seem garbled, adding to the apocalyptic sonic atmosphere of the song. Although never released as a single, "Idioteque" is standout from Kid A that strayed from what kind of music rock bands were supposed to make. Amid a paranoid and claustrophobic electronic beat, the band pushed experimentalism forward while warning against every single post-millennial fear the world throws at you. Samples from two 1970s "computer" songs are spliced into the track

"L.E.S. Artiste"

Santogold

Santogold (2008)

Critics saw Santogold (now Santi Gold) as the new M.I.A., but in just over a year, she has become a model for other young black artists who follow her genre-mashing blueprint and scoff at the idea that their skin color requires them to make "urban" music. The former punk band frontwoman and A&R rep's breakout hit is irresistible and rich with irony. It rages against the pretentious hipsters of the Lower East Side through Cars-influenced indie pop yet became just the kind of song those people filled their iPods with. "If you see me, keep going...just leave me out you name dropper," she scoffs in a musical declaration of independence that anticipates the too-cool-for-school crowd latching onto her song after she made it big.

"My Love"

Justin Timberlake

Futuresex/Lovesounds (2006)

No song better describes its parent album than "My Love". It is both futuresex and lovesounds at the same time. Justin Timberlake's falsetto thrills as he sings about writing symphonies, walking on the beach with his toes in the sand, and presenting a ring to his love. Its unclear if this is truly Timberlake popping the question or simply flattering a chick to get in her pants, but Timbaland's vocal pop and clicks, the stuttering synth, and the manic looped laughing voice, it doesn't really matter. "SexyBack" is more instant, but "My Love" is Timberlake's masterpiece. Perhaps the fact that it isn't as sugary sweet is part of its charm.

"Crazy In Love"
Beyonce

Dangerously In Love (2003)

Beyonce always had her sights sets on solo super stardom, after all, her dad managed Destiny's Child. "Crazy In Love" was her declaration of independence, an exuberant, exciting, Chi-Lite sampling manifesto stating that she was the Diana Ross of the twenty first century. The blaring horns are like a blitzkreig on your ears, and Knowle's voice is like a siren, announcing that she is an independent woman who is crazy in love and will get exactly what she wants. Jay-Z's contribution was one of four times he rode the coattails of a female singer to reach the top of the charts and foreshadowed the future power couple's marriage.

"Maps"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Fever To Tell (2003)

"Maps" not only inspired the guitar riff in the decade's best break-up song ("Since U Been Gone" at 2:05), but it ended up being on of it's most enduring and heart-wrenching love songs. The lyrics are simple and direct. Karen O pleads, "Wait, they don't love you like I love you," over and over, her last attempt at convincing an old lover to reconsider. What do maps have to do with it? I'm not sure anyone really knows, but that's half the song's appeal. The timid, almost weak delivery of the track early on gives way to a standard Yeah Yeah Yeah's rocking out during the bridge right as the riff that Max Martin ripped off kicks in.

"Crazy"

Gnarls Barkley

St. Elsewhere (2006)

When OutKast failed to deliver past Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Gnarls Barkley seemed like the duo that would command both critical acclaim, commercial success, and take the radio by its ear and drag it to a psychedelic retro drenched future. "Crazy" sounded like a revelation, a long lost Motown track that was saved for a later date so it could save the world. DJ Danger Mouse, coming off the success of his mash-up masterpiece The Grey Album, provided the beats for Cee-Lo's soulful crooning about mental illness. The song is destined to be covered countless times in the coming years and it made history when it became the first single to ever reach No. 1 in the UK on downloads alone.

"Casamir Pulaski Day"

Sufjan Stevens

Illinois (2005)

Casimir Pulaski was a Polish-born officer in the American Revolution who was destined to remain unknown to anyone outside of Illinois until Sufjan Stevens decided to tell a story about a losing a loved one that just happened to take place on Casimir Pulaski Day. The simple beauty of the song is underscored by the quiet struggle of adversity and wondering if God even cares. "And he takes and he takes and he takes," Stevens repeats after thinking he sees his lost love breathe. Religious themes in music tend to be black or white, totally accepting or totally rejecting. Stevens honesty captures the paradox of living in a world of both hope and faith as well as hopelessness and pain.

"Get UR Freak On"
Missy Elliott
Miss E...So Addictive (2003)

Missy Elliott and Timbaland brought Punjab to the masses with the psychedelic freak out of "Get Ur Freak On". Kickstarted by some Hindi mumbling and propelled by the hypnotic plucking of a ektara, a one stringed Indian instrument, Miss E and Timbaland were able to craft a song that sounded like nothing before it, and although some have tried, no one has been able to make anything like it since. The perfect song for a world grappling with globalization, Indian elements grind up against jungle drum and bass beats, a Japanese countdown, and synth lines that came straight out of American horror movies of the 1950s. When Missy tells you to get your freak on, its impossible to say no.

"Hurt"

Johnny Cash

American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)

"Hurt" is one of the most desperate and painful songs ever recorded. When producer Rick Rubin asked Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails if Johnny Cash could cover the song, Reznor worried that it would be gimmicky. After seeing the video however, he was blown away. "Tears welling, silence, goosebumps...that song isn't mine anymore," he said. The song is stripped down to a simple yet building guitar and Cash's straight forward delivery. The lyrics are piercing. "What have I become my sweetest friend? Everyone I know goes away in the end. And you can have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down. I will make you hurt". Released after Cash's death, it is a masterful ending to a storied career of one of country's greats.

The Decade: A Retrospective The Best Songs 70-56

"Stronger"

Kanye West
Graduation (2007)

"Stronger" was the moment that Kanye West changed his goal from being the biggest rapper in the world to being the biggest pop star in the world. Appropriating Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", West reinvents the adage that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger into a drunken, boastful anthem that was written for the express purpose of being a No. 1 single (which it was).

"Biology"

Girls Aloud

Chemistry (2005)

"Biology" is a classic Girls Aloud track, refusing to conform to the traditional songwriting structure. Instead, the song veers from a cabaret intro to an art rock verse and then to one of its two explosive choruses. Named "best pop single of the last decade" by the Guardian, "Biology" pushed the boundaries of what pop music was supposed to be. Popjustice said, "it is pop music which makes people who don't like pop music think that they like pop music".

"Stroke of Genius"

Freelance Hellraiser
Not commercially released (2001)

Although mash-ups have their origins with the likes of the "Stars on 45" Medley in 1981, it is perhaps the twenty-first century's only totally unique genre. "A Stroke of Genius" was one of the first mash-ups to gain major exposure and it remains one of the best. Freelance Hellraiser combined two wildly divergent songs, the teen-pop of Christina Aguilera's "Genie In A Bottle" and the indie rock of the Stroke's "Hard To Explain". Purists would turn their noses to mixing the two tracks, but their union underscored the decade's trend of tearing down musical barriers.

"Box N Locks"
MPHO
Pop Art (2009)

MPHO's failure to make any major impact on British radio was a massive pop injustice. "Box N Locks" is a masterful, life affirming, and genre-defying debut. Borrowing heavily from Cars-inspired pop, South African born MPHO rages against critics who say she's supposed to make "urban music" because of her skin as she proclaims, "Sorry that I didn't know that I fit in the box and all the locks that's supposed to be unbreakable".

"Blinded By The Lights"
The Streets
A Grand Don't Come For Free (2004)

The Streets' "Blinded By The Lights" is the closest you can come to getting high without puffing a thing. Mike Skinner transports the listener to a club completely stoned as a haunting female voice repeats "lights are blinding my eyes" and the off kilter synth beat drowns the senses. The lyrics are paranoid and schizophrenic making something as simple as finding friends a trippy experience. "Everything in room is spinning, I think I'm gonna fall down, I wonder if they got in..." Skinner wonders before the track ends and he blacks out.

"All These Things That I've Done"
The Killers
Hot Fuss (2004)

"All These Things That I've Done" is an anthem. It begins quiet and solemn with Brandon Flowers pleading, "if you can't hold on, hold on," as a church organ sounds before the swelling guitars and the song's memorable riff take it from there. "Don't you put me on the backburner," Flowers demands. But that's not even the iconic part. The track takes off with the immortal line, "I got soul but I'm not a soldier". The gospel choir joins in, you roll down your windows and sing with them, and everything is right in the world. Everything.

"Work It"
Missy Elliott
Under Construction (2002)

During the 1960s and 70s, backmasking was a major concern for parents worried that their children's rock music was subliminally making their kids want to smoke marijuana. Missy Elliott never went that far, but she told the world to put their things down, flip it, and reverse it both forwards and backwards in her 2002 hit. The song spent a record ten weeks at No. 2 without reaching the top spot, a travesty for the old-school sampling, elephant-tail-yanking, sci-fi thriller.

"Stan"
Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

The word fan is derived from fanatic. Sampling Dido's "Thank You" to a haunting effect, Eminem tells the chilling fictional tale of his "biggest fan", Stan. Stan is tragically misguided and writes several letters to Eminem, each more desperate, drunk, and deranged than the one before, and each goes unanswered. Slim Shady finally responds, but not before his biggest fan ends his life driving his car off a bridge. Eminem never signed up to be an idol, but wife-beater wearing disenfranchised youth across America didn't care.

"Some Girls"
Rachel Stevens
Come and Get It (2005)

"Dreams of number one last forever," Rachel Stevens ironically sang in her No. 2 hit "Some Girls". The song, allegedly about a desperate pop star providing her "services" to a record executive in exchange for fame, was sought by Stevens as well as former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. Stevens team pitched it as the 2004 Sports Relief charity single although it had nothing to do with sports or charity, and she got it. The track was written and produced by Richard X who used glam rock percussion with Adam Ant influenced synth to make a critic charming smash.

"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
Jay-Z
The Blueprint (2001)

At the end of the decade, Jay-Z declared the death of auto-tune because it had become a parody of itself. Almost ten years before however, Jay was responsible for taking a different trend and packaging it for the masses so it could quickly "jump the shark". The Kanye West produced "Izzo" brought the -izzle phenomenon into the public consciousness and soon enough, even your grandmizzle was using it. Hova tackles one of his favorite topics in this track, himself, which samples the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back".

"Paper Planes"
M.I.A.
Kala (2007)

M.I.A. had gained the respect of indie critics and the blogosphere, but it wasn't until her song about being "high like planes" was featured in the marijuana film Pineapple Express that she broke into the mainstream. Stuffed with gunshot noises, a choir of third world children chanting about taking your money, and a Clash sample, "Paper Planes" was an unlikely hit. Peaking at No. 4, it resonated at a time of worldwide economic meltdown and unending global conflict and war.

"I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor"

The Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

The Arctic Monkeys rode the wave of pre-album release buzz to the top of the charts and Whatever People I Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest selling debut in British history. The week it was released, it was dubbed the fifth greatest Brit album ever. The British press can be a bit hyperbolic, but luckily the Monkeys lived up to their hype. "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor", the album's lead single, is an airtight, wordy, raw, and explosive song that anyone looks good dancing to.

"Knights of Cydonia"
Muse
Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

Closing out their breakthrough album Black Holes and Revelations was Muse's "Knights of Cydonia". Clocking in at just over six minutes, "Knights" combined Queen-like grandiosity and falsetto, stampeding horses, and electro-opera synth to create an epic track. The song impressively churns on for two minutes before any vocals are needed. "How can we win when fools can be kings?" asks Matthew Bellamy.

"Feel Good Inc."
Gorillaz
Demon Days (2005)

Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." is hands down the best song by a fake band ever. Better than the Archie's "Sugar Sugar"? Yes. Featuring a catchy as hell bassline, a crazy manic laugh, and the zombie-like woo-hoo, the virtual group's signature song is unmistakable. Gorillaz was put together by Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur, with assistance from DJ Dangermouse. Gorillaz went on to be recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful virtual band of all time.

"Like Eating Glass"

Bloc Party
Silent Alarm (2005)

Bloc Party opened their award winning Silent Alarm with "Like Eating Glass", a hard hitting, visceral jam that plays like an emotional heartbroken bloke too stubborn and angry to admit it. "It's so cold in this house," a lonely Kele Okereke sings. He describes his pain like "drinking poison" and "eating glass" with propulsive guitar and syncopated percussion as a soundtrack to his hurt. It was one of their first hand banging, fist pumping, danceable art-punk-rock songs, but it wouldn't be their last.

Upcoming Releases

The biggest selling album of 2000 was NSync's No Strings Attached which netted 9,900,000 copies sold. The biggest selling album in 2007 was a Christmas album, Josh Groban's Noel, which only managed 3,600,000 copies. It would take 2.75 Noel's to equal the success of No Strings Attached and maybe that's what the record industry needs; more releases.
2008 has already boasted new albums from big names, notably Mariah Carey, Madonna, Usher, Lil Wayne and Coldplay. Still, the year's sales are predicted to be below last years. November and December and two of the most important months for all of retail and music is no exception. Late 2008 is boasting more big name releases to add to the already illustrious list, but will it be enough?

Oct. 7 - Oasis Dig Out Your Soul

Oct. 16 - AC/DC Black Ice

Nov. 4 - Fall Out Boy Folie A Deux

Nov. 4 - Hillary Duff The Best of Hillary Duff

Nov. 11 - Missy Elliott Block Party

Nov. 11 - Christina Aguilera Keeps Gettin' Better (A Decade of Hits)

Nov. 18 - Beyonce TBA

Nov. 18 - Kelly Clarkson TBA

Nov. 18 - David Cook TBA

Nov. 25 - The Killers Day & Age

Dec. 2 - Britney Spears Circus

Dec. 16 - Kanye West 808's and Heartbreak

OK, we were joking about Hillary Duff. But dude, anyone who's anyone besides U2 has or will release and album in 2008. Don't worry, their twelfth studio release is slated for early 2009.