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 55-41

"Poker Face"

Lady Gaga

The Fame (2008)

"Who'd have thought the greatest popstar of the noughties would appear in the decade's final 18 months?" wrote Popjustice. It is pretty phenomenal. After ten years of America being fed pop puppets, Lady Gaga emerged as a true pop artist. She wrote her own songs. She sang. She played instruments. She had a vision of her art and her image. She became famous through hard work and playing at dingy clubs in New York, not the Mickey Mouse club. Of the amazing impact she's had in such a short time, "Poker Face" is her supreme single.

"I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
Death Cab for Cutie
Plans (2005)

Nominated for Best Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2007 Grammys, Death Cab's "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" was beat out by the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps". No, I'm serious. Obviously, the Grammys aren't always the measuring stick for music's cultural value as they would have us believe, because this song's beauty and simplicity beats out the Peas' brash schoolyard ditty any day. In what amounts to a Ben Gibbard solo track, the Death Cab front man ponders love, life, and death.

"Rehab"
Amy Winehouse
Back To Black (2006)

In the decade's best neo-soul song, Amy Winehouse managed to reference Motown without ripping it off. Winehouse's brassy rebellious "Rehab" is also the decade's best example of art imitating life, as the singer soon became more famous for her addictions and wild behavior than her music. Her frank lyrics and Etta James style crooning won Winehouse a slew of awards and kickstarted the modern retro revival.

"The Middle"
Jimmy Eat World
Bleed American (2001)

Jimmy Eat World has always had a knack for taking lyrics that others would sound corny singing, and pulling it off. "The Middle" is filled with motivational lines like, "don't write yourself off yet," and "everything will be alright," that Jim Adkins flat out sells. It's little wonder J.E.W. can make music like this though, after all, they were dropped by their record label and recorded their airtight power-pop smash of an album, Bleed American, on their own dime and had labels begging to sign them. Don't write yourself off yet is right.

"Somewhere Only We Know"
Keane
Hopes and Fears (2004)

There's something about Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" that reminds me of a Disney movie. It's an epic power ballad that would fit perfectly in the scene right before the climax where the prince and princess declare their love for each other, and reprised as the credits begin rolling. The insistent fluttering piano and Tom Chaplin's promise that there is a paradise somewhere out there is pure magic.

"Like I Love You"
Justin Timberlake
Justified (2002)

"Sometimes people just destined, destined to do what they do," Justin Timberlake muses at the end of his debut solo single, "Like I Love You". Becoming the next Michael Jackson wasn't exactly a sure thing though. Timberlake had a massive task in front of him, having to shed his boy band image and rebrand himself as the new king of pop. With the help of Pharrell, this funky R&B song was crafted, and the rest is history.

"A Thousand Miles"
Vanessa Carlton

Be Not Nobody (2002)

"This must be the white song that all black people like, you know every year there's a song that black people like and this is that," said Kanye West about Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" on his iTunes celebrity playlist. Kanye, don't kid yourself, this is a song everyone likes. The track managed to retain its beauty even with made-for-radio percussion and guitar slapped on, making it perfect for both pop and adult contemporary radio.

"Chicago"
Sufjan Stevens

Illinois (2005)

Sufjan Steven's "Chicago" is a life affirming celebration of a song. It begins soft and understated before blossoming into a kaleidoscope of sound. Rich strings, sleigh bells, xylophones, trumpets, and a choir weave in and out to set the backdrop the Steven's tale of driving to Chicago and New York in a van. He repeats the phrase "I've made a lot of mistakes," but its drowned out by the choir triumphantly singing the spiritual line, "You came to take us, all things go to recreate us."

"B.O.B."
OutKast
Stankonia (2001)

When OutKast released "B.O.B." in 2000, there were no bombs over Baghdad. By decade's end, Iraq's capital has seen more than enough bombs. "B.O.B." was like a crystal ball, foreshadowing not only a global war on terror (and a "White House painted black" according to Pitchfork , in reference to the cover of Stankonia featuring a black and white American flag), but the disorienting collision popular music would face in the coming ten years.

"Last Nite"

The Strokes
Is This It (2001)

By the end of the 1990s, the term "alternative" had been hijacked, appropriated, and warped beyond all recognition. A decade later, the term "indie" found itself in a similar position. Still, there are a few songs that stand for what those words mean. For alternative, its "Wonderwall" or "Save Tonight". For indie, "Last Nite" by the Strokes takes the crown. Bursting into the scene in 2001 with incredible amounts of goodwill from the rock press, the Strokes deserved every bit of it.

"Say It Right"

Nelly Furtado

Loose (2006)

Nelly Furtado emerged as an innovative earthy folk pop singer in 2000, but after interest faded with her second album, she turned to Timbaland to re energize her career. Her album Loose was a smash hit, but its 80s inspired electro-pop veered away from her organic sound. "Say It Right" was the one exception. Emerging from a jungle soundscape, the song employed Timbaland's trademark yelps and percussion as Furtado tried to convince herself that, "you don't mean nothing at all to me".

"Be Mine"

Robyn

Robyn (2005)

Dance-pop doesn't get more emotional than "Be Mine" by Swedish singer Robyn. Her anguished lyrics are suffocated by frantic orchestral arrangements and racing beats, creating a desperate soundscape. If her declaration that, "you never were and you never will be mine," doesn't get you, the bridge detailing her man having his arm around, and get this, tying the laces of "whatshername", will. Robyn's stripped down performance of the track at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize show will bring a grown man to tears.

"Everything Is Everything"

Phoenix

Alphabetical (2004)

Using rapidly chiming triangle better than anyone else has all decade, Phoenix crafted a catchy ditty that harkens to the soft-pop of the late 1980s with "Everything Is Everything". "Things are gonna change, and not for better," sings Thomas Mars. The lyrics are all that ambiguous, which only adds to the track's carefree atmosphere. The guitar, reveling in staccato neo-disco, is ever present, but at times understated.

"When You Were Young"

The Killers

Sam's Town (2006)

Brandon Flowers boldly declared that his band's sophomore album Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years". Whether the Killers did it, or even if they managed to top the ridiculously good Hot Fuss is questionable, but "When You Were Young" is without a doubt one of the best songs in the past twenty years. Channeling Bruce Springsteen, the band wrote the great American rock song complete with Jesus, highways, and riding on the backs of hurricanes.

"Sex On Fire"

Kings of Leon

Only By The Night (2008)

"Fire" is a word bands love to throw around. It evoke edginess, unpredictability, and a general feeling of hardcore-ness, but if everyone else is doing it, how do you use it and stand out? Kings of Leon threw in "Sex". Can you get any edgier than that? "Sex on Fire" isn't actually about sex though, don't worry, it was just a filler word the Followills used until they decided it would make a good song title. The track is a stirring rock anthem made for the arenas.

Sufjan + Fall = Happiness

As an Arizona boy living in Utah, the cold really bothers me, especially when winter goes on two months longer than it should. One thing that makes it OK though is folk music. There is something special about listening to the simple beauty of a folk song as the cold wind blows and you walk home from school, crunching leaves with each footstep. My artist of choice on days like these is Sufjan Stevens. I've been listening to his masterpiece "Chicago" a lot today. Enjoy.

Raise Your Grades: Listen to Sufjan

A study by CalTech student Virgil Griffith showed that students with better SAT scores listen to Sufjan Stevens. Actually, Beethoven has the smartest listeners with an average SAT score of 1371. Other top artists include Radiohead, Counting Crows, U2, and Bob Dylan. At the bottom end? Lil Wayne. Beyonce, T.I., and the Used are just barely ahead of the four time Grammy winning artist. I'm just glad Jimmy Eat World ranked above Fall Out Boy. Thank goodness. Check out where your favorite artists landed here and as we gear up for finals, listen to more Sufjan. Here's my favorite track from the Petoski, Michigan native, "Casimir Pulaski Day".