The 10 Greatest Songs of the ’00s: An Alternative List

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This week, VH1 released their list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the ’00s, and as you might imagine, we disagree. Unsurprisingly, the list is heavily skewed towards the pop end of the spectrum, but even in that world, we were confused by a few of the tracks that made the top 100. Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass”? That terrible Evanescence song? Creed? Miley Cyrus but no Radiohead? Luckily, VH1’s top 10 is relatively respectable (we totally accept “Crazy in Love” as the best pop song of the decade, at least on this list), but that doesn’t mean we’re satisfied with it. To quell our snobbish balking (and present another view of the last decade), we decided to put together an alternative top 10 songs of the ’00s, limiting ourselves to tracks that didn’t even make VH1’s 100. Click through to see our picks, and feel free to let us know which songs we totally should have chosen in the comments.

VH1’s official top ten:

10. 50 Cent –- “In Da Club” 09. Mariah Carey –- “We Belong Together” 08. Jay-Z (Feat. Alicia Keys) –- “Empire State Of Mind” 07. Justin Timberlake (Feat Timbaland) -– “SexyBack” 06. Kanye West (Feat. Jamie Foxx) –- “Gold Digger” 05. Kelly Clarkson –- “Since U Been Gone” 04. Eminem –- “Lose Yourself” 03. Lady Gaga -– “Poker Face” 02. OutKast –- “Hey Ya!” 01. Beyoncé (Feat. Jay-Z) –- “Crazy In Love”

Our picks:

10. Justin Timberlake ft. T.I — “My Love” Yes, we put Justin on our list, just like VH1 did (hint: we also tapped some R.Kelly — some things you just can’t argue with), but we feel strongly that “Cry Me A River” is much superior to “SexyBack” and “My Love” is much superior to them both. All hail the new king of pop.

09. Hercules and Love Affair — “Blind” When this song came out, everyone went wild for the psych-disco revolution. While that didn’t exactly come to pass, all the hype led the world at large to Antony Hegarty, whose quivering vocals make this track a classic.

08. LCD Soundsystem –- “Losing My Edge” James Murphy’s spoken-word lament of aging in the indie rock universe became an anthem for all the music snobs who loved him. And for all of the “kids coming up from behind” too.

07. Annie — “Heartbeat” The Katy Perry of the manic pixie dream girl set, Annie’s Friday night electro-pop anthem is all the dance floor food we’ve ever needed.

06. R. Kelly — “Ignition (Remix)” To be honest, we’re flabbergasted that this song was eclipsed by “In the Closet” in VH1’s list. Sure, “In the Closet” was a bigger media frenzy, but “Ignition (Remix)” is pure pleasure, like “Hey Ya.” And then there was that music video with R. Kelly’s head just spinning — slowly, to show off his hair.

05. Radiohead — “Idioteque” We are also flabbergasted that anyone — even a pop outlet like VH1 — could manage to put together a top 100 without a single Radiohead song. Where have they been living, we wonder? And is it sparkly and pink there? Just about any track from Kid A would have held its own against the VH1 list, but “Idioteque” stands out for its mass appeal and eternally cutting, chugging forward motion.

04. Animal Collective — “My Girls” The poppiest song on Animal Collective’s poppiest album, this track could have been eschewed by hardcore fans. But there’s just no breaking its weird little spell, and we all fell for the new style, hook line and sinker.

03. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — “Maps” This plaintive, beautifully restrained rock song showcases the best of Karen O’s considerable talent. And at the risk of being that guy, have you heard the acoustic version? Check it out, man.

02. Bon Iver — “Skinny Love” Call us sentimental, but this track cuts to the core, no matter who you are. Like they did to Wilco in days of yore, all the indie girls and their daddies listen to Bon Iver together in the car and stare out the window, feeling the chords in the bottoms of their feet.

01. Arcade Fire — “Rebellion (Lies)” We wavered on which Arcade Fire song to choose (“Wake Up” missed, but only barely), but sometimes the classic pick is best. The first time they heard this track, everyone we know stopped what they were doing to look around wildly. You know it happened to you too.