Best songs of the decade

Metromix's favorite music of the '00s

Our critics count down the top 40 albums and top 100 songs...

How do you sum up an entire decade in just 100 songs? The short answer, of course, is that you can't—but it sure is fun to try. Here, then, is a highly subjective list of the 100 greatest songs of the first decade of the 21st century, as discussed, debated, voted on and argued over by a crack team of Metromix writers, editors and critics. These are the songs that were in heavy rotation on our iPods—but also (in most cases) on the radio, in the clubs, on YouTube and MySpace, soundtracking our collective memories of the past 10 years, from 9/11 to Obama's inauguration, from the advent of "American Idol" to the death of Michael Jackson. It's been a pretty eventful decade, hasn't it?

Enjoy the list—and if we left out a few of your favorites (how could we not?), let us know about it in the comments section.

100. R. Kelly, “Ignition (Remix)”
Back before he got “Trapped in the Closet,” Kels was the undisputed king of the R&B sex jam, and they never got sexier or more fun than this Cristal poppin’ remix. It’s the freakin’ weekend!

99. My Morning Jacket, “Wordless Chorus”
With its reggae-tinged beat and Jim James’ soaring falsetto, this opening track from 2005’s “Z” served as a triumphant announcement that America’s best Southern rock band had just become one of America’s best bands, period.

98. Ray LaMontagne, “Trouble”
The title track from the Maine troubadour’s debut album remains his signature song, a pitch-perfect mix of gritty soul and laid-back folk that makes romantic salvation sound like a religious experience.

97. Keith Urban, “You’ll Think of Me”
Every female country fan in America was thinking of this hunky Australian after this wounded ballad topped the charts. Not Urban’s biggest hit, but still his most heartfelt.

96. Common, “The Light”
With a deliciously jazzy beat by the late, great J Dilla, the thinking man’s Chi-town rapper served up one of the wittiest, most honest declarations of love in the hip-hop canon.

95. Neko Case, “Star Witness”
It’s hard to pick just one song from this alt-country siren’s stunning body of work, but we’ll give the nod to this track from 2006’s “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” for its bewitching chorus and Johnny Cash-meets-Cormac McCarthy lyrics.

94. Paramore, “That’s What You Get”
Hayley Williams came along just when modern rock was in dire need of a swift kick in the seat of its skinny jeans.

93. No Doubt, “Hella Good”
The track on which Gwen Stefani proved that she is apparently, among other things, the female second coming of Michael Hutchence.

92. Goldfrapp, “Strict Machine”
The signature anthem from Alison Goldfrapp, who remains the consummate dance-pop diva for the 21st century: artier than Madonna, naughtier than Rihanna and with a voice that can blow away a small army of Kylies, Ciaras and Britneys.

91. Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”
Quite possibly the most irresistibly upbeat song ever recorded by a so-called emo band, this massive 2002 hit paved the way for nearly every successful modern rock act that followed.

90. Taylor Swift, “Love Story”
Everything you need to know about Taylor Swift’s talent is summed up here in four starstruck minutes. Wide-eyed innocence served up in slick, perfectly calibrated Nashville pop? We’ll take four million, please.

89. Regina Spektor, “Better”
It turns out that, when she isn’t making dolphin sounds and finding new ways to mispronounce her own lyrics, this New York anti-folk scenestress can write a mean pop tune. Actually, she mispronounces her own lyrics here, too; you’d be forgiven for thinking this song was actually called “Beddo.”

88. Lupe Fiasco, “Kick, Push”
At a time when most rappers were singing about their Escalades, a kid from Chicago came along and outshined them all with an ode to his skateboard.

87. Shakira, “Hips Don’t Lie”
The best thing to happen to hips since calcium supplements.

86. Snoop Dogg, “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
Snoop’s latest contribution to America’s urban dictionary rode in on a killer Neptunes beat that bounced like the hydraulics on a Compton lowrider.

85. Ryan Adams, “New York, New York”
Lines like “Hell, I still love you, New York” took on new meaning when Adams released this track just after 9/11. The song really chronicled a failed Manhattan romance, but it became a Big Apple empowerment anthem.

84. Owl City, “Fireflies”
Bedroom electro-pop doesn’t get much more adorable than this unlikely chart-topper, on which Minnesotan Adam Young declares, “I get a thousand hugs/From ten thousand lightning bugs.” His music feels like a thousand hugs, too.

83. OK Go, “Here It Goes Again”
Yes, that treadmill video was awesome. But the song is pretty great, too, a sly blast of crunchy power-pop worthy of a memorable dance routine.

82. Robyn, “Konichiwa Bitches”
The cutest and blondest creature ever to convincingly rap lyrics like, “Don’t even get me started on my bada-boom-boom,” Robyn came straight outta Sweden in 2005 with a brag track so hot, even Kanye West had to name-check it.

81. Battles, “Atlas”
Experimental rock started creeping into the mainstream in the late ‘00s, but it never really had an anthem until New York’s Battles came along with this demented, “March of the Ewoks”–like jam. Music this weird isn’t supposed to be this much fun to dance to.

80. Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”
The ‘00s probably had stupider songs—“My Humps” springs to mind—but none of them were this head-bangingly awesome.

79. Phoenix, “1901”
Turns out the French dig guitar-fueled summer jams, too. Who knew?

78. Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours”
The best Jack Johnson song of the decade didn’t even come from Jack Johnson—it came from a scat-singing, fedora-clad dude from Mechanicsville, Va. We hear the surfing there’s not so good, but the acoustic bonfire jam sessions are awesome.

77. Kanye West, “Jesus Walks”
Remember when Mr. West’s music was bigger than his ego? This mishmash of hip-hop, gospel and chain-gang chant is still kind of amazing in its sheer audacity.

76. My Chemical Romance, “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”
No other band, not even Fall Out Boy, ever made wallowing in self-pity sound like this much fun.

75. Destiny’s Child, “Bootylicious”
Sampling Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” to sing about your ass? We have to admit, we would not have pegged that as a winning formula—which is one of many reasons why Beyoncé makes way, way more money than we do.

74. Electric Six, “Gay Bar”
Even if no one had ever made a video of Viking kittens performing this song, it would still rank as one of the most fantastically ridiculous tunes of the decade.

73. Bat for Lashes, “Daniel”
Spooky and ethereal, but with an unexpectedly hooky beat, Natasha Khan’s abstract love song towers above nearly every other retro-minded synth-pop release of the past five years.

72. Estelle feat. Kanye West, “American Boy”
When he’s on his game, the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am (who produced this track for Kanye’s British protégé) can craft a throwback roller-disco jam better than just about anyone in the business.

71. Feist, “1 2 3 4”
While arguably not Feist’s best song, this catchy little number was so much better than nearly everything else being piped into the malls in late 2007, it sounded like sunshine and rainbows every time it came on.

70. Basement Jaxx, “Where’s Your Head At”
One of the most reliably inventive dance music acts of the past decade hit a floor-filling peak with this dirty house gem. Drop it into party mixes even now and watch the kids go berserk.

69. Leona Lewis, “Bleeding Love”
The drums are aggressive, the vocals restrained—everything about Lewis’ international chart-topper flipped the script, which is why it’s far and away the most seductive diva anthem of the decade.

68. Beck, “E-Pro”
After hearing everyone else try to rip off “Odelay” for nearly a decade, Beck decided to give it a shot himself—and came up with a bluesy, hip-hop/scuzz-rock gem every bit as smart and catchy as “Loser” and “Devil’s Haircut.”

67. Dixie Chicks, “Not Ready to Make Nice”
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then country music has apparently forgiven the Chicks for their anti-Bush/anti-war stance—this track’s mix of twang, rock and anthemic power-pop has practically become the new template for mainstream Nashville and rock artists trying to cross over to the country charts.

66. Franz Ferdinand, “Take Me Out”
The best thing about these Scottish rockers was the way they took a certain strain of cooler-than-thou, spiky post-punk and gave us permission to dance to it.

65. Missy Elliott, “Work It”
It’s hard to pick just one track from Miss E and Timbaland’s amazing early ‘00s collaborations, but we’ll have to go with this hot 'n' bothered old-school jam, with its genius backwards chorus.

64. Gorillaz, “Feel Good Inc.”
With a little help from De La Soul and Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn’s weird little cartoon band project cooked up one of the decade’s hookiest pop songs.

63. Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”
Done-me-wrong anthems don’t get much more fun or more satisfying than Underwood’s ode to automotive vandalism.

62. Coldplay, “Clocks”
Say what you will about Chris Martin—if anyone wrote a more indelible piano hook over the past 10 years, we have yet to hear it.

61. Justice, “D.A.N.C.E.”
Several different threads of ‘00s electronic music—the cut-and-paste pastiche of the Avalanches, the cheeky, deconstructed club tracks of Basement Jaxx, the cavernous disco-house of Daft Punk—all came to a head on this French duo’s most infectious party anthem.

60. Lil Wanye, “A Milli”
“Lollipop” was the bigger hit, but this chorus-free, stream-of-consciousness track did more to expose the world to Weezy’s twisted genius.

59. Peter Bjorn and John, “Young Folks”
These Swedes did more for whistling than anyone since Otis Redding.

58. Maroon 5, “This Love”
White-boy soul didn’t get any catchier or funkier in the ‘00s than M5’s most irresistible hit.

57. Cat Power, “He War”
Thanks in part to a stylish video, this song made Chan Marshall every indie kid’s crush in 2003. The swirling vocals and Dave Grohl’s driving drum track help, too.

56. Bruce Springsteen, “My City of Ruins”
Originally written for Asbury Park, Springsteen’s sad-yet-hopeful portrait of a city rising from its own ashes became an anthem for New York after 9/11, and one of the most sincere, heartfelt songs associated with the World Trade Center attacks.

55. The Hives, “Hate to Say I Told You So”
The breakthrough track from these Swedish rockers seems to distill 30 years of riff-rock—from the Kinks to the Ramones to Primal Scream—down to three sweaty, glorious minutes.

54. Bright Eyes, “Lover I Don’t Have to Love”
Every critic who ever called folk/emo hero Conor Oberst “sensitive” needs to go back and listen to this scathingly unsentimental hookup song (most memorable lyric: “I want a girl who’s too sad to give a f---”).

53. Interpol, “PDA”
The song that sent a thousand bands scrambling for their old Joy Division records.

52. 50 Cent, “In Da Club”
“Go shawty, it’s your birthday!” With one fat beat and that opening line, Fiddy—aided by Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo—made all our birthdays just a little bit funkier.

51. The Shins, “New Slang”
OK, so maybe this song didn’t change our lives like Natalie Portman promised it would—but it remains one of the most finely crafted indie-pop nuggets of the past decade.

Our countdown continues with the top 50 songs of the decade