End of Decade Blowout pt 6: Top 20 TV Shows, 10-1

10. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
Network: Cartoon Network
Commentary: This show got off to a bit of a slow start, as they were trying to figure out who the characters were and what type of plots they wanted. Season 2 of Justice League was where the show started to heat up. However, Season 1 of Justice League Unlimited is really where it's at here, with tons of awesome characters and an ongoing plot that I think qualifies as really insightful. It's definitely one of the best seasons of all time, and while the rest of the series was good, it never did quite manage to live up to that one. Still, good enough to jump this into the top 10.

9. Home Movies
Network: Cartoon Network
Commentary: This was far from the most hyped show from the Adult Swim block, but in my opinion it stands out as the best. The voice work is hilarious, as is the touching relationship between Coach and Brendan. Basically, all the characters are funny, and the plots are consistently fun and inventive. One of the funniest shows of the decade, maybe the number one funniest.

8. Futurama
Network: Fox
Commentary: The show never did reach the heights of The Simpsons at its best, but it still manages to consistently bring laughs, and the characters are interesting and likable enough that the show is still interesting even when the jokes don't work. Lots of great episodes here and, honestly, I've found that they haven't held up great upon multiple re-viewings, but I'll still rep for them.

7. Phil of the Future
Network: Disney Channel
Commentary: Yet another show I've written much about on this blog. All in all, I still think it has an outstanding young cast and that the Phil/Keely relationship was well done and genuinely touching. Aly Michalka is great, Kay Panabaker is hilarious, and the show's jokes genuinely work on their own merits, very rare for a show of this type.

6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Network: FX
Commentary: This show has no depth or characters, so it relies 100% on the merits of its own jokes to succeed. Fortunately, the joke writing is spectacular, definitely the best of any show this decade, so the show consistently manages to generate laughs and entertainment. But don't take my word for it, www.itsalwayssunnyepisodes.com has all the episodes online for free!

5. How I Met Your Mother
Network: CBS
Commentary: Every time I do one of these lists, I always go in thinking It's Always Sunny is going to rank as the highest sitcom, because it's the funniest show of the decade, but I always end up coming back to this one. The reason is, it's legitimately very funny on its own merits, but it also has great plots and characters, which makes it much more consistently watchable than Sunny. Ultimately, they're both great shows, but I give the slight edge to HIMYM's depth versus Sunny's better jokes.

4. The 4400
Network: USA
Commentary: It still surprises me how much I love/loved this show, but I think it managed to be the most consistently well plotted drama of the decade. My theory is that the shorter seasons of this show versus, say Lost or Heroes force it to make stuff happen in every episode. And the show did have a breakneck pace, so even when one particular plot thread didn't work out, it was constantly moving on to another more interesting one. But all the plot threads always came together in interesting ways, and they very impressively managed to blow up the show and start all over again in each season. This is a show that just got better and better as time went on.

3. Friday Night Lights
Network: NBC
Commentary: It's hard for me to say much about this show, since it's one of the only critical consensus shows on my top 20 and I therefore don't feel a need to speak out in its defense. Much like everybody else who has seen the show, I love the characters, I find the acting amazing (particularly from Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton), and the plots are compelling. Actually, I think too much was made of the season 2 swoon, it still managed to be quality TV. Season 1 of this is probably the second best season of any TV show this decade though, and that alone makes it deserve this slot.

2. Freaks and Geeks
Network: NBC
Commentary: Yeah, yeah, it's funny and incredibly well-realized, and painfully realistic, and all those other critical cliches people love to lob at it. The geeks are great comic relief, but the freaks are really where the show is at, since their drama was usually more interesting. All in all a well-balanced show. Let's just say that I agree with everybody else and move on.

1. Joan of Arcadia
Network: CBS
Commentary: Well, if you know me at all, or if you've read this blog a bit, this will come as no surprise to you. I dedicated an entire rambling, lunatic post to this show four and a half years ago (it can be read here), and as embarrassing as it reads today, I still mean every word. There's absolutely no doubt to me that it's the best show of all time.

End of Decade Blowout pt 5: Top 20 TV Shows, 20-11

Here's the list of my 20 favorite TV shows of the decade. Some preliminary notes:

1) Shows are rated entirely based on how much pleasure they gave me to watch.
2) For the few shows on here that span the 90's and 00's, they are rated on the entirety of their body of work. I only included shows whose 2000s output alone was enough to get them on the list though (e.g. No Simpsons)
3) There are a lot of top critically acclaimed shows this decade I have never seen. A LOT. Like, all of them. So, for example why aren't Mad Men or The Sopranos or The Wire or Battlestar Galactica or pretty much any other show that would make any respectable critic's top 10 on my list? Maybe I would like them maybe I wouldn't. I often disagree with critical consensus. But it's a moot point, because I've never seen them.

Enough caveats, let's see the list.

20. Eli Stone
Network: ABC
Commentary: This is one of the few hour long dramas to make an appearance on the list, but it's an outstanding, very uplifting show that always makes me happy to watch. The characters and were generally well done, and I liked all of the actors, especially Johnny Lee Miller as Eli Stone himself. Overall a fun happy show, in a mold that's right up my alley. The plots, however, were not consistently good enough for me to be able to rate the show higher.

19. Scrubs
Network: NBC, then ABC
Commentary: For a few year stretch, this was the most consistently funny sitcom on TV. Now, it significantly fell off after that, and constant repeats have worn even those episodes a little thin, but it still made me laugh a lot and deserves a placement. This is a tough one because it has less rewatchability than most of the other shows, but it has memorable characters and good joke writing and overall executes well, even if it did all wear thin after a while.

18. Strange Days at Blake Holsey High
Network: Discovery Kids
Commentary: Interested readers are directed to an entire very long post I dedicated to this show all the way back in 2006: "Fave TV Shows of All Time, Vol 2.: Strange Days at Blake Holsey High"

17. American Idol
Network: Fox
Commentary: A lot of people seem to not like this show, but it's a classic. Its pop culture impact this decade is unrivaled by any other show, and it still remains consistently entertaining. Yes, the quality of the show fluctuates up and down depending on the quality of the contestants, but I've generally found the show does a great job of playing up the drama in an enjoyable way. Plus, the show produced Katharine McPhee and Brooke White, so there's something right there.

16. House
Network: USA
Commentary: This one is kind of hard to rank because it is very formulaic, and has had about as many bad and boring episodes as great episodes. Overall, the formula has gotten very stale, and I've mostly lost interest in watching the show, but it was/is a genuinely great formula and Hugh Laurie is, of course, brilliant and quite possibly the TV actor of the decade. This is a very boom and bust show; it's given me some of the most entertainment of any show this decade, but also probably more idle boredom than any other show on the list.

15. Unfabulous
Network: Nickelodeon
Commentary: I hate to keep doing this, but when I've already dedicated multiple posts to a show, it seems pointless to make any additional commentary.

14. Monk
Network: USA
Commentary: Tony Shalhoub does a great job with a very original and fun character. OK, the plots and mysteries are generally pretty lame, but overall the characters and the comedy still make this a great show. I was originally sad when Bitty Schram left, but Traylor Howard has been great, even though the show itself has significantly declined. But the show had about 3 legitimately great and funny seasons, and that's enough to get it here.

13. True Life
Network: MTV
Commentary: The episodes in this show have a pretty wide range in quality, but no show this decade has more effectively run the gamut between hilarious, interesting, dramatic, and informational like this one has. It generally finds the right tone for each story it tells and finds interesting characters to talk about. Some are a little boring, but rarely do they seem like a pointless waste of time.

12. Six Feet Under
Network: HBO
Commentary: Some of the most interesting characters and best acting of the decade, even if it does get a bit dreary at times (and by at times, I mean constantly). Sure, sometimes you wish they would just throw the Fishers a bone here and there, but the plots and characters manage to almost always be executed well so it's hard to complain too much.

11. The Mole
Network: ABC
Commentary: In my opinion, the best reality show of the decade. The concept of the show was killer, Anderson Cooper was a great host, and the challenges were well designed and fun to watch. Even the celebrity episodes were good, because of the inherent entertainment of the concept and the great execution. Of course, the guessing game of who is the mole is the most entertaining part, and they always managed to give just enough information for it to be fun.

But with all these great shows gone already, what makes the top 10? Wait and see!

End of Decade Blowout pt 4: Top 60 Singles, 15-1

Here's the top 15 singles. Oh, the excitement.

15. Alcazar - "This Is the World We Live In"
Year: 2004
Chart Peak: n/a (#15 UK)
Youtube: "This Is the World We Live In"
Commentary: For pure silly fun, I think this may be the best of the decade (behind just one other song, coming up in two spots). Really silly lyrics, and music/melody that's just a mashup of "Upside Down" and "Land of Confusion" but it all works so well. The "Inside Out" beat is amazing, especially translated to a Europop context, the chorus works better than any Genesis chorus should, and "When you're moving up with Alcazar" is so catchy. About 100x better than it has any right to be.

14. Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown - "No Air"
Year: 2008
Chart Peak: #3
Youtube: "No Air"
Commentary: The air of aching depression on this song gives it a great emotional weight, and then when you add on a gorgeous midtempo ballad melody and give it to just about the two best pop singers right now you end up with a really great ballad. There's nothing particularly to this song, it just all adds up so well to create as thick a set of emotions as any song this decade is capable of producing.

13. 'N Sync - "Bye Bye Bye"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #4 (#1 Pop)
Youtube: "Bye Bye Bye"
Commentary: Totally iconic, and deservedly so. Really silly that this just hit #4, but here it is. I'm not going to pretend there's some kind of incredible depth to this one, but the melody, the video, and the chorus are all-time classics. OK, maybe the boy band movement hasn't aged to well and isn't remembered too fondly today, but this is an all-time pop classic! Plus it was used hilariously in possibly my all time favorite Scrubs scene.

12. Amy Diamond - "Don't Cry Your Heart Out"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Don't Cry Your Heart Out"
Commentary: Even in the pop community, there doesn't seem to be any huge groundswell of support for this song. I may actually be the biggest fan of this song in the whole world. Well I say screw everybody else this song is straight out amazing. Amy's singing has never been better, and the melody and lyrics are both really great! The "then you SEE then you KNOW that you REAP what you SOW" part is my favorite part of this song, and maybe my favorite part of any song this decade. Also don't miss the live acoustic version found here. (talk about awkward dancing)

11. Kylie Minogue - "Love at First Sight"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: #22
Youtube: "Love at First Sight"
Commentary: Kylie Minogue was just about as massive, in terms of widespread love and critical acclaim, as any pop act this decade for a while. It seems most of the Kylie love these days goes to "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which, to be sure, is an outstanding pop song. I prefer, though, the pure overloaded pop bliss of "Love at First Sight", a true banger which demands attention.

(At this point, the reader may wish to pause to guess the top 10. I bet you can't.)

10. Eminem - "The Real Slim Shady"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #4
Youtube: "The Real Slim Shady"
Commentary: Like "Bye Bye Bye", this gets a little extra credit for being a genuine cultural milestone, while still being an amazing song. The lyrics are clever and funny, though a bit dated, Eminem's rapping and beats are great as usual. This is a song that made Eminem a huge superstar, and all it takes is one listen to tell that it was inevitable all along.

9. Sara Evans - "Suds in the Bucket"
Year: 2004
Chart Peak: #33 (#1 Country)
Youtube: "Suds in the Bucket"
Commentary: Other than No Place That Far (which was 1998 anyways), Sara has yet to release a truly great album start to finish. But, she has been one of the best, maybe the very best overall, country singles artists of the decade. And this ode to eloping is probably her best song, thanks to a very nice melody and just a generally extremely fun atmosphere.

8. Lillix - "Sweet Temptation (Hollow)"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Sweet Temptation (Hollow)"
Commentary: It's got the catchiest melody+music of the decade, and it has the best hooks of the decade. The singing isn't anything super special, and the lyrics are nonsense, so it doesn't rank any higher than this, but this could well be the song I most enjoy to listen to, out of all the songs listed.

7. Hilary Duff - "Come Clean"
Year: 2004
Chart Peak: #35
Youtube: "Come Clean"
Commentary: I think that if this song wasn't by Hilary Duff, and therefore didn't have all of the attendant baggage, it would be today generally recognized as a pop classic. Because Hilary's ultra-thin voice and the ultra-thin melody are both absolutely perfect for the fragility of the lyrics, and all in all, it's a very impressively put together song. Plus a kicking chorus.

6. Rachel Stevens - "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: n/a (#12 UK)
Youtube: "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)"
Commentary: I love the lyrics to this song, as kind of a flipside to the lyrics for "I May Hate Myself in the Morning", and there's no doubt that the melody is massive. It's the best song on my #2 album of the decade, an album filled to the brim with classic pop singles, and this one manages to outshine them all.

5. Daft Punk - "Digital Love"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: n/a (#9 US Dance Play)
Youtube: "Digital Love"
Commentary: This is the very best sample of the whole decade, I could listen to it loop on and on forever. The robotic melody is also really great, and that's combined with very sweet love song lyrics. This song is a stunning triumph on all levels.

4. The White Stripes - "Fell in Love with a Girl"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: n/a (#12 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "Fell in Love with a Girl"
Commentary: I find it hard to say much about this song, given that it's on everybody's decade best list, and probably for the same reasons. The incredibly powerful and driving rock melody and guitars, the excellent lyrics, the all-time classic video, etc. I have nothing to add

3. Miley Cyrus - "See You Again"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: #10
Youtube: "See You Again"
Commentary: The best pure melody of the decade (well, maybe "Moi...Lolita). And NOT ONLY that, but it features Miley's best ever vocal performance, by far. The whole chorus is just pure musical genius. Best part is still "My best friend Leslie says 'Oh she's just being Miley'."

2. Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
Year: 2004
Chart Peak: #66 (#3 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "Take Me Out"
Commentary: Clearly, the reason this is up here is that I am a SHAMELESS INDIE. My relationship to this song has been complicated over the years, but I have finally just given in to the power. Yes, yes yes, best guitar riff of the decade, good chorus, amazing intro, etc. This seems to have fallen somewhat out of favor lately, but it still sounds great to me.

1. Michelle Branch - "Everywhere"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #12
Youtube: "Everywhere"
Commentary: Yes, this is really my favorite single of the decade and no I'm not even going to try to justify it. Sure, I could talk about the amazing chorus, the great lyrics, the huge influence, etc. but ultimately it's just my favorite. I could just listen to this song over and over and over again, and it just never gets old. A fact which, by the way, I know from personal experience.

The Full List:
60. Wu Tang Clan - "Gravel Pit"
59. Guided by Voices - "The Best of Jill Hives"
58. Kanye West - "Through the Wire"
57. Fall Out Boy - "The Takeover, the Break's Over"
56. Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"
55. Junior Senior - "Move Your Feet"
54. Alicia Keys - "Fallin'"
53. The Bloodhound Gang - "The Bad Touch"
52. Ashlee Simpson - "La La"
51. Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"
50. Avril Lavigne - "Complicated"
49. Wheatus - "Teenage Dirtbag"
48. The Sugababes - "About You Now"
47. Backstreet Boys - "The Call"
46. David Banner - "Cadillac on 22s"
45. Electric Six - "Danger! High Voltage"
44. Martina McBride - "This One's for the Girls"
43. Jennifer Lopez ft. Ja Rule - "I'm Real (Murder Remix)"
42. Ashlee Simpson - "Little Miss Obsessive"
41. Girls Aloud - "Love Machine"
40. System of the Down - "Chop Suey!"
39. Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland - "Dilemma"
38. Phoenix - "If I Ever Feel Better"
37. Cam'ron - "Hey Ma"
36. Mint Royale ft. Pos - "Show Me"
35. Natasha Bedingfield - "I Wanna Have Your Babies"
34. Destiny's Child - "Survivor"
33. Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
32. Charlotte Church - "Moodswings (to Come at Me Like That)"
31. Spoon - "The Underdog"
30. Marit Larsen - "Only a Fool"
29. Kelly Clarkson - "Behind These Hazel Eyes"
28. Eminem - "Stan"
27. Aly & AJ - "Rush"
26. Anna Nalick - "Breathe (2AM)"
25. A*Teens - "Floorfiller"
24. Keith Urban - "Stupid Boy"
23. The New Pornographers - "Letter from an Occupant"
22. Rachel Stevens - "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex"
21. Shooter Jennings - "4th of July"
20. Alizee - "Moi...Lolita"
19. Lee Ann Womack - "I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
18. Annie - "Heartbeat"
17. Twista ft. Jamie Foxx and Kanye West - "Slow Jamz"
16. t.A.T.u. - "All the Things She Said"
15. Alcazar - "This is the World We Live In"
14. Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown - "No Air"
13. 'N Sync - "Bye Bye Bye"
12. Amy Diamond - "Don't Cry Your Heart Out"
11. Kylie Minogue - "Love at First Sight"
10. Eminem - "The Real Slim Shady
9. Sara Evans - "Suds in the Bucket"
8. Lillix - "Sweet Temptation (Hollow)"
7. Hilary Duff - "Come Clean"
6. Rachel Stevens - "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)"
5. Daft Punk - "Digital Love"
4. The White Stripes - "Fell in Love with a Girl"
3. Miley Cyrus - "See You Again"
2. Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
1. Michele Branch - "Everywhere"

End of Decade Blowout pt 3: Top 60 Singles, 30-16

Into the top 30 now. What joys await?

30. Marit Larsen - "Only a Fool"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Only a Fool"
Commentary: Very fun and original country sounding song out of Norway, featuring a catchy melody and amazing, unique instrumentation. Truly, one of the most re-playable songs of the decade. Marit's got a great voice too, which just adds to everything.

29. Kelly Clarkson - "Behind These Hazel Eyes"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: #6
Youtube: "Behind These Hazel Eyes"
Commentary: This is the song that made me love pop again, so it's indirectly responsible for about 90% of the other entries on the list. I still love the dark instrumentation and melody combined with the incredible power of Kelly's voice and the lyrics. It makes for a truly emotional, original, and ultimately wonderful experience. For personal influence, it probably deserves top 10, but I've decided to slot it here.

28. Eminem - "Stan"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #51 (#22 Rap, #1 UK)
Youtube: "Stan"
Commentary: Speaking of totally original songs, this is possibly the most original on the whole list. Note that the youtube linked above is the single version, which is edited for language and significantly worse. The thing is, I don't really like "Thank You" that much ("White Flag" and "Hunter" are so much better), but it just sounds so perfect here. A really weird choice for an extended sample, but so perfect. Not much to say about this song; Eminem is a great rapper and this song has really great dark lyrics.
.
27. Aly & AJ - "Rush"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: #59
Youtube: "Rush"
Commentary: Aly & AJ (oh sorry, 78violet) have come a long way since their debut album, as their album Insomniatic is a much better overall work than Into the Rush. But I still think that "Rush" is their best individual single ("Not This Year" is better, but never a single). It has a wonderful driving rhythm, great harmonies, and good inspirational lyrics about drug use (just kidding! But they really do sound like they are about drugs). A catchy, rocking song that holds up very well.

26. Anna Nalick - "Breathe (2AM)"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: #45 (#4 AC)
Youtube: "Breathe (2AM)"
Commentary: I feel like I've already said my piece on this song: "Thhis song is perfect. It find a genre and sticks to it to the letter and just perfects it, just like that. The lyrics provide insight without being big or cliched or uplifting. Anna's voice is nice and kinda generic and forgettable, but she's a good singer and she's got great phrasing. The verse rolls along with a nice little groove to it, into the pre-chorus, which feels like it's leading to something BIG and TRIUMPHANT. Something like "White Flag", some declaration of freedom or some kind of big catchy melody. It leads instead, in a nice bit of misdirection, to a flowing, fading harmony. Friend calls her having troubles. She details all the crap she's going through. Anna tells her, well you've gotta live life, there's nothing you can do about it. So cradle your head in your hands, and...do what, go out? Solve your problems and be proactive and have fun and make the best of it? No, just BREATHE. Just sit down and take stock of the situation. And there's a light at the end of the tunnel and you'll keep making mistakes so what's the point in getting so upset. And it flows through and fades away from the building melody, dropping into a beautiful breathy harmony. A relaxing, soothing harmony. Something that just makes me smile. It doesn't have to be so bad."

25. A*Teens - "Floorfiller"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Floorfiller"
Commentary: Besides the Bloodhound Gang, this is probably the silliest song on the entire list. It's just really silly catchy melody with truly awful lyrics and a generic dance beat. So why do I love it so much? I don't really know, but it just makes me happy to listen to and it's been known to get stuck in my head for days. Definitely a personal pick here.

24. Keith Urban - "Stupid Boy"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #43 (#3 Country)
Youtube: "Stupid Boy"
Commentary: It seems odd to follow up arguably the most silly song on this list with arguably the most serious song on the list, but that's how it goes. I love this song to pieces, with it's long epic melody, great guitar sound, and amazing lyrics, with a nice heartbreaking twist at the end. Probably the most genuinely affecting song on the list, and even if the pure melody isn't as catchy as a lot of the other songs on the list, it's still works fine in the context of the song. The song doesn't really get kicking until a few minutes in, with a scorching guitar solo and heart rending finale. Incredible.

23. New Pornographers - "Letter from an Occupant"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Letter from an Occupant"
Commentary: While the song does initially sound grating, I found that the melody and guitar sound, which sound so at odds at first, really come together on multiple listens. Neko is a great singer, and what she's given here is one of the hookiest songs of all time. And as a lover of a good hook, that's really saying something. The fact that the lyrics are 100% nonsensical doesn't even really matter when the sound of the song is so good otherwise.

22. Rachel Stevens - "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a (#2 UK)
Youtube: "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex"
Commentary: Rachel Stevens (spoiler alert!) has two songs on this list, despite the fact that as a singer and a pop star she's pretty bland. BUT, she's been given some pretty amazing songs to work with, and this is definitely one of them. The guitar riff is one of the catchiest, the melody in the chorus is amazing, and I love love love the bridge. Truly a triumph of pop music.

21. Shooter Jennings - "4th of July"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: n/a (#26 Country)
Youtube: "4th of July"
Commentary: Almost certainly the best country rock song of the decade, as well as one of the rockinest, this has a really fun tempo and rhythm. Combined with a simple but great melody and some great rock singing by Shooter. Definitely one of the most fun songs I've heard.

But what's in the top 20??? Let's see.

20. Alizee - "Moi...Lolita"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: n/a (#2 UK)
Youtube: "Moi...Lolita"
Commentary: Fun fact: This is the only foreign language song on the list. Funner fact: I think the melody in the chorus of this song is the very best melody of the entire decade. The verses are good too, the beat is serviceable, and Alizee has a good pop voice. But man, the melody in the chorus.

19. Lee Ann Womack - "I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: n/a (#10 Country)
Commentary: Deservedly extremely acclaimed at the time, for it's wonderful understated melody, sweet sounding country guitar, incredible vocals, and interesting, original lyrics. All of those factors still hold up today and this deserves recognition as one of the very best country songs of the decade.

18. Annie - "Heartbeat"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Heartbeat"
Commentary: It feels like such a cop out here to have THE indie approved pop song charting so high on my list, but it's a genuinely great song. I don't know why indies love this song and not a similarly amazing song like "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", but like that song this one has a great melody and beat combined with fairly bland singing. Enough to land it here though.

17. Twista ft. Jamie Foxx & Kanye West - "Slow Jamz"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Slow Jamz"
Commentary: Here it is, my very favorite #1 hit of the decade. There are many huge US hits to come, but none with hit the top of the charts. I don't even really like Kanye that much, but he slots 2 songs on this countdown. This song has funny lyrics though, the chorus is catchy and the sample is amazing. Plus Twista's super fast rapping! Awesome.

16. t.A.T.u. - "All the Things She Said"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: n/a (#1 UK)
Youtube: "All the Things She Said"
Commentary: The lesbianism gimmick was clearly genius from a marketing standpoint, but I think it actually does t.A.T.u. a disservice from a critical standpoint. I think more critics would realize the brilliance of this song and "Cosmos (Outer Space)" (just as good, but never a single) if they were just put out there as straight pop songs. Because they are good singers and this one has amazing instrumentation and melody. Another one known to get in my head for weeks straight.

Tune in for the top 15.

End of Decade Blowout pt 2: Top 60 Singles, 45-31

Numbers 60-46 on this list are in my previous post. Let's continue.

45. Electric Six - "Danger! High Voltage"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a (UK #2)
Youtube: "Danger! High Voltage"
Commentary: This song has been linked together to "House of Jealous Lovers" and is usually considered inferior, but due to overall bonkers-ness I definitely prefer it. It's got a really nice guitar line and a nice shouty chorus. Overall, it's unlike anything else from this decade, but still oddly appealing.

44. Martina McBride - "This One's For the Girls"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: #39 (Country #3)
Youtube: "This One's for the Girls"
Commentary: No doubt I will receive crap for charting this in my top 50 singles of the decade, being a single male and all, but I will fully support it. The lyrics are nicely uplifting, the rhythm is driving, Martina McBride is one of the greatest all-time singers, and it's got a perfect sunny summery melody. This is the one song from the decade that it makes me happiest to listen to, I don't care if it's intended for girls or not. (For the record, it definitely is.)

43. Jennifer Lopez ft. Ja Rule - "I'm Real (Murder Remix)"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "I'm Real"
Commentary: I guess I'm not doing myself any favors here by charting J.Lo. right after Martina McBride, but this is another one I'll defend tooth and nail. It's got one of the absolutely best beats of the decade and I do like her as a singer even if she's not technically the best. I'm not a Ja Rule fan but his lazy flow is perfect for this song along with the lazy beat. Just an outstanding flowing tempo overall.

42. Ashlee Simpson - "Little Miss Obsessive"
Year: 2008
Chart Peak: #96
Youtube: "Little Miss Obsessive"
Commentary: Whereas "La La" is silly fun, this one is more typical of Ashlee's best output this decade. Great breakup lyrics with some amazing lines combined with really smart melodies and musical accompaniment. Basically, Ashlee's songs take very basic rock structures and songs and make them into something amazing. That's what she's been great at and this is her best work at it to date.

41. Girls Aloud - "Love Machine"
Year: 2004
Chart Peak: n/a (#2 UK)
Youtube: "Love Machine"
Commentary: OK, it's hard to argue that this is some kind of deep, meaningful musical accomplishment, but it could well be the catchiest melody of the entire decade. Sure, the lyrics are silly, but there are some genuinely great lines in here ("gift wrapped kitty cats"!, lyrical reference to "Two Tribes"!). It's pure shallow fun, which as you can tell tends to place quite well on my lists.

40. System of a Down - "Chop Suey!"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #76 (#7 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "Chop Suey!"
Commentary: This song is so ridiculous it's almost like a parody of an over the top rock song. What with its nonsensical but meaningful sounding lyrics ("when angels deserve to die" wtf) and the crazy "You wanted to!" chant. But, it's one of the most original rock songs of the decade and I'll be damned if it hasn't been stuck in my head for 8 years running now. No matter how ridiculous a song is, that's certainly worth something. The thought that they actually take this stuff seriously is kind of funny to me though.

39. Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland - "Dilemma"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Dilemma"
Commentary: Surely we can get some agreement here that this is one of the catchiest pop rap songs of the decade. Clearly, it's the "awww"'s that push it over the top. The beat surely isn't anything too great, but the melody and the catchy flow make this one of the most deserving smash hits of the decade.

38. Phoenix - "If I Ever Feel Better"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "If I Ever Feel Better"
Commentary: Hey look, it's not all crappy mainstream pop! This is another song from my indie days that I still love today. Actually, I'm pretty sure this song easily could have been a huge hit in the USA. Now obviously it didn't work out that way, but this has just the right driving tempo and smooth rhythm. It manages to be hooky despite a very simple structure and melody and it just consistently drives.

37. Cam'ron - "Hey Ma"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: #3
Youtube: "Hey Ma"
Commentary: This is probably the silliest song on my entire list, which is surely saying something, but it is (intentionally!) very funny and filled with amazing hooks.

36. Mint Royale ft. Pos - "Show Me"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Show Me"
Commentary: Mint Royale is a weird band. We had their album On the Ropes at our radio station and I think I was the only person who played it. Thing is, it was two amazing songs (this, and "Don't Falter"), then a bunch of really generic and terrible big beat songs. I'm not sure how a band of such little apparent talent managed to shoot out two such amazing songs, but there they are. This one has always been my favorite, it has what probably gets my vote for the best sample of the decade and Pos is always a great rapper.

35. Natasha Bedingfield - "I Want to Have Your Babies"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a (UK #7)
Youtube: "I Wanna Have Your Babies"
Commentary: I've written about this song before: "This is completely bonkers in both the music and the lyrics, and I admire its sheer dedication to bonkers-ness. Tash's performance really sells here that she's holding in, about to explode, ready to burst. The whole song is just bursting just below the seams with warmth and energy and love. It makes this the most true to new crush/first love song I've heard in a long, long time." It also has a great music video.

34. Destiny's Child - "Survivor"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #2
Youtube: "Survivor"
Commentary: Destiny's Child has released a lot of classic singles over their lifetime, but this is I think the best. Nice empowering lyrics and a big pounding chorus make this a joy to listen to. This one has gotten a bit old from overplaying over the years, but I still really love it.

33. Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Irreplaceable"
Commentary: Hey, speaking of Beyonce songs that have become old a bit from overplaying, but which I still love...I've always loved R&B ballads and I think this features possibly the best midtempo ballad melody of the decade. And on top of that, great lyrics and singing too! Right up there with any of the great R&B ballads from history.

32. Charlotte Church - "Moodswings (to Come at Me Like That)"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Moodswings"
Commentary: Funny thing is, I only ranked this song #21 on my list of top singles of 2006 but it has really proven to be a grower. I dedicated an entire post to this song. It is here. (the post contains a comment from one of the song's writers!)

31. Spoon - "The Underdog"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a (#26 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "The Underdog"
Commentary: This song was released after I had basically given up on indie rock as a genre, but it managed to pull me back in! I still think this song is really underrated and consider it to be one of the very peaks of indie rock as a genre.

End of Decade Blowout pt 1: Top 60 Singles, 60-46

This blog has been dead for a while, but the end of decade listamania blowout seems like a good reason to bring it back. This listamania will consist of the following:

Top 60 singles of the decade (4 installments)
Top 20 TV Shows of the Decade (you'll never guess what's #1!)
Top 15 "cute" movies of the decade (romcoms, family movies, etc)
Whatever else I think of or feel like doing.

Let's start out with singles 60-46 of the top 60 singles of the decade:

60. Wu Tang Clan - "Gravel Pit"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #89 (#20 Rap)
Youtube: "Gravel Pit"
Commentary: o, The W was not as consistently classic as 36 Chambers (surely one of the most ambitious and finest rap albums ever), but "Gravel Pit" is, I think, as good as any of their other singles. I think that this is probably the catchiest rap song of the whole decade, and it features some great rapping and amazing samples.

59. Guided by Voices - "The Best of Jill Hives"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "The Best of Jill Hives"
Commentary: I may not be indie any more, but I still love this one as much as ever, with it's really pretty understated melody. Sure, the lyrics are nonsense and Bob Pollard has never been much as a singer, but he has always had a flair for a great melody, and this is one of his best, plus with a nice guitar sound as well.

58. Kanye West - "Through the Wire"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: #15 (#4 Rap)
Youtube: "Through the Wire"
Commentary: Great lyrics, great samples, great production, and good rapping with an interesting gimmick. This was Kanye's breakout single as a performer and it pretty much demanded being a hit, being so catchy and so unique that nobody could resist it. I still think it's the best work he's done as a solo artist.

57. Fall Out Boy - "The Takeover, The Break's Over"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "The Takeover, the Break's Over"
Commentary: This is the best song on Infinity on High, and it's plenty commercial, so it's kind of confusing that the other singles became huge hits while this one never did anything. It's got really great guitar and an outstanding chorus, combined with Patrick Stump's always good vocals.

56. Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Say It Right"
Commentary: Nobody saw this coming out of old Nelly, but she really is a great singer, and she got some great songwriters and producers for her album. The Loose album produced a lot of great singles, but this one was the best, a very deserving #1 hit (in fact, by this list, the fifth best #1 hit of the decade). So pretty.

55. Junior Senior - "Move Your Feet"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Move Your Feet"
Commentary: I don't care how silly it is, this is one of the best written and catchiest pop songs of the decade. It features several interlacing and distinct really catchy melodies and it's actually structured in a pretty original way. Plus, it has a great music video!

54. Alicia Keys - "Fallin"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Fallin"
Commentary: OK, OK, i know it's generic sounding, and Alicia Keys isn't even really that good of a singer compared to other R&B divas like Aaliyah or Mariah or Whitney. This one sticks to the cookie cutter R&B ballad formula, but it's a great formula and this is just about the best possible execution of it, which I think is admirable and makes it worthy of a slot.

53. Bloodhound Gang - "The Bad Touch"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #52 (#6 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "The Bad Touch"
Commentary: Nobody seems to like this song, but the only bad things I really hear people say about it are that it's silly or that it's gimmicky. I guess some people consider those things insults, but I actually like them in pop songs. Especially when they are as ridiculously catchy as this, and, sure, it's silly, but it's actually got some pretty funny lines. (Fairly questionable inclusion but my memory is this song didn't really break out until 2000).

52. Ashlee Simpson - "La La"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: #86
Youtube: "La La"
Commentary: Ashlee Simpson continues to get just about the worst press of any pop star and I continue to not care at all. I think that if most people forgot the baggage and just gave the music an honest shot they would see it for the superior intelligent pop music that it really is. OK, this one is just silly fun but it's AMAZING silly fun.

51. Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #8 (#1 Country)
Youtube: "Before He Cheats"
Commentary: I've written about this very song on this very site many times before. Every time I talk about the great funny lyrics, how much it rocks, and how great of a vocalist Carrie Underwood is. This was a deserved crossover smash, rare for a country song, and that still makes me happy.

50. Avril Lavigne - "Complicated"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: #2
Youtube: "Complicated"
Commentary: I always loved this song, even when I was indie, because the melody is just that massive and the bratty high school lyrics are absolutely perfect. This was one of the songs that helped to spawn the confessional teen pop movement and it's been often imitated and only very rarely exceeded. I've heard the chorus a thousand times probably and it's still not old.

49. Wheatus - "Teenage Dirtbag"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: n/a (#7 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "Teenage Dirtbag"
Commentary: It's a ripoff of Weezer except that, actually, it's better than any real Weezer songs. The thing is, it's got some of the best high school love lyrics of all time and great vocals, and an all-time classic melody. The lyrics, though, are not only funny but they are genuinely emotionally affecting, if you really think about them.

48. Sugababes - "About You Now"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "About You Now"
Commentary: The common denominator between almost every song on this list is a massive melody. That's what I like in songs and so that's what's going to dominate the list. And this one is really, really outstanding, particularly the "I know everything changes" part. The actual recording isn't a performance that I particularly care for, and I think a really good cover could be done of it. But the melody is so kicking, one of the very best of the decade, that it demands to be listed anyways.

47. Backstreet Boys - "The Call"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #52
Youtube: "The Call"
Commentary: This appears to be one of the Backstreet Boys' least remembered singles, which is a real shame because it's probably their very best work. Max Martin has always had an ability to crank out perfect dance-able pop songs and this is one of his very best. I think people were already sick of the Boys by the time this hit, which probably is what hurt its commercial success and current stature. But come one, this one is like 100x better than stuff like "Larger that Life". Go back and give it a re-listen.

46. David Banner - "Cadillac on 22s"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a (#86 rap)
Youtube: "Cadillac on 22s"
Commentary: David Banner is one of those rappers in the mid 2000s who never broke out like he really deserved. This song deserved to be a massive smash and I'm actually not really sure why it wasn't. David is a great rapper, and this has some of the best production of any rap song of the whole decade. So much better than Bubba Sparxxx but much less popular too. Too bad.