411’s Top 100 Songs of the 2000s: #20 –1

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 12.09.2009

Join the 411 Music staff as we finish up the count down of the absolute best songs the decade had to offer. The Top 20 features more Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, The White Stripes, Kanye, Dre and plenty more...

Well, we've finally gotten there. After a month of looking at some of the best songs that the decade that was the 2000's had to offer, we've finally reached the top. The crème de la crème. That's right – today, we're hitting the big finish of our look back on the first decade of the new millennium.

Back a couple of months ago, we all compiled our list of the Top 100 songs of the 2000s. The only rule was that the song had to be released or chart sometime between 2000 and now. We then compiled those lists and pared them down to the best 150, and from THAT list we determined...


Before we get into the Top 20, let's take a brief look at the songs that came before us. If you missed any part of the party, you can still catch up here, here, here and here. Here's the rundown:

100 Coheed & Cambria – "Welcome Home"
99 Opeth – "Ghost of Perdition"
98 Jet – "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
97 Nickelback – "How You Remind Me"
96 Kings of Leon – "Sex on Fire"
95 Nine Inch Nails – "The Hand That Feeds"
94 Avenged Sevenfold – "Bat Country"
93 Lamb Of God – "Ruin"
92 Britney Spears – "Toxic"
91 Goo Goo Dolls – "Black Balloon"
90 Eminem – "The Real Slim Shady"
89 blink-182 – "All The Small Things"
88 Foo Fighters – "The Pretender"
87 The Lonely Island feat. T-Pain – "On A Boat"
86 Animal Collective – "My Girls"
85 Chamillionaire feat. Krayzie Bone – "Ridin'"
84 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Maps"
83 Biffy Clyro – "Moutains"
82 Mudvayne – "Dig"
81 Queens of the Stone Age – "Go With the Flow"
80 Flaming Lips – "Do You Realize??"
79 Evanescence – "Bring Me to Life"
78 Evanescence – "My Immortal"
77 Machine Head – "Aesthetics Of Hate"
76 Wilco – "Jesus, Etc."
75 System of a Down – "B.Y.O.B."
74 Robin Thicke – "Lost Without U"
73 Fuel – "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)"
72 The White Stripes – "Icky Thump"
71 Deftones – "Change (In The House of Flies)"
70 Jimmy Eat World – "The Middle"
69 Nas - "Made You Look"
68 Incubus – "Drive"
67 Drowning Pool – "Bodies"
66 OutKast – "B.O.B."
65 System Of A Down – "Chop Suey"
64 Mastodon - "Blood and Thunder"
63 Beastie Boys – "Ch-Ch-Check It Out"
62 Talib Kweli – "Get By"
61 Beck – "Lost Cause"
60 Wilco – "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart"
59 Arcade Fire – "Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)"
58 Audioslave – "Like a Stone"
57 The Shins – "New Slang"
56 Franz Ferdinand – "Take Me Out"
55 Tool – "Schism"
54 Radiohead – "The National Anthem"
53 Modest Mouse – "Float On"
52 U2 – "Beautiful Day"
51 Killswitch Engage – "My Last Serenade"
50 Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris – "Yeah!"
49 Spoon – "The Way We Get By"
48 Coldplay – "The Scientist"
47 Nas – "One Mic"
46 Justin Timberlake – "Cry Me A River"
45 At The Drive In - "One Armed Scissor"
44 Common – "The Light"
43 Arcade Fire – "Wake Up"
42 Coldplay – "Clocks"
41 Dr. Dre feat. Eminem – "Forgot about Dre"
40 TV On The Radio – "Wolf Like Me"
39 Foo Fighters – "Times Like These"
38 A Perfect Cicle – "Judith"
37 Nas – "Ether"
35 The White Stripes – "Fell In Love With A Girl"
35 Velvet Revolver – "Slither"
34 Lupe Fiasco – "Kick, Push"
33 MGMT – "Time to Pretend"
32 50 Cent – "In Da Club"
31 Disturbed – "Down With The Sickness"
30 T.I. – "What You Know"
29 Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Californication"
28 Metallica – "All Nightmare Long"
27 Andrew W.K. – "Party Hard"
26 Eminem – "The Way I Am"
25 M.I.A. – "Paper Planes"
24 The Killers – "Mr. Brightside"
23 Rihanna feat. Jay-Z – "Umbrella"
22 Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx – "Gold Digger"
21 Linkin Park – "In the End"

And now...THE TOP 20!!!!

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#20Best Of You Foo Fighters from In Your Honor
		Chart History: Released June 14, 2005 #18 Hot 100 #1 Modern Rock #1 Mainstream Rock
"If there is something that One by One lacked, it was a great heartbreak song, and as the lead off single to In Your Honor, ‘Best of You' made up for that in spades. This song is ‘Everlong' for the 2000s, a soaring, heartrending piece of mainstream-friendly alt rock, from the opening 'I've got another confession to make...' to the breathless closing stanzas. Probably my favorite emotional, lay-your-heart-on-the-line song of this past decade, I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it." - Chris Crowing "The first time I ever heard the Foo Fighters' "Best of You" come over the radio, I immediately wanted to hear it again. I still feel that way. There's an intangible to this song that causes Dave Grohl to smash through your chest and pull out your still beating heart. At first you think you might die, as Grohl screams about trying to resist and nooses and life or death, but when that refrain of the first verse kicks in and Grohl croons that he's no fool, you somehow realize that it's all been a detox – a shot of adrenaline to your heart to shake off the scars that years of pain and regret and missed opportunities has built up there. And you live again. One of my favorite songs not just of the decade but of all time" - Mitch Michaels

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#19Tribute Tenacious D from Tenacious D
		Chart History: Released July 16, 2002
"If this is merely a tribute to the greatest song in the world, then I am fearful and much afraid to behold the splendor of the real deal. Never in the history of rock have I grinned so much while listening to a song. Well apart from all that stuff by Bill Bailey, Stephen Lynch and company. However, ‘Tribute' is lifted above all those others by its side-splitting video, as well as having more hooks than an anglers backpack. From the picked intro, through 'There shined a shiny demon...' and 'We are but men! Rock!' to the awesome guitar solo and refrain of 'This is just a tribute...' it's just the most fun you've ever had on record." - Chris Crowing "2001 was a great year for music, but it was an even better year for the D. With the release of their self-titled debut, 2001 marked the year that Kage and Jables finally took their thrones as rulers of the world of rock (of course, KG's was just a bit smaller). The songs on this album were fantastic, as the comic duo showed they actually did have quite a lot of musical ability. One of the album's clear highlights was ‘Tribute'. Originally used on their short-lived HBO television show as ‘The Greatest Song in the World', this version sounds more like ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia' than ‘Stairway to Heaven', but it still rocks. The song's video was perhaps most famous for co-starring Dave Grohl as the song's shiny demon (Grohl also played drums on the album). While Jack Black's schtick may have grown tired on most of us, it works perfectly here. There is no Disney or ratings board to tame them, for here, they are THE D." - C.A. Bell "When Tenacious D made their first album, they brought with them some lofty expectations from fans who had followed their music/comedy team for years. With a built in audience, it was a bold move for the guys to take their acoustic guitars and then hire on a badass backing band to make a true, loud metal album – and that's just what they did. When we spoke of The Lonely Island earlier, I said it's hard to find a comedy song that doesn't get tired, even the great ones. ‘Tribute' rises above being a comedy song, though. It's pure love of hard rock, just like the entire Tenacious D albums. It's a song that has ingested years of metal and rock – from Plant and Page to Lemmy to, yes, Dio – and then spewed back forth a sweet and sticky love offering in the face of the music it reveres so much. Long live The D." - Mitch Michaels

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#18Lose Yourself Eminem from Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture ‘8 Mile'
		Chart History: Released October 22, 2002 #1 Hot 100 #2 Rap #4 R&B/Hip-Hop #14 Modern Rock
"Got a big interview you need to get pumped for? Something coming up that you need to make an impression? Forget about the metal songs about determination or the inspirational pop anthems – this is the song to break out when you find yourself in a ‘now-or-never' situation. Eminem took that feeling of desperation that most – if not all of us have felt and nailed it solid." - Michael Melchor "The Eminem movie 8 Mile was met with both critical acclaim and viewer support. While the movie was good, one could argue that it wouldn't have been anything more than a footnote without a quality soundtrack and of all the songs on 8 Mile's soundtrack, there is none stronger than ‘Lose Yourself'. Eminem delivers a synopsis of the entire movie in this five minute single, and he does it well. On top of reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Lose Yourself' also brought Eminem Grammy awards in 2003, for ‘Best Male Rap Solo Performance' and ‘Best Rap Song'. The song itself is straight up empowerment. I have a friend who plays poker professionally that refuses to sit down at a table without listening to ‘Lose Yourself'. That is power." - C.A. Bell

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#17Rehab Amy Winehouse from Back To Black
		Chart History: Released March 20, 2007 #9 Hot 100 #10 Pop #32 Modern Rock
"Oh sweet irony. Sure the song is about her addiction to Ray Charles records, but her addictions in her personal life helped overshadow that notion. Her jazz and soulful style won her praise and legions of fans took this as an anthem to imbibe in drugs and alcohol rather than recognize their problem. Winehouse seemingly has thrown her career away to her addiction and continually refuses to get help. I hope someday she can get control of her issues and make a comeback. ‘Rehab' has a transcendental quality to it that will make it last for generations. It won three Grammys in 2008 for Record of The Year, Song of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance." - Tom Santoro "Tom is right about Amy's personal life overshadowing the song itself, but let's try to separate the two – or at least separate Amy the musician from Amy the mess. When Amy Winehouse broke out with ‘Rehab', it could have just been one of those fad records. Sure, it was a huge hit over in the UK, but the US wasn't exactly clamoring for someone to bring jazz back to the Hot 100. But Winehouse was so good (and that album was so good altogether, and expertly produced by Mark Ronson to give it a retro modern shine) that she kicked off her own musical movement. Now we have lots of ‘good singers' using traditional pop styles to crack the charts – Leona Lewis, Duffy, etc. And it all goes back to a song about a chick who was addicted to bad hairdos and good music." - Mitch Michaels

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#16The Next Episode Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg from 2001
		Chart History: Released 2000 #23 Hot 100 #11 R&B/Hip-Hop #9 Rap
"In the late 90's, Dre started his post-Death Row career on the wrong foot. With the exception of a few bangers (‘Been There...' and ‘East/West Coast Killaz'), the Dr. Dre presents Aftermath project was so forgettable, even Dre himself forgot about it (‘What you mean I fell off--my last album was The Chronic!!!') Dre regained his buzz with 2001 (originally Chronic 2001, until Suge Knight came calling), which featured the ‘Next Episode' they've been promising since the original Chronic came out in 1993. It featured Dre ridin' with longtime stickman Snoop and long-time resident hook-man Nate Dogg just like the good ol' days...only with no Suge looming over their shoulder this time." - Phil Watts, Jr. "‘The Next Episode' may not have a great deal of substance, but it makes up for that by being one of the most catchy and memorable hip-hop songs ever. Needless to say, it may have remained a simply ‘great' song, but what helps push it into the territories of ‘incredible' is arguably Nate Dogg's contribution at the end of the track. Hip-hop fans everywhere should know the ‘Smoke weed everyday!' line that rounds out the song, and the guitar riff is absolutely ridiculous. This is one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever in my opinion and it's easily one of the greatest of the 2000's. Hear it once and you'll be humming the tune for the rest of the day." - Patrick Robinson

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#15Clint Eastwood Gorillaz from Gorillaz
		Chart History: Released July 24, 2001 #57 Hot 100 #6 Dance #3 Modern Rock
"Around 2000-2001, Del The Funkee Homosapien was on a hot streak. He released his 4th album Both Sides Of The Brain (which followed up the then-shelved Future Development album), collaborated with Dan the Automator for Deltron 3030, and had his involvement with Gorillaz, a 'virtual band'. Given Del's love for all things animation, it was natural that he would take part in a project like this. It's just too bad that he didn't continue while the gettin' was good, as we wouldn't see him again until the 11th Hour album years later." - Phil Watts, Jr. "Yeah, ‘Feel Good Inc.' is all the rage nowadays. And for good reason, I'll admit. But this is where the Gorillaz let us know that they could do it right the first time. A chorus that refuses to leave your head and a lackadaisically vicious rhyme by the criminally underrated Del The Funkee Homosapien made for one hell of a track. The video – showing the band vs. an army of zombie gorillas – just made it that much more perfect." - Michael Melchor "Wow, you want to talk about a supergroup? In this decade, you look no further than cartoon group Gorillaz. The Blur's Damon Albarn, Deltron 3030's Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and super producer extraordinaire Dan ‘the Automator' Nakamura came together in 2001 for the group's self-titled debut and took the world over with their first single, ‘Clint Eastwood'. The track would reach #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and take over television screens by dominating almost every second that was still dedicated to playing music videos on American music television. It looked cool, it sounded cool, it appealed to everyone. ‘Clint Eastwood' is a track that will have people's heads nodding for years to come." - C.A. Bell

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#14Knights Of Cydonia Muse from Black Holes & Revelations
		Chart History: Released November 27, 2006 #10 UK
"Epic. There's no other valid word to really use to describe this song. If you want to listen to one song and feel like you're experiencing an epic journey then this is what you want to listen to. For most of the decade, Muse provided many great songs but this one broke the proverbial glass ceiling. After you see the video, it's all over. You'll never be able to listen to this song without feeling like you're in the middle of a horse chase." - Mikey MiGo "I distinctly remember the first time someone told me about Muse's ‘Knights of Cydonia'. It was introduced to me as, ‘the best song Queen never wrote.' True enough. The first time I heard the song, and they hit that phenomenal first full out breakdown, I literally rocked so hard I bled. Seriously, I was using a grill cleaning brush as a guitar and cut my hand on the bristles. I don't think I've ever been able to say that about any other song. By the time Muse's international breakthrough smash, Black Holes and Revelations, was released in 2006, Muse had been making music for seven years. Mostly written off as a Radiohead-wannabe, the single ‘Knights of Cydonia' was an almost instant smash. The song (and the album surrounding it) sounded like a western written by L. Ron Hubbard. It's the kind of thing you want to hear before charging off to war, in space." - Andrew Moll

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#13Jesus Walks Kanye West from The College Dropout
		Chart History: Released May 25, 2004 #11 Hot 100 #2 R&B/Hip-Hop #3 Rap #16 Rhythmic Top 40
" I resisted Kanye for a long time, considering he's now one of my favorite artists, forget genre. I think the exact song that won me over was ‘Stronger', but looking back, it's amazing I managed to ignore this one. One of his most innovative beats, a chant, Kanye leads this one with power. Not to mention the song is unbelievably heavy handed, somehow without ever actually appearing heavy handed. Sure, he says the song's just about how he needs Jesus the way Kathie Lee needs Regis, but then he complains that you can rap about anything except for Jesus. To combat this, the whole song is about the power of Christ, and its effect on Kanye. And not for one moment did the popular rap audience, afraid of anything with true meaning, turn away. Sure, a few years later we're back to meaningless snap music, but for awhile it looked like Kanye had actually made meaningful alternative rap the mainstream. Too bad Common missed out on quite this level of fun." - Lucas Wesley "There was once a time when Kanye West was just a name in the credits. When Jay-Z made his best album in years, that name (as well as ‘Just Blaze') was all over the liner notes. So when the news came of Kanye West attempting a solo album, many of us rooted for him. 'Jesus Walks' is one of the few hip-hop songs that veered toward Christianity, which is important considering that most of the time, the focus of religion in hip-hop is usually on the Nation of Islam and 5% Nation of The Gods & The Earths. Kanye used this song to bring home the fact that radio stations can play pretty much anything under the sun, but are sheepish about playing anything that mentioned God. This song showed that Kanye had potential to go really far in the hip-hop game. Sadly, fame has a way of bringing out the worst in people, and Kanye was one of many that got affected by it." - Phil Watts, Jr. "Kanye West stepped on the scene with a song not about his gold, cars, or guns – but about how he tries to live by Jesus's word? That's almost commercial suicide! Nonetheless, West made it work with a resolute marching hook and a conviction that most rappers can't manage even when they talk about their ‘experiences' with gangs and guns." - Michael Melchor

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#12I Believe In A Thing Called Love The Darkness from Permission To Land
		Chart History: Released March 17, 2003 #35 Mainstream Rock #2 UK
"I'm not ashamed to admit this is my #1 pick. I've always been a massive fan of The Darkness, and this was the song that got me hooked. I saw one of the last performances of this song when I went to see Justin Hawkins' new band Hot Leg last year, and have met the man himself a couple of times (plus Dan Hawkins and Richie Edwards). This song was also the first song I properly liked myself without anyone's influence, after previously relying on my parents and friends to discover new bands. There was a reason that at one point The Darkness were the biggest band in the U, and this song was the reason. I loved it the moment I heard it, and T'Darkness have been one of my favorite bands of all time since its release." - Alistair McGeorge "There's a hint of ‘cheese' in this song, but on all accounts ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love' is great. It's like if Freddie Mercury grew up watching Freddie Mercury. They single handedly brought back the overhead hand clap…for like a minute. It's like a classic rock song that classic rock stations are afraid to play. In a perfect world, this song would have been the anthem for an entire generation." - Mikey MiGo "The Darkness released their debut LP, Permission to Land, in 2003 with the blast of an atomic bomb. At the forefront of that release was the first single ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love'. On radios across the country that year the first verse of the song, belted out by frontman Justin Hawkins, would cause listeners to stop what they were doing and ask, ‘What the hell is this?' Like the comedy duo Tenacious D, the Darkness was a group steeped in the most stereotypical and grandiose elements of hard rock and heavy metal. Unlike the D, however, the Darkness seemed to be paying more homage to the genre than poking fun at it, and these guys had the chops to pull it off. ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love' wasn't made to get a laugh, but if they had a few in the process you got the feeling that would be okay too. Unfortunately, the band would only release one more album before Hawkins' drug addiction would put the Darkness on a shelf. Fortunately, ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love' will stand forever as a testament to the power of pure R-A-W-K." - C.A. Bell

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#11SexyBack Justin Timberlake from FutureSex/LoveSounds
		Chart History: Released July 7, 2006 #1 Hot 100 #1 Pop #52 R&B/Hip-Hop
"It took me a while to really click with this one. ‘Summer Love', ‘My Love', ‘What Goes Around Comes Around', ‘FutureSex', ‘LoveStoned'...these are all better songs, I would argue, and I still do. However, when we're going for the one that made the biggest impact, has the lasting effect, and is the most important song, if you will, the nod definitely goes to ‘SexyBack'. The vocals on this song drip with coolness, from the second he starts wooing his ‘Dirty babe.' Throw in strong beats which are quick to explain just why a pop superstar turned to Timbaland and a sweet spy flick influenced video, and you see how ‘SexyBack' is teaching mother****ers how to act." - Lucas Wesley "After the success of Justified, Timberlake had decided to take a break from music, feeling burnt out and lacking creativity. His debut album had performed better than expected, however as an artist Timberlake was still looking for credibility. His overall appeal wasn't in question, but many still felt that his success was due more to his dance moves and looks, rather than musical talent. However, when ‘SexyBack' came out, everything changed. It was awkward, aggressive, and edgy, bearing little resemblance to anything that he had done before. It was the kind of song that made you recoil at first, but drew you in the more you listened to it. ‘SexyBack' was a huge hit, and with it's electro house stylings, brought a whole new sound to urban music. Off the back of this, Timbaland became the hottest producer in the industry, and Timberlake became a man." - Weng Yu

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#10You Know You're Right Nirvana from Nirvana
		Chart History: Released October 8, 2002 #45 Hot 100 #1 Modern Rock #1 Mainstream Rock
"It was Kurt Cobain's one last diatribe. Everyone was clamoring for it. What came out seemed to be one last, angry ‘I told you so' from someone who never wanted to be a mega-celebrity or the ‘voice of a generation' in the first place. It was a bitter sendoff to everyone from someone who wanted out of the game long before he took his own life to do it." - Michael Melchor "I'm sure no one doing this sort of this at the end of the 90's thought we'd be ranking a Nirvana song as one of the Top 10 songs of the 2000's. That's even more strange given that Nirvana hasn't been a band that's released a plethora of vault material since their dissolution. But here we have it – one last masterpiece that proves that Nirvana wasn't just of a time, but rather spoke for something that is of all generations. Kurt Cobain lives on – not through video game avatars and sneaker promotions, but through the amazing music that he and his band made. One last gift from a group that did more than define a generation – they reminded us what music could be." - Mitch Michaels

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#9Crazy Gnarls Barkley from St. Elsewhere
		Chart History: Released May 23, 2006 #1 Hot 100 #2 Pop #53 R&B/Hip-Hop #7 Modern Rock
"The breakout gem from Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse's first Gnarls album St. Elsewhere, ‘Crazy' has a timeless feel which sounds immediately familiar from the first listen. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, and covers of ‘Crazy' began to emerge on Youtube and mp3 sites immediately from artists as disparate as Nelly Furtado, The Raconteurs and, my personal favorite, Ray LaMontagne. Unlike most singles of this magnitude, the song is a breath of fresh air every time I hear it, despite its ubiquity." - Michael James "I'm not into the whole neo-soul thing. No doubt Cee-Lo is a good singer, but because of the genre he sings behind, nothing sticks out to me as perfectly imperfect. Danger Mouse is a good producer, but he rarely does anything that really makes me set him apart from the plentiful other good producers. So why, then, is ‘Crazy' one of my favorite songs of 2006? Okay, so it isn't strictly neo-soul, it blends several genres into one song. And it definitely isn't your typical production, Danger Mouse really shows off here. Huh. I guess that question wasn't so hard to answer after all." - Lucas Wesley "‘Crazy' came seemingly came out of nowhere in 2006. Nothing on the radio sounded remotely like it. Danger Mouse's production, Cee-Lo's voice, and the off-beat lyrics provided a huge breath of fresh air to a stale musical landscape. The Rorschach idea is genius and provided a very, very memorable video. When virtually all of your musical peers have recorded a version of your song or use it in their setlists, you know you've got something special." - Jasper Jones "For most of the decade, soul music was in hibernation, at least until this record. This is what good soul music should be, but in a world of Ne-Yo's and Chris Brown's, it's sadly rare. Cee-Lo and Dangermouse are arguably the most creative musicians of the decade, and ‘Crazy' was their highpoint. Even though the song was everywhere the summer it was released, it never got old or overplayed. It's one of the few songs of the decade that earned its status as timeless and classic." - Ben Czajkowski
"On the heels of what the Gorillaz accomplished, their DJ (Danger Mouse) hooks up with a journeyman rapper. What should have been, by all mainstream expectations, a quirky, under-the-radar hip-hop project produced, instead, one of the breeziest and thought-provoking summer jams heard in a long time." - Michael Melchor

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#8Fallin' Alicia Keys from Songs In A Minor
		Chart History: Released July 10, 2001 #1 Hot 100 #1 R&B/Hip-Hop #24 Adult Contemporary
"The song that introduced a superstar to the world, ‘Fallin'‘ was a huge hit on release, topping the Billboard charts for six weeks. Bolstered by this success, the album Songs In A Minor went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide, and establish Alicia Keys as one of the top divas of the 00's. Starting off with a powerful vocal over a gentle piano base, it builds by gradually adding in percussion, strings, and some gospel styled backings for good measure. Soul of the highest order, and even though it's been eight years, it still sounds fresh." - Weng Yu "Sometimes the mark of a great song is that they make someone who's not really into their genre sit up and take notice. Heck, we've even noted instances of that on this list already. I've never been a fan of R&B, but Alicia Keys does it so well here – so SOULFUL – that you can't help but be engaged. Even Bob Dylan took notice. The amazing piano and vocals boosted it to the top of tons of year-end lists in 2001 and now here it sits as one of the best of the decade. No doubt when 2099 rolls around, we'll be talking about it again." - Mitch Michaels

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#7Stan Eminem feat. Dido from The Marshall Mathers LP
		Chart History: Released December 2001 #51 Hot 100 #36 R&B/Hip-Hop #22 Rap
"Despite not being a big fan of rap or much outside the genre of rock, I can't deny this song's brilliance. The lyrics are incredibly emotional, and tell a fantastic, interesting story. The guest vocals for the chorus make it sound almost beautiful, despite the subject matter. If you've not heard the live version with Elton John, I highly recommend it. It's one of a handful of Eminem songs I actually like, and is up there with some of my favorite songs of the decade." - Alistair McGeorge "I feel this song represents what made Eminem one of the biggest names in music during the 2000's. Telling the story of an obsessed fan, Stan, Eminem penned a song that not only detailed a real life problem of fans going to any length for their idols, but one that entered the term ‘Stan' into the hip-hop lexicon for all time. A perfect blend of production and lyricism, ‘Stan' is an equally engaging and disturbing song and the accompanying video is one of the most chilling you will ever see. It is not only one of the best songs Eminem has ever recorded, but one of the best songs of the 2000's and if Eminem could ever create an album with as much focus and intricacy as ‘Stan', I'm sure he'd have a near classic album on his hands." - Patrick Robinson "Before ‘The Way I Am', Eminem already gave us a cautionary tale about how some of his fans expect too much and go too far in their adoration. Enlisting Dido to help with the chorus helped the mood, but was unnecessary, really. The chilling tale of a wannabe who takes himself out because he's too impatient to wait to hear from his ‘idol' was already chilling enough." - Michael Melchor

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#6Last Nite The Strokes from Is This It
		Chart History: Released 2001 #5 Modern Rock
"I still occasionally like to rub in the face of a friend that I was a fan of ‘The Strokes' before anyone else we knew at the time. Nonetheless, this song is timeless. It sounds like it could have been from the Woodstock era, but it's very much so a staple of the naughts. If a mix CD was made of 00's songs, this song would HAVE TO be on it for any legitimacy." - Mikey MiGo "When The Strokes released their debut album in 2001, it came with an ungodly amount of hype and a belief that they were the ‘new Stooges.' High praise indeed, but The Strokes lived up to the hype and delivered one of the best rock songs of the decade with ‘Last Nite.' Starting with a rough guitar riff, the song propels with reckless abandon while singer Julian Casablancas slurs his way through a tale about a girl who's wants things to get too serious. ‘Last Nite' is such a great song because it's fun rock and roll and one that started the so-called garage rock revival. And that's the image you get when listening to it; a young group of guys drinking beer and playing some rough-around-the-edges rock." - Andrew Moll "Before The White Stripes split the mainstream airwaves, there were The Strokes. This fuzzed out garage rock band brought about the revival of the genre before Jack White made it legitimate. The band hasn't really topped the promise of Is This It in the years since, but how could you? Most perfect is the single ‘Last Nite', which took the retro vibe of Iggy-style post punk and threw in a lo-fi guitar solo ripped straight from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' ‘American Girl'. The TP connection is an interesting one, since 25 years before ‘Last Nite', people didn't know what to do with the Heartbreakers so they called them New Wave. The same thing can be said for The Strokes, so we called them Garage Rock. And now that fad and most of its spin-off bands are gone, but they still stand." - Mitch Michaels

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#5No One Knows Queens Of The Stone Age from Songs For The Deaf
		Chart History: Released November 26, 2002 #51 Hot 100 #5 Mainstream Rock #1 Modern Rock
"From the ashes of Kyuss and on the back of two storming albums, when QOTSA signed Dave Grohl up on drums, we were all expecting something special, and special is what we got. From the stripped bare arrangement, to the almost guilty chorus, and especially to the tongue in cheek video, this song was one of the crossover hits of the decade. For me, it's even more special as it's one of the few modern songs where the drummer (and the bass player for that matter) is right in the forefront of the arrangement without resorting to the 'double-kick, speed is everything' approach favored by so many metal bands. THIS is how you put a rhythm section together! This song is catchier than swine flu (deer flu?), technically impressive and above all, it's FUN." - Chris Crowing "Reaching #51 on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘No One Knows' was the most successful single from Queens of the Stone Age's mainstream breakthrough album Songs for the Deaf. This was the song that fans stood behind for their answer to everyone that was calling bands like Weezer, Radiohead, or the Strokes the new birth of rock ‘n roll. Indeed, this song would be a bit of a trailblazer for future hits singles from bands like the Black Keys and Muse. By itself, the track is hard rock at its very finest, taking the fun and falsetto of Queen, mixing it with the heavy metal overtones of early Soundgarden, and adding a bit of the bravado and vitriol of Iggy Pop. If the true measure of a song's strength is how long it can remain fresh, ‘No One Knows' would have to be considered top 10." - C.A. Bell

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#499 Problems Jay-Z from The Black Album
		Chart History: Released April 27, 2004 #30 Hot 100 #26 R&B/Hip-Hop #10 Rap
"Rick Rubin was the founder, as well as the heart and soul of Def Jam Records. When he left Def Jam, that label lost a whole lot (yeah, it still had its hits, but it never again reached the heights it reached during its 80's heyday). He would start Def American Records, but as the years went by, he would soon lose his love for hip-hop (evidenced by him ceremoniously burying the word ‘DEF') and concentrating on other forms of music like metal (Slayer) and country (the late great Johnny Cash). With ‘99 Problems', Rubin returns to his roots, with his mix of rock & hip-hop (just like the good ol' days), giving Jay-Z a hit." - Phil Watts, Jr. "Jay-Z is considered one of the best rappers of all time, but this is the song that puts him on the map for pretty much the entire music community. The rock-based music and beats makes it come off like a more ‘gangsta' Beastie Boys track. I mean that in a good way. You could almost say this is the second highest cover on the list as Ice-T released a track of the SAME NAME AND SAME CHORUS waaaay back in the day. Everyone else ignores that, so I will too. This song is still great and I agree with the placement." - Mikey MiGo "I'm not a big fan of Jay-Z. Never have been. That out of the way, I'll give anybody credit where it's due, and here, it is. It's common to think how easy celebrities have it and how they have no problems whatsoever, but Jay takes a manic beat and uses it to highlight his stance that not all's roses on his side of success." - Michael Melchor

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#3Hurt Johnny Cash from American IV: The Man Comes Around
		Chart History: Released November 3, 2003 #56 Country
"It's always a dangerous course to cover a classic song, especially one which is so beloved by such a passionate fan base. As such, I have friends who despise this song because it is apparently an affront to Nine Inch Nails. I couldn't disagree more. Johnny Cash completely reworked the meaning and tone of this song while retaining every piece of emotion and pathos. His version is one of the best songs of the 2000's, as it simply lays bare the sense of world weariness felt by those of us who are that little bit past being simply angry all the time. This version of ‘Hurt' is in its own right an emotive, haunting, memorable classic." - Chris Crowing "Trent Reznor's desolate ballad was already depressing enough. Put it in the hands of not only a grand master, but one who's dying and he knows it, and it's time to break out the razor blades and a full bottle of prescription pills to OD on. With nothing but a guitar and a wavering trademark baritone, Cash knew what Reznor was looking to accomplish. He did it and then some with what would become the Man In Black's swan song." - Michael Melchor "If it would be surprising for Nirvana to make the Top 10 Songs of the 2000's list to someone in the 90's, seeing Johnny Cash in there too is downright unbelievable. I'm not one of the people who see this as simply a Nine Inch Nails cover. When Cash hooked up with Rick Rubin in the mid-90's, he learned to trust Rick's instincts in song selection, just as Rubin knew to trust Cash's ability to adapt and sing the Great American Songbook. Hell, Cash made his career partly on covering other people's songs his own way, so the fact that he made those American records is only surprising in that some of the songwriters were named Danzig and Reznor instead of Hank Williams and Tom T. Hall. Anyway, ‘Hurt' is, truly, just another example of Cash understanding the emotions behind a great songwriter's lyrics and making that emotion, in this case pain and regret, his. And by doing that, he conveys those emotions to the listener, who can feel those emotions in his own life. A simple three step process that, when held in a master's hand, gives us something like ‘Hurt'. Is it catharsis that gives me chills every time I hear this song? Is it empathy? Or is it that I know Cash documented his journey all the way up to the threshold of death's door and made us understand it? Is there hurt waiting there for us too? And are we better for having someone show us what that feels like already?" - Mitch Michaels

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#2Hey Ya! OutKast from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
		Chart History: Released September 9, 2003 #1 Hot 100 #9 R&B/Hip-Hop #16 Modern Rock
"There are not many songs that I'd take a bullet for. While I still wouldn't take a bullet for this, I'd at least say ‘watch out'. That's exactly what you should do if you have anything bad to say about this song. Fictitious threats aside, Andre 3000's work here is innovative and was played across the boards on all rock, hip-hop, video channels, and pretty much everywhere. I'll admit that after awhile I did get tired of it, but like a great book it's always there to rediscover and be amazed by. When this list was discussed months ago, it took a whole two seconds to decide on my personal choice as the definitive track of the 2000's." - Mikey MiGo "This is, without a doubt, the catchiest song of the decade, and also the one most likely to be included in every ‘Greatest Songs of the 00's' compilation for the next ten years or so. ‘Hey Ya!' was that rarest of songs which crossed over all musical boundaries and found the biggest audience imaginable. In the world of hip-hop, OutKast is at least two steps above and ahead of everyone else, and this song is one of their crown jewels." - Ben Czajkowski "It was one of the biggest hits of the decade. It's a song that still sends asses to the dance floor. It was the first time we really heard Andre 3000 branch out with great effect. It was addictive as hell. It's something that people still turn up when it comes on the radio and either hum, or sing, or bob their heads to, or some other reaction that makes people feel good. All this accomplished by what was essentially a break-up song." - Michael Melchor

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#1Seven Nation Army The White Stripes from Elephant
		Chart History: Released April 21, 2003 #76 Hot 100 #12 Mainstream Rock #1 Modern Rock
"Bad ass melody? Check. Memorable guitar riff? Check. Best band of the 2000's? Check. The White Stripes, along with the Foo Fighters, owned this decade in terms of rock music. Decades from now when our grandkids are asking us about music, they won't have to ask about The White Stripes because they will be in their history books. I know that's a pretty big statement, but like the Nirvanas, U2s, and other bands of certain eras, The White Stripes are timeless and a breath of fresh air every time they release anything new. Relevant rock music is on life support and Dr. Jack White is nursing it back to health almost single handedly. He should be careful as ‘Seven Nation Army' is big enough of a dose to but someone into cardiac arrest. Yeah, cheesy metaphors aside… this song is the shit." - Mikey MiGo "When the musical history of this decade is written, Jack White should get the first and longest chapter. Everything about this song screams rock and roll, which was on life support at the decade's start while prefabricated pop princesses and pretty boys ruled the charts and airwaves. Garage band rock is nothing new, but very few musicians have done it better than the Stripes, and the Stripes never did it better than with this song." - Ben Czajkowski

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And there you have it. The Top 100 Songs of the 2000's. What did you think? What was your favorite song? What did we leave out? Let us know.