Top 25 Songs of the Decade

My OCD kicked into overdrive on this one. Here are my picks for the top 25 songs from 2000 through 2009...in chronological order, of course:

1. Moby - 'Natural Blues' 03/28/2000; From the album 'Play', which was actually released in '99. The single wasn't released until March of the next year, so it barely made the list.

2. Daft Punk - 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' 10/13/2001

3. Bad Religion - 'Sorrow' 01/31/2002; This song is rumored to be about the Bible book of Job, although it does have many modern references. The song was influential in me questioning a number of things that I was taught as a child.

4. Johnny Cash - 'Hurt' 11/05/2002; Cash's last single released while he was still alive, this cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic took on new meaning in his hands. Stunning and touching video. He died 10 months later on 09/12/2003.

5. Justin Timberlake - 'Cry Me A River' 12/28/2002

6. Blue Man Group - 'Exhibit 13' 04/22/2003; Released as a tribute to the victims of the World Trade Center, the song's title comes from the words found on a piece of paper that floated into a Brooklyn neighborhood on the morning on September 11th.


7. Outkast - 'Hey Ya!' 09/09/2003

8. Gary Jules - 'Mad World' 12/15/2003; A cover of an old Tears For Fears song, Mad World wasn't actually released as a single until more than two years after Donnie Darko, the movie the song was in, had hit theaters. The cult following of the movie had demanded the commercial release of the single.

9. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth - 'Defying Gravity' - 12/16/2003; From the Broadway musical 'Wicked', 'Defying Gravity' was the climax show and became the song that brought the masses back to Broadway...

Watch in   |  View More

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Maps' 02/10/2004

11. Muse - 'Blackout' 03/23/2004; I've said this before...please play this song at my funeral after I die. It's beautiful.


12. A Perfect Circle - 'Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm of The War Drums' 09/28/2004; Essentially a remix of their song, Pet, this was the "anti" song of the decade. Anti-Bush, anti-war, anti-establishment, it was, in essence a middle finger to the Bush Administration in the weeks leading up to his reelection.

13. Plain White T's - 'Hey There Delilah' 01/25/2005

14. Imogen Heap - 'Hide and Seek' 05/19/2005

15. Green Day - 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' 06/13/2005

16. Coldplay - 'Fix You' 09/05/2005; I first heard this song at Coachella, in 2005, performed live by the band. Over the years, it has taken on a number of meanings. As an uncle, a husband, and a father. It has a wonderful message of recovery, of overcoming grief. With the events of this past decade, and especially Hurricane Katrina in the Summer of 2005, it was especially fitting.

17. Placebo - 'Running Up That Hill' 03/13/2006; Another cover on the list. This time of a Kate Bush song. This song does such an amazing job at getting under your skin, that it stays with you forever. Other covers come and go, but this one will haunt you in your sleep...

Running Up That Hill

Placebo | MySpace Music Videos

18. Gnarls Barkley - 'Crazy' 03/23/2006

19. Nine Inch Nails - 'Every Day Is Exactly The Same' 04/04/2006

20. Snow Patrol - 'Chasing Cars' 06/06/2006; This song is very special to me. It is "our song". Every couple has their song. This is ours.

21. The Beatles - 'Blackbird/Yesterday' 11/20/2006; Normally, I wouldn't put a 45 year old song on a top 25 list, but this is an exception. Taken from the 'Love' Soundtrack, from their Cirque du Soliel show of the same name, this track mixes together two of their classic tunes. Using technology that wasn't available then, and with a clarity that is only available now, producer Giles Martin creates a masterpiece that gives me a lump in my throat every time I hear this song. And to see it live....brings tears to your eyes. Listen for the high violin on the last verse. Awe inspiring...


22. Amy Winehouse - 'Rehab' 03/20/2007

23. Jason Mraz - 'I'm Yours' 02/12/2008; This song broke a record by charting on the Billboard Top 100 for 76 consecutive weeks. It has been downloaded on ITunes more than 4.4 Million times, making it the third most downloaded song ever. Not bad.

24. Coldplay - 'Viva La Vida' 05/25/2008

25. Lady Gaga - 'Bad Romance' 10/25/2009; I know, I know. Everyone reading this is going to disagree, but it's my list and I am allowed one guilty pleasure song out of 25.