#100: Kylie Minogue- In Your Eyes (2002)
Seduction has been a selling
point for many artists in the music industry, but very few ever get it right.
One those successes is this song from Melbourne, Australia’s own Kylie Minogue,
perhaps the most beautiful woman on the planet. Sultry and infectious, this is
Kylie at her seductive best.
#99: Murphy Lee f/Jermaine Dupri- What Da Hook Gon’ Be? (2004)
The story behind this one is
that the song came about after Murphy Lee and Jermaine Dupri fought over what
hook they would use for the untitled song’s chorus. Realizing their argument
was actually catchy, they decided to use it for the chorus- to great affect. A
catchy and fun single, this is party rap at its finest.
#98: Linkin Park- Breaking The Habit (2004)
Linkin Park have always toyed
with fusing electronica with rock, but while Hybrid Theory sounded too
much like generic nu-metal, Meteora finally saw the band etch out a
sound of its own. This particular song- which took six years to make- is Linkin
Park at its best, creating an electronic rock song that is their most
interesting song and one of the most interesting singles in recent memory. If Hybrid
Theory showed flashes of their future potential, Meteora and
“Breaking The Habit” is potential realized.
#97: Dredg- Same Ol’ Road (2002)
Perhaps a band that never got
its due is Dredg, an alternative rock outfit in the vein of Radiohead and
Coldplay out of Los Gatos, California, a town of 28,000 some 19km from Santa
Clara. This is Dredg at its best- a haunting track featuring booming vocals
from Gavin Hayes and an all-encompassing musical score behind him, this song
signalled Dredg as one of music’s more inventive acts.
#96: Disturbed- Overburdened (2007)
There may have been few who
would have given Chicago’s Disturbed a lengthy career after the KoRn rip-off project
that was “The Sickness” but since then they have established themselves as a
premier metal outfit (and I’ll call them metal because now they have more in
common with Lacuna Coil than they do with Limp Bizkit). Featuring mellow but
powerful guitar riffs and some impassioned singing from David Draiman), this
song is the best of Disturbed’s power ballads.
#95: The Vines- Ride (2004)
I didn’t give Australia’s The
Vines much of a hope after their clunker “Get Free”, but “Ride” proved me
wrong. An energetic single that can be best described as “organized chaos”, the
Vines have created a messy delight.
#94: cLOUDDead- The Velvet Ant (2004)
One of 2004’s most
interesting works came from underground hip-hop group cLOUDDead in the form of
the very trippy Ten. This particular track is Ten at its best, a
psychedelic rampage that combines its garbled elements into a very intriguing
track. This is a band that oozes potential, and “The Velvet Ant” gives them a
great start.
#93: Dala- Twentysomething (2006)
The first Canadians to chart,
North Scarborough duo Dala- Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther- describe this
folk-pop piece as their timeless classic. Playful and catchy, “Twentysomething”
won’t simply be a coming-of-age single for this band- it’s sure to be a song
that other twenty-somethings will latch onto as their own.
#92: Sarah Teitel- Belly Of The Rock (2007)
Keeping within Toronto is
this song from newcomer Sarah Teitel. Written when Teitel was in New York, this
passionate folk-pop track takes a stab at excess and throws it to the ground,
at the same time revealing an artist hungry for success she’s bound to get. A
very fine start.
#91: Rascal Flatts- What Hurts The Most (2006)
A cover of a Mark Wills song that
was never an official single (which was itself also covered by Jo O’Meara of S
Club 7 fame, who made it one), it is Rascal Flatts who turn it into their own.
A powerful and overall very beautiful country ballad about the love that got
away, this song became an overall Billboard Top 10 hit, hitting #6. The Rascal
Flatts have been one of country’s best acts in recent years, so you can be sure
they’ll cash in soon on their breakthrough hit.
#90: Gary Allan- Life Ain’t Always Beautiful (2007)
Another on the list of great
country ballads is this one from Gary Allan, as this song followed up the equally
stunning “Best I Ever Had”, a cover of the Vertical Horizon song he turned into
to refer to his late wife. This follow-up is best described as a “perspective
song”, and from a man who had a rough experience this track becomes very
personal. Also, the uplifting message that one should keep their heads up even
in bad moments is one everyone can relate to.
#89: Justin Timberlake f/Timbaland- Sexyback (2006)
Justin Timberlake may not have
a great album under his belt, but he does have an impressive array of singles
(making his lack of a great album even more frustrating). This song can be best
described as slick, a grooving R&B track that really establishes Timberlake
as “the man”. Now, if only Timberlake’s albums can be just as fun as this
single.
#88: Eminem- Lose Yourself (2002)
Many eyes were rolled when
Eminem did what appeared to be a vanity project in the semi-autobiographical “8-Mile”,
but the critics were silenced after the movie and this track came out. Easily
Eminem’s greatest track, the energetic and uplifting track about keeping your
hopes up was described by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest warm-up songs of
all-time, and it certainly is. This song shows that when Eminem’s desire is
there, he is difficult to beat.
#87: Omar Faruk Tekbilek- Shaskin (2004)
An electronica artist from
Tunisia, “Shaskin” fuses traditional Arabic sounds with modern dance music to
create a danceable single that’s as enjoyable as it is intriguing. If you’re
looking for something outside of the traditional realm of popular music, this
is a great song to pick up.
#86: Queens Of The Stone Age- Little Sister (2005)
Josh Homme once described
Queens Of The Stone Age’s music as “robot rock”, and, despite its negative
connotations (and some dubious singles from the band themselves), it all came
together here with “Little Sister”. Creepy but delectably dark, the catchy
single became the band’s best.
#85: Radiohead- Go To Sleep (2003)
Not since “Creep” have the
British alternative rockers created a single as catchy as this one. However,
this song is more than just catchy- it’s ethereal and delightfully hypnotic,
featuring Thom Yorke and his crew at their intriguing best. This is a defining
opus for a band that is deservedly one of the music industry’s most respected
outfits.
#84: Sean Paul- Temperature (2005)
Speaking of hypnotic is this
from dancehall star- and Jamaican-Canadian- Sean Paul. “Temperature” is an
incredibly infectious single that keeps everything simple while at the same
time invites everyone to tear up the dance-floor while giving Sean Paul an
inescapable hit. Included with other simple but fun tracks such as “Get Busy”
and “Everblazin’” that have similarly tore up the charts for Sean Paul (who
still seems to be lower profile than it may seem), this song may solidify Sean
Paul as one of the sleepers of the past five years.
#83: Evanescence- Everybody’s Fool (2004)
When Fallen came out,
Evanescence seemed to show themselves as the artist of the future, creating a
metal work that was dark but incredibly enchanting. Predictably, when
co-founder Ben Moody announced he was leaving the band, there were fears that
the band’s creative focus had left, something that was realized with the
jumbled follow-up The Open Door. However, in the meantime was this
single, the last off Fallen but easily the band’s best, with dark,
brooding guitar riffs that perfectly compliment Amy Lee’s booming voice. One hopes
The Open Door was an aberration, because with songs like this one,
Evanescence certainly have a shot to still be the artists of the future.
#82: Paper Moon- String Of Blinking Lights (2006)
While Broken Hearts Break
Faster Everyday was a middle-of-the-road affair, “String Of Blinking
Lights” showed a band with hit-making potential. A folk-rock song about the
Christmas holiday season, “String Of Blinking Lights” is infectious and
beautifully sung by Leslie Oldham, and, had it been released at a better time,
might have been the band’s breakthrough hit. One thing’s for sure- this song
gives the band a lot of future potential, and let’s hope they cash in on it.
#81: Hot Hot Heat- Middle Of Nowhere (2005)
Is it possible to write a better
song to describe the feeling about being stranded than this one? If so, I
haven’t heard it. A mellow but still thoroughly energetic song from the
Vancouver band creates a piece that’s perfect for road trips- or any other
“lost” moment, for that matter.
The Top 100: No. 100-81
-DG