The best 250 songs of the noughties: 125-101

250-226 | 225-201 | 200-176 | 175-151
150-126 | 125-101 | 100-76 | 75-51
50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11
10-4 | 3-1

125. Between The Buried And Me - Ants Of The Sky
Snatching this song from the middle of ‘Colours’ is almost criminal, as with the album Between The Buried And Me have created their best yet. It’s complex and it’s fluid, and it’s also not afraid to try some daring moves in the middle of Metalcore that most would deem ‘suicide’. Just listen to 11:20 for a perfect example. Yes, eleven minutes and twenty seconds into the song, which itself is a mere thirteen minutes long. Don’t worry, not a second is wasted, and every one is brimming with fantastic love for the craft and intense musicianship. Well, guitar wanking. There’s that. Listen (in two parts!!)

124. The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Rumours of The Avalanches split have been greatly exaggerated, and while they only have one album in their repertoire, what an album it is. As ‘Since I Left You’ demonstrates, it’s a wonderful thing that they have done. In this age of worry about our planets resources and looking for reusable resources, The Avalanches have already found one! Taking thousands (3,500 to be exact) of samples, they crafted this album with such love and care that you wouldn’t even know that it was recycled! It’s a lovely song, with a lovely tone, and it will lighten up anybody’s day. Lovely.


123. The Futureheads - Think Tonight
Whoa! Completely unexpectedly, The Futureheads decided to stop being a post-punk band for a song, three albums in, and decide that the way Andrew W.K. and Kiss do things is much better. It’s fast, it’s charging and it’s anthemic and it’s got an absolutely inspired guitar riff that leads the whole track into being brilliantly fantastic. Lead them in, boys. Listen

122. Slipknot - Before I Forget
Do you want to hear one of the best, award-winning Metal songs of the decade? Here you go then. A chaotic riff that thunders along taking no prisoners; an aggressive man shouting words like ‘I’; A drummer so good he’s… eh… great. Look what do you want? It’s the best song Slipknot has ever written and they’ve written some bloody good metal songs. No question about it! Video

121. Thrice – Firebreather
The first track from The Alchemy Index, and of the first of four disks, this one named ‘Fire’. It was a huge leap from where they were to what they became across these four disks, but as any fan of Thrice should, we had faith that they would prevail. Little did we know they’d release one of the best collections of songs for the entire decade. ‘Firebreather’ is Thrice at their most energetic and adrenaline-fuelled with one of the best, and most simplistic riffs ever. With a hint of Post-metal driving them forward, Thrice took their Hardcore sound to a new level of experimentation, an idea that continued throughout the 24 songs, albeit with varying genres. With this, Thrice show just how good a band they are. Listen

120. Killswitch Engage - My Last Serenade
Looking for more ridiculously good metal? Welcome back, traveller. It’s nice to see you. Not only was this one of the themes of my youth, it also features some brilliant riffage that just doesn’t give up. Even at that, and with it’s heaviest points, it still resolves back to an amazingly melodical chorus that has become Killswitch Engage’s signature sound. We see Killswitch Engage 1.0 at their best here, with vocalist of the time Jesse Leach giving the song his all, and it really pays off. The melodic vocals are the songs charm, but the heavy growling vocals are made his own, with the emotional tone coming through on every line. It’s superb. Video

119. The Fall Of Troy - F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.
Originally released, slower and much less fun, as ’F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P.’ on the bands first album, ‘F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.’ is a re-imagining of a song that is probably best forgotten. Not only is it faster, but the more complex parts of the song are handled with much more ability than that of the original, and even a more ferocious vocal is encouraged. The whole song is a wonderful exercise in ‘guitar wankery lesson one: Tapping!’ which in truth is part of the songs charm. It’s tapping is relentless, but so deftly pulled off that even if the song were terrible, it’s still an impressive feat. Luckily, that’s not the case. Video

118. Architects - You Don't Walk Away From Dismemberment
I’m sorry, you were looking for really heavy Metal? Oh! Here you are! As the title may suggest, this band are fucking brutal. The guitar work is brilliant (another lesson in tapping here), the bassist is even in on it, and the drummer is the sort of man you’d be jealous of even if you’d never wanted to be a drummer ever. Over the top of this, you have an incredible vocal talent by the name of Matt Johnson, who has since left the band toiling in the wake of their incredible first album, feeling much less inspired. The sound, altogether is much heavier than anything so far, but also includes guitar work that almost floats onto Post-Rock. It’s a lovely thing to hear in Metal, long may it continue. Listen

117. City And Colour - Sometimes (I Wish)
Let’s bring the tone down a bit. I love this man. His words are lovely, his voice is lovely, his guitar sound is lovely, he writes incredibly powerful songs and he has a lovely beard. What more can you want from a man? This acoustic giant shows off his best emotional chops here as his song asks many questions, leaving without any answers being given, much in the way we all feel sometimes. Bloody Lost! But seriously. He’s a delight to listen to. Get on it, folks. Listen

116. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Setting Fire to Sleeping Giant
And now, back up to the insane metal folks! Hello! Nice to have you back! So, really heavy, really riffy, really melodic, none of that did it for you? Okay, how about Jazz? Come back! D.E.P. are almost indefinable. Their music is as pop and jazz as the rest of them, but they are undeniably a metal band. Their vocalist has one of the most interesting voices in music, which is always a great thing when you replace Mike Patton isn’t it? Even they know they’re close to pop, having covered ‘Like I Love You’ by Justin Timberlake like pros! This song is their best, and most interesting, and showcases everything they are good at. Boom.


115. Lostprophets - The Fake Sound of Progress
When I was a young’n, Lostprophets didn’t sound like some shiny new dickheads. They sounded like ambient fucking metal. It’s a huge difference, and even although their first step to their clean image (‘Start Something’) was their best album, this is a very close second. It’s heavy and poppy in equal measure, which is it main charm. It also features a bloody good wee beatdown section. You want more? Read pitchfork! Listen

114. Goldie Lookin Chain - Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do
Can I even explain my affinity for this song? No, not really. It’s got a good beat, it’s lyrically tight and it’s fun. What do you expect from a comedy record? I expect this, and I got it. Listen

113. Reuben - Let's Stop Hanging Out
While ‘Stux’ may have been the first song I heard by Reuben, it’s fair to say that ‘Let’s Stop Hanging Out’ is when I got hooked on them. Reuben are a band that continually created interesting, fun, emotional and just plain brilliant music all throughout their career. It is highly evident here that Reuben were higher than their peers in terms of songwriting, leaving bands like Hell Is For Heroes and Hundred Reasons dead in their wake. It’s charged and it’s got a fucking incredible drummer behind the kit. Get on it. Video

112. Jenny Owen Youngs - If I Didn't Know
Ah, Jenny. I’m not exactly sure how I stumbled across your website, but when I did, you had only released a 4 track demo. I loved it so much that I sent off for your debut album as soon as it came out, and I instantly fell in love with that too. Now, while your second album may have lost a little of the charm of the first, there are still some fucking stellar tracks on there. Some of which I loved from the moment you finished playing them live at King Tuts. ‘If I didn’t know’ is one of those very songs, and the recorded version is everything I loved about the live version and more. What a brilliant song it is. Video

111. Pendulum - Propane Nightmares
Go on. Deny that this is a fucking choon. Do it. You can’t. You need no convincing. End. Video

110. The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love
I thought by this point that The Darkness’s first album may have fallen out of favour with me, but every time it comes on I just love it. It’s hard to deny that, while it had a very silly air, they weren’t great songs. I certainly can’t. I remember seeing them open the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury before they had even released ‘Permission To Land’ and just being utterly flabbergasted by everything. Firstly, the size of the crowd was immense, as big as it would be all day. Secondly, the performance was incredible and they were one of the best of the weekend. Thirdly, this joke band had come fucking great songs! ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ is a fucking great song, and while they may have fallen into obscurity and drug holes it remains as such forever more. Video

109. Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
Fall Out Boy confused me. I never thought they were very good. Then I heard a couple of singles from their album ‘Infinity On High’ and ran out and bought it, because they were brilliant. Then I heard some songs from the follow up and immediately revoked my decision to like them, because they had went back to being not very good. However, ‘Infinity On High’ retains it’s worthy spot in my CD collection, as it is packed full of superb songs, ‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs’ being one of the best. It’s perfectly pop, with just the right amount of Punk and swing thrown in for the best effect. Genius! Video

108. Britney Spears – Toxic
This is probably one of those songs that I just had to admit to liking. Britney Spears singles career has been atrociously bad. Whether it’s over the top fluff like ‘…Baby One More Time’ or sentimental hogwash like ‘Lucky’ or ‘Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know’ it’s pretty much been awful. Okay, you could probably argue it’s not really directed at me, but I don’t care. If the general public can look at alternative music with a musing eye, I must be able to do the same here. When all’s said and done, the girl has had a small few stellar songs. ‘Toxic’ has it all. It’s perfect to dance to, it has incredible production value, a chorus to die for and most importantly of all, a brilliant hook. Listen

107. Frank Turner - The Real Damage
I heard this song, what seems like, decades ago. Of course, it wasn’t, but I feel like I’ve known it for a long, long time. It’s a brilliant song, one which shows Mr Turner’s strengths to a huge degree. It’s lyrically rhythmic, while keeping the story flow up but it also features a brilliant musical accompaniment. After Million Dead had split, I thought that Frank Turner’s days of putting pen to paper and writing intensely good songs had been halted. ‘The Real Damage’ shows just how wrong I was. Video

106. The Lost Patrol - Alright
Another song that I can’t remember never existing, ‘Alright’ is a lovely song. The love that has went into the song can be felt with every instruments involvement. In fact, coming from a similar background as Frank Turner, Dennis Lyxzén has a musical mythology steeped in hardcore, yet has used the break up of his hardcore band to focus on more acoustic, folk-driven music. However, in Lyxzén’s case, it’s rather more miss than hit. ‘Alright’ is the exception to the rule. Video

105. Eminem - Stan (Feat. Dido)
How could I possibly have a list of the best songs of the Noughties and not include Eminem? I could have, actually, but I’d have been lying to myself. Strip back the ego, strip back the video, strip back everything you know about it and just listen. The constant patter of rain on the ground is an eerie yet familiar sound, but it more than adequately fulfils its role of making the song real. Eminem’s flow here is a masterstroke, and the lyrics are astoundingly held back. He’s always had an acerbic tongue, and he could have used every spiteful, hateful phrase in his mind to get the story across. Instead, he paints a picture that is unmistakeably devouring. The simple bassline accompanied by simple drums is, simply perfect. Any more and the song would loose it’s point. Not to mention Dido’s sample, which holds the whole song together in the eyes of a third player in the story. Let’s face it; it’s almost a masterpiece. Discuss. Listen

104. The Streets - Lets push things forward
When this boy first hit the ground running, the mass media referred to him as the British Eminem. Idiots. Although, the same rules apply here as above. It’s a simple beat; simple drums and simple bass with a little hint of organ hits and a lovely muted trumpet. It never feels empty, but always feels spaced out, enough so that every instrument has an individual voice and Mike Skinner can use the remaining space to be exactly what he is on every track on ‘Original Pirate Material’. Masterful. And with the lick of his sharp tongue, and Kevin Mark Trail’s wonderful chorus the song is complete. And superb, too. Video

103. Michael Jackson - You Rock My World
Michael Jackson had many troubles throughout his life, especially in the noughties. One of those was that he was never able to make his newer music live up to the classics of his youth. While ‘You Rock My World’ is obviously nowhere near as good as those classics, it stands up in its own right, and is truly a brilliant pop song. Full length Video

102. Weezer - Hash Pipe
Hello Weezer! I remember when this first came out. It was way back in the early noughties, and I loved it. It was a giant of Rock then and still is to this day. It has a very powerful riff that’s so simple it hurts, yet wields it like a champion’s sword. Beast. Listen

101. Eagles Of Death Metal - I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)
I’ve seen Eagles of Death Metal twice now, and they are one of the most fun bands I’ve ever seen live. The energy and ferocious rock n’ roll balls are just bursting out of every seam. It’s good then that it translates well on record, especially with this utter triumph of a hit. It’s an incredibly fun song, and it deserves to be played at every party held by anyone ever. The boy is, indeed, bad news.


Top 100 as soon as possible, folks!
Carl