When we sat down to plan this special list, we took the arrival of the Backstreet Boys' "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" as the starting point of the year in music. Everything else was up for grabs. The staff and I traded lists, opinions, barbs and everything but blows in trying to narrow down a wide range of popular music to the final 100. Anthony was sorry to see video pioneer Madonna get cut; Carmen was pulling for more Brit Pop, particularly Belle And Sebastian's "Legal Man." And, believe it or not, everybody was a little sorry to see the Baha Men's one and only hit, "Who Let The Dogs Out," bite the dust early on.
That's because this list honors the innovative just as much as the generic. These are not necessarily the best songs of the year. Were that the case, you would see a lot more Radiohead. No, these are the songs released in 2000 that I liked the most, ranked according to their cultural impact. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are instantly recognizable…to me, which may be the only thing that Britney Spears' "Lucky" (No. 22) and Detsl's "Vecherinka" (No. 96) have in common.
Jonathan Yu's 100 Songs Of The Year is a true collaboration. And in the spirit of Los Angeles radio, if you get to a song you don't like, stick with it – another one's coming up in a couple of minutes.
1 | *NSYNC | Bye Bye Bye | |
2 | Eminem | The Real Slim Shady | |
3 | Sisqó | Thong Song | |
4 | Papa Roach | Last Resort | |
5 | Dr. Dre featuring Eminem | Forgot About Dre | |
6 | Eminem featuring Dido | Stan | |
7 | Britney Spears | Oops!…I Did It Again | |
8 | Destiny's Child | Say My Name | |
9 | Nelly | Country Grammar (Hot Shit) | |
10 | Bloodhound Gang | The Bad Touch | |
11 | Macy Gray | I Try | |
12 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Otherside | |
13 | Nine Days | Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) | |
14 | Aaliyah | Try Again | |
15 | soulDecision | Faded | |
16 | Jay-Z featuring UGK | Big Pimpin' | |
17 | Green Day | Minority | |
18 | Backstreet Boys | The One | |
19 | Barenaked Ladies | Pinch Me | |
20 | Hanson | If Only | |
21 | *NSYNC | It's Gonna Be Me | |
22 | Britney Spears | Lucky | |
23 | Eminem | The Way I Am | |
24 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Californication | |
25 | U2 | Beautiful Day | |
26 | Bon Jovi | It's My Life | |
27 | OutKast | B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad) | |
28 | Ricky Martin | She Bangs (English Version) | |
29 | Toni Braxton | He Wasn't Man Enough | |
30 | OutKast | Ms. Jackson | |
31 | Jurassic 5 | Quality Control | |
32 | Limp Bizkit | Take A Look Around (Theme From Mission: Impossible 2) |
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33 | Dynamite Hack | Boyz In The Hood | |
34 | 2Ge+her | U + Me = Us (Calculus) | |
35 | The Wallflowers | Sleepwalker | |
36 | D'Angelo | Untitled (How Does It Feel) | |
37 | DMX | Party Up | |
38 | Counting Crows | Mrs. Potter's Lullaby | |
39 | Sinéad O'Connor | No Man's Woman | |
40 | Coldplay | Yellow | |
41 | De La Soul featuring Redman | Oooh | |
42 | No Doubt | Bathwater | |
43 | Lucy Pearl | Dance Tonight | |
44 | Zebrahead | Playmate Of The Year | |
45 | Blink-182 | Adam's Song | |
46 | Travis | Why Does It Always Rain On Me? | |
47 | Fastball | You're An Ocean | |
48 | Wu-Tang Clan | Gravel Pit | |
49 | BT featuring M. Doughty | Never Gonna Come Back Down | |
50 | Radiohead | Optimistic | |
51 | The Deftones | Change (In The House Of Flies) | |
52 | Lit | Miserable | |
53 | Nine Inch Nails | Into The Void | |
54 | A Perfect Circle | Judith | |
55 | Goldfinger | Counting The Days | |
56 | BBMak | Back Here | |
57 | The Wiseguys | Start The Commotion | |
58 | Everlast | Black Jesus | |
59 | Mýa | Case Of The Ex | |
60 | Limp Bizkit | Break Stuff | |
61 | Our Lady Peace | Is Anybody Home? | |
62 | Christina Aguilera | Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You) | |
63 | Incubus | Stellar | |
64 | Fuel | Hemorrhage (In My Hands) | |
65 | Blink-182 | Man Overboard | |
66 | Ice Cube featuring Dr. Dre and MC Ren |
Hello | |
67 | Travis | Turn | |
68 | DMX | What's My Name? | |
69 | Third Eye Blind | Deep Inside Of You | |
60 | MxPx | Responsibility | |
71 | The Ataris | San Dimas High School Football Rules | |
72 | Queens Of The Stone Age | The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret | |
73 | Moby | Natural Blues | |
74 | Treble Charger | American Psycho | |
75 | No Doubt | Ex-Girlfriend | |
76 | Apollo Four Forty | Stop The Rock | |
77 | KoRn | Somebody Someone | |
78 | OPM | Heaven Is A Halfpipe | |
79 | The Offspring | Want You Bad | |
80 | Third Eye Blind | Ten Days Late | |
81 | Linkin Park | One Step Closer | |
82 | Destiny's Child | Independent Woman (Part I) | |
83 | Everclear | Wonderful | |
84 | Bowling For Soup | The Bitch Song | |
85 | Rage Against The Machine | Sleep Now In The Fire | |
86 | Our Lady Peace | Thief | |
87 | The Dandy Warhols | Bohemian Like You | |
88 | Oasis | Where Did It All Go Wrong? | |
89 | The Spooks | Things I've Seen | |
90 | At The Drive-In | One Armed Scissor | |
91 | Fenix TX | All My Fault | |
92 | Smashing Pumpkins | Stand Inside Your Love | |
93 | The Aquabats | I Fell Asleep On My Arm | |
94 | Goldfinger | 19 Red Balloons | |
95 | SR-71 | Right Now | |
96 | Detsl | Vecherinka | |
97 | The Offspring | Totalimmortal | |
98 | Fiona Apple | Limp | |
99 | Aaron Carter | Aaron's Party (Come Get It) | |
100 | Elton John | Tiny Dancer |