Best Songs of the 2000s

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   Last Nite

   The Strokes · from Is This It (2001)

   The effortless cool that kicked off the revival.

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2. 2
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   I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

   Arctic Monkeys · from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

   A breathless debut single full of wit.

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   Hey Ya!

   OutKast · from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)

   An inescapable, genre-proof pop song.

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4. 4
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   Crazy

   Gnarls Barkley · from St. Elsewhere (2006)

   A soulful, instant classic.

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   Rehab

   Amy Winehouse · from Back to Black (2006)

   Retro soul with a brutally modern lyric.

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   Seven Nation Army

   The White Stripes · from Elephant (2003)

   That riff became a global stadium chant.

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   99 Problems

   Jay-Z · from The Black Album (2003)

   A Rick Rubin beat and a fearless verse.

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   Kids

   MGMT · from Oracular Spectacular (2007)

   A synth hook that defined a festival era.

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   All My Friends

   LCD Soundsystem · from Sound of Silver (2007)

   A pulsing, emotional dance-rock epic.

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    Wake Up

    Arcade Fire · from Funeral (2004)

    A communal, goosebump-raising anthem.

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    Crazy in Love

    Beyoncé · from Dangerously in Love (2003)

    The horn-stab hit that launched her solo run.

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    Paper Planes

    M.I.A. · from Kala (2007)

    A sampled hook and a sly, global groove.

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13. 13
    OU
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    Hey Ya!

    OutKast · from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)

    The most joyful song about existential uncertainty ever written.

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    AW
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    Rehab

    Amy Winehouse · from Back to Black (2006)

    Three times she said no and the world said yes.

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    Rebellion (Lies)

    Arcade Fire · from Funeral (2004)

    The full-band catharsis that made indie rock feel important again.

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    Knives Out

    Radiohead · from Amnesiac (2001)

    The guitar pop song Thom Yorke buried in an experimental record, and the best on it.

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17. 17
    ST
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    Last Nite

    The Strokes · from Is This It (2001)

    The Petty guitar, the nonchalant verse, the effortless cool.

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18. 18
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    Gold Digger

    Kanye West · from Late Registration (2005)

    Ray Charles, Jamie Foxx's impression, and Kanye's perfect pop instinct.

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    Paper Planes

    M.I.A. · from Kala (2007)

    The gunshot cash-register chorus that became 2008's most ubiquitous sound.

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20. 20
    GB
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    Crazy

    Gnarls Barkley · from St. Elsewhere (2006)

    The Camille sample and Cee-Lo's vocal — six weeks at UK #1.

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    Chicago

    Sufjan Stevens · from Illinois (2005)

    The banjo-and-brass climax that made indie folk feel like a revelation.

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    WS
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    Seven Nation Army

    The White Stripes · from Elephant (2003)

    The bass line (actually guitar) that became the universal crowd-chant.

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23. 23
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    Take Me Out

    Franz Ferdinand · from Franz Ferdinand (2004)

    The tempo change that made indie-dance feel new in 2004.

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