Favorite Songs of the Millennium (by year)

After this week, I'll get back to a weekly posting schedule. For now, though; a "music Monday" offering...

First, I'm using the actual millennium and not what most people seem to recognize. In other words, I'm starting in 2001. Second, as is mentioned in the title; this is going to go by year. Best song in one year might not have made the top 5 in another year (2001, for example, had a lot of great songs). Now that that's out of the way, let's go.




2001: Please Don't Mind, Philly's Most Wanted

This year had a few great songs: Snoop's 'Loosen Control' was a really close #2. Reason I chose Please is that it flows just a little bit better. Koffee Brown's 'After Party' was great too, as were a couple Blueprint tracks and some of T.I.'s early stuff - oh, and the best N'Sync song ever (Gone). And some tracks from Usher's 8701. And Nappy Heads' 'Robbery' (featuring a second verse by a guy now known as T-Pain). Man, 2001 was a great year for music.

2002: Why Don't We Fall In Love, Amerie

I watched this video that entire summer. The beat was perfect, it fit her voice so well, and it was an amazing summer song. There are a few songs that get an honorable mention here too. 'Still Fly' by the Big Tymers (although it took me forever to like it), Jim Crow's 'Holla At A Playa', Mr. Bigg's 'Trial Time', my favorite Ying Yang Twins song (I Yi Yi), the 'Put Yo Hood Up' remix and a couple offerings from an album that included the #1 song of 2003.

2003: Get Low, Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz f/ Ying Yang Twins

People can call it the year of 50 Cent, and in a mainstream sense they'd be right...but no one can argue this song. Honorable mentions? Quite a few. 50's 'In Da Club', Trillville's 'Neva Eva', Tampa Tony's 'Keep Jukin', a couple YoungBloodz tracks, Baby D hooking up with a couple friends (Pastor Troy and Archie) on an ode to Atlanta, and a couple Black Album tracks. Wait: OutKast did something in 2003 as well. They might have had a couple songs off that double album. Maybe.

2004: Yeah!, Usher f/ Lil Jon and Ludacris

This was a tough year...until I thought of this song. This song was pretty much everything, and it beat out a lot of competition: quite a few songs from its own album, some unbelievable tracks from Maroon 5, some others from the Linkin Park and Jay-Z collab, my favorite Fabolous song (Breathe), a couple efforts from Trick Daddy, and Jada & Nate Dogg's 'Time's Up' - which was probably #2. Oh yeah: that 'I Smoke, I Drank' needs to be mentioned too, as well as just about everything from Urban Legend and Crunk Juice.

2005: City Boy Wit It, Tom G

You can have the Squirrel and all the Khia and Tampa Tony tracks you want: this is the best dance song to ever come out of Tampa. Missy's 'Lose Control' would have been here, except every dance group I saw made a routine off it and that made me tire of it. 50's 'Just A Lil Bit' was hot too. Close to home, Suave Smooth had some fire (What They Do', 'You Don't Know Me'). Can't forget about Trick's 'Sugar' B-side track and the Oak Hill Boyz' 'Paralyzed'.

2006: Ain't Gone Let Up, DG Yola

Kanye and Pharrell put in work with Number One. T-Pain's 'Dance Floor' was great. That 'Touch It' remix was...shoot, I still love Ne-Yo's verse to this day. Backpack rap represented with 'Lovin' It' and 'Til We Get There'. Unk went in with 'Walk It Out'. Island flavor was in there with 'Dutty Wine'. But no song had it like that DG Yola track. It was simple, it was catchy, it had steel drums, and it had bravado. How could someone from South Florida not like it (even though it was from Atlanta)?

2007: Tell Em I Said That, T.I.

Easily my favorite T.I. track post-Urban Legend. Easily. He absolutely snapped on this song. Kanye's 'Stronger' is a definite #2, and if you catch me on the right day I might say it's #1 (it was when I first came up with the idea for this entry). Mario's 'Go' should have been an absolute club monster, especially up north. Monster. I'm telling you. Craig David's 'Hot Stuff' was serious too. A real dark horse candidate: Wayne and Ross's 'Shot To The Heart' remix. That song...man. And that '----- I'm From Dade County' with just about every Dade representer on it...and the 'Umbrella' remix (if only I knew then what I know now).

2008: ----- I'm Me, Brisco

Pretty much the ultimate in "I am me, I do what I want" rap - and if you know me, you know I go for that stuff...especially if it's from hometown. Because of all that, it barely beat out Wayne and Babyface's 'Comfortable'. Hometown also came back on the scene and introduced the world to that "stick and jook" style with Bizzle (RIP) and Iceberg's 'Naked Hustle', some Grindmode and Ballgreezy tracks, that 'Lip Bitin Animal', and  a couple tracks from Young Cash in Jacksonville (I'm A Freak', 'On That X').

2009: Bootleg Reloaded, Lil Kee f/ Strizzo and Javon Black

'Black Shades' (from 2008 winner Brisco) was nice. There's also 'Shawty Tear It Up', which came from the guys who won this one. 'Every Girl' was just catchy. The 'Why R U' remix with Rick Ross was good too. Mary J and Beyonce had a couple songs ('The One', 'Sweet Dreams'). Stick and jook was further represented with will.i.am - of all people - and 'Make It Funky For Me' along with Reggie Cash Flow and 'Stick Drill'.

2010: Boogie Down, B-Ezzy

There was more live (uptempo/club) music than there had been previously. The winner - which had simply flawless production, including the sample of the EWF song that the title makes you think of - led a group of surprisingly strong contenders. No Hands, Like A G6, Hold Yuh, Baby I Like It...and none of those songs is either #2 or #3. The runner-up was Git Fresh's 'She Be Like', with BEP's 'Rock Ya Body' really close behind. Underrated songs include Kid Sister and Nina Sky's 'Lookout Weekend' remake (I still play it every Friday) and 2NE1's 'Fire' remix with Lil Jon, which is the 5-Hour Energy of songs to me. Wait: 'Make It Rain' came out in 2010 too.

2011: Moves Like Jagger, Maroon 5 f/ Christina Aguilera

Tom G's 'Erribody ...' was way up there, thanks to the electric funk sample. It's probably #5. 'The Motto' was up there: maybe it's #4 above Tom G, maybe it's not. Now, the top three songs are definitely the top three songs. 'She Will' and 'John' were awesome. 'John' gets the nod for #2 because the lyrics were better and because it can wake me from a serious sleep. Now, this #1 song...it's just great. It works on every level. Easy to sing, catchy, lively...and Christina just takes over at the end in a way I haven't heard since her debut album.

2012 - so far: Pop That, French Montana f/ Rick Ross, Drake, and Lil Wayne

Funny thing: I started this two months ago and had a different song here. Drake's verse was actually good. Wayne's wasn't, but I usually skip the track since Weezy is at the end. How does 3/4 of a song win out? A Luke sample and...well, more amazing production. The song it replaced was the Calvin Johnson-catchy 'Cashin Out'. Other than those two, the hot songs came out in 2011 - which Cashin Out probably did too.

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So after all this, I've noticed that music took a turn for the worse after 2005. No post-2005 song would have made the honorable mention list from 2001 or 2002. I don't think there's any one reason for this. People who made music back then and are still relevant aren't making music of the same quality (cough, Usher, cough). It's not all new people or young people or southern people (as old northerners like to say) - it's just a change in the industry that I guess we all have to live with.