The Top 120 Songs of 2000

Ah, the year 2000.  This was supposed to be the year everything changed, and little did we know at the time that everything wouldn’t change until 9 months into the year that followed.  The Y2K crisis was a great indication as to how a 24 hour news cycle would make everything crazier than it needed to be, reality TV shows like “Survivor” would pollute our airwaves, and yes, some fantastic music came out.  Radiohead dropped Kid A, Modest Mouse had The Moon and Antartica, Jurassic 5 and Deltron made classic rap albums, Medeski, Martin and Wood freaked everyone out who would listen with The Dropper, an unknown band named Clinic made one of the most underrated albums ever, and a nice girl taught us all that we need to well … fuck the pain away. 

120.  Contribution – Jurassic 5 

119.  Time Keeps on Slipping – Deltron 

118.  A Song For Lovers – Richard Ashcroft 

117.  Pretty Mary K – Elliott Smith

116.  She’s Your Baby – Ween 

115.  One More Time – Daft Punk

Man, autotune is some annoying shit, even though in the year 2000 it wasn’t yet.  This song is like a Michael Jackson nightmare, but yet, it’s quite fun. 

114.  Wild Pack of Family Dogs – Modest Mouse

113.  Scientist Studies – Death Cab For Cutie 

I think the only reason I like these guys is because I love the Postal Service too much.  It’s good enough music, but what are they doing that Built to Spill isn’t doing much better?  Lyrics?  Maybe, but I mean, c’mon.

112.  Big Time – Medeski, Martin & Wood 

111.  Somebody I Used to Know – Elliott Smith 

110.  10:20 Am – Spoon

109.  June Apple – Hackensaw Boys 

Quite honestly, I know nothing about them, but they’re good bluegrass, and a June anything, be it a June Tea, June Bug, June whatever is a great song in the making, 

108.  Pandy Fackler – Ween 

107.  T-Street – Laika 

106.  Since I Left You – The Avalanches 

105.  Piper – Phish 

104.  How To Disappear Completely – Radiohead 

103.  I’m Bound to Pack It up – White Stripes 

102.  Shacklyn Nights – Medeski, Martin & Wood 

101.  Can’t Make a Sound – Elliott Smith 

100.  Ms. Jackson – Outkast 

99.  Flutes of the Chi – Ween

98.  Twist Around – Phish

Ah, Phish right before the “hiatus”.  With the songs lacking noticeably on Farmhouse, it was probably a good idea. 

97.  Too Young – Phoenix 

Zach:  You may like these guys, they’re kinda like a French version of the Strokes.

Owen:  But I hate the Strokes and French people!

96.  Positive Contact – Deltron 

95.  Get Back on the Train – Phish 

94.  Hate to Say I Told You So – The Hives 

The Hives always seemed like phonies to me.  Not Michael Jordan phony, but real phony.

93.  Blood of the Lamb – Billy Bragg & Wilco 

I AM THE BLOOD OF LAMB ELI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

92.  Lovertits – Peaches 

Aside from “Fuck the Pain Away”, Peaches doesn’t do her best work until her album titled Impeach My Bush which is either the worst album title or the best.  I side with the best.  Even if you enjoyed Dubya, how can you not like an album entitled Impeach My Bush? 

91.  That Fitted Shirt – Spoon 

90.  Accelerator – Primal Scream

89.  First Tube – Phish 

88.  Lost Art of Keeping A Secret – Queens of the Stone Age 

87.  Joe DiMaggio’s Done it Again – Billy Bragg & Wilco

This is one helluva ho-down. 

86.  Letter From an Occupant – The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers always seem to be a band I would love, yet I’ve never owned an album by them.  They at least have be better than Death Cab For Cutie and I own a couple of theirs, so chalk that up as music listening negligence. 

85.  Back to Bosom – Ween 

84.  Virus – Deltron

83.  One More Time – Dandy Warhols 

82.  Come On Let’s Go – Broadcast 

81.  Cold Discovery – Smog 

I love the piano in this one.  Callahan’s songs always sound like he just woke and by the time they end, you can tell he’s finally awake. 

80.  The Way I Am – Eminem 

Though Em’s follow up album isn’t as good as the first, he still has his moments. 

79.  Anything You Want – Spoon 

78.  The Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise – White Stripes 

77.  Catch the Sun – The Doves 

76.  Bug – Phish 

This is a great summer song. 

75.  Swing Set – Jurassic Five

Cut Chemist mixing swing and big band music = awesome. 

74.  Color Bars – Elliott Smith 

73.  Life Like Weeds – Modest Mouse 

72.  We Are Rolling – Medeski, Martin & Wood

Pure madness until it settles down about two and a half minutes in.  I always feel  like I’m travelling through outer space when I hear this song. 

71.  You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) – White Stripes

70.  Junk Bond Trader – Elliott Smith

69.  Tonight I Wanna Celebrate With You – My Morning Jacket 

The live in Vegas version is the best I’ve heard yet. 

68.  Moccasin – Laika 

67.  Hello Operator – White Stripes 

66.  The Return of Evil Bill – Clinic

65.  Son of Sam – Elliott Smith 

64.  3030 – Deltron 

Between Del, J5 and Blackalicious, non-attitude rap is beginning to make a fantastic comeback. 

63.  Great Expectations – Jurassic 5 

62.  Company Calls – Death Cab for Cutie 

61.  Lovely Head – Goldfrapp 

60.  Sand – Phish 

59.  A Different City – Modest Mouse

58.  Goodnight Moon – Shivaree

57.  World of Entertainment – Jurassic 5 

56.  Beautiful Day – U2 

U2 listening many years after their song comes out isn’t so bad.  It is hard to get past Bono and Edge, but this is a pretty darn good tune. 

55.  El Cajon – Seely 

54.  Internal Wrangler – Clinic 

53.  Madness – Deltron 

52.  Drug Ballad – Eminem 

51.  Playground Love – Air 

50.  Paper Thin Walls – Modest Mouse

49.  Heavy Things – Phish 

I have too many wonderful memories of this song during this era, so I’m probably overranking it a bit. 

48.  LA – Elliott Smith 

I like songs about Los Angeles, but I like them more if there’s vomit and seashores involved, which doesn’t happen here. 

47.  Memory Loss – Deltron 

46.  Rain – The Clientele 

The lyric repeats “October Rain” and because Guns N Roses existed, they obviously can’t name their song that.  This ranks high on the rainy day song list, but not quite as high as “Riders on the Storm.”

45.  Black Cat Bone – Laika 

Laika is probably not the best music to play in the car when you’re on a first date. 

44.  Let’s Build a Home – White Stripes

Jack White’s wallet definitely says bad ass motherfucker. 

43.  2/4 – Clinic 

42.  Upgrade – Deltron 

Upgrade your gray matter cuz one day it may matter.  Deltron 3030 is better as a whole that it’s songs are as singles. 

41.  Falling Out – Ween 

40.  I See a Darkness – Johnny Cash

You know you’re badass when JC covers your song, and I don’t see how this wasn’t the highlight of Will Oldham’s career.  Cash also gives it a much needed swagger that Oldham’s songs typically lack. 

39.  Voodoo Wop – Clinic 

After listening to Internal Wrangler, I thought these guys would reach Radiohead type levels.  Expectations are a bitch. 

38.  Things You Can Do – Deltron 

37.  Stay Forever – Ween 

I’ve always assumed Ween fans hate this song because it’s so not Ween.  It’s a great song.  Probably could be called a sellout, but it’s Ween, do they even have the opportunity to sell out?

36.  The Time Is Now – Moloko 

What nobody realizes about our current Millenium is that this is the time that disco was perfected. 

35.  T.K. – Clinic 

34.  Gravel Pit – Wu-Tang 

33.  Perfect Disguise – Modest Mouse

I hope there’s something better up there. 

32.  The Pull – The Microphones

Some of these indie bands are fun 10+ years later when the big break never happened. 

31.  Exactly Where I’m At – Ween 

With White Pepper, Ween gets about as normal as Ween can get. 

30.  Death Letter – White Stripes 

29.  Overload – Sugababes 

28.  Better Off Alone – Alice Deejay 

This is a great guilty pleasure song.  As annoying as I imagine it is to some people, the melody is too infectious for me to ignore. 

27.  Come Pick Me Up – Ryan Adams 

Here’s one of those artists I probably should have gotten into more and never did simply because of a pop meme or something.    This is a great tune.  I almost feel bad for all those times I saw him live and made Bryan Adams jokes.  What’s funny is Canadian Brians spell their name B-R-Y-A-N and American Brians spell their name B-R-I-A-N. 

26.  Mastermind – Deltron 

After very little deliberating, I’ve decided this is probably the finest tune on the album. 

25.  The Crystal Lake – Grandaddy 

Here’s another one of those Indie bands that went right by me.  Oh well.  I imagine all their songs aren’t this good, right?

24.  Uneasy – Laika 

For some reason, I though not loving someone until they say goodbye was cool in the year 2000 as Laika suggests here.  

23.  Morning Bell – Radiohead 

22.  I Came as a Rat – Modest Mouse 

It takes a long time, but God dies too

But not before he’ll stick it to you

21.  Airline to Heaven – Billy Bragg & Wilco 

This collaborative effort has to rank as one of the best ever.  How often do collaborative efforts come back for a “Volume 2” and sound this good?  Never, that’s how many. 

20.  The Influence – Jurassic 5

19.  Idioteque – Radiohead 

18.  Gravity Rides Everything – Modest Mouse

17.  Felic – Medeski, Martin & Wood  

16.  Distortions – Clinic

Modest Mouse and Radiohead generally get all the pub for the year 2000, but Clinic, had they continued being great like they are on this album, would be right in the conversation.  This one almost sounds like it was the inspiration for the Postal Service. 

15.  Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Tomoyasu Hotei 

Another example of QT changing the history of a song entirely by placing it in one of his movies.

14.  Lives – Modest Mouse 

13.  Bone Digger – Medeski, Martin & Wood 

Watching the boys perform this live changed my perception of The Dropper.  I couldn’t believe they could repeat it honestly because it sounds like a spur of the moment type song.  Wrong.  Great tune. 

12.  Kill You – Eminem 

If you can get past how bad energy this song is, it’s some of M’s finest work.  Gotta be in the mood for it though.  Sometimes it’s just too angry. 

11.  Dark Center of the Universe – Modest Mouse 

It took a lot of work to be the ass that I am. 

10.  The Second Line – Clinic 

9.  Everything Hits at Once – Spoon

Spoon starts sounding like the Spoon we know today.  One of my faves of theirs fo sho.

8.  B.O.B. – Outkast 

This song would be changed forever in September of 2001. 

7.  Tiny Cities Made of Ashes – Modest Mouse

I’m gonna get dressed up in plastic and shake hands with the masses. 

6.  Jurass Finish First – Jurassic 5

There’s more to it than dad and mom coming in at the end and leaving great voice mails, but if I get one J5 song on the island, this one wins easy.  There aren’t too many 2000 and thereafter rap songs I like more than this one. 

5.  Bananas and Blow – Ween

Leave it to Ween to make using cocaine sound like a nice soothing tropical experience.  I guess anything sounds soothing though if you mix in bananas and a steel drum. 

4.  Fuck the Pain Away – Peaches 

A classic.  99 artists could make this song and it’d be terrible.  1 artist can make it right, and that’s Peaches.  What else in the teaches of peaches? 

3.  If I Ever Feel Better – Phoenix 

This is possibly the smoothest song I’ve ever heard in my entire life.  I’ve loved it for years, and it always makes me happy when I hear it. 

2.  Third Planet – Modest Mouse 

The major label debut (which I somehow still qualify as indie) could not have gone any better.  I don’t know how many new people were exposed to the Mouse in 2000 (I was), but whoever did was treated to some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard in my life. 

1.  Everything In Its Right Place – Radiohead 

Ranking my favorite Radiohead song is difficult because of the limited lyrics on this song.  Aside from that snafu, this is the most original song I’ve ever heard in my entire life.  It’s hard to change music, and Radiohead does that here better than any band since the Beatles.