76. T.I. - "ASAP"

After a fair amount of crossover bullshit made its way onto Urban Legend, T.I. impressed me and a lot of other people by releasing hard songs like this as singles. Apparently T.I. didn't realize what a good choice he made, though, just because the song didn't go top 40, and he recently told MTV.com that he regrets releasing "ASAP" as a single and should've gone with "Get Loose" instead. Listen, man, pushing a wack song with Nelly didn't make Fat Joe go double platinum and it wouldn't have helped you, either! Stick to what people like you for.



77. Juvenile f/ Wacko - "Sets Go Up"

As a single, it didn't really go much further than some minor radio play and an appearance on a Southern Smoke mixtape, and it probably won't even be on Juve's next album, which is really a shame, because it's a fucking amazing track.



78. Snoop Dogg - "Ups & Downs"

Another great underperforming single by a popular rapper, hard as hell beat with a Bee Gees sample, really slipped uder the radar between all those slick Neptunes songs.



79. Kelly Osbourne - "One Word"

I don't know what song or artist from the 80's this is supposed to be ripping off and I don't really care, but the hook is pretty enormous in a weird subdued way.



80. The Killers - "All These Things That I've Done"

Even though they were already double platinum and had maybe the biggest rock single of the year by the time the Killers released this as a single, there was a serious feeling of them blowing it somehow by letting Anton Corbijn shoot a repulsively stupid video for the song that could have been their big grandiose U2 moment (ironically, Corbijn is of course one of U2's favorite video directors, but even U2 didn't let Corbijn touch "One" until they'd already shot 2 other videos for it!).



81. Marque Houston - "All Because Of You"

A pleasant soul beat and tons of vocal hooks from a consistent R&B underdog, slightly deflated by a no-name's guest verse.



82. Cam'ron f/ Kanye West and Syleena Johnson - "Down & Out"

Kanye has somewhat understandably dropped off in both the quality and frequency of his productions for other rappers while building up his solo career, but he managed at least one undeniable heater lately. But then again, this song supposedly dates back to the Come Home With Me sessions.



83. Weezer - "Perfect Situation"

Weezer is a band I've always loved to hate, but now and then I have to admit they come up with a pretty strong hook.



84. Alan Jackson - "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues"

Like Weezer, Alan Jackson knows the difference between a good and great single is stunt casting TV actors to lip sync in the video.



85. Sawyer Brown - "Mission Temple Fireworks Stand"

As bright and shiny and over the top as anything by Big & Rich, but a little more trad and I guess without enough of an ideological hook to get the same kind of attention.



86. J-Kwon f/ Petey Pablo and Ebony Eyez - "Get XXX'd"

Action movie rap that unfortunately didn't do much for an action movie soundtrack.



87. Good Charlotte - "I Just Wanna Live"

Hilarious squeaky fame whine complete with hilarious band-dressed-as-food video. I really do think the 2nd verse is a great piece of lyric writing, though.



88. 3 Doors Down - "Let Me Go"

I never liked "Superman" but this is a pleasant little power ballad.



89. Tony Yayo f/ 50 Cent - "So Seductive"

For the first couple months it was out I thought this was one of the worst singles of the year, mostly for that white noise snare buzz that the track's covered in, but it really grew on me over time. It sounds like some kind of cartoon superhero theme music, and "50 Cent! Back on that gangsta shit!" is "Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer go!"



90. Paul Wall f/ Mike Jones and Bun B - "They Don't Know"

I heard the original version w/out Bun back when Chick Magnet came out and someone put it on a mix for me, and for a long time it was one of the only new school Houston records I was really feeling, and that new black & white video goes really well with it.



91. Brad Paisley - "Alcohol"

Generally I prefer his sillier tracks to be more "Me Neither" subtle than "Celebrity" broad, but this is pretty good for an example of the latter.



92. Mars Volta - "The Widow"

Better than anything else I've heard by them because it's short and slow and the dude sounds like the chick from Heart.



93. Young Jeezy f/ Mannie Fresh - "And Then What"

As an upbeat lead single for one of the biggest new artists of the year, this is pretty weak, and it's no wonder Jeezy was desperate to get "Icy" on his album. Even with big first week sales, it wasn't that much of a hit, especially compared to the much darker (and better) "Soul Survivor". Still, there is something I like about it, mostly the boom-boom-clap and the guitar melody.



94. Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz f/ Bo Hagon - "Get Crunk"

Rips most of Lil Jon's formulaic hits from this year to shreds, and even though I've heard barely anything else by Bo Hagon, I love him just on the basis of the first few bars of his verse.



95. Hot Hot Heat - "Middle Of Nowhere"

I had plenty of reasons to hate Hot Hot Heat based on things like their name, their previous singles, and their singer's horrible voice and striking resemblence to Steven Cojocaru, but I have to admit this song is a pretty pleasant little jangly tune.



96. Dierks Bentley - "Lot Of Leavin' Left To Do"

Dierks Bentley is, like, so into his dog. He even makes out with it in the video. I bet there's some playful joke in the liner notes for his album, like that the dog played bass or something.



97. Audioslave - "Be Yourself"

Soundgarden were great and I'm very bitter about how shitty Audioslave usually is, but this song is pretty nice.



98. Shania Twain - "I Ain't No Quitter"

What does it mean that it's kind of surprising to see Shania Twain in a cowboy hat?



99. 50 Cent - "Hustler's Ambition"

Definitely not the somber universal crossover "Lose Yourself"-type record he would've needed for the movie to take him to the next level (or at least beat Chicken Little at the box office), but good nonetheless.



100. Toni Braxton - "Please"

If only there was a Grammy for Outstanding Achievement in Incorporating Sleigh Bells Into A Non-Christmas Record.

Labels: hip hop, Kanye West, lists, R and B, singles, T.I.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 01, 2005 at 8:13 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.