I wanted to do something similar (maybe for other decade), but my rates are very strict, so the most popular marks will be from 3 to 5 out of possible 10. :)

 

 

The good stuff keeps coming - five songs on the last page all made my top 10 of the year at some point in time, of which only 'Babylon' and 'Yellow' were there when I last did each year of the 2000s in 2010, but 'Porcelain' and 'Sandstorm' may have since made it back in, and 'Sunday Morning Call' is the one song that's outlived Oasis' Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants era (oops at that missing "s" in the title) for me.

 

Elsewhere, I did have a soft spot for 'Will I Ever' - snubbed by Radio 1 but had more weeks in the Top 10 than all the songs above bar 'Sandstorm' which famously isn't a song so must have done something right - though it's only Alice Deejay's big #2 that I go back to now.

'Beautiful' is brilliant indeed. I so associate it with the early 2002 chart that I am a little bit sad that you didn't leave it to then to review, early 2002 was still a good time for chart dance. Glad it was your top ranked track in its week in 2000 anyway.

 

I remember 'Beautiful' playing in an ice rink when I was younger too. Glad it eventually made the top 10 on its re-release.

 

'Iguana' with the buildup followed by the big 'drop' is like a precursor to more recent 2010s EDM especially the 2014 'big room house' scene. Very good track, would have really disliked it in 2000 when I disliked all hard dance music.

Edited May 3, 20241 yr by TheSnake

Batch 22 Rank:

 

Great:

#295 15/07/2000 Matt Darey's Mash Up Presents Marcella Woods Beautiful 21 {21}-31-42-65->4 [another underrated trance classic! very strong vocal too]

 

Good:

#288 15/07/2000 Limp Bizkit Take A Look Around (Theme From M:I 2) 3 {3}-4-7-10-14-15-17-22-23-30-39-46-66->13 [this band seem to get a lot of shit but this song sounds great, very inspired interpolation of that MI theme]

#291 15/07/2000 Artful Dodger And Robbie Craig Featuring Craig David Woman Trouble 6 {6}-7-14-19-25-35-36-45-59-66->10 [there seems to be zero Craig David on the version I'm listening to on Spotify though oops]

#292 15/07/2000 Alice Deejay Will I Ever 7 {7}-8-9-17-22-28-38-41-60-73->10 [i like this more than Back In MY Life, though of course nothing touches Better Off Alone]

 

Okay:

#290 15/07/2000 Steps When I Said Goodbye/Summer Of Love 5 {5}-6-13-20-24-29-41-50-54-59-72->11 [top end of Okay for Summer of Love; WISG is on the opposite end of the spectrum]

#287 15/07/2000 The Corrs Breathless 1 {1}-2-6-9-15-17-21-27-34-43-45-59-72->13

#298 15/07/2000 Mauro Picotto Iguana 33 {33}-58-73->3 [i may as well just be listening to 'Lizard' here, this is pretty much the same song but not half as good]

#289 15/07/2000 Oasis Sunday Morning Call 4 {4}-11-18-30-46-66->6 [unfamiliar with this song so pleasantly surprised to hear Noel's vocal on it]

#293 15/07/2000 Atomic Kitten I Want Your Love 10 {10}-20-26-42-74->5

#296 15/07/2000 Zed Bias Neighbourhood 25 {25}-46-67-71->4

 

Meh:

#294 15/07/2000 Jessica Simpson I Think I'm In Love With You 15 {15}-24-34-44-53-59-64->7

#297 15/07/2000 Precious It's Gonna Be My Way 27 {27}-48-70->3

 

a certain highly underrated classique in that next section better be getting a very high score...

Was great to see The Corrs finally get a No.1 single with Breathless, after never managing one with the Talk On Corners singles. The parent album was mostly very glossy sounding pop, but this was a great lead single.

 

Will I Ever was 3/3 for me from Alice Deejay, I was obsessed with it for weeks. But I don't like it as much as the first two.

 

Beautiful reminds me more of 2002, an epic track indeed.

 

I've always quite liked When I Said Goodbye, but it was basically an H and Claire vehicle before they split off into a duo. Summer Of Love is a much better track, great chorus.

 

I had forgotten all about Neighbourhood until I heard it again a few months ago, now it's always in my head.

 

The first three Atomic Kitten singles were all perfectly servicable teenage pop, and this had a great sample, but I didn't love them until their middle of the road rebirth and with the addition of Jenny...

 

...who enhanced It's Gonna Be My Way for Precious with one of her legendary spoken middle eight contributions. I bought this one on single and loved the summer vibe to it. Very different to Say It Again and Rewind.

 

The single mix of Woman Trouble was removed from Spotify some time ago, the album version is much more bloated but the radio edit is pretty good. The better Craig doesn't add much to it but his 'bubblin' from the left...' contribution makes it sound more like a hit.

Edited May 4, 20241 yr by gooddelta

Here we’re covering the 2 weeks where “Life Is A Rollercoaster” was the biggest selling song, though in the second it ceded the #1 spot due to a rule infringement. Aaliyah is comfortably the class of the field though.

 

9 Aaliyah Try Again A US #1 and her biggest hit to date, with a fabulous boundary pushing electronic RnB track with mesmerising production

8 Ronan Keating Life Is A Rollercoaster 866th #1: this is far and away Ronan's finest solo moment before he becomes a crooner, with a charming upbeat pop record

8 Placebo Taste In Men This is excellent, with a very effective relentless riff and some interesting instrumental effects, and an engaging angry vocal

7 Destiny's Child Jumpin', Jumpin' Another really effective and infectious RnB song from them; their last in this style before they move more into power pop

7 Chicane No Ordinary Morning/Halcyon A really well thought out double A side: "No Ordinary Morning" is a sweet electronic ballad and "Halcyon" a strong club track

7 Jonah Sssst (Listen) Only hit for this DJ with a quite simple but very effective club track with a slightly menacing rumbling tune that builds up

6 David Bowie Seven I feel rude to not be giving this a score that matches its name: not a classic but a sweet and charming acoustic guitar ballad

6 De La Soul Featuring Redman Oooh Their first Top 40 hit since 1993: this feels like a really old school hip hop song in style but is enjoyable and well performed

6 Lucy Pearl Dance Tonight Debut hit for this mixed sex US RnB group: slightly repetitive but I do enjoy it and it's different from other hits of its genre

5 Christina Aguilera I Turn To You Her 3rd hit with a rather lowly peak but it's a very sweet and simply performed ballad with good lyrics: not exciting though

5 Marc Et Claude I Need Your Lovin' (Like The Sunshine) Effectively a dance cover of "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime": not essential but I think it comes together quite nicely

5 *NSync I'll Never Stop A decent heartfelt pop song here delivered very competently, but I don't think it offers anything that their other hits don't

4 Cleopatra Come And Get Me Their last hit and it's a fairly dynamic call and response style song competently performed but doesn't have enough sparkle

4 Ultra Nate Desire Her last solo Top 40, and a decent song in itself but nothing new and like a weaker version of "Free" in a very similar style

3 Savage Garden Affirmation This is pleasant enough to listen to but musically it's quite basic and the inspirational lyrics are intriguing but on the naff side

3 Bleachin' Peakin' Only hit with this credit and it samples Fleetwood Mac's "Big Love" adding rap verses: quite intriguing but not really a keeper

2 Louise 2 Faced Her highest peaking hit and it's quite cleverly put together but I find the teenage girls in the playground theme very tiresome

2 Five And Queen We Will Rock You 867th #1: the idea of building some rap into the Queen song isn't so bad but they come across almost like a gang of thugs

1 Shanks And Bigfoot Sing A Long Their only follow up hit to "Sweet Like Chocolate": a laughably naff and banal song and maybe they shouldn't have bothered

 

 

2000 Weeks 31 and 32:

 

#318 05/08/2000 Craig David 7 Days 1 {1}-2-3-7-8-11-18-29-36-44-52-58-65-68-74R(2)->15

#319 05/08/2000 Bomfunk MC's Freestyler 2 {2}-4-4-6-7-9-16-20-26-29-33-54->12

#320 05/08/2000 Santana Featuring The Product G&B Maria Maria 6 {6}-12-12-14-21-27-33-42-56->9

#321 05/08/2000 Point Break You 14 {14}-32-34-46-65->5

#322 05/08/2000 Scooch For Sure 15 {15}-30-36-44-60-68->6

#323 05/08/2000 Moloko Pure Pleasure Seeker 21 {21}-37-41-48-68->5

#324 05/08/2000 Different Gear Vs The Police When The World Is Running Down 28 {28}-43-62->3

#325 05/08/2000 Morcheeba Rome Wasn't Built In A Day 34 {34}-49-68->3

#326 05/08/2000 Macy Gray Why Didn't You Call Me 38 {38}-62-74R(2)->3

#327 12/08/2000 Robbie Williams Rock DJ 1 {1}-2-3-4-6-11-14-20-23-28-34-42-50-70-70-75-71-72R(2)-66-60->20

#328 12/08/2000 Storm {DE} Time To Burn 3 {3}-6-8-9-13-21-32-37-49-66->10

#329 12/08/2000 Mansun I Can Only Disappoint U 8 {8}-25-39-53-67-75->6

#330 12/08/2000 Wookie Featuring Lain Battle 10 {10}-19-18-30-35-52-74->7

12/08/2000 MJ Cole Sincere {2000} 13 {13}-26-40-52-70->5

#331 12/08/2000 Reef Set The Record Straight 19 {19}-42-52-69-72->5

#332 12/08/2000 Josh Wink And Lil' Louis How's Your Evening So Far 23 {23}-43-65->3

#333 12/08/2000 Spoiled And Zigo More And More 31 {31}-46-69->3

#334 12/08/2000 Richie Dan Call It Fate 34 {34}-49-73->3

#335 12/08/2000 Metallica I Disappear 35 {35}-45-70->3

 

Agreed that Life Is A Rollercoaster is actually a decent tune. Some of Ronan's other records could have been used as a form of torture at Guantanamo though.

 

Try Again is excellent. How tragic that we never got to see what might still have been to come from Aaliyah. :(

Try Again is a good track, the second most well known Aaliyah hit I would say.

 

The Marc et Claude track is wonderfully ambient and I really like it, more than any other song that samples EGTLS.

 

Life Is A Rollercoaster is a good song, was meant to be a New Radicals single originally.

I would have said Try Again was Aaliyah's best remembered, what would you rank above it Snake?

I would have said Try Again was Aaliyah's best remembered, what would you rank above it Snake?

 

More than A Woman, her #1 UK hit?

Ah, despite being a #1 that has never felt that well known to me.

Friday's batch:

 

None of the bottom 7 in your ranking were my thing but then I turned a corner with 'Woman Trouble' :music: it's not quite as iconic a team-up between Artful Dodger and Craig David as 'Re-Rewind' but I do remember this one well too. Craig's quick-fire hook is pretty addictive and Robbie Craig gives a soulful performance throughout. As mentioned elsewhere in the thread, it's a shame that the radio edit with Craig David isn't on streaming, only a 7 minute version.

 

'Sunday Morning Call' isn't a huge Oasis favourite for me but I am enjoying the continued psychedelic production choices running throughout this era.

Aaliyah's Try Again is another Florida holiday track 9/10 from me, and she seemed to be going places in music and film. Life Is A Rollercoaster easily Ronan's jewel in a patchy crown, courtesy of Gregg Alexander of New Radicals, his songs were usually excellent uplifting pop tunes. 10/10. Taste In Men just got a 3/10 from me, expect I heard it once or twice and never again.

 

Jumpin' Jumpin' 7/10 as they continued to be big in the USA, and on the rise. Chicane passed me by, Jonah ditto, but hooray Bowie's Seven was an 8/10 31 years into his career. De La Soul was another blank from me, surprisingly as I am generally a fan, but they would be back later in the year.

 

Dance Tonight I liked, as per for US r'n'b, 7/10, but Christina's ballad I was not a fan of, 2/10. Marc Et Claude, well I love The Korgis original so I gave them a credit and called it a 9/10 cover. *NSync I usually rated a lot on Martin/Pop stuff so no exception here on 9/10 I'll Never Stop - though I dont remember it like I do Its Gonna Be Me and Bye Bye Bye or I want You Back.

 

Cleopatra still coming atcha, but not at me, blank on this. Ultra Nate always tickles my fancy, and Desire is no exception, a solid 9/10 from moi. Affirmation kept Savage Garden going on with an 8/10 (but prob really a 7) after their massive quality double-chart-topper debuts in '98 but they got more tedious as they went on.

 

2 faced was one of Louise's decent tracks, 8/10, Shanks & Bigfoot a reasonable 5/10, and Five & Queen got a compensation 7/10 for We Will Rock You not being an A side 9/10 back in the day (but really its pretty rubbish in comparison).

Sunday Morning Call is good stuff but my easy pick for standout track from SOTSOG is the fantastic, moody and atmospheric album track Gas Panic!

 

 

That Five version of 'We Will Rock You' is incredibly naff, the worst #1 of the year so far for me - and there was a lot to choose from! Speaking of naff... the "Hi girls! Hi Louise!" intro in '2 Faced' does crack me up :lol: that song is not really my thing either, although it does have fairly interesting production.

 

Oh I do have a soft spot for 'I Need Your Lovin' (Like The Sunshine)' :heart: it probably helps that I knew it before the Korgis original, which I have come to adore since expanding my knowledge of 80s music. The verses on the Marc et Claude version are dreamy nevertheless and the trance drops do land pretty well.

 

'No Ordinary Morning' is on my chill-out playlist that I invited other BuzzJack users to contribute to years ago, so I've become quite familiar with that one over time <3 'Halcyon' was a discovery though - indeed more of an upbeat counterpart.

 

'Jumpin' Jumpin' is great fun *.* I'm sure that chorus is going to be lodged in my brain for the rest of the morning now!

 

Happy to see 'Taste in Men' getting a good score here! I only heard it for the first time last year when branching out into Placebo more. I have a subscription to Rolling Stone UK magazine and usually make the reading experience more immersive by listening to the music mentioned within too. They had an article about Placebo and it got me hooked on 'Pure Morning', so I then decided to check out more and this was another standout <3 it feels like the 90s haven't quite left yet.

 

'Life Is A Rollercoaster' is Ronan's most listenable moment indeed :kink: and 'Try Again' is the perfect choice to top this section :wub: love that acid house-style production from Timbaland, the lyrics are an instant pick-me-up and Aaliyah sounds as smooth as ever. Glad she managed a U.S. chart topper with it!

A really strong group here, and I really quite like some of the ones I’ve ended up giving middling scores. “Freestyler” is a classic: apparently its genre is called breakbeat but to me it defies categorisation. “Battle” doesn’t feel a very well remembered garage track but it still sounds brilliant.

 

9 Bomfunk MC's Freestyler 1st of only 2 Top 40s for this Finnish group and a wonderful unique track which seems to mix all sorts of different styles

9 Wookie Featuring Lain Battle 1st Top 40 for this UK garage musician with a fabulous throbbing chorus, lovely soulful vocals and masterful production

8 Craig David 7 Days 868th #1 and for me still his finest moment: it's the rhythmic beauty of the verses rather than the distinctive chorus I love

8 Moloko Pure Pleasure Seeker Not as commercial as their 2 big hits but another beauty with a great saxophone riff and gritty vocals espousing hedonism

8 Santana Featuring The Product G&B Maria Maria Another huge US chart topper for them with a really classy Latin flavoured rock balllad with smooth vocals and guitar solo

7 Mansun I Can Only Disappoint U Their 4th Top 10 and 3rd album lead: similar to much of their output but an excellently performed and pain filled song

7 Spoiled And Zigo More And More Only hit for this dance music artist and it's a real belter with a dramatic soaring female vocal and an addictive instrumental

7 Scooch For Sure Their last hit for 7 years as they were sadly dropped with a really quirky, catchy and well written flamenco inspired song

6 Storm {DE} Time To Burn By far the biggest hit for this German DJ duo: not boundary pushing but a very commercial dance track with a great hook

6 Metallica I Disappear From the "Mission Impossible 2" soundtrack, this is similar to some of their others but it's strong with good bass and vocals

6 Morcheeba Rome Wasn't Built In A Day Last Top 40 for this UK electronic group: nothing to be hugely excited about but a really warm, gentle and joyous track

5 Josh Wink And Lil' Louis How's Your Evening So Far 2nd and final hit for this US DJ 5 years after the excellent 1st, sampling Li'l Louis' "French Kisses": it's an enjoyable listen

5 Reef Set The Record Straight Last of 9 Top 40 hits for this English rock band: it's good with a solid hook but I don't think it's anything new from them

4 Macy Gray Why Didn't You Call Me The 3rd hit from "On How Life Is" and it's decent but not sparkling and endearing like the other 2: a standard jazzy number

4 Robbie Williams Rock DJ 869th #1: I feel like Robbie temporarily ditched artistic quality for novelty value here, though the song is quite clever

3 Richie Dan Call It Fate Only hit for this UK reggae garage style artist, which has some slightly off-putting vocal effects but is a bit different

3 Point Break You Less naff than "Freakytime" and an attempt at a big anthem with violins: nice idea but not quite a strong enough song

2 Different Gear Vs The Police When The World Is Running Down A remix of a Police hit: the original song doesn't do a huge amount for me and I can't really see that this version adds much

 

 

 

2000 weeks 33 and 34:

 

#336 19/08/2000 Melanie C I Turn To You 1 {1}-4-5-8-15-24-30-36-34-48-55-55->12

#337 19/08/2000 Janet Jackson Doesn't Really Matter 5 {5}-9-10-16-24-36-44-53-63-60-70->11

#338 19/08/2000 Bob Sinclar I Feel For You 9 {9}-20-33-49-63->5

#339 19/08/2000 Ruff Endz No More 11 {11}-15-26-37-54->5

#340 19/08/2000 Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication 16 {16}-27-43-55-71->5

#341 19/08/2000 Mandy Moore I Wanna Be With You 21 {21}-35-46-61-69->5

#342 19/08/2000 Embrace I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You 23 {23}-60->2

#343 19/08/2000 Lit Over My Head 37 {37}-58->2

#344 19/08/2000 The Shrink Are You Ready To Party 39 {39}-66->2

#345 26/08/2000 Spiller Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) 1 {1}-2-3-6-12-17-20-27-36-37-40-39-48-64-59-55-56-54-49-46-42-43-50-66->24

#346 26/08/2000 True Steppers And Dane Bowers Featuring Victoria Beckham Out Of Your Mind 2 {2}-3-5-12-19-31-39-31-44-54-53-67-75-71-62-69-69R(4)-58-68-69->20

#347 26/08/2000 Britney Spears Lucky 5 {5}-6-7-14-22-27-35-39-52-66-75->11

#348 26/08/2000 Hi-Gate I Can Hear Voices/Caned And Unable 12 {12}-19-31-48-64->5

#349 26/08/2000 Christian Falk Featuring Demetreus Make It Right 22 {22}-40-58->3

#350 26/08/2000 JJ72 Oxygen 23 {23}-47-66->3

#351 26/08/2000 Spin City Landslide 30 {30}-56-69->3

#352 26/08/2000 Queens Of The Stone Age The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret 31 {31}-62->2

#353 26/08/2000 Electrique Boutique Revelation 37 {37}-63->2

 

 

I get your comment about 'Rock DJ', as it does feel like his most blatantly commercial move up to this point, but I do quite like it! I'm happy to forget the video, though :lol:

 

Today I learnt that Josh Wink sampled 'French Kiss' on a hit! The original is, of course, pretty NSFW so this works as a less risqué listen for fans of the instrumental I guess :P

 

I do prefer 'Smooth' from the two big Santana smashes this year, but both follow a similar sonic formula really - with the memorable latin-flavoured Santana guitar riffs, passionate vocal performances and a general summery feel. So, despite the preference, I am naturally a fan of this one too.

 

'Pure Pleasure Seeker' was bugging me, as the instrumental sounds really familiar... Google tells me it accompanied a dancing sloth advert for a mattress company? :lol: so perhaps that is why. I agree that the saxophone riff is fabulous anyway.

 

'7 Days' seems to have stood the test of time in popular culture when referring to days of the week :lol: I'm not as fond of it as 'Fill Me In', but another solid single from him.

 

Ohhh 'Battle' is great :wub: that is definitely one that Kisstory rinsed a lot, with their love for garage music. Great vocalist, production and refreshingly deep lyrics for the genre.

 

However... I think my favourite of this section is also the banger that rhymes 'Celine Dion' and 'Karma Chameleon' *.* the hip-hop meets breakbeat style is thrilling <3

Freestyler I remember, a 7/10 from me, Wookie I don't remember but I liked it 5/10. 7 Days is still famous, and I liked it enough to just fall short of my top 10 aka 8/10. I think that's a bit generous these days though, more of a 7, though it's pleasant enough.

 

Moloko always good, and this is a firm 8/10 from me. Santana I bought the album in Florida, and Maria Maria was hot on the radio of the time, so it had a long run in my charts but 8/10 is prob about right. Not as classic as Smooth or Game Of Love (still to come). Mansun I rated most of the time and I Can Only Disappoint You a 9/10 and top track so far of this batch.

 

Scooch I rated as a marginal top 20 track, bizarrely and surprisingly, so I'd give it a 7. Moorcheeba also another band I usually liked and Rome is a 7. Macy Gray a 6, Rock DJ though is a 10 for me, bit of a bop and samples Barry White and A Tribe Called Quest so not much about it I don't like (except the video. The first half is fab, the second half ewww).

 

Different Gear 8/10 from me, I really rated the original song (bought that album) and thought that was one of a couple of tracks that should have been a single, so it was good to see it chart in at least some form. The rest I know nothing of.....

Freestyler I remember from the time. Very good drum and bass dance classic! 7 days is good and also remember the excellent Maria Maria a lot as my parents had the Santana CD.

Edited May 10, 20241 yr by TheSnake

Catching up on the last two batches.

 

Try Again is genius, such ahead of its time production more reminiscent of the later 00s zeitgeist.

 

Life Is A Rollercoaster is a decent track, generally his uptempos were far better than his tedious ballads.

 

I love No Ordinary Morning, such a beautiful song and a chillout staple, such a shame it didn't do half as well as Don't Give Up.

 

Oh I haven't heard the Jonah song since it charted but instantly remembered that whisper intro.

 

I Turn To You was a beautiful ballad for me, I've always loved it and Christina has a great vocal as ever. It does sound very dated now, as many pop ballads from 2000 do, they had a certain gloss to them.

 

I'll Never Stop was weirdly just a European single, with a cheap tour video, don't know why it was even pushed here really, as it's fine but hardly a classic.

 

I do like Affirmation a lot, and it started to go viral recently for its lyrics, which I personally think are still very relevant today. Probably their last strong single though.

 

2 Faced I like as well, it's lyrically a little ahead of its time I think, I don't really recall people being two faced being approached in a pop song before. Pop was either bright and bubbly, or about romantic heartbreak. Surprised it was a top three hit for Louise but that spoken intro and outro make me laugh.

 

Hate the Five and Queen cover, I like both acts and I like the original from Queen, but this did not work.

 

Sing A Long was relatively pointless, weird it's not on Spotify though.

 

Freestyler is a classic, sunch an unusual track and really felt like it came out of nowhere to No.2 in the charts. I'd barely even heard of it when it charted.

 

Battle is definitely one of the better garage hits of the time, good chorus.

 

7 Days is memorable, I wouldn't say I've really ever loved it but it's definitely Craig David's signature song, and a very effective follow up to Fill Me In.

 

Good to see a positive review for For Sure, loved that. Scooch came, went, had two brilliant singles in More Than I Needed To Know and For Sure and then disappeared until Eurovision. They deserved better. There's a good track on their album too called Music To My Heart which I felt was a bit of a lost single.

 

Was never massively into Time To Burn as 2000 dance hits went for some reason.

 

Rock DJ is another classic that I've never loved but it was certainly memorable. I wasn't really prepared for it at the time as he'd played it straight down the line since launching his solo career and this felt like a novelty single.

 

Call It Fate is the only one in both batches I don't even remember existing. Checked it and wasn't too keen on it.