Recently I decided it'd be a good idea to listen to all of the songs I'd recorded as a Personal Chart #1, now that there are over 400 of them. It gave me the idea that I could turn it into a thread and write a bit about them, especially with this forum existing, given I started recording it towards the start of the period it covers.

So after some time of thinking about doing it, here we are. I'll revisit them one-by-one, rate them in the current day and rank each years entries at the end of the year. I'll try and remember how I felt about the song/band at the time, look at what they prevented from reaching the top and any glaring errors I made. How often I'll post, or how long I'll pretend I'll make any significant inroads to it... who knows? But if I only commit to this being something I do when I've time and interest, then I might actually get further than I anticipate!

The charts were something I got into in about 1997 when I was just 8, listening to the top 40 every Sunday I could, demanding it be put on in the car if we were driving anywhere, and checking it all on Ceefax on the Monday morning. Typically, I'd write down two versions of this - the actual chart, and one in my order of preference. This was sort of a personal chart although you'd get runs of 1-OUT given it would only be the UK top 40 I'd do it with. It was like I was made to look back in 2025 and realise I'd spent 60% of my life as a member of internet forums predominantly centred around music and the charts...

In the early 2000s I did change the way I recorded so it would be my favourite songs regardless of whether they were in the UK chart, but I still made it close to official as songs only entered in release week, which lasted until the beginning of 2007. Not all of those stolen blank school textbooks survived however, so 2003 is the furthest back the archive starts...

Edited August 20Aug 20 by RabbitFurCoat

01 - 06/01/2003 Foo Fighters - Times Like These
Chart Run: 01-01-02-02-05-07-08-10-11-14-16-20-21-22-26-27-28-33-36-40 (20 weeks)

https://youtu.be/rhzmNRtIp8k?si=N2wmCJUOihM8nlk7

So, my first recorded chart includes the releases of 6th January 2003, back in those days typically this would have been the first week with any notable releases since the Christmas Chart, of which Times Like These was the one that entered at the top. Its parent album, One By One, was a CD I played an incredible amount, I remember it being the soundtrack on the portable player for paper rounds, school trips, car journeys. It's highly likely that the album's first single All My Life was a chart topper too.

Times Like These has deservedly gone on to become a classic Foo Fighters track. They're not a band I listen to often now, but if I were to play an album it'd still be One By One, and only Everlong betters this from their collection. A great start to this list.

2025 Rating: 9/10

Songs kept off: Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage and Feeder - Just The Way I'm Feeling

Other notable releases during this fortnight include The Libertines - Time For Heroes (#3) and The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (#6) which would definitely be the two songs of this period I'd most likely put on now.

Edited Thursday at 16:115 days by RabbitFurCoat

Will look forward to this! I did something similar a few years back and there were some 'er...why?' moments in there looking back, especially in the early 00s.

1 hour ago, gooddelta said:

Will look forward to this! I did something similar a few years back and there were some 'er...why?' moments in there looking back, especially in the early 00s.

Thanks Rich. Yes, there are definitely a few of those to come. Reminds me I got part way through your 2000s number ones thread but never finished it...

02 - 20/01/2003 Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather For Ducks
Chart Run: 01-01-03-05-06-08-10-13-15-18-19-20-25-25-26-32-35-39 (18 weeks)

There are going to be a fair amount of songs by male fronted bands that play guitars that feature here, particularly in the early years, so nice to appreciate something completely different early on... I was definitely taken in at the time by how much Nice Weather For Ducks stood out from everything else, its clever use of sampling with a funny and charming main lyric was reminiscent of The Avalanches hits from a couple of years previous, which I also loved. They had a few further smaller hits but this was comfortably the song of theirs I got into most.

Two decades on and it remains a song that I love listening to, even if I don't that often and it really makes me smile. It could have been so easy to make this type of song completely rubbish, but they really delivered in making it so uplifting.

2025 Rating: 8/10

It didn't prevent anything from reaching the top as Times Like These was runner-up for both its weeks at the top. Jay-Z & Beyonce - '03 Bonnie & Clyde (#5) and Tatu - All The Things She Said (#4) are the only others songs that charted in this fortnight I'd still ever listen to.

Edited Thursday at 16:115 days by RabbitFurCoat

'Nice Weather For Ducks', I seem to remember this being featured heavily as background music for CBBC during that time.

Did you chart Sinead Quinn ?

Electric Six was my chart-topper of the time, still love it 😎Times Like These received the ultimate compliment though - my hero Glen Campbell covered it in 2008 on his brilliant Meet Glen Campbell album - Foo Fighters, Travis, Tom Petty, Jackson browne, John Lennon, U2, Lou Reed, Green Day being other notables getting the treatment...

6 hours ago, RabbitFurCoat said:

Other notable releases during this fortnight include The Libertines - Time For Heroes (#3) and The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (#6) which would definitely be the two songs of this period I'd most likely put on now.

Those two songs would both make my top 10 of 2003 now, although I didn't hear either of them enough at the time. Panjabi MC would have had my favourite song around that time (and that has also held up well for me).

03 - 03/02/2003 Good Charlotte - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Chart Run: 01-01-01-01-02-03-03-06-05-06-06-07-08-11-13-13-18-22-26-31-37-40 (22 weeks)

If I had still got previous years charts there would be a lot more of this type of song included, it felt like most of the school kids my age would be into either the Eminem's and 50 Cent's of the world or US pop-punk, I was definitely in the latter set and the likes of Linkin Park, Sum 41, Bowling For Soup and Alien Ant Farm would also be appearing here too. As its popularity died down, it seemed to be a 50/50 split as to those that moved to heavier stuff (Korn, GNR, Iron Maiden etc.) and those like myself that became indie kids.

Like most of these bands, Good Charlotte had a knack of releasing incredibly catchy, singalong anthems and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was certainly one of those, and a song I just didn't get bored of, most big songs of this time had long running entries but #8 after a quarter of a year is quite something. It seemed to gain in popularity overall with a somewhat unusual beginning to its UK chart life of 13-20-08-12-17. Its parent album The Young and the Hopeless was another I played a huge amount, and they were definitely a favourite of mine through that period with a pair of follow-ups that both entered at #3, though by the time they next released anything I was much less interested.

It's hard not to feel a nostalgic warmth listening to this song, it remains a good example of this type of song, however I can definitely say this is a sound I 'grew out' of. If I were in a rare mood when I wanted to listen to some early noughties US pop-punk, then Lifestyles... wouldn't be towards the top of the list of songs I'd put on.

2025 Rating: 6/10

Songs kept from #1: Oasis - Songbird and Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop

Other notable entries include Justin Timberlake - Cry Me a River (#4), Royksopp - Eple (#5) and Christine Aguilera - Beautiful (#6)

Ultimately, whilst I'd still listen to each of those I don't look at that list and hugely wish I was discussing one of those songs instead.

Edited Thursday at 16:115 days by RabbitFurCoat

14 hours ago, jimwatts said:

Those two songs would both make my top 10 of 2003 now, although I didn't hear either of them enough at the time. Panjabi MC would have had my favourite song around that time (and that has also held up well for me).

Thanks Jim. I'd have to agree that I'd rank them similarly now, would listen to them over most of the 2003 songs I'm going to discuss. Mundian to Bach Ke was certainly a unique sound at the time I enjoyed, and charted for 13 weeks with a #11 peak, but not something I've listened to for a while!

18 hours ago, Popchartfreak said:

Electric Six was my chart-topper of the time, still love it 😎Times Like These received the ultimate compliment though - my hero Glen Campbell covered it in 2008 on his brilliant Meet Glen Campbell album - Foo Fighters, Travis, Tom Petty, Jackson browne, John Lennon, U2, Lou Reed, Green Day being other notables getting the treatment...

Thanks - I will give a listen to that, it does seem like a well covered song and other versions of it are usually good.

18 hours ago, Last Dreamer said:

Did you chart Sinead Quinn ?

Only a two week entry for I Can't Break Down, which I don't recall tbh!

Eple and Beautiful both went to No.1 for me around that time.

Good Charlotte had some solid singles but that one wasn't a favourite for me.

Were No.1 debuts common in your chart? They used to be quite rare for me.

04 - 03/03/2003 Junior Senior - Move Your Feet

Chart Run: 02-01-01-01-03-04-05-07-08-09-12-15-17-21-24-27-32-38 (18 weeks)

Mirroring its UK chart run by climbing a place to peak in its second week, Move Your Feet is an infectious earworm that seemed like it was everywhere at the time. I was often love or hate with the big dance hits as an early teenager, but this was certainly one I loved. As with their UK chart history, one small follow-up in Rhythm Bandits which I don't recall now even listening to it again.

Move Your Feet is a song which has definitely stood the test of time. It's still very enjoyable and a good party song for people of the right age, pleased this is one I got to listen to, and nice to have some variation in my 2003 entries!

2025 Rating: 8/10

Songs kept from #1: Missy Elliott & Ludacris - Gossip Folks

Other notable entries I still enjoy include The Mock Turtles re-issue of 90s hit Can You Dig It? (#4), 50 Cent - In Da Club (#5) and Placebo - The Bitter End (#9)

I enjoy both the original and Fatboy Slim Remix of Gossip Folks but it is a somewhat surprising song to spend a fortnight at #2, and there's certainly nothing here that deserves to have taken any of Move Your Feet's 3 weeks at the top.

3 hours ago, gooddelta said:

Eple and Beautiful both went to No.1 for me around that time.

Good Charlotte had some solid singles but that one wasn't a favourite for me.

Were No.1 debuts common in your chart? They used to be quite rare for me.

Because of how I did my chart, in charting everything in the week of release, as I'd been largely listening to songs on the radio or on their parent albums for weeks beforehand, the majority of songs in the early years did enter at their peak, whereas when I changed it they started entering lower once I'd heard them 2 or 3 times and climb their way up. Just four 2003 number ones didn't enter there.

6 minutes ago, RabbitFurCoat said:

Because of how I did my chart, in charting everything in the week of release, as I'd been largely listening to songs on the radio or on their parent albums for weeks beforehand, the majority of songs in the early years did enter at their peak, whereas when I changed it they started entering lower once I'd heard them 2 or 3 times and climb their way up. Just four 2003 number ones didn't enter there.

Ah of course, that makes sense. Mine always worked the latter way, so I suppose songs often peaked for me when I got the CD single. Sometimes songs would enter at No.1 and then wouldn't be released for a few more weeks which was super annoying as I was obsessed with them but had no way of listening to them apart from hoping for the best when flicking through music channels (or post 2002 downloading a dodgy MP3!).

Move Your Feet was a good song and a fun animated video, I didn't mind the follow-up but it certainly wasn't as good.

1 minute ago, gooddelta said:

Ah of course, that makes sense. Mine always worked the latter way, so I suppose songs often peaked for me when I got the CD single. Sometimes songs would enter at No.1 and then wouldn't be released for a few more weeks which was super annoying as I was obsessed with them but had no way of listening to them apart from hoping for the best when flicking through music channels (or post 2002 downloading a dodgy MP3!).

Move Your Feet was a good song and a fun animated video, I didn't mind the follow-up but it certainly wasn't as good.

My family first got a computer (and therefore the internet) in 2002 so by 2003 I was definitely in the phase of using the likes of WinMX and LimeWire to source songs, there's a song coming up from June which I remember downloading and copying its parent album to a load of school friends, so yeah most songs of the era I'd have heard on the radio and then the stuff I liked most would have downloaded and been listening through my PC for ages so all charted highly. By the end of 2004 I started listening to Zane Lowe's show most nights (usually whilst surfing CoolClarity!) and he certainly seemed to play stuff weeks before it came out so stayed prominent until the way music was released and consumed did really.

I got PC in the same time with you, but didn't have Internet until May 2011.

“Move Your Feet” is still a 10/10 for me: one of the most joyous tracks of the decade.

I was hoping to see 'Move Your Feet' here, loved it at the time and it would still make my top 10 of 2003 now - the song and video are so much fun.

Move Your Feet is an all-time feel-good classic, just joyousness personified. Ironically, I dance without moving my feet...😄