On 02/09/2025 at 12:28, RabbitFurCoat said:

13 - 04/08/2003 Funeral for a Friend - Juneau

Chart Run: 03-01-01-04-04-05-07-11-15-16-19-23-26-27-28-33-37-40 (18 weeks)

Another lesser known act now, Funeral for a Friend were a Welsh rock band and Juneau was their debut hit, reaching #19 in the UK, it being their first of 9 UK top 40 hits, a few of which would also enter my chart but they wouldn't trouble the top 10 again.

I listen to this now and think it's just bang average UK rock - kind of surprised at how this appears here as there's really not much to it, not an act I can say I've thought of for a long time.

2025 Rating: 5/10

In its fortnight at the top only Kings of Leon entered the top 10 with Molly's Chambers, a good song but they went on to release better and have bigger hits.

I liked a couple of songs on this album but my peak of love for them came from the Hours album... did they peak again in the future for you? I know Streetcar did well in personal charts back in the day.

Best song on this album for me was Your Revolution Is A Joke

14 - 18/08/2003 The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun

Chart Run: 01-01-01-03-04-07-08-10-09-10-11-13-17-16-22-25-30-36-36-35-39 (21 weeks)

Nearly a year after the release of their debut album Up The Bracket, The Libertines returned with their biggest chart hit to date, narrowly missing out on the UK top 10 for the first time. There was definitely more hype about this one and it sounded good on the radio. I'd enjoyed what I'd previously heard but it wasn't until this release that I really had any investment into The Libertines.

Over the years, there aren't many bands I've listened to as much as The Libertines. They're rightly so influential of this period of music and really helped pave the way for the domination of this sound in years to come, their 2002-04 output all stands up so well, and Don't Look Back Into The Sun is as good as they get.

2025 Rating: 10/10
Songs kept from #1: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Stop

The top 3 was all new and remained unchanged for three weeks, with Good Charlotte at #3 with The Anthem. Stop is an absolute belter, and BRMC have gone on to become a big favourite, if it had been a #1 it would rank high in my end of year list for 2003 but with the way I did my chart at the time three weeks behind The Libertines is ultimately a correct outcome.

On 30/08/2025 at 18:01, Severin said:

Interesting to read through this.

Agree with a lot of what you're saying, particularly about White Stripes as similarly I find them inexplicably popular. That being said, when I decided to learn bass Seven NAtion Army was the first song I learned. Mainly because it's so simple and easy to play.

I don't mind pretty much everything listed so far, (except maybe St Anger but I'd have to listen to that again to be sure) which is probably to be expected but I can't say there's anything I really like so far. Probably Jane's Addiction but that's far from their best. They were brilliant back in the day and their Nothing's Shocking album is an all time favourite of mine. I'd posit there's definitely material in the their first two studio albums that's worth your time. Summertime Rolls and Three Days maybe.

I look forward to following this thread though

Thanks Severin, nice to have you on board. I imagine it would be satisfying to learn 7 Nation Army even if it is simple, just such a good riff. I will give those two Jane's Addiction songs a listen

15 - 08/09/2003 Linkin Park - Numb

Chart Run: 01-02-05-05-05-05-05-06-10-14-14-20-23-28-30-31-33-37-39 (19 weeks)

In the previous years, Hybrid Theory had been one of my most listened to and favourite albums, and if there's one album of that type and era that I'd put on now it'd be that. Their unique combination of rap and nu-metal was something I thought was excellent and Chester Bennington had a superb vocal. Meteora was a good follow-up, and one I enjoyed at the time, but it didn't hit the heights of some of their debut. That said, they did spent over a year total on my chart with the three singles from it. Each of them top 5, but Numb being the only one which made its way to the top as it was definitely the album's highlight.

Linkin Park are still a band I listen to occasionally (well, their 2001-03 music anyway) and Numb is still one of their best that's completely stood the test of time. It took on a new lease of life with the Jay-Z mash up which I'd put just ahead of this, but to some extent that will be discussed more in a while.

2025 Rating: 8/10

Songs kept from #1: Muse - Time Is Running Out

I still think I'd pick Numb of this Muse track - it's very good, but they have much better, both from that time and since.

16 - 15/09/2003 The Chemical Brothers feat. The Flaming Lips - The Golden Path

01-01-01-02-02-01-01-02-03-04-04-06-06-10-10-10-13-14-16-19-23-25-28-28-31-32-33-36-38-39 (30 weeks)

There have only been four songs to have spent more than half a year on my chart, and this is quite an unusual and unexpected one. The Golden Path was the lead single for The Chemical Brothers first Singles Collection, an album I bought on CD which I bought and thoroughly enjoyed - I'd known some of their hits (Hey Boy Hey Girl and Star Guitar mainly) but they weren't really an act that crossed over to kids. A couple of months of solid listening to that singles collection and The Golden Path wouldn't move from the top 3, and becomes the first of very few songs to have a second stint at the top.

That 2003 purchase of a singles collection was the start of a long love affair with the duo. Each album before and since purchased (well, streamed multiple times for the last couple), with Dig Your Own Hole being the first because how can you not after discovering The Private Psychadelic Reel. They've been incredibly consistent across a 30+ year career. Seeing them headline the Other Stage at Glastonbury in 2019 is definitely up their with my all-time live music experiences.

It's not my go-to Chemical Brothers song, but it still absolutely bangs. Wayne Coyne's vocal on it is majestic. A truly underrated Chemical Brothers gem.

2025 Rating: 9/10

Songs kept from #1: The Darkness - I Believe In a Thing Called Love

Other top 10 hits of the time for me included Metallica - Frantic, Foo Fighters - Have It All, Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps and the big UK number one; Fatman Scoop - Be Faithful

The Darkness were monumentally huge in the second half of the year, and I've no doubt that if released a little earlier or later I Believe In a Thing Called Love would be having a full post here too, but instead its 6 weeks top 3 were always behind The Golden Path. Maps is the big standout and would now probably rank in my top 5 songs of 2003, but ultimately it never came close with 5 weeks in the bottom half of the top 10.

Love that one. Their singles collection really is solid gold stuff

The Chems are one of my all time favourite acts, they do have a couple of more standard albums but mostly they’re consistently strong. Dig Your Own Hole is one of my most listened to albums ever <3

Numb is a classic but I dont recall the Flaming Lips collab - I usually like them, and often like Chemical Brothers. Playing it now, sounds quite pleasant.

'Numb' is my fave to pop up so far <3

Libertines is my favourite of the last three but they're all good to great.

17 - 06/10/2003 The Strokes - 12:51

Chart Run: 01-01-02-02-03-07-09-16-19-23-28-28-29-31-35-40 (16 weeks)

I remember hearing The Strokes a lot on Radio 1 after the release of their debut album. I liked their singles but hadn't really got into them, and truth be told never really did - they're good, I enjoy listening to them, but have never been a band I turned to a lot. 12:51 isn't the immediate song you'd think of for them, but was taken in by the hype of the time.

It's still good, but I'd rather I were talking about one of their other two hits that charted highly for me (Repitilia - #6, Juice Box - #4).

2025 Rating: 7/10
Nothing else released in these two weeks was a top 10 hit.

18 - 03/11/2003 Lostprophets - Burn Burn

Chart Run: 01-02-03-08-11-17-22-23-24-27-27-30-33-35-38 (15 weeks)

Oh no.

Well I absolutely loved The Fake Sound of Progress, and a return was always likely to be something I was anticipating. Truthfully, I haven't listened to this in years and barely remember it. Listening to the first 40 seconds or so to remember how it goes, I can't even judge it to have much merit as a song - it probably ranks below Madame Helga (the worst song until now) musically anyway. There are a couple of songs of theirs that I had kept as mp3s and wouldn't turn off shuffle, but unstreamable.

2025 Rating: 0/10
Couldn't I have just given The Golden Path yet another week in its 8th week on the chart?!

Oh my. Not even the music video was embedded. 😆

Reptilia is my top Strokes track, love it, a chart-topper for me. Never liked Lostprophets that much, they never made my top 40 and this one didnt chart at all.

Moving swiftly on...

19 - 10/11/2003 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Fortune Faded

Chart Run: 01-01-02-03-04-06-07-03-04-04-06-07-07-09-11-12-15-18-21-25-28-34-38 (23 weeks)

This was definitely my peak time for enjoying RHCP. I'd loved a lot of By The Way the year before and then as 2003 ended they released a comprehensive best of, which I was all over. Fortune Faded was the lead and it was both a song and album I listened to a lot.

Over the years they've gradually become a band I've cared less about, and they're not really a band I listen to much now at all. They still have a fair number of songs that I am fond of, but Fortune Faded isn't one of them.

2025 Rating: 5/10
Songs kept from #1: The Cooper Temple Clause - Blind Pilots

It was a busy couple of weeks in the top 10 with new entries aplenty; Basement Jaxx and Dizzee Rascal - Lucky Star and The White Stripes - The Hardest Button being two songs I still listen to now, along with another which went on to climb to the top later. Blind Pilots, however, would have been a much better #1 single, it's a song from this era I still listen to regularly, The Cooper Temple Clause were maybe around a bit too early to have been much bigger but this was their 4th of 5 top 40 hits in the UK (plus a pair of #41s)

20 - 24/11/2003 The Coral- Bill McCai

Chart Run: 01-02-02-05-06-08-10-09-13-14-15-21-27-31-36 (15 weeks)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOOgUuNPS9I

The Coral's jangly indie-pop was a big sound of the first half of the noughties. Whilst they had bigger and more well-known hits with the likes of Dreaming of You and Pass It On, Bill McCai was always the one which I enjoyed the most, and it's hard to imagine that a more upbeat song detailing a person's life who ends up killing themselves exists. RIP Bill.

Along with Dreaming of You, Bill McCai will always be my go-to Coral song, it's a song that has always been able to make me smile with its excellent telling of a story. A couple of smaller hits followed in 2005 before

2025 Rating: 9/10

As the big acts began to release before Christmas, this was one of six new entries in the top 11. The new UK number one Will Young - Leave Right Now, and Dizzee Rascal - Jus a Rascal the pick of the others,

Fortune Faded was OK, this was also my peak RHCP period, but the top 10's for me were Zephyr Song, By The Way, Universally Speaking - the next top 10 was 2016 and Dark Necessities, and theyve only charted once since then - so a drop off from me too.

On 18/09/2025 at 17:58, Popchartfreak said:

Fortune Faded was OK, this was also my peak RHCP period, but the top 10's for me were Zephyr Song, By The Way, Universally Speaking - the next top 10 was 2016 and Dark Necessities, and theyve only charted once since then - so a drop off from me too.

I think all the four By The Way singles would have been top 3 for me in 02/03, but yes after that precious little. Think Dark Necessities is the most recent song of theirs I've given any significant listening to, but didn't chart it.

21 - 01/12/2003 Muse - Hysteria

Chart Run: 01-01-04-03-02-05-06-10-13-16-18-21-23-24-26-28-33-37-40 (19 weeks)

Entering a place higher than they managed with the album's lead single, Hysteria remains Muse's only song to go right to the top. It felt like they were absolutely huge at this time, and Radio 1 were certainly all over them. This would have been my favourite December release in the run up to Christmas.

Whilst I still think Hysteria is a good song, it isn't one of my go-to Muse singles now. They're another band who I perhaps haven't liked as much as I might have done, a couple of albums I really enjoyed with largely the odd tracks from others I enjoyed. From this album, Butterflies & Hurricanes has gone on to be the song of theirs I love most, joining Newborn and Map of the Problematique in my top 3 of theirs, but significant underperformances in my chart at the time!

2025 Rating: 7/10
The Coral remained runner-up to this in both of its weeks at the top, big names of the time charted in the lower end of my top 10 in Black Eyed Peas, Nelly Furtado and Evanescence but the top of the chart remained largely static until the big battle...

22 - 15/12/2003 The Darkness - Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)

Chart Run: 01-02-06-23-34-39 (6 weeks)

The UK chart was a big battle at the time, but for me there was only going to be one winner. A pair of number two singles and an album I enjoyed a lot, a Christmas song by The Darkness was always likely to be something I was into and I thought it was fab. Big and bold, it was everything Christmas songs of the past seemed to be. A shame it didn't manage to top the UK chart too.

It's gone on to be a Christmas staple of mine, not one of the ones I play the most but always something I put on. Aside from this, not really a band I listen to now - very much of their time.

2025 Rating: 7/10

Songs Kept From #1: ?? - ??

The song at number two had spent the previous 6 weeks climbing up the top 10 and it didn't stop there so I won't reveal now. At #3 it was another of the excellent big releases of the time aiming for the Xmas number one, Proper Crimbo of course!

Muse when they are good are very very good - never quite got a chart-topper for me but some real gems. I liked Hysteria, but Supermassive Black Hole is the biggie, peaked at 2. The Darkness were fun, but an entire album would be a stretch for the ears. Justin's podcast is of interest these days.