Great countdown, thanks for hosting @Chez Wombat.

2005 had some great songs, songs I wasn’t to keen on at the time but really like now.

Looking forward to seeing @Jade take on 2006.

Feels like a really fitting top 2 to represent 2005, even though neither would quite be in my top 2.

As I’ve said before my parents introduced me to ABBA and The Beatles when I was 5 and that made a lifelong impression on me that that’s how pop and rock respectively should sound. So it’s impossible for me to see “Hung Up” as in quite the same league as “Gimme…”, but I do really appreciate its quality for all the reasons you’ve mentioned. And it was great to see her having one final hurrah as a chart megastar.

I’ve never quite got into “Dare” like I have the likes of “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc” but it was great that they managed a chart topper. You make a very good case for it though, and it’s my preferred winner of the last 2.

Thanks so much for this Chez. The commentaries in particular have been fantastic. I hope those whose reviews are coming up don’t feel too much pressure - this extent of commentary is definitely not expected!

I think my top 10 would look something like this:

1. Sugababes - Push the Button

2. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

3. Madonna - Hung Up

4. Gorillaz feat. Shaun Ryder - DARE

5. Stereophonics - Dakota

6. Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay - (Is This The Way to) Amarillo

7. Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha

8. Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

9. Shayne Ward - That's My Goal

10. Pussycat Dolls - Stickwitu

I’ll post my top 10 later, but brilliant number 1 which would be mine as well.

Nice finish Chez, delighted to see Madonna made the top two. That is my favourite single of hers - no mean feat over 20 years into her career to push out a song so huge and fresh sounding, it was No.1 on my chart for six weeks. Great writeup too.

Dare is really cool, a surprise chart topper indeed in the context of their career (you do wonder how Feel Good Inc didn't get there - I suppose bigger competition at the time - and Clint Eastwood - but then they were a new act and indie wasn't that in vogue at the time at the top of the charts so it did well enough considering). But Dare was a deserving one and Shaun Ryder puts in a star turn on it, with a very entertaining video too.

Really good thread to follow along, in which I learnt a lot, and was reminded of a lot too, really interesting nuggets of info, thanks very much for such a stellar few weeks of content.

Here's my rank:

1. Madonna - Hung Up

2. James Blunt - You're Beautiful (oops! I'll be cast out for admitting this)

3. Sugababes - Push the Button

4. Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle

5. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

6. Stereophonics - Dakota

7. Gorillaz feat. Shaun Ryder - DARE

8. Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

9. Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha

10. Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas

11. McFly - All About You/You've Got a Friend

12. 2Pac feat. Elton John - Ghetto Gospel

13. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock

14. Pussycat Dolls - Stickwitu

15. Westlife - You Raise Me Up

16. Ciara feat. Petey Pablo - Goodies

17. Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay - (Is This The Way to) Amarillo

18. Shayne Ward - That's My Goal

19. Nelly feat. Tim McGraw - Over and Over

20. Jennifer Lopez - Get Right

21. Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never

22. Nizlopi - JCB Song

23. Oasis - Lyla

24. McFly - I'll Be OK

25. U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

26. Elvis Presley - One Night/I Got Stung

27. Akon - Lonely

28. Crazy Frog - Axel F

29. Steve Brookstein - Against All Odds

Love the top six, like down to Tony Christie, not bothered about Shayne to the final Elvis song, don't like the bottom three.

38 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

Nice finish Chez, delighted to see Madonna made the top two. That is my favourite single of hers - no mean feat over 20 years into her career to push out a song so huge and fresh sounding, it was No.1 on my chart for six weeks. Great writeup too.

Dare is really cool, a surprise chart topper indeed in the context of their career (you do wonder how Feel Good Inc didn't get there - I suppose bigger competition at the time - and Clint Eastwood - but then they were a new act and indie wasn't that in vogue at the time at the top of the charts so it did well enough considering). But Dare was a deserving one and Shaun Ryder puts in a star turn on it, with a very entertaining video too.

Really good thread to follow along, in which I learnt a lot, and was reminded of a lot too, really interesting nuggets of info, thanks very much for such a stellar few weeks of content.

Here's my rank:

1. Madonna - Hung Up

2. James Blunt - You're Beautiful (oops! I'll be cast out for admitting this)

3. Sugababes - Push the Button

4. Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle

5. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

6. Stereophonics - Dakota

7. Gorillaz feat. Shaun Ryder - DARE

8. Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

9. Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha

10. Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas

11. McFly - All About You/You've Got a Friend

12. 2Pac feat. Elton John - Ghetto Gospel

13. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock

14. Pussycat Dolls - Stickwitu

15. Westlife - You Raise Me Up

16. Ciara feat. Petey Pablo - Goodies

17. Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay - (Is This The Way to) Amarillo

18. Shayne Ward - That's My Goal

19. Nelly feat. Tim McGraw - Over and Over

20. Jennifer Lopez - Get Right

21. Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never

22. Nizlopi - JCB Song

23. Oasis - Lyla

24. McFly - I'll Be OK

25. U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

26. Elvis Presley - One Night/I Got Stung

27. Akon - Lonely

28. Crazy Frog - Axel F

29. Steve Brookstein - Against All Odds

Love the top six, like down to Tony Christie, not bothered about Shayne to the final Elvis song, don't like the bottom three.

Westlife & Band Aid 20 would be just outside my top 10. I think it’s an unpopular opinion but Band Aid 20 is my pick of the four versions.

Fantastic choice of podium placers!

'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' is an enthralling burst of energy and a fun, witty time lyrically indeed. My mum's music taste is fairly on point so she bought the accompanying album on CD at the time and would play it quite often in the car. I have since added it to my own vinyl collection as an adult and what an album it is, storming debut. Arctic Monkeys and SuBo trading a record sums up the British charts perfectly!

I'm pleasantly surprised to see 'Hung Up' so high for some reason but certainly approve! I think that song would've been my first exposure to ABBA in any form as my family didn't pass them on to me and we were a good few years away from the Mamma Mia movie. I agree that the sample is woven in masterfully. The Confessions on a Dancefloor era was a welcome re-invention and would be my second favourite Madonna album overall, only behind Ray of Light.

I had forgotten what else was still to come but of course... it's DARE *.* I am more of a 'Feel Good Inc.' girl on the contrary but do still appreciate 'DARE' a lot too, very inviting hooks and electropop influences, yet still with some left-field flair thanks to the genius choice of Shaun Ryder on vocals. Indeed 'Feel Good Inc.' has experienced a huge resurgence this year but 'DARE' is still doing well in its own right as well, 673 million streams on Spotify and counting <3

Thank you Chez for putting this countdown together, I was intrigued as we often have very similar taste and a strong ranking was topped off with such enthusiasm in the commentary, a great read. Indeed it's my turn next :o I did wonder if I'd just want to hide in a cave for months after the work that went into BJSC hosting, but thankfully, putting a banner together for 2006 has already got me fired up again yay :D watch this space...

My top 10:

1. Gorillaz & Shaun Ryder - DARE

2. Stereophonics - Dakota

3. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor

4. Oasis - The Importance Of Being Idle

5. Madonna - Hung Up

6. Sugababes - Push The Button

7. Nizlopi - JCB Song

8. Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

9. Mcfly - All About You

10. Oasis - Lyla

well that's a classic top 5! All 5 topped my charts, I love them all, so it's just about what order I'd put them in! My 5 would be Arctic Monkeys, starting with a bang that for me they've never bettered, swagger and Sheffield on show - my "real" accent (I've never had a fixed accent, what with moving about a lot, I just morph into wherever I am) is most probably Lincoln as I lived there more than anywhere else growing up, but also Mansfield and they arent that different from Sheffield, so it's great hearing Northern accents in song. 4 Oasis, 3 Madonna - oc I rate ABBA as one of my holy Pop trio, Beatles and Pet Shop Boys t'others - but Madonna's up there too, and she did good with the sample, a total banger, one of her best albums, and the last time I saw her on tour (in Cardiff) was on the Confessions tour, she was peaking, great current stuff and a huge backlog, and it was all downhill after this, bar one or two goodies along the way. 2. Gorillaz, my fave of theirs, Dare - and I rated Feel Good Inc already - but this one was joyous, and what a great video, so that leaves Dakota for the top spot - but we are splitting hairs really with this top 5, totally the best five, even if the order is up for discussion/dependant on mood and location.

My top 4 would be almost reversed I think with Madge a distant 4th behind Gorillaz, Arctics and Phonics.

I think Dakota would rank in my top 3 number one singles of the decade and top 10 of all time, it's simply phenomenal, not just as a song but for who it's by and how they managed to get there. I loved their first two albums but they had gone full MoR after that as their bigger hits of 01-03 showed. For band to reach their creative and commercial peak with a 5th album is simply unheard of.

I'd agree with people's comments that Dancefloor is something that Arctic Monkeys have surpassed often since, but it's still a great single, so simple and catchy and the way they managed to get all their attention and success was truly great to witness.

Great countdown.

'Hung Up' is a forever classic, it was so great to see her dominate so much although by the same token it makes me feel sad that 20 years ago was the last real time.

'Dare' is fab, I feel I liked it more at the time but it's still great. Very good era from them!

I don't like "Confessions" era.

Not great, but at least not bad :

1. Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never

2. Oasis - The Importance Of Being Idle

3. Tony Christie - (Is This The Way to) Amarillo

4. Steve Brookstein - Against All Odds

5. Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

I will rate the highest song is 6.5 / 10

What a fantastic end to the countdown, I thought there was a possibility you might have put Arctics #1 but I'm very happy it's ended up as my initial prediction and it's gone to DARE.

'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' and 'Hung Up' are obviously giants of 2005 and very memorable from that era, the former revolutionising online music and giving us one of the most innovative and clever bands of the 21st century, the latter a genius concoction to top off the Queen of Pop's career, very much both deserve to be up there.

DARE though, I do have specific memories of hearing it at the time (it was #1 in my first month of secondary school) and that is great, because it sounded so out there in a brilliant way compared to most hits, attention grabbing, you have a good beat for it but it's not annoying in the slightest, it is just fantastic - and that basically ended up to be the gateway for Gorillaz to eventually become one of my favourite bands of all time. I'd have slammed it in #1 just like you have, and while I dearly wish that Feel Good Inc was in this list as well, DARE being here and being the sole #1 for one of the best creations of British music of modern times, I've always loved that it managed to sneak a week ever since following the charts and I'm probably not exaggerating when I say that it is my favourite UK #1 of all time. So good and catchy.

Video's also genius too, I've gotten so into the Gorillaz videos and their lore over the years but their peak was the Demon Days storylines, Feel Good Inc showing a dark tower with light shining in with the windmill, this coming from Noodle messing around at night at their 'base', and then El Manana of course, but the whole thing is a great showcase of a nostalgic fictionalised world where the band members are a team putting out music and fighting darkness (or something). The vibes are just perfect for someone who was growing up in the 00s, emo but in a nice, accessible way.

Thanks for this thread Chez, really interesting commentary to read through over the last few weeks and I've learned a lot of things I didn't know about these songs beforehand. I won't do a complete rank, mostly because I'm confident that mine would be very very similar to how you've laid it out here.

Great end to the countdown, and like others I've found the commentaries in this thread a very interesting read, thanks Chez.

Enjoyed reading all these threads even though I've only sporadically commented in the last few - I've a lot to live up to for when I come to do 2009!

Generally everything was pretty well ordered here Chez, although I would shuffle them around a little. DARE is actually my least favourite single from the Demon Days album, it's still a solid 8/10 though. Hung Up and Dakota are definitely my favourite two from the year and I could easily swap them over on another day, but for today I'll give it to Madge... It holds a lot of good memories for me as Mr D* and I used to play the Confessions album a lot that Winter - plus I genuinely think it pulled off the trick of making me associate that sample with Hung Up rather than original ABBA track, it's really rare that a song does that unless I've never heard the original obvs!

1. Madonna - Hung Up

2. Stereophonics - Dakota

3. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

4. Gorillaz feat. Shaun Ryder - DARE

5. Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle

6. Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha

7. Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

8. Sugababes - Push the Button

9. Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay - (Is This The Way to) Amarillo

10. Nizlopi - JCB Song

My Top 15 (excluding Elvis?):

1. Arctic Monkeys

2. Oasis - The Importance Of Being Idle

3. Gorillaz

4. James Blunt

5. Eminem

6. Sugababes

7. Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha

8. Jennifer Lopez

9. Crazy Frog

10. Shayne Ward

11. Stereophonics

12. Tony Christie

13. Ciara

14. McFly - I'll Be OK

15. 2Pac and Elton John

My version. As I said The Arctics surpassed this quite a few times but it still comes top - this is the weakest #1 of the 6 years covered so far for me. Overall it’s a much stronger set than

2004 though.

1 I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

2 Dakota

3 The Importance Of Being Idle

4 Dare

5 Hung Up

6 All About You / You’ve Got A Friend (without the 2nd side it might be my #1!)

7 Push The Button

8 Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own

9 Ghetto Gospel

10 Jailhouse Rock

11 Don’t Cha

12 Get Right

13 Like Toy Soldiers

14 You’re Beautiful

15 Do They Know It’s Christmas

16 (Is This The Way To) Amarillo

17 Over And Over

18 One Night / I Got Stung

19 Lonely

20 Lyla

21 Goodies

22 JCB Song

23 It’s Now Or Never

24 I’ll Be OK

25 You Raise Me Up

26 Axel F

27 That’s My Goal

28 Stickwitu

29 Against All Odds