January 3, 200916 yr Author 8. Sara Bareilles - Love Song (2007) http://www.seatwave.com/FileStore/SEASON/IMAGE/sara-bareilles_009473_1_MainPicture.jpg Top 5 Run: 3-2-3-4-3-2-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-2-4-5-R-5-R-3-1-2-3-4 Why I love it: I first heard 'Love Song' via MySpace in about November 2007, well before she was due to have any sort of success anywhere. The first version I heard of the song was a demo but even so I thought that it was special enough to warrant a peak of No.10 in my chart. Shortly before Christmas 2007, I stumbled across the album version of the song which had a lot more kick and I instantly fell in love with it. Not exactly groundbreaking but a very mainstream and modern take on a genre most prominent in the late 1990s thanks to Sarah McLachlan and her Lilith Fair. A brilliant, jumpy piano pop song with enough attitude to be an interesting listen but not too much to make it ever get boring. By far my favourite song during 2008, where it finally became the worldwide hit it was destined to be, Love Song is just commercial singer/songwriter music at its very finest. --------------------------------------------------------- 8. ATB - Movin' Melodies (1999) http://i10.tinypic.com/4u0uj4j.png Peak: #1 Highlights: 9PM (Till I Come), Don't Stop, My Dream, Too Much Rain, Sunburn Why I love it: The highest dance album in my list, and the first I ever bought of the genre. German DJ Andre Tannerberger first came to my attention in summer 1999 when I heard 9PM (Till I Come) and instantly loved it. I decided to splash out £15 odd on the German import version of his album whilst holidaying in Great Yarmouth and was hugely impressed with what I heard. Despite being very short of vocals throughout, the instrumentation and melodies on this album are at times haunting, sometimes beautiful and at other times just absolutely brilliant. It was just a shame that the follow up albums were nowhere near as good, straying too far into the chillout side of things, where he excelled best at commercial dance.
January 4, 200916 yr Author 7. Alice Deejay - Back In My Life (1999) http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Alice_Deejay_umvd001.jpg Top 5 Run: 1-3-3-5-1-1-2-4-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-4-4-5 Why I love it: After the sheer magnificence of the Dutch dance act's predecessor, Better Off Alone, I literally waited up all night to hear the exclusive first play of this at some point in late 1999 on my local radio station. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. No DJ Jurgen this time, Back In My Life is more of a pop song than the minimal dance of its predecessor. An absolutely fantastic pop-dance song at that though which has a subtle darkness to it, particularly when watching the video. In three separate runs, Back In My Life topped my chart for eleven weeks at the end of 1999. A well deserved second gold selling hit single in the UK for Judy, Mila and Yutin, Alice Deejay were my first true musical obsession and I still adore their music to this day. If only eurodance was more like this now and less like Cascada and Basshunter. --------------------------------------------------------- 7. Colbie Caillat - Coco (2007) http://www.newnownext.com/images/2007/09/27/colbie.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: Realize, Bubbly, The Little Things, Battle, Oxygen Why I love it: I first heard of Californian singer Colbie Caillat via MySpace in summer 2007 when I stumbled across a beautiful pop track called The Little Things. Without hesitation, I proceeded to order the as then unreleased album from the US, which I had to wait a good month for. I instantly fell in love with it when it finally arrived, the first nine tracks possibly one of the best continuous flows of excellent songs on any album that I have. Packed full of memorable melodies, soothing sounds and gorgeous vocals, this album topped my chart for 10 weeks and spent well over a year inside the top 20 in total, only dropping out very recently. It's just a great shame that the UK is the only place that Colbie seems to have been ignored, the fantastic Bubbly going top 5 in nearly every other country worldwide.
January 4, 200916 yr Author 6. The Corrs - Runaway (Tin Tin Out Remix) (1999) http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/415000/images/_418535_corrs300.jpg Top 5 Run: N/A Why I love it: Quite easily the first band I truly loved, Irish siblings The Corrs came to my attention for the first time in 1998, as I'm sure is the story for most people. Talk On Corners was the first album I ever properly loved but it wasn't until early 1999 when I saw Forgiven Not Forgotten, the 1995 predecessor, in a Virgin sale, that I heard Runaway. I absolutely loved the version of Runaway on that album, but then I heard a far better, fresher sounding mix on the radio, which turned out to be the Tin Tin Out Remix, which later went on to become the Corrs' biggest selling UK single, albeit only a No.2 because they had decided to release on the same week as Britney Spears' Baby One More Time. I still absolutely adore what I see as the perfect pop ballad and what is by a country mile, the best song The Corrs ever have and ever will have produced. It's just a shame that my chart started three months too late to include this song, as it would have been an absolutely huge No.1! --------------------------------------------------------- 6. The Corrs - Borrowed Heaven (2004) http://img59.photobucket.com/albums/v180/beauty_is_pink/the_corrs.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: Summer Sunshine, Baby Be Brave, Angel, Goodbye, Humdrum, Long Night, Confidence For Quiet Why I love it: Whilst the incredibly poppy and commercial In Blue was in my opinion excellent, very different to Talk On Corners, the Corrs 2004 comeback album Borrowed Heaven saw the band return to their roots of Forgiven Not Forgotten and Talk On Corners, albeit retaining the contemporary edge of In Blue. An almost faultless collection, dodgy Bono duet aside, five of the songs on this album topped my chart, all of them amongst the best songs in The Corrs career. What this album proved is that after over ten years together they were still capable of writing fantastic melodies, and its just a shame that they are not around anymore. And it wasn't even 2004's best album...
January 5, 200916 yr Author 5. DJ Sammy & Yanou feat Do - Heaven (2002) http://www.letras.com/photos/a6420djsammy.jpg Top 5 Run: 4-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-4 Why I love it: A cheesy start to the top five, Heaven is one of those dance covers that just works. 2002 was full of pop-trance covers of 80's songs by acts like Jan Wayne, Soda Club and Flip & Fill but none quite excelled like Spanish DJ Sammy's cover of the Bryan Adams US No.1 hit Heaven. Featuring co-production from now Cascada member Yanou and vocals from the brilliant Dominique Van Hulst aka Do, the song soared to No.1 in my chart for twelve weeks in late summer 2002, long before a UK release was planned. I hyped the song up to my friends, particularly because my import CD single had a gorgeous candlelight ballad mix as track 7 (now the infamous candlelight mix!). The song became my anthem for year 11 of high school and thanks to me was well known all around my school (literally, I played it in assembly once) by September 2002. As soon as it was pencilled in for a UK release in late 2002, I expected a top ten hit, but to beat Craig David's hyped comeback and Madonna's Die Another Day was quite a feat for the trio. Both versions are just brilliant and the song thoroughly deserves its top five placing here...interestingly, Heaven was finally replaced at the top of my chart after a record 12 weeks by...The Boys of Summer by DJ Sammy!!! --------------------------------------------------------- 5. Christina Aguilera - Stripped (2002) http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/cyclonebkk/ChristinaAguilera-Stripped2002-Fron.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: Beautiful, The Voice Within, Can't Hold Us Down, Fighter, Walk Away, Keep On Singin' My Song Why I love it: I loved Christina's debut album from 1999, very nice, pop/r&b and pleasant to listen to over and over again. But who would have thought that in three short years, she could go from 'nice pop/r&b' to groundbreaking, mould reinventing pop!?! Stripped was an absolute opus of an album. At the end of a year that was dominated by cheesy pop and reality TV show winners and rejects, Stripped slipped out onto an uninterested public after the huge hit Dirrty, but flopped upon release. However, it picked up steam in early 2003, long after I'd bought it, after the gorgeous Beautiful was released. Truly ahead of its time, the 20 odd track album could easily come out now and still sound fresh, which is something that cannot be said about 2006's Back To Basics! Most albums that cross from genre to genre sound messy and with no direction but such was the consistently high quality of the songs on Stripped, Christina got away with it, and produced one of the the noughties, biggest selling, most hit packed albums. Just brilliant!
January 6, 200916 yr Author 4. Delta Goodrem - Extraordinary Day (2004) http://www.curly-hair-styles-magazine.com/image-files/celebritycuthairshort04.jpg Top 5 Run: 2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-3-5-R-5 Why I love it: Obviously my favourite singer of all time, Delta's second album Mistaken Identity was one of my most anticipated album purchases of all time. On first listen of the album, I loved what I heard, but Extraordinary Day, track 11 on the album, sent a shiver down my spine. Not exactly a fan favourite, I am notorious for loving the album tracks that nobody else does. This account of the day that she found that she had cancer was obviously the album's most personal song, and I could feel the emotion from the first note to the last. Absolutely haunting, but stunning track which topped my charts for nine weeks in 2004/2005 and by far the best thing Delta has ever recorded, in my opinion of course. It is one of those rare songs, like the others in this top ten, that I have never got bored of. I could listen to it 10 times in a row and still be pulled in every single time. The melody is just beautiful. --------------------------------------------------------- 4. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway (2005) http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/images/kelly-clarkson-breakaway.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: Since U Been Gone, Because Of You, Behind These Hazel Eyes, Breakaway, Beautiful Disaster (Live), Walk Away Why I love it: Having not been a huge fan of Kelly Clarkson's early material, I was blown away, to say the least, when I heard Since U Been Gone for the first time in early 2005. Upon Breakaway's day of release in the UK, I reluctantly decided to part with my £10, expecting to only like one song on the album. What I didn't know is that I was taking home easily the most complete pop/rock crossover album to date and one of the finest albums I own. There are a couple of fillers on here but the strength of the standout tracks makes up for it easily. Breakaway, Since U Been Gone, Behind These Hazel Eyes and Because Of You must surely be the greatest ever start to a studio album!?! You know you've bought something special when you take home a studio album and it feels like a greatest hits, and this album eventually received the success it deserved in the UK, selling over 1.5 million copies after getting caught up in the 2005 xmas sales rush. It's a great shame that she followed it up with the less excellent My December but my hopes are high that she is back on track with her forthcoming 4th album, due out this year!
January 6, 200916 yr My favourite Album of ALL TIME there! :wub: I will do full comment's once you've finished and there's a recap thing :kink: The Chart run for 'Breakaway' is phenomenal TBH! :wub: Edited January 6, 200916 yr by Jonjo
January 6, 200916 yr Author there will be a recap after the top 3, I'm not staggering it deliberately, I just don't have much time at the moment due to being 'acting manager' at work this week (and next week)!
January 6, 200916 yr there will be a recap after the top 3, I'm not staggering it deliberately, I just don't have much time at the moment due to being 'acting manager' at work this week (and next week)!:o You work, ALOT! :lol: Why are you 'acting manager'? :o
January 7, 200916 yr Author 3. DJ Jurgen Presents Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone (1999) http://www.legalsounds.com/legalsounds/upload/Artist/1592-170x170.jpg Top 5 Run: 1-1-1-1-1-5-R-5 Why I love it: With all of these songs will obviously come a story, as every good song evokes good memories. My infamous 1999 Great Yarmouth holiday was already mentioned when ATB's album popped up, and here's more from the holiday. We were driving down the motorway, a boiling day in late July 1999, windows open, Radio 1 on, and Better Off Alone came on, but alas I missed the DJ telling me what it was. I listened, fascinated for the first time, and absolutely loved it from the first listen. Next day, I was sitting in the caravan at the holiday park eating my dinner and listening to the chart, as you do when you're on holiday, and Mark Goodier said 'and at number four we have a new entry for Better Off Alone from DJ Jurgen and Alice Deejay'. Having forgotten about the fantastic song from two days before, I was ecstatic to hear this song blasting out of the caravan, and instantly made a note to buy it on CD single the next day. Monday - Great Yarmouth shopping, went to Woolies (good times) and bought the latest Now album, Now 43, which had been released that day. To my extreme delight, there was Better Off Alone sitting on the end of Disc 2! My brother didn't want Now 43 and bought the CD single, and to my surprise, it didn't even feature the radio edit on it, just 3 remixes, so thank god for Now 43! Stories aside, this song summer up my summer, became my first relatively long running chart topper despite an atrociously short chart run of seven weeks inside the top five. Still, forget about chart runs, Better Off Alone is quite simply an incredible dance song, minimalistic to the point of brilliance and surely one of the best 'almost UK No.1 singles'...the week Westlife's If I Let You Go kept the Dutch trio from the top by less than 500 copies, I was less than impressed, to say the least... --------------------------------------------------------- 3. The Corrs - Talk On Corners (1997) http://www.viadiqua.it/img/copertine/b_47.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: So Young, Only When I Sleep, Dreams, I Never Loved You Anyway, Intimacy, Don't Say You Love Me Why I love it: Xmas 1998, I received my first CD player (rather late at 11 years old) and my first album, Talk On Corners by The Corrs, albeit not the recently released Special Edition (see, xmas deluxe editions are hardly new!), so it didn't have all of the nice polished radio remixes on it, or indeed Runaway. However, it didn't matter because The Corrs absolutely perfect blend of pop, rock and traditional Irish sounds instantly one me over and I can still listen to the album from start to finish and appreciate every second of it. Another collection that sounds like it was written to be a greatest hits, what's even more impressive is that it improved on the already fantastic predecessor Forgiven Not Forgotten, completely avoiding the notorious 'sophomore slump'. The album spawned a number of UK top ten singles, note that What Can I Do isn't in my favourites, because it is actually my least favourite track on here, although is itself a solid 9/10 on melody, shame the lyrics are so cringeworthy. By a mile, and rather embarrassingly, The Corrs are my favourite band of all time, and seeing them live in 2004 was without a doubt the most memorable concert I went to, purely because I knew and loved every single song that they performed. Obviously the album would have not been anywhere near as successful without their incredibly well time St Patrick's Day live, BBC screened Royal Albert Hall concert in March 1998, but if people had not liked the music, they wouldn't have bought it. If only all bands had some sort of platform to showcase their entire album on primetime BBC television! Just stunning from start to finish, it is one of the UK's top 20 biggest selling albums of all time, shifting over 3 million copies here, and deservedly so!
January 7, 200916 yr Author :o You work, ALOT! :lol: Why are you 'acting manager'? :o I know :o it's so tiring :cry: and somebody smashed my wing mirror on the way to work this morning...the day before my MOT :arrr: I'm acting manager because my manager is off for two weeks and I have to take care of the department and do all of the jobs she would usually do, like training, rotas, going to meetings with other managers which generally get called as I'm about to walk out the door and go home :heehee: :(
January 7, 200916 yr Author Many unknown songs in here :o :( youtube them, I couldn't be bothered to put links :kink:
January 8, 200916 yr Author I know, it's sad :cry: I have a day off today, and after I've my car fails its MOT, I plan to... FINISH THE COUNTDOWN :o
January 8, 200916 yr I know :o it's so tiring :cry: and somebody smashed my wing mirror on the way to work this morning...the day before my MOT :arrr: I'm acting manager because my manager is off for two weeks and I have to take care of the department and do all of the jobs she would usually do, like training, rotas, going to meetings with other managers which generally get called as I'm about to walk out the door and go home :heehee: :(I would love to be you for a day :mellow: That is extremely unlucky :o
January 8, 200916 yr Author 2. Shakira feat Wyclef Jean - Hips Don't Lie (2006) http://images.telegraaf.nl/multimedia/archive/01343/Shakira_jpg_1343891b.jpg Top 5 Run: 5-R-4-2-2-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-3-2-4-5 Why I love it: Now this one took a while to catch on...late 2005 I bought an import version of Oral Fixation Vol.2 in Music Zone I think, could have been Fopp actually...both are closed now in Brighton anyway. Don't Bother I'd already known about for a few months and a couple of months after that had been a top ten hit in early 2006 in the UK, Hips Don't Lie, which wasn't on my version of the album, leaked. I thought it was very good at first, a reworking of course of a track on the Dirty Dancing 2 soundtrack by Wyclef Jean and Claudette Ortiz from City High, which I already knew fairly well. However, Shakira gave it the added spark that the original always missed in my eyes. The song went as high as No.7 and then started yo-yoing up and down the top 20 for a few months eventually going as high as No.5 before going down again. Then in the early summer I became very pleased that the song started to get attention in the UK, where I thought she wouldn't bother with another single after the No.9 'flop' of Don't Bother, which looking back, doesn't seem like such a flop now! The song initially went into the UK top forty at No.3 before slowly creeping up to No.2 and then No.1, which was rare in itself, but to then leave No.1 for a few weeks and then return for another four after that was something quite unique! In my chart the song was continuing its ridiculous chart run having climbed to No.2 in my chart for five consecutive weeks behind my other big 2006 summer hit, Lily Allen's Smile. Having looked like she would never overpower Lily, suddenly the tables turned and Shakira edged Lily out slightly to climb to No.1. It was in the next nine weeks after that that the song really clicked with me properly. I began to absolutely adore it, the margin between No.1 and No.2 for most of those weeks was huge, which was odd considering that the song had already been in my chart at this point for about 5 months...Just brilliant, a feel good summer anthem and a well deserved UK No.1...I used to think Whenever, Wherever would always be Shakira's signature tune but I actually think that this has edged it out now, I still hear it every time I go out clubbing! --------------------------------------------------------- 2. Delta Goodrem - Mistaken Identity (2004) http://www.massonmusic.com/ICimages/AM91918.sized.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: Extraordinary Day, Mistaken Identity, Electric Storm, Out Of The Blue, Last Night On Earth, Be Strong, Almost Here Why I love it: The follow up to her debut from less than 18 months earlier, Mistaken Identity certainly didn't suffer from the 'second album syndrome' quality wise, but sales wise it sold less than 200,000 copies in the UK and missed the top 20, a real shame as this album is absolutely mindblowing in parts. Mistaken Identity was the album that Delta wrote whilst going through treatment for cancer so it is understandably dark in places, yet hopeful in others. I fell in love with this album on the first listen and by about the fourth listen, I knew it was something truly special. Out Of The Blue was a charming lead single, Mistaken Identity was another Tori-Amos-lite dramatic piano pop track, this album's Innocent Eyes, but a hell of a lot more mature. It is scary how much Delta had grown up in 18 months but was understandable considering what she had been through. Electric Storm and Last Night On Earth were similarly dark and dramatic, the former focusing on her rocky relationship with Australian tennis star Mark Philipoussis. Be Strong was the light at the end of the tunnel song and I still remember a stunning performance of the track that she did on Today With Des & Mel of all places. Almost Here was the great pop duet of the album, with her future boyfriend Brian McFadden, and later became the biggest hit single from the album, reaching No.3 in the UK. However, amongst all of the brilliance in the first ten tracks, it was track 11, Extraordinary Day that blew me away the most. I have already explained why as it is No.4 in the best songs ever chart. A Little Too Late was like the Delta of old, a fun bouncy pop song, but it didn't particularly fit in with this album and would have been better replaced with one of the excellent b-sides from this era, my favourites by far being The Riddle and Silence Be Heard. A stunning follow up to a stunning debut, this was very special indeed.
January 8, 200916 yr Author I would love to be you for a day :mellow: That is extremely unlucky :o I really want to get round to replying to personal charts but just don't have enough time! I'll definitely do it on Saturday though, work again tomorrow...
January 8, 200916 yr Author 1. N-Trance feat Kelly Llorenna - Set You Free (1995/2001) http://www.radikal.com/n-trance-group300.jpg Top 5 Run: 2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-3-2-2-1-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-3-4-4-5 Why I love it: The top of the chart then...the best song ever, and by quite some margin it has to be said. 1995 and a classic rave track, Set You Free, by northern dance act N-Trance and young singer Kelly Llorenna, who at only 19 already had a powerful voice. The song missed No.1, losing out to Celine Dion's Think Twice, but sold over 600,000 copies in the process. Fast forward to late summer 2001 and I was alone in the house with some dance channel on. I was stopped in my tracks when the best remix of any song I've ever heard to that point and since came onto the TV. Still the same video, N-Trance's fun old skool rave anthem had been transformed by Rob Searle into an atmospheric and moody trance track, making an already perfect track somehow even more brilliant. The song entered my chart at the very last minute at No.2, and for the rest of the following week I tried to hear this remix again but could not find it anywhere. I had my video recorder set up ready to record almost all week, and then on the Friday night, on it came again, musical perfection. This was pre-youtube of course, and I didn't have a fast enough internet connection at the time to even think of looking for an MP3 of the song. It went up to No.1 in my chart and spent in total, 23 weeks inside my top 3 and half a year inside the top five. It even returned to No.1 after it had left for five weeks. I was at this time listening to both the 1995 and 2001 remixes almost five or six times every day, but it was the Rob Searle remix that is essentially why this is No.1, as good as the original was and still is. Dance at its very best, it is a genre that goes through rough patches like any genre, but when it's good, it truly can produce magic, and I just wish that another dance song would come out that would have an effect on me like this song had. Obviously I wasn't the only person effected by this re-release. Most dance re-issues arrive and disappear spending a couple of weeks at the bottom of the charts, but Set You Free 2001 made the UK top five, making this sensational song one of the few songs to reach the UK top five twice! Unrivalled in my eyes, this song is perfect. --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes (2003) http://www.musikkavisen.no/pubimages/202031228DeltaGoodrem.jpg Peak: #1 Highlights: Born To Try, A Year Ago Today, Innocent Eyes, Lost Without You, Predictable, Not Me, Not I, Throw It Away, In My Own Time Why I love it: 2003 was a busy year for me what with leaving high school, getting a job and starting college. Music took a bit of a back seat in my life in that year and the first few months, if I'm being honest were absolutely diabolical, the worst period for music that I can ever remember living through. It was all covers, re-hashes and unimaginative. Cue summer 2003, I'd just got my first job and my first pay cheque. I decided to splash out and buy Delta Goodrem's debut album Innocent Eyes seeing as I'd loved the first two singles and I was blown away with what I heard. I'd bought this album the week after it had gone in at No.2 in the UK, a position that shocked me as I'd predicted it to miss the top ten. Unfortunately, the day after I'd bought this was the day that the media reported about Delta's cancer, but somehow this made me feel a stronger connection to the album. Born To Try was a brilliant debut single and album opener, a classic ballad with key change and sung perfectly. Innocent Eyes stunned me as it was incredibly mature for such a young singer, a great and very uniquely structured pop song, it's the first glimpse that she was like a young Tori Amos, packed full of potential. Already this album had started to remind me why I loved music and why 2003 was not completely redundant after all. More great songs followed; Not Me, Not I was a beautiful piano ballad, Throw It Away was light hearted fun, these two tracks both being co-written by Gary Barlow. Lost Without You was 'the radio hit' a mid-tempo catchy song whilst Predictable was another young-angsty jaunty piano pop song, an Australian No.1 single, it's a crime that it was never released in the UK. Butterfly was a light hearted fun pop track, In My Own Time was another beautiful ballad, My Big Mistake was perhaps the most fun song on the album, proving that Delta certainly wasn't boring, as her first couple of singles may have suggested. This Is Not Me was another great ballad, Running Away is the album's only slightly weak link, like an average Corrs track, A Year Ago Today was an absolutely stunning, clearly very personal ballad. Longer was another fun track and Will You Fall For Me was a perfect album closer, a very minimal simple piano ballad. All in all, this album is as close to perfect as it gets. Nearly every song on here reached my personal chart top 5 at some point, 11 out of the 14 I think. Absoultely brilliant, I will never tire of this album.
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