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#126. Spice Girls - Wannabe 7 weeks at #1 in 1996 (#11 of 24 for '96) gJLIiF15wjQ Well what can I say about this one? Nostalgia is a huge factor for me here. Definitely. One of the songs I remember the most from my early childhood. It was everywhere when I was around 5 years old. It's insanely catchy and a well-crafted pop song, but I find it a tad bit overrated, and they have better songs. It's like another "...Baby One More Time" in that respect. And that's why it doesn't rank much higher than that. This song went beyond creating a catchy pop hit. Its motive was to sell a brand. Not just any brand, but girl power. Which wasn't anything existent in music at the time. I don't need to explain how huge The Spice Girls would become. Not just in the UK but internationally. Though it was very short-lived, their success led the way for all the other girl groups that came about in latter end of the 90's. "Wannabe" was one of the few songs by a British girl group to go #1 in the US. Which is pretty huge. What made the Spice Girls work was that all five of them were very different from each other. They each had their own personalities (and nickname to go with it) and each brought something different to the table in their songs. It also made them more relatable. They're very confident in this song, and don't seem bratty or anything. The video backs this up - it's just the five of them having fun. Also, the song itself is under 3 minutes long, but it never feels that short. There's so many hooks from beginning to end. And a made-up phrase ("zigga zig ah").

#127. 2 Unlimited - No Limit 5 weeks at #1 in 1993 (#4 of 15 for '93) RkEXGgdqMz8 Ok let's get another one of my guilty pleasures out of the way. This is objectively terrible. It's one of those songs that's so bad that it's good. I have no shame in loving this. "NO NO; NO NO NO NO; NO NO NO NO; NO NO THERE'S NO LIMIT!!" This beat is like impossible to not dance to.

#128. Las Ketchup - The Ketchup Song (Aserejé) 1 week at #1 in 2002 (#11 of 29 for '02) AMT698ArSfQ Not as enjoyable as "The Macarena", but it's still a fun song, and good for a good laugh every now and then. The chorus sounds like Spanish, but it's actually nonsense and has no translation. I end up hearing "I said a hey! Ha! the hay, the heffa, though the heaven is heavy, you know why I hobby, and I boogie and I woobie with me?".. or something like that. Also this song has its very own dance! I still have no idea what Ketchup has to do with anything, though.

#129. Enrique Iglesias - Hero 4 weeks at #1 in 2002 (#12 of 29 for '02) koJlIGDImiU This is about as sappy as it gets. But I don't care. It's lovely. I find it really emotional and Enrique captures the emotional pain of the song well. It's all in his voice. It builds to the final chorus, which is like one final emotional outcry, and it stops the song from becoming monotonous. I miss the Enrique from this time period. His recent stuff just gets worse and worse.

#130. Shaggy feat. Ricardo "Rikrok" Ducent - It Wasn't Me 1 week at #1 in 2001 (#7 of 30 for '01) KzQUommb95c I find this song hilarious. The story is just so utterly ridiculous. Rikrok's girlfriend has caught him cheating, and so he seeks Shaggy, of all people, for help. And what is Shaggy's expert advice? To simply say "it wasn't me." Despite the fact that his girlfriend caught him in the act with her own eyes. And that Rikrok committed the act in every room in the house. But of course saying "it wasn't me" is going to fix everything. It's so ludicrous. But this song isn't meant to be taken seriously. It's just meant to be a bunch of fun. Even though this is Shaggy's song, his verses are almost irrelevant. Not like I can make out a word he's saying anyway.

#131. Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX - I Love It 1 week at #1 in 2013 (#3 of 30 for '13) UxxajLWwzqY I love this car engine / lawn mower production. This is one of the bitchiest #1's of my lifetime. Which is what makes the angry shouty vocal style work. But when they use that same vocal style on all their other songs, which have different themes, it doesn't work quite the same. But I just love the "f*** you" attitude in this. This song is only 2.5 minutes long (and so is most of their discography), but you don't even notice that it's that short. The advantage of having the song so short is that it never drags on or has any unnecessary parts.

#132. Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa & P!nk - Lady Marmalade 1 week at #1 in 2001 (#8 of 30 for '01) RQa7SvVCdZk This is a stellar cover of the 1974 LaBelle classic, and I'd say it's better than the original. And makes the All Saints version pale in comparison. P!nk, Mya, and Christina (back then anyway) all have strong voices to carry this song, and they all mesh well together. Though Christina definitely tries to outshine everyone else here. Lil Kim's rap is a nice touch, and modernizes the song. As does Missy Eliott's production. The song all builds up to Christina's verse. She does all the vocal acrobatics, and manages to not be over the top with it. And then they all return to do ad libs at the end which is cool.

#133. Basshunter - Now You're Gone 5 weeks at #1 in 2008 (#3 of 20 for '08) IgFwiCApH7E My circle of friends in high school was obsessed with rave music (really any dance song with high BPM). This song especially. Like all dance songs from this time period, the radio edit is really short. There's not a lot of lyrics to this, and they're repeated a lot, but they're effective. It's like going to a rave to forget about someone. I don't really like the "ready for take off" and "are you ready" parts, but they're not a big deal. I love how Basshunter's follow up to this sounds exactly the same lol.

#134. Madonna - Sorry 1 week at #1 in 2006 (#6 of 24 for '06) w4aDCCYnAB8 Sometimes saying sorry just isn't good enough. So to follow up "Hung Up", she released this, which I guess you can call a dance ballad. I mean, it kind of is a ballad, but it still works well on the dance floor. Madonna has had many iconic #1's in her career. I think it's safe to say that "Sorry" is in the same league as "Who's That Girl" in that regard. It's nowhere near my favourite Madonna single, but it's still a brilliant song. And to have it ranked this high says a lot about how I feel about Madonna's singles.

#135. Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone 2 weeks at #1 in 2009 (#7 of 32 for '09) a8TPXFoXO5A The riff that Chris Brown and JLS ripped off. I think this song is about depression and feeling like your life is empty and meaningless and trying to find an escape. Or something like that. It's another song with an odd structure. There's like one verse, followed by a chorus repeated a few times. Brilliant production like most of Calvin's songs.

#136. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor 1 week at #1 in 2005 (#4 of 25 for '05) qJFqgkHD-uQ This is one of those songs where I really have nothing to say about it. I just like it because I do. lol.

#137. Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) 7 weeks at #1 in 1993 (#5 of 15 for '93) iOikQWAL8qc This is one epic song. But what else do you expect from Jim Steinman, who produced songs like Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart". I don't listen to the full 12 minute version often (because that's just daunting), but it manages to not drag on at all during those 12 minutes. And the 7 minute version isn't too choppy, so it's fine. Lorraine Crosby (who is credited as "Mrs Loud") adds an interesting touch in the latter part of the song. Like "Somebody That I Used To Know", I like how both perspectives in the relationship are voiced.

#138. Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway 1 week at #1 in 2009 (#8 of 32 for '09) I7HahVwYpwo I just love mid-tempos for some reason. This has actually aged the best of all their 2009-present singles for me. The lyrics talk about two people travelling a long distance to meet each other. A long distance, literally. But it's just as easily about struggling to find compromise in a relationship.

#139. Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time 2 weeks at #1 in 1999 (#5 of 35 for '99) C-u5WLJ9Yk4 Oh this one. This song defines iconic. This song was huge, especially for a debut single, all around the world. And it started a long career of hits for Britney. This song embodies everything about the teen bubblegum pop explosion of 1999/2000-ish. It's a very well crafted pop song. It's straightforward lyrically, but the catchiness is what really matters. It's full of hooks. The "oh baby baby"'s, "show me how you want it to be", "give me a sign", the piano riff, and of course the song's title, to name a few. Max Martin, who wrote and produced this song, had already created hits for the Backstreet Boys, Robyn, Five, and *NSYNC by this point. His productions were becoming very prominent. The UK already had their share of boy bands and girl groups by late 1998. The US had Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Pop music was becoming more geared towards the teenage audience. There was plenty of boys for the teen girls to scream over. But there really wasn't any solo female artists to fit in with that. The UK had Billie Piper, but she was hardly going to become a huge star or anything. Britney, who was 16/17 years old at the time, filled a void. She had the star power to become the newest pop girl on the scene. She did it with a very strong song to make a name for herself. (Though she wasn't a complete nobody since she was on The Mickey Mouse Club.) And a video to make a name for herself. The entire video is set in a school. There's the teenage relatability factor right there. Britney is in her infamous schoolgirl uniform, with her belly exposed. Like with boybands, creating an image for herself was important here. She had the innocent girl thing going on; even with belly exposure. And of course Britney dances in the video, which I think is very important. Anyway, it's a good pop song, but I find it somewhat overrated, and she has way better songs in her discography. But it's still an iconic debut and this position seems right.

#140. Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know 5 weeks at #1 in 2012 (#8 of 36 for '12) 8UVNT4wvIGY So guess what was #1 in Australia when I decided to look at their chart for the first time? Yeah, it was this. What a bizarre song to start that experience with. It reminded me of a Peter Gabriel song from the mid 1980's. Because of the fact that I watched this song smash one country at a time (Australia -> UK -> US) and that it took like 10 months to do so, I was beyond sick of this by mid 2012. But it's been two years so I can tolerate it again! There's so many quirky sounds going on in this, and it really sounds like no other hit single in 2011/2012. I mean how often is there a hit song with a xylophone and a glockenspiel in them? So this starts off with Gotye having just broken up with Kimbra. He says that she's now acting like a completely different person. She's acting like their love meant nothing, etc. We sympathize with Gotye, and think Kimbra is a bitch. But then Kimbra adds in her verse, and she completely turns the song on its head, which is what I love about this song. She blames the break-up on Gotye (that he kept playing mind games with her). And now we're left not knowing what to think any more. It shows that there's two sides to every story; and not everything is always so black and white.

#141. Melanie C - I Turn To You 1 week at #1 in 2000 (#13 of 42 for '00) x7E24eKJvs0 Mel C was always my favourite Spice Girl. I think I prefer the single version of this more than the album version. It gives the song more life. But I still like the album version too. It's pretty euphoric. It's a very personal song either way.

#142. Aqua - Barbie Girl 4 weeks at #1 in 1997 (#7 of 24 for '97) ZyhrYis509A This sold 1.8 million copies. At least I like a song that sold so much. This is a novelty song, but unlike other novelty hits, I don't find this to be stupid or childish, and it never gets old for me. Though, it almost isn't a novelty song because of the message. It was written as a social commentary about the Barbie doll brand. It uses sarcasm to show the impossible perfectionism that Barbie dolls try to promote. But everything else about this is novelty. The video being a big part of that. As well as Rene Dif, who does the male vocals in the funny voice (which reminds me of the B-52's). The song isn't the same without him. Also the hooks in this song like "come on Barbie let's go party", "oooh woah-oh oooh woah-oh", and "ah ah ah yeah" are all made to be annoying, but they get stuck in your head because of it.

#143. Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This 3 weeks at #1 in 2001 / 2002 (#9 of 30 for '01) b4eMyOzD9UI "Baw baw baw baw." I love this bouncy beat. It's about trying to move on from one love to another. I like the part where he sings really fast from the "When your love is fallin' like the rain.." bit. It's like he's panicking, which goes with the song. And I like the repetition of the phrase "gotta get thru this." It's like he's saying it over and over again to try to convince himself that he can get thru this.

#144. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow 2 weeks at #1 in 2009 (#9 of 32 for '09) 4m48GqaOz90 This is my 17th birthday #1. I started following pop music in late 2005. It started when I decided to watch some music videos on TV out of random curiosity. One of the first videos I saw was "My Humps." Keeping in mind that I was 13 at the time and easily amused, so it easily became my favourite song of the moment. I liked all the Black Eyed Peas' singles at the time. And then when Fergie went solo the year after, I was enjoying all of her solo stuff as well. So when they decided to reform and make their big comeback in 2009, I was definitely intrigued. I first heard "Boom Boom Pow" on the radio, and I remembering thinking "wtf is this?" I was not expecting a song like this, to say the least. This is such a bizarre song. But that's exactly why I like it. It doesn't have a conventional song structure. Is there even really a chorus in this? It's a song that's sort of about itself, essentially. It's about pop music becoming more electronic, and what the future of music holds (hence the usage of "3008" and the excessive auto-tune.) Speaking of "3008", this song came out in 2009, so 3009 would've made more sense. But of course, that doesn't rhyme with "3000 and late", so it wouldn't work. Which makes that part feel rather lazy, and it kind of irritated me at the time. Also, "beats so big I'm stepping on leprechauns" is one weird lyric.

#145. Spice Girls - Too Much 2 weeks at #1 in 1997 (#8 of 24 for '97) _4VoZ6afztc This song always makes me think of their movie (probably because of the music video). Mel C really shines in this one. She leads the song into the chorus twice, and then does the middle 8. All of her parts really elevate this song. She stops this song from being too sluggish. Though I do like this subdued melancholy production. Geri's solo sounds flat, though. The chorus "too much of something is bad enough... too much of nothing is just as tough" is awkwardly and simplistically worded, but at the same time, confusing and sort of vague. (Something of what? Nothing of what?) Their lover satisfies them, but they want something more than what he offers.

#146. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop 1 week at #1 in 2013 (#4 of 30 for '13) QK8mJJJvaes I love the saxophone loop. Is this where the latest trend of horns in songs started? This song is full of quotable lyrics. I see this song as taking a jab at the all those rap songs about having a lavish lifestyle: the luxury cars, the expensive clothes, the bling, etc. And this song is making a statement advocating thrifty spending, and trying to make it look cool. Macklemore is completely comfortable and confident wearing anything, and it's shown in the video too. He's even wearing his grandpa's clothes. But what makes this song work is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's quite humorous and fun.

#147. Robbie Williams - Eternity / The Road To Mandalay 2 weeks at #1 in 2001 (#10 of 30 for '01) Sxit3G8rUK4 "Eternity" was written about Geri Halliwell. From what I understand, Geri developed an eating disorder after leaving the Spice Girls, and hit a low where she nearly died, and Robbie, who had been a friend of hers, was there to help her. It puts "and I hope you find your freedom" into context. But this song can be interpreted in many ways. Someone close to you going through any of life's struggles. It's a very emotional song and a well written ballad. I like the "youth is wasted on the young" lyric. "The Road To Mandalay" is like a poem. It's about things not being as satisfying as originally thought to be.

#148. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back 1 week at #1 in 1999 (#6 of 35 for '99) wfcAvS4QbDg This is my seventh birthday #1 (my birthday was on a Sunday that year, so this #1 was revealed on my actual birthday too!). This was their debut single, and the theme song to their TV show. This is like the definition of cheesy. But I like cheesy sometimes. This song is very over-the-top joyous upbeat. But it goes with the message, I guess. It's a great pop song, albeit a tad childish. The chorus is really infectious, and it's hard to resist singing along with it. "DON'T STOP NEVER GIVE UP.." And I like the key change for some reason.

#149. Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean - Hips Don't Lie 5 weeks at #1 in 2006 (#7 of 24 for '06) DUT5rEU6pqM This is about as bad as a Sean Paul song with my lack of being able to decipher the lyrics. Shakira's verse is one garbled mess. Though Wyclef's parts aren't much better. And oddly, Wyclef gets two verses in this song and Shakira gets only one. But, it's a really catchy song and the Latin American style instrumental really sets it apart. "Shakira Shakira!"

#150. Simply Red - Fairground 4 weeks at #1 in 1995 (#4 of 17 for '95) KiRyiVgWj6g So before following UK charts, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and "Holding Back The Years" were the only two Simply Red songs I knew. And they both put me to sleep. I didn't have much of an opinion on this group because of it. So hearing this type of a song coming from them surprised me. But in a good way. This samples "Give It Up" by The Goodmen, and that sample is mainly why I like this.