Rolling Stone is back with another list for music fans to argue over.
This time, it’s a tally of the 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far, which the publication says reflect “an era of constant change,” including the rise of streaming, and the expansion of global genres like K-pop and reggaeton. The list “highlights the tracks that have defined music’s chaotic, wide-open landscape,” Rolling Stone notes.
The #1 song is 2001’s “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliott, about which Rolling Stone writes, “Everything vibrant and inventive and cool about 21st-century pop is in here somewhere.” Beyoncé and Jay-Z‘s hit “Crazy in Love” is #3, for giving a “warning to the rest of the pop world that Beyoncé the solo star had officially arrived.”
Taylor Swift is #5 with “All Too Well,” which Rolling Stone says is Taylor’s “toughest, rawest, most passionate heartbreak anthem.” The publication notes that the song was not a single until she released the 10-minute version in 2021; it quickly became a phenomenon, topping the charts and becoming a centerpiece of the Eras Tour.
Britney Spears‘ “Toxic” is #9. Rolling Stone calls it “the ultimate Britney classic,” noting, “She never sounded so brash, so confident, so herself.”
The rest of the top 50 includes hits like “Blinding Lights,” “Call Me Maybe,” “Someone Like You,” “Since U Been Gone,” “drivers license,” “Thank u, next,” “We Found Love,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Bad Romance,” “Bad Guy” and “We Belong Together.”
And coming in last, at #250? Train‘s “Drops of Jupiter.”
Here’s Rolling Stone‘s full top 10:
1. Missy Elliott, “Get Ur Freak On”
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps”
3. Beyoncé and Jay-Z, “Crazy In Love”
4. The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army”
5. Taylor Swift, “All Too Well”
6. Robyn, “Dancing on My Own”
7. Kendrick Lamar, “Alright”
8. Radiohead, “Idioteque”
9. Britney Spears, “Toxic”
10. Frank Ocean, “Thinkin Bout You”
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