FAVES OF 2003: The Songs

After a long holiday layoff, it's time to get back on the blog beat. And what better way to do so than with a series of Best of 2003 lists. I'll kick things off with my favorite songs of the year. To keep things simple, I'm only including songs from albums released in 2003 (which is why "The Scientist" isn't on here). The finest 15:

15. Jack Johnson- The Horizon Has Been Defeated
14. Linkin Park- Faint
13. 50 Cent f/Snoop & G-Unit- P.I.M.P. Remix
12. The Darkness- I Believe In a Thing Called Love
11. Outkast- Unhappy
10. Nas- Made You Look
9. Eminem, 50 Cent & The Notorious B.I.G.- The Realest Niggas (Remix)
8. Jay-Z- La La La
7. Radiohead- Sit Down.Stand Up
6. Joe Budden- Pump It Up

5. Liz Phair- Why Can't I
I dunno- why can't I keep myself from singing along to this song's soaring chorus?

4. Ludacris- Stand Up!
The best bassline of the year. Luda does the best job of making mainstream rap songs without sounding like he's watered down.

3. 50 Cent- Heat
This gleefully malicious track is the best song on 50's album, and it's a shame that it's too violent for radio. Just when you think Dr. Dre has started to repeat himself as a producer, he comes up with the idea to use the sound of a gun cocking as the beat for an entire song. And it actually works!

2. Outkast- Hey Ya!
By far the most original song of the last decade. What's so fascinating about this song is that it's appeal is so broad (it's on every radio station, regardless of genre) yet it sounds so different from every other song there is. The only thing keeping "Hey Ya!" from the top of this list is that it gets a tad repetetive by the end of the song.

1. The Roots- The Seed 2.0
Every time I hear this song it feels as good as it did the first time. "The Seed 2.0" is a perfect blend of rock, hip-hop and R&B. You want to dance to it. You want to sing along to it. You want all songs to make you feel this great.