BEST OF 2005: The Songs

Even though I've bought more singles this year than I ever have before, I'm realizing that few of them were actually from 2005. But even though this wasn't the best year for music, I did take advantage of iTunes and AllOfMp3.com for these standouts:

20. "Back Then" - Mike Jones
19. "The Predatory Wasp..." - Sufjan Stevens
18. "Shake it Off" - Mariah Carey
17. "Testify" - Common
16. "Swing Life Away" - Rise Against
15. "Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani
14. "Fix You" - Coldplay
13. "Be Easy" - Ghostface Killah
12. "The Food" - Common
11. "Gold Digger" - Kanye West
10. "Outta Control (Remix)" - 50 Cent
9. "Til Kingdom Come" - Coldplay
8. "This Modern Love" - Bloc Party
7. "Hate It or Love It" - The Game/50 Cent
6. "Drive Slow" - Kanye West

5. "Smile Like You Mean It" - The Killers
If I ever direct a movie, I'll use the first 30 seconds of this song over the opening credits. I still can't figure out why this didn't become even bigger than "Mr. Brightside" or "Somebody Told Me."

4. "The Corner" - Common
There's a reason why Common appears three times on this list- Be was easily the best album of the year. Instead of hoarding them for his own album, Kanye West used his best beats here, and this first single is the highlight of the record.

3. "1 Thing" - Amerie
The beat on this song proves that guitars and horns can kick just as much ass than a drum machine. Producer Rich Harrison is a breath of fresh air and I'd love to hear more from him.

2. "Parting Gift" - Fiona Apple
The most ironic aspect of the "Free Fiona" saga is that the only song from the official album that wasn't on the leaked version turned out to be the best track. This stripped-down piano kiss-off is Apple in peak form. So I guess the six years of exile was worth it, eh?

1. "Dreams" - The Game
2005 clearly belonged to Kanye West (in case you couldn't tell what my tastes were) so it's fitting that one of his beats tops my list. This was just a devastating sample, and The Game more than does it justice. No rap verse in the last few years caught my undivided attention the way he did here.