Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

So in 2007 Kylie made her truly triumphant comeback after pulling out of glastonbury to battle cancer. Of course Kylie has never made good albums and X was no break from the routine but it was great to see her back and she returned with a power house single, that provided her with a beefy live single that somewhat underwhelms through the headphones.

The Foo Fighters enter the 21st Century absolutely on fire, There Is Nothing Left To Lose was a mediocre effort but it was crammed full of potential singles, with five flying into the charts. Next Year follows Generator into the list, Next Year was soft subdued and well paced. It hasn't got the high profile of their other releases, and is rarely plaid live, which is a shame, because it's superbly judge piece of soft rock.

The Boy Does Nothing is a charming little pop record, with unbelievable slick production courtesy of Xenomania, it's all a very calculated affair. It might seem robotic and patronising were it not for the deft touch of Alicia Dickson, she may not be the most talented singer in the world, but she has an incredible engaging personality and brings a great feel good energy to her tracks. And it's that positive association that placers this track higher than it has any right to be. Hear It Here

Sway was turning into an underground phenomenon storming the Mobo's and even the Americans were beginning to take notice. Charmillionare would even guest on the U.S. remix of this track, it wasn't Sway's most high IQ affair, but it was a great fast paced party song. The UK scene would blow up in a big way in 2006 and Up Your Speed was leading the way.

This was the moment in 2003 when everyman on earth got extremely jealous and bitter towards Jay Z, the bitterness didn't last long mind, but it also matched up with a time when scenesters were baying for Beyonce to misstep. At the time it felt a little obnoxious, but six years removed Bonnie & Clyde is pop genius it's there for all to see, but it's not Jay or Beyonce that shizzles it's Kanye on production duties, this beat is beyond slick Kanye simply couldn't put a foot wrong in this decade. Hear It Here

By 2008 Fall Out Boy were tired of hiding it and in 2008 they boldly stated that they didn't care they were proud to be a pop band and dropped their rock and roll pretensions and found a more loving and a surprisingly more discerning fan base. I Don't Care was as snappy a single as you'll ever hear lampooning shallow self obsessed celebrity culture, it was sloganeering of the highest order.

The Neptunes were begging to lose their iron grip on the pop charts in 2003 but they had this one great all conquering beat hidden up their sleaves. Snoop's Beautiful was completely inescapable it even managed to get rotation on MTV2 it was that big. No one could deny it and honestly who would want to, an exquisite slow jam.

Even though Funeral were never really my cup of tea, and to be quite frank probably never will be, I do have sympathy for them. They seem primed for big time success, but they were always stuck between trends, and when they were ready to become superstars emo barged past them into the limelight. Yet they've managed to make it regardless with irresistable singles like the touching hard rock ballad Into Oblivion (Reunion).

Nas strength has always been his heart and his serious lyrical approach , it felt disheartening seeing his bickering feud with Jay Z as it undercut his central message. However it couldn't undercut the sublime One Mic where Nas starts with a visceral rap describing how he wants a peaceful life but obstacles keep getting in his way, enraging him until rather than exploding the beat drops to a calming rhythem as Nas states all he needs is One Mic. Easily his finest piece of song writing since Illmatic. Hear It Here

The problem with these list is that you find yourself going from a lyrical genius like Nas to some morose rap rockers. As much sheer disdain as I have for Deftones even I can't help but enjoy this track, it's a distorted beast for disaffected youths, heard it all before right, well this isn't any different whatsoever, it's just got a bit more crunch to it. Now please, enough Deftones.

Okay so Crunk is pretty stupid, and Lil'Jon isn't much of a rapper but surprising he may have found his calling as a pop producer. His beefy production knocks out the listener with it's high pitched whistle and trademark crunk synths. Ciara isn't much of a singer but she's a damn good dancer and would lead the world to the dancefloor with this sure fire club classic.

I'm still stunned it took Sophie Ellis-Bextor nine years to wrap her luscious lips around another dance track. She has an incredibly sexy albeit flat voice that's just made for dance music, while in many ways she's abhorrent, she's also incredibly stylized. She was born to front this type of record with a sense of pent up repressed upper class English sexuality, thankfully the Free Masons were smart enough to unleash it on this Euro-Dance classic.

1234 was the song that sold a million apple products, yet behind the over-played to the point of insanity TV ad laid a brilliant Canadian songstress. Fiest debut record was a powerful and detailed work and while she may go down as a one hit wonder, the better informed see behind the flashy ads. 1234 remains one of the decades most inescapable tracks.

In 2001 things were going pretty well for Linkin Park they were clearly making it big but it was one single, this single, In The End that would truly tip them over the edge into genuine superstardom. The hook for In The End was unstoppable, I've included a performance from Rock Am Ring to illustrate just how penetrating this one track was. Hear It Here

Obnoxious hip-hop don't you just love it? Well no, nor do I for that matter, but Lip Gloss was so in your face it was inescapable, just one booming bass drum and a handclap, and Lil'Mama rapping with as much spunk as she could possibly muster. It's as annoying as it is infectious. Oh and incase you didn't notice, her lip gloss is poppin'.

In 2009 Rammstein would misfire with another sloganeering moralistic effort in the form of Pussy but in 2004 they absolutely nailed it. It bludgeoned you to death with it's simplicity, but it was absolutely perfect, a wicked assault on Globalization and American consumerism. Rammstien's blunt take on American culture hegemony was so well judged, dripping with irony it's simple fake plastic smile belyed a dark and repressed rage felt across the world. Hear It Here

Sean Paul will never be accused of being a lyrical genius, he'll never be ironic, witty or political, I don't think he thinks about anything other than girls, okay maybe he occasionally thinks about dancing, but that's only a step on the road to thinking about dancing with girls. But to be honest we wouldn't want Sean Paul to be Nas, we need guys like Mr. Paul to make low brow dance floors slayers in the Like Glue ilk, so we can bless him for that at least. Hear It Here

Annie simply cannot put a foot wrong, she's indie pop royalty, it's just a shame she can't breakthrough into the mainstream, with her attitude laden ethereal Scandinavian pop. We would have to wait a full year for her second proper LP but this was a sublime stop gap in '08. On I Know... Annie shows her ability to combine divine hooks with quirky and creative arrangements. Another lost classic.

From an artist who can't break through no matter how much she deserves it, to an artist who simple refuses to fail no matter how weak his output. Acceptable In The '80s however is not even remotely in weak. Critics leap upon this track and ravished Calvin as shallow, but for the love of god who exactly were they comparing him to Basshunter? In the dance scene of '07 this song was a welcome respite from a mind numbing scene.

In 2001 Missy Elliot had laid waste to the pop charts; so with the help of Basement Jaxx she decided it was time to conquer the dancefloors, and of course she pulled it off effortlessly. 4 My People was Missy's first universal club banger, it mixed in with cheese as easily as it did hip hop or even a Daft Punk record. This was Missy at the height of her powers.

Uzi would be one of the last true Wu Tang tracks and it was an sure fire classic it was carried by RZA's inventive and continually surprising production. Like all Wu Tang records it lives and dies by it's rhymes and like all Wu Tang records Uzi is a little up and down as they pass the mic around, yet in todays more generic rap scene it's refreshing to see so many genuinel distinct flows on a single track.

Peaches and Iggy Pop truly was a match made in hell, it was always going to be a clusterfuck and of course Kick It was hardly Pyramid Song but it's feel good frenetic energy was irresistible. The verbal battle between two of rocks great nutcases was a self referencing riot, the lyrics were of course a little stilted and corny but I don't think this track would have worked any other way, it hardly works as it is, we really shouldn't be questioning it at all.

When Eminem dropped Just Lose It in 2004 everyone really though Enimen had lost it, and to be fair he pretty much had, but his sense of humour still appeared to be intact. Just Lose It was a real grower and it ended up building momentum and marching to the top of the charts. The track was highlighted by Em parodying his own film Eight Mile in suitably retard fashion.

When it was announced that Justin Timberlake was leaving N-Sync to peruse a solo career we weren't exactly surprised but expectations were pretty darn low. Justin of course blew us all away and announced himself as a potential heir to Michael Jackson's thrown with his debut single Like I Love You. The hook was unavoidable, the melodies were sweet as sugar, his dance moves were sick and of course the Neptunes production and cameo were top notch, how could he fail?

In 2005 the Fiery Furnaces fulfilled their potential with the remarkable EP which is by most considered an LP. While it didn't have any official single releases Here Comes The Summer became it's official anthem, with a beautiful if unstable resonating central riff and a straight forward but effective hook. It was their glorious romantic summer sunset moment a touching slowee about separation, longing and eager anticipation.