Rolling Stone has republished one of its much-discussed lists compiling the best music of the 21st century. Yes, at the beginning of the year the list of the 250 best albums was launched, headed by Beyoncé, this time the 250 best songs are reviewed.
The list is led by Missy Elliott’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’, a deserved if unexpected choice, and the podium is completed by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Maps’ at No. 2 and Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy in Love’ at No. 3.
Top 10 rare
The top 10 leaves the first surprises: ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears, at 9, is followed by none other than ‘Idioteque’ by Radiohead, at 8, and ‘All Too Well’ is the Taylor Swift song that appears highest, at 5, above, for example, ‘Blank Space’ (114).
The most recent song in the top 10 is ‘Alright’ by Kendrick Lamar, published in 2015 and listed at number 7 (this is not counting the 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’, officially published in 2021, but whose recording dates back to 2012). However, Rolling Stone’s commitment to recent music extends within the top 20, with surprising appearances of ‘Bad Habit’ by Steve Lacy at 20, ‘Bad Guy’ by Billie Eilish at 18, ‘Snooze’ by SZA at 13 or ‘Safaera’ by Bad Bunny at 11. Precisely, Bad Bunny sneaks in the most recent song of all: ‘Baile Unforgettable’, released this same year, which climbs to 81st place. ‘Espresso’ by Sabrina Carpenter reaches 167th.
Classics very low
All of these songs appear above dozens of classics that you probably expected to find above. Ranking 107 for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ constitutes a crime. 48 for MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’ (shouldn’t that be number 1?) too. The debate is assured with the 82nd position of ‘Hey Ya’ by Outkast, the 31st of ‘Since U Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson or the 26th of ‘Mr. Brightside’ by the Killers, the great rock classic of the 21st century; all songs worthy of the top 10. And isn’t it unworthy for The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ to appear in a low position of 41, when it is the biggest hit of the streaming era?
And now that we’re discussing the list, is Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ (19th place) really better than Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ (46th place)?
Rolling Stone considers ‘Pink Pony Club’ by Chappell Roan (23) or ‘Hotline Bling’ by Drake (17) better, although at least they appear on the list instead of being ignored, as again happens with songs by Beach House, Sufjan Stevens or Lykke Li (‘I Follow Rivers’ is not there). Obviously, Rolling Stone is an American media specialized in rock and commercial music, not indie.
Although indie is given some space, with inclusions of ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ by Fleet Foxes at 248, ‘Heartbeat’ by The Knife at 224, ‘Cellophane’ by FKA twigs at 200, ‘Stoned and Starving’ by Parquet Courts at 193, ‘Oblivion’ by Grimes at 189, ‘Kids’ by MGMT in 187 or ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ by Arcade Fire in 69. Some of these artists, like Grimes, didn’t even appear on the album list.
Rare inclusions
Coldplay, who also did not appear on albums, can be happy because ‘The Scientist’ sneaks into position 141. Other inclusions are a bit strange: I am the first to defend that ‘Deja Vu’ by Beyoncé is an underrated great song, but not to appear in position 138, when others have been left out. And that ‘Mirrors’ (89) is claimed for Justin Timberlake but not ‘Cry Me a River’, which is left out, is strange, since ‘Mirrors’ was still a copy of ‘Cry Me a River’.
Other absences
It’s okay that not everything fits, but it hurts not to see huge songs on the list like ‘Pagan Poetry’ by Björk, ‘The Mess We’re In’ by PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke or ‘Hope There’s Someone’ by Anohni and the Johnsons, nor megahits of the caliber of ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ by Shakira (who does appear with ‘La Tortura’ in the 56), the timeless ‘Unwritten’ by Natasha Bedingfield or two modern classics such as ‘Die with a Smile’ by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and ‘Messy’ by Lola Young. They will have been left in positions 251, 252…
Top 20
1.- Missy Elliott, Get Ur Freak On
2.- Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maps
3.- Beyoncé, 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, Thinking About You
11.- Bad Bunny, Safaera
12.- The Strokes, Last Nite
13.- SZA, Snooze
14.- Daddy Yankee, Gasoline
15.- Outkast, BOB
16.- Mariah Carey, We Belong Together
17.- Drake, Hotline Bling
18.- Billie Eilish, bad guy
19.- Adele, Someone Like You
20.- Steve Lacy, Bad Habit
