The best song of the 2000s, according to data science
The 2000s will always be a special time for music, both production and consumption. The rise of digital technology shaped the way music was created; auto-tune began to appear in every mainstream pop song, while electronic elements and catchy synth-driven hooks meant it was time to party all the time.
But can we really say what the best song is? Out of millions and millions? Aside from the fact that music is ostensibly a subjective matter, when we look back at a time like this with a magnifying glass and a data processor, we are ignoring the influence of one of the biggest factors that shapes our taste: Nostalgia.
Sure, S Club 7’s 2001 hit ‘Don’t Stop Movin” isn’t the best song of the 2000s, but if you sit in the front of a poky Toyota with your dad, listening to the tune on repeat, thumbing your fist in the air, breathless from the excitement, it might warrant unfavourable ranking in your head. Sub that song in for anything else on offer, but you get the gist.
But, whether we like it or not, there is one way to objectively order the best songs of the decade, which saw the launch of the iPhone, the plummeting of the Twin Towers, and the beginning of social media: data science. Buckle up, because we’re about to get technical.
By using the data collected by statistician Henrik Franzon, we can survey songs that take the top spot in the all-important decade, and usefully categorise the best music of all time. A huge number of factors went into analysing the data set. But the process isn’t the important bit: the results are.
The top spot comes as no surprise. OutKast’s ‘Hey Ya!’ was a song for everybody: it’s unbelievably addictive to sing the sugary-sweet bridge “Shake it like a Polaroid picture!” The music video, all greens and swag and style, is just as huge a cultural artefact. Interestingly, on the statistician’s chart, this is the 18th best song of all time.
Coming in second is that instantly recognisable opening of MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’, a reminder of converse and lip gloss. Jay-Z is featured in the top ten list twice, as he takes the third spot in collaboration with wife Beyonce on ‘Crazy in Love’ and the eighth spot with his own ’99 Problems’.
There are a few indie offerings in the official top ten: taking the fourth spot is The White Stripes with ‘Seven Nation Army’, and the sixth is Franz Ferdinand with the charging, bullish ‘Take Me Out’. The latter was performed to a riotous crowd at Glastonbury only this year, proving it is still as addictive not two decades later.
Rounding out the top ten is a song that lasts for almost eight minutes: ‘All My Friends’ by LCD Soundsystem remains almost as culturally relevant now as it did then. Tragic, beautiful, and always missed, Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab’ takes the tenth position. Nostalgia (somewhat) aside, the eclectic mix that objectively defines the best music of the 2000s shows what a hectic and enthralling time it was to be alive.
The best songs of the 2000s, according to data science:
- OutKast – ‘Hey Ya!’
- MIA – ‘Paper Planes’
- Beyonce feat. Jay-Z – ‘Crazy in Love’
- The White Stripes – ‘Seven Nation Army’
- Gnarls Barkley – ‘Crazy’
- Franz Ferdinand – ‘Take Me Out’
- Missy Elliott – ‘Get Ur Freak On’
- Jay-Z – ’99 Problems’
- LCD Soundsystem – ‘All My Friends’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Rehab’
