Top 20 Songs of 2007: #5-1

5. Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Okay, so it can be argued that this song is technically a "2006" single, but I'm including it on my list because I didn't actually hear it until January of the year. If you don't like it, you can suck it because it's my list. Anyways, the reason I love this song so much is because of it's mysterious nature. I have no idea what the song is about, but Furtado's haunting vocals and the out-of-this-world aura surrounding it draw me in ever single time (Listen, and watch this hypnotic video)

4. J. Lo "Do It Well"
While everyone had an opinion about another certain someone's big comeback in 2007, J. Lo released what I believe is her strongest album since J. Lo and probably the catchiest single of her career: "Do It Well". I don't think I'll ever understand why this wasn't played on the radio- this has to be better than "This Is Why I'm Hot," right?

Right? (Listen)

3. Rihanna featuring Jay-Z "Umbrella"
This is pretty much a "duh" pick for any pop music lover. If you don't like this song, then the terrorists really have won. (Listen, though you've probably heard this 10 million times)

2. Ciara "Like a Boy"
Finally! Someone with enough balls to stand up to all the gangsta, wannabe rappers who objectify women and brag about treating them like shit and asking them to think what it would be like if the roles were reversed. The song was a big hit on the radio in my area, and I'm definitely thankful for that, but I just wish it got more respect for what it is trying to accomplish. "Like a Boy" has an interesting message to get it across and it conveys it brilliantly through the lyrics (definitely more deep than "Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girlfriend") all while being compulsively listenable in the form of a perfect pop song. (Listen)

1. Carrie Underwood "Before He Cheats"
I went back and forth for awhile about whether "Like a Boy" or "Before He Cheats" should be number, but Carrie Underwood finally won out because I realized that I'm damn scared of her now after this song. I didn't think much of Underwood's career post-Idol: her country music was nothing special (definitely not on a Martina McBride or Sara Evans level) and, let's face it, "Jesus Take the Wheel" was just plain annoying. But then a funny thing happened. "Before He Cheats," the fifth single from her debut album Some Hearts, crossed over onto the pop charts. I resisted at first, but after awhile I fell in love with the pure anger and hatred Underwood puts in her voice toward this man who's done her wrong. Just listen to her sing "Well, I dug my keys into the side/Of his pretty little souped up 4-wheel drive" and tell me you don't think she has the ferociousness to actually do it. "Before He Cheats" takes the principles of Girl Power to a whole new level and empowers anyone, whether your male, female, gay or straight, to stand up and say you're not going to take it anymore. And that is why Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is the Number 1 song of 2007. (Listen)

Top 20 Songs of 2007: #10-6

10. Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E. "The Way I Are"
I believe two things were discovered with the popularity of this song: 1) Bad grammar does not always equal a bad thing. 2) With Timbaland in her corner, Keri Hilson is poised to have a career as hot as Nelly Furtado's. (Listen)

9. Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse "Valerie"

Amy may be going through some tough times a la Britney, Lindsay and Kate Moss, but listening to song (off of Mark Ronson's amazing Version album) just gives me hope that maybe she can pull her shit together and gives us more songs like these. It's definitely not your average pop song, but it's so brilliantly done that I'm surprised it's not a big radio hit. (Listen)

8. Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

Lord knows I've heard this more times than anyone can even imagine, but it's hook is so catchy that I always find myself singing along even when I don't want to. It's a shame that the rest of this album doesn't come close to matching the cool pop perfection of "The Sweet Escape." (Listen)

7. Britney Spears "Gimme More"

And with the now immortal words, "It's Britney, bitch," a comeback was started. Too bad that her trainwreck of a personal life has overshadowed her brilliant album and this single, her absolute finest since "Toxic." (Listen, but don't watch the video)

6. Kanye West featuring Daft Punk "Stronger"

How do you top "Gold Digger"? Set your song to an impossibly catchy Daft Punk song, shoot a video that is visually impressive and manages to incorporate the song and write lyrics like this: "Well, I'd do anything for a blonde dyke/And she'd do anything for the limelight." (Listen)

Top 20 Songs of 2007: #15-11

15. Eve "Tambourine"
With a fiesty and electrifying single every bit as hot as "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," the Eve comeback should be on its way. So why was this song completely ignored on the radio? And where the hell is her new album? (Listen here)

14. 50 Cent featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland "Ayo Technology"
It's possibly the strangest song on the countdown- in a million years, I never would have thought I'd see the day where the totally gangsta 50 Cent and the skinny white boy Justin Timberlake did anything, let alone collaborate on a song, together- but, for some strange reason, it works. I love the way Fiddy utters "50 Cent, Justin, Timbaland" in the very beginning and his first verse flows especially well. (Listen here)

13. Jordin Sparks "Tattoo"
This has to be a mistake- an American Idol contestant who's first single is actually worthwhile? Well, believe it. "Tattoo" is the finest AI debut since Kelly Clarkson's "Miss Independent." The song is nothing special, but Sparks sings it beautifully and finally proved to me that she was a worthy winner last season. (Listen here)

12. Rihanna "Shut Up and Drive"
With the best not-so-subtle sexual metaphor since Fergie wondered about people going down like London Bridge, Rihanna's follow-up to "Umbrella" is an inspired, rock-heavy to her usual sound and another reason why she had an amazing 2007. (Listen here)

11. Amy Winehouse "Rehab"
She may have just chopped off her famous beehive and has given Britney stiff competition in the "Breakdown of the Year" battle, but Amy Winehouse is a damn good singer and her breakthrough American single "Rehab" is a great way to discover for yourself. (Listen here)

Top 20 Songs of 2007: #20-16

It's time to start listing my favorite songs of 2007. I know you're totally excited and can't think of anything else you'd rather be doing, so I'll dive right in. Just let me say that I feel less guilty about my picks than I did last year because 2007 had considerably less trashy songs that I thought were amazing. None of the trashy rap songs really caught on with me (a lot of the big ones are on my "Worst of 2007" list) and, Britney aside, none of the pop princesses released anything worth mentioning.

20. Pink "Who Knew?"
I, for one, am glad that Pink is making a comeback. I've liked her ever since Can't Take Me Home but it grew to love with M!ssundaztood, possibly the finest pop album of my generation. So, imagine my dismay when Pink fell off the pop radar for a couple years. But now that's she's back, everything is fine again. I know that "U + Ur Hand" is technically her "comeback" single and as fine a song it is, I really love the the raw emotion Pink pours into "Who Knew?", her most mature song to date. (Listen here)

19. Maroon 5 "Makes Me Wonder"
Come on, you know you love to shout "And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a FUCK about you" whenever they censor it on the radio. (Listen here)

18. Fergie featuring Ludacris "Glamorous"
I know that "Big Girls Don't Cry" was technically the Fergie song of the year, but for me "Glamorous," with all it's inane lyrics ("Taco Bell, drive thru, raw as hell") and contradictory nature (Take your broke ass home? Thirty seconds ago you just told me you didn't care about money and were still raw as hell) was a much more beautiful disaster. (Listen here)

17. Daughtry "It's Not Over"
His second single, "Home," immediately made him a success with American Idol/adult contemporary audience, but "It's Not Over" is a good old-fashioned pop-rock song that doesn't rely on the cheesy, uplifting message of "Home." (Listen here)

16. Lily Allen "Smile"
Initially, "Smile" sounds like a sweet little love song, but listen to the lyrics ("At first, when I see you cry, it makes me smile) and you quickly realize what an asshole Lily Allen is....and that's why I love her. (Listen here)