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Introducing Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the '00s

Check out our eclectic list of the decade's finest tunes

June 17, 2011 2:35 PM ET
Introducing Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the '00s

Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of the '00s was originally unveiled back in 2009. Back then, the top 50 tunes were featured in the magazine and the bottom 50 were exclusively online, but now the full list is here complete with all-new write-ups that provide context and commentary for every song.

The list – which was compiled by a group of over 100 artists, critics and industry insiders – reflects the eclectic spirit of the decade with tracks from garage rock revivalists (White Stripes, the Strokes) dance-happy indie acts (The Knife, LCD Soundsystem), hip-hop superstars (Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Outkast), modern R&B hit-makers (R. Kelly, Rihanna, Beyoncé), arena rockers (Arcade Fire, Green Day), boundary-shattering pop hybrids (Gorillaz, Gnarls Barkley) and a few familiar icons from previous eras, such as U2, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

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The most exciting thing about the list is that while it covers a lot of ground, it actually all sounds totally natural when it's all together on a playlist, displaying an intuitive stylistic cohesion that you might not expect from a period when personal playlists and file sharing encouraged listeners to stray from the radio and become their own DJs.

Read the full 100 Best Songs of the '00s list here.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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