The 100 Best Songs of 2007

29 "The People"
Common
The Chicago MC name-checks Barack Obama and Finding Nemo, asking tough-but-funny questions like, "Why white folks focus on dogs and yoga/While people on the low end tryin' to ball and get over?"

30 "LDN"
Lily Allen
It has the sunniest chorus since Len's "Steal My Sunshine" — but as the street-scene lyrics suggest, surfaces can be deceiving: "Everything seems nice/But if you look twice/You can see it's all lies."

31 "Don't Matter"
Akon
Having proved he can do raunchy hip-hop jams, Akon comes up with the ultimate prom slow-jam: an endearing ballad about loving her even when everybody else thinks it's a bad idea.

32 "When Under Ether"
PJ Harvey
"Something's inside me/Unborn and unblessed." After fifteen years on the job, Polly Jean Harvey still finds fresh ways to give her fans the creeps — this time by stripping her sound down to a piano and her spooky voice.