It’s time for part three of our countdown of the 101 Best Songs of the Aughts. Today, I’ll be revealing #60-41.

To enjoy the rest of the list, please go here.

60. “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay (2008)

I predict that “Viva La Vida” will prove to be one of this decade’s most enduring songs. It doesn’t sound like anything else that’s been on the radio in the last ten years, what with its stabbing string section and Ren Faire collection of choir bells and St. Peter references, yet it’s still effortlessly enjoyable.

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59. “The World Should Revolve Around Me” by Little Jackie

Last year, I explained why the duo Little Jackie rocks my world, and they’re still rocking it today. Lead singer Imani Coppolla may never be a household name, but after following her 1997 hit  “Legend of a Cowgirl” with Little Jackie’s sassy musings on politics, relationships, and the awesomeness of Brooklyn, she’s proven she deserves a place in the pop-o-sphere.

In case you don’t know her music, “The World Should Revolve Around Me” is a great introduction. Listen first for the throwback soul. Once you’ve stopped dancing, listen again for the tough-as-nails lyrics about how being too arrogant for a boyfriend.

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58. “Dry Your Eyes” by The Streets (2004)

Mike Skinner, the U.K. rapper who calls himself The Streets, makes self-deprecating jokes and random observations about daily life, places them over thrillingly original beats, and then serves them up like tasty musical treats. Sure, he dabbles in traditional hip-hop braggadocio, but like Kanye West, he also cuts through the swagger to prove that contemporary rap music can be a conduit for real feeling.

Nothing proves my point like “Dry Your Eyes.” As he chronicles his desperation to keep his girlfriend, the painful details of their last conversation, and his realization that he’ll never get her back, Skinner creates one of the most vulnerable and poignant rap songs I’ve ever heard.

If you like this hit, then check out the album A Grand Don’t Come For Free, which tells the story of one supremely bizarre day in Skinner’s life. “Dry Your Eyes” is part of the wistful penultimate chapter.

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57. “Helpless” by k.d. lang (2004)

For a few years there, k.d. lang’s cover of Neil Young’s 1969 classic was in every television show, movie, and commercial in the world. I remember being home for Christmas and hearing it at the end of the movie Away from Her in the afternoon and on an episode of Brothers and Sisters that night.

But why wouldn’t you put this on a soundtrack? lang is one of the best singers in the world, and this song lives in her “elegant sadness” wheelhouse. It gives any scene a guaranteed shot of grandeur.

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56. “Turn, Turn, Turn” by Dolly Parton (2005)

You guys, Dolly Parton’s voice sounds better now than it did in the seventies. How many professional singers can say that? I mean, just listen to the last minute of her cover of “Turn, Turn, Turn.” My girl wails like she just got saved, and the husky power of her voice makes me want to fall out in church myself.

It’s really been an incredible decade for Dolly: She released the last two albums in her exceptional bluegrass trilogy, and her song from Transamerica, “Travelin’ Thru,” was one of the highlights of 2006. Her 2008 album Backwoods Barbie also has enough high points to suggest she’s got years of great music ahead of her. Godspeed!

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55. “Touch the Sky” by Kanye West (2006)

Those horns! That guest verse from Lupe Fiasco! That effortless sense of fun! Thanks for all of it, Kanye. And thanks for providing the perfect accessory to the butterfly collars in my closet.

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54. “No Man’s Woman” by Sinéad O’Connor (2000)

I wish Sinéad O’Connor weren’t so prone to controversy. Then maybe we could focus on what a brilliant musician she is. Like, have you heard “No Man’s Woman,” from her 2000 album Faith and Courage? It not only crackles with a propulsive rhythm and the wall-shredding power of her voice, but also delivers a short seminar on the intersection of feminism and religion. When she gets to the final verse, where she decides that Jesus is the one man she can trust, Sinéad and her band explode into frenzy. You have to believe in her because you can hear that she’s tearing herself open to communicate.

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53. “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige (2001)

Like Sinéad O’Connor, Mary J. Blige knows how to destroy herself in the service of a song. I’ll bet that if she doesn’t lose an earring during a live show, she feels like she was phoning it in.

Blige has released some great singles this decade—especially “Family Affair,” “Be Without You,” and “Just Fine”—but her signature anthem is “No More Drama.” It defines her new life philosophy, and it samples the theme from The Young and the Restless. Only someone as dynamic as Mary J. Blige could make that seem appropriate instead of ridiculous.

(The video I embedded comes from her jaw-dropping performance at the 2002 Grammys. That is commitment, people. I feel like she could have killed someone during this performance without even noticing. Or like, if you were sick while she was singing, and  a thread from her gold lamé jacket touched your forehead, then you would instantly be well.)

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52. “Mr Brightside” by The Killers (2004)

I could listen to this song over and over and over. It’s got such a great melody, especially in the “touching his chest now” part of the bridge, that I could hear it during a funeral and still feel like I had to sing along.

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51. “John, Let Me Go” by Sondre Lerche (2007)

Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche is a harder-rocking heir to the lush pop traditions of the Beach Boys and a-ha. You can hear touches of both bands in “John, Let Me Go,” a kicky little number that seems like a plea to a boy who likes him. Of course, Lerche’s married to a woman in real life, so maybe that isn’t what the song is actually about… but who knows? And when a song is this fun, does it matter?

(I had to embed a live performance, but I recommend tracking down the studio version on iTunes. It’s got a full band, and it really, really rocks.)

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50. “Distant Dreamer” by Duffy (2008)

Adele. Amy Winehouse. Duffy. They’re all part of that white-girl-retro-soul movement that came out of England at the end of the decade. But while I like all three of those ladies, Duffy has the biggest place in my heart. She’s as comfortable with a saucy dance number (“Mercy”) as she is with a torch song (“Syrup & Honey”), and on “Distant Dreamer,” she shows that she can wring six hundred emotions out of a sweeping ballad.

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49. “The Influence” by Jurassic 5 (2000)

I wish more hip-hop acts were advancing the “positive music” traditions of Arrested Development and De La Soul, but at least at the beginning of the decade, Jurassic 5 was there to pick up the slack. Their catchy-as-hell track “The Influence” calls out shallowness and materialism without forgetting to deliver a delicious beat.

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48. “Bible Song” by Lori McKenna (2004)

I’m always looking for interesting perspectives from a singer-songwriter… something to make a familiar topic feel fresh. Lori McKenna shakes things up with almost every one of her songs. (That’s probably why country stars like Faith Hill have covered her work.)

On “Bible Song,”  McKenna weaves a vivid tale of a young woman who is running away from her hometown—where people pretty much get married, get depressed, and die—so that she can do something more with her life. The death of a cousin especially haunts her, and it’s just… who thinks to write a song about that, you know? And then makes the song pretty besides?

I can’t find a YouTube video “Bible Song,” but if you follow this link you can hear it and the rest of McKenna’s excellent album Bittertown.

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47. “Flowers in the Window” by Travis (2001)

If it weren’t for these Scottish popsters, bands like Keane and The Fray and Snow Patrol wouldn’t have careers. They got weirdly moody by the middle of the aughts, but when they released their album The Invisible Band, they were in top form.

“Flowers in the Window” is their standout track. It’s a piano-driven soft-rocker that goes down easy and always puts me in a good mood.

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46. “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” by Jay-Z (2001)

It was right around here that Jay-Z cemented his status as one of the decade’s greatest rappers. The song’s sweet hook (produced by a still-unknown Kanye West), its charming lyrical arrogance, and Hova’s butter-smooth flow combine to create an unforgettable jam.

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45. “Hung Up” by Madonna (2005)

Over twenty years into her career, Madonna dropped one of her greatest dance anthems. The ABBA sample creates a swirl of Euro-trashy goodness, and the key change in the bridge is the kind of thing that makes me lose my mind.

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44. “Smiley Faces” by Gnarls Barkley (2006)

I know that “Crazy” was the big Gnarls Barkley hit, but I just really prefer “Smiley Faces.” What can I say? I love a Supremes-style percussion track.

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43. “Nothing Better” by Postal Service (2004)

I know that Ben Gibbard has Death Cab for Cutie and James Tamborello has Dntel, but I really want them to reunite for another Postal Service album.

I mean, the world needs more songs as clever and enjoyable as “Nothing Better,” which lets a couple break up in the bantering-across-the-verses style of Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me.” In this entire decade, I don’t think I’ve found a better song for male-female karaoke.

Bonus points go to Gibbard for writing this lyric:  “Don’t you feed me lines about some idealistic future/Your heart won’t heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures.” Genius rhymes, dude!

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42. “Hot in Herre” by Nelly (2002)

Once a song becomes ubiquitous, it’s easy to take it for granted, but let’s remember that “Hot in Herre” didn’t always exist. There was a time when nobody said, “Girl, I think my butt gettin’ big.” There was a time when nobody had this particular spin on the disco hit “Bustin’ Loose” to dance to. There was a time when we didn’t know exactly which song would get a party jumpin’, no questions asked.

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41. “Stay” by Sugarland (2006)

Read The Critical Condition long enough and you’re bound to come across a reference to Sugarland, so I won’t be long here. I’ll just say that “Stay” has become the duo’s signature song because it highlights the emotive power of Jennifer Nettles’ voice and the intelligent simplicity of her songwriting. Plus, for all the songs that curse the other woman, there aren’t that many written from her perspective. Nettles sensitively fills a void and gives us all something to belt out when we feel guilty and/or used.