We’ve getting close to the end of our countdown of the 101 Best Songs of the Aughts. Let’s keep the party going!

(To enjoy the rest of the countdown, just go here.)

40. “Blame Me! Blame Me!” by Anberlin (2008)

Seriously, you guys? Anberlin should send me a free hat or something because I have been talking them up this year.

They’re a straightforward rock band making straightforward songs, yet they have so much energy that they never sound shopworn. I’m especially impressed by their commitment to musicality: Their songs have great melodies, their playing is really polished, and singer Stephen Christian has a lovely voice that he doesn’t try to hide behind screams or digital trickery.

“Blame Me! Blame Me!”especially tickles my fancy because it’s (a) insanely fast  and (b) about a couple that refuses to discuss their problems, which strikes me as meaty material.

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39. “You Don’t Have to Believe Me” by Eric Hutchinson (2007)

As of this writing, major New York radio station Z100 is talking up Eric Hutchinson as the next big thing, which is what various people have been dubbing him since 2007. Maybe someday the world will come alive to his genius (which I celebrate here.)

If you haven’t yet climbed the Hutchinson tree, then take a big, juicy bite of “You Don’t Have to Believe Me,” a blues-rock stomper about a man telling a woman that his compliments are sincere. He even says her mind is her sexiest feature. Swoon!

p.s. — Warner Brothers has foolishly decided to ban all recorded versions of this song from appearing on YouTube, so I embedded a live performance. It’s solid, but I’d recommend listening to the original right here.

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38. “Turn Off the Light” by Nelly Furtado (2001)

Nelly-nell is one of my favorite new artists of the decade. She bounces from folk-pop to Timabaland-produced dance tracks to Spanish language ballads, and she imbues them all with personality.

“Turn Off the Light,” her second single, is sultry good fun. The bridge just kills, inspiring me to dance by using nothing more than drums and Furtado’s voice. And there’s not a thing wrong with that part in the chorus where she goes “follow-me-follow-me-follow-me down-down-down-down.” I love repetition! I love-love-love it!

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37. “I Feel It All” by Feist (2007)

As though its gadgets don’t give us enough, Apple uses its commercials to introduce the world to indie music. We’ve gotten Yael Naïm and Chairlift out of their ads, but most importantly, we’ve gotten Feist.

Granted, Feist was making records for years before Apple dropped her song “1, 2, 3, 4″ into a TV spot, but those thirty seconds changed everything. If nothing else, they made me finally pay attention to what she’s doing, and I’m glad I did, since it’s not just “1, 2, 3, 4″ that rules. It’s all of her music.

“I Feel It All” sneaks up on you. It seems weightless at first, but then that one part about “the wings are wide” gets stuck in your head, or you find yourself humming the “oh-oh-oh-uh-oh-oh-oh” bit as you come up from the subway, and the next thing you know, this cute little ditty is your queen. But you know… she’s a benevolent queen who rewards you for your loyalty.

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36. “How I Go” by Yellowcard (2006)

Mostly, I’m as excited by Yellowcard’s pop punk music as I am by the recent threat of a Blink-182 reunion.

But “How I Go” is a total detour, like when Extreme stopped being trashy just long enough to record “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted.” It’s an emotional powerhouse of a ballad about a father who keeps disappointing his son, and when Dixie Chick Natalie Maines rocks those harmony vocals, I am reduced to jelly.

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35. “Guilty in Here” by Miranda Lambert (2007)

When I last praised Miranda Lambert’s kicky lament about the boys who want to marry her, it was number eight on my iTunes most-played playlist. Now it is number 6. That is because it’s great.

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34. “Can I Get Get Get” by Junior Senior (2005)

While I was researching this post, I found out that Junior Senior disbanded late last year. Sucko! The Danish duo’s albums give us more than just dance music: They give us dance music with wit and playfulness. From “Chicks and Dicks,” in which Jeppe (the gay one) and Jesper (the straight one) debate which sex is sexier, to “We R the Handclaps,” in which they celebrate, um, clapping, their songs are always stupid-brilliant fun. It’s like they rolled up in the studio, said the first things that came to their minds, and then watched as it accidentally became awesome. In a world where so many dance artists are unbearably pretentious–*cough*Daft Punk*cough*—Junior Senior’s lunacy creates pure, uncomplicated fun.

Here’s why “Can I Get Get Get” is their best song:

(1) The chorus. Obvs.

(2) The bridge, where girls keep yelling, “I don’t do that kind of thing!” and the guys respond with random phrases like “Hey!” and “Okay!” This creates the semblance of a conversation, but it’s actually just nonsense.

(3) The music video. I want to hang out with all of those people.

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33. “No One” by Alicia Keys (2007)

Alicia Keys’ first two albums are impressive, if effortful. You can tell she’s the valedictorian, proving her talent as much as demonstrating it, but on her third album As I Am, something breaks free. Suddenly, her arrangements are looser, her lyrics are smoother, and her voice… her voice is full of soul.

“No One” sums up the change. Simple but heartfelt, it’s one of the best R&B performances of our young century.

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32. “Work It” by Missy Elliott (2002)

Remember the first time you heard this song and your brain melted? Because Missy said she could “put her thang down, flip it, and reverse it,” and then Timabaland played her voice backwards? Oh my God. It was like cats became dogs.

I love Missy Elliott as a musician and as a performer because she’s not afraid to be capital-w weird. Take her head off in a music video? Sure. Dance in a trash bag suit? Cool. Use a triple-tracked vocal and tell me to get my hair did? Why not? You can count her to be interesting, and in the case of songs like “Work It,” interesting becomes brilliant.

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31. “Extraordinary Machine” by Fiona Apple

Speaking of songs that are weird, how about “Extraordinary Machine?” What the hell is this thing? Is that a cowbell? Is that a marimba? And is that Fiona Apple rocking a fluttery falsetto during the bridge?

On paper, this circus-inspired song sounds like a disaster… like the twee little tune a group of pretentious clowns would song while the big top behind them caught fire. But in reality, it’s quirky and lovely. It grabs my attention because it sounds so strange, but it keeps my attention because it’s singable.

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30. “Lose Yourself” by Eminem (2002)

I generally have no use for Eminem.

“But he’s so talented!”

“He’s an intelligent provocateur and a tortured genius and a total hottie!”

Maybe. But I’m just not interested in someone so hateful.

However, I can’t deny “Lose Yourself.” The thundering beat, Em’s intense-yet-fretful delivery, and his “fear of success” lyrics are all just unstoppable. Plus, have you noticed the nimble rhythm of his flow? He changes tempos so easily that you barely realize he’s doing it, and he knows exactly when to pause for maximum effect. Anyone who thinks rapping isn’t artful should listen to the way Eminem does it here.

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29. “Shampoo” by Elvis Perkins in Dealand (2009)

“Shampoo” got my praise a few months ago. It’s this high on the list because it’s just as exciting today as it was back then.

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28. “We Learned the Sea” by Dar Williams (2000)

This song is the reason that I will continue buying albums, instead of always cherry-picking my favorite tracks off of iTunes. When I first heard Dar Williams’ exceptional record The Green World, I was taken by percussion-heavy tracks and soaring ballads. It was almost six months before I really heard “We Learned the Sea.” Over time, however, this quietly haunting song, which turns sailing into a metaphor for childhood anxiety, has become my favorite. I’m especially taken with the bridge at 1:07, when Williams moves to her higher register and a swell of strings rises up to meet her. It’s not a bombastic moment, and it only lasts a few measures, but it throbs with melancholy.
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27. “Tambourine” by Eve (2007)

How can musical abortions like “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” hit number one, while near-perfect specimens like Eve’s “Tambourine” struggle to make the top forty? Did Eve and producer Swizz Beatz put cooties in Billboard’s bedsheets?

But let’s not linger on the injustice. Let’s focus instead on a song that excited me so much the first time I heard it that I started bouncing back and forth in my chair like a crazy person. (This was when I still worked at home, thank God.)

How could I resist? There’s just so much substance to Swizz Beatz’ production! The tidal wave of synths adds elegance to the chest-thumping bass, and the barrage of tambourines flies by at about 6,000 beats per minute. Sonically, it’s much more exciting than the minimalist hip-hop that Lil’ Jon and his ilk have been cranking out this decade.

And I can’t overlook Eve’s contribution. Her laid back flow provides the perfect contrast to the hyperactive rhythm.

Finally, the uncensored version of this song practically secured its place on the countdown by opening with Swizz Beatz shouting, “Ya gotta shake ya ass!” Those are words to live by, people.

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26. “My Interpretation” by Mika (2007)

The United States hasn’t caught on to Mika. “Grace Kelly” was a minor hit, but otherwise, we’ve foolishly ignored his dizzying fusion of Queen, Elton John, and choirs. His bombast and super-duper gayness put some people off, but I say there’s always room for an artist this devoted to melody and energy and sparkles.

His just-released single “We Are Golden” is fantastic, and who knows what treasures his upcoming second album will deliver, but for now, my Mika vote goes to “My Interpretation,” which is not only lush and enjoyable, but also tackles the interesting subject of two lovers seeing the same relationship in different ways.

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25. “Woke Up New” by The Mountain Goats (2006)

The Mountain Goats is mostly singer-songwriter John Darnielle, who, depending on the album, is either recording low-fi music in his basement or, like, fronting a giant string section. Whatever he does, the result is always fascinating, and that’s why he’s become one of my all-time favorite artists.

Musically, “Woke Up New” is lovely and sad, contrasting a rollicking mid-tempo guitar line with mournful blasts of organ.

But the lyrics make this song exquisite. He might be mourning a lover who has left or a lover who has died, but either way, the song’s narrator describes his first morning alone. He’s cold, so he puts on sweater. He makes too much coffee, but he drinks it all.

Structurally, each trivial detail is followed by a poetic image, so that concrete experiences lead to abstract chasms of pain. Take this verse…

On the morning I made coffee
for just myself
I made too much of it
But I drank it all, just ’cause you hate it
when I let things go to waste

And I wandered through the house
like a little boy
lost at the mall
And an astronaut could’ve seen
the hunger
in my eyes
from space

There’s no obvious logical flow to the images here, but you can sense the emotions getting bigger and bigger.

Darnielle heightens the impact of the rising emotion by making his chorus the simplest thing in the song. He softly repeats one line—”What’ll I do… without you?”—and on each repetition of “what’ll I do,” he pushes his voice higher and higher until it cracks. It sounds like he’s choking back tears.

In other words, the verses move toward a volcanic catharsis, but the chorus tamps it down. It’s like the pain is too great to be fully expressed. I get that.

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24. “Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé (2006)

To paraphrase the ever-insightful Roommate Joe: This song owns you in six seconds. Before you even know what’s sitting to the left, to the left, you’re pointing in that direction, and by the time Beyoncé says you must not know ’bout her? Shit. You need to learn.

There’s only one thing keeping “Irreplaceable” below the top twenty: The “minute/minute” problem. You know what I’m talking about. Rhyming a word with itself is a no-no.

But obviously, one lyrical hiccup can’t break the deal.

Six million bonus points for the video, by the way. I love watching Beyoncé front an all-female band. Yay feminism!

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23. “Making Pies” by Patty Griffin (2002)

When I was in graduate school, I wrote a paper analyzing Patty Griffin’s songwriting and singing. To me, she’s so talented that she needs to be studied.

One of the songs I examined was “Making Pies,” which highlights both her mournfully beautiful voice and her penchant for writing songs about fictional characters.

In this case, we meet an old woman who’s been working at the Table Talk pie factory for decades—so long, in fact, that she doesn’t feel ashamed of the hairnet anymore. At first, it seems like she’s succumbing to loneliness, but by the final verse, we realize she’s a fighter. Griffin leaves her with stubborn dignity, making pies and refusing to be broken by hard times.

I love the verse about the woman’s high school sweetheart. She gets to a point in her story where she would naturally say, “He died,” but instead, the music slows and slows and then stops completely. We’re left with a few seconds of silence, waiting for the awful revelation, and then the music picks up again. And the subject changes. And we feel what we didn’t hear.

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22. “Music” by Madonna (2000)

This song is almost ten years old. When I hear it, I am instantly transported to my senior year of college, where my residents and I are having a dance party.

But no matter how recent that memory seems, it just isn’t. I was a senior in college a long time ago. Which means I was a freshman in college in… what… the Cretaceous?

Yet while time has ravaged me, it’s done nothing to “Music.” The stuttering beat still sizzles. The whiny computer noises are still cool. Madonna’s lyrics are still silly-good.

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21. “Handle Me” by Robyn (2005)

Clearly, I love the music of Scandanavia (and thereabouts). This list has already featured artists from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway, and now it’s time to add another Swede. That’s right: It’s time for my girl Robyn.

I wrote last year about my general enthusiasm for her music, her persona, and her lyrics. Again, where so many singers play at being badasses, Robyn just is one. In casual tones, she talks about kicking the crap out of you, and then a few minutes later, she sings a tender ballad about her broken heart. Only a real badass, one who isn’t worried what a punk like you thinks about her damn “reputation,” can be that vulnerable and that tough on the same record.

If you like “Tough Girl Robyn,” then hurry over to “Handle Me,” where she brushes off a wannabe boyfriend by calling him a “narcissitic, psycho-freakin’, boot-lickin’, Nazi pimp.” And then she says that for all his swagger, he still can’t handle her. DAMN!

Of course, her boasting wouldn’t be as impressive if it weren’t laid over a sick beat that’s peppered with acoustic guitar. The track, from writer-producer Klas Ã…hlund, makes Robyn a badass who sticks in your brain.