2004: #3 - "Drop It Like It's Hot"

Few songs have been this strikingly distinctive and effective sonically while at the same time so utterly moronic and novelty-hit goofy in their presentation. With ping-ponging pseudo-percussion - which sounded a lot like tongues clucking - The Neptunes seemed to be nearing their peak, effortlessly improving on the formula of earlier hits "Grindin'" and "Milkshake", while still providing totally new thrills. Then, as the goofy whistle and chants of "Snoooooo-ooop!" threaten to derail the song off the tracks from dope to dopey, the silliness gives way to a wash of sci-fi funk keys and phased out drums, followed by some charmingly dumb yet satisfying verses from gangsta rapper turned reality TV star Snoop Dogg. His violent threats were hard to take seriously, and we didn't - Snoop's best contribution to the track wasn't inane lines like, "Your family's crying/ Now you on the news/ They can't find you/ And now they miss you", but the way he pronounced the end of every line in the chorus - "park it like it's haaaaawwwt, park it like it's haaaaawwwt" - like a demented child.