2004: #1 - "Slow Jamz"

"Slow Jamz" takes the the most vital and exciting 12 seconds of a serious and rather lengthy Luther Vandross hit and turns it into a perfect pop song, as well as the funnest slow jam ever.

Twista's breathless delivery can be a little annoying, but here, it's breathtaking and fun, especially when you consider the song's title and inherent pace.

And Kanye's trick of allowing the sample to be part of the song, rather than just extraneous window dressing, was at its freshest and most vibrant here. It's just so fun to hear him and Twista use helium-voiced Luther's refrain to dictate what they say and how they say it.

Oh shit and how about those bongos that stutter in and out, right after the hi-hat does the same. Damn, the whole song is like the most exhilarating conversation we've ever had.

This should have been an obvious #1 pick for any of our vast readership, but sadly, no one guessed. Perhaps there is an issue with the commenting page - we will take it up with Blogger.

2005: #8 - "Gold Digger"

As we've stated before, despite his lack of skill in rhyming and lyricism, Kanye West has this uncanny ability to interact with his productions, and the minimalist "Gold Digger" is no exception. Most people like this one for the Jamie-Foxx-as-Ray-Charles vocal loop, and that's cute enough, but our favorite part is when that old school synth starts gurgling out of the left channel and Kanye's verse continues in the foreground, one element of sound so sharply focused and precisely delivered, the other very clumsily evading form and technique, but both dancing perfectly with one another.

2009: #9 - "Blame It On The Alcohol"

Despite the supposed "death of Auto-Tune" in 2009 - see the mediocre performance of T-Pain's solo album Thr33 Ringz and its accompanying singles, Jay-Z's very mediocre anti-pitch correction single "D.O.A." where he proclaims its death - the most infectious single of early 2009 was one of the most glorious Auto-Tuned messes known to man. Even the synths were pitch-shifted - and it was awesome.

"Blame It On The Alcohol" sounded like a novelty at first, Jamie Foxx's shameless attempt at a hip-hop megahit, a smart move since no one was really buying into his limp attempts at soul and R&B. He even had a guest verse from T-Pain, once a guarantee for chart success, now a clear indication of desperation.

In spite of everything working against it, the stuttering, effect-laden vocal hooks ("Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol/Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol") made it extremely catchy. And the song's outright silliness couldn't even drag it into forgettable novelty territory, simply because Jamie Foxx takes himself way too seriously. You weren't sure if this song was a joke or not, and that's what made it intriguing.

But the video is awful.