16 ‘00s Songs That You'll Remember Until You Die

Some songs have a massive impact on your life — and not every one of those tunes has to be life changing in order for them to be important. Sometimes, the songs which end up lasting with you for a lifetime can simply be bombastic earworms, the greatest to dance to on a night out or so ceaselessly joyful that you've always kept them on hand to cheer you up when you need them. Some of the best songs of the '00s had exactly these qualities, bringing catchy choruses, fresh lyrics, or unapologetic happiness to their melodies, which no one could resist. As such, many of these 00's songs are ones you'll remember 'till you die, with every facet of their musical genius remaining etched into your memory in some way. Maybe they'll remind you of a particular place, time, or person, or maybe you just spent an entire summer singing along to it on the radio — either way, those songs are like a memory marriage now. They're with you for life.

You likely know all of these so well that you don't even need to be actually hearing them again in order to recall them. You see the name and you hear it in your head instantly; you know the refrains, the breakdowns, and the guest raps, and for some of them, you probably also know the dance moves off by heart too. Whatever it is about these '00s songs that you love, there's no doubt that you'll likely never forget them.

1. "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira

Admit it, at impromptu moments you still find yourself shouting, "Shakira, Shakira" in the style of Wyclef Jean. I know I do. And that will continue until my final breath.

2. "Toxic," Britney Spears

Along with the fact that this song is absolutely flawless, it also been medically proven* that "Toxic" has been stuck in everyone's head since 2003

(*based on vital research conducted in the medical centers of my imagination).

3. "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," Beyoncé

You and I both know that there's been hours, perhaps even days, spent privately (and publicly) practicing the Single Ladies dance routine in full with varying degrees of success. The regret of not perfecting the routine isn't something that any of us want to take with us to graves. No, ma'am.

4. "Hey Ya," Outkast

Sometimes, when I'm hungover, the phrase "Shake it like a polaroid picture" swirls around my head until I finally call defeat, play "Hey Ya" at full blast and simply dance the bloated, shameful ache of my regrettable drinking decisions out of my body.

5. "Paper Planes," M.I.A.

It was, and still is, the coolest song in the world and worth remembering for all time.

6. "Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani

Not only is it a big song with a slammin' set of vocals but it also has the sort of catchy breakdown about bananas that your brain has secretly stashed away for emergency bursts of happiness.

7. "Hey There Delilah," Plain White T's

This song has received regular, consistent and daily airplay on the radio since 2005. And it isn't leaving your memory any time soon as a result.

8. "Umbrella," Rihanna

Does "Umbrella" have the best pop chorus of the whole '00s? Damn right it does. And that's worth something worth treasuring.

9. "Cry Me A River," Justin Timberlake

Mostly because a part of you will never recover from the fact that Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake ever broke up (and that this was his revenge song... ouch). But also because Timberlake's breezy, "the damage is done so I guess I'll be leaving" refrain is ever so slightly comical for how it sounds like he's just broken one of JT's favorite vases and is making a casual dash for it.

10. "Get Your Freak On," Missy Elliott

I won't just remember this song until I die, I actually want to buried with it. It's that good.

11. "Lose Yourself," Eminem

Somehow "Lose Yourself" turned an entire nation into amateur rap battle experts, causing everyone to poorly rap lines like "...there's vomit on his sweater already — Mom's spaghetti," in very public places. A part of you will always be a rap battle queen, and don't you forget it.

12. "How Does It Feel," D'Angelo

Mostly because you can't even think of the song without seeing the video. And I'm going to be perfectly frank here, the video is truly, devastatingly hot. If you played it at my funeral it may even have the power to reanimate my corpse.

13. "Poker Face," Lady Gaga

Nobody had a single clue what Lady Gaga was singing about or was even wearing around this time (girl, is that a mask made of mirrors?), but "Poker Face" was as addictive as a night of successful gambling.

14. "Bootylicious," Destiny's Child

The song that made you proud to be serving that jelly, and no, I still don't think they can handle it.

15. "Dirrty," Christina Aguilera

Made you never forget every regrettable dance move you ever made to this song back in the '00s. We all went there. No judgment.

16. "Rehab," Amy Winehouse

Easily one of the most original and best songs of the '00s, fans of Winehouse will cling onto this hit with a great longing and treasure her extraordinary talent which sadly left us far too early.

All I can say, is that I'm greatly looking forward to when we're all in our 80s and dancing around our nursing homes together to "Dirrty" and "Bootylicious." See you then.

Images: BritneySpearsVEVO/YouTube