30 JJ72 + Formulae
Comeback for Irish art-rockers
29 Aivaras - Happy You
Lithuanian entry at Eurovision.
28 Doves + Pounding
Does what it says on the tin.
27 Sleater Kinney - Combat Rock
Er, ditto.
26 Primal Scream + Miss Lucifer
Noise terrorism.
25 Sarah McLachlan + Angel
Released for the nth time.
24 Jimmy Eat World + In the Middle
Obviously.
23 Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather For Ducks
Hear it, sing it for the whole of 2003.
22 Ash + Envy
See men kissing in the vid. Get copied.
21 Reamonn - Supergirl
Euro emo.
20 McAlmont Butler + Falling
Back, and like they've never been gone.
19 The Space Cowboy + I Would Die 4 U
Prince re-covered for something past the 80s.
18 Macy Gray - Time of My Life
Star turn from the 8mile soundtrack.
17 Sixpence None the Richer - Breathe Your Name
About time they put in an appearance.
16 Alison Krauss - Down By The River To Pray
Standout from the Oh Brother soundtrack.
15 Idlewild * American English
Swooping larger than life.
14 Johnny Rzeznik - I'm Still Here
Like Creed, only without being at all crap. So not like Creed at all.
13 Mick Jagger ft. Rob Thomas - Visions Of Paradise
MB20 sung by Stone? It works.
12 Chemical Brothers * Star Guitar
Listen on a train in Europe.
11 Sugababes * Freak Like Me
Numan + Howard + eyepopper video = massive hit!
10 Polyphonic Spree + Hanging Around
Take an eighteen piece vocal harmony group, dress them like a gospel choir, and get them to sing their hearts out. It only works because they transcend the image.
9 DJ Sammy & Yanou feat. Do * Heaven (Starlight mix)
Spanish DJ takes old Bryan Adams number, adds annoying drumbeat and female vocal. Remixer takes out the keyboards and drumbeat, to leave something even more sparse and emotional than the original.
8 Kasey Chambers - Not Pretty Enough
Nothing new for those in Australia, where Kasey is a Premier League star. A debut of extreme vulnerability and honesty.
7 Cornershop + Lessons Learned From Rocky I to Rocky III
It took four years to follow "Brimful," but it was worth the wait. Bounces along like no-one's business, and draws inspiration from the most unlikely sources.
6 Heather Nova - Virus of the Mind
Living to other people's expectations is not good. Exceeding them is far better.
5 Aimee Mann - Humpty Dumpty
Back comes the premier indie singer songwriter, setting the traditional riddle to song. She could sing the phone book and it would sound great.
4 Liam Lynch * United States of Whatever
Like, don't mention the connection with Paul McCartney. Whatever.
3 InMe - Firefly
Grunge lives on, and it is in better shape than ever. Hear the word "now" stretched into three syllables, each more depressing than the last.
2 Shannon McNally - Now That I know
Confession: I know nothing about this lady. Other than how well she sings.
1 The Streets + Weak Become Heros
Mike Skinner recaptures the hedonism of the E generation, and wonders what happened afterwards. A slice of real life from the most street-savvy album of the year.
In no particular order...
Tegan & Sara - Monday Monday Monday
+The Vines - Highly Evolved
Nightwish - Over the Hills And Far Away
*A1 - Make It Good
*Junkie XL - A Little Less Conversation
Res - They Say Vision
+Erasure - Catch 22
*Beverly Knight - Shoulda Woulda Coulda
*Foo Fighters - All My Life
Sahara Hotnights - With Or Without Control
+Paul Oakenfold - Southern Sun
+Paul Weller - It's Written In The Stars
Dashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities
*Jessica Garlick - Come Back
+Saw Doctors - This Is Me
Francine Jordi - Dans le Jardin de Mon Âme
*Alanis Morissette - Hands Clean
Dan Castellaneta - So Dumb (Homer's Lament)
+Stamford Amp - Anything For You
Be Good Tanyas - The Littlest Bird
Tori Amos - A Sorta Fairytale
Amanda Marshall - Sunday Morning After
Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
Joan Osborne - Love's in Need Of Love Today
The Tea Party - Angels
Dave Pirner - Never Recover
+Royksopp - Remind Me
Bif Naked - Tango shoes
Not By Choice - Standing All Alone
+The Coral - Goodbye
Hall & Oates - Do It For Love
Garrity - The Rain
*No Doubt - Hella Good
Embrace - Three Is The Magic Number
Remy Zero - Save Me
Lisa Loeb - Someone You Should Know
*Jennifer Lopez / Ja Rule - Ain't It Funny (II)
Pete Yorn - Yo Nancy (Cause It Already Is)
The Ark - Calleth You, Cometh I
+Tiga & Xanthius - Sunglasses At Night
+Felix Da Housecat - Silver Screen Shower Scene
+Supergrass - Grace
Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This
*Mary J Blige - No More Drama
+Mad Donna - The Wheels On The Bus
Chuck Prophet - Summertime Thing
Gemma Hayes - Let a Good Thing Go
Suzanne Vega - Widow's Walk
*Kelly Osbourne - Papa Don't Preach
+Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
Dropline - Fly Away From Here
*Ja Rule / Ashanti - Always On Time
Meshell Ndegeocello - Grace
Indigo Girls - Moment of Forgiveness
+Nick Carter - Help Me
Enya - May It Be
Leona Naess - Charm Attack
*Shakira - Underneath Your Clothes
Susan Tedeschi - Can't Leave You Alone
*Avril Lavigne - Complicated
George Harrison - Mah Wah Blues
+White Stripes - Dead Leaves & the Dirty Ground
+Moby - Into This World
*Tweet - Oops
Simple Plan - I'd Do Anything
Titiyo - Come Along
Matchbox Twenty - Disease
+Pearl Jam - I Am Mine
+B B Mak - Out Of My Heart Into Your Head
Get Happy - Zoe Birkett
Eva Cassidy - Danny Boy
*Allstars - Land Of Make Believe
Mylène Farmer - Pardonne-moi
*Oasis - Little By Little
Goo Goo Dolls - Here Is Gone
John Mellencamp - Peaceful World
Ben - Herz aus Glas
*Faithless / Dido - One Step Too Far
*db Boulevard - Point of View
Sense Field - Save Yourself
+Underworld - Two Months Off
Jahiem - Fabulous
*Pink - Don't Let Me Get Me
*Antan Dec - We're On The Ball
+Beth Orton - Concrete Sky
+Travis - Flowers in the Window
Maja Tatic - Fairytales About Love
Natalie Merchant - Build a Levee
Maia Sharp - Willing To Burn
Splender - Save It For Later
+Ozzy Osbourne - Dreamer
Tonic - Take Me as I Am
+Puddle Of Mudd - She Hates Me
+Santana - Game Of Love
+Curve - Want More Need Less
Tatu - All The Things She Said
Sarah Harmer - Silver Road
*Missy Elliott - Work It
*Amy Studt - Just a Little Girl
+Jam & Spoon - Be Angled
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Going Home
+Half of the Cuban Boys And That Bloke Out Of Bus Stop feat Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy
Three Doors Down - When I'm Gone
Jeanette - No more tears
+Kosheen - Hungry
+John Otway - Bunsen Burner
*Red Hot Chili Peppers - Zephyr Song
*One Giant Leap - My Culture
Tom Petty - The Last DJ
+Pet Shop Boys - I Get Along
+Death In Vegas - Hands Around My Throat
+Suede - Positivity
+Way Out West - Mindcircus
*Natalie Imbruglia - Wrong Impression
John Mayer - No Such Thing
Bruce Cockburn - Last Night of the World
Renaud (avec Axelle Red) - Manhattan Kaboul
*A - Starbucks
Afro-Dite - Never Let It Go
*Outkast - The Whole World
*Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come
+Haven - Say Something
*Manic Street Preachers - There By the Grace of God
+Spunge - Jump On Demand
Vanessa Carlton - Ordinary Day
Kid Rock featuring Sheryl Crow - Picture
*Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful
Nirvana - You Know You're Right
Tiziano Ferro - Perdono
Collective Soul - The World I Know
Dixie Chicks - Landslide
Maxwell - This Woman's Work
Jim Brickman - If You Believe
Nada Surf - Where Is My Mind
Michelle Shocked - Good News
Enrique Iglesias - Don't Turn Off The Lights
Nine Days - Good Friend
+Rolling Stones - Don't Stop
+Bruce Springsteen - Lonesome Day
Ira Losco - 7th Wonder
Pooh - Il Paese dei Balocchi
*Coldplay - In My Place
*Ashanti - Foolish
Filter - Where Do We Go from Here
+New Order - Here To Stay
*S Club 7 - You
Cry Before Dawn - Gone Forever
*Badly Drawn Boy - Something To Talk About
Lifehouse - Breathing
Shedaisy - Get Over Yourself
*Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One
*U2 - Electrical Storm
Sarah Connor - Skin On Skin
+Minimalistix - Close Cover
Luce - Good Day
*Nelly - Dilemma
+Ryan Adams - Answering Bell
Johnny A - Oh Yeah
*Dirty Vegas - Days go by
+Mercury Rev - The Dark Is Rising
Michelle Branch - All You Wanted
+Mull Historical Society - Watching Xanadu
*Scooter - Ramp! (The Logical Song)
*Darius Danesh - Rushes
+Athlete - You Got The Style
+Garbage - Cherry Lips
*Alizee - Moi Lolita
+Trucks - It's Just Porn Mom
Eddie Vedder - You've Got To Hide Your Love..
Lostprophets - the Fake Sound of Progress
Lee Ann Womack - Something Worth Leaving Behind
The rules of engagement are fairly simple: Each performing artist may enter once and once only to this list. Tracks that had achieved significant success during 2001 are not eligible for entry this year. This rules out entries for Nickleback and the Calling. And, er, that's it.
Five CIN best sellers, four Pop Idle / American Idle singles, and real Number Ones from Pink, Ashanti, Coldplay, Bully Spice, and Nelly.
Records marked with a * are Significant Hits, selling 85,000 or taking an aggregate radio audience of 150 million people in the UK. There are about 200 such disks, and this list features 47 of them.
Records marked with a + were Minor Hits, selling 10,000 or 50 million on radio. There are about 550 in this category, and 56 make it here.
All the rest were not hits at all, the vast majority were not released or promoted in any way, and they account for the remaining 99 spots.
index ... past: december 1993 ... front ... links ... future: the best of 2002