2009 was a regrettable year for music in hindsight. It certainly wasn’t the worst music to come out ever, no that was saved for the turn of the decade. That being said it also allowed bands like Daughtry and Shinedown to have hit singles and Nickelback notched not one but two songs on the year end Billboard hot one hundred. While I certainly miss the good old days where rock bands were still running the charts, 2009 was the year where control slowly started to slip away from the conventional rock bands to more contemporary pop groups that would go on to shape modern pop music for years to come. I have both fond and negative memories of the music that came out of 2009 so I figured I would highlight my favorite and least favorite songs to come out of that year. These are the best and worst hit songs of 2009.

5.

Worst: Hotel Room Service- Pitbull

We start off the list with a song that I liked when I first heard it but has just aged badly as time went on and I started listening to more and more hip hop. Back then this is what I thought “real hip hop” was. In hindsight, this song is terrible. I’ll give it credit for at least having a fun and light hearted feel that Pitbull admittedly can effectively deliver even on his worst tracks. However, what the song boils down to is sex in a hotel. It was funny and entertaining when I didn’t know anything about rap music. But now that I’ve listened to more songs with similar subject matter, this is bottom of the barrel for sure.

Best: Party in the U.S.A- Miley Cyrus

This is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, and it certainly is not easy to admit that I like a Miley Cyrus song now knowing what she would go on to create later on down the road. But I don’t care how embarrassing this is. I liked this song when I first heard it and I still enjoy hearing it when it comes on. Although I don’t know how one “Moves their hips like yeah”, this song just sounds good to me on an aesthetic level. I like the subject matter of the song which is basically being the new girl on the block and curing her nerves with a song she finds empowering. I love the hook which still makes me bob my head just thinking about it. Very good song. By the way this just edged out “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback, who was my favorite rock band ever back at this time.

4.

Worst: Whatcha Say- Jason Derulo

Where to begin with this one. Well we can start with the poorly used Imogen Heap sample that upon re-listening doesn’t make any sense to the subject matter of the song. Then of course there’s the fact this is the least convincing apology ever. The song is Jason apologizing to his girlfriend for cheating on her. The way he chooses to convey this is by talking about how famous he will be. Fame which will no doubt come with women throwing themselves at him after he’s already proven his infidelity to you. That’s a bad way to lead off. This song isn’t bad as far as sound goes. It isn’t unpleasant to listen to in the least. It’s just poorly written and severely lacking in any sincerity and fails to convey any genuine regret.

Best: Run This Town- Jay-Z feat. Rihanna and Kanye West

As I mentioned previously I was pretty out of touch with hip-hop back in this time. However, one song that I heard and was blown away by was “Run This Town”. The thing that impresses me the most about this song is how all three people involved just sound like they are in charge. Even Rihanna who even now, I don’t find that convincing as a boss female. She works it here. Everyone involved does. That’s most of the appeal of this song for me is that when I listen to it, I feel in charge. These performers make me believe that they do in fact run this town. It’s great.

3.

Worst: Break Up- Mario feat. Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett

This song is so bad, it is borderline sociopathic. I didn’t hear it when it first came out, but when I did hear it a few years later I swear to God it was one of the worst things I ever heard. The beat sounds like something that those creepy clowns from last Halloween would use as a soundtrack for their murders if they ever committed any. The lyrics basically are an attempt to stop this girl from breaking up with him or taking him back. This attempt starts off with “but I give you such good sex”. Already a bad start, but after that it wanders into “more fish in the sea.” Followed by “I promise I’ll be better.” Which is immediately negated by saying that he’s a perpetual liar and his promises are worthless. As is this song. Worthless.

Best: Let It Rock- Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne

Back in 2009 Lil Wayne had a super power where he could make any no-name music producer a superstar just by putting his name on their song. He used that power for good in this case, giving no name rock songwriter, Kevin Rudolf, the one hit wonder status he so richly deserves. Now I don’t want to take anything away from Kevin Rudolf because he carries this song to where it needs to be. He completely masks Lil Wayne’s shortcomings as a guitar player which would become much more apparent when he would release a solo album entirely of rock tunes. Kevin gives this song the raw energy it needs for Wayne to feed off and make it awesome. Kevin provides the energy, Wayne provides the swagger, and what seems like a strange combination on paper comes together to create a thing of beauty.

2.

Worst: Diva- Beyonce

Beyonce has released several songs that I hate with a passion that I now find hard to express. “If I Were a Boy” represents absolutely everything that is wrong with feminism today, and “Single Ladies” is okay, but has not gotten better over time for me. “Diva” however, is an absolute chore to listen to. Beyonce has the charisma to make a song like this work so I won’t knock her performance, but she had an uphill battle to fight with the brain-dead lyrics, and the instrumental that sounds like someone’s hitting the Lollipop Guild over the head with a hammer in time to this song. It isn’t good. I wasn’t a fan of Beyonce back in 09 but had I heard this song back then, I probably would have never listened to a single thing she wrote ever again.

Best: I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas

I’m a sucker for a good party song. Back in 2009 this song was always on repeat. Few songs so accurately depict the hype, joy, and just overall craziness of just having the best night of your life. No school dance, prom or other kind of party is complete without this song. If you have not danced to this song at an event, you have not truly had a great time at this event. I don’t even know what else to say, I love this song. I listened to it for the first time in a couple years, and when I did it immediately took me back to some of my fondest memories of my adolescence. Great song.

1.

Worst: Boom Boom Pow- Black Eyed Peas

Now this is just sad. All bands have a slump. Most bands fall from grace. Eminem followed up three classic albums in a row with a straight up turd. Nickelback fell so low as to collaborate with freaking Flo Rida on a song on their 2012 release. When a band falls off the top, it usually isn’t on the same album. I could see this song being good if you’re drunk and are dancing in a club, but I don’t drink, and I don’t go to clubs, and I certainly wasn’t doing all that back in 2009 when I was in seventh grade. So, this song has no appeal to me. The lyrics are terrible, and the beat is bad and would eventually be recycled in every single song Will.I.Am would produce for the Peas after this. It’s a hot mess of a song, and never have I seen a band’s descent into irrelevance come so soon after it had reached its grand apex.

Best: Fireflies-Owl City

This is another song that takes me back to some of my fondest memories from my early teens. Few songs are as synonymous with 2009 as this one for me. It has such a charming innocence about it that gives it so much depth. A guy is contemplating the meaning of life, and interpreting his own dreams through something as trivial as fireflies. And the imagery the song invokes is so vivid that if I’m listening to this song in the dark, especially on a starry night, I can actually imagine a million fireflies flying around me. It’s a song I can just get lost in and forget about all my troubles. But it’s also a song I can stop to think about important things and put things into perspective if I feel the need to. It’s very rare a song can invoke so many different feelings from me, and I don’t think any song has been able to do this well ever since.

That’s my list, if you agree or disagree feel free to comment and have a discussion. Thank you for reading this far, and I will see you next time.