Back to Black
2006 · From Back to Black
Ronson cut it at Daptone with the Dap-Kings, sixties girl-group machinery rebuilt around a voice in ruins.
★ 7.9
Browse by time · year
2006
Showing 38 songs from 2006
Rehab
2006 · From Back to Black
Cut live to tape at Daptone in Brooklyn with the Dap-Kings, and it took Record and Song of the Year.
★ 7.8
International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)
2006 · From Underground Kingz
A Willie Hutch loop left alone at the top, and Andre 3000's verse reportedly returned with the drums stripped off.
★ 7.6
SexyBack
2006 · From FutureSex / LoveSounds
Timberlake sang it in a distorted low register borrowed from Prince, and it held number one for seven weeks.
★ 7.0
Irreplaceable
2006
Ne-Yo pitched it as country, written with Shania Twain in mind; Beyoncé turned it into ten weeks at number one.
★ 6.8
When You Were Young
2006 · From Sam's Town
Twenty minutes for melody and title, by Flowers' account, and Flood and Moulder gave it Born to Run scale.
★ 6.7
You Know I'm No Good
2006 · From Back to Black
Ronson cut it at Daptone in Brooklyn with the Dap-Kings, Winehouse writing about infidelity and offering no apology.
★ 6.5
What You KnowT.I.
What You Know
2006
DJ Toomp turned a Roberta Flack interpolation into a synth fanfare, and T.I. won a Grammy for the performance.
★ 6.4
I Will Follow You Into the Dark
2006 · From Plans
One microphone, mono, caught during a studio break when the headphones failed, and Gibbard's breath before the first chord.
★ 6.3
Hips Don't Lie
Shakira and Wyclef Jean
2006
Jean and Duplessis rebuilt his 'Dance Like This' around Jerry Rivera's salsa trumpet line; number one in eighteen countries.
★ 6.2
Before He Cheats
2006
Tompkins and Kear wrote it hoping Gretchen Wilson would cut it; Underwood's version stayed sixty-four weeks on the Hot 100.
★ 6.1
Promiscuous
2006
Nicknamed the BlackBerry Song because every line could be text-messaged, and Timbaland trades verses instead of just producing.
★ 5.9
Hustlin'
2006
Produced by the Runners in 2005, it drew bids from Bad Boy and Murder Inc. before Def Jam won.
★ 5.8
Young Folks
2006
Yttling whistled a placeholder melody, ran it through tape delay, and kept it; Bergsman answers line for line.
★ 5.8
Blow the Whistle
2006
Lil Jon's beat never cracked the Hot 100, yet it became Too Short's signature, later borrowed by Drake and Saweetie.
★ 5.7
Dani California
2006 · From Stadium Arcadium
One character, tracked across three albums to her death, and a Frusciante outro built on Purple Haze.
★ 5.6
I Write Sins Not Tragedies
2006
Pizzicato cello, a title lifted from Douglas Coupland, and a circus wedding video that won Video of the Year.
★ 5.6
Chasing Cars
2006
Lightbody's father compared him to a dog chasing a car; a Grey's Anatomy finale sent it worldwide.
★ 5.4
Ridin'
2006
3.2 million ringtones sold, a Grammy won, and Play-N-Skillz's beat under a hook about racial profiling.
★ 5.3
Gravity
2006
Alicia Keys sings backing behind Pino Palladino's bass, and Mayer called it the most important song he has written.
★ 5.3