You Know We're Right

Nothing courts legitimacy like a starring role in a major motion picture, and mainstream pundits fell over themselves putting Eminem's place card at the adults' table thanks to the studied grittiness of director Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile. On disc, though, Em was already actor enough to put across a Jerry Lewis whine of preadolescent sexuality and a predatory flow as the new face of hip-hop. But on "Lose Yourself," the rapper's desperation is finally free of self-pity, and a Rocky-fied five-minute Behind the Music becomes a (sharply self-produced) triumph with a hook to catch the eye of a tiger.

2 Flaming Lips
"Do You Realize" from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
(Warner Bros.)

Chimes and strings behind him, Wayne Coyne prefaces his serenade with sugar, asking, Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face? Soon, though, he reaches his downer conclusion: Everyone you know someday will die. Well, duh, but with an angelic choir and a consciousness-altering key change in his favor, those words become profound, his advice irrefutable. Instead of saying all of your goodbyes/Let them know you realize that life moves fast/It's hard to make the good things last. So quit listening and call home already. OK, fine; you can wait until it's over.

3 Nirvana
"You Know You're Right," from Nirvana
(Geffen)

Even in death, Kurt Cobain schooled every postgrunge wanna-be on the pop charts this year, delivering a monumental last blast from the casket. Containing every classic Nirvana ingredient (loud-soft dynamics, grinding guitars and Cobain's inimitable yowl), "You Know" proved once and for all that the Washington trio was the most influential act of the '90s. Cobain's one-of-a-kind voice, cracking with misery and loss, still manages to be rock's most effective not-so-secret weapon.

4 Eminem
"Cleaning Out My Closet," from The Eminem Show
(Aftermath/Interscope)

Lil' Marshall Mathers, still crazy-mad at his mom after all these years, transforms a tantrum into great art. The single's final verse is one for the ages: It's a whirling, accretive, 283-syllable expectoration of piss, bile, humiliation, betrayal, shit, anger and sour grapes. So how can it be that when he hurls that final line -- Well, guess what? I am dead, dead to you as can be -- his eyes aren't the only ones filled with tears?

5 Get Up Kids
"Overdue," from On a Wire
(Vagrant)

Although the somber strains that imbued On a Wire made for the Get Up Kids' least interesting full-length to date, the album's saving grace was "Overdue." With its earnest acoustic strumming and muted rhythms, the tune provided a gorgeous backdrop for vocalist Matt Pryor's sugar-sprinkled melody and evocative lyrics (Went on a limb for you/Capsized when I turned 22/Did it burn as bad for you?/No bottle serves to soothe my wounds). A three-minute ode to aging and regret, "Overdue" proved that our favorite sour-patch kids haven't lost their sweet side.

6 Nelly
"Hot in Herre," from Nellyville
(Universal)

Nelly's sizzling summer single sported a contagious hook that appealed to suburban kids without scaring the shit out of their parents. Buoyed by the Neptunes' twitching, sweat-dripping production, the St. Louis rapper's finest hour found him celebrating the joys of stripping off Vokal tank tops and Gucci collars from a penthouse suite at the Four Seasons. That everyone was invited to Nelly's bash just made it that much more fun.

7 Andrew W.K.
"Party Hard," from I Get Wet
(Island)

When it's time to party, we will party hard! Thesis stated, a guitar onslaught immediately kicks "Party Hard" into hyperdrive for three life-affirming minutes of beer-soaked shit rock. Declaring We do what we like, and we like what we do with the uncanny conviction of 1,000 Sunset Strip bands, Andrew W.K. crafts an undeniable anthem for the ages.

8 Guy Clark
"Queenie's Song," from The Dark
(Sugar Hill)

Queenie's a dog. And Guy Clark is singing her song because she was shot dead by some S.O.B. trying out a new gun received as a Christmas gift. Or so Clark surmises as he comes upon her body under a tree. Typically, this preeminent Texas troubadour turns one encounter with petty human cruelty into a metaphor for life's harsh, unpredictable prospects. New Year's Day in Santa Fe broke mean, and it broke it cold, Clark sings with a grimace, feebly turning up his collar for protection.

9 The Anniversary
"Sweet Marie," from Your Majesty
(Vagrant/Heroes & Villains)

While its fans anticipated more '80s synth-pop bliss, the Anniversary was literally letting its hair down, searching through old records and finding a more comfortable fit. The group's newly aged sound debuted with album-opener "Sweet Marie," a gloriously preserved relic that replaces modulating keyboards with Hammond organs and soars like the Byrds.

10 The Hives
"Hate to Say I Told You So," from Veni Vidi Vicious
(Warner Bros.)