Rolling Stone has released its list of The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far, a wide-reaching look at the music that has shaped the last 25 years. It’s a survey of everything from basement punk to chart-shaking reggaeton, from the global domination of boy bands to the rise of bedroom pop and underground hip-hop that came up through Napster, iTunes, and Spotify.
The ranking was pooled by Rolling Stone’s team of staff, who provided a snapshot of how much the century’s sound has evolved and defined every generation that listens closely.
The Lucky Nine
When a list like this drops, most people scroll straight to the top 10. Those upper ranks tell a bigger story about how songs endure across decades. Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” lands near the peak for a reason. What started as a quiet breakup ballad became one of the defining sprawling heartbreak songs of modern-day pop music; Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” captures a completely different side of 2000s music: the garage-born intimacy that indie rock made possible.
Then there’s Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love,” a song that rewrote what pop dominance sounded like. The horn stabs, Jay-Z’s verse, and Beyoncé’s commanding vocal presence formed a blueprint for what it meant to be unstoppable. The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” remains a marvel of simplicity with a bass riff that feels embedded into collective memory.
In more recent entries, Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” has become one of the most important protest songs of the century when it became the official anthem during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. Its message of hope through struggle continues to echo across movements, its chorus now chanted in the streets and sampled in classrooms. The song defines resilience not through grand gestures but through its quiet conviction. Other songs in this range, from Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” to Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” remind listeners that reinvention drives pop forward. Together, the top nine reveal a pattern where songs changed how people felt about what pop could express.
K-Pop Domination
The list also proves that language and geography are no longer barriers. BTS’ “Dynamite” and “Spring Day,” NewJeans’ “Super Shy,” and BLACKPINK’s “DDU-DU DDU-DU” all land coveted spots, reflecting K-pop’s hold over global audiences.
Each track pushes boundaries in its own way. BTS blurred the lines between idol pop and self-reflective storytelling, balancing mass appeal with emotional sincerity. NewJeans built a new kind of nostalgia through clean hooks and 2000s-style minimalism, offering their sonic interpretation of modern youth. But pioneering groups like Girls’ Generation and their iconic cut “Gee” prove that, with the right concoction of precision and energy, Asian music can be globally marketable.
Indie Sleeper Hits
Not everything on the list screams commercial success. Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” remains one of the few folk songs to feel timeless for its rustic atmosphere. Its looping harmonies and melodies proved that intimacy can be powerful without being loud. Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” does something similar for the 2000s, launching intimate folk heartbreak into catharsis that ultimately put the genre on the map.
Mitski’s “Your Best American Girl” sits higher than most expected, marking her as one of the few artists to merge vulnerability with control. The song’s crescendo — quiet verses collapsing into noise — became a generational release for anyone who grew up caught between cultural or emotional expectations. Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” appearing on the list is another reminder that indie collectives once defined the underground before algorithms took over. Its lo-fi layering and fractured vocals still hit like a dream remembered through static.
LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” also earned a deserved place, proof that dance-punk and melancholy can live in the same room. James Murphy’s repetition of a simple piano riff and reflective lyrics about aging into cynicism still feel fresh. These selections underline how indie music, often written off as niche, can quietly shape the mood and aesthetic of the zeitgeist.
Numero Uno
At the top sits Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On.” No surprise, but it was still thrilling to witness the song ranked number one. When it came out in 2001, the song sounded alien. The beat, built around bhangra and Punjabi samples, was chopped and pitched into patterns that didn’t follow any Western rhythm. Timbaland’s production worked like controlled chaos, while Missy Elliott’s voice cut through with unmatched authority with its iconic “holla!” echoing in the distance. No one else could have made it. The song predicted how borderless production would become, how a beat could borrow from anywhere and still sound brand-new.
Its placement at number one feels earned not only because of its innovation, but what it meant for creativity at the turn of the century. It represents a highly experimental moment in mainstream hip-hop, and women like Missy Elliott were redefining rap music with power and confidence. Even now, “Get Ur Freak On” still sounds future-proof.
