Rolling Stone’s Best Songs of the Decade
60. “Irreplaceable”
That acoustic guitar surge, courtesy of songwriter Ne-Yo, gives Miss B the courage to throw a no-good boyfriend out of the house. Yet another reason to love Beyoncé: at 13 letters, this was the longest one-word song title ever to hit Number One, breaking the 12-letter record set by “Superstition.”
50. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
With a helping hand from The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, Beyoncé issued her definitive statement for ladies stuck in limbo with a dude who can’t commit. The swinging beat was irresistible, the video was jiggletastic, and the message was clear: Get it together, fellas.
03. “Crazy In Love”
The horns weren’t a hook. They were a herald: Pop’s new queen had arrived. Beyoncé’s debut solo smash, powered by that sampled Chi-Lites brass blast, announced her liberation from Destiny’s Child and established her MO: She’d best the competition by doing everything sassier, bigger, crazier.
