# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 2004 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518 "2014-11-24T20:45:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/1 "2014-11-24T20:45:27Z")
I’m jumping the gun and posting this poll a day early in order to move our schedule ahead so I don’t have to do a poll on Thanksgiving (and because the 2003 poll is a done deal at this point.) I may end up hot-shotting a few more polls so we can collect the rest of our data for the Age of Crunk and get to the point where (IMO) the #1s start getting more diverse and interesting again. That being said, here’s 2004. We have 11 songs to choose from, excluding the carryover “Hey Ya!” because it won 2003 by the most overwhelming of margins. What’s your pick? Previous polls: [1955-56](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731649) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731871) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732021) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732199)[1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732526) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732691) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732872) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733112) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733297) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733526) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733750) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733958) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734168) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734331) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734535) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734741) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735107) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735304) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735502) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735659) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735871) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736076) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736316) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736501) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736957) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737099) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737315) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737488) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737732) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737957) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738178) [1988](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738403) [1989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738639) [1990](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738829) [1991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739067) [1992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739360) [1993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739525) [1994](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739880) [1995](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740122) [1996](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740302) [1997](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740497) [1998](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740709) [1999](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740859) [2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741047) [2001](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741267) [2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741450) [2003](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741604) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/2 "2014-11-24T21:20:06Z")
Snoop Dogg and Pharrell. Usher really was dominating! Among my favorite years of my life. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/3 "2014-11-24T21:38:14Z")
Yeah; not much. OutKast with Snoop and Pharrell second. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/4 "2014-11-24T22:38:49Z")
Apparently all of the songs I remember from 2004 didn’t chart very well. Lean Back was pretty good, I guess. I mean, I liked a bunch of other songs that sampled it or remixed it. That’s close enough, right? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/5 "2014-11-24T22:43:50Z")
I’m going with Usher’s “Yeah” for this year. God, I love that simple synthy hook, along with the sparse beat, and that tumbling bass line. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/6 "2014-11-25T02:13:42Z")
This one was tighter than the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford, but Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” beats Outkast’s “The Way You Move” in the world-famous **Ponch8 Music Rating System**. “Yeah!” is a distant third place. I’m a pretty big Snoop Dogg fan, and I figured this was my one chance to vote for him. He had another #1 hit with Akon that isn’t that great. His only other #1 was “California Gurls” with Katy Perry, but I sure as shit am not voting for this Dr. Luke-produced song. I’ve never heard of ANY of the other songs. Listening to them all on Youtube, I now realize that I didn’t miss anything. These other songs are every bit as bad as the Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men hits of the 1990s. “I Believe” is particularly horrible, earning the dreaded dead-ass last place designation. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/7 "2014-11-25T02:17:33Z")
_Yeah!_ will live in infamy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/8 "2014-11-25T02:31:37Z")
Say, is there going to be a champion-of-champions poll? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/9 "2014-11-25T02:58:40Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Say, is there going to be a champion-of-champions poll? That’s the plan. Once we’re caught up to the present day, I’ll do a best of the decade poll for each decade, and after December 18th (when the final chart of 2014 comes out and we can do the poll for this year) we’ll take the polls from every decade to select the greatest #1 of all time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/10 "2014-11-25T03:01:21Z")
I also think you should have a round up poll(s) of all the songs that received 0 votes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/11 "2014-11-25T04:14:55Z")
Whoa, a year where I recognize absolutely none of the choices upon just reading them. Only upon looking it up the Outkast one clicked. Damn. What _was_ I doing in 2004? ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/12 "2014-11-25T05:17:15Z")
I just claimed Hey Ya was my least favorite Outkast song in the last thread, The Way You Move is a close second. I chose Burn. Mostly for [this](http://www.adultswim.com/videos/the-boondocks/let-it-burn/), but I do enjoy the song. Confessions Part 2 is still good a Usher song. Other than that, I’d have probably picked Slow Jamz. Still love that song. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/13 "2014-11-25T06:07:18Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Whoa, a year where I recognize absolutely none of the choices upon just reading them. Only upon looking it up the Outkast one clicked. > > Damn. What _was_ I doing in 2004? Same here. Apparently I tuned in, turned off, and dropped out. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/14 "2014-11-25T08:55:49Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Same here. Apparently I tuned in, turned off, and dropped out. Me as well. WTH? I didn’t even vote. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/15 "2014-11-25T12:26:13Z")
Showing my musical ignorance here, but I was going to vote for “The Way You Move” until I realised it wasn’t the song I thought it was - I was thinking of the song “I Like the Way You Move” by The Bodyrockers! That being the case, I don’t know any of the songs on the list except the last two, and I don’t like them, so no vote from me this time round. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/16 "2014-11-25T14:11:55Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Showing my musical ignorance here, but I was going to vote for “The Way You Move” until I realised it wasn’t the song I thought it was - I was thinking of the song “I Like the Way You Move” by The Bodyrockers! That being the case, I don’t know any of the songs on the list except the last two, and I don’t like them, so no vote from me this time round. I had a similar moment with “My Boo.” I confused it with “Dilemma” by Nelly. When I pulled up “My Boo” on youtube, I realized I’d never heard it before in my life. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/17 "2014-11-25T15:04:06Z")
Add me to those who don’t recognize any of these songs. Oh, except _Yeah_, which \*is \*a great song. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/18 "2014-11-25T16:01:24Z")
What was that link to the medley of #1 songs for each year? I recognized fewer than half of these, but I feel like Outkast squeaked by with a win. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/19 "2014-11-25T16:05:22Z")
Hey, apparently I did hear The Way You Move once! And it’s not bad. OK, gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518/20 "2014-11-25T16:18:50Z")
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! YEAH! And I had no idea Pharrell was around that long. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2004/705518.md?page=2)