# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 2005 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695 "2014-11-26T17:16:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **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 26, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/1 "2014-11-26T17:16:45Z")
The year is now 2005. This year marks another big change in the way the Hot 100 works - for the first time, digital sales are incorporated into the formula for calculating the charts. As a result, sales become a significant part of the formula again after dwindling in relevance due to the death of the physical singles market, and though we don’t notice it quite so much this year, it contributes to the #1s becoming more diverse in the years to come and putting an end to the Age of Crunk. There’s no carryover this year, and this is in fact the slowest year for #1s - a mere eight songs made it to the top spot this year. What’s your favorite? 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) [2004](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741730) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/2 "2014-11-26T17:20:49Z")
Without question, Gold Digger. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/3 "2014-11-26T17:48:46Z")
Gwen Stefani, easily and to honor No Doubt who never had a #1 single. Mariah Carey made a good comeback and she still had a tenacity for #1 singles, but never captured her 1990s heyday. Gwen deserves my vote. Liked “Gold Digger” in 2005 but now it has aged badly barely ten years on and I have grown to dislike Kanye West. My high school graduation year. ---
**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 26, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/4 "2014-11-26T18:09:18Z")
Gold Digger, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/5 "2014-11-26T18:13:20Z")
As I could’ve gone with “Hollaback Girl”, “We Belong Together”, or “Gold Digger”; and as I figured (correctly) that Kanye and Gwen, respectively, would be getting the most votes, I decided to go with Mariah Carey for this year (which, surprisingly, is not as purulently shitty as the previous several years have been). Might things be looking up? ---
**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 26, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/6 "2014-11-26T18:16:11Z")
> [@Eddie\_F](#): > > As I could’ve gone with “Hollaback Girl”, “We Belong Together”, or “Gold Digger”; and as I figured (correctly) that Kanye and Gwen, respectively, would be getting the most votes, I decided to go with Mariah Carey for this year (which, surprisingly, is not as purulently shitty as the previous several years have been). > > Might things be looking up? I daresay they are - we’re past the peak of the dance/crunk boom at this point, and while that genre still hasn’t disappeared from the pop charts entirely today, we will be seeing more “fun” pop music in the remaining years we have to look at. I cast my vote for Hollaback Girl, for what it’s worth - it’s one of the songs I hated when it was new, especially compared to some of the alternative music on the radio at the time (White Stripes/Franz Ferdinand/the Killers etc.), but I have to admit it’s a catchy song, and it holds up better than the rest of this list. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/7 "2014-11-26T18:22:36Z")
Jesus Hell, you’ve reduced me to voting for Kanye West. Oh well. ---
**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 26, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/8 "2014-11-26T18:56:36Z")
For the third consecutive year, there is a very tight two-song contest for superiority in the world-famous **Ponch8 Music Rating System**. “Gold Digger” beats “Hollaback Girl” just by a skosh. Carrie Underwood’s “Inside Your Heaven” easily finishes dead-ass last, even though most of these other songs aren’t that great either. Are we nearing the end of Mariah Carey’s reign of terror yet? ---
**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 26, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/9 "2014-11-26T18:59:33Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Are we nearing the end of Mariah Carey’s reign of terror yet? She has one more #1 coming up in 2008 - which, at 18, makes her the solo artist with the most #1s in history, and second only to the Beatles (at 20) with the most #1s overall. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/10 "2014-11-26T20:59:24Z")
The only song on this list I remember is “Hollaback Girl” and my undying hatred for Gwen Stefani prevents me from voting for it. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/11 "2014-11-26T22:32:55Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > The only song on this list I remember is “Hollaback Girl” and my undying hatred for Gwen Stefani prevents me from voting for it. This exactly. ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/12 "2014-11-27T04:20:15Z")
I liked all but 2 songs on this list, so it was relatively tough (not really). Went with Mario’s best song as an artist. Still such a smooth song. We Belong Together is a very good Mariah song, and it’s attached to fond memories of a summer camp I went to that year. It was also that same summer Fall Out Boy got really big. It was an interesting camp. I’ve never heard the Carrie Underwood song. I don’t even want to know what it’s about. ---
**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 27, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/13 "2014-11-27T05:01:33Z")
> [@piepiepie](#): > > I’ve never heard the Carrie Underwood song. I don’t even want to know what it’s about. You’re better off keeping it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/14 "2014-11-27T10:22:43Z")
I couldn’t bring myself to vote in 2004 so I have to find something this year… **Gwen Stefani** - _Hollaback Girl_. It’s far from her best but she deserves my vote for the rest of her career. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/15 "2014-12-07T17:57:37Z")
Yeah…This is the year I stopped listening to conventional radio stations in exclusive favor of online ones that are genre specific. Reading this list, well, no regrets. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/16 "2014-12-07T18:06:31Z")
Don’t know how I missed this list, but I _love_ “Gold Digger,” so that it is. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2005/705695/17 "2014-12-16T21:56:17Z")
I have never said this before and I will never say it again: This list is so bad there is nothing on it I can vote for. Usually I can find at least one piece of pyrite in the dungheap but there isn’t any here. Now I feel less bad about not being able to remember 2005.