My Britney Spears Top 20 Countdown
To cap off this comprehensive look back at the life and times of Britney Spears I did what I do best, I ranked my favorite songs by her. I allowed this list to go from 10 to 20 since Britney has so much material and honestly I could have added another 20 songs if I wanted to. Still I think these 20 songs are a good cross section of her albums with some big hits but some choice deep cuts too. Again these are just my favorites not a general ranking. If it were a general ranking then Baby One More Time would have made the list! Shocking right?!? Read on...
20. I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman
Looking back Britney's 3rd album from 2001 simply titled Britney was a transition album that has kind of become underrated over the years. I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman defined the message of this album and it's a pretty great ballad with a strong build up to it. Britney isn't known for her ballads but at the start of her career Britney had some pretty good ones like Born to Make You Happy, I Will Be There and Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know. This song only got a little bit of airtime back in the day before disappearing so like a lot of songs off her 3rd album this is early Britney not only at her peak but it hasn't been played to death so it's ripe for rediscovery.
19. I'm a Slave 4 U
While this song didn't get a lot of airtime in 2001 compared to her earlier hits, time has been good to this song off Britney's 3rd album. At the time it felt like a jarring departure that left a lot of her fanbase more perplexed than disappointed. The years have been kind to I'm a Slave 4 U though as it seems it have now rightfully taken it's place among Britney's greatest singles. In fact in the years of late 2004 through late 2007 when Britney was not putting out any albums I'm a Slave 4 U was the song I heard most on the radio by Britney after Toxic. Britney also has performed I'm a Slave 4 U on every tour and residency since 2001 and crowds love it. I'm a Slave 4 U was ahead of its time in 2001, but now we can appreciate it as not only a great song but a necessary one in Britney's transition away from teen pop and into full on diva mode.
18. Gasoline
This deep cut should have been the 4th single off Femme Fatale instead of the turgid Criminal. The amount of hooks this song has is incredible. It's everything we love about Britney and I especially love at the end when she says in her best valley girl accent "It's hot in here!" It sure is Britney it sure is.
17. Do You Wanna Come Over?
Again just like Gasoline this song should have been a single. Songs like Do You Wanna Come Over are why we love Britney in the first place. It rides the line between silly and sexy perfectly and has hooks galore. People turn to Britney for the Bops and this was a monster bop that deserved better.
16. Anticipating
This was the song that convinced my to buy 2001's Britney after I didn't know how to process I'm a Slave 4 U at the time. I heard it initially on Britney's 2001 HBO special where she performed in Las Vegas. It sounds very inspired by Janet Jackson's All For You which had been a huge # 1 hit at the beginning of 2001. As I have said time and time again nobody did pure pop music better than Britney during the 00s and this song is just delightfully fun and bouncy. It's not gonna change the world but it will make you feel better as you listen to it and that's sometimes all you want from pop music.
15. Overprotected
I need to get this off my chest: I do not like the Darkchild remix of Overprotected. I think it robs the song of it's build up and is half as catchy. Still I don't think it matters what version they released in early 2002, because the Britney backlash was strong at radio by this time. In the years since fans have rediscovered what a gem this song is (at least in its original album version.) Like most of the songs off her 3rd album this sounds like early Britney at her best, but since it has not been overplayed by radio or MTV it still feels fresh. Lyrically it was about Britney's transition from girl to women but in the years since the conservatorship it hits a bit closer to home.
14. Breathe On Me
Anticipating convinced me to purchase Britney's 3rd album and Breathe On Me convinced me to purchase In the Zone. This might be the sexiest song Britney has ever done and that's saying something! The way the music throbs, the way Britney's cues, that climax, Breathe On Me just drips with sex from it's first note till it's last. It's also one of Britney's best if more subtle calls to the dance floor. Despite never being a single it's become a huge fan favorite and Britney still performs this song all the time in her concerts for a reason. Her performance of Breathe On me on the Onyx Hotel Tour is Madonna level scandalous! Pop music doesn't get much hotter than this.
13. Till the World Ends
Like Toxic this is one of those Britney songs straight dudes love and why not. The way the song keeps promising the euphoria of a chorus only to hold it back until past the half way mark works beautifully because it keeps giving us other hooks beforehand which are just as strong. In that way this song seems like the biggest response to Lady Gaga off Britney's 2011 Femme Fatale album. More specifically it sounds like it's trying to top Bad Romance by cramming in as many hooks and EMD beats as humanly possible into it's 4 minute run time. It doesn't top Gaga's song but the fact that it comes close is still damn impressive.
12. Circus
As soon as I first heard Circus on YouTube when it was leaked before the album dropped I knew this would be a single. There's not a lot to say other than it deserved all the radio play it garnered and was as strong a follow up to Womanizer as possible. By this point Britney was back and her music at the very least was better than ever.
11. You Drive Me Crazy (The Stop Remix)
Now unlike Overprotected where I much prefer the album version over the remix, I much prefer the single Remix for You Drive Me Crazy. The album version was fine for what it is but this remix turns a solid pop song into a Britney classic. This is early Britney at her best, nothing deep is going on but who gives a shit when it's this much fun. People tend to overthink pop music sometimes when really it should be about having fun first and foremost. I remember pausing the part where the song drops out after Britney yells Stop! and then pumping the volume back up when the song comes back at full force. It's silly things 13 year old Doug loved to do but it gave him such joy and he really needed it OK!
10. Hard to Forget You
This song has really crept up on me over the past few years. I liked it immediately when I first listened to Glory in 2016 but I like it even more now. Like so many of her songs this should have been a huge radio hit. I don't know what else to say other than it's Britney delivering another perfect bop and God bless her for it because no one has churned out as many bops as she has for the past 20 years.
9. I Wanna Go
This one felt annoying upon first listen but once it was released as a single I remember it clicking finally. This is the epitome of Britney serving a song in that her vocals are processed and chopped up so much that they stop feeling like vocals and start feeling like they are just part of the musical fabric. It's honestly quit avant garde and cutting edge for a single release and yet it still became a top 10 hit. This song is another example of why Britney has stayed around so long. Most other pop singers would not have let their vocals be chopped up like that and they probably wouldn't have signed off on the song in general but not Britney. She lets song writers and producers imaginations run wild in the studio and as a result we get pop music that is not only catchy but cutting edge and sounds like nothing else on the radio.
8. Sometimes
Baby One More Time got me interested in Britney but Sometimes is when I fell in love with her. I can't explain it but 13 year old Doug loved this song and music video so much. It tied with Madonna's Beautiful Stranger as my favorite song of 1999 and I put it on countless mix tapes. This song really takes me back to who I was in 1999. I was a 13 year old kid hiding in the closet who was starting to feel disconnected to a world not built for him. And yet for that year I had Britney to comfort me and keep me company when I felt most alone.
7. Womanizer
This was the moment it felt like Britney was really back. Blackout was great and I played the album to death but Britney felt absent at the time of that album’s release due to all the craziness that befell her in 2007. With Womanizer, at least the song and music video, it felt like Britney was at the center of her own music again and they couldn't have picked a better song to launch Circus. It became her first #1 since Baby One More Time and it's been beloved ever since. My husband before I met him loved this song so much he listened to it non stop one day for hours. The power of Britney baby.
6. Work Bitch!
In a short amount of time Work Bitch has become one of the most iconic and beloved Britney Spears songs of all time. The fact that it opened Britney's Vegas Residency and the Piece of Me Tour for 5 years solidified it as an all time Britney classic. It's an anthem that actually acknowledges that living the pop star dream takes a lot of work and dedication baby. But really it's just a great anthem for any girl or gay who wants to get FIERCE on the dance floor. When it comes to Work Bitch only the fabulous need apply!
5. Everytime
This is the most artistic and raw moment in Britney's entire catalogue. This song was the first time Britney removed the pop star mask and revealed the human behind it and that person had a lot more sadness and regret than we ever imagined. Britney's more limited vocal range becomes an asset for this song because it feels like Britney herself might break at any minute much like the song itself. The music video which I discussed during my look back at In the Zone made the song even more emotional and devastating. Years later Everytime remains the most haunting yet beautiful moment in Britney's entire career.
4. Break the Ice
This song checks off all the Britney boxes with sexy panting, multiple talk sets, amazing production and a hook to die for. Break the Ice is a triumph and when I first heard the leaked demo back in 2007 I knew immediately it was one of Britney's best. Nobody was making pop music this good in 2007 as far as I am concerned. It sadly only hit 17 on the billboard 100, but much like the rest of Blackout Break the Ice is now revered as one of the best pop songs of the 2000s.
3. Oops! I Did It Again
Oops! I Did It Again was my most anticipated album of 2000 (Along with Music by Madonna.) This song was everything I wanted it to be back in 2000 and I played it constantly over and over and over again to the point that my brother now says this song gives him PTSD! Max Martin was on a roll at this time and this was just another slice of pop genius he seemingly tossed out with the slightest of ease. For a short time this was my favorite Britney Spears song of all time but then it conceded that spot to a lot of her singles from 2003-2008. But in the past year Oops! I Did It Again has sunk its claws back into me and I remember why this was my favorite song of 2000. It's pop music done right and without apology. If you don't like it then you don't like pop music and you probably don't like Britney Spears and if that's the case then what's wrong with you?!?!
2. Gimme More
"It's Britney Bitch!" With those 3 words Britney announced not only her return to pop music but that she was a legend that knew she held the world's attention in the palm of her hand. The rest of the song lives up to that legendary promise. Back in 2007 Gimme More suffered slightly from Britney's 2007 VMA performance and chaos that was surrounding her, but now it's become one her calling cards. Britney had been working her way up to Blackout shedding her teen pop image and getting dirtier and sexier with each album and Blackout was the climax of that journey. It's the album she was always meant to make and Gimme More is the crown jewel off that album. Britney may have been in a rough patch personally, but musically she was leagues ahead of the competition back in 2007. It was my favorite song to dance to at the clubs and college parties we threw back then. For most girls this would be their peak but not Britney.
1. Toxic
Yes this is the obvious choice but it's also the right one. I can't stress enough how much this song put Britney back on the map in early 2004. It made people sit up and pay attention to her music again. I also believe that Toxic generated so much goodwill that it carried her through the next few years when we had a dry spell of new Britney music. It's the Britney song everybody loved including straight guys. It's the Britney song that sounded like no other song on the radio back in 2003-2004. It's the Britney song with the most inventive, wild and ear grabbing production. It's the Britney song that has a bitchin' Grunge cover by Local H. It's the Britney song that is arguably the best pop song of the entire decade. It's the Britney song that will outlive all other Britney songs long after we are all dead and gone. It's the Britney song that reminds us why we love pop music in the first place. It's the Britney song that has to be #1.
