DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. The DMDB blog serves up album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays.
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 | Billboard:Albums of the Year, 1956-2024 |
Billboard magazine has named an album of the year each year since 1956. The award is based on the album with the best overall chart performance in that calendar year. Check out other album of the year awards here.
Resources and Related Links:
First posted 9/6/2020; last updated 12/23/2024. |
 | R&B:Albums of the Year |
This page consolidates the R&B Album of the Year awards as given by the American Music Awards (1974-present), Billboard (1990-present with some years where award wasn’t given), the Grammys (1995-present), and Soul Train (1997-2004, 2009-present). The Grammys also had a Best Contemporary R&B Album category (2003-2011) and Best Progressive R&B Award (2013-present). Also included is the album each year from 1967 to present which rates highest in Dave’s Music Database. Check out other album of the year awards here.
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First posted 11/30/2020; last updated 2/4/2024. |
 | Jay-ZTop 50 Songs |
Rap singer, record executive, and entrepreneur born Shawn Corey Carter on 12/4/1969 in Brooklyn, NY. He grew up in a public housing project, raised by his mother. His father abandoned the family. He dropped out of high school during his sophomore year, started selling drugs, and was shot three times. He founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 and released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. He holds the record for most #1 albums by a solo artist (14) on the Billboard album chart. He has sold 140 million records and won 24 Grammy Awards. In 2023, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by both Billboard and Vibe magazines. As an entrepreneur, he founded the clothing retailer Rocwear in 1999 and 40/40 Club, a luxury bar chain, in 2003. In 2008, he launched Roc Nation, a multi-disciplinary entertainment agency. In 2019, he became the first hip-hop billionaire. As of 2023, he has a net worth of 2.5 billion, making him the wealthiest musical artist in the world. In 2008, he married R&B/pop singer Beyoncé Knowles. Above information based on Wikipedia bio. Links:
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Top 50 SongsDave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs on which Jay-Z appeared as a guest artist are noted with an asterisk (*).
DMDB Top 1%:
1. Crazy in Love (with Beyoncé, 2003) * DMDB Top 2%:
4. 99 Problems (2003) DMDB Top 5%:
6. Drunk in Love (with Beyoncé, 2003) DMDB Top 10%:
10. Numb/Encore (with Linkin Park, 2004) DMDB Top 20%:
18. Monster (with Kanye West, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, & Nicki Minaj, 2010) *
21. Clique (with Kanye West & Big Sean, 2012) *
31. Talk That Talk (with Rihanna, 2011) * Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:
36. Young Forever (with Mr. Hudson, 2009)
41. Fiesta Remix (with R. Kelly, Boo & Gotti, 2001) * Resources and Related Links:
First posted 12/3/2023; last updated 12/4/2023. |
image from SeanAyy.com
I am continuously frustrated by claims that today’s new music sucks or that rock and roll is dead. Such proclamations are often spouted by people so stuck on their favorites from 25 years ago that they are afraid to let anything new seep through. In response to a recent Facebook post from a friend who said he “quit following any kind of new artists in the late ‘90s,” I put together this list of 50 reasons to still listen to “new” music (i.e. albums released by acts who formed since 2000):
1. Ryan Adams “Heartbreaker” (2000)
2. Adele “21” (2011)
3. Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color” (2015)
4. Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion” (2009)
5. Arcade Fire “Funeral” (2004)
6. Arctic Monkeys “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” (2006)
7. The Black Keys “Brothers” (2010)
8. Bloc Party “Silent Alarm” (2005)
9. Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago” (2008)
10. Bright Eyes “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” (2005)
11. Coldplay “A Rush of Blood to the Head” (2002)
12. Lana Del Rey “Born to Die” (2012)
13. Duffy “Rockferry” (2008)
14. Florence + the Machine “Lungs” (2009)
15. Fleet Foxes “Fleet Foxes” (2008)
16. Franz Ferdinand “Franz Ferdinand” (2004)
17. Gorillaz “Demon Days” (2005)
18. Interpol “Turn on the Bright Lights” (2002)
19. Keane “Hopes and Fears” (2004)
20. Alicia Keys “Songs in A Minor” (2001)
21. The Killers “Hot Fuss” (2004)
22. Kings of Leon “Only by the Night” (2008)
23. Lady Gaga “The Fame” (2008)
24. Kaiser Chiefs “Employment” (2005)
25. Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015)
26. LCD Soundsystem “Sound of Silver” (2007)
27. The Libertines “Up the Bracket” (2002)
28. Linkin Park “Hybrid Theory” (2000)
29. M.I.A. “Kala” (2007)
30. Mika “Life in Cartoon Motion” (2007)
31. Mumford & Sons “Babel” 2012)
32. Kacey Musgraves “Same Trailer Different Park” (2013)
33. My Morning Jacket “Z” (2005)
34. The National “High Violet” (2010)
35. Frank Ocean “Channel Orange” (2012)
36. Pink “M!ssundaztood” (2001)
37. Scissor Sisters “Scissor Sisters” (2004)
38. The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow” (2003)
39. Sam Smith “In the Lonely Hour” (2014)
40. Streets “A Grand Don’t Come for Free” (2004)
41. The Strokes “Is This It” (2001)
42. Sufjan Stevens “Illiois” (2005)
43. TV on the Radio “Dear Science” (2008)
44. Vampire Weekend “Vampire Weekend” (2008)
45. The Vines “Highly Evolved” (2002)
46. The War on Drugs “Lost in the Dream” (2014)
47. Kanye West “The College Dropout” (2004)
48. Amy Winehouse “Back to Black” (2006)
49. The XX “XX” (2009)
50. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Fever to Tell” (2003)
 | December 12, 2012:Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert |
The nearly six-hour concert to raise relief funds for victims of Hurricane Sandy was held 12/12/12 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tickets ranged in price from $150 to $2500. More than $30 million was raised just on ticket sales. HP Millions in the New York and New Jersey areas were left without heat or electricity for weeks and more than 300,000 homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. HP The show was televised, streamed, and aired on radio all over the world. It was shown on 37 television stations in the U.S. and over 200 worldwide. HP Producers said as many as 2 billion people might tune in. HP Locals dominated the show with performances from Jersey’s Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi and New Yorkers’ Billy Joel and Alicia Keys. Live sets consisted of about 30 minutes with celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Adam Sandler, and Brian Williams, making pleas for pledges and introducing acts. Springsteen opened with a set including “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Wrecking Ball,” “My City in Ruins,” and a cover of the Impressions’ “People Get Ready.” Jon Bon Jovi joined him for “Born to Run.” Bon Jovi returned later with his band for a set with another hook-up with Springsteen on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” Roger Waters, whose tour for The Wall is the highest grossing of the year, performed a scaled down version of that show with a set featuring classics like “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” “Money,” and, with Eddie Vedder as a guest vocalist, “Comfortably Numb.” Eric Clapton was up next with a three-song set of “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out,” the obscure Derek and the Dominos’ song “Got to Get Better in a Little While,” and “Crossroads.” The Rolling Stones, in the midst of celebrating their 50th anniversary, followed with just two songs – “You Got Me Rocking” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Mick Jagger joked about it being “the world’s biggest collection of aged British rock stars,” BB a reference to other legendary performers on the bill such as Clapton, The Who, Paul McCartney, and Roger Waters. Alicia Keys performed a more intimate two-song set with new song “Brand New Me” and “No One.” She returned at the end of the show with a performance of “Empire State of Mind,” originally a #1 song she recorded with Jay-Z. The Who, currently touring behind their classic Quadrophenia album, did a limited version of that tour and included favorites like “Who Are You,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Baba O’Riley,” and “Love Reign O’er Me.” It was one of the weaker performances of the night as Roger Daltrey’s voice was not in stellar form. By the way, Mr. Daltrey, you are in great shape for a 68-year-old man, but please button up your shirt. Kanye West seemed out of place, being “stuck representing youth and the hip-hop community on the bill.” BB His shortened versions of his songs didn’t allow his “music to develop a dynamic quality on par with the rock acts.” BB Billy Joel performed a set of several favorites, including the appropriately-themed “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” and “New York State of Mind” before Coldplay’s Chris Martin took the stage. He performed a couple songs solo and brought out R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe as a surprise guest on a duet of “Losing My Religion.” In the most anticipated performance of the night, Paul McCartney performed a set heavier on Wings-era material than Beatles before being joined by former Nirvana members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear for a new song, “Cut Me Some Slack.” The full set for all the night’s performers is available at Billboard.com. Resources and Related Links:
First posted 12/13/2012; updated 12/7/2023. |
image from rcrdlbl.com
Jack White, one of today’s most celebrated musicians, is set to accomplish something this week he couldn’t do with his groups The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, or Dead Weather – land a #1 album on Billboard with his first solo effort, Blunderbuss. White got his start with the 1999 release of The White Stripes, a roots-oriented duo comprised of himself on guitar and vocals and his ex-wife Meg White on drums. De Stijl followed in 2000. Neither charted in the U.S. or U.K.
The group had its big break with 2001’s White Blood Cells, an album which, along with The Strokes’ Is This It, powered a garage-rock revival. The album rates as one of the top 1000 albums of all time and one of the top 100 albums of the 2000s. The album appears on best-of lists from Q Magazine and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Spin magazine ranked it Album of the Year. Its song “Fell in Love with a Girl” ranked in Blender’s Top 500 Songs Since You Were Born (1980-2005) and is rated by the DMDB as one of the top 100 videos of all time.
Fell in Love with a Girl
With high expectations, Jack and Meg delivered an even more acclaimed and commercially successful follow-up with 2003’s Elephant. It was Jack’s first visit to the top ten in the U.S. and in the UK it was not only The White Stripes’ first charting album, but went to #1. It also is the best-selling title of White’s catalog with more than 5 million sales worldwide. Like its predecessor, it also ranks in the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time and one of the top 100 albums of the 2000s. It was also named Album of the Year by Mojo, NME, Q, and Spin magazines.
That album spawned Jack’s most celebrated song – “Seven Nation Army.” The DMDB ranks it as one of the top 100 song of the 21st century and one of the top 1000 songs of all time. It also rates as one of the top 100 alternative rock songs of all time and makes best-of lists from Blender, NME, and Q magazines.
Seven Nation Army
Two more White Stripes albums followed – Get Behind Me Satan (2005) and Icky Thump (2007). Like Elephant, they both won the Grammy Award for Alternative Album of the Year. The latter was White’s second #1 album in the UK.
The Raconteurs, image from nme.com
In between those albums, White formed another band, The Raconteurs, with The Greenhornes’ Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler as well as solo artist Brendan Benson. That group released two albums – 2006’s Broken Boy Soldiers and 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely. Both were top ten albums in the U.S. and U.K.
The Dead Weather, image from last.fm
Not content to limit his resume to two groups, White also formed The Dead Weather. Lawrence came along from The Raconteurs and Dean Fertita, guitarist and keyboardist for Queens of the Stone Age, entered the picture. White actually took a back seat as the drummer and put The Kills’ Alison Mosshart up front. That group also released two albums – 2009’s Horehound and 2010’s Sea of Cowards. Both were top ten albums in the U.S., but neither made the top ten in the U.K.
Outside of his group projects, White contributed five solo cuts to the Cold Mountain soundtrack in 2003. That same year, he was rumored to have collaborated with Electric Six on the songs “Danger! High Voltage” and “Gay Bar.” In 2008, he and Alicia Keys dueted on “Another Way to Die,” the theme song for the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. In 2009, he released his first official solo single “Fly Farm Blues,” which was written and recorded in 10 minutes during the filming of the documentary It Might Get Loud which featured White alongside Jimmy Page and The Edge discussing guitar. In 2010, White contributed vocals to three tracks for Danger Mouse’s Rome album.
Now, in 2012, White releases his first full-fledged solo album. Blunderbuss dropped on April 24, 2012. White wrote, recorded, and produced the entire album. January 30 saw the release of the album’s first single, “Love Interruption.” The second single, “Sixteen Saltines,” was released on March 13.
Sixteen Saltines
 | Empire State of MindJay-Z with Alicia Keys |
Writer(s): Angela Hunte, Alicia Keys, Alexander Shuckburgh, Burt Keyes, Janet "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic, Shawn Carter, Sylvia Robinson (see lyrics here) Released: October 20, 2009 First Charted: September 19, 2009 Peak: 15 US, 5 RR, 39 A40, 13 RB, 2 UK, 3 CN, 4 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.51 US, 0.77 UK, 6.49 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 213.07 video, 767.29 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:“Empire State of Mind” was written by Angela Hunte and Jane’t Sewell Ulepic as a tribute to their hometown of New York City. They wrote it while overseas in London and feeling homesick. They submitted the song to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and it was initially rejected. However, EMI’s Jon Platt heard the track at a barbeque and sent it to Jay-Z again. Jay-Z kept the singing part of the hook, but changed the verses. WK Initially Hunte was still going to sing the hook, but she suggested Alicia Keys. WK Because of the track’s piano loops based on a riff from the Moments’ “classic 1970 soul ballad ‘Love on a Two-Way Street,’” SS Jay-Z wanted Key’s piano and vocal talents. He called her and said, “I feel like I have this record that’s going to be the anthem of New York…and it couldn’t be the anthem of New York without you.” WK She went by the studio and listened to it and, as she said, “I really felt the energy of New York all through it…I said ‘I love it, so let’s do it.’” SF The song allowed Jay-Z and Alicia Keys “to shout the praises of the city in which both…had been raised.” SS Complex magazine agreed with Jay-Z’s assessment, saying that the song “has replaced Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ as the city’s go-to anthem.” WK The New York Racing Association concurred when they replaced “New York, New York” with “Empire State of Mind” as the opening song at the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes. WK The song also got attention during the New York Yankees’ World Series run and Jay-Z performed it at their victory parade. SF The song was Jay-Z’s fourth time to reach the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100, but his first time as a lead artist. WK The song was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. WK The song won Grammys for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Entertainment Weekly named it the best single of 2009. WK Resources:
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Last updated 6/20/2023. |
 | Dave’s Music Database:Top 50 Songs of 2007 |
These are the top 50 songs for the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists and charts. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here.
DMDB Top 1%:
Resources/Related Links:
First posted 1/4/2024. |
| First posted 1/8/2021. |
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| Dave’s Music Database:Top Albums of 2007 |
Based on a combination of year-end lists and overall status in Dave’s Music Database, these are the top 25 albums of 2007:
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