80. Def Leppard f/Tim McGraw - Nine Lives
PEAK: #6
Tim McGraw does the weirdest collaborations sometimes... but somehow makes them work quite well. Case in point: in 2008, he helped out veteran rockers Def Leppard on their comeback, and their sounds actually blended well together. This became my favourite from them likely since the 90's sometime, but doesn't come close to their 80's classics.
79. Sarah McLachlan - U Want Me 2
PEAK: #15
With a title like "U Want Me 2", you'd possibly guess Prince was the one singing there. However, this one is by Sarah McLachlan, who after nearly 2 decades, released a greatest hits. This new track proved to be a worthy addition, as it became another top 20 hit for her, and became her biggest hit in nearly four years on my chart, after several non-album singles and featured appearances.
78. Ryan Cabrera - Say
PEAK: #9
A welcome return in 2008 was that of Ryan Cabrera. I enjoyed his first 2 albums' material, so I was naturally anticipating this. It didn't disappoint me, making the top 10, but did not have the longevity I was hoping for... the follow-up, "Enemies", however, did, and it's much higher here.
77. R.E.M. - Supernatural Superserious
PEAK: #10
Another band who hadn't been up to par for a while, but finally delivered something worth praising in 2008 was R.E.M. Their latest album, "Accelerate", was hailed as a return to form, and this energetic lead single definitely showed it. Hopefully they'll continue with this quality on their next album after this!
76. Leona Lewis - Better In Time
PEAK: #15
The X Factor television series has been such a huge hit in the UK, it was inevitable that one of their winners would become an international star. That's exactly what happened to Leona Lewis, and this song was one of those international hits that made people realize what star power she has. Still, the massive #1 hit "Bleeding Love" is higher yet!
75. Flobots - Handlebars
PEAK: #18
One of the most creative songs of the year, alternative rappers Flobots made the world think in this song's lyrics, which got me into this song. While it didn't peak too high comparatively on my chart, it did stick around long enough to rank higher than many other songs that didn't get as high! Just don't try riding your bike with no handlebars at home, even if you ARE wearing your helmet!
74. Simon Collins - Unconditional
PEAK: #12
The son of legendary Genesis singer/drummer and solo singer Phil Collins, it was bound that other family members would start up their own singing careers. Simon's album "U-Catastrophe" was released this year, and this, the first single, became an adult contemporary hit. Hopefully this won't be the end for him!
73. Alanis Morissette - Underneath
PEAK: #12
While I was anticipating new Alanis music in 2008, this was the only song from her album "Flavours of Entanglement" that caught on for me. Despite follow-up singles performing poorly, this one still managed to be a moderate hit, though not as big as she's had before this.
72. Britney Spears - Piece Of Me
PEAK: #1 (2 weeks)
This song was a victim of "split year syndrome" for me... it had started its run late in 2007, but didn't climb fast enough to make the top 100 that year. It hit #1 early in 2008, and fell too fast to rank any higher than it did, but still, this attack at the paparazzi became yet another #1 in an impressive discography for Britney.
71. Michelle Branch - Lay Me Down
PEAK: #7
While anticipating her third solo album, "Everything Comes and Goes" (which unfortunately won't be released in 2009), this unreleased solo version of a track that eventually ended up being released on The Wreckers' album was leaked, and ended up making the top 10 on my chart. She does have 1 song still to come, and it's from a movie soundtrack... how high did "Together" rank?