As everyone else has whined about how difficult this is I shall refrain (although I am in absolute agreement), and let the countdown commence.

NUMBER 10
Artist: The Fugees
Title: Ready or Not
Genre: Hip-hop
From the album: The Score

This is a fantastically funky tune with quite a sinister edge, lyrically and soundwise. Very sexy to dance to, also great for sitting and smouldering in the corner of a pub to, drawing moodily on your cigarette and attracting admiring glances. If that’s how you like to while away Sunday afternoons. Lauryn Hill (one of the most soulful female voices of the last ten years) sings the chorus vocals and Wyclef Jean raps the verses.

NUMBER 9
Artist: David Bowie
Title: Life on Mars
Genre: Good old fashioned rock 'n' roll!
From the album: Hunky Dory

This is the tune that contains the famous “Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow” line. Even if you think you don’t know what I’m on about, if this came on the radio I’m certain you’d know it. It’s got a lot of epic drum rolls and crashes in it, plus a liberal helping of minor notes for dramatic effect. Also lyrically bizarre, Bowie’s superb (and weird) voice carries this off brilliantly. Great album too.

NUMBER 8
Artist: Roni Size
Title: Brown Paper Bag
Genre: Drum 'n' bass
From the album: New Forms

This is not Roni Size's best tune (that accolade goes to Lucky Pressure from his most recent album In the Mode), but certainly his best single. It is infectiously cool and bouncy, and you can't help but dance to it. It is also a d'n'b classic that introduced a lot of people to the genre. Lyrics are kind of off-centre ("step to the rhythm made out of brown paper"), and the beat is superbly fast.

NUMBER 7
Artist: U2
Title: With or Without You
Genre: Rock
From the album: The Joshua Tree
r>I can’t abide soft rock ballads in the general scheme of things, but I can certainly make an exception for this baby. A gorgeous and moody chill-out tune, I’m sure this has poignancy for anyone who’s ever been in that difficult near-the-end-of-a-relationship stage, and for anyone who hasn’t it’s just a beautifully-written piece of music.

NUMBER 6
Artist: Lenny Kravitz
Title: Believe
Genre: Kind of bluesy rock
From the album: Are you gonna go my way?

First of all, Lenny Kravitz is simply The Best Living Guitarist, and shows this off to its full advantage in the solo at the end of this song. The lyrics are a bit cheesy (“if you want it you got it, you just got to believe in yourself” etc) but in the best possible way. There’s a lovely church bell kind of a noise in this which works surprisingly well, and if you ever get the chance to see Lenny live – do so *just in case* he plays this tune – divine.

NUMBER 5
Artist: Faithless
Title: Insomnia
Genre: House
From the album: Reverence

A dancefloor classic - this is the tune that you know and love without realising it. It builds up perfectly, starting with a slow and sinister rap about, er, not being able to sleep, and opens out with a gorgeous rush that fills your body with joy (nothing to do with the drugs then). It’s in my personal top ten list because it reminds me of my first clubbing experiences when I was about sixteen, but I don’t think I am biased in saying that it’s one of the finest house tunes ever produced.

NUMBER 4
Artist: Massive Attack
Title: Safe from Harm
Genre: Trip-hop
From the album: Blue Lines

This is a gorgeous urban soundtrack kind of a song. You could whack it on your walkman while strolling through any part of south London and feel that it was written about someone in one of the run-down flats surrounding you. Which is
perhaps not endearing the tune to you – let me put it another way: a beautiful, beautiful (but dark and strong) tune which captures the spirit of the late eighties / early nineties perfectly.

> > > And now...roll of drums and all that…

NUMBER 3
Artist: Mother Earth
Title: Jesse
Genre: Acid jazz
From the album: People Tree

There is nothing about this song that I can put my finger on to explain why it’s so smooth to listen to, but it really is. The theme is kind of depressing (young girl feels she has nobody to turn to) but the song softly lilts and croons, and soothes all your troubles away. I think one of the reasons why it works so well is because there are two vocalists, one male and one female, and the tune is written in a kind of call-and-response way, which sounds cheesy-peasy I know, but don’t knock it till you’ve heard it.

NUMBER 2
Artist: Jamiroquai
Title: King for a Day
Genre: Acid jazz
From the album: Synchronized

A far cry from his general jump-around, didgeridoo-filled tunes – King for a Day is a slow and quite angry ‘ballad’ which has unique sounding harpsichord noises running through it. (The video was set in a medieval banquet hall which was very fitting – you also get to see Jay Kay in tights, if anyone cares). Although technically a slowie it’s wicked to dance to too, although possibly around your living room rather than at the Hippodrome.

NUMBER 1
Artist: Massive Attack
Title: Unfinished Sympathy
Genre: Trip-hop
From the album: Blue Lines

Maybe a predictable choice, and sorry for picking two tunes from the same album, but this is pure beauty on a shiny silver disc. I’m quite at a loss for words trying to actually describe it (all that springs to mind is ‘minor key’, ‘strings’ and ‘mmmmm’), all I can say is that if you’ve never heard
it, you truly have a big part of your life missing.

AND THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY...
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
UNKLE – Be There
LSK – Hate or Love
Goldie - Temper Temper
Green Day – Basket Case
REM - At my most Beautiful
Rob D – Clubbed to Death

I would love to hear comments on this list, as I have vociferously forced my opinions onto others after reading their top tens...