‘So Fresh’ Have Chosen The 43 Best Songs From The Last 20 Years & I Have A Lot Of Thoughts

In news that’ll make you feel incredibly old, So Fresh has officially turned 20.

Yes, approximately 20 years ago, the compilation CD So Fresh: The Hits of Spring 2000 came out and we all subsequently begged our parents to buy it for us for Christmas. 

It seems like forever ago now but, even with the rise in digital downloads and streaming services, So Fresh has continued to do what they do best and summarise the best 20 songs of every season. 

In fact, the last two decades have been leading up to this moment: So Fresh have fulfilled their legacy by creating a two disc “Best Of” compilation album. Yes, So Fresh have done the impossible and released So Fresh: The Best Ever, a 43-track album that serves up all the bangers from the past 20 years. 

So Fresh has already proven that they’re incredible when it comes to musical selection. But, did they succeed at this seemingly impossible task? Well, I have many thoughts.

How Well Did So Fresh Summarise The Past 20 Years In Music?

The Good

Now, let’s start off with the good because it’s always healthy to start off with the positives. Props have to be given to So Fresh for their ability to capture the early years. Anastacia’s ‘I’m Outta Love’, S Club 7’s ‘Don’t Stop Movin’, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ are all absolute tunes, that are forever embedded into my brain because of So Fresh. So, well done So Fresh for including them in the list.

Also, this compilation was successfully able to cement some one-hit wonders into history that might have otherwise been forgotten. Examples of this include Owl City’s ‘Fireflies’ and t.A.T.u.’s ‘All The Things She Said’.

But now that we’re done with the good… let’s circle on to the bad. 

The Bad

There are a few things wrong with this collection, the first of which are the songs that kick off the two discs.

An opening track is meant to be a tune that gets everyone in the mood, and in this case, it should get everyone feeling nostalgic. With this in mind, why on earth did So Fresh opt for Ronan Keating and Hot Chelle Rae? Neither one of these musicians, nor their songs, would have even made my Top 100 songs of the past two decades. Frankly, I’d like to have a serious chat to whoever made this decision.

Next up, I think we should talk about some of the other songs that were chosen. When I think of the past 20 years, I do not think of James Bay’s ‘Let It Go’, Rachel Platten’s ‘Fight Song’, or Arizona Zervas’ ‘ROXANNE’. Evidently, the same can not be said for whoever put this track list together.

Furthermore, there are a few times on this compilation that artists are adequately recognised, but the wrong song was selected. For example, Miley Cyrus has SO many hits —  ‘The Climb’, ‘Party In The U.S.A.’, and ‘Wrecking Ball’ — and they chose to put ‘Malibu’ on the album. Why? Also, Dua Lipa has ‘New Rules’ and ‘Don’t Start Now’, which were both snubbed for her collaboration with Martin Garrix. 

The Missed Opportunities

Finally, it’s important we talk about the songs that didn’t make the list. Now, I could go on for days so all I will say is: There was no mention of Australian Idol alumni, who arguably ruled the ARIA charts for a large chunk of the year’s we’re summarising.

Not to mention, there really should have been more Aussies that made this list.

Finally — and this is a big finally — where on earth was ‘Crazy In Love’ by Beyoncé and JAY Z?! Because, to me, it looks like So Fresh tried to sum up the last two decades without the best song to come out of it. 

Check out the full track list here, courtesy of JB Hi-Fi. 

Do you back the list?