As we continue on with our spotlight feature highlighting the top 10 best songs produced by various producers, we come to arguably the biggest production duo of the 00’s, The Neptunes. Trust me, as a huge fan of The Neptunes production since the mid 90’s, this was a very difficult list to put together! After scouring their full discography and whittling it down to a list of about 25, I was then forced to chop an additional 15 off; hard work! As always, please let us know how you feel about the list and if there is anything you would have included or left off. Now, as we proceed…..

Also check out all of our producer top 10 lists

10. SWV “Use Your Heart” (1996)

One of the groups earliest production credits, this single was released on SWV’s “The New Beginning” album in 1996. Presumably, this collaboration came about because of the duo’s connection to Teddy Riley.

9. Mariah Carey “Say Something” featuring Snoop Dogg (2005)

Although they weren’t as successful in the mid-00’s as they had been in the years prior, they managed to land this smash on Mariah’s “Emancipation of Mimi” album.

8. Sade “By Your Side” (Neptunes Remix) (2000)

At the time, I found this to be an odd collaboration because it’s a sound I didn’t expect to hear from the group Sade. However, unlike most Neptunes productions, the production isn’t over the top and works on what was already a great song.

7. Latrelle “House Party” (2001)

I would say this is the most obscure song you’re going to find on this list, but that will prove to not be true as you move further down. In the early 2000’s, The Neptunes produced a bunch of songs for Latrelle’s debut album on Arista which eventually was scrapped.

6. 702 “I Still Love You” (2003)

If you remember my interview with Meelah from 702 (click here), we discussed this song and how nobody got it at the time. Listen to this song, it released nearly 10 years ago and still sounds fresh today!

5. Solange “Crush” (2003)

http://youtu.be/YW50a0eOkdY

Curiously, this amazing song was never released as a single and thus why there is no video for it. This is one of my favorite Neptunes beats, and the song is infectiously catchy.

4. Natasha Ramos “Midnight Hour” (2004)

I told you a more obscure song was coming, and here it is. Something interesting about this song is that it’s always been commonly credited to another Neptunes prodigy, Vanessa Marquez, but she in fact never sang it.

3. Justin Timberlake “Rock Your Body” (2003)

After breaking off from N Sync, just enlisted the help of The Neptunes and Timbaland to help him create a more urban sound than we’d ever heard from him. The experiment turned out to be very successful, and “Rock Your Body” became a #1 hit.

2. Usher “U Don’t Have to Call” (2002)

After his much publicized relationship and breakup with Chilli from TLC, this was a liberation song of sorts for Usher. This beat is one I’d say that contains most of the classic elements of what came to be known as “The Neptunes Sound”.

1. Kelis “Caught Out There” (1999)

Although I’d say this is probably my least favorite song on the list, I cannot deny the impact it had on The Neptunes career and the way it ushered a whole new sound into r&b.

Honorable Mentions

Ray-J “Wait a Minute”
Babyface “Stress Out”
Faith Evans “Burnin Up”
Brian McKnight “Wish It Would Rain Down”
Beyonce “Work It Out”
Nivea “Runaway”
N Sync “Girlfriend”
Prince “Greatest Romance Ever Sold” (Neptunes Remix)