Rap-Up.com || Rap-Up’s 25 Best Songs of 2009

After causing an outpouring of comments with our best albums and music video lists, we’re bound to keep the conversation going with our 25 best songs of 2009. These songs were commercially released between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. Some were No. 1 hits, others barely charted, and six featured Kanye West, yet they all hold a special place on our iPods.

25. Maxwell – “Pretty Wings”
24. Alicia Keys – “Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart”
23. Timbaland feat. Drake – “Say Something”
22. Kid Cudi feat. MGMT and Ratatat – “Pursuit of Happiness”
21. Eminem – “Beautiful”
20. Mr Hudson feat. Kanye West – “Supernova”
19. 50 Cent feat. Ne-Yo – “Baby By Me”
18. T.I. feat. Mary J. Blige – “Remember Me”
17. Whitney Houston – “Million Dollar Bill”
16. Rick Ross feat. T-Pain, Lil Wayne, & Kanye West – “Maybach Music 2”
15. Rihanna feat. Young Jeezy – “Hard”
14. Soulja Boy Tell’em – “Turn My Swag On”
13. Drake feat. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, & Eminem – “Forever”
12. Fabolous feat. Drake & The-Dream – “Throw It in the Bag (Remix)”
11. Clipse feat. Kanye West – “Kinda Like a Big Deal”
10. Mariah Carey – “Obsessed”
9. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain – “Blame It”
8. Jay-Z feat. Kanye West & Rihanna – “Run This Town”
7. Beyoncé – “Halo”
6. Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
5. Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
4. Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feeling”
3. The-Dream – “Rockin’ That Thang”
2. Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down”
1. Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”

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68 Comments

Malcolm Bryce
December 31st, 2009 at 4:50 am
Couldn’t of placed these song any better myself… ;)

[Reply]
BitchBooBYE
December 31st, 2009 at 5:02 am
Halo, Rockin’ That Thang & Turn My Swag On came out 2008.

[Reply]
Kyle Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 6:13 am
@BitchBooBYE, no they didn’t. Those all came out in the first half of 2009.

[Reply]
Dillon_68 Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:37 am
@Kyle, Technically they were available in 2008, but Halo and Turn My Swag On were released as singles in 2009 and Rockin That Thang really started to blow up in January. So yeah, it counts as 2009.

[Reply]
Cameo Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 2:08 pm
@Kyle, Yeah they were out in 2008. Sorry dude.

[Reply]
Lukas
December 31st, 2009 at 5:17 am
FINALLY KERI HILSON! she got it made!

[Reply]
Wayne
December 31st, 2009 at 5:32 am
good choice this time

[Reply]
DW
December 31st, 2009 at 5:40 am
crack a bottle should be in there!

[Reply]
No Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 6:24 am
@DW, that only went number one because of the artists names, not the quality of the song itself.

[Reply]
Nadia Hearts Music
December 31st, 2009 at 5:46 am
Really good list! I agree with everything.

[Reply]
Kyle
December 31st, 2009 at 6:14 am
Great list. I actually really enjoyed that Soulja Boy song, HA! I never thought I’d say that.

[Reply]
xox
December 31st, 2009 at 6:50 am
TI <3

[Reply]
P!eter
December 31st, 2009 at 6:51 am
I agree with the most songs, but not drake, i rather see Sweet Dreams!!

[Reply]
Lindsay
December 31st, 2009 at 7:04 am
This is actually a great list, of hip hop, r&b, totally agree!!!

[Reply]
Dblack
December 31st, 2009 at 7:24 am
So, Where is Kidi Cudi with Day and Night??? and Trey Songz with I invented sex or Musiq with So Beautiful?
But for me, the best record of the year: Maxwell with Pretty Wings, Musiq with So Beautiful and Alicia Keys with Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart.

[Reply]
Dblack Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 7:26 am
@Dblack, This list is much better than others.

[Reply]
Ahzumjot
December 31st, 2009 at 7:34 am
I agree… number one’s just the same on my list -> mypace.com/ahzumjot

[Reply]
Hoodstar Terror
December 31st, 2009 at 7:49 am
T.i. and Weezy rocked this year should be higher up on this list

[Reply]
yeahh
December 31st, 2009 at 8:08 am
what bout some chris brown?
i can transform ya is suuchhh a tuuune

[Reply]
dilio
December 31st, 2009 at 8:10 am
wheres britney?

[Reply]
Vinny Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 8:16 am
@dilio, Britney? Hilarious!

[Reply]
Ym..
December 31st, 2009 at 8:33 am
and wheres down?!

[Reply]
A Dude
December 31st, 2009 at 9:02 am
Great List !

Try Sleepin With a Broken Heart – Alicia Keys should be higher tho..in the top 10 at least.

The number one is perfect, an evidence for ESOM :)

[Reply]
ba Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:37 am
watsup

[Reply]
ranell 1
December 31st, 2009 at 9:06 am
letoya should be on there

[Reply]
DJ Triumph
December 31st, 2009 at 9:20 am
love the list.

[Reply]
Djkurhasolamic
December 31st, 2009 at 9:59 am
Maxwell song should b way higher…clipse big deal was not all that..18,22,23 should not even b on this list.

[Reply]
TheWiz
December 31st, 2009 at 10:10 am
Where is beyonce with SINGLE LADIES?!
That should have topped this whole damn chart, or at least 2nd.

[Reply]
Phoenix Wright Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:26 am
@TheWiz, Single Ladies came out last yr…round September.

[Reply]
TheWiz Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 3:34 pm
@Phoenix Wright, Oh haha thanks, i was flipping out

[Reply]
Hernani Mudanisse
December 31st, 2009 at 10:25 am
BIRTHDAY SEX?

[Reply]
Phoenix Wright
December 31st, 2009 at 10:28 am
Drake appeared 4 times on that list…O_o

I agree with the top 5. They were the most popular but got annoying so fast lol.

Yup I agree with the person above me where is birthday sex . Also I Need A Girl by Trey.

[Reply]
Taylor Payne
December 31st, 2009 at 10:35 am
I think its a pretty fair list:) “Never Ever” by Ciara woulda been my #1 because they was epic to me personally but i cant complain :P

[Reply]
nik
December 31st, 2009 at 10:54 am
i love the list.. pretty accurate !!

1 problem… WHERE IS “DOWN” JAY SEAN FT. LIL WAYNE

it was a NUMBER 1 HIT and a radio/club banger :S

[Reply]
young black and gifted
December 31st, 2009 at 11:10 am
i got no prob witht this list. but i look to u by whitney houston i feel should have been somewhere, but its alright.

[Reply]
Mike
December 31st, 2009 at 11:31 am
OBSESSED NUMBA 1 SONG OF 2009!

[Reply]
That Rihanna Reign Just Won't Let Up
December 31st, 2009 at 11:31 am
Go Ri!!!! Hard is that ishhh!!!!!!

[Reply]
JH
December 31st, 2009 at 11:35 am
Lol, this is a somewhat good list, but a lot of these songs didn’t even chart!

Why is “Pretty Wings” last?!

Beyonce should be AT LEAST #2/3 and “Rockin that Thang” by the Dream shouldn’t be so close to #1…

Other than those mistakes, great list. HAHAHA

[Reply]
parisian girl
December 31st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
“hard”should have been in the top10 at least!
“obsessed”doesn’t deserve the top10 maybe top15
i agree with the #1 song tho

[Reply]
M.GEEZ
December 31st, 2009 at 12:13 pm
FIRST THREE OF THE DAMN SONGS CAME OUT IN 08′…..STEP YALL CAT LITTER UP RAP-UP.COM FORREAL…THE LIST ALL WRONG JUST CASUE THEM THREE MISTAKES…..YALL MUST HAVE BEEN REAL HYPE TRYNNA MAKE THAT LIST!!!

[Reply]
SMH Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 12:22 pm
@M.GEEZ, do ur fact checking before calling rap-up out. all 3 of those songs were commercially released in 2009. no point in arguing with fools though.

[Reply]
Mr. West Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
@M.GEEZ, You mean to say “empire state of mind” was released on 2008? Don’t be mad cause ciara aint on the list

[Reply]
...
December 31st, 2009 at 12:21 pm
the fact that “turn my swag on” is above “pretty wings” just shows why r&b/hip hop are dying.

everybody complains about how bad music is but they continually big up the most god awful stuff and wonder why good stuff is never played.

its only our fault that wack music is still out there.

if we don’t support it, they won’t make it.

[Reply]
Letisha Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 12:32 pm
@…, yes but how can u deny the impact “turn my swag on” had over “pretty wings” ? that song was everywhere!!

[Reply]
omg
December 31st, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I do not agree with knock you down being so high on the list top 10 yes top 5 ..no

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10 is ciaras
December 31st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
dats good.\, but knock you down and empire state of mind should not be on top

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10 is ciaras
December 31st, 2009 at 1:24 pm
oh and “Rackin Dat Thang” and “Turn My Swag On” were releasedDecember 08, i remember cus i heard rockin dat thang on christmas, and i usedd my itunes card to get turn my swag on

[Reply]
Letisha Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 1:34 pm
@10 is ciaras, “turn my swag on” was not officially released as a single outside the album until January 09…and “rockin that shit ” may have leaked in 08 but it was officially released in 2009.

[Reply]
BEYONCE IT ALL ABOUT BEY
December 31st, 2009 at 1:35 pm
HALO WAS HOT I GUESS THIS LIST IS BETTER THAN THE LAST BUT WHERE IS RIHANNA

[Reply]
BEYONCE IT ALL ABOUT BEY
December 31st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
IF THESE ARE THE BEST SONGS OF 09 WHAT ARE THE WORST ONES

[Reply]
tee
December 31st, 2009 at 2:28 pm
beyonce number 7 lol

[Reply]
BEYONCE IT ALL ABOUT BEY Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:54 pm
@tee, beyonce made 80 million dollar lol

[Reply]
tee
December 31st, 2009 at 2:29 pm
keri hilson number 2 yeahhhhhhhhhhh

[Reply]
C.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
where is “Papers”?

[Reply]
BEYONCE IT ALL ABOUT BEY Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 5:03 pm
@C., I SEE WHY PAPERS ISN’T ON THIS LIKE IT WAS NOT CREATIVE AT ALL AND VERY TACKY

[Reply]
JC
December 31st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I’m surprised I didn’t see MJ’s “This Is It” on there…That track was pretty good.

[Reply]
cedrick brown Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:05 pm
@JC, I KNOW

[Reply]
ROC NATION 4423
December 31st, 2009 at 5:05 pm
KANYE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON HERE PARNOID WAS HOT AND CREATIVE

[Reply]
Mo Azzam
December 31st, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Turn My Swag On was released to iTunes on Nov 26, 2008 but released as it’s own single January 26th.

Rockin That Thang was digitally released online and sent to radio December 9, 2008, but blew up in January like someone else said

[Reply]
Lebo(CaribbeanBoi)
January 1st, 2010 at 4:22 am
David & Kelly Rowland / When Love Takes Over, thats missing

[Reply]
L-boogie
January 1st, 2010 at 7:15 am
Melanie fiona it kills me hands down the best rnb song of the year right along with maxwell’s pretty wings

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carlos
January 1st, 2010 at 2:32 pm
OK ciara and shakira are missing from the list. anywayzzz dont care about the list either! CIARA LOVE YA!!! WORK!! & LOVE SEX MAGIC WERE HOT!

[Reply]
daone
January 1st, 2010 at 4:55 pm
WERE IS CIARA!!!??? i thought rap-up went hard for ciara and she had an ok year lsm was a hit and never ever was mediocre… work is climbing at the moment

[Reply]
Catie
January 1st, 2010 at 5:55 pm
I would have had Britney’s “3″ in my top ten but besides that, i agree with most of the list.

[Reply]
sambinio
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:40 am
ARE YOU IDDING ME WHER IS BLAME IT BY JAMIE FOXX SHOULD HAVE BEEN NUMBER 1

[Reply]
Melvin Carson
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:56 am
HALO #1

[Reply]
Camila
January 6th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
I think, more songs of wayne, this year he had a good songs, a lot and this, i form of Chile :D

[Reply]
ASID
February 20th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Beautiful cuda been higher you know

[Reply]