The Iraq War ratchets up the tension and Hip-Hop is there for fist-pumping and blissed-out escape while Rock’s top hits offer a shoulder to cry on. Meanwhile, Beyonce goes solo and scores two #1s, 50 Cent conquers the charts with “In da Club” and Sean Paul injects Dancehall riddims into Pop’s mainstream with “Get Busy.” And it’s all there for just 99¢ an mp3 on the 100% legal iTunes Store launched by Apple in March!

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. 50 Cent
2. R. Kelly
3. Christina Aguilera

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Tie: 50 Cent/R. Kelly

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 26.3 years

#1 Songs   List of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. B2K feat. P. Diddy – Bump, Bump, Bump (February, 1 wk)
2. Jennifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J – All I Have (February, 4 wks)
3. 50 Cent – In Da Club (March, 9 wks)
4. Sean Paul – Get Busy (May, 3 wks)
5. 50 Cent feat. Nate Dogg – 21 Questions (May, 4 wks)
6. Clay Aiken – This Is the Night (June, 2 wks)
7. Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z – Crazy in Love (July, 8 wks)
8. Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee – Shake Ya Tailfeather (September, 4 wks)
9. Beyoncé feat. Sean Paul – Baby Boy (October, 9 wks)
10. Ludacris feat. Shawnna – Stand Up (December, 1 wk)