Britney Spears at the 2008 MTV Music Awards
Britney Spears at the 2008 MTV Music Awards (Photo by Dooley Productions on Shutterstock)
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Best Britney Spears Songs: Top 5 Hits By Pop Icon, According To Fans

August 17, 2023
by Hannah Weber

With a career spanning decades, Spears has carved her name into music history, delivering chart-topping hits and unforgettable melodies that have become anthems of a generation. From her debut smash hits to her evolution as an artist, her discography is a testament to her influence on pop culture and her undeniable status as the Princess of Pop. The best Britney Spears songs showcase a dynamic fusion of catchy beats, captivating vocals, and cultural resonance that consistently captivate listeners across the globe.

Spears has been a star nearly her entire life. From a young age, she got her start in the Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 with Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, and Christina Aguilera. Five years later at the age of 16, Britney was signed by Jive Records and recorded her hit album “Hit Me Baby One More Time”. In 1999 she was opening for NSync, where soon after “…Baby One More Time” hit number one on Billboard 100.

After reaching the Billboard Top 100 list, Spears was in the limelight throughout the early 2000s! She continued to release top hits and put on performances that are still enjoyed and remembered today. Today, a lot of controversy surrounds the singer as she recently fought to end her conservatorship with her father and ended her 14-month marriage with model and actor Sam Asghari. She is also a bit mysterious on social media, leaving fans constantly pondering her next move. 

Regardless, she will always be adored by the millions that sing her songs time and time again. Revisiting Britney’s iconic tunes is fun and nostalgic for many. StudyFinds set out to do the research for you, visiting 10 expert websites to put together this list of the best Britney Spears songs that were recommended across these sites. If you have your own suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!

Britney Spears at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards
Britney Spears at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards (Photo by Kobby Dagan on Shuterstock)

The List: Best Britney Spears Songs, According to Experts

1. “…Baby One More Time” (1998)

A number one track is a major goal for all artists. In 1998 Britney Spears achieved this goal “…Baby One More Time” was number one for two weeks on Billboard. “The song that started it all and one of the many Britney bops that continues to show up on playlist 25 years later. ‘…Baby One More Time’ is still as infectious as ever. In case you need a sign of its enduring legacy, just hit that play button one more time and try not to sing along to every word,” says Yahoo.

At 17 years old, Britney was innovative and on her way to being one of the biggest names in music. “Planet Earth, meet Britney Jean Spears, the 17-year-old pride of Kentwood, Louisiana. Her debut hit ‘…Baby One More Time’ was a radically futuristic pop manifesto, changing the way music has sounded ever since. Max Martin brought the megaboom production, but it wouldn’t have meant a thing without the menacing way she growls, ‘Oooh baby, baby.’ As Britney told me in 2000, she stayed up late the night before the session listening to Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ (‘What a sexy song’) to get the sound she wanted. ‘I wanted my voice to be kind of rusty,’ she said. ‘You know, how it sounds really low in the lower register — it sounds really sexy. So I kept telling myself, ‘Britney, don’t get any rest.’ The result was more than a Number One smash—it was the dawn of a new music era,” notes Rolling Stone.

Not every artist can say that their very first song topped charts. “Brit’s debut single was also her first No. 1, launching the career of an international icon with a sound and a look that would come to influence pop music for decades to come. (Honestly, this moment is still being referenced by pop music upstarts. Look no further than Normani’s excellent and incredibly referential ‘Motivation‘ video.) There’s a reason this track, the first of many magical moments written for her by Max Martin, is routinely cited as one of the best pop songs of all time. Because it is,” adds E-Online.

2. “Oops!…I Did It Again” (2000)

“Oops!… I Did It Again” Britney truly did do it again with another song that remains a classic to this day. “This certified-platinum song proved Britney would not end up a one-album wonder. It was recorded for her sophomore record of the same name, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance during the 2001 ceremony,” explains Live365.

A modern woman making her own rules for music. “The hit remains Brit at the height of her powers, fully aware and unafraid to wield them all over again in the creation of pop music history. She may have been playing with a boy’s heart, but her fans knew the truth: Britney could never get lost in the game when she was the one making the rules,” says Yahoo.

Not only does Britney Spears have songs that are remembered but she also has iconic looks that are still celebrated and reenacted in costumes.“The lead single off Brit’s second album of the same name also somehow only peaked at No. 9. The track felt like a harder version of the debut single that made her a star, contains one of our favorite spoken-word bridges in the history of pop music—’Aww…you shouldn’t have!’—and delivered one of the most unforgettable looks in Brit’s career. The red leather bodysuit effectively retired after hitting a career highlight appearing on Brit’s body, knowing it was best to go out on top,” adds E-Online.

3. “Toxic” (2004)

Released in January of 2004, “Toxic” became a highly listened to and talked about music video. “The track that transformed Spears from a cutesy teen dream into an artist in her own zone. Producers Bloodshy & Avant dumped out their whole bag of tricks on this [2004] song, ‘keening strings, surf guitar, a melody that twists from major to minor,’ and Spears held it all together with a curiously alluring vocal. The best pop stars know how to let themselves become artistic playthings; here Britney hits her marks perfectly without losing her natural charm. We’re hooked as badly as she is,” says Spin.

A dance song with a variety of instruments. “‘Toxic’ is a modern masterpiece. With help from Bloodshy & Avant, Britney sent her voice to new heights on the skittering smash off 2003’s Into the Zone, notching her fourth Top Ten hit and earning her first (and so far only) Grammy of her career in the process. ‘I’m addicted to you/ Don’t you know that you’re toxic?/ And I love what you do/ Don’t you know that you’re toxic?’ she asks again and again on the contagious chorus, but if anything, the listener is the one who ends up hopelessly addicted to Brit’s poison paradise by song’s end,” adds Yahoo.

It is hard to believe that Britney Spears has only received one Grammy throughout her career. The music video for Toxic was awarded the Best Dance Recording in 2005. “Millennials of a certain age remember where they were when they first saw the Making the Video episode for this track, the second single off her fourth album, In the Zone. One of the most iconic moments in a career full of ’em. Fun fact: The track, which only peaked at No. 9 somehow, was originally offered to—and rejected by—Kylie Minogue! Big mistake, Kylie. Huge! The song also earned Brit her only Grammy throughout her entire career, for Best Dance Recording in 2005,” explains E-Online.

4. “I’m a Slave 4 U” (2001)

One of Britneys most iconic looks came from her MTV Video Music Awards performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U”. “Before Taylor Swift rebranded herself as a snake, Britney was smashing her good-girl image while doing full-on choreography with a seven-foot albino Burmese python. Obviously, being blindly obedient to someone isn’t cool, but damn, this song is good and probably the one your parents were most confused about letting you listen to,” explains Cosmopolitan. 

Released in 2001 on Britney’s 3rd studio album, “‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ is the ultimate Britney song of dancing as liberation versus dancing as addiction. ‘All you people look at me like I’m a little girl,’ she sings, perhaps slightly misjudging her relationship with the American public,” says Rolling Stone.

Getting a start at a young age is never easy for stars as they begin to transition into adulthood. Britney made a statement with her hit song I’m a Slave 4 U. “I’m a Slave 4 U” is one of the most important songs in Spears’ career. One might call it a milestone. Of course, there’s the snake moment associated with this song during the 2001 VMAs. But more than that, this was the song that transitioned Britney from an innocent schoolgirl to a more sophisticated and mature performer,”  explains Live365.

5. “Gimme More” (2007)

The iconic introduction of “Gimme More”, “Its Britney, B***”, quickly attracted listeners to the song. American Songwriter ranks “Gimme More” as number three of the Top 10 Britney Spears Songs. In 2007, Britney made a comeback with her album Blackout. “Gimme more: Nobody truly expected Britney to make a comeback, and while it may not have been as graceful as one would’ve hoped, she did it and it was fire and so is ‘Gimme More,'” says Cosmopolitan.

The Blackout Era for Britney Spears was experimental and bold. “Look, was Britney going through some stuff when this track, the lead single off 2007’s Blackout, was released? She sure was. And was her performance of it, if you can even call it that, at that year’s MTV VMAs a distressing train wreck? You betcha. But this song, produced by Danja, not only delivered one of the most iconic lines in Brit’s discography—’It’s Britney, bitch!’—but marked a moment of sonic exploration into dark and gritty electropop that deserved more than to be overshadowed by her personal turmoil. Long story short, the song still absolutely slaps. (And that goes double for the album.),” explains E-Online.

“‘It’s Britney, b****.’ With a simple declaration, the pop star welcomed fans into a new, darker chapter of her musical journey. Kicking off her Blackout era, ‘Gimme More’ is a throbbing pop fantasia that operates as both an undeniable club banger and bizarre commentary on the never-satiated culture of paparazzi, tabloids, chaos, and danger that surrounded Spears at the time. VMAs performance be damned, the track set Britney on a sonic adventure that would result in arguably the best and most fascinating album of her career,” adds Yahoo.

Gimme More, Britney Spears! We are all hopeful for the day more music is released by the icon herself.

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Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and receives no compensation for its recommendations

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