Number 40: Kelly Clarkson

It's not that "Since U Benn Gone" is the best pop single of the year (though it is), it's not that Miss Clarkson has made amends for the meat market of vibrato that is American Idol (though she's done that too), it's more that it's become so okay for even the snobbiest of snobs to be pro-Kelly Clarkson. And why not be pro Kelly? She's clearly talented and as far as choosing pop gems she's got an excellent batting average if you pretend her first album didn't exist. More importantly with early career embarassment out of the way and having already outlasted her expected shelf life she can do whatever she wants (so long as the swedes write the hooks).