1. Lose Yourself
It begins with a tinkling piano and balmy organ, before a thudding bassline takes over and Eminem enters, delivering his strongest vocal in his greatest song. The sense of urgency and desperation the character is feeling is apparent from the opening couplet of the song, and never once recedes. Truly, it is a remarkable track. Considering the film the song soundtracked, it is little surprise that the bassline invokes the feeling of a victory song at a sporting event of all things, while the strings and guitars see Eminem veering as close to a rock ballad as it is probable for him to ever get. The lyric saw Eminem step back from the fires stoked by The Marshall Mathers LP, and replaced violence and misogyny with aspirational lyrics and a directed fury which seemed both genuine and not in the slightest bit clichéd. This was a path Eminem would take in later years-he always wore it well. There are many tracks that would have been worthy of inclusion on this list, a wish to limit it to just ten tracks hopefully means that I've explored the cream, but there's always room for more. If I've missed your favourite Eminem track, or you disagree with any of my selections, feel free to add your own in the comment section below, or let me know directly on Twitter, @BarryMarshall81.