The essential Y2K playlist

The peak of the boy band era hit right about in the year 2000, when N*SYNC released "No Strings Attached." The album included "Bye Bye Bye," a song that instantly became a hit, thanks in no small part to its iconic music video, in which the band's stars dance as if they were controlled by a puppeteer. 

In 2000, Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" was totally inescapable. The lead single from rapper Eminem's sophomore album, the song remains an essential part of the artist's catalog and maybe the era's most mainstream diss track. 

Featuring the virtuosic guitar stylings of Carlos Santana and the, ahem, smooth vocals of Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas, this song was the very first #1 hit of the new millennium, even though it was technically released in 1999. 

Combining Jay-Z's legendary New York flow and Houston rap icons UGK, "Big Pimpin'" was the definition of a musical juggernaut after its release in 2000. 

Thanks in large part to her distinctive vocals and the song's universally relatable lyrics, Macy Gray notched her biggest hit with "I Try," a song that definitely remained popular throughout the year 2000. 

The lead single from Alicia Keys's 2001 debut album, "Fallin'" earned both massive commercial success and critical acclaim. The song earned Keys multiple Grammy awards in 2002, including Song of the Year. 

Technically a remix of a song first recorded by Jennifer Lopez on her own, the "Murder Inc." remix with rapper Ja Rule was a #1 hit for five weeks in 2001. The song has inspired its fair share of controversy, though, from disputes over the track's creative attribution to criticisms of Lopez for her use of a racial slur. 

Mya, Pink, Christina Aguilera, and Lil' Kim teamed up for this remake of Patti Labelle's classic "Lady Marmalade" to accompany the Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge, serving up killer harmonies and a totally memorable music video. 

This endlessly catchy R&B song from Mary J. Blige was a major hit all over the globe, and for good reason: it's got the kind of melody that absolutely makes you want to sing along, and maybe even have a little fun up in the dancery, as Mary suggests. 

"Hot In Herre" was absolutely the club anthem of 2002, if only because of its most popular refrain: "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes." It was also the first-ever winner of the Grammy for Best Solo Male Rap Performance. 

The world was introduced to the pop-punk stylings of Canadian artist Avril Lavigne with "Complicated," an angsty song that remains a staple on the "throwback" playlists of millennials everywhere. 

In the early 2000s, Usher was the newly anointed king of R&B, and that's thanks in large part to the success of soulful ballads like "U Got It Bad," a song about the kind of crush that totally takes over your life. 

Colombian singer Shakira danced — literally — her way into the hearts of American music fans everywhere with "Whenever, Wherever," a ridiculously catchy dance tune that earned Shakira her first top-10 hit in the United States. 

The breakout single from pop-punk act Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" is a song that's a whole lot deeper than it might sound to the uneducated listener. It's a reminder to not worry so much about figuring it all out in your youth, a message that still resonates today. 

If you were alive and actually old enough to get into a nightclub in 2003, it's all but assured that you've sung along with 50 Cent on "In Da Club." 

In 2003, Beyonce and Jay-Z announced their relationship to the world with "Crazy In Love," a song that's just as catchy more than 20 years after its release. It won the duo armfuls of awards, and kicked off the start of a marriage and creative partnership that still endures. 

The Y2K era is the era of the club jam, and "Get Low" is among the decade's finest. Well before Lil Jon was a hip-hop staple, partiers everywhere were shaking it from the windows to the walls to this song in 2003. 

Written for the film 8 Mile, loosely based on Eminem's life, "Lose Yourself" remains one of the artist's most memorable songs. It earned Eminem an Oscar for Best Original Song, along with two Grammy awards, and has since sold more than 10 million copies. 

In the midst of pop-punk's reign and emo's rise, Evanescence proved that alt-rock (and nu-metal) still had a place in the Y2K era with "Bring Me To Life," a crossover success that hit #1 on the Billboard Top 40 chart. 

Arguably the party anthem of the Y2K era, Usher's "Yeah!" can still be found on plenty of party playlists in 2024. 

A decidedly unique hip-hop song from Atlanta duo Outkast, "Hey Ya!" had even the stodgiest moms trying to "shake it like a Polaroid picture." The song is endlessly catchy, totally creative, and an enduring reminder of the vibe of the Y2K years. 

Following its release in 2004, "Mr. Brightside" has become a musical phenomenon. It's one of the globe's most streamed and downloaded tracks, and is widely considered by critics to be one of the era's best songs.