2000s Hits Essentials
As the calendar flipped to Y2K, teen pop ruled musicâs roost, with megastars like Britney Spears and *NSYNC dominating the charts. But over the course of the 2000s, a varied pop landscape would emerge, with streetwise hip-hop, emotionally fraught rock, swooning R&B, hook-studded emo, and big-tent pop all getting their moments in the sunâand even coming together in DJ-crafted mash-ups and high-profile collaborations. Pop in the 21st centuryâs first decade reflected the emergent digital-music era, with the âon shuffleâ ideal resulting in radio playlists where Kanye rubbed elbows with The Killers and Kelly Clarkson, or where a hard-hitting Eminem track was bracketed by offerings from BeyoncĂ© and Mariah Carey. That mix of genres and outsize personalities made for an exciting decade that put the party back in pop.