WOW I can't believe that the 00's are coming to an end, as it only seems like yesterday we were worried about the Y2K crisis happening...

With it, as many music lovers know, so much has happened within the music industry that its baffling. You have mp3's, digital downloads, and of course online streaming as the new norm. People pirate and buy up goods that the RIAA and rest of the fat cat's can't get their money-grubbing hands on (and while we're at it, might as well throw the IFPI (damn French) under the train too) while the rest of the world has adapted to the new medium.

And of course, we have the very best of the decade in music... Hip-Hop has taken over as early as 2001, with Pop music finally letting go of its clutches as Justin Timberlake left to go solo, and how both Eminem's and 50 Cent's new albums in 2001 and 2003 showed how marketable the hip-hop image was. As well, Alternative Rock, which encompassed the likes of Emo and Post-Grunge, was a heavy influence within the decade as bands such as Jimmy Eat World, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic at the Disco, 3 Doors Down, and Theory of a Deadman. With a shift at the end of 2009 moving towards the Electro-genre and the revival of Synthpop (with hit makers such as Lady GaGa, Crookers, MSTRKRFT, Idle Warship and other notable acts moving towards that sound), it still stands that Hip-Hop has dominated the majority of the decade (at least according to Rolling Stone).

But, let's begin with the charts, starting with...

ONE HIT WONDERS of the 2000s:



#1 - Daniel Porter - Bad Day
#2 - Terror Squad - Lean Back
#3 - Crazy Town - Butterfly (remember this one???)
#4 - MIMS - This Is Why I'm Hot
#5 - D4L - Laffy Taffy

Read the rest on Billboard...

Top SONGS of the 2000s (based on Radio Play):



#1 - Mariah Carey - We Belong Together
#2 - Usher Ft. Ludacris & Lil' Jon - Yeah! (honestly I think this one should have been #1)
#3 - Flo Rida Ft. T-Pain - Low
#4 - Nickelback - How You Remind Me (seriously??)
#5 - Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling

Read the rest on Billboard...

Top SONGS of the 2000s:



#1 - Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
#2 - Jay-Z - 99 Problems
#3 - Beyonce - Crazy In Love
#4 - Outkast - Hey Ya!
#5 - M.I.A. - Paper Planes

Read the rest on Rolling Stone...

Top-selling ALBUMS of the 2000s:



#1 - 'N Sync - No Strings Attached
#2 - Usher - Confessions
#3 - Eminem - The Eminem Show
#4 - Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
#5 - Creed - Human Clay

Read the rest on Billboard...

Artists of the Decade:



#1 - Eminem (any surprise here? From releasing four major studio albums, going through drug rehab, marriages/divorces, and the death of his best friend, he's been through a lot this decade...)
#2 - Usher
#3 - Nelly
#4 - Beyonce
#5 - Alicia Keys

Read the rest on Billboard...

and finally, the best albums based on their impact, creativity, and standing in pop culture...

Best ALBUMS of the 2000s:



#1 - Kanye West - The College Dropout
#2 - Jay-Z - The Blueprint
#3 - Radiohead - Kid A
#4 - Outkast - Stankonia
#5 - Bob Dylan - Love and Theft

Read the rest of the top 10 on Entertainment Weekly...



#1 - Radiohead - Kid A
#2 - The Strokes - This Is It
#3 - Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
#4 - Jay-Z - The Blueprint
#5 - The White Stripes - Elephant

Read the rest of the top 100 on Rolling Stone...

Finally, my top 5 albums:



#1 - Jay-Z - The Blueprint
#2 - Kanye West - Graduation
#3 - Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP
#4 - Daft Punk - Discovery
#5 - Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

And so as we close off this decade, we look forward to the next as we embark on a new journey of discoveries as we hear the latest music and sounds the world has to offer us. Look for the trend to hit even more one-hit wonders as the digital age embraces Singles and gets rid of Albums, and for the music to have a heavy electro-influence in the years to come!

- EH

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