'00s Pop

How crazy is it that the first ten years of the new century — make that the new millennium — have come and gone? Time doesn’t fly so much as warp-speed into the future, but we’ll always have the sounds of ’00s Pop to remind us of days gone by — from the 2000 rock uplift of U2 and “Beautiful Day” to the Black Eyed Peas and the ’09 optimism of “I Gotta Feeling,” these are the tunes to mark the times of our lives. There’s so much more in between, including Faith Hill and the country-pop embrace of “Breathe,” OutKast and the lend-me-some-sugar celebration that is “Hey Ya!,” and the out-of-nowhere surprise of one Lady GaGa and her one-of-a-kind “Poker Face.”

The years race by with more ’00s pop, in Next Steps.

It only makes sense that Madonna would kick off the 21st century with one of the hugest hits of the big two-triple-0 — what makes it even more perfect is that “Music” is a smooth-movin’ anthem to that universal groove that binds us together as human beings. It’s all good, whether we’re feelin’ the been-there-done-that truth of Daniel Powter and his sonic soother “Bad Day,” movin’ what our mamas gave us to the Usher’s dance-floor affirmation “Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris),” or hippin’ to the cyborg beats of 50 Cent and “In da Club,” the tune that gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “it’s your birthday.”

Time travel is as easy as a quick trip to Deep Cuts for more ’00s pop.

So what did our ’00s pop stars do to while away the decade? While he was dating some of the hottest ladies on the planet, John Mayer was also hanging out with his guitar and “Waiting On the World to Change.” R&B diva Ciara was keepin’ her hands clean and her tantalizing “Goodies” in the jar. Corinne Bailey Rae just wanted to keep dancing on her smooth soul plea “Put Your Records On,” as Ok Go hopped on a pop-rock treadmill (or four) with “Here It Goes Again.” And Dixie Chicks? They looked all the way back to the ’70s for a harmony-sweet cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”

It was, as the writer once wrote, the best of times and the worst of times, the momentous beginning of nothing less than a brand new millennium. And if it was a decade of triumphs and tribulations, on one point — the music — it came through continually, and it came through big. Whether it was the solo breakthrough of a girl-group mainstay (Beyoncé and “Crazy In Love”) or a sweet-and-simple charmer from an indie chanteuse (Feist and “1234”), our ’00s Pop Essentials artists were there with us when we laughed and cried, danced and sang. And so, with everything from Coldplay and the eternal time-keeper “Clocks,” to Natasha Bedingfield and her wise look ahead, “Unwritten,” we bring you the best of the aughts, with an eye on the future.