The Defining Artists of the 2000s

The following artists released some of the best music of the 2000s. Hall of Famers are highlighted in orange.

Of the 134 artists listed above, 18% have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Defining Albums of the 2000s

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)

At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command (2000)

The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000)

Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker (2000)

NSYNC - No Strings Attached (2000)

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R (2000)

PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000)

OutKast - Stankonia (2000)

The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (2000)

Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)

Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)

Common - Like Water For Chocolate (2000)

D'Angelo - Voodoo (2000)

Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele (2000)

Madonna - Music (2000)

Patsy Cline - The Ultimate Collection (2000)

Deftones - White Pony (2000)

Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun (2000)

System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)

Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)

Pink - Missundaztood (2001)

Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor (2001)

The Shins - Oh, Inverted World (2001)

Muddy Waters - The Anthology: 1947-1972 (2001)

Bob Dylan - Love And Theft (2001)

Shakira - Laundry Service (2001)

Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001)

Manu Chao - Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001)

Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)

Aaliyah - Aaliyah (2001)

Destiny's Child - Survivor (2001)

The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

Björk - Vespertine (2001)

Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera (2001)

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)

Basement Jaxx - Rooty (2001)

Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator) (2001)

The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001)

Missy Elliott - Miss E... So Addictive (2001)

ABBA - The Definitive Collection (2001)

Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001)

Neko Case - Blacklisted (2002)

Beck - Sea Change (2002)

Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People (2002)

The Libertines - Up The Bracket (2002)

Missy Elliott - Under Construction (2002)

Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)

The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (2002)

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)

Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)

Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising (2002)

Avril Lavigne - Let Go (2002)

50 Cent - Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2003)

Sam Cooke - Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964 (2003)

OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)

The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)

The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell (2003)

Four Tet - Rounds (2003)

Alicia Keys - The Diary Of Alicia Keys (2003)

Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)

Brian Wilson - SMiLE (2004)

Mastodon - Leviathan (2004)

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)

Usher - Confessions (2004)

Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)

Daddy Yankee - Barrio fino (2004)

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)

Green Day - American Idiot (2004)

Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)

The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)

Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse (2004)

Feist - Let It Die (2004)

Kanye West - The College Dropout (2004)

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)

M.I.A. - Arular (2005)

Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)

Kanye West - Late Registration (2005)

The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday (2005)

Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree (2005)

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II (2005)

Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)

Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005)

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (2005)

My Morning Jacket - Z (2005)

Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006)

Beyoncé - B'Day (2006)

Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006)

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)

John Mayer - Continuum (2006)

Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (2006)

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

J Dilla - Donuts (2006)

Bob Dylan - Modern Times (2006)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (2006)

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury (2006)

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (2006)

Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2007)

Against Me! - New Wave (2007)

LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (2007)

M.I.A. - Kala (2007)

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2007)

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3 (2007)

Kanye West - Graduation (2007)

Paramore - Riot! (2007)

Britney Spears - Blackout (2007)

Panda Bear - Person Pitch (2007)

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

The National - Boxer (2007)

Burial - Untrue (2007)

TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008)

The Roots - Rising Down (2008)

Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (2008)

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III (2008)

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008)

Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak (2008)

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

The xx - xx (2009)

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009)

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster (2009)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (2009)

Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night (2009)

The Defining Songs of the 2000s

Missy Elliott - Work It (2000)

Coldplay - Yellow (2000)

Eminem - Stan (2000)

OutKast - Ms. Jackson (2000)

D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does it Feel) (2000)

Radiohead - Idioteque (2000)

The Strokes - Last Nite (2001)

Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott - Get Ur Freak On (2001)

Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer (2001)

50 Cent - In Da Club (2002)

Eminem - Lose Yourself (2002)

Jay-Z - 99 Problems (2003)

The Killers - Mr. Brightside (2003)

OutKast - Hey Ya! (2003)

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army (2003)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (2003)

Britney Spears - Toxic (2003)

Beyoncé - Crazy in Love (2003)

Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone (2004)

Coldplay - Fix You (2005)

My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade (2006)

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy (2006)

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (2006)

M.I.A. - Paper Planes (2007)

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (2007)

The Veronicas - Untouched (2007)

Kanye West - Stronger (2007)

Rihanna - Umbrella (2007)

Lil Wayne - A Milli (2008)

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (2009)