Let's start with the obvious: Any great year of music needs a few party anthems ABOUT partying, and 2001 had some great ones. Thanks to P!NK (because that's how we spelled things in 2001), we had the timeless classic "Get the Party Started."
But that's not the only party anthem about partying 2001 gave us! Let's not forget:
"Don't Stop Moving" by S Club 7
"Where the Party At?" by Jagged Edge and Nelly
"Ride wit Me" by Nelly
"Hey Baby" by No Doubt
"Romeo" by Basement Jaxx
"Since I Left You" by the Avalanches
And OF COURSE we have to talk about the most important musical collaboration/movie promotion of all time. P!nk. Lil' Kim. Mya. Christina. After "Lady Marmalade," the world would never be the same. Absolutely NO ONE was surprised when this won video of the year at the VMAs.
Speaking of the 2001 VMAs, remember this?
2001 was also the year that Destiny's Child took home the Best R&B Video VMA for "Survivor."
But the longest-reigning chart-topper of the year was easily Janet Jackson's "All For You," which was the No. 1 song in America for seven straight weeks!
In the world of hip-hop, Jay Z unleashed his epic album The Blueprint and its catchy-as-hell single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" produced by a then-unknown young man named Kanye West.
Outkast apologized profusely to Ms. Jackson for making her daughter cry.
But the rap throne of 2001 undeniably belonged to Missy Elliott and "Get Ur Freak On."
Hip-hop was BOOMING in 2001 with songs like:
"U Remind Me" by Usher
"Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani
"Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige
"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops)" by Blu Cantrell
"Rollout (My Business)" by Ludacris
"What's Luv?" by Fat Joe and Ashanti
"Peaches and Cream" by 112
"Bad Boy for Life" by P. Diddy
"Always On Time" by Ja Rule and Ashanti
"I'm Real" by Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule
2001 was also a HUGE year for pop-punk. Not only did we avoid becoming victims of authority with Sum 41 and their rap-punk hit "Fat Lip"...
...but we also finally found true love at the Warped Tour with Blink-182 and "The Rock Show."
It was truly a pop-punk golden age. In 2001 alone, we had:
"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
"Flavor of the Weak" by American Hi-Fi
"At Your Funeral" by Saves the Day
"Jude Law and a Semester Abroad" by Brand New
"Private Eye" by Alkaline Trio
And no list about 2001 would be complete without mentioning Alien Ant Farm's bizarre but near-perfect cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal."
2001 also marked the return of Weezer, which made many of us ask our older siblings what a "hash pipe" was.
For those of us who were romantics, 2001 gave us Crazy Town and the (in hindsight, ridiculous) idea that calling a girl "butterfly" would make her swoon.
And Lifehouse left us "Hanging by a Moment" here with you.
For those of us who were addicted to modern rock radio, 2001 was most memorably responsible for:
"It's Been Awhile" by Staind
"How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
"In the End" by Linkin Park
"Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling
"Crawling in the Dark" by Hoobastank
"Click Click Boom" by Saliva
"Wish You Were Here" by Incubus
And who could forget trying to sing along to the near unintelligible verses from "Chop Suey" by System of a Down?
2001 also marked the beginning of what many called the "rock revival," with songs like the Strokes' "Last Nite" heralded for bringing back the garage rock sound of the '60s.
It was also the same year many of us were introduced to Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes, especially because of the memorable Lego-tastic video for their single "Fell in Love With a Girl."
In fact, 2001 was a great year for many of the indie rock acts that would come to dominate the rest of the decade:
"Caring Is Creepy" by The Shins
"I Might Be Wrong" by Radiohead
"A Movie Script Ending" by Death Cab for Cutie
"Fresh Feeling" by Eels
"Piano Fire" by Sparklehorse
"Glass Danse" by the Faint
"Science vs. Romance" by Rilo Kiley
And Blur frontman Damon Albarn introduced us to his new project, Gorillaz. The fully animated band was supposed to be a statement about the cartoonish nature of the pop music industry, but that didn't mean they didn't give us memorable pop gems like "Clint Eastwood" along the way.
What's that? You STILL haven't seen your favorite 2001 jam? How about:
"Stutter" by Joe and Mystikal
"Angel" by Shaggy featuring Rayvon
"What Would You Do?" by City High
"Don't Tell Me" by Madonna
"Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down
"My Baby" by Lil' Romeo
"Livin' It Up" by Ja Rule and Case
"Here's to the Night" by Eve 6
"Fiesta" by R. Kelly and Jay Z
"Loverboy" by Mariah Carey and Cameo
So "One More Time" (by Daft Punk), let's look fondly back at 2001.
A year that marked the rebirth of Kylie Minogue, and a year that we admitted we "Can't Get You Out of My Head."
A year that gave us Train's "Drops of Jupiter" and the best soy latte we ever had.
And if I forgot your jam, well, I'm going to use the Shaggy defense:
And if you want to have a 2001 party of your own, here's all of these songs in one playlist!
Note: Some of these songs came out in 2000, but let's be real, they were more popular in 2001.