This year in music began on New Year’s Eve, 1999, when Prince celebrated the new millennium by playing his hit ”1999″ and then retiring it. This was the year that Christina Aguilera won the Best New Artist Grammy and the year that Metallica filed a lawsuit against music-sharing website Napster. Whether you’re taking a trip down memory lane or discovering the music of the millennial year for the first time, you’re in for a treat. We’re giving you more than just the year’s top hits. We’ve pulled out some seminal Canadian indie discs, a few novelties, a sprinkle of nu metal (remember that?) and notable debuts, plus plenty of nostalgia-generating surprises that are guaranteed to be Y2K compliant.
‘Oops!...I Did It Again’
Artist: Britney Spears Release date: May 16, 2000
The single you remember: The title track, “Oops!...I Did It Again” (and the dance moves from the video). Chart highlights: Spears’ second album debuted at #1 then spent 15 weeks in the #2 spot. It became the third-bestselling album of 2000.
‘Can't Take Me Home’
Artist: Pink Release date: April 4, 2000 The single you remember: “You Make Me Sick” Chart highlights: Pink’s debut record was the 66th-bestselling album of 2000.
Half Hour of Power’
Artist: Sum 41 Release date: June 27, 2000 The single you remember: “Makes No Difference” Chart highlights: The debut EP from these rockers from Ajax, Ontario, hit the #36 spot on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
‘I Wanna Be With You’
Artist: Mandy Moore Release date: May 9, 2000 The single you remember: The title track, "I Wanna Be With You". Chart highlights: The sophomore release from the Golden Globe-nominated star of ‘This Is Us’ reached #21 on the charts and the title track hit the top #30.
‘Hybrid Theory’
Artist: Linkin Park
Release date: October 24, 2000 The single you remember: “In the End” Chart highlights: Despite peaking at #2 on the charts, this nu metal debut record is the bestselling rock album of the 21st century.
‘Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water’
Artist: Limp Bizkit Release date: October 17, 2000 The single you remember: “Rollin’” Chart highlights: The third record from these L.A. nu metal rockers debuted at #1. It was the 34th-bestselling record of 2000, plus it became the fifth-bestselling record of 2001.
‘The Dynasty: Roc La Familia’
Artist: Jay-Z Release date: October 31, 2000 The single you remember: “I Just Wanna Love U” Chart highlights: Kanye and Pharrell Williams were among the producers on Hova’s fifth disc, which debuted at #1 and became the 20th-highest-selling R&B/hip-hop album of the ‘00s.
‘Stankonia’
Artist: OutKast Release date: October 23, 2000 The single you remember: “Ms. Jackson” (ooh!) Chart highlights: This autumn release was a slow burn that was the 104th best-selling record of 2000 and the 16th best-selling record of 2001.
‘Who Let the Dogs Out’
Artist: Baha Men Release date: July 26, 2000
The single you remember: “Who Let the Dogs Out” Chart highlights: The album hit #5 on the charts and became the 38th best-selling album of 2001.
‘Whoa, Nelly!’
Artist: Nelly Furtado Release date: October 24, 2000 The single you remember: “I’m Like a Bird” Chart highlights: “I’m Like a Bird” was a Top 10 hit and this Victoria, B.C., singer scored the 54th-bestselling album of 2001.
‘Left and Leaving’
Artist: The Weakerthans Release date: July 25, 2000 The single you remember: “Left and Leaving”, or “Aside” because it was included on the “Wedding Crashers” soundtrack, which turns 15 this year. Chart highlights: This record, which was nominated for the 2001 Juno for Alternative Album of the Year, paved the way for the ‘Reconstruction Site’ record in 2003, which peaked at #28 and 2007’s “Reunion" tour in 2007, which also peaked at #28.
‘My Music at Work’
Artist: The Tragically Hip Release date: June 6, 2000 The single you remember: the title track, “My Music at Work” Chart highlights: This record took home the 2001 Juno Award for Best Rock Album and the single, “My Music at Work”, hit the #2 spot on the Canadian Rock chart.
'This Business of Art'
Artist: Tegan and Sara Release date: July 18, 2000 The single you remember: “My Number” Chart highlights: The Calgary indie sisters' first official release was produced by Hawksley Workman. It paved the way for Top 10 hits like “Heartthrob” in 2013 and “Love You To Death” in 2016.
‘Heartbreaker’
Artist: Ryan Adams Release date: September 5, 2000 The single you remember: “Come Pick Me Up” Chart highlights: Adams’ debut took 16 years to reach the #140 spot, where it spent just one week. Fifteen albums after his debut, he’s charted 21 songs in the Top 200 and scored five Top 10 hits.
‘Parachutes’
Artist: Coldplay Release date: July 10, 2000 The single you remember: “Yellow” Chart highlights: “Yellow” peaked at #4 on the singles chart and Coldplay’s debut record peaked at #16. In the U.K, it’s currently the 22nd-bestselling album of the century.
‘Kid A’
Artist: Radiohead Release date: September 27, 2000 The single you remember: “Everything In Its Right Place” (The band didn’t actually release any singles from the record but this is the most-played track.) Chart highlights: The English rockers’ adventurous fourth record became the band’s first #1 album and it won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album. It was the 190th-bestselling record of 2000.
‘Music’
Artist: Madonna Release date: September 18, 2000
The single you remember: the title track, “Music”, and “American Pie” Chart highlights: Madonna’s foray into EDM country became the 49th best-selling album of 2001.
‘Hot Shot’
Artist: Shaggy Release date: August 8, 2000 The single you remember: “It Wasn’t Me” Chart highlights: Shaggy’s seventh record was the second-best-selling album of 2001. It would have hit the hot spot if the Beatles hadn’t released the compilation album, ‘1’.
‘Aaron's Party (Come Get It)’
Artist: Aaron Carter Release date: September 26, 2000 The single you remember: the title track, “Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" Chart highlights: Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s little brother released this record, which was the 35th best selling album of 2001.
‘No Strings Attached’
Artist: NSYNC Release date: March 21, 2000 The single you remember: "Bye Bye Bye" Chart highlights: ‘No Strings Attached’ debuted in the #1 spot. It set a record for one-week sales that held until Adele released ‘25’ in 2015. ‘No Strings Attached’ sold 9.9 million copies in 2000, making it the best-selling album of the year. It sold two million more copies than the #2 album on the list, Eminem’s ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’.
Ready to make the next big album that will be celebrated 20 years from now? Email info@zeddrecords.com to get started!
c/o ET Canada