2000s Music Quiz
The last monoculture chart, from TRL to the ringtone. Name Eminem, Beyonce, Shakira and the pop-punk anthems that ran the 2000s.
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The 00s at a glance
- Years
- 2000 to 2009
- What defined it
- Hip hop and contemporary R&B ran the charts early, while pop-punk, emo, nu metal and a garage rock revival fought for radio, and by the end electropop and dance took over. The iPod and downloads reshaped how everyone listened.
- Dominant sounds
- Crunk and snap from the South, Auto-Tune R&B, arena pop-punk, teen pop turning grown-up, and the UK-born grime and dubstep bubbling underground.
- Key genres
- Hip hop · Contemporary R&B · Pop-punk · Emo · Nu metal · Teen pop · Garage rock revival · Crunk and snap · Electropop and electro house · Grime and dubstep
- Signature instruments and tech
- Auto-Tune and pitch-correction software (pushed mainstream by T-Pain), digital studio production, the iPod and iTunes downloads, polyphonic ringtones, and MySpace as an artist launchpad.
- Essential artists
- Eminem · Beyonce · Rihanna · Alicia Keys · Justin Timberlake · Kanye West · Jay-Z · 50 Cent · Usher · OutKast · Shakira · Linkin Park · Green Day · Coldplay · The Killers · Lady Gaga
- Songs to know
- Shakira Hips Don't Lie · Beyonce Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) · OutKast Hey Ya! · Soulja Boy Crank That · The Killers Mr. Brightside · Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again · Lady Gaga Poker Face
- The industry
- Five major labels still ruled, but the CD gave way to 99-cent downloads and ringtones, MySpace and PureVolume broke amateur acts, and internet radio and reality shows minted new stars.
- Why the 2000s is fun to guess
- The hooks are enormous and the production is instantly datable: one Auto-Tune vocal run, one crunk chant or one pop-punk power chord and the year snaps into focus.
- Where to start
- Start with the megahits everyone shouted along to, from Hey Ya! to Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), then push into crunk, emo and indie deep cuts.
- The tricky ones
- Garage rock revival gems, one-week wonders from the ringtone rush, and moody indie tracks that lived on MySpace can stump even a 2000s superfan.
The Artists Who Defined the 2000s
Eminem topped the decade, Beyonce and Rihanna owned R&B, and pop-punk bands ruled TRL. These are the names that filled every ringtone and iPod in the noughties. How many can you place?
Justin Timberlake
On 'SexyBack' the Timbaland beat lands before his vocal does. Guess the Justin Timberlake song, then tell a Neptunes groove from a Timbaland record.Usher
Confessions spun four number ones from one 2004 album, from 'Yeah!' to 'My Boo'. Guess the Usher song, then prove that one record isn't all you know.Alicia Keys
Four descending piano chords open 'Fallin'', and she plays every one herself. Guess the Alicia Keys song from the intro, before the up-tempo cuts hide the keys.Black Eyed Peas
Before Fergie joined, the Black Eyed Peas were a jazzy LA rap trio nobody heard on the radio. Guess the Black Eyed Peas song, then place its era.Avril Lavigne
'Girlfriend' sounds like a cheerleader chant, but it is really a boyfriend-stealing taunt. Guess the Avril Lavigne song, then tell her bright hooks from their brutal lyrics.Shakira
'Waka Waka' is built on a Cameroonian marching chant, not a pop beat. Guess the Shakira song, then name the rhythms she fuses into each hit.Rihanna
'Love the Way You Lie' feels like hers, but it is an Eminem single with Rihanna only on the hook. Guess the Rihanna song, then sort leads from guest spots.Coldplay
Four piano notes and most players already shout 'Clocks'. Guess the Coldplay song from its hook, then watch the pop collabs swap the piano for a beat.Arctic Monkeys
The frantic 2006 'Dancefloor' sounds nothing like the smoky 2013 'Do I Wanna Know?'. Guess the Arctic Monkeys song, then name which era it came from.The Songs That Defined the 2000s
From the horns of 'Crazy in Love' to the Auto-Tune of 'Umbrella', the decade's biggest tracks give themselves away from the opening bar. These are the hits that open any 2000s round.
- 01
Crazy in Love
2003
- 02
Lose Yourself
2002
- 03
Hey Ya!
2003
- 04
Toxic
2003
- 05
Viva la Vida
2008
- 06
Stronger
2007
- 07
Complicated
2002
- 08
Umbrella
2007
2000s Music Trivia
The 99-cent download that killed the album, the best-selling single of the decade, Auto-Tune taking over every hook. The 2000s is loaded with facts that win a trivia round.
- Apple's iTunes Store opened in 2003 selling every track for 99 cents, and by April 2008 it was the largest music retailer in the United States, turning the album era into a singles era.
- Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" was the best-selling single of the decade, and she was the first South American artist to top the US, UK, Australian and Latin charts at the same time, a name any guess the artist round leans on.
- Usher's 2004 album Confessions sold over 15 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling R&B album of the 21st century.
- Linkin Park's debut Hybrid Theory, released in 2000, sold over 24 million copies worldwide, one of the biggest rock records of the decade despite arriving as nu metal peaked.
- In the 2004 Billboard Year-End Hot 100, contemporary R&B held 15 of the top 25 singles, showing just how completely the genre owned the mid-2000s charts, a fact worth using when you challenge your friends.
The 00s: the full story
The 2000s was the last time everyone heard the same song. TRL counted it down, the ringtone sold it, and the 99-cent iTunes download, launched in 2003, turned the album era into a singles era, so one chart really did belong to everybody. Eminem finished as the top-selling artist of the decade, Beyonce broke out solo with 'Crazy in Love', Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' became the best-selling single of the 2000s, and T-Pain pushed Auto-Tune into every hook. Our 2000s music quiz rebuilds that monoculture. Guess the song before the chorus lands, and find out how much of the noughties radio you actually kept. Browse more quizzes on music by decade or switch to a music genre quiz.
2000s Music Quiz FAQ
What is the 2000s music quiz?
Our 2000s music quiz is not one quiz but a whole collection of rounds built from the sound of 2000 to 2009. You will move from hip hop and contemporary R&B to pop-punk, emo, crunk and late-decade electropop, guessing tracks by Eminem, Beyonce, Shakira, Usher and more. Each round plays a snippet and challenges you to name the song or the artist before it ends, so the better you know the noughties, the higher you climb.
Which artists and songs show up in the quiz?
Expect the artists who defined the decade. Eminem finished as the top-selling artist of the 2000s, Britney Spears as the best-selling female artist, and the rounds lean on Beyonce, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Usher and Shakira. Landmark songs turn up constantly, from Shakira's Hips Don't Lie and OutKast's Hey Ya! to The Killers' Mr. Brightside and Soulja Boy's Crank That, so this 2000s music trivia rewards anyone who lived on the radio then.
Is the 2000s music quiz free to play?
Yes. The 2000s music quiz is free to play with no signup, so you can jump straight in and start guessing the moment you land, or guess the song with friends in a multiplayer music quiz. If you want to save your stats, track a streak and climb the weekly league against other players, you can sign in, but that is entirely optional. Nothing is paywalled: the full collection of noughties rounds is open, whether you play once or come back every single day.
How hard is it to guess the 2000s song?
It scales with you. Early rounds serve the megahits almost everyone shouted along to, like Oops!... I Did It Again or Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), so newcomers score quickly. Push deeper and the game digs into crunk, emo, garage rock revival and MySpace-era indie, where one-week wonders and ringtone hits hide. Because the snippets are short, even a 2000s superfan has to lock in the title before it ends to beat the clock.
What makes 2000s songs so recognizable?
The 2000s left fingerprints all over its records. Auto-Tune, pushed mainstream by T-Pain around 2007, gives late-decade R&B and pop an unmistakable robotic shimmer, while crunk chants, snap beats and huge pop-punk power chords date a track in a single bar. Add the polished digital production of the iPod and iTunes era, plus hooks engineered for ringtones, and most clues click into place the moment the chorus drops.
Sources & methodology
Sources consulted
Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.
Our methodology
Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.