The 2000–2020 mixtape · pre-COVID

The most goated music of 2000–2020

From Taylor Swift writing the decade's biggest crossovers, to Marshmello turning a helmet into a global brand, to NCS soundtracking every YouTube gaming montage. Thirty-six tracks that ran the era, and the reasons they hit so hard before the world shut down in March 2020.

36 tracks5 lanes20 years0 skips
Side A

How the era was built

Every jump in how people got music changed which songs blew up. Scroll the tape.

  1. 2001Apple launches the iPod. Your whole library fits in a pocket.
  2. 2003The iTunes Store opens with 99¢ songs. Singles beat albums.
  3. 2005YouTube launches. Music videos become something you share.
  4. 2008Spotify launches in Europe (U.S. in 2011). Streaming begins.
  5. 2011NoCopyrightSounds is founded. Free bangers for every creator.
  6. 2012"Gangnam Style" becomes the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views.
  7. 2013Billboard's Hot 100 starts counting YouTube plays.
  8. 2017"Despacito" becomes the most-viewed video on YouTube.
  9. 2019Marshmello plays inside Fortnite to about 10.7 million live players.
  10. Mar 2020COVID-19 shuts down tours, clubs and festivals. The era ends.
Side B

The tracklist

Ranked by our GOAT score, which weighs chart impact, cultural reach and replay value. The facts are real; the scores are our opinion.

    Liner notes

    Why 2000–2020 was the most goated era

    Four things lined up at once, and they had never lined up like that before.

    01 · THE TECH

    Music went from shelves to pockets to the cloud

    The iPod, iTunes, YouTube and Spotify all landed inside one decade. Each one made a hit spread faster than the last. A song could go from a bedroom upload to the whole planet in weeks, and the charts changed their rules to keep up.

    02 · THE COLLISIONS

    Genres crashed into each other

    Taylor Swift carried country into pop. Avicii put bluegrass guitars over house beats. Daft Punk brought disco back. EDM producers like Marshmello and The Chainsmokers took over Top 40 radio. Rap became the most-streamed genre on earth. Every lane borrowed from every other lane.

    03 · THE CREATORS

    NCS gave YouTube its soundtrack

    NoCopyrightSounds let anyone use its tracks for free with a credit. Gamers, editors and streamers used them everywhere, so a whole generation learned electronic music from Minecraft and Fortnite videos. Alan Walker's "Fade" started on NCS and became the global hit "Faded."

    04 · THE SHARED MOMENTS

    Everybody knew the same songs

    Before feeds split into a million niches, one song could still unite a cafeteria, a stadium and a family car ride. "Gangnam Style," "Uptown Funk," "Shake It Off" and "Old Town Road" were songs literally everyone knew.

    Why the list stops in March 2020

    COVID-19 shut down tours, festivals and clubs almost overnight. Music didn't stop, but it moved into bedrooms and short video apps, and the way hits are made changed for good. 2000 to early 2020 is a complete chapter, from the first iPod to the last packed festival.