2001 and 2002 were '00s in their own right, but 2003 was the first year the '00s really stood out as an era of their own.  Emo came out, Joe Millionaire aired, 50 Cent was In Da Club, Lil' Jon came on the scene, Usher said "Yeah!", and the Iraq War began.

Before 2003, it was uncertain if the '00s would truly develop a character of their own. By the end of 2003, it was clear we weren't in the '90s anymore, even if the '00s are in some ways pretty similar to the '90s.

2001 and 2002 were '00s in their own right, but 2003 was the first year the '00s really stood out as an era of their own.  Emo came out, Joe Millionaire aired, 50 Cent was In Da Club, Lil' Jon came on the scene, Usher said "Yeah!", and the Iraq War began.

Before 2003, it was uncertain if the '00s would truly develop a character of their own. By the end of 2003, it was clear we weren't in the '90s anymore, even if the '00s are in some ways pretty similar to the '90s.


Really, every decade is pretty similar to the decade that came before it. Even the '80s were sort of '70s-like. But yeah, in 2003 the '00s came of age and stopped seeming Y2K totally. Also, the whole preppy/expensive/hipster sort of orientation came in.

Really, every decade is pretty similar to the decade that came before it. Even the '80s were sort of '70s-like. But yeah, in 2003 the '00s came of age and stopped seeming Y2K totally. Also, the whole preppy/expensive/hipster sort of orientation came in.


Yeah I agree 2003 is the year the '00s became a decade of their own. And yes the earlier half of almost every decade is like the decade before it in ways, the earlier part of the '90s definitely had some connections to the late '80s.

2001 and 2002 were '00s in their own right, but 2003 was the first year the '00s really stood out as an era of their own.  Emo came out, Joe Millionaire aired, 50 Cent was In Da Club, Lil' Jon came on the scene, Usher said "Yeah!", and the Iraq War began.

Before 2003, it was uncertain if the '00s would truly develop a character of their own. By the end of 2003, it was clear we weren't in the '90s anymore, even if the '00s are in some ways pretty similar to the '90s.


Yeah, 2003 was the year the 00s really defined themselves, similar in many ways to 1993 (I think the 80s were pretty quick to establish themselves), but I think 00s cultural manifestations like Reality TV, hip-hop.etc were just as big in 2002. So in many ways it wasn't as defined as 1993 was to the 90s.

Yeah, 2003 was the year the 00s really defined themselves, similar in many ways to 1993 (I think the 80s were pretty quick to establish themselves), but I think 00s cultural manifestations like Reality TV, hip-hop.etc were just as big in 2002. So in many ways it wasn't as defined as 1993 was to the 90s.


I think by 1991-1992 the '90s had really already established themselves, more or less, while it took until about the midpoint of the calendar year 2003 to get the '00s going, other than reality TV. The shift around '93 to me seemed to be more that old school rap became somewhat outre and gangsta rap came in.

I do think 2003 was a change, but the change actually started in 2002, with the death of boy bands and reality tv saturating the airwaves.  The change was slow going however, and didn't become apparent until 2003.  The thing is, it was a subtle change and I don't think a lot of people in 2003 really saw how different it was.  I remember people in 2003 were still complaining about the 00's being too similar to the 90's.  In retrospect, it's kind of silly, but people were still complaining about the 00's being "a 90's copycat" well into 2004.

What is scary is that 2003 is only three years ago, but it's already dated.  Nu-Metal was still going strong in 2003, with bands like Linkin Park and Evanescence still doing very well on the rock charts.  Also, bands like The White Stripes and The Strokes were being hyped up as the saviors of rock music.  Of course, we know that didn't happen.  Also, with the exception of Dashboard Confessional, Emo wasn't around in 2003.  I know a lot of people here think Emo came out in 2003, but look at the charts from 2003 and you won't find much Emo from that year at all.  The closest thing in 2003 to Emo was Pop Punk bands like Good Charlotte.

I do think 2003 was a change, but the change actually started in 2002, with the death of boy bands and reality tv saturating the airwaves.  The change was slow going however, and didn't become apparent until 2003.  The thing is, it was a subtle change and I don't think a lot of people in 2003 really saw how different it was.  I remember people in 2003 were still complaining about the 00's being too similar to the 90's.  In retrospect, it's kind of silly, but people were still complaining about the 00's being "a 90's copycat" well into 2004.

What is scary is that 2003 is only three years ago, but it's already dated.  Nu-Metal was still going strong in 2003, with bands like Linkin Park and Evanescence still doing very well on the rock charts.  Also, bands like The White Stripes and The Strokes were being hyped up as the saviors of rock music.  Of course, we know that didn't happen.  Also, with the exception of Dashboard Confessional, Emo wasn't around in 2003.  I know a lot of people here think Emo came out in 2003, but look at the charts from 2003 and you won't find much Emo from that year at all.  The closest thing in 2003 to Emo was Pop Punk bands like Good Charlotte.


There was emo back in 2003, but it wasn't as successful chartwise as emo bands are now, and alot of the stuff referenced as emo was by teen hipsters who like indiemo such as Bright Eyes, the Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, etc. I think it was already becoming apparent how different the '00s were from the '90s, with all the '80s nostalgia and hipsterism, and the "crunk" style of rap, by 2002 even in some ways, and the futuristic direction the '00s seemed to be going in. I do remember the first time I heard the word emo was fall 2003. I think it entered the lingo in the NYC/NJ era in 2002 or 2003 and had spread coast to coast by 2004 or 2005.

I sort of realized around this year how big of a change 2003 was. It was probably harder to notice how much of the leftover '90s died that year if you weren't in a high school or middle school. And I remember how popular the White Stripes and the Strokes were in 2003, even in early 2004. They're still around, but the post-punk revival is infinitely less popular, having been replaced by the Arcade Fire/Architecture in Helsinki indiemo that's now being touted as the savior of rock music and is pretty overhyped.

Notice how every band thats hyped up as being the savior of rock music never fulfills that promise?  Seriously, look at all the bands in recent years that were hyped up by the media as saving rock music.  Did any of them accomplish this?  Certainly not, or else they wouldn't still be hyping up certain bands as the "saviors of rock" if rock music was already saved.  I think that if rock music does get a savior, it'll be out of nowhere and be completely unexpected.  Similar to how Nirvana came out of nowhere with little to no hype at all.  Until that happens, any band hyped up as being the savior of rock music will fail in accomplishing this.

Notice how every band thats hyped up as being the savior of rock music never fulfills that promise?  Seriously, look at all the bands in recent years that were hyped up by the media as saving rock music.  Did any of them accomplish this?  Certainly not, or else they wouldn't still be hyping up certain bands as the "saviors of rock" if rock music was already saved.  I think that if rock music does get a savior, it'll be out of nowhere and be completely unexpected.  Similar to how Nirvana came out of nowhere with little to no hype at all.  Until that happens, any band hyped up as being the savior of rock music will fail in accomplishing this.


Yeah, I agree...Nirvana probably was the savior of mainstream rock, and they came out of nowhere. Anyway, I think the Strokes and the White Stripes were one-note bands that had their moments of fame, and most people have passed on.

I do think 2003 was a change, but the change actually started in 2002, with the death of boy bands and reality tv saturating the airwaves.  The change was slow going however, and didn't become apparent until 2003.  The thing is, it was a subtle change and I don't think a lot of people in 2003 really saw how different it was.  I remember people in 2003 were still complaining about the 00's being too similar to the 90's.  In retrospect, it's kind of silly, but people were still complaining about the 00's being "a 90's copycat" well into 2004.

What is scary is that 2003 is only three years ago, but it's already dated.  Nu-Metal was still going strong in 2003, with bands like Linkin Park and Evanescence still doing very well on the rock charts.  Also, bands like The White Stripes and The Strokes were being hyped up as the saviors of rock music.  Of course, we know that didn't happen.  Also, with the exception of Dashboard Confessional, Emo wasn't around in 2003.  I know a lot of people here think Emo came out in 2003, but look at the charts from 2003 and you won't find much Emo from that year at all.  The closest thing in 2003 to Emo was Pop Punk bands like Good Charlotte.



I agree. 2002 was a very changeful year for the '00s but 2003 was the year that the '00s "came of age". I also agree that '03 is starting to look slightly dated. Nu-Metal was as you mentioned still big in '03 and emo was not quite as popular as it is now.