I've been thinking lately about how despite 9/11 occured in the early part of the decade as well as the beginning of the war with Iraq, it seems like during the first half this decade times were generally simpler than the later part that we're in now, IMO. Does anyone else feel that way? I thought the 2000-2005 period we're good overall, with a few downfalls like the immediate post-9/11 period. It just seems like things started to look gloomy around 2006, with an increase of pessimism and uncertainty about the future, mainly with the economy and how the Iraq war that has gone on this long.

Personally, I liked the early '00s. Specifically 2000-2003, and probably up to 2005 as well. I was still in school up until May 2005, and I still got to see my friends on a regular basis. The music was a bit better in the early '00s as well.

The early '00s were generally good times, I really enjoyed the music like around 01 and 02, it was a ton better than most of the stuff right now.

The early 00s were cool because they were a lot like the 90s, but everything post 2003 started going downhill.

I think jan 1 2000 to sept. 10 2001 were good times. Even if the music and pop culture then was cheesy.  8)

For me personally, I liked 2000, but '01-'06, not so much.  Though this year has sort of been looking up for me.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the early 00s, my perceptions are clearly affected by my own personal experiences during this time.  2000 and the first half of 2001 were pretty good times for me and I can honestly say that I view those times as more simple and innocent than now.

Unfortunately, the second half of 2001 was a start of a rather terrible period in my life.  What with 9/11 occurring and me going to a junior high with NONE of my elementary school friends (not to mention slowly losing contact with them), the second half of 2001 wasn't too great, I'll be honest.  2002 and 2003 completely sucked too, as there were too many negative experiences to name.  It goes like this:

2000-summer of 2001 = Great, simpler times for me, thanks to the bliss of childhood, even if it was beginning to fade away.  I'm most nostalgic for these 00s years.
fall of 2001 = Um...okay, but not great
2002 and 2003 = Sorry, but putting pop culture aside, its hard to get nostalgic about a time period when your life completely sucked.
2004-today = much better, I'll definitely be more nostalgic about these years in the future than I will 2002-2003.

Strangely enough, I definitely appreciate the video games and movies of 2002 and 2003 (they were my escape), but the music and a lot of the mainstream tv (I HATE reality tv and the early 00s were reality tv at its peak) are not to my taste at all.  Maybe I'd like it better if my life hadn't sucked so bad during that time period, but thats just the way it goes.