Music of the 2000s

Music
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Genres

• Alternative Rap: Although Gangsta and Crunk were huge in the start of the decade, people surprisingly drifted towards more emotionally open and less hardcore forms of hip hop as the decade wore on. Pretty soon artists and groups like OutKast, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Gorillaz, and Lupe Fiasco managed to achieve popularity when they would've just been cult artists in any other decade.
• Crunk: This and southern rap exploded in this decade and became the most well-known form of rap.
• Chillwave: A Genre Mashup of 1980s-inspired synth pop and lo-fi, psychedelic, and shoegaze. Often deliberately made to sound like old, warped cassette tapes. Lyrical themes include drugs, the beach, and, well, just chilling. Emerged at the end of the decade and received acclaim among music critics (one blog deemed 2009 the "Summer of Chillwave"), then quickly died out around 2011.
• Deathcore: A popular style of extreme metal that took Myspace by storm in the later half of the decade thanks to bands like Job for a Cowboy, Bring Me the Horizon, and Suicide Silence.
• Emo Music: Probably the most popular form of alternative rock for the decade. Emo bands that crossed over usually had elements of either Power Pop (e.g. Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World) or Goth Rock and Metal (e.g. AFI, My Chemical Romance, Thursday, The Used), and usually wore eyeliner.
• Gangsta Rap: While it slowly faded and was replaced by Crunk and Alternative Rap, it still had some huge stars in the form of 50 Cent and DMX
• Garage Rock: Experienced a big revival and was the biggest form of indie rock for the decade due to The Strokes and The White Stripes hitting it big. It was more polished than the 60's version but it kept the same old school rock and roll feel and look.
• Melodic Rap continued seeing popularity early in the decade, thanks to Nelly, and the continued dominance of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, but it would really take off in 2005, thanks to T-Pain's creative use of the Auto-Tune software. Kanye would solidify the Auto-Tune trend with 808s & Heartbreak, setting the stage for Drake and others to reach unprecedented commercial success with it in the next decade onward.
• Metalcore: The most popular form of metal for the decade, built around screamed vocals and breakdowns. Also surprisingly extreme for a mainstream metal genre in comparison to Hair Metal and Nu Metal.
• Nu Metal: Popular for the first half of the decade before Emo and metalcore supplanted it in terms of popularity. Some of its biggest acts came out in this decade such as Linkin Park and Evanescence.
• Pop Punk: Pure Pop punk without any emo influence also took a turn for the huge after blink-182's self titled and (especially) Green Day's American Idiot took the genre into a more polished but also more ambitious direction. Bands like Good Charlotte, The All-American Rejects and Yellowcard had popularity with this variation of the sound.
• Post-Grunge: The mainstream rock of the decade, unlike Emo and Garage rock which was aimed at subcultures and alternative scenes, Post grunge appealed to your Average Joes of Middle America. Divided into two camps: One was the glossy and polished, stadium-oriented Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll version personified by bands like Nickelback and Hinder, the other was darker and more Nu Metal influenced mainly led by bands like Three Days Grace and Flyleaf.
• R&B would continue it's dominance from The '90s, spurred by the debuts of Alicia Keys and Chris Brown, Beyoncé's solo debut, and Usher and Mariah Carey releasing smash sucesss albums, Confessions and The Emanicipation Of Mimi respectively.

Musicians #-A

• μ-Ziq
• 2AM
• 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor
• 2NE1
• 2PM
• 3 Doors Down
• 3OH!3
• 3 Inches of Blood
• 3LW (Notable hit: "No More (Baby I'm-a Do Right)")
• Four Minute
• 11 Acorn Lane
• 16 Horsepower
• Thirty Seconds to Mars: Formed in 1998, but released their first album in 2002 and gained mainstream success with their second release in 2005, specifically the single "The Kill" and its accompanying music video.
  • 2009 - This Is War
• 36 Crazyfists
• 50 Cent: Scored his first hit in 2003.
• 65daysofstatic
• The 77s
• 311
• 883
  • 2000 - "La regina del Celebrità"
• 12012
• A Ha
• A.R. Kane
• A-Teens
• AAA
• Aaliyah: Tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2001.
• abingdon boys school
• Abney Park
• Abnormality
• Abominable Putridity
• Above The Law
• The Absence
• Abysmal Dawn
• AC/DC
• The Acacia Strain
• The Academy Is...
• Ace of Base
• L'Acéphale
• Acid Mothers Temple
• Bryan Adams
• Ryan Adams
• Adele: Had her first top 40 hit in 2009, but only became a superstar two years later.
• Adema
• The Adicts
• Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah
• Trace Adkins
• Adolescents
• Æon
• Aerosmith
• Aesop Rock
• AFI
• Afro Celt Sound System
• Afrojack
• Afroman
• After Forever
• Against Me!
• Agalloch
• The Age Of Information
• Agent Steel
• The Agonist
• Christina Aguilera: Scored her first hit in 1999, but the bulk of her career was in this decade.
  • 2002 - Stripped
• Aina
• Air
• Air Supply
• Airbourne
• AJJ
• AKB48
• Alarm MM+
• Amateur Transplants
• Ambrose Akinmusire
• Akon
• Al B. Sure!
• Alabama
• Alcest
• Jason Aldean
• Alestorm
• Alexisonfire
• Ali Project
• Alice in Chains
• Alien Ant Farm
• Alkaline Trio
• ALL
• The All-American Rejects
• All Shall Perish
• All That Remains
• All Time Low
• Allegaeon
• Gary Allan
• Lily Allen
• The Allman Brothers Band
• Alphabeat
• Alstroemeria Records
• Alter Bridge: Creed frontman Scott Stapp was replaced by new singer Myles Kennedy. They have significantly better reception than Creed though nowhere near as much success.
• Aly & A.J.: They are two sisters who have been successful in both singing and acting.
• Alyson
• Amaranthe
• America
• Amerie
• Amesoeurs
• Amon Amarth
• Vanessa Amorosi
• Amorphis
• Tori Amos
• Namie Amuro
• An Cafe
• Anaal Nathrakh: British Black Metal duo who released their first album in 2001, pushing both their genre and extreme metal in general to its limits.
• Anal Cunt
• Analog Rebellion
• Anamanaguchi
• Anarchy Club
• Anastacia
• Anathema
• Anberlin
• And One
• Bill Anderson
• Laurie Anderson
• Angela
• Angelcorpse
• The Angelic Process
• Angels & Airwaves
• Angelspit
• Angelus Apatrida
• Angra
• Animal Alpha
• Animal Collective
  • 2009 - Merriweather Post Pavilion
• Animals as Leaders
• Animosity
• Paul Anka
• Annihilator
• Marc Anthony
• Sally Anthony
• Anthrax
• Anti-Flag
• The Antlers
  • 2009 - Hospice
• Anohni and the Johnsons
• Die Antwoord
• Anybody Killa
• Aphex Twin: Released the double album drukQs in 2001, and spent the rest of the decade releasing the Analord EP series as AFX and two more extended plays as the Tuss.
• Fiona Apple
• Apocalyptica
• Apollo 440
• ApologetiX
• Aqua
• The Aquabats!
• Arashi
• L'arc-en-Ciel
• Arcade Fire
  • 2004 - Funeral
• Arch-Enemy
• David Archuleta
• Architecture In Helsinki
• Archive
• Arctic Monkeys
  • 2006 - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
• Arcturus
• Ariya - Russian Heavy Metal band
• Ricardo Arjona
• Arkaik
• The Arrogant Worms
• Arsis
• Art of Dying: Have never scored a rock hit until 2011, but their song "Get Thru This" was already getting exposure through WWE programming.
• Die Ärzte
• As I Lay Dying: American Metalcore/Melodic Death Metal/neo-Thrash Metal band formed in 2000.
• Ikue Asazaki
• Ash
• Ash Borer
• Ashanti
• Asia
• Asian Kung-Fu Generation
• Asking Alexandria
• ASP
• Rick Astley
• At the Drive-In
  • 2000 - Relationship of Command
• Juan Atkins
• Nicole Atkins
• Atmosphere
• Atomic Kitten
• Attila (Metalcore)
• Audioslave
• Augie March
• Aural Vampire
• The Austin Lounge Lizards
• Autechre
• Emilie Autumn
• The Avalanches
• Avantasia
• Avatar
• Avenged Sevenfold: Arguably most successful heavy metal group of the new decade.
  • 2005 - City of Evil
• Avicii: Released his first EP and a number of singles during the later part of the decade.
• Axe Murder Boyz
• Axel Rudi Pell
• The Axis of Awesome
• The Axis of Perdition
• Ayane
• Roy Ayers
• Eva Ayllón
• Ayria
• Charles Aznavour

Musicians B-C

• B2ST
• B5
• The B-52s
• Bo B
• B'z
• Baby Alice
• Babyface
• Burt Bacharach
• Backstreet Boys
• Bad Brains
• Bad Religion
• Erykah Badu
  • 2000 - Mama's Gun
• Joan Baez
• Adrian Baker
• Anita Baker would release her last album this decade before her retirement.
• Bal-Sagoth
• Long John Baldry
• J Balvin
• Bananarama
• Banda XXI
• The Bangles
• Tony Banks
• Barbatos
• Sara Bareilles
• Barenaked Ladies
• Barlow Girl
• Barón Rojo
• Maya Barsony
• Basehead
• Shirley Bassey
• Basshunter
• Bat for Lashes
  • 2006 - Fur and Gold
• Bathory
• Battles
• Bauhaus
• Baustelle
• Beach House
• The Beards
• Beastie Boys
• The Beatles: In 2006, the Cirque De Soleil show Love premiered, which featured remixed songs. There also was the rock musical movie Across the Universe (2007) in 2007.
• The Beautiful South
• Beck
  • 2005 - Guero
• Jeff Beck
• The Bee Gees
• Behemoth
• Bell Biv DeVoe: Released one album that was a commercial failure in 2001, and wouldn't release any new material for 15 years afterwards.
• Belle and Sebastian
• Belphegor
• Pat Benatar
• Beneath The Massacre
• Benighted
• Mitch Benn
• Dierks Bentley
• Geoff Berner
• Nick Bertke
• The Berzerker
• Best Coast
• Better Than Ezra
• Beyoncé: Both Destiny's Child and her solo career peaked during this decade. Notable hits: "Crazy in Love", "Baby Boy", "Naughty Girl", "Irreplaceable", "If I Were A Boy", "Single Ladies", "Halo"
  • 2003 - Dangerously in Love
  • 2008 - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
• Bi-2: A Russian Alternative Rock band that was originally formed in 1988 but only became popular in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s.
• Jello Biafra
• Justin Bieber: Gained super-stardom at the beginning of 2010, but in 2007 he began posting videos on YouTube and in 2009 he made his musical debut.
• Biffy Clyro
• Big & Rich
• Big Bang
• Big Big Train
• Big Daddy
• Big KRIT
• Big L
• Big Pun
• Big Sean
• Big Star
• BIGMAMA
• Ivor Biggun
• Billy Talent
• Andrew Bird
• Birdeatsbaby
• The Birthday Massacre
• Between the Buried and Me
• Bitter Ruin
• Björk
  • 2001 - Vespertine
  • 2004 - Medúlla
• Clint Black
• The Black Angels
• The Black Crowes
• The Black Dahlia Murder: The biggest and most respected Melodic Death Metal band to come out of the US.
• The Black Eyed Peas: They scored their first hit in 2003, but finished the decade off with what is arguably its most successful song in "I Gotta Feeling".
• The Black Keys: Released five albums this decade, yet their mainstream success is almost exclusively in The New '10s.
• Black Kids
• Black Label Society
• Black Light Burns
• Black Tide
• Blackbear
• Carsie Blanton
• Blaze Ya Dead Homie
• Mary J. Blige
• Blind Guardian
• Blind Melon
• blink-182
• Bliss N Eso
• Bloc Party
• The Blockheads
• Blondie
• Blood Ceremony
• Blood on the Dance Floor
• Blood Red Shoes
• Blood Red Throne: A Death Metal band from Norway who released their first record in 2001, gradually developing a cult following over the course of the decade.
• Blood Stain Child
• Bloodbath
• Bloodhound Gang
• Blue Cheer
• Blue Man Group
• Blue October
• Blue Öyster Cult
• Blue Stahli
• Blues Traveler
• The Blue Nile
• The Bluetones
• James Blunt: First came to fame in 2004 with "You're Beautiful".
• Blur
• Blut aus Nord
• Blutengel
• Boa Korea
• Bôa (UK)
• Boards of Canada
  • 2002 - Geogaddi
  • 2005 - The Campfire Headphase
• The Body
• Body Count
• Eric Bogle
• Bohren & der Club of Gore
• Bolt Thrower
• Michael Bolton
• Bomb the Music Industry!
• Bon Iver
• Bon Jovi
• Bond
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
• The Bonzo Dog Band
• Boondox
• Boredoms
• Boris
• Boston
• Botch
• David Bowie: Was active for the first half of this decade, before an on-stage heart attack in 2004 led him to gradually fade out from the public eye. His music during this decade and the next is generally considered an extension of his silver age from the preceding decade.
  • 2002 - Heathen
  • 2003 - Reality
• Bowling for Soup: Formed in the late 1990's, but their popularity peaked in 2003-2005 with the Grammy nomination of "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" and the release of "1985."
• Erin Bowman
• Michael Guy Bowman
• Boy Meets Girl
• Boyce Avenue
• Boys Like Girls
• Boyz II Men
• Billy Bragg
• Glenn Branca
• Michelle Branch
• Brand New
• Brandy
• Brave Saint Saturn
• Toni Braxton
• Breaking Benjamin
• Breed 77
• The Breeders
• brentalfloss
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre
• Bright Eyes
• Sarah Brightman
• Bring Me the Horizon
• British Sea Power
• Broadcast
• The Brobecks
• Broken Social Scene
• brokeNCYDE
• Broken Iris
• Garth Brooks
• Brooks & Dunn
• Brotha Lynch Hung
• Arthur Brown
• Bobby Brown
• Chris Brown: This young singer's career exploded in 2005 with the hit "Run It!".
• James Brown
• Zac Brown Band
• Jackson Browne
• Bill Bruford: Retired from public performance in 2009.
• Luke Bryan
• BT
• Michael Bublé: Canadian singer who became a successful crooner well after the traditional pop genre died out.
• BUCK-TICK
• Buckcherry
• Buckethead: He's been around since 1988 but shot to international fame in the 00's thanks to his stint in Guns N' Roses and the inclusion of his song "Jordan" in Guitar Hero II.
• Bullet for My Valentine: Welsh heavy metal band who became popular around the end of the decade.
• Mutya Buena
• Rodrigo Bueno
• Jimmy Buffett
• Built To Spill
• Bull of Heaven
• Burial
• Alexandra Burke: The winner of The X Factor in 2008.
• Kandi Burruss
• Brian Burton
• Kate Bush: Released her first album in 12 years at the midpoint of this decade.
  • 2005 - Aerial
• Busta Rhymes
• Busted
• Butthole Surfers
• Armin Van Buuren: Released his first artist album, Shivers, in 2003.
• Buzzcocks
• Tracy Byrd
• David Byrne: Achieved his first major critical successes since 1989 during this era, though was always a hit with fans of his former band.
  • 2001 - Look into the Eyeball
  • 2004 - Grown Backwards
  • 2008 - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with Brian Eno)
• C418
• The Cab
• Cage
• Cage the Elephant
• Colbie Caillat: Her song "Bubbly" became a surprise hit in late 2007, and she has had a few successful hits ever since.
• Cake
• John Cale
• Calexico
• The Calling
• Camel
• Cameo
• Camper Van Beethoven
• Los Campesinos!
• Candiria
• Candlemass
• Cannibal Corpse
• Canon Blue
• Jerry Cantrell
• Caparezza
• Capercaille
• Capsule
• Carach Angren
• Captain Jack
• Caramell
• Caravan
• Caravan Palace
• The Cardigans
• Mariah Carey: Her career had suffered a noticeable decline since the late 1990's. But she returned to the spotlight in 2005 and managed several hits in this decade.
  • 2005 - The Emancipation of Mimi
• Belinda Carlisle
• Wendy Carlos
• Vanessa Carlton
• Aaron Carter
• Carnifex
• Caroline
• Cascada: German dance group usually mistaken for a female singer. Had a big trance hit in 2006 with "Everytime We Touch" before going the electro-pop route with 2009's "Evacuate the Dancefloor."
• Neko Case
• Johnny Cash: Final recordings before his death in 2003.
• The Cat Empire
• Cat Power
• Cathedral
• Catherine Wheel
• Cattle Decapitation
• Cavalera Conspiracy
• Nick Cave
• Celestial Navigations
• Celldweller
• Celtic Frost
• Celtic Thunder
• Celtic Woman
• Cephalic Carnage
• Chairlift
• Agnes Chan
• Chameleon Circuit
• The Chameleons
• Chamillionaire
• Jose Mari Chan
• Tracy Chapman
• Ray Charles
• Chas & Dave
• JC Chasez: Member of *NSYNC who released his debut solo record in 2004.
• The Chasm
• Cheap Trick
• Louis Chedid released two albums during that deccade: Boucbelair and Un Ange Passe.
• Cheer Up, Charlie Daniels
• Richard Cheese
• Chelsea Grin
• The Chemical Brothers
• Cher
• Eagle Eye Cherry
• Cheryl: Breakout member of Girls Aloud who released her debut solo record in 2009.
• Kenny Chesney
• Cody Chesnutt. Released debut record in 2002.
  • 2002 - The Headphone Masterpiece
• Mark Chesnutt
• Chevelle
• Chicago
• Chickenfoot: Rock super-group fronted by Sammy Hagar.
• The Chicks
• Chief Keef
• Children of Bodom
• Chimaira: Cleveland-based Metalcore band who made their debut in 2001.
• Chiodos
• Jay Chou
• Alex Christensen
• Chrome
• Chthonic
• Chumbawamba
• The Church
• Eric Church
• Charlotte Church
• Ciara
• Gabriella Cilmi
• Circle Takes the Square
• Circuit Freq
• City and Colour
• The Civil Wars
• Clan of Xymox
• Eric Clapton
• The Clark Sisters
• Petula Clark
• Kelly Clarkson: The very first winner of American Idol, she ruled the charts for most of the decade.
• Clawfinger
• Otis Clay
• Clazziquai Project
• Johnny Clegg
• The Click Five
• George Clinton
• cLOUDDEAD
• Clutch
• CN Blue
• Coal Chamber
• Cobalt
• Cobra Starship: A punk-pop band formed in 2006 that contributed (fittingly) to the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack, but didn't have their first major hit ("Good Girls Go Bad") until 2009.
• CocoRosie
• Bruce Cockburn
• Jarvis Cocker
• Joe Cocker
• David Allan Coe
• Coheed and Cambria: Each album from this pop-punk-influenced Progressive Metal band follows a single concept, adapted into a comic series called "The Armoury Wars". They released their debut in 2002 and continue to go strong today.
• Leonard Cohen
• Coil
• Cold
• Cold187um
• Cold Cave
• Coldplay: Arguably the most successful rock band of the new century. Became household names after their song "Clocks" won the "Record of the Year" Grammy.
  • 2000 - Parachutes
  • 2002 - A Rush of Blood to the Head
• Lloyd Cole
• Paula Cole
• Ornette Coleman
• Collective Soul
• Phil Collins: Won the Oscar for "You'll Be in My Heart"; released an additional solo album and co-wrote music for Brother Bear
• Colossus
• Alice Coltrane
• Shawn Colvin
• Common
• Communion: Born Alvaro Vega, he was first known for scatological parody music under the stage name "The Cacaman" in the late 2000s, but following a religious epiphany he reinvented himself as a Catholic rapper and evangelist.
• Harry Connick Jr.
• Imani Coppola
• Cormorant: Genre-Busting independent Progressive Metal band.
• Chris Cornell
• The Corrs: A band of siblings formed in The '90s, they achieved more mainstream success at the very beginning of the decade.
• Ferry Corsten
• Bootsy Collins
• Stars
• Stompin' Tom Connors
• Converge
• Coolio
• Alice Cooper
• Cornershop
• The Correspondents
• Elvis Costello
• Jonathan Coulton
• Counting Crows
• Covenant
• Cowboy Troy
• The Cramps
• Cradle of Filth
• The Cranberries
• Crash Test Dummies
• Crazy Frog: First music video in mid-2004.
• Creature Feature
• The Creatures
• Creed: A heavily criticized rock band who scored four big hits from 2000 to 2002.
• Crimson Glory
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Jalan Crossland
• Sheryl Crow
• Crowbar
• Crowded House
• David Crowder Band
• Crush 40
• The Cruxshadows
• Celia Cruz
• Crydebris
• Cryoshell
• Cryptopsy
• Crystal Castles
• Crystal Lake: A Japan-based metalcore/deathcore band who started in 2002.
• The Crystalline Effect
• The Cult
• Cult of Luna
• The Cure
• Current 93
• Billy Currington
• Curve
• Cut Copy
• Cypecore
• Cypress Hill
• Billy Ray Cyrus
• Miley Cyrus: The daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus became a superstar through Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," and she became a pop star on her own right.

Musicians D-E

• D
• D-A-D
• D'Angelo
  • 2000 - Voodoo
• Cristina D'Avena
• D.O.A.
• Da Yoopers
• Daddy DJ
• Daddy Yankee: The so-called "King of Reggaeton" who, though starting alongside his genre the past decade, hit worldwide here.
• Daft Punk
  • 2001 - Discovery
  • 2005 - Human After All
• Dick Dale
• Heather Dale
• Dälek
• Dali Van Gogh
• Dalriada
• The Damned (Band)
• Dance Gavin Dance
• The Dandy Warhols
• Danger Danger
• Daniel Amos
• Danielson
• Danzig
• Darin
• Dark Ages
• Dark Lotus
• Dark Tranquillity
• The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
• The Darkness: A British band who helped spark a glam-rock revival in the middle of the decade. While they were quite big at home, they are best known in the States almost exclusively for their 2004 falsetto-ridden hit "I Believe In A Thing Called Love."
• Darkthrone
• Darude
• Dashboard Confessional
• Daughters
• Daughtry
• Kimya Dawson
• Day26
• A Day to Remember: Formed in 2003 and released their first album in 2005.
• Daniel Powter
• Dave Days
• Days N' Daze
• Dayton Family
• Chris de Burgh
• De La Soul
• Deacon Blue
• Dead By April: Sweden-based band who became popular in 2009, known for their unusual blend of Pop and Melodic Death Metal.
• Dead or Alive
• Dead Sara
• The Dead Weather
• DEADLOCK: A German Melodic Death Metal band that started in the 2000's. They generally have vegan lyrics with a Clean vocalist and a harsh vocalist.
• deadmau5
• The Dear Hunter
• Death Angel
• Death Cab for Cutie: Formed in '97, but most popular in the 2000's.
• Death From Above 1979
• Death In June
• Deathgaze
• Deathspell Omega
• Deathstars
• Debauchery
• Decapitated
• The Decemberists: Formed in 2000 and had a cult following throughout the entire decade, but never became big until 2011.
• Decrepit Birth
• Deeds of Flesh
• Deep Purple
• Deerhoof
• Deerhunter
• Rick Dees
• Def Leppard
• Defeated Sanity
• Deftones
  • 2000 - White Pony
• Deicide
• Del Amitri
• Lana Del Rey
• Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
• Delain
• Delerium
• Delirious
• Deltron 3030
• Demon Hunter
• Jonah Dempcy
• Depeche Mode
  • 2005 - Playing the Angel
  • 2007 - Hourglass (Dave solo)
  • 2009 - Sounds of the Universe
• Demons & Wizards
• Kyle Dennis
• Jason Derulo
• Descendents
• Despised Icon
• Dessa
• Destiny's Child finally broke out in 2001 with Survivor, and would lead to solo success for the three final members of the group.
  • 2001 - Survivor
• Destruction: German Thrash Metal band popular in the 80's that saw a massive resurgence in this decade.
• Detsorgsekalf
• dEUS
  • 2005 - Pocket Revolution
• The Devil Wears Prada
• DeVotchKa
• Devourment
• Toshimitsu Deyama
• Diablo Swing Orchestra
• Diafrix
• Neil Diamond
• Diamond Head
• Diamond Rio
• Dice
• Bruce Dickinson
• Joe Diffie
• Ani DiFranco
• Digital Underground
• The Dillinger Escape Plan
• Dimmu Borgir
• The Dingees
• Dinosaur Jr.
• Ronnie James Dio
  • 2000 - Magica
• Céline Dion
• Dir en grey: Japanese post-Visual Kei experimental/metal/rock band, active since 1997, but started gaining international recognition in late 1999/early 2000.
• The Dirtbombs
• Discharge!
• Disciple
• Discordance Axis
• Disgorge
• Dismember
• La Dispute
• Disturbed: Nu-metal band from Chicago with a handful of major rock hits from three albums. Later shifted into a heavier Alternative Metal sound.
  • 2000 - The Sickness
  • 2002 - Believe
  • 2005 - Ten Thousand Fists
  • 2008 - Indestructible
• Dissection
• The Divine Comedy
• Dillon Dixon Band
• DJ Earworm
• DJ Khaled
• DJ Quik
• DJ Shadow
• DMX
• Doctor Steel
• Doe Maar
• Does It Offend You, Yeah?
• Dog Fashion Disco
• Dokken
• Thomas Dolby
• Fats Domino
• Pino Donaggio
• Siobhán Donaghy
• Dong Bang Shin Ki
• Colby O'Donis
• Donovan
• Jason Donovan
• Melissa Donovan
• The Doobie Brothers
• Dope
• Dorso
• Dos Gringos
• Rob Dougan
• Down
• Dr. Dre
• DragonForce: A power-metal band with a dedicated fan following. In 2007, they gained mainstream exposure when their song "Through The Fire And Flames" was featured on Guitar Hero III.
• Dragonheart
• Dragonland
• Drake: Canadian rapper who started releasing mix-tapes in 2006 and got his first Top 40 hit in 2009, although the bulk of his success took place in the next decade.
• The Dreadnoughts
• Dream Theater
• Driftless Pony Club
• Dropkick Murphys
• Drowning Pool: A metal band who has scored many rock radio hits with three lead singers. Despite their success, they are primarily remembered for their first hit "Bodies."
• Drudkh
• Dschinghis Khan
• The Dubliners
• Hilary Duff: American singer who used her starring role on the hit TV show Lizzie McGuire to propel herself to pop success.
• Duffy
• Duran Duran
• La Düsseldorf
• Dying Fetus
• Bob Dylan: Started in the 1960's, still going strong in this decade.
  • 2009 - Christmas in the Heart
• Andrew E.
• E-40
• E Nomine
• E.S. Posthumus
• Eagles
• Justin Townes Earle
• Steve Earle
• Sheena Easton
• Earth
• Earth, Wind & Fire
• Echo & the Bunnymen
• Edge of Sanity
• Edguy
• Editors
• Eels
• Electric Six
• Eagles of Death Metal: A rock band fronted by Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Ironically, they are neither an Eagles tribute band or a death metal group.
• Todd Edwards
• Efterklang
• Ego Likeness
• Eiffel 65
• Einstürzende Neubauten
• El-P
• Elbow
• The Electric Banana Band
• Electric Light Orchestra: One brief comeback in 2000.
• Electric Wizard
• Elio e le Storie Tese
• Tara Ella
• Missy Elliott
• Sophie Ellis-Bextor
• Eluveitie
• ELYSION
• Emigrate
• Eminem: White rapper who became the best selling artist of both the 2000's and his entire genre.
  • 2000 - The Marshall Mathers LP
  • 2002 - The Eminem Show
  • 2004 - Encore
  • 2009 - Relapse
• Emmure
• Emperor
• Empire of the Sun
• En Vogue
• Enfold Darkness
• Enforcer
• Enigma
• Brian Eno
  • 2008 - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with David Byrne)
• Ensiferum
• Enslaved
• Enter Shikari
• Entertainment for the Braindead
• Entombed
• Enya
• Epica
• Epidemia
• Epik High
• EPMD
• Era
• The Eraserheads: Disbanded in 2001.
• Erasure
• Sertab Erener
• Erra
• Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
• Escape the Fate
• Esham
• Gloria Estefan
• Estelle
• ETHS
• Europe
• Jackie Evancho
• Evanescence: The most successful female-fronted rock band this decade.
  • 2003 - Fallen
• Faith Evans
• Sara Evans
• Evans Blue
• Eve
• Eve 6
• Evelyn Evelyn
• Everclear
• Evergrey
• Evile
• Jade Ewen
• Exhumed
• exist†trace: Japanese Visual Kei metal band, formed in 2003. Well-known for its all-female line-up, though no one will notice right away due to their androgynous looks.
• Exmortus
• Exodus (Band)
• The Exploding Hearts
  • 2003 - Guitar Romantic
• Explosions In The Sky
• Extreme
• Eyehategod

Musicians F-G

• The Faceless
• Fair to Midland
• Fairport Convention
• Marianne Faithfull
• The Fall
• Fall of Efrafa
• The Fall of Troy
• Fall Out Boy: Pop-punk band who were really big in the latter half of the decade. Surprisingly, their most recognizable member is their bassist and not their lead singer.
• FallingUp
• Órla Fallon
• Fallujah
• Agnetha Fältskog released her first solo album in 17 years, titled My Colouring Book, in 2004.
• Die Fantastischen Vier
• Fantômas
• Farin Urlaub Racing Team
• Mylene Farmer
• Fascinating Aïda
• Fast Food Rockers
• Fatboy Slim
• Fatty Spins
• Faust
• Fear
• Fear Factory
• Feeder
• Feist: Canadian singer who sings with indie group Broken Social Scene before having a surprise top 10 hit in 2007 with "1234".
• José Feliciano
• Fell Voices
• Fergie
• James Ferraro
• Fields Of The Nephilim
• Filter
• Finch
• Finntroll
• The Fireman: Released their comeback album in 2008.
  • 2008 - Electric Arguments
• Fireaxe
  • 2003 - Food for the Gods
• Fish
• Fishbone
• Fisherman's Friends
• Fit For An Autopsy
• Five
• Five Finger Death Punch
• Five Iron Frenzy
• Flaming Lips: Psychedelic rock group who have been together since The '80s but found enormous commercial success in this decade.
  • 2002 - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
• The Flashbulb
• Fleet Foxes
• Fleetwood Mac
• Fleshgod Apocalypse: A Technical Death Metal band from Italy that incorporates Symphonic Elements to their music.
• Flight of the Conchords
• Flipper
• Flobots: Rap-rock band whose 2008 song "Handlebars" cracked the top 40 that summer.
• Flogging Molly
• Florence + the Machine: Indie-rock group fronted by redhead Florence Welch. They formed in 2007 yet never became popular in America until 2010.
• Flo Rida: This rapper burst onto the scene with "Low" (which was the biggest song of 2008) and survived into the 2010s.
• The Flower Kings
• Flying Lotus
• Flyleaf: Female-fronted rock band somewhere between Evanescence and Paramore although far less successful than either group. Their 2008 song "All Around Me" just made it into the US Top 40.
• Foals
• Ben Folds
• Luis Fonsi
• Foo Fighters: Rock band fronted by ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. While they first became popular in the '90s (and some of their best known songs comes from that period), they had more success in the new decade.
• Lita Ford
• Foreigner
• Forever The Sickest Kids
• Forgive Durden
  • 2008 - Razia's Shadow
• The Forgotten Rebels
• Fort Minor^note See also Linkin Park: The hip-hop-oriented Solo Side Project of Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda. Released one album in 2005 and went on an indefinite hiatus afterwards.
  • 2005 - The Rising Tied
• Fountains of Wayne
• The Four Freshmen
• Toby Fox: Began composing and releasing music in 2006, began professional composition work in 2009.
• Jamie Foxx
• John Foxx
• Foxy Shazam
• Fozzy: Pro wrestler Chris Jericho's heavy metal band released their first album in 2000.
• Peter Frampton
• Aretha Franklin
• Kirk Franklin
• Franz Ferdinand: Scottish rock band whose 2004 song "Take Me Out" was very popular on the American iTunes at its peak.
  • 2004 - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
• The Fratellis
• The Fray
• The Free Design
• Franco De Vita
• Freelance Whales
• Kinky Friedman
• Robert Fripp
• Front 242
• The Front Bottoms
• Front Line Assembly
• Frou Frou
• John Frusciante
• FT Island
• Rie fu
• Fucked Up
• Fugazi
• The Fugs
• fun.
• Fun Lovin' Criminals
• Funeral for a Friend
• Funker Vogt
• Nelly Furtado: Canadian singer who had a pair of hits in 2001 before fading into obscurity, but managed to make a comeback in 2006.
• Hannah Fury
• f(x)
• G-Eazy
• Peter Gabriel: Released his most recent album early in this decade, then promptly spent the rest of it and the next working on the follow-up, which still has yet to release, in addition to live shows and soundtrack contributions.
  • 2002 - Up
• GACKT: Active since 1995 as vocalist of the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer, left in 1999 to pursue a solo career, eventually gaining popularity in the early 2000's and beyond. Very popular for his active participation in various J-culture scenes.
• Gaelic Storm
• Diamanda Galás
• Galneryus
• Gama Bomb
• The Game (Rapper): Popular rapper who had many hits in the middle of the decade.
• Gamma Ray
• Gang of Four
• Gang Starr: Disbanded in 2003.
• Garbage
• Garfunkel and Oates
• Leif Garrett mainly toured and recorded with alternative rock band F8 for the first half of the decade, but he also released his solo album Three Sides Of... in 2007. It only sold about 400 copies.
• The Gaslight Anthem
• The Gathering
• The Gazette: Japanese Visual Kei metal outfit, formed in 2002 and widely considered as contemporaries of Dir en grey. Currently one of the biggest names in Asian metal, for fairly obvious reasons.
• Teddy Geiger
• Genghis Tron
• Lisa Germano
• The Get Up Kids
• Geto Boys
• Ghoul
• Terri Gibbs
• Debbie Gibson
• Tyrese Gibson
• Gigan
• Gilberto Gil
• Brantley Gilbert
• João Gilberto
• Vince Gill
• Gin Blossoms
• Girl Talk
• Girls Aloud: The co-winners of "Popstars: The Rivals" who went on to become the biggest British Girl Group of the decade.
• Girls' Generation: South Korean girl group that formed in 2007, consisting of nine Idol Singers. Considered the Distaff Counterpart of label-mates Super Junior
• Girlschool
• Giulietta: Scored her first dance chart hit with "Dirty House Music" in 2008, although she's had more success in The New '10s.
• Glassjaw
• Glee
• Gary Glitter, who released his final studio album On in 2001 to very little fanfare due to his conviction for possessing child pornography a few years prior.
• The Go-Go's
• Gob
• Goblin
• God Dethroned
• Godflesh
• Godsmack
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Released Post-Rock's most defining work at the beginning of the decade.
  • 2000 - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
• Gogol Bordello
• Gojira: French Technical Death Metal that sounds like Meshuggah and Lamb of God turned up to eleven.
• Golden Earring
• Die Goldenen Zitronen
• Goldfrapp
• Selena Gomez: Although her popularity peaked in the 2010s, she first made a name for herself through Disney Channel in the later years of the decade.
• Gong
• Goo Goo Dolls
• Matthew Good
• Good Charlotte
• Delta Goodrem
• Gordian Knot
• Lesley Gore
• Gorgoroth
• Gorguts
• Gorillaz: Cartoon band formed by Damon Albarn of Blur.
  • 2001 - Gorillaz
  • 2004 - Demon Days
• Gorod
• Gotye
• Leslie Grace
• Andy Grammer
• Grandaddy
• GRANRODEO
• Amy Grant
• Grave
• Grave Digger
• Gravediggaz
• David Gray
• Great Big Sea
• The Great Luke Ski
• Al Green
• Cee Lo Green
• Green Carnation
• Green Day: Began in the 1990s; their popularity had begun to fade at the turn of the century, considering their 2000 release Warning: was their most drastic style change and their biggest commercial failure. The release of politically-heavy American Idiot in 2004 brought them back to the forefront.
  • 2000 - Warning:
  • 2004 - American Idiot
  • 2009 - 21st Century Breakdown
• The Gregory Brothers
• Grief
• Parry Gripp
• Grizzly Bear
• Josh Groban
• Dave Grohl
• Groove Coverage
• Grupa Operacyjna: Most of their albums and singles were released in the 2000s.
• Guano Apes
• Gucci Mane
• Hildur Guðnadóttir
• David Guetta
• Guided by Voices
• Guniw Tools
• Guns N' Roses
  • 2008 - Chinese Democracy
• Günther (Singer)
• Guy: reunited for one last album in 2000 before splitting off for good, though they occasionaly do reunion tours once in a while.
• GWAR
• Gym Class Heroes

Musicians H-J

• Steve Hackett
• Diana Haddad
• Haddaway
• Hadouken
• Nina Hagen
• Merle Haggard
• Haken
• Halcali
• Halestorm
• Half Man Half Biscuit
• Daryl Hall & John Oates
• Tom T. Hall
• Johnny Hallyday
• Ayumi Hamasaki
• HammerFall
• Hammers of Misfortune
• Hampton The Hamster
• Herbie Hancock
• The Handsome Family
• Lisa Hannigan: Irish folk rock singer. Started out with Damien Rice, before being fired from his band in 2007. Released the hits “I Don’t Know” and “Lille” the next year, before releasing darker material over the next decade.
• Hanson
• Hanzel Und Gretyl
• Happa-Tai
  • 2001 - "Yatta!"
• Happy Mondays
• Hardline: Started in The '90s, sounded like The '80s, but they released most of their material in this decade
• Françoise Hardy
• Calvin Harris: Although his international success was almost exclusively The New '10s, he first burst onto the UK music scene in 2007.
• George Harrison: Died in 2001. His final album, Brainwashed, was released in 2002, completed by his son Dhani and Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne.
• PJ Harvey
  • 2000 - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
  • 2004 - Uh Huh Her
  • 2007 - White Chalk
• Harvey Danger
• David Hasselhoff
• Hate Eternal
• Hatebreed
• Juliana Hatfield
• The Haunted
• Hardwell
• Havalina Rail Co.
• Have A Nice Life
• Havok
• A Hawk and a Hacksaw
• Hawkwind
• Hawthorne Heights
• Yoshiki Hayashi
• Hayden
• Darren Hayes
• Hunter Hayes
• Jeff Healey
• Imogen Heap
• HEALTH
• Heart
• Heath
• Heaven & Hell: Consisted of three-fourths of the Heaven and Hell lineup for Black Sabbath
  • 2009 - The Devil You Know
• Heaven 17
• Heaven Shall Burn
• The Heavy
• Heavy D
• Tim Hecker: Popular and acclaimed ambient musician
• Hed PE
• Hella
• Hello! Project
• Hello Saferide
• Helloween
• Helmet
• Helstar
• Ty Herndon
• Hero
• Hevisaurus
• Hey! Say! JUMP
• Hey Ocean!
• Hideous Divinity
• Missy Higgins
• Munetaka Higuchi
• Faith Hill
• Hillsong: First started releasing music in the late '80s, but their "United" band released their debut album in 2007, launching their songs (and church) to international influence in Christian worship music.
• HIM: Formed in 1991, but did not release their debut album until 1997. International recognition followed a couple of years later.
• Unknown Hinson
• Susumu Hirasawa
• His Name Is Alive
• The Historian Himself
• The Hives: Formed in the 90's but became internationally known after the Turn of the Millennium
• Hizaki
• The Hold Steady
• Allan Holdsworth
• The Hollies
• Hollywood Undead
• Julia Holter
• Homestar Runner
  • 2003 - Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits
• Hoobastank
• John Lee Hooker
• The Hoosiers
• Hootie & the Blowfish
• Hooverphonic
• Hopsin
• The Horrors
• Horslips
• Haruomi Hosono
• Hot Hot Heat
• Hour of Penance
• Marques Houston
• Whitney Houston
• Vanessa Hudgens
• Jennifer Hudson
• Huey
• Glenn Hughes
• The Human League
• Human Nature
• Hungry Lucy
• Hurt
• Hyde
• Dev Hynes. Joined the band Test Icicles in 2004. Debuted solo project, Lightspeed Champion, in 2008.
• Hype Williams
• Hypocrisy
• I Fight Dragons
• I Hate Myself
• IAMX
• Ice Cube
• Ice Nine Kills
• Ice-T
• Iced Earth

- Icon for Hire: Active 2007-present. Released first EPs in 2007

• Idlewild
• Billy Idol
• Enrique Iglesias: Had huge success in the early 2000's before fading away for the rest of the decade and returning in the 2010s.
• Igorrr
• Ihsahn
• Ill Nino
• Illdisposed
• Natalie Imbruglia
• Imagine Dragons
• Immolation
• Immortal
• Immortal Technique
• In Extremo
• In Flames
• In This Moment
• Incubus
• India.Arie
• Indigo Girls
• Inferi
• Information Society
• Inna
• Ingested
• Inkubus Sukkubus
• Insane Clown Posse: Started in 1991, but increased their popularity in the 2000's.
• Insane Poetry
• Insomnium
• Internal Suffering
• Interpol
• INXS
• Ricardo Iorio
• IOSYS
• Iron and Wine
• Iron Maiden
• Iron Savior
• Jason Isbell
• Takeo Ischi
• Tomoaki Ishizuka
• Isis
• Yusuf Islam
• The Isley Brothers
• ItaloBrothers
• Kanako Itou
• IU
• J.B.O.
• J. Cole
• J Dilla - Continued releasing music until his death in 2006.
  • 2001 - Welcome 2 Detroit
  • 2006 - Donuts
• Jack Off Jill
• Jack's Mannequin
• Alan Jackson
• Janet Jackson
  • 2001 - All For You
• Joe Jackson
• Michael Jackson: Continued his career up until his death in 2009.
  • 2001 - Invincible
• Millie Jackson
• Jad Wio
• Jag Panzer
• Jaga Jazzist
• Mick Jagger
• Los Jaivas
• JakProgresso
• Jakarta
• JAM Project
• Etta James
• Jessie James
• Rick James
• Jamiroquai
• Jandek
• Jane's Addiction
• Jean-Michel Jarre
• Jars of Clay
• Cosmo Jarvis
• Jay Rock
• Jay-Z: One of the most successful rappers of all time, this was easily his biggest decade.
• Jedi Mind Tricks
• Jefferson Starship
• Katherine Jenkins
• Carly Rae Jepsen
• Jesu
• Jethro Tull
• Joan Jett
• Jewel
• JFA
• Jimmy Eat World: Moderately-popular emo-punk band who scored a surprise hit in 2002 before quickly fading away.
• Jim's Big Ego
• Jinjer
• Job for a Cowboy
• Rogga Johansson
• Elton John
• Eric Johnson
• Jack Johnson
• BA Johnston
• Daniel Johnston
• The Jonas Brothers: The most successful teen heartthrobs of the decade (excluding artists whose popularity crossed over from 1999 or continued into 2010).
• JoJo
• Nick Jonas
• Quincy Jones
• George Jones
• Tom Jones
• Jorge Ben Jor
• JORN
• Jerry Joseph
• Journey
• Joy Electric
• JPEGMAFIA
• Judas Priest
• Cledus T. Judd
• Wynonna Judd
• The Judds
• Julien-K
• Jumpsteady
• Jungle Rot
• Justice
• Jute Gyte

Musicians K-L

• K. Flay
• K.I.Z
• Kagrra
• Daniel Kahn and The Painted Bird
• Kaiser Chiefs
• The Kaisers
• Kaizers Orchestra
• Kalafina
• Kamikazee
• Kamelot
  • 2003-5 - Epica Album Series
• Kana/Moon Kana: Japanese Idol Singer known for her involvement in the Visual Kei and Lolita subcultures.
• Kanjani 8
• Kansas
• KARA
• Kasabian
• Kataklysm
• Katalepsy
• Katatonia
• Miliyah Kato
• Kavinsky
• Mami Kawada
• Crystal Kay
• Kaya
• Kayo Dot
• Keane: Released their debut album in 2004
• Toby Keith
• Keldian
• R. Kelly
  • 2005 - "Trapped in the Closet"
• Kent
• The Kentucky Headhunters
• Kerli
• Nik Kershaw
• Sammy Kershaw
• Kesha: Although her success was mostly in the 2010's, her breakthrough hit took of right at the end of the decade, plus she had an Early-Bird Cameo on a Flo Rida hit before.
• Alicia Keys: The big female R&B phenomenon known for her hit ballads.
• Wiz Khalifa
• Khanate
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts
• Kid Crusher
• Kid Cudi
• Kidz Bop
• Kill Hannah
• Killing Joke
• Killswitch Engage
• The Killers: Las Vegas rock band with new wave and indie influences. They became a big new band of the mid to late 2000's, and unlike Fall Out Boy, successfully retained their core rock audience.
  • 2004 - Hot Fuss
• B.B. King
• Kid Rock:
  • 2001 - Cocky
  • 2003 - Kid Rock
• The Killing Red Addiction
• Natalia Kills
• Carole King
• King Black Acid
• King Crimson: Two final studio albums and an EP before settling on being a touring act.
• King Diamond
• King Missile III
• King's X
• Kings of Leon: Rock band who had a brief wave of super-stardom the late 2000's.
• Leyland Kirby
• Kirby Krackle
• Kisaki
• KISS
  • 2009 - Sonic Boom
• Los Kjarkas
• KMFDM
• The Knack
• The Knife
• Gladys Knight
• Knorkator
• Kula Shaker
• Koda Kumi
• Koenjihyakkei
• Komar & Melamid and Dave Soldier
  • The People's Choice: Music
• Kongos
• Kontrust
• Kool & the Gang
• Kool Keith
• Kool Moe Dee
• Korn
• Korpiklaani
• Kosheen
• Kottonmouth Kings
• The Kovenant
• Krallice
• Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Lenny Kravitz: Several albums released in the 2000s.
• Kreator
• Krisiun
• Kronos
• KRS-One
• Die Krupps
• Kunt and the Gang
• Kutless
• La Roux
• Labelle: Reunion album in 2008.
• Patti LaBelle. Several albums throughout the 2000s.
• Lacuna Coil
• Lady Antebellum
• Lady Gaga: Unquestionably the biggest new star of 2009, quickly becoming the most popular star of the early 2010s before she started to fade away.
  • 2009 - "Bad Romance"
• Ladytron: one of the first bands that started the synthpop-revival
• Natalia Lafourcade
• Lagwagon
• Lahannya
• Laibach
• Jon Lajoie
• Kendrick Lamar: One of rap's most promising young artists, and one of the very few mainstream rappers respected by hip hop fans. Although he started his career in the 2000's, he never got a mainstream audience until 2012.
• Lamb of God: The leaders of modern-day metal music, who followed in Pantera's footsteps by taking Groove Metal to the next level.
• Adam Lambert
• Miranda Lambert
• Shawn Lane
• The Last Shadow Puppets made their debut album The Age of the Understatement in 2008.
• Cyndi Lauper
• Avril Lavigne: Canadian pop-punk songstress whose rise to stardom in 2002 led to the wiping out of the bubblegum-pop wave of music dominant at the time.
• Tracy Lawrence
• The Lawrence Arms
• LCD Soundsystem
• Keith Le Blanc
• Leaves' Eyes
• Lecrae
• Ricki Lee
• Steve Lee
• L33tStr33t Boys
• Leevi And The Leavings
• Leftöver Crack
• John Legend
• Legion Of The Damned
• Lemon Demon
  • 2005 - "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny"
• Lemon Jelly
• Leningrad
• Leningrad Cowboys
• Leprous
• Less Than Jake
• Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain
• Tendon Levey: A reclusive outsider/avant-pop artist who recorded 70 albums between 2007 and 2011.
• Leviathan
• Huey Lewis and the News
• Jenny Lewis
• Jerry Lee Lewis
• Leona Lewis: R&B singer who won the British X Factor in 2006 and became the show's biggest success story internationally up until 2012.
• LFO: They would release an album in 2001 before breaking up in 2002. Plans for a comeback in the late 2000s were dashed when group member Rich Cronin passed away in 2009 after a battle with leukemia.
• The Libertines
• Lich King
• Lifehouse: Formed as Blyss in the late 90s but released their debut studio album in 2000 under their current name.
• Lifeseeker: Released the Self Titled Debut Album in 2000.
• Life Never Lost
• Lifelover
• Lifter Puller
• Gordon Lightfoot
• Lightning Bolt. Debuted in 1999, released four albums during this decade.
• The Lightning Seeds
• Lights
• Lil B
• Lil Jon
• Lil' Kim
• Lil Wayne: A popular rapper from New Orleans who spent most of the decade as a cult act before ascending super-stardom in 2008.
• Limp Bizkit:
  • 2000 - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
  • 2003 - Results May Vary
  • 2005 - The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1
• Linkin Park^note See also Fort Minor: Started in 1996, but achieved mainstream popularity in 2000, they were quite possibly the biggest rock band of the decade, especially during the early part of it.
  • 2000 - Hybrid Theory
  • 2003 - Meteora
  • 2007 - Minutes to Midnight
• Liquid Stranger
• Liquid Trio Experiment
• Little Big Town
• Little Boots
• Little Feet
• Little Richard
• Liturgy
• Live
• Living Colour
• LL Cool J
• Lindsay Lohan
• Lit
  • 2000 - "Miserable" (the music video for the 1999 single)
• LMFAO: Although their real breakthrough did not come until 2011, they did get first noticed in 2009.
• Loco Loco
• Lisa Loeb
• Kenny Loggins
• The Lonely Island
• Lonestar
• Jeff Loomis
• Jennifer Lopez: Started at the very end of The '90s, she became a prominent figure during the early part of this decade.
• Lordi
• Lords of Acid
• Lost Dogs
• Lostprophets
• Pixie Lott
• Loudness
• Demi Lovato: Actor/singer who first burst onto the scene in the summer of 2008.
• Courtney Love
• Mike Love
  • 2001 - Summertime Cruisin'
  • 2004 - Mike Love Not War
• Patty Loveless
• Loverboy
• Lovers & Liars
• Lyle Lovett
• Low
• Nick Lowe
• Arjen Anthony Lucassen
  • 2000/2004/2008 - Ayreon (released another four records in this eight part series, which started in 1995)
• Lucifer Luscious Violenoue
• Lucybell
• Ludacris
• Ludo
• Ludwig Von 88
• Luna Sea
• Lupe Fiasco: A rapper who had one big hit, quickly faded away, and made a comeback in the 2010's.
• Les Luthiers
• Lydia
• Lynch
• Stephen Lynch
• Lyriel

Musicians M

• M.I.A.
  • 2005 - Arular
  • 2007 - Kala
• M83
• M-Kids
• Macabre
• Kirsty Mac Coll
• Machinae Supremacy
• Macklemore: Released his debut album The Language of My World in 2005, though he spent the entire decade as a completely unknown underground rapper before ascending to stardom in 2012.
• Machine Gun Kelly
• Machine Head
• Madness
• Madonna
  • 2000 - Music
  • 2003 - American Life
  • 2005 - Confessions on a Dance Floor
  • 2008 - Hard Candy
• The Mae Shi
• Magma
• The Magnetic Fields
• Mägo de Oz
• Majestica: Formed in 2000 under the name ReinXeed, released their first album in 2008.
• Major Lazer: Formed in 2008 and released their first album in 2009.
• Make Them Suffer
• Makeup and Vanity Set
• Malice Mizer: Continued until their break-up in 2001.
• Malignancy
• Yngwie Malmsteen
• Mammoth City Messengers
• A Man Called Adam
• Man Man
• Man or Astro-man?
• Manafest
• Manel
• Manic Street Preachers
• Manilla Road
• Barry Manilow
• Mannheim Steamroller
• Manowar
• Marilyn Manson
  • 2000 - Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
• Mansun
• Marcy Playground
• Marduk
• Maria Cross
• Marianas Trench released their first album in 2006, but they were just as successful (if not more so) in the next decade.
• Marillion
• Robin Mark
• Biz Markie
• David Marks
• Lene Marlin
• Laura Marling
• Maroon 5: A funk-rock band whose surprise pop success led to them adapting an increasingly commercial sound. Frontman Adam Levine gained further recognition the next decade with The Voice and his group re-establishing itself as a core pop act.
  • 2002 - "She Will Be Loved"
• Johnny Marr
• The Mars Volta
• Max Martin
• Ricky Martin
• John Martyn
• Richard Marx
• Mary and the Black Lamb
• Massacration
• Massive Attack
• Master P
• Masterplan
• Mastodon
• Matchbox Twenty: Although never as popular as in the 90's, Rob Thomas and his friends continued to have success in the new decade.
• Johnny Mathis
• Seiko Matsuda
• Dave Matthews Band
• Matmos
• Yumi Matsutoya
• Kathy Mattea
• Jessica Mauboy
• maudlin of the Well
• Maxïmo Park
• Maximum the Hormone
• Brian May
• Imelda May launched her recording career in 2003.
• Edward Maya
• Mayday
• Mayday Parade
• Mayhem
• MBLAQ
• MC Frontalot
• MC Hammer
• MC Lars
• Martina McBride
• Jesse Mc Cartney
• Paul McCartney
• Neal McCoy
• Bear McCreary
• Reba McEntire
• Brian McFadden
• Mc Fly
• Tim McGraw
• Nellie McKay: Released her first album in 2004.
• Andy Mc Kee
• Loreena McKennitt
• Sarah McLachlan
• John McLaughlin
• Don McLean
• James McMurtry
• Brian McNeill
• MDC
• Meat Loaf
• Meat Puppets
• The Meatmen
• Mechina
• Meg and Dia
• Mega Colossus: Formed 2005, first album 2008.
• Megadeth
• Megan Jean and the KFB
• The Megas
• Meek Mill
• John Mellencamp
• Melt-Banana
• Melvins
• The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing
• The Men They Couldn't Hang
• Men Without Hats
• Maria Mena
• Mental As Anything
• The Mentors
• Menudo
• The Menzingers
• Mercury Rev
• Merzbow: Remains active as an Industrial/noise artist ever since his successful breakthrough into the international Electronic Music scene in The '80s.
• Meshuggah
• Jeremy Messersmith
• Jo Dee Messina
• Metal Church
• Metallica
  • 2003 - St. Anger
• Pat Metheny
• Metric
• Mew: Released their first album in 1997.
• mewithoutYou
• MGMT
  • 2008 - Oracular Spectacular
• MF DOOM
  • 2004 - Madvillainy [As Madvillain, with Madlib]
• Mgła
• George Michael
  • 2004 - Patience
• Ingrid Michaelson
• The Microphones
  • 2001 - The Glow Pt. 2
• The Midnight Beast
• Midnight Oil
• Midnight Syndicate
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Miike Snow
• Mika
• Mike + the Mechanics
• Mac Miller
• Kate Miller Heidke
• Millionaires
• Ronnie Milsap
• Tom Milsom
• Nicki Minaj: First started recording music in the 2000s but didn't take off until 2010.
• Tim Minchin
• mind.in.a.box
• Mindless Self Indulgence
• Ministry
• Kylie Minogue
• Mirrorthrone
• Mis-Teeq
• Mischief Brew
• Misery Index
• The Misfits
• The Mission
• Mission of Burma
• Anaïs Mitchell
• Joni Mitchell
• Mamoru Miyano
• Miyavi
• M-Kids
• Mnemic
• Moby
• Mdou Moctar
• Modest Mouse
  • 2007 - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
• MOD SUN
• Mogwai
• Molotov
• Momus
• Janelle Monáe: Although best remembered for her verse on fun.'s "We Are Young," she first started her career in the 2000's.
• Monica
• Mono
• The Monolith Deathcult
• Monster Magnet
• John Michael Montgomery
• Montgomery Gentry
• The Moody Blues
• Moonsorrow
• Moonspell
• Justin Moore: Released his first single in 2008 and his first album in 2009.
• Mandy Moore
• Morbid Angel
• Lorrie Morgan
• Alanis Morissette
• Morrissey
• Neal Morse
• Mortiis
• Mos Def
• Mother Mother
• Motion City Soundtrack
• Motionless in White
• mothy
  • Evillious Chronicles
• Mötley Crüe
• Motörhead
• the Mountain Goats
• Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer
• Mr. Big
• Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire
• Jason Mraz: Pop-rock singer who spent most of the decade as a one-hit wonder before a surprise comeback hit brought him his best success ever.
• Mr. Bungle
• Mudhoney
• Mudvayne: American Progressive Metal band that released five albums between 2000 and 2009 before splitting off into other groups, all of which, coincidentally, are Super Groups.
  • 2000 - LD 50
  • 2002 - The End Of All Things To Come
  • 2005 - Lost And Found
  • 2008 - The New Game
  • 2009 Mudvayne 2009
• Mumford & Sons
• Münchener Freiheit
• Municipal Waste
• Murder by Death
• Peter Murphy
• Muse: British rock group who became a hugely successful act in the 2000's and eventually became stars across the pond as well.
  • 2006 - "Knights of Cydonia"
• Mushroomhead
• My Brightest Diamond
• My Chemical Romance: One of the biggest successes of the emo-punk explosion of the late 2000's.
  • 2004 - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
  • 2006 - The Black Parade
• My Dying Bride
• My Life Story
• My Vitriol
• Mýa
• myco
• Myrath
• Mystery Jets

Musicians N-P

• Nada Surf
• Marissa Nadler
• Naglfar
• Nails
• May Nakabayashi
• Anna Nalick
• Namgar
• Nanowar of Steel
• Napalm Death
• Nas
• Milton Nascimento
• Natas
• Natasja
• The National
• Ne Obliviscaris
• Ne-Yo scored his first hit in 2006 and remained a mainstay on pop and R&B radio ever since.
• Necro
• Necrophagist
• Necrophobic
• Needtobreathe
• Negativland
• Negicco
• Negură Bunget
• Nelly
• Willie Nelson
• Nemesea
• Nena
• Neon Indian: Their 2009 album Psychic Chasms was the Trope Codifier for the "Chillwave" movement that arose toward the decade's end.
• Neon Trees
• Nephew: Active since 1996, but released their first album in 2000.
• Nerf Herder
• Michael Nesmith
• Neuraxis
• Neurosis
• Never Shout Never
• Nevermore
• New Edition
• New Found Glory
• New Kids on the Block
• New Order: Reformed at the end of the preceding decade following a prolonged hiatus/de-facto breakup due to Creative Differences between Bernard Sumner & Peter Hook and burnout from the North American tour done to support their 1993 album Republic. Released two albums during this decade and maintained an unprecedentedly high level of public exposure and commercial success before continuing creative differences caused Hook to leave the band in 2007, resulting in another hiatus/de-facto breakup that lasted until 2011.
  • 2001 - Get Ready
• The New Pornographers
• Randy Newman
• NEWS
• Newsboys
• Joanna Newsom
• Olivia Newton-John
• Nickel Creek
• Nickelback: Popular yet polarizing Hard Rock band who made it big in the early 2000's, later becoming the most consistent rock crossover act on radio.
• Stevie Nicks
• Night Ranger
• Nightwish
• Minoru Niihara
• Nile
• Nicco
• Nine Inch Nails: Fell off the radar after lukewarm reception to The Fragile at the end of The '90s, but returned halfway through the decade with With Teeth and went on to continued success.
  • 2005 - With Teeth
  • 2007 - Year Zero
  • 2008 - Ghosts I-IV
  • 2008 - The Slip
• Nipsey Hussle
• Nits
• No Doubt
• NOFX
• Nokturnal Mortum
• Nomeansno
• Nonpoint
• Nothingface
• Novembers Doom
• NOW That's What I Call Music! released albums throughout the 2000's.
• Nox Arcana
• NS Yoon-G
• *NSYNC: Formed in 1995, popularity lasting through 2003, battling the Backstreet Boys for boy-band domination. Launched Justin Timberlake's career.
• Nuclear Assault
• Ted Nugent
• Nujabes
• Gary Numan
• Julia Nunes
• Nurse with Wound
• O-Zone: Most of their career, including "Dragostea Din Tei".
  • Dan Balan
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Natalia O'Shea
• The Oak Ridge Boys
• Oasis
• Oathean
• Conor Oberst
• Obituary
• Obscura
• The Ocean
• Oceano
• Of Montreal
• The Offspring
• OFWGKTA
• Ogre You Asshole
• Ok Go: released their debut album in 2002.
  • 2006 - "Here It Goes Again"
• Okkervil River
• Babatunde Olatunji
• Old 97's
• Old Crow Medicine Show
• Mike Oldfield
• OLIVIA
• Anette Olzon
• Omega
• Omnium Gatherum
• One OK Rock formed in 2005.
• Oneohtrix Point Never
• OneRepublic
• The Ones
• Onkel Konkel and His Konkelbar
• Yoko Ono
• Oomph!
• Opeth
  • 2001 - Blackwater Park
  • 2002/03 - Deliverance & Damnation
• Kristina Orbakaite
• Orbital
• Orden Ogan
• Origin
• Riz Ortolani
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Otava Yo
• Otep
• John Otway
• Our Lady Peace
• The Outfield
• OutKast
  • 2003 - "Roses"
• Outrage
• Overkill
• Jake Owen
• Chris Dane Owens
  • 2008 - "Shine on Me"
• Owl City: Electronic music producer who had one of 2009's most surprising hits in "Fireflies," before disappearing faster than he came. A brief comeback in 2012 didn't help him very much.
• P.O.D.
• Pain of Salvation
• P.D.Q. Bach
• Brad Paisley
• Pakito
• Owen Pallett
• Nerina Pallot
• Amanda Palmer
• Panchiko: Their first EP was recorded and (nominally) released in 2000, though it would take until 2016 for it to be discovered and 2020 to get an official release.
• Judy Pancoast
• Panda Bear
• Panic! at the Disco
  • 2005 - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
• Panopticon
• Pansy Division
• Pantera
• Papa Roach: While formed in the previous decade, this is where they achieved success.
• Elena Paparizou
• The Paper Chase
• Pappo
• Parachute Express
• Paradise Lost
• Paramore: Very successful Pop Punk group formed in 2004; their breakthrough hit “Misery Business” was on their 2007 sophomore album Riot!.
• Parenthetical Girls
• Sarina Paris
• Parkway Drive
• Parokya ni Edgar
• Dolly Parton
• Passenger of Shit
• Passion Pit
• Pat the Bunny
• Pathology
• Pato Fu
• Pakito
• Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
  • Indio Solari
• patten
• Paul and Storm
• Peaches
• Charlie Peacock
• Pearl Jam
• Peepeepo
• Pendulum
• Pentagram
• Pepe Deluxé
• Pere Ubu
• A Perfect Circle
• Perfume
• Alexander Perls
• Katy Perry: Former Christian-rock singer whose unexpected 2008 hit "I Kissed A Girl" led her to becoming the biggest female pop star of the 2010's.
• Pestilence
• Pet Shop Boys
• Peter, Paul and Mary
• Peterpan: Indonesian rock band founded in 2000. Change their name to Ariel, Uki, Lukman, Reza, David in 2009 before getting their current name later in 2010s.
• Red Peters
• Petra
• Kim Petras
• Tom Petty
• Liz Phair
• The Pharcyde
• Philemon Arthur and the Dung
• Phish: Broke up in 2004, but reunited permanently in 2009.
• P!nk: Popular female singer/songwriter who took off in 2000, faded away in 2003, and came back big time in 2007.
• Pierce the Veil
• Pig Destroyer
• Pig with the Face of a Boy
• The Pillows
• Ariel Pink: Outsider musician who helped pioneer a idiosyncratic fusion of Lo-Fi and New Wave music dubbed "hypnagogic pop".
• Pink Cream 69
• Pink Floyd: Reunited briefly in 2005 for Live 8. Syd Barrett died in 2006, and Richard Wright died in 2008.
• Pink Martini
• The Pipettes
• Pitbull: Cuban-American rapper whose moderately successful career throughout the 2000's paid off when "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" shot him to super-stardom.
• Pitch Shifter
• Pizzicato Five
• A Place to Bury Strangers
• Placebo
• Joel Plaskett
• Rachel Platten
• Pleaserock
• Plumb
• PM Dawn
• Poe
• Poets of the Fall: Finnish Alternative Rockers with an especial knack for using English, Breakaway Pop Hits and winning at Genre Roulette. Otherwise notable for their videogame soundtrack contributions, particularly as the fictional personas from the Alan Wake games, Heavy Mithril band Old Gods of Asgard.
• Poison
• Pokémon:
  • 2001 - Pokémon Christmas Bash
• Basil Poledouris
• Karine Polwart
• The Polyphonic Spree
• Polysics
• Iggy Pop
• Porcupine Tree: Started in the 1990's, but didn't become known until their shift to Progressive Metal in 2002.
• Portal
• Portishead
• The Posies
• Possessed
• The Postal Service: The band only ever released one album, in 2003.
• Powerman 5000
• The Powerpuff Girls
  • 2000 - Heroes & Villains
• Powerwolf
• Poxy Boggards
• Prefab Sprout
• The Presets
• The Presidents of the United States of America
• Pretenders
• Pretty And Nice
• Pretty Balanced
• Pretty Maids
• The Pretty Things
• Charley Pride
• Primal Fear
• Primal Scream
• Primordial
• Primus
• Prince
• Los Prisioneros
• The Proclaimers
• Procol Harum
• The Prodigy
• Prof
• Professor Elemental
• The Project Hate MCMXCIX
• Project.R
• The Protomen
• Protest the Hero
• Prozzak
• Eric Prydz
• Psapp
• PSY
• Psycho le Cému: Japanese Visual Kei group born in 1999 that uses Cosplay as their main aesthetics and famous during this decade even outside Japan.
• Psychopathic Rydas
• Psychostick
• Psycroptic
• Public Enemy
• Puddle of Mudd
• Puffy AmiYumi
• Pulp: Released We Love Life in 2001 before breaking up a year later. The band would remain inactive for the rest of the decade.
• Pungent Stench
• The Puppini Sisters
• Pussycat Dolls: The most successful American girl group of the latter half of the decade.
• Puya
• Pyrrhon

Musicians Q-R

• Suzi Quatro
• Queen: Returned to the touring circuit in the early years of the decade, which included their first performances in the United States since 1982. Also briefly brought aboard Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers as a guest vocalist in place of the departed Freddie Mercury, billing themselves as "Queen + Paul Rodgers" to assure fans that Rodgers wasn't truly replacing Mercury. This configuration released a studio album in 2008, Queen's only one since Made in Heaven in 1995.
• Queen Adreena
• Queen Latifah
• Queens of the Stone Age: Rock band whose affiliations to Foo Fighters led to their own career taking off.
  • 2002 - Songs for the Deaf
• Queensrÿche
• Quiet Riot
• Rabbit Junk
• RADWIMPS: Japanese rock band, debuted in 2003.
• Trevor Rabin
• The Radiators
• Radical Face
• Radioactive Chicken Heads
• Radiohead: Although still more associated with the 1990's, Radiohead continued to have good success and huge critical acclaim.
  • 2000 - Kid A
  • 2001 - Amnesiac
  • 2003 - Hail to the Thief
  • 2007 - In Rainbows
• Gerry Rafferty
• Rage (Band)
• Rage Against the Machine
• Rain
• Bonnie Raitt
• Rammstein
• Joey Ramone
  • 2002 - Don't Worry About Me
• Rancid
• Random
• Raptile
• Rascal Flatts
• The Rasmus
• Rasputina
• Rata Blanca
• The Raveonettes
• Ray J
• Collin Raye
• The Ready Set
• Reamonn
• Red
• The Red Chord
• Red Hot Chili Peppers: One of the most popular rock groups of the 1990's continued to have huge success in the 2000's.
  • 2002 - By the Way
  • 2006 - Stadium Arcadium
• Red House Painters
• The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
• Redbone
• Rita Redshoes
• Lou Reed
• Reel Big Fish
• The Reign of Kindo
• Relient K
• R.E.M.: After Bill Berry's departure in 1997, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills kept going as a three-man ensemble.
  • 2001 - Reveal
  • 2004 - Around the Sun
  • 2008 - Accelerate
• Renaissance
• La Renga
• REO Speedwagon
• Res
  • 2001 - How I Do
• The Residents
• Restart
• Restless Heart
• Manuel Reuter
• Graeme Revell
• Revenge
• Reverend Bizarre
• The Reverend Horton Heat
• Revocation
• The Revolutionary Hydra
• Rhapsody of Fire
• Damien Rice
• Cliff Richard
• Lionel Richie
• Jonathan Richman
• Ride
• Riders In The Sky
• R.I.O. (group)
• Right Said Fred
• Rihanna: Barbadian R&B singer who rose to super-stardom in 2005 and racked up so many hits in so little time.
  • 2009 - Rated R
• Rilo Kiley: Formed in 1998, but released their debut in 2001.
• LeAnn Rimes
• The Rippingtons
• Rise Against
• Bob Rivers
• Robyn
• Rockettothesky
• Kenny Rogers
• The Rolling Stones: Had some of their biggest tours in this decade.
  • 2005 - A Bigger Bang
• Henry Rollins
• Rolo Tomassi
• Rogue Traders
• Daniel Romano
• Max Romeo
• Linda Ronstadt
• The Roots
  • 2006 - Game Theory
• Rosa De Saron
• Diana Ross
• Rick Ross: A very popular Miami-based rapper. He's known for his big size and beard as much as for his rapping.
• David Lee Roth
• Rotting Christ
• David Rovics
• Kelly Rowland: Former member of the band Destiny's Child, she achieved her first successful single, "Dilemma" with Nelly in 2002.
• Roxette
• Rucka Rucka Ali
• Darius Rucker
• Jordan Rudess
• Rufige Kru
• The Ruins Of Beverast
• Run–D.M.C.
• Todd Rundgren
• Running Wild
• Kate Rusby
• Rush
  • 2002 - Vapor Trails
  • 2007 - Snakes and Arrows
• Russkaja
• Russya
• Alexander Rybak

Musicians S

• S Club 7
• Sabaton: Formed in 1999, but broke out with the release of Primo Victoria in 2005. Their Signature Song "Ghost Division" came out on their fourth album, The Art of War, released 2008.
• Sade
• Saga
• Saint Etienne
• Buffy Sainte-Marie
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
• Sakanaction
• Saliva
• Salt-N-Pepa
• Saltatio Mortis
• Molly Sandén
• Pharoah Sanders
• Sandy & Junior
• Santana: Continued to remain active during this decade. Shaman, listed below, is his most successful record of the new millennium.
  • 2002 - Shaman
• Santigold
• Sarcofago
• Ximena Sariñana
• Peter Sarstedt
• sasakure.UK
• Joe Satriani
• The Saturdays
• Saurom
• Savage Garden: Disbanded in 2001.
• Savant
• Savatage
  • 2001 - Poets and Madmen
• Saves the Day
• Saviour Machine
• Les Savy Fav
• Taiji Sawada
• Saxon
• Say Anything...
• Scandal
• Scarface
• Scar Symmetry
• Schaffer The Darklord
• Schandmaul
• Klaus Schulze
• Peter Schilling
• Schnappi Das Kleine Krokodil
• Schnuffel
• ScHoolboy Q
• Schoolly D
• Schoolyard Heroes
• Markus Schulz: He began DJing in 1990, but found stronger international success in this decade, releasing his first artist album, Without You Near, in 2005.
• Schwarz Stein
• Scissor Sisters
• Scooter
• Scorpions
• Jill Scott
• Screaming Females
• Screeching Weasel
• The Script: They had a big hit in 2008 with "Breakeven" (although the song's American peak occurred early in the next decade).
• Scritti Politti
• Sea Wolf
• Seal
• Dan Seals
• The Seatbelts
• Guy Sebastian
• Second Person
• Neil Sedaka
• Seether: South African Post-Grunge band respected by rock fans, but savaged by critics. Some of their songs have a metal tinge to them.
• Bob Seger
• Shakira: Colombian singer whose international popularity was unusually disproportionate to her American popularity. Otherwise, she became the face of Latin music in the new millennium.
  • 2006 - Hips Don't Lie
• Senhit
• The Senseless
• Senses Fail
• Sentenced
• September
• Septicflesh
• Sepultura
• Serenity
• Seven Kingdoms
• Sevendust
• Seventh Wonder
• Severe Torture
• Severed Savior
• Sexcrement
• Sha Na Na
• Shabazz Palaces
• Shadows Fall
• Ravi Shankar
• Paul Shapera
• Bree Sharp
• SHAZNA
• She & Him
• She Wants Revenge
• Shellac
• Blake Shelton
• Shenandoah
• Shiina Ringo
  • 2000 - Shōso Strip
  • 2003 - Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana
• Akiko Shikata: Started her musical career in 2001 with the mini-album Midori No Mori De Nemuru Tori.
• Shota Shimizu
• Shinedown
• SHINee
• Shining
• Shining (Norway)
• The Shins
• Shiv-r
• Shining Wizado
• Shonen Knife
• Short Stack
• Shorthand Phonetics
• Showbread
• Sia: Australian singer who had a cult following in the 2000's despite no chart success until the next decade.
• Sick Puppies
• Kuba Sienkiewicz
• Sigh
• Sigur Rós
• Sikth
• Silencer
• Silver Jews
• Silver Mt. Zion
• Silverchair
• Silverstein
• Silversun Pickups
• Diggy Simmons
• Carly Simon
• Paul Simon
• Simple Minds: Started in 1977 and peaked in the '80s. Still popular in Europe.
• Simple Plan: Canadian pop-punk band who became one of the most frequent visitors below the border.
• Ashlee Simpson: Broke out of sister Jessica's shadow in 2004 only to see a disastrous Saturday Night Live performance kill her career overnight.
• Jessica Simpson
• Nancy Sinatra: Released two albums in the 2000s.
• Singapore Sling
• Sir Mix-A-Lot
• Sirenia
• Sirusho
• Troye Sivan
• Six Feet Under
• Sixpence None the Richer
• Sixx:A.M.
• Skagos
• Skeletal Family
• Skeletonwitch
• Skelteria
• Skepticism
• Skid Row
• Skillet: Jen Ledger joins the band in 2007.
• Skindred
• Skinless
• Skinny Puppy
• Skyclad
• Slapshock
• Slash
• Slayer
• Sleater-Kinney
• Sleep
• Sleeping at Last
• SleepResearch_Facility
• Sleigh Bells
• Slipknot: One of the most successful metal bands ever, who have become the genre's public face and serve as a Gateway Series to many.
  • 2001 - Iowa
  • 2004 - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
• The Slits
• Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
• Sloan
• Slon In Sadez
• Slough Feg
• Smash Mouth
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Smile Empty Soul
• Elliott Smith
• Patti Smith
• Tom Smith
• Will Smith's final album Lost and Found (which produced the Top 10 hit "Switch") was released in 2005.
• Smile.dk
• Smoking Popes
• Sneaker Pimps
• Snoop Dogg: Popular rapper of the 1990's who continued to thrive in the 2000's.
• Snot
• Snow Patrol
• Jill Sobule
• Social Distortion
• Sodagreen
• Sodom
• Soft Cell
• Soilwork
• Solange would release two albums during this decade.
• Son Volt
• Sonata Arctica
• Trey Songz: R&B singer whose popularity peaked in 2010, but had his fair share of success in the previous decade.
• Sonic Syndicate
• Sonic Youth
• Sonique
• Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows
• Soul Asylum
• Sound Horizon
• Soulfly
• Soulja Boy: Teenage rapper whose song "Crank That" spawned a national dance craze and made him one of the first artists to gain popularity through the Internet.
• Soulwax
• Space
  • 2004 - Suburban Rock 'n' Roll
• Esperanza Spalding
• Spandau Ballet
• Music/Sparklehorse
• Sparks: An art pop duo who were one-hit wonders during the Glam Rock period of the 1970's, but had a major critical renaissance during the beginning of the century.
  • 2002 - Lil' Beethoven
• Spawn of Possession
• Britney Spears: One of the most successful female singers of the 2000's and unquestionably the most famous celebrity-wise.
• The Specials
• Ronnie Spector
• Regina Spektor: A quirky Russian-American singer-songwriter, known for her interesting lyrics. Got her first "major" hit with "Fidelity" in 2006.
  • 2004 - Soviet Kitsch
• Sphere
• Spice Girls: While massive in the 90's, they released one album in 2000 before disbanding shortly after, though have reformed three times.
  • Melanie C
• Spin Doctors
• Spiritualized
• S.P.O.C.K
• Spock's Beard
  • 2002 - Snow
• Sponge
• Spoon
• Spose
• Rick Springfield
• Bruce Springsteen
  • 2002 - The Rising
• Squarepusher
• SS 501
• St Germain
  • 2000 - Tourist
• De Staat
• The Stagehands
  • 2009 - The Silent City
• Staind
• Starflyer 59
• Ringo Starr
• Static X
• The Statler Brothers
• Status Quo
• Steam Powered Giraffe
• Steel Panther
• Steeleye Span
• Gwen Stefani
• Martin Stenmarck
• Steps
• Stereolab
• Stereophonics
• Ray Stevens
• Sufjan Stevens
  • 2005 - Illinois
• Al Stewart
• John Stewart
• Rod Stewart
• Stiff Little Fingers
• Sting
• Lindsey Stirling
• Doug Stone
• Joss Stone
• Stone Sour
• Stone Temple Pilots: Founded in the late 80s and achieved mainstream success in the early-to-mid 90s, they'd separated in 2002 before reuniting in 2008.
• The Stooges
• Stormlord
• Stormtroopers of Death
• George Strait
• The Stranglers
• Stratovarius
• Strawberry Song Orchestra
• Starstylers
• Stray Cats
• Stream of Passion
• Streetlight Manifesto
• The Streets
• Barbra Streisand
• The String Cheese Incident
• The Strokes
  • 2001 - Is This It
• Stryper
• Stuck in the Sound
• The Stunners
• Stupeflip
  • 2003 - Stupeflip (Self-Titled Album)
  • 2005 - Stup Religion
• Styx
• SubRosa (Utah)
• Subway to Sally
• Suede
• Suffocation
• Sugababes
• Sugar Ray had their biggest hits in the '90s, but they released a few albums in this decade.
• The Sugarhill Gang
• Sugarland
• Sugawara Sayuri
• Sugizo
• Suicidal Tendencies
• Suicide
• Suicide Silence
• Suid Akr A
• Jazmine Sullivan
• Sum 41: Signed to Island Records in 1999, but released their first EP in 2000. They exploded into popularity in 2001 with their debut album All Killer No Filler, and gained even more notoriety when the lead singer Deryck Whibley married Avril Lavigne in 2005.
• Donna Summer
• Summoning
• Sun Kil Moon
• Øystein Sunde
• Sunn O)))
• Sunny Day Real Estate
• Sunscreem
• Supercell
  • 2008 - "Black★Rock Shooter"
• Superchic[k]
• Superchunk
• Super Furry Animals
• Super Junior
• Supertramp
• Tammin Sursok
• Survivor
• Svartidauði
• Sweet
• Matthew Sweet
• Sweet Trip
• Skye Sweetnam
• Taylor Swift: Female country singer who achieved a level of success that nobody in her genre has had since Garth Brooks, and super-stardom usually reserved only for pop musicians.
  • 2006 - Taylor Swift
  • 2008 - Fearless
    • "You Belong with Me"
• Switchfoot
• Sybreed
• Sylosis
• David Sylvian
• Symphony X
• System Divide
• System of a Down: First album came out in 1998, but 2001's Toxicity skyrocketed them to popularity. Both of their 2005 albums debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200.
  • 2001 - Toxicity
  • 2002 - Steal This Album!
  • 2005 - Mezmerize/Hypnotize

Musicians T

• T.I.
• T-Pain: Rapper/R&B singer who became the public face of the Auto-Tune movement of the late 2000's.
• Taake
• Yukihiro Takahashi
• Akira Takasaki
• Take That (Band)
• Mariya Takeuchi
• Taking Back Sunday
• Connie Talbot
• Tally Hall
• Hirokazu Tanaka: Former video game music composer for Nintendo, began his professional career as "Chip Tanaka" during this decade.
• Tangerine Dream
• Tankard
• Tankcsapda
• T-ara
• Tarot
• t.A.T.u.
• Taxi (Band)
• James Taylor
• The Tea Party
• Tears for Fears: Released a studio album in 2004, the first since the duo reunited.
  • 2004 - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
• TechN9ne
• Teddy Geiger
• Teenage Bottlerocket
• Teenage Fanclub
• Teenagers in Tokyo
• TechN9ne
• Tegan & Sara
• The Temptations
• Tenacious D
• Vienna Teng
• Tequilajazzz
• Terasbetoni
• Bryn Terfel
• Tesla
• Testament
• Thalia
• That Handsome Devil
• The The
• Theatre of Tragedy
• Them Crooked Vultures
• Theocracy
• Theory of a Deadman
• Therapy
• Therion
• These New Puritans
• They Might Be Giants
  • 2001 - Mink Car
  • 2004 - The Spine
  • 2007 - The Else
• Robin Thicke
• Third Eye Blind
• J.G. Thirlwell
• Irma Thomas
• Rob Thomas — Matchbox Twenty's front-man started the decade with an enormously successful hit single with Santana and later a few pop hits of his own.
• Richard Thompson
• Thor
• Thousand Foot Krutch
• Three Days Grace
• Three 6 Mafia
• Thrice
• Throbbing Gristle
• Through The Eyes Of The Dead
• Throwing Muses
• Thursday
• Thy Art Is Murder
• Tiamat
• Yann Tiersen
• Tiësto
• Tiga
• The Tiger Lillies
• Tila Tequila
• Pam Tillis
• Timbaland
• Justin Timberlake: Former **NSYNC member. Released first solo album in 2002 and became the biggest boy-band breakout star since Michael Jackson.
• Christopher Tin
  • 2009 - Calling All Dawns
• Aaron Tippin
• Ashley Tisdale
• TISM
• Title Fight
• Titus Andronicus
• TLC would release 3D, their first album after Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes' death and containing posthumous material from her, and would be the last TLC album to feature all three women.
• T.M.Revolution
• TNT
• Toad the Wet Sprocket
• Tocotronic
• Toehider
• Tokio Hotel
• Tokyo Yankees
• Tom Tom Club
• Tomahawk
• Tonedeff
• Tony T
• tool - Tied with Dream Theater as the most popular band in Progressive Metal; they started in the 1990's, but released Lateralus in 2001.
• Too $hort
• Torae
• Die Toten Hosen
• Toto
• Touché Amoré
• Touhou – ZUN's Music Collection: The first album, Dolls in Pseudo-Paradise, released in 2002, and the last of the decade, Magical Astronomy, released in 2009.
• Tourniquet
• Allen Toussaint
• Devin Townsend
  • 2007 - Ziltoid the Omniscient
  • 2009 - Ki
  • 2009 - Addicted
• Toxic Holocaust
• Toy Dolls
• Toy-Box
• The Tragically Hip
• Train
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra
  • 2000 - Beethoven's Last Night
• Trans-X
• Transatlantic
• Trap Them
• Trapt
• Travis
• Randy Travis
• TRAX
• Treble Charger
• Tribulation
• Tricky
• Trigger The Bloodshed
• Tripod
• Tristania
• Travis Tritt
• Trivium
• Trophy Scars
• Trout Fishing In America
• TSOL
• Anna Tsuchiya
• Tub Ring
• S. J. Tucker
• Tanya Tucker
• KT Tunstall: Released her first album Eye to the Telescope in 2004, released 2 other albums in 2006 and 2007
• Turbonegro
• Frank Turner
• Tarja Turunen
• Turisas
• Turnpike Troubadours
• TV on the Radio
  • 2006 - Return to Cookie Mountain
• Twiztid: Started in 1997, but increased their popularity during the 2000's.
• Devin Townsend
• Shania Twain
• Twenty One Pilots
• Twisted Sister
• Two Steps from Hell
• Bonnie Tyler
• Tyler, the Creator
• Type O Negative
• Typhoon

Musicians U-Z

• U2
  • 2000 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
  • 2004 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
  • 2009 - No Line on the Horizon
• UB40
• Álex Ubago
• Uffie
• UFO
• UGK
• Ugly Casanova
• Ulcerate
• James Blood Ulmer
• Ulver
• Umphrey's McGee
• Uncle Bonsai: Reunited for the first time since '89.
• Uncle Kracker
• Underoath
• Carrie Underwood: American Idol winner who rivals Kelly Clarkson as the show's most successful alumni.
• Underworld
• Unearth
• Unextraordinary Gentlemen
• Univers Zero
• UNKLE
• Unleash the Archers
• Unleashed
• Unwound
• Keith Urban
• Urban Dance Squad: Briefly reunited in 2006.
• Midge Ure
• Uriah Heep
• U.S. Girls
• The Used
• Usher: R&B singer who started the decade shedding his teen idol image, had an exceptionally massive year in 2004 (having the two biggest songs of the year) and launched the career of Justin Bieber at the very end of the decade.
  • 2004 - Confessions
• Hikaru Utada: Voted by The Japan Times as the most influential Japanese artist of the decade. Her second album Distance became the best-selling Japanese album of the 21st century.
  • 2001 - Distance
  • 2002 - DEEP RIVER
  • 2004 - Exodus
  • 2006 - ULTRA BLUE
  • 2008 - HEART STATION
• Utah Saints
• V6
• Vader
• Steve Vai
• Holly Valance
• Vale of Pnath
• Vampire Weekend
• van Canto
• Van der Graaf Generator
• Luther Vandross: Finally got his elusive #1 pop hit in 2003 with "Dance with My Father", but suffered a stroke shortly thereafter that ended his career and led to his death in 2005.
• Vangelis
• Vanilla Ice
• Giorgio Vanni
• Varttina
• Vazelina Bilopphøggers
• Suzanne Vega
• Vektor: Progressive Thrash Metal band that released their first album at the end of the decade.
• Vektroid
• Venetian Snares
• Vengaboys
• Venom
• Verdena
• Vernian Process
• The Veronicas
• Versailles: Neoclassical metal band formed in 2007 by five established Visual Kei artists, best known for invoking Viewer Gender Confusion among metal fans.
• Vertical Horizon
• Veruca Salt
• The Verve
• The Vincent Black Shadow
• The Vines
• Violent Femmes
• Violet UK
• Virgin Black
• Vision Divine
• Vitas
• VNV Nation
• Voivod
• Volbeat
• Voltaire
• Andrew W.K.: Rock singer famous for his party anthem "Party Hard" and infamous for his work with Cartoon Network.
• W&W
• Jasmin Wagner
• Bunny Wailer
• Rufus Wainwright: Started in 1998, got more popular during the 2000's thanks to ''Film/{{Shrek'}}'.
• Running Wild
• Tom Waits
  • 2002 - Alice
  • 2002 - Blood Money
  • 2004 - Real Gone
  • 2006 - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
• Waka Locka Flame
• Rick Wakeman
• Kanon Wakeshima: Female Visual Kei/GothLoli Idol Singer who started in 2008, her first two albums, overall sound and image courtesy of Mana.
• Waking the Cadaver
• Walk Off the Earth
• Walk the Moon
• Clay Walker
• Scott Walker
• Stan Walker
• The Walkmen
• The Wallflowers
• The War On Drugs
• Warbringer
• Kyle Ward
  • Oscillator X
• Wardruna
• Steve Wariner
• Warrant
• Dionne Warwick
• Was (Not Was)
• Kamasi Washington
• WASP
• Watain
• Watashi No Koko
• Watchtower
• Watashi No Koko: Started in 2007 under the name Kesson Shoujo, changed names in 2009.
• Muddy Waters
  • 2001 - The Anthology 1947-1972 ^note It is a double album with the most essential recordings this blues legend made between 1947 and 1972
• Roger Waters
• Jody Watley
• Weakling
• Chris Webby
• Jason Webley
• Nikki Webster
• Wedlock
• Ween:
  • 2001 - White Pepper
  • 2003 - Quebec
• The Weepies
• Weezer: Formed in the mid-90's, reunited in 2000. This rebirth skyrocketed their popularity and effectively proved that their former Old Shame, the Pinkerton album, was simply ahead of its time.
  • 2001 - Weezer (The Green Album)
  • 2002 - Maladroit
  • 2005 - Make Believe
  • 2008 - Weezer (The Red Album)
  • 2009 - Raditude
• Wendy & Lisa
• Kanye West: One of the most successful rappers of the 2000's, he first made his name as a producer. His career nearly ended in the last few months of 2009 after his controversial interruption of Taylor Swift at the VMAs.
  • 2004 - The College Dropout.
• Hayley Westenra
• Westlife
• Wheatus
• Laura White
• Alissa White-Gluz
• White Lies
• White Wizzard
• Whitechapel
• Whitehouse
• Whitesnake
• The White Stripes: Arguably the most influential and critically-acclaimed rock band of the 2000's.
  • 2001 - White Blood Cells
  • 2003 - Elephant
• The Who
• The Wiggles
• Gin Wigmore
• Wilco
  • 2002 - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• David Wilcox
• Wild Beasts
• Kim Wilde
• The Wildhearts
• will.i.am
• Don Williams
• Hank Williams
  • 2005 - Turn Back the Years: The Essential Hank Williams Collection (released posthumously)
• Hank Williams Jr.
• Hank Williams III
• Lucinda Williams
• Michelle Williams, former member of Destiny's Child released three albums during the 2000s, two gospel albums and one dance-pop album.
• Paul Williams
• Pharrell Williams
• Robbie Williams
• Vanessa Williams
• Wesley Willis: Tragically died from CML complications in 2003.
• Mark Wills
• Brian Wilson
  • 2004 - Gettin' In Over My Head
  • 2004 - Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE
  • 2005 - What I Really Want For Christmas
  • 2008 - That Lucky Old Sun
  • The Paley Sessions - a series of sessions with Andy Paley that made their way to a series of bootlegs.
• Steven Wilson
• W-inds.
• Amy Winehouse: R&B singer whose global success kicked off a third British invasion stateside and led to a rise in female performers on both sides of the Atlantic, such as Adele and Lady Gaga. She sadly passed away in 2011 after releasing just two albums in her lifetime.
  • 2003 - Frank (album)
  • 2006 - Back to Black
• Winger
• Wintersun
• Steve Winwood
• Wir sind Helden
• Wire
• Within Temptation
• Patrick Wolf
• Wolfmother
• Wolves in the Throne Room
• Lee Ann Womack
• The Wombats
• Women
• Stevie Wonder
• Wonder Girls
• The Wonder Years
• Chris Wood
• Woods Of Ypres
• The Word Alive
• The World/Inferno Friendship Society
• Wormed
• Woven Hand
• Chely Wright
• Wu-Tang Clan
• The Wurzels
• Wussy
• Wuthering Heights
• X Japan
• Xera
• Xiu Xiu
• Xscape (Group) would break up during the early part of the decade and try to comeback in 2005.
• XTC
• The xx
• Xzibit
• "Weird Al" Yankovic
  • 2003 - Poodle Hat
  • 2006 - Straight Outta Lynwood
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Trisha Yearwood
• Yeasayer
• Yelle
• Yello
• Yellow Magic Orchestra: Regrouped again as "Human Audio Sponge", then HASYMO throughout the 2000's following a brief reunion in the early 90's; put out their most recent studio material and reclaimed the YMO name in this decade, and have been focusing on live performances since then as an on-again off-again act.
• Yellowcard
• Yes: Had a final studio album with lead singer Jon Anderson in 2001.
• Yo La Tengo
• Dwight Yoakam
• Chris Young
• Neil Young
• Young Jeezy
• Yousei Teikoku: Formed in the late 1990's and became popular in the Anime scene since the early 2000's. Fronted by voice actress Yui Itsuki.
• Geir Zahl
• Zao
• Zapp & Roger
• Zebrahead (Band)
• Mans Zelmerlow
• Bertine Zetlitz
• Warren Zevon
• The Ziggens
• Roy Zimmerman
• Rob Zombie
• The Zombies
• Zombina and the Skeletones
• Zomby
• Tay Zonday: His song "Chocolate Rain" went viral on YouTube in 2007.
• John Zorn
• Zouzounia
• Zoviet France
• Zucchero
• Zug Izland
• Zyklon
• ZZ Top

Other

• UTAU
• Vocaloid
• Various artists
  • 2001 - The Underwater Melon Man

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