Shop New & Used 2000s Vinyl Records & Box Sets

Following the angry intensity and disillusionment of the 90s, pop resurgence in the 2000s brought back the smiles in alternative and mainstream radio hits alike. As digital music became the norm, you probably remember downloading your favorite albums from iTunes or Napster onto your iPod for lighthearted listening on your way to work or school.

With countless genres defined, entrenched, and redefined over the previous few decades, the 2000s blended alternative, rock, pop, electronic, and hip-hop to form a new generation of music. The original waves of these genres had come and gone, and the new music of the decade was often fixed with the modern prefix of “post”: post-punk, post-rock, or post-grunge, for example.

The rock hybrids of the 2000s appear deceivingly simple, hiding their long pedigree of diverse influences. The best rock bands of the decade include Radiohead, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, and U2, who mixed the sonic intensity of the 90s with the feel-good sounds of the 70s and the electronic modernity of the 80s to produce simplistic, tight recordings.

The softness of indie and indie rock took off in the 2000s, as listeners wanted something a little more mellow to relax to. Bands like the Fleet Foxes, The Flaming Lips, and Arcade Fire took off with home-grown recordings to soothe your soul. Alt-rock and post-punk icons like Incubus, Green Day, and My Morning Jacket kept redefining themselves with the changing times of the decade too.

After emerging from underground in the 90s, rap and hip-hop became mainstream staples in the 2000s. Many of the same names continued gracing listeners with increasingly interesting studio releases from Eminem, Jay-Z, and The Notorious B.I.G. The rap king, Kanye West, released his debut records in the middle of the decade, quickly rising to superstardom and international fame that resonates still today.

Amidst all this, the hardcore alternative scene continued to shout at the outrages of modern corruption and capitalist greed, with bands like System Of A Down releasing intense, visceral records. Thanks to albums like Toxicity, you could still headbang to music long after the 90s were gone.

With the growing usage of synthesizers and digital recording throughout the 80s and 90s, electronic music began to peep its head out in the 2000s. Daftpunk, Tiesto, and deadmau5 began releasing trancey, beat-driven electronic records that you could dance to, which would later explode into the 2010s.

The 2000s changed the face of music, dividing it along a generational line and catapulting it into the computer age. While iPod Age music didn’t have the same central stage in people’s lives any longer, fantastic records were still being released throughout the decade that sent artists and listeners back to their roots. Pick up records from your favorite artists from Binaural Records to hear the transformation for yourself.