As we enter the year 2025, we approach the 25th anniversary of many albums from varying genres, each of them having an impact in their own fanbases, and some impacting pop culture as a whole. Here are some of the top albums per their respective genres, with a review of each.
No Strings Attached by NSYNC is the pop album of 2000 by far. Released March 21th, 2000, it peaked on the Billboard’s top 200 albums, and was the best performing album of 2000. Tracks like “Bye Bye Bye” and “Its Gonna be Me” were some of the top performing songs that still remain largely popular today. I found myself enjoying these songs as well, helping support that. The mix of pop and danceable R&B, that, when combined made the album stand out from other releases, which also likely contributed to the success of the album.
Outkast’s album Stankonia is my pick for 2000s rap albums. “Gasoline Dreams” was my favorite track on it, with a hard hitting, fast paced entry into the record. The album was Outkast’s 4th studio album release, and is regarded as one of their best today. It features iconic tracks such as, “Ms. Jackson” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” The Atlanta hip hop group had melodic rhymes tuned to anti-establishment ideals, speaking out about conditions of poorer neighborhoods with political references in songs like “B. O. B – Bombs over Baghdad.” Aspects like this helped mark the album as a memorable contribution to the world of music.
Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park’s debut album, was by far one of the most popular 2000 releases for rock. It was released October 24th, 2000, yet gained extreme popularity in 2001. My favorite song on the album is “With You,” because it has an amazing beat mix and flow, backed with hard guitar strumming and raw hitting snares. Overall, the album is one of my personal favorites, with the unique fusion between rock and hiphop. The album switches constantly throughout each song, heavy guitar shredding will be contrasted by intense beats all in the same minute, and sometimes in parallel. Chester Bennington as Linkin Park’s lead singer added elements to the vocals of this album that are unique, making for an overall nearly irreplicable album.
For jazz releases, Chasin’ The Gypsy was regarded as being the most well performing album of its genre, being the sixth studio release from saxophonist James Carter. The album is a smooth blend of the sounds that make up jazz, having songs roll up and down with their high and low tempos. This was the album out of all of these that was the most calming, I could find myself really just sitting down and relaxing, letting the music slowly surround myself. While jazz is not for everyone, this album should be heard at least once.
All of these are incredible albums that I never had any distaste for. I recommend that you give these all a listen, if you are either looking for new music or trying to expand your current taste. Just have fun with some of these 25 year old records!
