Released in late 2011, the special served as a definitive cultural audit of a decade defined by the rise of digital downloads, the dominance of hip-hop and R&B, and the birth of modern pop icons. Hosted by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz , the five-part series chronicled the tracks that shaped the "noughties," from the turn-of-the-millennium pop explosion to the synth-heavy anthems that closed out the era. The Top 10: Anthems of a Generation
The first rap song to win an Academy Award, this 8 Mile anthem became a universal rallying cry for perseverance. vh1 100 greatest songs of the 2000s
A late-decade love letter to New York City that became a modern standard. Released in late 2011, the special served as
Tracks like The White Stripes’ "Seven Nation Army" (#26) and Green Day’s "American Idiot" (#13) showed that guitar-driven music still had a political and stadium-filling punch. A late-decade love letter to New York City
A genre-bending smash that brought funk and rock sensibilities to the mainstream, famous for its "shake it like a Polaroid picture" hook.
