The ’00s begin to take shape after 9/11 as Emo and Bling Rap conquer the charts, Avril Lavigne emerges as the “anti-Britney” and Nelly notches two of the year’s top hits. But Eminem goes mainstream with 8 Mile and the decade’s biggest Rock bands, Nickelback and Linkin Park, score their first hits.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Nelly
2. Ashanti
3. P!nk

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• 16-WAY TIE: Jennifer Lopez • Ashanti • No Doubt • P!nk • Eminem • Fat Joe • Ludacris • Ja Rule • Shakira • George Strait • Toby Keith • Alan Jackson • Tim McGraw • B2K • Brooks & Dunn • System of a Down (3)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 26.6 years

#1 Songs   List of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Usher – U Got It Bad (December ’01, 6 wks)
2. Nickelback – How You Remind Me (December ’01, 4 wks)
3. Ja Rule feat. Ashanti – Always on Time (February, 2 wks)
4. Jennifer Lopez feat. Ja Rule – Ain’t It Funny (March, 6 wks)
5. Ashanti – Foolish (April, 10 wks)
6. Nelly – Hot in Herre (June, 7 wks)
7. Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland – Dilemma (August, 10 wks)
8. Kelly Clarkson – A Moment like This (October, 2 wks)
9. Eminem – Lose Yourself (November, 12 wks)