The Y2K age rapidly brought evolutions in music consumption and production. Music’s future had arrived, and with it came boundless curiosity and somewhat skeptical fanfare. MP3s began democratizing the way we shared and consumed music. Message boards, blogs, and file-sharing services were the precursors for acquiring and distributing new music online before marketplaces like iTunes and Rhapsody gained their footing. Sites like PopMatters, Tiny Mix Tapes, Pitchfork, and an array of independent music blogs served as the Rolling Stone and Spin of music media. Message boards like MySpace, DUNation, and Okayplayer were town squares for musical opinions before social media took hold.

In addition to listening, making music had become easily accessible to anyone within reach of a computer. Those who would seek out cracked versions of FruityLoops and Sony’s SoundForge and Acid, and CD-R technology could crank out mixes, songs, and albums with ease. The releases of 2003 saw those who were considered A-list juggernauts within the music world risk their stardom for something streamlined and wider, indie acts, in turn, taking broader swings creating works that would earn both critical and commercial acclaim and artists that would chart new musical frontiers and purposely blur genre conventions in the process. (Was Britney Spears’ “Toxic” still considered pop? Was the Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” not considered pop?) 

Musically, the year 2003 delivered a creative sea change that hadn’t yet emerged by Y2K. As Pitchfork noted in their Top 50 Albums of 2003, “2003 was the first year that felt like a fully formed part of the ’00s. Music, finally, seemed ready to look forward.” As we revisit 2003 with this year’s March Music Madness, here’s a look back at some of the albums that were definitive in creating the sound of that time.

Beyoncé - Dangerously In Love

It’s easy to mistake Beyoncé as a pop artist. Granted she is a powerhouse no matter the genre. Prior to her solo outing, she was the lead of Destiny’s Child, which started as a quartet and ended as a trio. However the main focal point shifted to Beyoncé, and many curiosities piqued as to what a solo career looked like for Beyoncé. Plus, she was already taking the lead in production and writing duties when with Destiny’s Child, so would she stick within the pop wheelhouse?

With the release of Dangerously in Love in 2003, she not only claimed pop, but also came for anything that she could put her personal stamp on. It may be all over the place sonically, but all of it was passionately delivered, and ran the gamut of an amalgamation of styles from R&B, soul, gospel, and more. The collaborations spread out on the album proved Beyoncé could take control of it with relative ease. Whether on the Middle Eastern-meets-dancehall tinges of “Baby Boy,” the bombastic horns on “Crazy in Love,” or the solemn ode of “Me, Myself & I,” Beyonce came for all of it.

Linkin Park - Meteora

If you were a rap-rock or nu-metal fan, 2003 offered diminishing returns in releases. Limp Bizkit’s Results May Vary was released without Wes Borland, Korn’s Take a Look in the Mirror was its last with lead guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, there was a lackluster self-titled album from P.O.D., and a pause between releases for Papa Roach. It was hard times all around. Leave it to the powerful vocals of Chester Bennington and the simple and effective bars of Mike Shinoda to get rap-rock out of its state of slumber with their sophomore effort Meteora. 

Over the course of its lean-and-effective 36-minute runtime, Linkin Park managed to not only capitalize on the promise of their slow-burner seller Hybrid Theory, but thanks to Don Gilmore joining the band for production duties, they managed to dig their heels into making stadium-sized anthems. The group was able to weave their diverse range of influences into songs capturing the yearn for self-discovery in “Numb” and “Somewhere I Belong,” and the flourishes of EDM/Electronic fusion and experimentation in songs like “Breaking The Habit” and “Faint.” 

Kelis - Tasty

It is awfully hard to listen to modern day R&B/soul’s boundless experimentation and ignore Kelis and her forward-thinking contributions to the genre. While the Neptunes served top-tier futuristic pop production, Kelis made those songs individually hers, exploring themes of love and all the boundless topics within it as her most-authentic self. Kaleidoscope was a fantastic debut, but it was largely relegated to cult following status, and its experimental follow-up, Wanderland, wasn’t released domestically.

Tasty had a perfect weapon of a lead-off single in “Milkshake.” Over its steady and pulsating production, Kelis launched haymaker refrains next to one of the most memorable hooks in pop history. Look deeper in Tasty’s tracklist, and you’ll find a deep bench of talent, such as Andre 3000 and Kelis providing the ambient vibes in “Millionaire,” and production from Dallas Austin and Raphael Saadiq providing jams that match with the Neptunes’ energy. Kelis can rightfully claim to be one of the innovators of R&B in the 2000s.

Jay-Z The Black Album

Being Jay-Z in 2003 was hard, wasn’t it? He was coming off a double album not as well received as the album it was named after. There was also a resounding return to form for a former adversary in Nas – who he almost buried alive with one song – and the rise of 50 Cent. Not to mention running a label that would also see the rise of heavyweight contenders in Cam’ron, Kanye West, and Beanie Sigel. That’s a lot of pressure. So what does one do if they’re Jay-Z in this circumstance?

With The Black Album, Jay doubled down and talked truths about his impact and legacy, all while taking it back to basics that made Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint the overwhelming critical and commercial favorites of many. He teamed up with a bevy of rap’s wunderkind producers in Just Blaze, Kanye West, and the Neptunes, and hip-hop’s legendary hitmakers in DJ Quik, Rick Rubin, and Timbaland. Add in up-and-coming names in 9th Wonder, Eminem, The Buchanans, and Aqua & Joe “3H” Weinberg, and you have an excellent blueprint for a short-lived retirement swan song of a goodbye to the rap game. 

Atmosphere - Seven’s Travels

It was clearly obvious that the independent rap landscape was shifting in the 2000s, with acts such as Dilated Peoples and Jurassic 5 joining forces with major labels to widen their base. In 2003, it grew even more rapidly, as some courted and considered major label marketing, distribution, and exposure. Rhymesayers certainly understood this, and it courted offers from every major label under the sun before joining forces with Epitaph Records. The label founded by Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz, which had been the home to punk and pop-punk acts, signed a licensing deal to release Atmosphere’s Seven’s Travels, a long anticipated follow-up to the wildly successful Godlovesugly. 

Judging by the sound of Seven’s Travels, Slug and ANT went with darker and grungier production, as Slug belts and howls over songs like “National Disgrace,” “Cats Van Bags” with Brother Ali, and the lead-off single “Trying to Find a Balance,” which would earn them a wider look on late night shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live. They still had plenty of gas in the tank for those who thought any of that independence would lose its luster in smoother songs, such as the ode to the hometown “Say Shh,” and “Always Coming Back Home To You.”

OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Three years removed from the duo’s Stankonia, an album that saw OutKast giving way to more of their own sensibilities and embracing a more expansive frontier in hip-hop, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below took the duality concept introduced via Aquemini and put it in double album format. Considering how Speakerboxxx was initially going to be Big Boi’s first solo, Andre put in the call to L.A. Reid at the last minute to ask how much time he had if he wanted to put out a solo effort. When Reid gave a timeline of three weeks, Andre wasted no time.

The fact that Speakerboxxx and The Love Below are deeper dives into the boundless experimentation and forward thinking notions of Big Boi and Andre 3000, they ended up yielding some of the biggest singles of OutKast’s career, such as Big Boi’s “The Way You Move” being able to display the chameleon like artistic abilities of Big Boi, while Andre encroached into pantheon territory with “Hey Ya!” Subsequently, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below would be heralded as one of the best double-disc efforts offered by a hip-hop act. 

Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground

When Erykah Badu made her debut with Baduizm, the world was shifting in R&B. Neo-soul started to emerge as an answer to simpler, and spacier, times. It balanced the psychedelic sounds of the Isley Brothers with messages from Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and countless others. Baduizm was heralded as one of the defining early neo-soul releases, and follow-up Mama’s Gun showcased reacting to the unrelenting spotlight, seeking to shake off the expectations that came along with it.

Worldwide Underground was caught up in emotion and groove. “Bump It” and “I Want You” are epic slow burners. As quickly as they found their footing, they dissipated back into their initial building blocks. Other songs were more immediate, such as the lead-off single “Danger!” and “Love of My Life Worldwide.” These ideas would prove to come in handy for crafting future works.

Missy Elliott - This Is Not a Test!

In the late ’90s and early ’00s, the future of music flowed from whatever was in the water in Virginia Beach. The Neptunes and associated acts like Kelis and Clipse held the keys. Timbaland and Missy were also pushing new soundscapes for themselves, as well as writing and producing for Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and more – and that stranglehold on styles of 2003 carries up to today’s sounds. Miss E…So Addictive and Under Construction sought to innovate the sounds of yesterday with polyrhythms that shook and changed dancefloors forever, but This Is Not a Test! truly felt like a transmission from the future.

There was more of a focus on dancehall and reggae, from the interpretation of the diwali riddim on “Pass That Dutch,” and appearances from Elephant Man on “Keep It Movin’” and Beenie Man on “Don’t Be Cruel.” For every smoothed out bit of instrumentation on “I’m Not Perfect” and “It’s Real,” there was urgent sirens and blips drenched in cacophonous claps and cavernous kicks and snares on “Let It Bump” and “Pump It Up.” This Is Not a Test! also was Missy and Timbaland’s last pairing up for albums. Those who are day one fans know that the style and innovation is all Missy, all the time.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

The one-two combo of Kid A and Amnesiac showed that just when one thought Radiohead had no more tricks up their sleeves after OK Computer, they actually had two. After that cycle of  neverending experimentation, critics and fans were curious to see what was next. Atop that, Radiohead had served five albums under the EMI/Capitol Records umbrella. This label-deal swan song could be anything. So what did Radiohead do?

With Hail to the Thief, Radiohead returned to their rock roots, taking the best of each of their releases, mixed with boundless experimentation, and making something entirely new from it. Songs like “There There,” and “2+2=5” felt like an embrace of the basics that made them the rock stars they sought to be, and “Myxomatosis” and “Scatterbrain,” felt like the expansions of experimentation that Kid A and Amnesiac offered. Like OK Computer, Hail To the Thief would serve as an excellent balancing act to appease fans and critics who were quick to make debates over whether Kid A or OK Computer were the superior Radiohead project, and forced both to keep them curious as to Radiohead’s next stage of evolution.

For March Music Madness 2023, we’ve identified 64 of the best albums of 2003 to go head-to-head to determine the top record of the year. Between Monday, March 20, and Thursday, March 23, we’ll play songs on-air as part of each daily matchup. Every day, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., we’ll open a new matchup for voting every half hour. At the end of the day on Thursday, we’ll announce the top album of 2003, as voted by The Current’s listeners. Learn more here.