The 101 Song Ultimate Mid-2000s Playlist

Now that it's nearly a decade in our rearview, we've begun to get a glimpse of what's got longevity; namely, what songs are really good at encapsulating the weird time that was the mid-2000s.

By Lance Pauker

Updated 7 years ago, February 26, 2018

Now that it’s nearly a decade in our rearview, we’ve begun to get a glimpse of what’s got longevity; namely, what songs are really good at encapsulating the weird time that was the mid-2000s.

Below is a collection of songs that seek to, in great celebratory fashion, sum up the aural fabric of the mid-aughts. All songs were released between the years of 2003-2007, and with the exception of Nelly, there are no repeat featured artists. The intention here wasn’t to take the best songs, but rather incorporate some of the finer tunes and artists into a cohesive playlist. With that, take a ride back to secondary school:

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1. Suga Suga – Baby Bash, Frankie J: 2003 or 2013, always a party starter.

2. Hate Me – Blue October

3. Soul Survivor – Young Jeezy, Akon

4. Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy – Fall Out Boy

5. Bad Boy – Cascada

6. California – Phantom Planet

7. Lips Of An Angel – Hinder

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiSfTyrvJlg&w=584&h=390]

8. Say – John Mayer

9. Superman – Lazlo Bane: Superman was technically released in 2002, but it powered Zach Braff and co. through many seasons of Scrubs, one of the more resonant series’ of the mid-2000s 2000s.

10. Over And Over – Nelly, Tim McGraw

11. Give Up The Grudge – Gob

12. Dear Maria, Count Me In – All Time Low

13. Lemonade – Wheatus

14. Right Thurr – Chingy

15. Secret Valentine – We The Kings

16. Paralyzer – Finger Eleven

17. Only One – Yellowcard

18. Memory – Sugarcult: In a decade full of emo jams, does this reign supreme?

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19. The Kill – 30 Seconds To Mars

20. ‘Till I Collapse – Eminem, Nate Dogg

21. Rebellion (Lies) Arcade Fire

22. Feeling This – blink-182

23. Break It Out – The Rocket Summer

24. Lean Back – Terror Squad

25. Just The Girl – The Click Five

26. Stacy’s Mom – Fountains Of Wayne: I definitely didn’t get through Middle School Cross Country races by signing this song in my head.

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27. Sadie Hawkins Dance – Relient K

28. Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous – Good Charlotte

29. A Decade Under the Influence – Taking Back Sunday

30. Ohio Is For Lovers – Hawthorne Heights

31. Collide – Howie Day

32. Say Anything (Else) – Cartel

33. This Disaster – New Found Glory

34. Freak-A-Leek – Petey Pablo

35. Too Little, Too Late – JoJo: Pairing this with her song Get Out, Leave, JoJo was really the master of being very unforgiving of former lovers trying to rekindle the magic.

36. Yeah! – Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris

37. Flashing Lights – Kanye West

38. Pieces – Sum 41

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39. Time To Pretend – MGMT

40. Back In The Mud – Bubba Sparxx

41. Wildcat – Ratatat

42. Chain Hang Low – Jibbs

43. Beep – The Pussycat Dolls: The great thing about the Pussy Cat Dolls is that there songs always had some really profound messages.

44. Photograph – Nickelback: You know you love it.

45. Everytime – Britney Spears

46. For You I Will (Confidence) – Teddy Geiger

47. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows – Brand New

48. Check On It – Beyonce, Slim Thug

49. My Band – D-12

50. Dragostea Din Tei – O-Zone

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51. Girlfriend – Avril Lavigne

52. High School Never Ends – Bowling For Soup The message in this song is very, very true.

53. Behind These Hazel Eyes – Kelly Clarkson

54. Hands Down – Dashboard Confessional

55. There It Go (The Whistle Song) – Juelz Santana

56. Ms. Jackson – OutKast

57. Pieces Of Me – Ashlee Simpson

58. I Can – Nas

59. The Reason – Hoobastank

60. Badger Badger Badger – Weebl’s Stuff Probably the crowning jewel of the ebaumsworld age.

61. Are We The Waiting/St. Jimmy – Green Day

62. Intuition – Jewel

63. You’re Beautiful – James Blunt

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64. We Takin’ Over – DJ Khaled

65. Shadow Of the Day – Linkin Park

66. My Immortal – Evanescence

67. Dance Hall Drug – Boys Like Girls

68. The First Single – The Format

69. Ignition (Remix) – R. Kelly I used to go to this karaoke place a lot, and people would always go for “Ignition” as opposed to the remix. Gotta break ’em off with a little preview of the remix.

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70. Ruby – Kaiser Chiefs

71. You And Me – Lifehouse

72. Get Buck In Here – DJ Felli Fel, Akon, Ludacris, Diddy, Lil Jon

73. Dani California – Red Hot Chili Peppers

74. Alive With The Glory Of Love – Say Anything

75. Wait For You – Elliott Yamin: Dude was a gem on American Idol.

76. Whine Up – Kat Deluna, Elephant Man

77. Float On – Modest Mouse

78. Get Low – Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins

79. I Believe In A Thing Called Love – The Darkness

80. Right Where You Want Me – Jesse McCartney