The March 2001 Billboard Hot 100 Chart Was a Mess

At least "Ms. Jackson" by Outkast was number eleven

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2001 was the year rock would eventually put Limp Bizkit and Korn in the rearview, and there will be plenty of anniversary musings this year for landmark albums like Is This It?, Amnesiac, and White Blood Cells.

But what was in heavy rotation while these records were setting up the decade in music to come?

I took a look at the March 2001 Billboard charts, and it isn’t pleasant. How could Shaggy have two charting singles in the Top 10? Everyone loves to complain that music is always getting worse, but has it?

Here’s the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 for the week of March 4, 2001.

10. Ja Rule Featuring Lil’ Mo & Vita - “Put It On Me”

We’ve got prime MTV Cribs aesthetic, Vita wearing a Hustler shirt, and I’m glad Ja got his own private time in the prison showers so he could belt this hook.

9. Jagged Edge - “Promise”

Boyz II Men copping Backstreet Boys wardrobe was a thing.

8. 112 - “It’s Over Now”

Slap some autotune on the vocals, replace the acoustic guitar with synth, and you still have a hit in 2021.

7. Madonna - “Don’t Tell Me”

Madonna tries on some glitchy Sheryl Crow. This song is still a banger, and the music video is iconic.

6. Shaggy Featuring Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent - “It Wasn’t Me”

The only thing more mindblowing than how inescapable this song was, is the video resolution on a cell phone (complete with antenna) 20 years ago.

5. Jennifer Lopez - “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”

Between this song about Puff Daddy and The Wedding Planner, 2001 was a big year for Jenny from the Block.

4. Lenny Kravitz - “Again”

Ah, the life of Lenny, so relatable… pining over a waitress while being so disinterested with Gina Gershon. This song is such a bore.

3. Shaggy Featuring Rayvon - “Angel”

Seriously, what label exec did Shaggy have the dirt on? Shaggy sounds like Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and this is such a strange place for a Steve Miller Band sample.

2. Crazy Town - “Butterfly”

These rap-rock dipshits lifted a “Pretty Little Ditty” from John Frusciante and Flea and scored their only hit.

1. Joe Featuring Mystikal - “Stutter”

Nothing like grooving to The Pharcyde sample (my favorite lyric is “so I paged you, on your two way”) and then Mystikal COMING IN HOT on his feature. Joe would perform the song at the 7th (and final) Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, which I couldn’t find. Please enjoy this Millenium Madlibs clip in its place:

I know some of you are still repping some of these tracks today. Let me know which ones in the comments.