[NewMusic] Popular music since 2000 - has anything happened?

[Matt Davignon]

This isn't a rhetorical question - more an admission of my own
ignorance I suppose. I like to think of each decade of having some new
trends in mainstream popular music that have been reflected in many of
the records coming out.

For example, in the 80's people started looking at using the studio as
a refinement tool, which meant a lot of 80's albums sound really,
really produced. (Chorus guitars, gated reverb drums, etc.) Pop music
started getting mostly electronic, and rap music gradually became
mainstream. "Virtuosity" was more or less defined by your guitar solo.

In the 90's the whole 'alternative' thing became big, which meant
being a lot more straightforward with rock and roll, both musically
and in production values. Rap more or less supplanted pop music as the
new top 40. 4/4 dance music became mainstream

2000's.... uh, 'underground hip hop' had a great few years. There are
some glitch pop records around. More people are recording at home, but
other than 'underground' stuff, most of the trends I see in 2000 have
been regarding the delivery of music. The mainstream stuff I hear
sounds like the late 90's never ended, except with a gradually
increasing percentage of protein byproduct meal.

So... what have I missed? Have there been any 'decade-defining'
records since 2000?

Matt