24 Pictures That Perfectly Exemplify the 2000s

Carly Tennes Published 05/07/2024 in wow

Though we may have rang in the new millennium roughly 25 years ago, the 2000s still feel as though they were yesterday. But between logging into MySpace, watching American Idol and of course, trying to make those teeny tiny sunglasses look good, we still found the time to snap a whole lot of photos — ones that tell us more about this iconic time period than the dogearred pages of any history book.

From Mike Tyson getting his signature ink to the Twin Towers on September 10, 2001, here are 24 photos that perfectly exemplify the vibe of the early aughts.

List View
Player View
Grid View

1. “Shrek premiere, 2001”
2. “The most 2001 photo.”
3. “September 10, 2001”
4. “Temporary NYPD headquarters at a Burger King, 9/11/2001.”
5. “George W. Bush and his inner circle, photographed on December 2001”
6. “America’s [Former] First Lady, Melania Trump, 2001”
7. “I found a Best Buy ad from Nov 2002”
8. “A man kisses his fiancée for the last time after being sentenced to life imprisonment, 2002”
9. “Taylor Swift Singing the National Anthem, 2002”
10. “Actor Tony Leung being held securely from a scene in Infernal Affairs (2002)”
11. “Me with Aaron Carter, early 2002. We are both about 14 years old here”
12. “Reorganized a few months ago and found this old pic of DMX & I at the 2002 Funkmaster Flex car show”
13. “Kid Rock chilling with the drag queen he invited to his house party in 2003”
14. “Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton & Harrison Ford (2003)”
15. “Mike Tyson Getting Iconic Face Tattoo - 2003”
16. “A tiger in an apartment in Harlem, 2003.”
17. “A Texas farmer found this astronaut helmet in his field after the Columbia disaster in 2003”
18. “Throwback to 2003 when McDonald's toys were actually good”
19. “This Kurdish followed me for hours, to say thank you to the United States, for saving her city. Iraq c. 2003.”
20. “Historical Selfie from 2004: Me logging into Myspace at work”
21. “Moments before the Tsunami hit in Thailand, 2004”
22. “Lady Gaga in 2004”
23. “‘Imagine a world with adult content on your cell phone!’ AVN 2004”
24. “The First Moments Of The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami”
25. “Harvey Weinstein and Uma Thurman greet each other at the Kill Bill: Volume 2 premier in 2004.”

1. “Shrek premiere, 2001”
2. “The most 2001 photo.”
3. “September 10, 2001”
4. “Temporary NYPD headquarters at a Burger King, 9/11/2001.”
5. “George W. Bush and his inner circle, photographed on December 2001”
6. “America’s [Former] First Lady, Melania Trump, 2001”
7. “I found a Best Buy ad from Nov 2002”
8. “A man kisses his fiancée for the last time after being sentenced to life imprisonment, 2002”
9. “Taylor Swift Singing the National Anthem, 2002”
10. “Actor Tony Leung being held securely from a scene in Infernal Affairs (2002)”
11. “Me with Aaron Carter, early 2002. We are both about 14 years old here”
12. “Reorganized a few months ago and found this old pic of DMX & I at the 2002 Funkmaster Flex car show”
13. “Kid Rock chilling with the drag queen he invited to his house party in 2003”
14. “Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton & Harrison Ford (2003)”
15. “Mike Tyson Getting Iconic Face Tattoo - 2003”
16. “A tiger in an apartment in Harlem, 2003.”
17. “A Texas farmer found this astronaut helmet in his field after the Columbia disaster in 2003”
18. “Throwback to 2003 when McDonald's toys were actually good”
19. “This Kurdish followed me for hours, to say thank you to the United States, for saving her city. Iraq c. 2003.”
20. “Historical Selfie from 2004: Me logging into Myspace at work”
21. “Moments before the Tsunami hit in Thailand, 2004”
22. “Lady Gaga in 2004”
23. “‘Imagine a world with adult content on your cell phone!’ AVN 2004”
24. “The First Moments Of The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami”
25. “Harvey Weinstein and Uma Thurman greet each other at the Kill Bill: Volume 2 premier in 2004.”