4 Songs Every 2000s Kid Heard While Riding in the Family Car to School Each Morning

Ah, to be a 2000s kid riding in the family car to school, listening to songs on the radio. No stress, no existential dread, just your kid-brain thoughts and the lingering smell of syrup on your fingers from your Pillsbury Waffle Sticks that your mom made for you (while Live With Regis And Kelly played in the TV room).

Assuming your parents were listening to Top 40 radio on the way to school, then you likely heard these 2000s songs en route.

“All Star” by Smash Mouth

“All Star” by Smash Mouth was virtually inescapable in the early 2000s. Following its May 1999 release, the song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lingered on mainstream radio for years. These days, “All Star” has become synonymous with this specific period of pop music (and Shrek, depending on which corners of the internet you frequent). There was also something inherently inspiring about listening to this song on the way to school. What is school if not an opportunity to “get your game on, go play”?

“Oops!… I Did It Again” by Britney Spears

Another 1999 song that dominated the airwaves in the years that followed is a Britney Spears classic: “Oops!… I Did It Again” from her sophomore release of the same name. The pop single topped charts worldwide, solidifying Spears’ place on her throne as the princess of Y2K pop. It’s campy, it’s catchy, there’s a small skit in the middle you can recite with your friends—who wouldn’t love it? Shoutout to my family, who tolerated listening to the entirety of Oops!… I Did It Again several times, as it was one of my most-played CDs in my collection.

“I Try” by Macy Gray

Another personal favorite of this early 2000s kid is “I Try” by Macy Gray. The neo-soul track was a mainstay of Top 40 radio in the first few years of the 21st century, and that chorus remains an earworm to this day. In 2001, Gray won a Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and received two nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Gray might have become a one-hit wonder after her subsequent releases failed to match that same level of success. But it’s still among the best of early-2000s songs.

“Lose Yourself” by Eminem

For making the ride to school feel like you’re walking into an underground hip-hop club to do a rap battle in front of a massive crowd, there was “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. The early 2000s were Eminem’s golden years, with songs like “The Real Slim Shady” already cementing his place in mainstream radio. Depending on how old you were in the early 2000s, “Lose Yourself” might have been one of those songs you had to explain to your parents before they switched the dial. “No, no, no, there’s a positive message in the chorus! I swear!” etc.

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