30 Essential British Acts of the 2000s

It’s not easy to define British music in the 2000s.

There were plenty of bands that had staked their claim in the ’90s — Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, etc. – that continued to have a great deal of influence in the new millennium.

And then there were bands like Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and the Kooks, who understandably borrowed elements of ’60s psychedelic rock, ’70s punk and ’90s Brit Pop to create a sound for a new generation. We also can’t forget the rise of solo artists like Amy Winehouse, Adele or James Blunt, who are now household names.

It’s worth noting that this was uncharted territory for the music business as a whole with more and more music getting to fans via digital distribution.

“You can watch Radiohead make their next record on the internet,” Noel Gallagher of Oasis said in a 2002 interview, presumably referencing when Radiohead became one of the first acts to lean more heavily on the internet to promote their 2000 album Kid A. In that same interview, Gallagher pointed to a computer and said it will “ultimately destroy the imagination of mankind.”

There may be some validity to that, but from a contemporary standpoint it appears lots of British musicians had no problem accessing their imagination in the digital age. Below, in no particular order, we’re taking a look at 30 Essential British Acts of the 2000s, each of whom played a unique role in the country’s cultural tapestry.