NOW MILLENIUM (2000-2009)

By the time the new millennium dawned, the best-selling Now That's What I Call Music UK series was up to the 45th volume in their triannual numerically-titled series of double-disc pop anthologies. The year 2000 would see that 45th collection released in April, the 46th in July, and the 47th in November with all three debuting atop the Official Compilations chart and cumulatively earning a dozen platinum sales awards.

Now That's What I Call Music was primarily focused on the most recent UK hits. Eventually, they looked further back, first at their own release history with a thirteen-volume 10th Anniversary Series issued from 1993-1995 that covered the years 1983-1995 two discs at a time, and a Millennium Series in 1999 featuring twenty double disc sets, each covering a single year from 1980 through 1999.

In February 2010, Now That's What I Call The 00s, a three-disc sixty-song collection celebrating a sampling of UK chart hits from 2000-2009 was released. Our favorites include track 15 from both CD 1 and CD 2 as well as the latter-day Trevor Horn production of track 12 on CD 3.

In November 2017, a second edition of Now That's What I Call The 00s was released with the subtitle The Best Of The Noughties 2000-2009. That set features sixty-one tracks across three discs with some duplicate tracks between the two collections. Our favorites include track 5 on CD1, track 16 on CD2, and track 1 on CD3.

The Now Yearbook series began in 2021 with Now Yearbook '83 and stuck with the decade for ten volumes (two for each of the five years covered) before going with Now Yearbook '79 for two sets and then returning to the Eighties for seven more volumes. Then came Now Yearbook '78 and Now Yearbook '92 and Now Yearbook '88 then all over the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties but never into 2000 or beyond.

Released during the fifteen months between June 2023 and September 2024, Now Millennium covered the years 2000 through 2009 in 5 four-disc collections, with each year covered over two discs. The first release covered 2000-2001. Our favorites include track 6 CD1, track 8 CD2, track 6 CD3, and track11 CD4.

After hearing once over the PA system at Border's in late 2002, we were hooked on the song at track 14 on CD1, buying the CD single and parent CD on the spot. We also like track 14 on CD2 and remember a week or so in 2002 when that song was heard absolutely everywhere and then the band disappeared into the ether. Love the song before track 14 on CD3. The song at track 19 on CD4 is an all-time favorite that sounds wonderfully calming more than twenty years after its initial release.

Lucky track 7 on CD1 is another all-time favorite song that we will hear once and then replay a few more times before moving on. The haunting melody of track 2 on CD2 hooked us immediately. The song is so beautiful that we've enjoyed every cover version of it we've ever heard. The wonderful retro synth-pop song before track 14 on CD3 always gets us singing and dancing when it comes on. If we've ever sung along louder to a song than we have to track 6 on CD4, we apologize. We cannot help ourselves. 

For 2006, we have always really liked track 14 on CD1. The song's easy-goin', free-flowin' won us over upon the first listen. There are a few songs we really enjoy on CD2: track 2, track 4, track 10, and track 14. Hard to pick just one so we'll go with all four. 2007 kicks off CD3 with three picks: track 4, track 6 and track 9. We can state that another first-listen fave is track 1 on CD4. So good.

For us, CD1 of '08-'09 is the weakest disc in the Now Millennium series. We like exactly one song on the entire disc and it is track 11. CD2 is also kind of weak - was 2008 not a good year for pop music? - but kicks off wonderfully with track 1. Track 2 on CD3 from 2009 is dancefloor dynamite and we love it. Kelly Clarkson then returns for the third time - our pop heroine! - to save the day and the whole series with her song at track 11 on CD4.