Every generation thinks it has the best boy bands. Mine just happened to be right. For this list, I’m covering groups active from 2000 to roughly 2013, ranking them on chart success, cultural footprint, and how well their music holds up when it comes on at a party. It’s subjective, but I stand by it.
5. Big Time Rush (BTR)
BTR gets a lot of credit for pulling off something strange: A band that started as a Nickelodeon sitcom and turned into a real one. From 2009 to 2013, they released three albums, and “Boyfriend” and “Worldwide” still hit if you’re being honest with yourself. They rank last because their run was the shortest and their reach the smallest, but their 2021 comeback proved the fan base never left.
4. Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers were everywhere from 2006 to 2013. Between the purity rings, the Disney Channel takeover, and Camp Rock, you couldn’t escape them. “Burnin’ Up” and “Year 3000” are pure pop-rock comfort food. They lose points for fading fast after 2010, and their 2013 breakup, announced right as a tour was about to start, is a bad look. Still, the 2019 reunion showed the catalog aged better than anyone expected.
3. One Direction
One Direction only overlaps with this list for its first three years, which makes their ranking even more impressive. Formed on The X Factor in 2010, they became the first British group to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with Up All Night. By Midnight Memories in 2013, they were a global phenomenon. “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life” are modern classics. If the cutoff stretched to 2016, they’d be higher.
2. Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys have the longest resume on this list. Black & Blue sold 1.6 million copies in its first week in 2000, and they kept releasing albums through This Is Us in 2009. They’ve sold well over 100 million records, making them one of the best-selling groups ever. “I Want It That Way” is technically a 1999 song, but it defined everything that came after it. Longevity is their trump card.
1. NSYNC
NSYNC had the shortest run of the top five, and it still gets number one. No Strings Attached sold over 2.4 million copies in its first week in 2000, a record that stood for 15 years. “Bye Bye Bye,” “It’s Gonna Be Me,” and “Pop” all but defined the sound of the early 2000s, and the choreography is still unmatched. They went on hiatus in 2002, but few groups have made that much noise in so little time. And they have Justin Timberlake, who became the biggest solo star in the group, which counts for something.
The Verdict
Boy bands tend to get dismissed as disposable pop. But more than a decade later, people still know the words. That’s a legacy, and it’s why these groups keep getting reunions, tours, and nostalgia-themed pieces like this one.
