This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2001.
3.2 billion units were sold with a value of US$33.7 billion. DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD first rose to prominence in 2001, with approximately 600 titles available in these formats. Portable music grew in popularity after Apple Inc. released the iTunes media library on January 9 and the first iPod music player device on October 23. Worldwide, the best-selling albums were Hybrid Theory (2000) by Linkin Park, No Angel (1999) by Dido, and Survivor (2001) by Destiny's Child. The best-selling non-English album was Cieli di Toscana (; 2001) by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, which topped the charts in the Netherlands and Sweden and was the 23rd best-selling album globally.
Specific locations 2001 in British music 2001 in Norwegian music 2001 in Scandinavian music 2001 in South Korean music
Specific genres 2001 in classical music 2001 in country music 2001 in heavy metal music 2001 in hip-hop 2001 in jazz 2001 in Latin music 2001 in progressive rock
Events January January 9 – Apple Inc. introduces the iTunes media player. January 12–21 – Rock in Rio 3 is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Headlining acts consist of Sting, R.E.M., 'N Sync, Iron Maiden, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers and a new line-up of Guns N' Roses. Several Brazilian bands removed themselves from the festival in protest over fewer timeing allocated to Brazilian acts. January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band. January 19–February 4 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by Rammstein (in all venues) and Limp Bizkit (in Auckland, the Gold Coast, and Sydney). January 26 – A crowd crush occurs during a set by Limp Bizkit at the Sydney Big Day Out music festival. Jessica Michalik is killed and the band subsequently leaves the country after threats to their safety.
February February 1 CFXJ (Flow 93.5), Canada's first urban music station, solt-launches as a testing signal with its official debut on March 1. The station is considered a breakthrough for Canadian hip-hop and R&B musicians.Greg Quill, ""Flow" goes with Marley as new station hits the air," The Toronto Star, February 10, 2001. Jennifer Lopez becomes first female artist to have both a number one album (J.Lo) and a number one film (The Wedding Planner) in the same week. February 6 – Don Felder is fired from the Eagles. Felder sues the band for wrongful termination, and is countersued by Don Henley and Glenn Frey for breach of contract. The suits are settled out of court. February 13 – Peter Frampton receives the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. February 17 – Manic Street Preachers become the first western rock band to play in Cuba. Fidel Castro is in attendance. February 18 – James Taylor marries Caroline "Kim" Smedvig, director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, marking Taylor's third marriage. February 21 – The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Jon Stewart. Several artists win three awards each: Steely Dan (who win Album of the Year for Two Against Nature), U2 (who win both Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Beautiful Day"), Dr. Dre, Eminem and Faith Hill. Shelby Lynne wins Best New Artist. February 28 – Courtney Love sues to end her contract with Vivendi Universal, on the grounds that music industry contracts are unfairly long compared to those in other industries.
March March 1 – Collin Raye is awarded the Artist Humanitarian Award from Country Radio Broadcasters. The award was given in recognition of Raye's work on behalf of a number of different charitable organizations including Childhelp USA, USA Weekend's Make A Difference Day and a Native American organization. March 8 – Melanie C announces she does not intend to do any more work with the Spice Girls. Although the group denies of its separation, it would not be active again until 2007. March 9 Janet Jackson's single "All for You" becomes the first song to be added to every station in three mainstream radio formats within its first week of release. It was also the highest debut for a single not commercially available in both the United States and France. Eric Singer replaces Peter Criss as the drummer for Kiss as the band continues its farewell tour in Yokohama, Japan. Singer wears the "Catman" make-up, ending the band's tradition of creating new make-up and personas for replacement members. March 12 – Daft Punk releases their second studio album Discovery. It reached number 23 on the US Billboard 200. March 13 – Janet Jackson is honored as the first ever MTV Icon. The televised tribute became the highest rated show of the night. March 14 – The Court of Appeals in Rome finds Michael Jackson not guilty of plagiarism, reversing a decision made in 1999 by a lower court. Italian songwriter Albano Carrisi had claimed that Jackson's "Will You Be There" was a copy of his song "I Cigni Di Balaka." March 16 – Sean "Puffy" Combs is acquitted on all charges stemming from a December 1999 nightclub shooting in Manhattan. However, an artist on his Bad Boy Records label, Shyne, is convicted of two counts of assault as well as reckless endangerment and gun possession. March 20 – Toadies release Hell Below/Stars Above, the band's first album in nearly seven years. The band announces its disbandment five months later. March 24 – John Connolly of Sevendust marries Lori Kirkley. March 26 Gorillaz release their first studio album Gorillaz. The album reached number three in the UK, and was an unexpected success in the US, peaking at number 14 and selling over seven million copies worldwide by 2007. The group would win an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. Aerosmith release their thirteenth studio album, Just Push Play, charting at number 2 in the US Billboard 200. March 27 Train release their second studio album, Drops of Jupiter. The album's title track peaked at number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100. March 28 Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 replaces Max Bruch's violin concerto at number one in the Classic FM Hall of Fame. Two big selling albums: Hikaru Utada's Distance and Ayumi Hamasaki's A Best are released on the same date. Their debut week sales are 3,002,720 and 2,874,870, respectively, setting the world's number one and number two one-week album sales records.
April–May April 2 – The Bee Gees release their twenty-second studio album This Is Where I Came In, the last to feature all three Gibb brothers. April 3 – Mariah Carey signs a blockbuster contract with Virgin Records, worth $80 million for four albums. April 4 – Original Zombies lead singer Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent reunite for a two-part performance at London's Jazz Cafe, the first time the two had performed together in over 30 years. April 14 – Janet Jackson's "All for You" reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains atop the chart for seven consecutive weeks. It becomes the longest reigning number one single of the year. April 21 – The first Top Chinese Music Awards ceremony is held. April 24 – Janet Jackson releases her seventh studio album, All for You. It becomes her fifth consecutive album to debut at number one, with sales exceeding 600,000 copies. It receives three Grammy Award nominations, winning for Best Dance Recording. April 28 – The second Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place in California as a single-day event. Headlined by Jane's Addiction, the lineup also features Weezer, The Roots, Gang Starr, Iggy Pop, The Orb, The Dandy Warhols and Mos Def. May 1 Huey Lewis and the News releases the album Plan B, their first album of new material in a decade. The 4th EJCF is held in Basel, after which the event would go on hiatus until 2004. May 12 – Joey Fatone of 'N Sync injures his leg in a trap door during rehearsals for the Celebrity Tour. The 46th Eurovision Song Contest, held at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, is won by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, featuring hip-hop group 2XL. They represented Estonia with the song "Everybody", marking the first victory for one of the Baltic states and one of the former Soviet republics. At 50 years old, Benton also becomes the oldest contestant, as well as the first black person, to win Eurovision. May 15 Charley Pride's A Tribute to Jim Reeves is the first compact disc to have copy protection. The Go-Go's release their first album in 17 years, God Bless the Go-Go's. May 22 – Mötley Crüe publishes their collective autobiography The Dirt.
June June 1 – Christina Aguilera scores her fourth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for "Lady Marmalade" a collaboration with Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink. The video wins the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. June 5 Radiohead releases their fifth studio album, Amnesiac. Drowning Pool releases their 1st studio album, Sinner. After the 9/11 attacks, the single "Bodies" is listed on the list of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel. June 9 – Madonna begins her first concert tour in eight years, the Drowned World Tour, in Barcelona, Spain. June 12 Blink-182 release their fourth studio album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket which would later sell 14 million copies worldwide. This was the band's second successful album. Electric Light Orchestra release Zoom, their first album in 15 years. June 15 – Bad Religion drummer Bobby Schayer, who had been with the band since 1991, leaves the band and departs from music after experiencing a "most unfortunate career-ending injury". He is replaced by current drummer Brooks Wackerman. By this time, Bad Religion depart from Atlantic Records and had returned to their original label Epitaph, and founding guitarist Brett Gurewitz had just rejoined the band after a seven-year hiatus. June 16 – The Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM airs the 9th Annual of the Weenie Roast show with Blink-182, Coldplay, Crazy Town, The Cult, Disturbed, Jane's Addiction, Linkin Park, The Living End, New Found Glory, Pennywise, Papa Roach, Stabbing Westward, Staind, Stone Temple Pilots, Sum 41 and 311. June 24 – Jazz pianist John Hicks marries flautist Elise Wood.
July July 2 Willy Denzey makes his first appearance at Les Francofolies de La Rochelle. Napster shuts down its entire network in order to comply with a court injunction ordering it to suspend the trading of copyrighted files. July 7 – Janet Jackson begins her All for You Tour. July 9 – Backstreet Boys put their Black & Blue summer tour on hold to allow AJ McLean to enter a rehabilitation facility to deal with alcoholism and depression. July 10 – Dream Street releases their debut album, Dream Street July 16 – Mariah Carey releases "Loverboy"; it eventually became the best-selling song of 2001. July 17 – Aaliyah releases her third studio album Aaliyah. July 17–22 – The fourth Yoyo A Go Go punk and indie rock festival opens in Olympia, Washington. July 19 – Ol' Dirty Bastard is sentenced to two to four years in prison for drug possession. July 21 – The first annual Splendour in the Grass music festival is held in Byron Bay, New South Wales, headlined by Powderfinger. July 24 – NSYNC releases their third studio album, Celebrity. July 25 – Mariah Carey enters a hospital for what a spokesperson terms "extreme exhaustion". Carey had exhibited several incidents of bizarre behavior during the previous week, including performing a strange striptease during an unscheduled visit to MTV's Total Request Live and posting a rambling message on her website in which she wrote, "I don't know what's going on with life". July 30 – The Strokes release their debut album Is This It.
August August 3 – Whitney Houston signs the largest contract in music history with Arista Records, a six-album deal worth over $100 million.