Decade of top searches

In the first year of the new century, Yahoo! released the 20 most popular terms for the first time.

The Yahoo! Buzz Index Top 20 Leaders for 2001:
1. PlayStation 2
2. Britney Spears
3. WWF
4. Dragon Ball Z
5. Napster
6. World Trade Center
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
8. Dale Earnhardt
9. NASCAR
10. Internal Revenue Service
11. Jennifer Lopez
12. `NSYNC
13. Las Vegas
14. Eminem
15. Osama bin Laden
16. Nostradamus
17. Backstreet Boys
18. Pamela Anderson
19. Morpheus
20. Pokemon

The No. 1 slot belonged to PlayStation 2, which led to the optimistic prognostication "that gaming culture may be on the verge of eclipsing movies and television in the pop culture lexicon."

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, pushed the term "World Trade Center" to No. 6. The mastermind, Osama bin Laden, registered at No. 15, followed by Nostradamus, due to a hoax that the 16th-century so-called prophet predicted the events. Searches at the time also underwent an "upswing in patriotism. Searches on anthems, patriotic speeches and songs, and the American flag (26) soared as Americans looked for ways to express their support for their country." (Amy Sancetta/AP Photo)

In 2002, results for the Yahoo! Person of the Year poll went to President George W. Bush, followed by rapper Eminem and Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan. The most-searched person, however, was singer Britney Spears, whose online popularity was exceeded only by the PlayStation 2.

1. PlayStation 2
2. Britney Spears
3. Dragon Ball Z
4. KaZaA
5. Eminem
6. WWE
7. Morpheus
8. Internal Revenue Service
9. Jennifer Lopez
10. Harry Potter
11. Nelly
12. NFL
13. Spider-Man
14. NASCAR
15. Lord of the Rings
16. Shakira
17. 2002 World Cup
18. Ja Rule
19. NBA
20. Neopets

(Reuters)

In 2003, KaZaA led the peer-to-peer file-sharing applications in the wake of Napster's shutdown. Harry Potter consumed a nation: Two movies had been released in 2001 and 2002, and the book "Harry Potter and the the Order of the Phoenix" had a worldwide release that June. Socialite and Internet "it"" girl Paris Hilton appeared in the Top 10 for the first time, joining celebrity regulars Britney Spears and Eminem.

1. KaZaA
2. Harry Potter
3. American Idol
4. Britney Spears
5. 50 Cent
6. Eminem
7. WWE
8. Paris Hilton
9. NASCAR
10. Christina Aguilera

Yahoo! expanded its top lists and dug into top technologies (ringtones!), diets (Atkins), reality shows ("American Idol"), and monthly movers — the terms that showed the biggest percentage spike. Those included many losses, such as the Space Shuttle Colombia's crew, NBC reporter David Bloom, singer Celia Cruz, and actor John Ritter. The Iraqi war spurred the popularity of news outlet Al-Jazeera, Matrix sunglasses were the hot new summer look, and 13-year-old surfer Bethany Hamilton made Internet news for surviving a shark attack. Her story would inspire a movie eight years later. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

By 2004, reality shows had become ensconced in the TV landscape. "American Idol" hit about the 20-million-viewer mark in 2003, a ratings benchmark the Fox reality competition would keep for nine years. Singer Jessica Simpson was midway through her MTV reality show — and her marriage — with then-husband Nick Lachey.

1. American Idol
2. Paris Hilton
3. Jessica Simpson
4. Britney Spears
5. Harry Potter
6. WWE
7. Usher
8. NASCAR
9. NBA
10. NFL

The 2004 year-end lists on Yahoo! also included Top News, topped by Iraq. The 2004 elections left presidential contender John Kerry (No. 2, News) with more searches than President George W. Bush (No. 4), although he would lose the contest. Two hurricanes, Abu Ghraib, gay marriage, and the Scott Peterson trial also made headlines and the Top News search list. The 2004 Olympics also warranted its own ranking, topped by man-fish Michael Phelps. (Robert Galbraith/Reuters)

In 2005, celebrities ruled the Search roost as singer and new mother Britney Spears claimed the No. 1 spot for the first time — and would remain in that position for three more years. Lindsay Lohan, flush with success from "Mean Girls" and her album, debuted in the Top 10.

1. Britney Spears
2. 50 Cent
3. Cartoon Network
4. Mariah Carey
5. Green Day
6. Jessica Simpson
7. Paris Hilton
8. Eminem
9. Ciara
10. Lindsay Lohan

Apple showed its dominance as "iPod" topped the list of electronics queries, which also included music downloads and something called an MP3 player. Lookups for the Asian tsunami, which struck at the end of 2004, persisted to make the disaster the Top News search. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the trial of Michael Jackson, missing teen Natalee Holloway, and Hurricane Katrina figured among the biggest online stories. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Hips didn't lie and neither did the online passion for Colombian singer Shakira, who trailed only Britney Spears and performance wrestlers in the Top 10 searches of 2006. The power of Beyoncé, however, was just being realized, as she released her second solo album, but her first after her group Destiny's Child finally disbanded for good.

1. Britney Spears
2. WWE
3. Shakira
4. Jessica Simpson
5. Paris Hilton
6. American Idol
7. Beyoncé Knowles
8. Chris Brown
9. Pamela Anderson
10. Lindsay Lohan

Celebrity babies — and the pretty penny they fetched from magazines — became a Web obsession in 2006: Suri Cruise, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, and the Federline boys led the pint-sized pack. Other lists included the top blogs and bloggers (led by blogger king Perez Hilton), politicians, and sports teams. The shocking death of naturalist and television personality Steve Irwin led News searches, followed by the death of Anna Nicole Smith's son. Foreign news dominated with Iraq, Israel & Lebanon, Fidel Castro, North Korea, the trial of Saddam Hussein, and the Danish cartoon. (M. Caulfield/WireImage/Getty Images)

Britney Spears still retained the top spot in the 2007 Top 10 searches, but by now the girl next door had become a mother gone wild — and represented slew of troubled celebrities.

1. Britney Spears
2. WWE
3. Paris Hilton
4. Naruto
5. Beyoncé Knowles
6. Lindsay Lohan
7. RuneScape
8. Fantasy Football
9. Fergie
10. Jessica Alba

Yahoo! took a deeper dive into News trends. Melamine-tainted pet food, salmonella-harboring peanut butter, and lead-painted toys were among many products recalled in 2007. Former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" and the Kyoto Protocol's 10th anniversary helped fuel environmental queries, which also included the term "global warming." The execution of Saddam Hussein had happened in the last days of 2006, but cell-phone footage of the Iraqi dictator's hanging dwarfed all other News searches that year, including those for America's other conflicts, Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and the horrific massacre at Virginia Tech. (2008: Politics of hope, market meltdowns, Olympic spirits) The 2008 presidential elections registered a first on Yahoo's Top 10 list: a politician. The appearance of Barack Obama at No. 3 (taking up a slot once occupied by Paris Hilton, no less) wasn't just a message of hope: The searches also signaled how far the Web had come in people's lives, from shopping to political fundraising, from information gathering to news dissemination. (Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

The 2008 presidential elections registered a first on Yahoo's Top 10 list: a politician. The appearance of Barack Obama at No. 3 (taking up a slot once occupied by Paris Hilton, no less) wasn't just a message of hope: The searches also signaled how far the Web had come in people's lives, from shopping to political fundraising, from information gathering to news dissemination.

1. Britney Spears
2. WWE
3. Barack Obama
4. Miley Cyrus
5. RuneScape
6. Jessica Alba
7. Naruto
8. Lindsay Lohan
9. Angelina Jolie
10. American Idol

More analyses tracked what we called a "seesaw volatility" that year. Foreclosures, a plummeting stock market, and bailouts pushed the economy into the forefront of search queries. Olympians, up-and-coming celebrities, and influential women provided more uplifting news. As we said that election year, "the gravitational pull to dub 2008 as 'the year we fell off the cliff' is strong indeed. Yet even as the domino effect of domestic subprime mortgages threatens a global market collapse, a strange thing happened on the way to this meltdown: the politics of hope and Olympian spirit." (Mannie Garcia/AP Photo)

After a four-year reign, the King of Pop knocked the pop princess off the top Search perch. The death of Michael Jackson took him out of the tabloid pages and restored him in the affections of the public, who gave an outpouring of tributes online and off.

1. Michael Jackson
2. The Twilight Saga
3. WWE
4. Megan Fox
5. Britney Spears
6. Naruto
7. American Idol
8. Kim Kardashian
9. NASCAR
10. RuneScape

In a category we called Sudden Fame, which included the likes of Susan Boyle, Nadya Suleman, and the Balloon Boy hoaxster Falcon Heene, we noted back in 2008 how "the Web's frantic pace and massive scale" made overnight sensations into global Web sweethearts – although madding crowd's contrarian impulses tear them down as fast as they overexpose them. Obama's historic first year faced a lot of scrutiny. Two very different economic portraits emerged in Yahoo!'s rankings of Financial Hangovers and Market Darlingse, exposing a schism that would become more clear in the coming years. (Joel Ryan/AP Photo)

Only once before had a news story taken the No. 1 slot in Top Searches on Yahoo — namely, the death of Michael Jackson. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11. As we noted, "The gushing crude took 86 days to cap. The live feed from the ocean floor became must-watch viewing, as massive online scrutiny monitored best (and not so best) efforts to kill the well and stop the worst spill in marine history."

1. BP oil spill
2. World Cup
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Kim Kardashian
5. Lady Gaga
6. iPhone
7. Megan Fox
8. Justin Bieber
9. American Idol
10. Britney Spears
A whopping 144 articles only skimmed the Search stream in 2010. Monumental natural disasters included earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and China, floods in Pakistan and Nashville; an Iceland volcano even grounded global air traffic. Yet tales of heroism amazed us, from the Deepwater Horizon crew, the Chilean miners trapped underground, and the miraculous "return" of kidnapped young girl Jaycee Dugard hiding in plain sight, grown up with her two children. (U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)

A technological marvel, and the death of its visionary, established the Apple iPhone as the leading search in 2011. Was it 2001 (and 2002) all over again, when a gadget (PlayStation 2) was the lead Search obsession? Or, given what people could now do literally at their fingertips — organize a life, run a business, communicate with millions — the smartphone symbolized a new era.
How we searched also changed. The celebrity-studded lists now included breaking news, showing a change in how people interacted with news events.

1. iPhone
2. Casey Anthony
3. Kim Kardashian
4. Katy Perry
5. Jennifer Lopez
6. Lindsay Lohan
7. American Idol
8. Jennifer Aniston
9. Japan earthquake
10. Osama bin Laden

In addition to the devastation in Japan and the capture of America's most wanted, people monitored the unfolding news events in the Arab uprising, a royal wedding, and Occupy Wall Street. Extreme weather merited its own ranking, even though records would be broken the following year. An absurd number of political scandals erupted — perhaps to get things out of the way before an election year. Americans though still had their lighter obsessions, be they Angry Birds, planking, or discussing the merits of being a Tiger Mom. (Red Huber/Reuters)